Anthology call!!!

Posted on by August 22, 2023

Folks, we’re doing another benefit anthology for our little local library to help defray the costs of the children’s summer programs.

And we need stories…

The premise is 1890-1930, stories about the oil patch, preferably Texas, but we’ll take anything, 5-8000 words, but if you come up short or long, send it anyway, we’ll take a look at it.

This shot is Kilgore, Texas in the 1930s!

Of note, this does NOT limit the type of story, it can be fantasy, supernatural, horror, love story, lawyers, or actual drilling/working on a rig. The ONLY limit is that it should be a good story!

The close date is 31 August, but if we get enough stories, we’ll do two, just like we did for the Haunted Libraries anthologies.

Send your stories to me at oldnfo at gmail dot com. I’ll forward them to the librarian who is compiling the book(s).

As I said, this is a BENEFIT anthology, so the only thing you’ll get is ‘exposure’… sigh… The money from Amazon will go to the library.

Back in battery…

Posted on by August 22, 2023

Welp, fun times are over, back to reality… sigh…

Four days of no internet, very little TV/news, decent food, and mainly hanging out.

Oh yeah…

And supporting other authors!

A bunch of us went down to San Antone to support Rob Hampson’s signing at B&N on Saturday, and Monalisa found that the B&N also had copies of Analog with her story, so a few of us got her to sign copies that we also bought.

Then we adjourned to a local restaurant and met up with a few more folks, ‘we’ sold a few books, ate, and had a good time (there were birthdays and cake).

Then it was back to the hotel, hanging out and just chatting into the night, then the same thing Sunday.

I got back yesterday, since I took a detour over to Austin to see some old friends, and then back to make a stop at Wenzel’s down in Hamilton for goodies…

It was great to see the folks that made it, and we really need to do that again!

And a good time…

Posted on by August 19, 2023

Was had by all!!!

We’re down in San Antonio supporting Rob Hampson’s book signing, which went pretty well!

And we had a little get together after that at a local restaurant, where us peons that are Indies could try and sell a few books…

And it was also a birthday celebration for a couple of folks, too!

And about 30 folks decamped to the hotel and we continued the ‘discussions’ and stories until late in the night…

On the road…

Posted on by August 17, 2023

Making a quick trip to San Antone to support Rob Hampson! Saturday at Barnes and Noble San Pedro/I-410 on Saturday Aug. 19 at 2pm! Book signing for The Moon and the Desert!

And a few of us will be doing an indie signing starting at 430… At a different location… 🙂

So if you’re down in the area, feel free to drop by and say hi (and you won’t hurt our feelings if you buy a book)! (Insert cheezy grin here)

 

Finally!!!

Posted on by August 16, 2023

One down, and a bunch to go…

After less than five years in service, the littoral combat ship Sioux City was decommissioned Monday in a ceremony aboard Naval Station Mayport, Florida.

It was the latest early retirement for the costly and troubled Freedom-class ships, vessels conceived earlier this century that officials now admit stand little chance of surviving a conventional battle against China or another nation’s navy.

Full article, HERE from Navy Times.

Suffice to say, the problems are legion, and the one thing that ISN’T mentioned is how badly beat up the crews were, because they were so short handed…

Good riddance, and the sooner ALL of them are gone, the better!

Book promo…

Posted on by August 15, 2023

Peter Nealen has a new Pallas Group book out, Frontiers of Chaos

As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

A killing in Seattle

A massacre in Northern California

A mysterious new client

In the aftermath of what appears to be a targeted killing, a mysterious billionaire approaches Pallas Group Solutions with a new job. He seems to be more interested in their intelligence gathering capability than security.

None of them are prepared for what they find.

In a whirlwind of violence and intrigue, the contractors of Pallas Group plunge into a world of human trafficking and elite capture.

And find themselves on the hunt for an underworld facilitator who’s closer than they expected.

It’s a pursuit from the Pacific Northwest to the Tri-Border Area of South America.

And as the bodies pile up, things can only get darker.

You’ll love this action thriller because it’s as fast and ferocious as a bullet! 

Alma is next, with a new book in her Familiars Generations series- Castles, Creatures, and Nights 

The blurb-

Strange things stalk the nights. Especially nights when the land remembers …

  • Christmas brings surprises both welcome and otherwise for Jude and Shoim. Can they survive the peak of baking season, or will Shoim finally end up in a pie?
  • Mike and Rich find themselves over their heads, assigned to observe delicate diplomatic negotiations in a haunted—perhaps—castle. Abyssal beasts might be easier to survive.
  • Deborah, Hiram, and Art try to prove that they are grown-up magic users. Their parents disagree.
  • How does a Hunter say what he cannot speak, mourn when tears are forbidden?
  • And more!

Jojn the next generation of mages, sorcerers, Healers, and Hunters on a wild trip through nights silent and otherwise.

And Raconteur Press has another 50 word story book out on Friday, Imagine That!

Note- The cover link takes you to the entire series…

No blurb yet, but they are damned good! You’ll enjoy this as much as the others! All based on the random picture you got for the story prompt!!!

And last but certainly NOT least, Monalisa Foster has a story in Analog, the magazine, out now!!! Her story is The Deviltree and it is EXCELLENT!

And the TOC-

And she was good enough to join us electronically yesterday on the youtube broadcast, HERE!

Go get all three, you’ll enjoy them!!!

Stalemate…

Posted on by August 14, 2023

SecDef and Sen Tuberville’s meetings did not result in any compromise over the DOD’s abortion stand (free transport, uncharged leave, etc.) So of course, Austin is having a hissy fit…

With the top spots at the Army, Navy and Marine Corps now vacant, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blasted Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blanket hold on department confirmations on Monday for “undermining America’s military readiness” and adding stress to an untold number of military families.

“This is unprecedented, it is unnecessary, and it is unsafe,” Austin said at a retirement ceremony for Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday in Maryland. “It’s hindering our ability to retain our very best officers and it is upending the lives of far too many American military families.

Full article, HERE from MilitaryTimes.com

There are procedures in place for occurrences like this, but the administration doesn’t like the fact that they aren’t getting their way, so they have to blame somebody, rather than actually compromise… sigh…

And Xiden is overriding the military’s recommendations on personnel for CNO, and I believe, the new CJCS.

I hate to say this, but at this point, I cannot in good conscience recommend the military to anyone…

One of our AL post members (E-8) was on orders, had sold their house, and packed out when the USAF realized they didn’t have the money to actually move him, so they were going to have he and his family live ‘in quarters’ (read the on base temp lodging), until they got money which ‘might’ be Nov-Dec… Since he was selling his house to his relief, who also didn’t have money to move, they cancelled the sale, and he’s retiring next month, not by choice. He and his wife are FED UP with the BS currently going on.

This is odd…

Posted on by August 13, 2023

That this isn’t being mentioned at all in connection with the fires on Maui…

Invasive grasses growing in the abandoned plantations on Maui and Hawaii Island fueled the ongoing wildfires, according to a University of Hawaii at Manoa wildfire expert. 

Clay Trauernicht, an Assistant Specialist at UH Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, said land management is necessary to prevent future wildfires in Hawaii.

Full article, HERE from Spectrum Hawaii.

Right now, all the coverage seems to blame ‘climate change’, not mismanagement of the lands. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this.

The devastating fires in California and other spots in the US have been found to have a basis in mismanagement by the states or local entities, like PG&E in California. The ‘new’ procedures adopted by PG&E in the last couple of years have now focused on shutting down power in areas where high winds pop up, not resetting circuits automatically in certain conditions, and trimming limbs/trees back from the powerlines, regardless of the wishes of the greenies.

One of the big issues with the Camp Fire, HERE, was the fact that trees were allowed within feet of homes for ‘green space’, and many homeowners weren’t allowed to trim/cut those trees back.

Also, the lack of controlled burns in a lot of areas have contributed to an excessive buildup of dead/flammable material, and cuts to fire budgets and ‘revised’ policies have limited their ability to deal with these issues before they blow up, like happened in Maui.

Also, the loss of power, IMHO, contributed to the lack of notification to the residents. No power, no internet, no cell towers working makes those ‘automated notifications’ not work as advertised.

Say a prayer for the families of those who died, and are missing, some will probably never be found… May the rest in peace.

Oh lovely…

Posted on by August 12, 2023

If you were writing this one off as another ‘Oh well, Chinese…’

You might want to pay a bit more attention…

Prestige BioTech, a Nevada company fronting for parties in China, was caught operating an “unlicensed laboratory” in Reedley, California in March. State and Fresno County officers raided the facility, and the FBI and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have since been participating in the investigation.

The illegal operation housed white lab mice—773 live and more than 175 dead—that were genetically engineered to carry disease. Authorities also found medical waste and chemical, viral, and biological agents. There were on site at least 20 potentially infectious pathogens including those causing coronavirus, HIV, hepatitis, and herpes.

The lab was supposed to be producing COVID-19 and pregnancy tests, but the facility contained items inconsistent with that explanation. The seizures at the lab strongly suggest China’s regime is preparing to spread diseases in America, undoubtedly in the months before a war.

Full article HERE from The Gatestone Institute.

The Chinese have played the long game for for generations, and are in a negative population growth scenario right now. They know they have the best chance in generations to take control of Taiwan, the second island chain, and other claims as long as the US isn’t standing in their way.

Take that for what it is worth…

Some days…

Posted on by August 11, 2023

You just gotta wonder…

The ‘new’ army persons…

Well, progressive science has since discovered that this supposedly “harmless and educational” game was a ploy to instill patriarchal hegemony in male child-persons, encouraging their feelings of violence and aggression towards diverse cultures. Now that many of these feral youngsters have grown up, their knee-jerk jingoism obstructs the efforts of more enlightened, correct-thinking diplomats in dealing with religions and cultures of genuine peace and benevolence, especially in the Middle East.

In order to educate the new generation of state’s mini-adults about the concept of a modern, correct-thinking army, the United Nations in association with the Obama Administration have created a revised set of plastic army persons for use in state-authorized play activities.

Full article, HERE.

And for you California suckers, er… folks that haven’t left yet, PG&E is going to be an indian giver on that charging for your EV…

It’s been said before, California’s power grid will have to expand in order to meet the demand for more energy. PG&E’s CEO Patricia Poppe has come up with an “unconventional” idea, using electric cars to send excess power back to the grid to prevent blackouts.

Bi-directional charging already allows a few electric cars to send energy from their battery to a home. Think of it as a backup home generator.

Full article HERE, from ABC 7.

At this point, I don’t even know what to say to either one of these articles… sigh