Updates
August 5: New page on Non-Aligned Races is up in the Misc section.
May 12: The EA section is now up.  I apologise for the wait.  Ted deserves most of the credit for this section.  He really worked hard on it.
We're slowly replacing all of our video clips with Divx.  Be sure to have the free current codec.
February 23:  Gosh, it's been a long time since I updated the website!  I'm sorry.  Real world things like work and marriage just seem to get in the way.
Updated the Links page, removing some broken links and adding a few new ones.  Most notably, jamiewood.org.  Jamie was a patient of mine, and is now a close friend.  She was in a terrible accident and had no insurance at all.  Please drop by and at least take a look.  She is absolutely precious.
Andreas Katsulas passed away recently.  We'll all remember him fondly.  No one else could have been G'Kar, and G'Kar was the best part of the show.
On a lighter note, the author of that B5 tech page across the country recently had some of his work published in a book!  Be sure to drop by and congratulate him.  And if you still have a few dollars left after donating to Jamie, you might buy the book too.  I intend to.
August 27: I'm 30 today.  Doesn't feel a bit different than 29 and 364 days.  :)
April 17: Added a new image scaling tutorial to the misc section.
April 5: Added some javascript calculators to the misc section.
February 19: Updated the SPK Construction page.
I just finished the Crusade DVD set.  The video quality is superb, rivaling many movie releases.  It holds up to bigscreen viewing much better than the B5 releases.  Look for upcoming replaced images, along with a line from JMS's commentary, dealing with the Excalibur.
October 29: Added a Misc. section, with a new article dealing with Shadow Planet Killer construction.
Progress has been at a near standstill for some time, due to various reasons.  The most recent development is a complete computer system failure, in which I had to format my hard drive and rebuild the system completely.  Then, for whatever reason, my backup CDs were as useless as coasters.  Other "real life" issues have had most of us busy the past few months.  Hopefully, work on the EA section can resume soon.
June 7: Adarx has admitted that he is also Triumviron, proving that he lied in our debate!  See Hatemail section for more information.
Several sections have new images.
Work continues on the Earth Alliance section, now that all 5 seasons are available on DVD.
2003
August 27: Wrapped up the dwmartin debate.  Today is also my 28th birthday.
August 26: Second round is up.  This guy is so angry and arrogant!
Update: Triumviron has backed out of the debate.  He refuses to comply with the terms set, and asked "Please don't ever bother me again."
August 25: Another debate is in the works.  A newbie at Spacebattles claims that I would have lost the debate with Adarx if it had been him on the other end instead.  I gave him the opportunity to prove it.  He feels that I bore the "Burden of Proof," and tricked Adarx.  Now, he wishes to debate the capabilities of the VPK.  He is currently refusing to communicate appropriately, using my private e-mail address instead of the website address.  I've informed him that I will no longer answer his messages to my private address, and that he should direct messages to the website address.  I'll post updates as they happen.
First round of posts is ready.
July 25: The Babylon 5 (station) section is now available.
June 22: Added "Sean" to the Hatemail page.  Be sure to send him your greetings.
June 8: Not really an update, but I attended my ten year high school reunion last night.  It is interesting how some people have changed and others have not.  Some people who I was never close to were genuinely interested and pleased to see me.  Others, who I expected to be, paid me little attention.
But the most important thing I've done in a long time involved a man named Adrian Lavine.  He started Kindergarten with me, graduated with me, and was in my class every year in between.  Many were in fact, as I attended a very small school.  My Senior class was the largest ever at the time with 43 students.  Adrian was the guy that everyone picked on, made fun of, and mistreated.  There was nothing wrong with him - no disabilities, no mental problems, or anything else.  But for the most important 13 years of our lives, he was mistreated in general.
Last night, I stood face to face with Adrian and apologised.
I didn't treat him as badly as most of the rest, but I can't take responsibility for what they did or didn't do.  I told him that it is the thing in my life that I am the most ashamed of.  That there are things I've done to embarass myself in front of people, but this is different.  This is the thing I am the most *ashamed* of.
I've never known a more humble, decent person than Adrian.  He had little to no support at home, but passed every grade.  Every science project, he made himself, while the other projects were mostly made by parents.  His was always something a nine year old would make, and he'd make a failing grade.  Everyone would laugh at his pitiful project, and he would cry.  But it was always his own honest effort, without any help.
Adrian, I'm sorry about everything I ever did to you.  And I love you, man!
June 4: The infringing website has been removed from the webserver.
June 1: Babtech has been plagiarized.  I will act accordingly.
March 17: Babtech is supporting the Original Trilogy on DVD Campaign.  Please sign the petition, and please use your real name, or it will not count.  This will be sent to George Lucas himself.
February 19: It seems the plagiarist crisis is over.  The webpages in question have been removed from their server.
Thank you all for supporting B5Tech in this matter.  I offered to testify in person on his behalf if need be.  I'm glad I didn't have to, because after buying that 57" Sony widescreen, I didn't know how I would buy the plane ticket.  :)
February 16: I was alerted to the presence of a plagiarist online.  There is a document at http://www.dracoalliance.com/B5%20homepage.htm that appears to be an almost direct copy of http://www.b5tech.com/
This is intolerable and must be stopped.  Plagiarism is not just in bad taste, it is illegal.
At first glance, I can't find a link to an e-mail address to deal with this situation as it should be.  I have been ripped off before too, when someone lifted my entire Turbolaser Commentaries and placed it under his name!  People have stolen images and videos from Babtech, and one person duplicated a page or two and called it his own.
I am glad that people think highly enough of the work that some wish to take credit for it.  However, the best way to spread your enthusiasm over someone's work is to tell people about it, provide links, etc.  It is completely improper to duplicate the work and claim it as your own.  This is no different than stealing money from someone.
I encourage our fan base to support B5Tech in this matter, and do everything possible to shut down this thief.
February 9: Added new estimate of bombardment duration from the Vorlon Planet Killer.  A few changes also appear to reflect this new discovery made by Adam Gehrls, one of our staff members here at Babtech.  It appears that the Vorlons bombard a planet for 10-12 hours, like the Shadow Planet Killer.
Added an analysis of the debris arc that appears after Sheridan detonates his bombs to the Shadows section.
February 8: Added Ted's Firepower Calculator to the Minbari Warcruiser section.  Added a couple short videos to the Vorlon Warships section.
I know everyone is anxious to get the Earth Alliance section up.  So are we.  I note from the daily stats that the EA section is the most popular, even though it isn't available yet!  I hope that doesn't speak poorly about the sections that are available.  :)
We are eager to get the EA section finished too, but the kind of analysis we do takes time.  I only hope that when it does go online, it is as well received as it is when it is off-line!  :)
February 5: Added "Ted's Take" to the Adarx section.
January 22: Several changes to the Links page.  Wrapped up the Adarx saga with our last few messages after the debate.  Added javascript calculators to the Minbari Warcruiser section and Centauri Battlecruiser section.  Also replaced an image of a C&C console displaying information about a Minbari warcruiser with a shiny new version taken from the DVD.
January 16:  The Debate is over.  Adarx didn't respond within the allotted 48 hours agreed upon during the preliminaries.  You can view the summary here.
January 14: Adarx's second post is up.  So is my rebuttal.  Note that the only evidence Adarx has presented yet comes in the form of two quotes.  That is it - two quotes out of two posts!  One he turned into an enormous Leap of Logic, and the other is an incomplete definition of the word "volley."
January 13: My first rebuttal is up.
January 12: The debate has finally begun!
January 11: This should wrap up the debate preliminaries.  I expect the first actual debate post any time now.
January 9: Third set of preliminaries are up, and hopefully the last before the debate begins.
January 8: Second set of preliminaries are up on the Adarx debate.  Changed a few links on the Hate Mail page, because I gave the Adarx debate its own directory.
January 7: Adarx finally e-mailed me!  It only took about a week for the guy to come out of the saloon when I called him out!  The debate is about to start!  See the Hate Mail section for preliminary posts so far.
January 6: Adarx continues to hide at Spacebattles, refusing to come out and face me like a man.  Thus, I added some of his posts to the Hatemail section.
January 5: Adarx has refused to participate in the debate.  He refuses to even contact me via e-mail.  He admitted that his statement that Babtech is "95% speculation" was inaccurate.  Sorry folks, this one stayed in the saloon when I called him out, refusing to leave the safety of Spacebattles to face me one on one.
2002
December 31: New Hate Mail section added.  The first troll is "Mughi"/Matt Matherly.  I removed the appropriate section from Points of Logic Departure and placed it there.
Apparently I sent the challenge to Adarx to the wrong address, so I sent him a PM at Spacebattles.
December 30: Two days ago I e-mailed a troll from Spacebattles called Adarx and challenged him to a debate one-on-one, Michael Wong style.  I engaged him in a debate at Spacebattles, where he claimed that Babtech is "95% speculation."  Now is his chance to prove it.  Or will he wimp out?
December 13: Vorlon section is up.  The Planet Killer section is particularly detailed, containing essentially every piece of information that can be gathered from the series, along with some quotes from JMS.  It has been a long time since I've worked as hard on any one topic.
November 17: Updated the Points of Logic Departure section.  A few minor changes throughout, and an entirely new argument.  Some troll started badgering me with his opinion of pixel scaling not being a valid method of analysis.  He made up some "expert" for an appeal to authority fallacy, which he thought he could get away with.  This "expert" is supposedly a "broadcast engineer," and he is an expert on CGI, image scaling, Babylon 5, image/video capture devices/drivers, image editing applications, NTSC video, video editing applications, Tim Earls, Babtech itself and the methods we use, and every piece of software I own.  In fact, he knows more about Virtualdub that the guy who wrote the program!  Unfortunately, for a "broadcast engineer," doesn't even know how NTSC video works, what the maximum resolution is, or the correct aspect ratio of a standard TV.  In short, this guy does not even exist, and the debate exchange is quite hilarious.  You can go directly to this new debate by clicking here.  Please note that while many statements in that section are direct quotes, some are paraphrased, and the entire argument is not always included.  I do try to preserve the high points.
This particular hindrance has slowed progress on the Vorlon section, and for that I apologize.  However, it has provided an opportunity to discuss the particulars of image/video capture that many readers may find interesting.
October 28:  Added two multimedia files to the Shadows section.  One is a high resolution video of the Shadows attack on a Narn base.  The other is an audio file of a discussion between Mollari and Morden regarding the "over 100" Shadow vessels on Centauri Prime.
October 26: Overhauled the Links page.
October 20: Added high resolution video of nukes destroying at least one Shadow vessel.  Click here for the page or here for the file directly.  And don't miss yesterday's update!
October 19: My computer problems have persisted until the past couple of weeks.  Restoring the drive's state to an earlier time repeatedly did not help.  Finally, I formatted the hard drive and rebuilt the entire system one thing at a time.  Now, the computer has been working well, but I've had problems with my ISP - I was essentially off-line for 2 weeks.  Very frustrating.
Anyway, now that the computer is working, and I have internet access, it is time for updates.  The Minbari section is now up.  I plan to add some videos to other sections over the weekend.
July 7: Interstellar Alliance section is now up.  I apologize for the delay in recent weeks.  I have had severe computer problems that I won't go into detail about here.  Updates should follow more rapidly now that I have a brand new computer (manufactured on June 13) with a 2.4 Gig P4.
May 12: Documents are again available to the public, after being off-line for a year and a half.  A group of respected analysts has joined the staff to improve on the previous documents and offer new commentary.  Many sections are still off-line, but updates will progress throughout the week.