Tuesday, August 30, 2016


The Drake Equation is an equation used to estimate the possible number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy. It was created in 1961 by Frank Drake. Many of the elements in the equation are unknown, and it was created as a means to inspire a dialogue on the subject.

Tim Drake was the third Robin in the Batman comics.

In the Star Trek series Enterprise, one of the archaeologists who found the debris of a Borg cube on Earth in 2153 was named Drake. He was assimilated. There were also two starships named U.S.S. Drake, and a shuttlecraft on the U.S.S. Voyager also bore the name.

Drake was the name of the Dragon in the movie, Dragonheart: A New Beginning.

There are several Drakes in the Pokémon franchise.

Drake has it's root in several languages, including Old English, Old Norse, and Greek. In all of these languages, the meaning is 'dragon.' In 2015, Drake was the 399th most popular name for boys in the United States.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016


In Battlestar Galactica, Gaius Baltar was used by a Cylon spy to help bring about the holocaust that killed most of humanity. He was rescued from Caprica, and ended up on Galactica. He invented a Cylon detector, and led a monotheistic cult. He was also elected President of the twelve colonies.

In Frank Herbert's Dune, Gaius Helen Mohaim was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother. She was part of the conspiracy to end Paul Atreides' rule, and was later executed by Alia Antreides.

In Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, House Gaius is a ruling house of Alera.

In Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Gaius van Baelsar was a general who lead the invasion into Eorzea. He was known as The Black Wolf.

Gaius is a Latin name from ancient Rome, and means 'Happy'. Only 15 boys in the United States were named Gaius in 2015.

Sunday, August 14, 2016


A nova is an explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star. A supernova is a star that explodes.

Nova is a science television program aired by P.B.S.

There are several characters in the Marvel universe that bear the name Nova: Richard Rider, Sam Alexander, and Frankie Rae.

Nova was a human female in the movie Planet of the Apes.

In ABC's Once Upon a Time, Nova was a fairy. She wanted to become a fairy godmother, and had a romance with Dreamy, a dwarf later known as Grumpy.

Nova was a novel by Samuel R. Delaney published in 1968. The Nova Trilogy was a series of novels by William S. Burroughs.

Nova is the latin word for 'new'. In 2014, Nova was the 215th most popular name for girls in the U.S.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016


In Star Trek Beyond, Jaylah was an alien of an unnamed race that was stranded on Krall's planet. She assisted the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise when they were attacked and stranded there as well. She was a resourceful engineer, and she taught herself English from a database. Simon Pegg stated in an interview that the character was inspired by Jennifer Lawrence's character in Winter's Bone, and that Jaylah was dervied from her nickname, 'J-Law'.

Jaylah is a variant of Jay, which means 'blue crested bird'. In 2015, Jaylah was the 483rd most popular name for girls in the U.S. The alternate spelling Jayla ranked at #238, and Jaylaa was given to 8 girls.