Whupped…

Sigh… The grand’s dad took them snowboarding at the VERY hilly golf course day before yesterday and wore their butts out… THEY slept in yesterday morning, but the pups were whining and scratching at the door at 0600 as usual… Kids got pancakes and bacon for ‘brunch’ when they finally rolled out about 1000. PP is doing better, but arm is still hurting. And snow is melting, but they are now calling for more snow tonight and tomorrow. Oh joy, oh joy…

Fast forward a day- The kids slept in again, the dogs didn’t… And the kids wore me AND the dogs out.

Now they’ve cancelled school for tomorrow… Sigh…

Ramping up…

This used to be a once in a while thing…

The U.S. Navy plane had been in the air over the South China Sea for a few hours when a warning came crackling over the radio.

“No approaching any more or you will pay full responsibility,” said a voice from a ground station belonging to China’s air force.

Full article HERE from NBC News.

Now days, it seems that just about every flight and every Freedom Of Navigation (FON) trip in that part of the South China Sea gets intercepted/threatened…

A number of years ago an EP-3 (PR32) was hit by a Chinese fighter attempting to ‘bounce’ them. After that the Chinese became a lot more circumspect about approaching, but now…

I can’t help but wonder if the next ‘provocation’ is going to be a shootdown.

Book promo…

First up is Postcards from Mars

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

The blurb-

A collection of illustrated micro-fiction.
During MarsCon 2023 the three Moms of the Apocalypse handed out images to anyone who wanted to enter the contest. The rules were simple: write down a complete story in fifty words, and then send it to us. These are the winners of that challenge!

And next up is another anthology Space Cowboys

The blurb-

There’s something about the Cowboy that speaks to us all. So it only makes sense that, as humans expand into space, they’re going to bring their Cowboys with them.

Join 10 authors as they explore what Space Cowboys would look like, why we love them, and how they deal with the livestock that travels with humanity.

I  will admit I’m surprised mine is the lead story in this one, as it doesn’t involve cows in space…

And now we have snow…

Thankfully, PP’s PT session was yesterday. It spit snow off and on all day, until about 1700…

And an hour later…

Meanwhile, ‘I’ had to go pick up pizza…

As of 1930, there was easily 4 inches and it was still snowing hard.

And the kids were still out playing in it!!!

Quick update on PP…

The shoulder surgery went well, she is slowly recovering and the pain is becoming manageable.

She’s doing the first sets of exercises, but hates the sling because it rubs… And I’m taking her for her first rehab today!

The hubby and kids have been super supportive, the dogs and cat, not so much. They have ‘their’ schedule regardless of the situation around the house, and they’ve ‘adapted’ to me being their provider… sigh

The kids doing homework last night were funny, as Jace was doing a heart rate test vs. caffeine use. So he took a base reading for each of us, then we drank a coke, he took it again, and then a second coke and another reading.

Of course by then, the kids were WIRED!!!

Which led to the inevitable, when the caffeine/sugar high wore off after supper.

She was going to get a cup for her glass of milk… And that was all she wrote!

Daddy carried her off to bed. LOL

Ummm…errrr…

Okay, who had zombie apocalypse for Wednesday???

Let’s face it: having just gone through a pandemic where denialist political discourse turned a significant part of the population into something resembling zombies, the prospect of a new pandemic where a microorganism itself devours the victims’ brains is an unsettlingly real prospect. 

Full article, HERE from World Crunch.

OBTW, the author is actually a microbiologist… HERE

But there is a bit of pushback, and apparently she says (in not so many words) it’s not a high probability!

And just for fun, there’s this scientific study that was released on Jan 19th… HERE

Sigh… I’m gonna go find a hole, climb in, and pull it in after me.

My surprised face…

I have it around here somewhere…

In case you missed it, over the weekend, the U.S. military announced it was ending the search for weather or hobby balloons President Joe Biden ordered to be shot down over Lake Huron and Alaska. The news came in a very late, Friday night news dump as the three-day holiday weekend began. 

Full article, HERE.

Per usual, the infamous Friday dumps continue…

And one wonders if they are ensuring that nobody can actually come up with debris to say what was really shot down for a half million dollars each.

I guess the balloon club is out of luck…

Sigh…

Truth!!!

My cousin wrote this out of frustration, but I DO agree with her!!!

So I’m at Walmart and the only checkout line is backed up and I overheard an associate say, Oh, they’re just too lazy to check themselves out!
When I turned to look at the line I was furious. Everyone in that line was well over 70 years old, including me!
You listen here Mr. 20-something-year-old Walmart Associate. These folks are the backbone of this country. These folks are not lazy. They were not born into a computer generation. While you were playing video games and learning to navigate a computer they were working in the steel mills, mines, dress and shoe factories, restaurants, stores, farms and ranches, and countless other jobs, without the aid of a computer or your silly little phone you have your head buried in all while making between $14 and $16 an hour….You twerps would have never made it back in our day…
These “Lazy people” can still work circles around you and they have a work ethic and drive that you probably know nothing about. Just because someone doesn’t feel comfortable using a self checkout does not make them lazy.
And before I forget it… those lazy people pay your salary. Instead of you and others walking around being judgemental someone could have offered to help them on the self checkout.
If you ever have to get your vegetables from the ground instead of the produce department guess who you are going to need help from… those lazy people!
Be careful of the toes you step on today… they might be attached to the butt you have to kiss tomorrow!
Right on, Cuz!

I got in an anthology!!!

Yes, I’m proud of this one! It’s for Baen, and I’m truly proud to be included with these outstanding scientist/authors!

The Ross 248 Project

Click on the cover for the Baen E-Arc link, or wait until… sometime in May for the usual Amazon release.

Granted, I’m listed under the ‘and more’ on the cover, but my story was accepted.

The blurb-

HUMANITY’S HOPE FOR A BETTER FUTURE AT A NEW STAR

A bold journey into a future where humanity and its children travel to a new star where they must overcome the unexpected challenges on the exoplanets that await them—or die trying.

Traveling to the stars will be difficult, but not, perhaps, the most difficult part. What about when we get to another star? What then? Will the planets be immediately habitable? Not likely. Will those who undertook the journey be able to easily turn around and come home if they don’t find “Earth 2.0”? Almost certainly not. Therein lies the challenge: Finding worlds that are potentially habitable and then taking the time, perhaps centuries, to make them compatible with Earth life. They will encounter mysteries and unexpected challenges, but the human spirit will endure. Join this diverse group of science fiction writers and scientists as they take up the challenge of The Ross 248 Project.

Contributors:

USAF (Ret) General Steven Kwast
Patrick Chiles
Stephanie Osborn
Brent Ziarnick
Laura Montgomery
Daniel M. Hoyt & E. Marshall Hoyt
Matthew Williams
D. J. Butler
Robert E. Hampson
Monalisa Foster
J. L. Curtis
K. S. Daniels
Les Johnson & Ken Roy

Tired…

PP was late getting in to be operated on, took an extra hour on the table, and a couple of hours in recovery. But the operation went well according to the doctor, and he gave me pics and explained the issues, so I’m good with that.

Then I had a lovely 2 Hour drive back to her house, over the hills in the dark. Not fun, and getting in at 2330. But she is in bed and asleep for now.

And my tired butt went to bed and forgot to put up a post.

But I found out one thing… California hospitals are NOT the place to find decent food, especially in Marin County!

Not a single real meat item in the cafeteria! Tofu, veggie ‘snacks’, three kinds of ‘health’ bars (for $10 EACH), plant burgers, veggie hot dogs, and various fruit bowls… And the hot line was fish, veggie rice (I thought rice was already a vegetable), and some kind of ‘fresh veggies’ that looked liked overcooked broccoli, cauliflower, and something else green…

So I ended up with a bag of chips and a coke…