Embrace your inner Ferengi. Dig that blue nail polish and green beer. Star Trek TNG 2.0 is up and running. Buy low, sell high. Be the outer space equivalent of a W. 47th St. diamond dealer. Yes, a new internet/tv interactive game begins Monday night. Like Star Trek TOS 2.0, you start with 15,000 currency units, buy what you can, and think will generate quick profits, so that you can cash in at the end of the day, and go buy more stock that you think will have profit potential, or pick up bargains.

It's tough in the beginning, because everyone starts off with just about as many kopeks as it takes to buy one or two shares of everything, or more of a slimmed down portfolio that has higher potential for quick profits. Once you've got about 200 million kopeks, you can afford to max out on everything, but that's seldom a good strategy. If you miss a night of trading, you lose ground vs. the competition, and slip in the rankings.

None of the TNG 2.0 interactive episodes have begun, but those who had been playing TOS 2.0 automatically had their usernames/profiles transferred to the new game, and players can now buy stock. Whee!

I'll be promoted from captain to Fleet Captain this evening during the last night of TOS 2.0 play. I'm so close to a billion kopeks, that I'd really have to royally screw up to not hit that mark. Rank in terms of both title and rankings is solely dependent on "net worth." In TNG, I'm starting out with the same Cadet rank and 15,000 kopeks that everyone else has. I'm really looking forward to Monday night. In the meantime, there's tonight for TOS 2.0. I climbed from 274 to 269 this week simply by buying the new issues and maxing out on one bargain stock. Usually, people maintain the same rank during the work week, so I've already had a good week, and the real trading won't start for another 40 minutes.