I got in an anthology!!!

Posted on by February 18, 2023

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…

Posted on by February 18, 2023

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…

YMMV…

Posted on by February 16, 2023

Not sure if it’s true, but interesting… Considering India and China are responsible for almost 3 BILLION of the world’s population…

The population of Earth at this minute is constantly changing, but it’s around 7.9 billion at this very second. For most people, this is an unfathomable figure. 

However, if we condense that 7.9 billion into 100 persons, and then condense it further into various percentage statistics, the resulting analysis is relatively much easier to comprehend:

Out of 100 people:

11 are in Europe

5 are in North America 

9 are in South America

15 are in Africa

60 are in Asia

49 live in the countryside

51 live in cities

75 have mobile phones

25 do not

30 have internet access

70 do not have the availability to go online

7 received university education

93 did not attend college

83 can read

17 are illiterate

33 are Christians

22 are Muslims

14 are Hindu

7 are Buddhists

12 are other religions

12 have no religious beliefs

26 live less than 14 years

66 died between 15 – 64 years of age

8 are over 65 years old

Think about this – If you live in your own home, are able to eat full meals & drink clean water, have a mobile phone, can surf the internet and went to college, you are in a miniscule percentage of the population and are a highly privileged person this day. 

(This equates to being in the less than 7% category)

Amongst 100 persons in the world – only 8 will live or exceed the age of 65.

If you did not leave this world before the age of 64, like the 92 persons who did pass before you, you are truly blessed amongst mankind. Take good care of your own health. Cherish every remaining moment. 

In Memoriam…

Posted on by February 14, 2023

May he or she rest in peace… There was a military casket on my flight yesterday…

Nuff said…

Book promo…

Posted on by February 14, 2023

First up is Cedar with her second PTSD anthology- But Not Broken

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

The blurb-

cPTSD is Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
From John Van Stry, under his John Stryvant persona, his 7th novel in the Valens Heritage series- Beware of Darkness
The blurb-
Back home in Bartertown once more, Mihalis is working on advancing his plans to turn Bartertown into the kind of place where the rich and powerful come to make those special deals that they prefer to do out of sight of both the public and certain governments. He’s also spending a fair deal of his time over at HoJo’s, where Talin and Caitin’s sisters are still very interested in him. Now if only he would stop being ambushed by assassins afterwards — it’s definitely becoming quite annoying.
And this one is a twofer- Sabrina Chase just put out another novella of Red Wolf: Exile Part 2 I’m linking both parts below-
The blurbs-
Part 1-
Same map, different world.
Nic Duncan must prove she has what it takes to follow her uncle into the Special Forces. To get his backing she infiltrates a lawless area of postwar Asia posing as an adrenaline-junkie hiker. Checking out a newly discovered cave follows naturally as part of her cover.
But in that cave she encounters a strange artifact—and when she emerges, the world she knows no longer exists. While the terrain remains the same, every sign of civilization has disappeared. No road, no power lines, no GPS, nothing.
Starving and desperately searching for a way back, Nic discovers the relics of the past have vanished too – and the pre-technology people she encounters either terrified of outsiders or ruthless killers.

Can Nic find any safety in this strange yet familiar world … and what must she sacrifice to get it?

Part 2-
Next up is D Jason Fleming’s reissue of a classing western with his ‘treatment’ and additional information from Max Brand- Train’s Trust
The blurb-
Steve Train, gambler, adventurer, clever rogue, didn’t care much for work. But then he was offered a job with no work, but plenty of danger. The job: track down outlaw Jim Nair — and hand him a pile of money!

  • This iktaPOP Media edition includes a new introduction by indie author D. Jason Fleming giving historical and genre context to the novel.
Last, but certainly not least, a first for me Scott Bell’s Kindle Vella serial Judge Shivers
The blurb-
As a Judge for the administrators of the Codex Magica, Calico Shivers makes life-and-death decisions about wizards gone bad and then carries out the sentence. Nothing in his career has prepared him for his next assignment: termination of a rogue wizard who time travels, creates monsters for fun, and skateboards to his evil wizard lair. Cast back into the 19th century American Old West, Shivers is dropped into a melange of magic, murder, and mayhem. And that’s only on Monday.
He has four episodes/chapters up.

Coming home to roost???

Posted on by February 14, 2023

Clapper (spit) is now trying to change his tune…

James Clapper, Obama’s former director of national intelligence, was one of 51 intelligence agents who signed a letter in 2020 erroneously stating that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. But now, over two years later, Clapper, who was directly linked to the Russiagate scandal, claims that he never called the laptop Russian disinformation and blames Politico for distorting the contents of the letter by presenting it as definitive, not merely a suggestion. 

Full article, HERE.

I seem to remember that there were a lot of folks pounding on desks that this was ‘obviously’ fake news, and the media was running with it. And Twitter, Farcebook, Google et al were pulling posts that didn’t agree with it. And nobody, much less Clapper et al were backing off on what they said…

The full public statement is below the fold if you want to read it and look at the signatories.

Continue reading →

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Posted on by February 13, 2023

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the special ladies out there!

Quiz: Which classical music pickup lines do you love for Valentine's Day?

I hope you get candy, a kiss or three, or whatever you’d like on this special day!

PSA…

Posted on by February 13, 2023

For you veterans…Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras!

If you get the Agent Orange paperwork (and I’ll bet it’s similar for burn pits, etc.), before you start, dig out your military records and your medical records, you’re going to need them!

Where you were overseas, when, with what commands, plus diagnosis of any existing/emergent conditions including dates and locations.

Thankfully, I had my logbooks and my records handy, along with all my flight physicals. And it still took about two hours to pull everything together AND fill out the forms.

If you haven’t reviewed the PACT Act to check eligibility, go HERE. This can make a significant difference in your disability rating, your treatment by the VA, and if you were previously denied for disability before the PACT Act, you can now file a supplemental claim. Go HERE for the instructions/requirements.

If you know veterans that are suffering from these conditions, PLEASE let them know there is help available now.

Well, it was a game!!!

Posted on by February 12, 2023

The Stuperbowl turned out to be a good game this year!

Some interesting clock management at the end by Andy Reid, and a LOT of trust in his field goal kicker basically gave the Eagles one play at the end. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that played out before!

However, the commercials…left a LOT to be desired as far as I’m concerned. Disconnected, just plain stupid, or so out there one had no idea what was being advertised.

One that we got to talking about was the Coors/Miller/Blue Moon beer commercial. At $7 million for 30 seconds, we couldn’t help but wonder if the three companies decided to ‘pool’ expenses and show all three beers in what was a pretty funny commercial with some interesting special effects.

I know I’m old, but I miss the ‘fun’ commercials…

And one of my all time favorites that didn’t feature the Clydesdales…

Commercials like those just let you enjoy/laugh at the commercial, NOT spend half of it trying to figure out what the hell they were selling…

And this one from Bud in 2011 STILL brings tears to my eyes…

What do y’all think?

Oops…

Posted on by February 11, 2023

Companies, overwhelmingly located in the United States but including some in Canada and Mexico, ordered just over 44,100 robots in 2022, an 11% increase over the previous year and a new record, according to data compiled by the Association for Advancing Automation, an industry group also known as A3. The value of those machines totaled $2.38 billion, an 18% increase over the prior year, according to the data.

Full article, HERE.

I remember a couple of years ago a discussion over the ‘breakpoint’ where robots were actually cheaper than human operators due to not having to pay salary, taxes, SSI, etc… Apparently $15 has decided a number of operators to go that way!

No time off, no reporting late for work, no spitting in the food, no whining about repetitive tasks, no backtalking to customers, none of that.

And now 44,100 ‘$15/hr’ entry level jobs are GONE…

Gee… what will the operators do next, I wonder?