A timeout???

Posted on by January 28, 2024

Maybe, just maybe folks need to take a step back from EVs for a bit…

Buying an electric car is all the rage among vast segments of our affluent population. They are self-described ecologically aware people; they are saving the planet from dreaded carbon-based fossil fuels. They are putting the money where their commitments are! You likely have a friend, co-worker, neighbor, or relative who is gung ho about their recent purchase.

Of late, however, we’ve learned of electric cars underperforming in cold weather, with tires wearing out in record time and others literally starting on fire, which is difficult to contain. In a recent most revealing article, the Wall Street Journal reports that government data regarding Tesla’s performance efficiency has been severely doctored by… wait for it… the Biden Administration. Concurrently, Hertz is selling off its entire line of EVs.

Full article, HERE.

Gotta love Ramirez toons, he is definitely worth 1000 words!!!

In a side conversation, one friend who is also retired said he ‘might’ think about one, since he seldom drives more that 20 miles a day, but he wouldn’t try to use it for the 220 mile trip to see his son. He has solar on his house and ‘thought’ he had enough panels to keep it charged during the day. But he also said there was no way he’d charge it off PG&E due to the cost.

We don’t have many in our area, I can only think of 2 Teslas that I know of in our little town, and up until a few months ago, there were only THREE public chargers that were on the other side of Itchy Paw at a new truckstop!

The dealer where I get my SUV serviced has had ONE EV on the lot for probably five months, with no takers that I’m aware of… And the costs of batteries, or installation of a home charging system (hi voltage) apparently runs in excess of $10,000!!!

Also, it appears all the majors are backing off on EV production, and Ford is selling them at a loss of over $7000 per unit!!!

I know I’ll never buy one. What about y’all?

Book promo…

Posted on by January 27, 2024

I know this is a quick turnaround, but I missed these two on the last one…

Sam Robb and Cedar collaborated on an interesting switch in story telling, with Cedar doing a drawing and Sam writing a story to accompany it- One October Night

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

The blurb-

One story every night, born from a drawing. Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, this collection has it all. Come for the night and see what you find, because it’s never boring here in October.

Stories by Sam Robb, following the drawings by Cedar Sanderson.

And Cedar has her third short in the Sumire series, writing as Lilania Begley- Distress Signal

The blurb-

As Sumire reveals her secrets in an explosive climax, a young Patrolman finds that what really matters is taking him in hand and leading him towards danger. Now, he has a chance to prove himself… and find out what love really means.

Another the 20th anthology from Raconteur Press is out- Full Steam Ahead

The blurb-

“In the midst of this danger, dirt, speed, technological changes, and social upheaval comprise the heart of steampunk. The old and new were in conflict, and the outcomes were uncertain and fraught with failures, making it a rich tangle of possibilities for characters to clash and collaborate within. ” – From the introduction by Bart Kemper, answering the question Why Steam?

Steampunk is danger, adventure, and technology with a flair for the dramatic and an eye for beauty. Join these 10 authors as they explore worlds of danger, daring, romance and steam.

And although it’s not out yet, here’s the new cover for my novella… Out soon!!!

Things are getting interesting…

Posted on by January 26, 2024

In Texas!

Twenty-five GOP governors issued a joint statement Thursday defending Texas’s right to defend itself amid the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border.  

The governors said the Biden administration has left America “completely vulnerable.” Instead of enforcing the law, the federal government has attacked Texas for protecting U.S. citizens from the historic surge and its deadly consequences, such as the threat of terrorists entering the U.S. and from drugs like fentanyl that are killing Americans in record numbers, according to the DEA. 

Full article, HERE.

This after Abbott basically said, F’ off to the administration, that Texas has a right to protect the sovereignty of the state from an invasion, which is exactly what is happening with 300,000 illegals crossing the southern border in December! Link HERE.

Also, CBP has chimed in, putting paid to another one of the ‘headlines’

Time after time, day after day, DPS, the troops down there, CBP personnel and the various police forces are dealing with hundreds or thousands of illegals coming across the border across the entire state, and others.

When you add in the Cartel actions on the other side of the border, it’s literally EVERYBODY against those few folks! And the MSM, by and large, refuses to cover any of that, much less talking to the folks that live/ranch/farm down there.

The NGOs seem to ‘find’ money to take care of the illegals, but the administration seems to bend over backward to make sure they get a ‘free pass’ into the US, a new cell phone, thousands of $$$ a month, and maybe a notice to report in 5-10 years for a hearing!

Hell, their ‘paperwork’ is now acceptable as ID, even as we are penalized if we don’t have the ‘new’ verified state IDs to fly… Grrr…

Kicking the soapbox back in the corner and looking for my BP meds.

Book promo…

Posted on by January 24, 2024

Raconteur Press has another anthology out- Or All Will Burn- Fierce Love

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

The blurb-

What would you do if your children were in danger? What would you do to make sure they survived… or to avenge them if they didn’t.

9 more authors answered that question. Some with humor, some with firepower, and some with all of the above.

Next is Cedar Sanderson, writing as Lilania Begley with the second short in the Sumire series- Dust Storm

The blurb-

And last, but certainly not least, Stephen Hunter has a new book out in the Swagger world- Front Sight
The blurb-

In The Night Train, Charles Swagger is on the hunt for notorious bank robber Baby Face Nelson when he traces a tip to the Chicago stock yards. While there, he’s brutally assaulted and discovers that the madman who attacked him is involved in a nearby narcotics ring with plans to spread its new drug to the residents of the disenfranchised 7th District of Chicago. Worse, this is no ordinary drug—it makes some users happy, drives others insane, and kills many of the rest. Will Charles be able to stop the ring before it’s too late? Or is he in over his head among the dark streets of Chicago?

Earl Swagger investigates a violent bank robbery in Johnny Tuesday that left two dead and a fortune missing in small-town Maryland. At every turn, however, he’s met with silence and hostility from the townsfolk, which makes sense when he uncovers municipal corruption, working-class exploitation, gang politics, jaded aristocrats, scheming gamblers, a hitman, a femme fatale. And a whole bunch of men with guns. Luckily, Earl has brought his own guns in this unputdownable noir mystery.

Finally, in Five Dolls for the Gut Hook, a thirty-two-year-old Bob Lee Swagger is back from Vietnam nearly broken over good men lost for nothing. He’s turned hard down that whiskey road to hell. But one afternoon he’s wakened from his nightmares by two men with a problem. As nearby Hot Springs tries to retool its image from gambling paradise to family resort, a butcher has begun to prey on the city’s young women, a figure straight out of a horror movie. Hot Springs Homicide is baffled. “I’m a sniper,” says Bob, “not a detective.”

“But,” comes the reply, “you are the son and grandson of two of the greatest detectives this state has ever produced.” On that premise alone, Bob takes up the hunt for a killer who not only kills but desecrates. Using his sniper’s mind, Swagger is able to see things others have missed, drawing ever closer to a showdown. But equally, we understand, Bob Lee Swagger is hunting his own salvation.

I highly recommend all of them!!!

Grrr…

Posted on by January 23, 2024

Same old, same old… politics!

While the Biden administration focuses its time and resources attacking the state of Texas for its work to take up the duty of enforcing the U.S.-Mexico border abdicated by the federal government, the crisis continues to worsen. December saw another new record for the number of illegal immigrants encountered by border agents at more than 300,000, and the alarming number of illegal immigrants whose identities are flagged in terror databases continues to be a risk our country can’t afford. 

While Biden’s border crisis has been worsening since his first day in office, fixing it wouldn’t take much time according to National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera who sees firsthand, every day, how open-border policies enacted by Biden have created a massive draw for illegal immigrants from around the world. 

Full article, HERE.

As Cabrera says in the article, this COULD be fixed just about over night, but the current administration is choosing not to do that.

Because they believe, in their heart of hearts, all these illegals will be allowed to vote and that is 11 million, give or take, more dem voters…

So they are putting partisan goals ahead of American goals, and damn the consequences!

And there are consequences… Plenty of them… MS-13, rapes, robberies, murders, drunk drivers, etc.

But the only think they squawk about is all the illegals they are having to take care of in their ‘sanctuary cities’…

Grumble… gripe… sigh…

State of the writer…

Posted on by January 22, 2024

The End is always nice to write…

Finished my little short story that grew into a 37,000 word novella! I hate it when the @#$$% characters won’t shut up and play nice! It’s out to alpha readers now, and it will probably be up in a couple of weeks, depending on Amazon as always!

Here’s a draft cover, and before you ask, this one is NOT Rimworld, it’s a stand alone novella, this is just a draft we were bouncing back and forth…

I’ve also finished an alpha read of a friend’s 90+ thousand word novel and set it off yesterday to him.

Now I need to write an actual short story to get my short story collection up for sale. It will be nine short stories from various anthologies I’m in, plus one new story!

I’m trying to decide which way to go with that one, as there are a number of ideas percolating, and Saturday’s supper threw a couple more into the mix…LOL

I’m sorry I’m so late with these, but the cataract surgery took me off line for almost 2 months due to ‘issues’ I was having. But now I’m back to slaving over a blank page.

A sad loss…

Posted on by January 21, 2024

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Sunday the death of two Navy SEALs who went missing off the coast of Somalia, according to a press release.

News broke Jan. 13 that two SEALs went missing Jan. 11 after a mission to seize a sailboat — called a dhow — loaded with parts for Iranian medium-range ballistic missiles went wrong. Since the incident, officials had been searching for the two SEALs for 10 days. CENTCOM has stated in a press release, however, that while they have not located the bodies, their status has now been “changed to deceased.”

Full article, HERE from Daily Caller.

This was not a training accident, but an operational one. One of the SEALs was knocked off a boarding ladder and his swim buddy went into the water to save him. Neither has ever been seen again.

Not all deaths come at the point of a gun, as was the case here. Training, operational, and a myriad of other things have caused untold numbers of deaths to military members over the years, but ANY death on active duty takes a father, son, brother, mother, sister, daughter away from not only the immediate family, but the military family.

My prayers go out to the families of these men, the Team, and all that knew them.

May they rest in peace, knowing others have assumed the watch.

Burp…

Posted on by January 20, 2024

We did our quarterly supper last night, and had 26 show up! People were wandering, with multiple conversational groups rotating around.

This is after supper, so no food pics because most of it was GONE! Many thanks to those who prepared/brought food, drinks, and desserts!

The ‘locusts’ were appreciative!!! 😉

Yes, it was a ‘tad’ chilly, and there were folks that had to bow out for a number of reasons, but this was still more than our houses would accommodate, so it all worked out!

And no leftovers to drag home, other than the drinks. Also, thanks to those who helped clean up the rental space!

I got back to the house, unloaded, and crashed!!!

Those words…

Posted on by January 19, 2024

May not mean what you think you heard…

President Joe Biden on Friday said he believed a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians could still happen even with the current Israeli government in power.

“No it’s not,” he said, when asked if he thought such an outcome was impossible with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his post.

No surprise here…

Posted on by January 18, 2024

Do you shop at Cabela’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods?

Have you ever bought anything with MAGA on it or from anybody whose business includes the term?

Are you a hunter or a sports shooter?

Full article, HERE at Hotair.
So an unelected bureaucrat from FinCEN decided that they needed to track people…
But the list was so generic that even if you bought fishing gear from Cabelas, you’re a terrorist… Sigh…
Oh well, just another list to be on. Veteran, retired, gun aficionado, write books with guns in them, live in Texas… Lemme see, I’m pretty sure there are a few more…
Oh yeah, big one- Internet research searches for writing…