Monthly Archives: November 2018

General

This ‘n that…

Politics…BEWARE!!!

The elections have come and gone and, truly, it was wonderful to see so many people get out there and vote.

Not everything went the way I was hoping (frankly, the idea of seeing any more of Rick Scott is enough to freeze the blood in my veins), but if one subscribes to the notion of “checks and balances” and further would like the Trump administration held accountable for its actions, then you couldn’t have asked for more.

Even more encouraging is this: Despite all the gerrymandered districts, despite the fact that Democrats had to vote in numbers far, FAR higher than Republicans to even hope to get their representatives in office, the vote count was decidedly lopsided toward Democrats, even if it does appear the Republicans will gain in the Senate.

It has been noted that Republicans have been getting less and less votes but because of issues such as gerrymandering and, in the case of Trump’s election, the electoral college system, they’ve nonetheless won.

It appears people are finally having quite enough of that and more and more people are voting.

Now, let’s see if I can relax for a while -maybe a day or two- before we start the inevitable talk of 2020.

Yikes!

😉

General

‘Oumuamua, interstellar probe?!

This …interesting… bit has been making the news of late.

You remember ‘Oumuamua, no?  It’s that strangely shaped object that flew by the solar system and exhibited some strange motions and may have looked like this:

Meet 'Oumuamua, the first observed interstellar visitor to our solar systemThe object bewildered scientists, as I mentioned above, not only because of its odd shape but also because its motion seemed odd as well.

Now, we have this:

‘Oumuamua: Cigar-shaped interstellar object may have been alien probe, Harvard paper claims

The money lines from the article, complete with links:

Now, a new paper by researchers at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics raises the possibility that the elongated dark-red object, which is 10 times as long as it is wide and traveling at speeds of 196,000 mph, might have an “artificial origin.”
“‘Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization,” they wrote in the paper, which has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The theory is based on the object’s “excess acceleration,” or its unexpected boost in speed as it traveled through and ultimately out of our solar system in January 2018.
“Considering an artificial origin, one possibility is that ‘Oumuamua is a light sail, floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological equipment,” wrote the paper’s authors, suggesting that the object could be propelled by solar radiation.

 

So the object’s acceleration as it left the solar system was… odd… and this (among other things) was the reason why these Harvard researchers felt it was possible the object was an artificial creation, one which used “solar sails” to move.

I wonder.

Frankly, it would be beyond exciting to think that there may be probes out there looking in on us.  Exciting… and terrifying.

I suspect that there may eventually be a more “down to earth” (so to speak) explanation for this object’s strange acceleration, but we’ll see.

We’ll see.

Image result for alien invasion gifs

Computers/Electronics

Called it…

…sorta.

From CNN.com and written by Seth Feigerman…

Apple has a problem it doesn’t want to talk about

At the risk of spoiling the entire article, it notes that Apple has decided to no longer report how many iPhones, Macs, and iPads they sell.

What used to be a great source of pride -and promotion- has become something they no longer want to talk about.

A BIG change in philosophy, to say the least.

A while back I noted, and re-noted, my experiences with the rise of the PC computer market (I did a search so you don’t have to, the full gamut of articles I’ve written about Apple and computers and their sales).

I noted how in the early going of the first desktop PCs, there was such a rush of new, better technology coming out seemingly every year that you were essentially forced to pick up the latest computer to keep up with the latest, and better, technology.  So the 8086 processors gave way to the 286s, then the 386s, then the 486s.  Then came the Pentiums, then the Pentium IIs, and so on and so forth.

However, while there was a HUGE difference between the 286, the 386, and the 486 processors, when the Pentiums came around, it felt like desktop computers hit something of a peak.

Instead of needing a new computer each year, I wound up working with my past computer well over 5 or so years before it started dying and I bought my latest desktop.  During that time, there were business articles wondering if the desktop PC was a thing of the past, while to my mind it certainly wasn’t.  I still use my desktop, quite a bit actually, its just that I’m in no hurry to run to a computer shop and get myself a new one.

So too I felt the time was coming with Apple and their various machines.  The fact of the matter is that each new iteration of the iPhone, for example, is not longer such a light years difference from the previous version.

There used to be heavy lines waiting for the next Apple iPhone and now, when a new phone is announced, it doesn’t engender nearly the amount of hysteria it did before.

Because, like those desktop PCs, the public no longer is as eager to replace their perfectly good previous generation (or, in my case, several generations old) iPhones.  Those “older” models are, to many perfectly good still and they don’t need the latest emoji updates or a better camera or a mildly better processor.

To counter the fact that sales are plateauing (or even going down), Apple essentially doesn’t want any such bad news released to the public and, frankly, I can’t blame them.

However, those in business will no doubt wonder, like they did with the desktop, whether the iPhone is “done”, stupidly not realizing that, again like the desktop PC, they have reached a point where consumers no longer need to buy a “new” machine each year and can wait one, two, three, or more years before making that heavy investment.

Sometimes, success simply damns you.

General

Elections are right around the corner…

…tomorrow to be exact.

I don’t want to get partisan nor engage in that old finger wagging, but the fact of the matter is that everyone should vote.  You should make your opinions known, even if they are opinions I may personally oppose.

To those who don’t vote yet complain afterwards about this political issue or that… truly, you blew it.

Make your opinions known and, who knows, maybe things get better.

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 11/4/18 update

Sometimes, I’m certain I’m a masochist.

On Friday, 11/2/18 I posted an update  (you can read it here) where I stated with considerable pride -and joy!- that I finished reading the latest draft, #11, of my latest Corrosive Knights novel, #7, which is the concluding chapter of the series…

I noted back then that it took four days to read through the draft and do the pen & ink notations/revisions and that I figured it wouldn’t take very long to put them into the computer.

It took me two days.  I started doing the transfer of notations on Friday and finished on Saturday.

It was not easy.

In fact, considering how exhausted I usually am by the time Friday rolls around, you would think I’d welcome some relaxation come the weekend.

Not so this weekend.

Friday was filled with hard work.  I managed to get through 1/2 of the novel, putting the revisions in the computer.  As the day ended, I thought: Since I finished half the book in one day, could I finish the other half on Saturday?

I could, but wow did I burn the proverbial candle at both ends.  Not only did I completely finish the revision, I also went out to three different places to buy some stuff we needed, do some minor grocery shopping, do about an hour of exercise, etc.  I wound up eating only once, at about 3:30 pm, and was done with the revisions around 8 P. M.

It was tough sledding but the bottom line is that the damn draft is finished and its off to what I’m quite certain will be the final draft, #12.

As of the coming week, I may -we’ll see as it’s not entirely certain- be at the Miami Gamer Comic Expo between November 9-12.

Again, this isn’t certain.  If I’m there, it’s as a “and one” guest of a good friend of mine and, therefore, I will not be listed among the “formal” guests at the con.

But, again: THIS IS NOT CERTAIN and I may well not be there at all!  Regardless, I’ll provide updates as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, I made this neat-o little promo of some of the books in the Corrosive Knights series and figured I’d present…

Regardless of whether I’m at the convention or not, I will begin working on Draft #12 of the book and should have it done by later this week (if I’m not going to the con) or perhaps by later next week (if I will be at the con).

And from there, its time to work on formally releasing it.

The time is coming.

Very, very soon!

Books/Literature

Corrosive Knights, a 11/2/18 update

1 Comment

This could be one of the bigger updates for the latest book, the concluding Book #7, in the Corrosive Knights series:

As of yesterday, I finished the read-through of Draft #11 of Book #7 and… it’s freaking great.

Yes, there are some things that still need to be done… I still have to put the pen/ink revisions I made into the computer and, yes I do want to do a 12th Draft of the book… but I can now say with absolute certainty that Draft #12 will be it.  The book will be done afterwards.

I read and did the pen/ink revisions of Draft #11 in a matter of four days.  I suspect that transferring the revisions to the computer shouldn’t take me that long.  As for Draft #12, I suspect it’ll take no longer than it took me to do Draft #11, which means that this book should be concluded completely by the third week or so of November…

…which means Book #7, the concluding chapter in Corrosive Knights series… may well be released later this month!!!!

And, to add to the fine day I had yesterday, I got the new cover to Book #2 of the Corrosive Knights series, The Last Flight of the Argus.

Behold!

There you go, B’taav and Inquisitor Cer on the cover, our first look at a Displacer in action.

So, to update the full gamut of covers to the Corrosive Knights series to date:

So very soon now, my friends… so very, very soon!