The Good News Is

Spiders, I think, already rule the world, Don. They just keep us around because we provide the foundation for their food supply. I’m sure there are other insect species that we do the same for. I have a contract with my spiders – outside is great! But not in the house. In the house they are fair game to destroyed. I have a similar contract with the bull snakes in the yard – don’t let me see you! But enjoy the yard! So far, it’s been fairly successful!

So, I finally finished my story! It turned out the way I planned, but getting there was a total surprise! The outline I had worked up to a point, then everything just kind of spun away from there. Thankfully the characters have stopped following me around demanding equal time! I’ve turned the story over to my editors – and I realized I have 3 male editors for a story about a woman… hummmm. I’m looking for another female editor – I think the story needs a woman’s touch.

You’ve been talking about your “box” of books, Don, and so I visited our “shelves”. I found Zenna Henderson’s The People series. Cruised through one book in about three days, and I’m now half way through the second book. I’m saving my favorite, The Any Thing Box for last. A friend suggested Terry Practchett so I was able to track down a couple of his books. I love breaks between the quarters – I get to catch up on my reading. But sometimes I’m reading so fast that by the time I get to the next book, I’ve forgotten what I read.

Some of the best news I’ve had all week was what Barnes and Noble is FINALLY letting go of the Nook! And they’re going back to selling books! What a concept!

I also had time to cruise through the news this morning. Found all sorts of interesting things happening in the world of science bordering on science fiction! A man by the name of Walter De Brouwer  has created a medical tricorder that records respiration, blood  pressure, temperature, and blood oxygenation. Called the Scanadu Scout, it will hook up to a mobile app and give you  results in 20 seconds! His inspiration? Star Trek.

Tanya Lewis, a LiveScience staff writer, reported on a prosthetic device that could restore memory. Developed by Theodore Berger at the University of Southern California, the prosthesis replaces parts of the hippocampus which is related to short and long term memory, and can be used to restore or enhance memory. There are some implications here that I’m not sure about. Do I really want someone messing with my memories? On the other hand, it might be nice to just remember what I went into the kitchen for!

The short of this is that Tamara's story, Pain Free Life has some fantastic science background!

I guess the biggest success this week is the publication of Wormhole Electric’s Best Science Fiction Short Stories and Novels. It went on Amazon this morning – both US and European. Re-reading the stories and making new editing changes reminds me of how lucky I am to work with such talented people.

 

Riddle Cave! You guessed correctly, mentor! Well, almost. I was going for “fan” but air conditioner works!
As for yours, I can see it in my mind - a hanging sign? I know there is another word for it, but for now, that is all I can come up with.

So, this week:

Lubricating, softening

Good Smelling

Ingredients from around the world

Necessary in dry climates

Tall teller of kissing

 

 

 

 

All images (except book cover) downloaded from Google Images:

Fig. 1 - JypSee Jynn's Channel: Tale of The Anything BoxJypSee Jynn's Channel: Tale of The Anything Boxjypseejynn.blogspot.com 

Fig 2 - Research: Memory | The Blog of Emma FielderResearch: Memory | The Blog of Emma Fielderemmafielderyr3.wordpress.com 

Fig. 3 – Book cover by L. Varvel

Fig. 4 - Fan | Easy to understand definition of fan by Your DictionaryFan | Easy to understand definition of fan by Your Dictionarywww.yourdictionary.com 

 

 

Brave New Spider World

 
Hi Carolyn,


As I hit the keyboard to plunk out this blog, an audacious arachnid scuttled across my desk and hid under my mouse - no, not the one in the pic but equally cheeky, for sure! I took that as an omen of sorts. I've been engaged in a low key but fairly intense territorial struggle with the many-legged marauders in various venues about the estate lately. I'm not entirely sure who has the upper hand at this point. I thought I had gained strategic ground in the fruit cellar but found, upon seeing the world of spider tracks covering my siding all around the garage and elsewhere, that it was a fleeting victory.  Armed with some insecticidal soap ( supposedly a natural and relatively benign deterrent ) I turned back an onslaught of the little beasties in the part of the garden where we're trying to grow dill weed, rhubarb and blueberries. Later that same day I was aghast  to discover, upon entering the garage,  sticky webs cast across the seat and front end of my beloved motorcycle even though it had been parked there less than 72 hours!   Sooooo, that's the way ya wanna play it eh, eight legs? !



Anyhow, all of this just gets me around to one of my incontrovertible mantras - " Spiders shall inherit the planet "





I honestly can't fathom how a creature so seemingly inefficient ( i.e. with so many moving parts ) can be found pretty well everywhere on our dirtball and in such variety and abundance. It also makes me wonder what things would be like if spiders had evolved into the dominant species. Or maybe I should cover my you-know-what and say - when spiders evolve into the dominant species. 

It surely would be a godsend for the footwear industry.






 

X  8

Hockey, soccer and pretty well all other sports would be spectacles to behold. Don't even contemplate what it would mean for line dancing or any  dancing - J. K. Rowling is just one of the many people who have realized that tap-dancing spiders are pretty dang freaky!

 

 

 

Really though, I may actually be behind the evolutionary 8-ball here. When one looks around and notes the sheer ubiquity of these creepy, crawlers,  one fact becomes chillingly apparent.  In their  subversive and inexorable way those icky 8-leggers have probably already  insinuated themselves into our human world to the point of victory.  And they have stayed below the radar. Soon we all will awake on that fateful morning trussed up in spidersilk, injected and set aside as a future main course. We may have but a few moments of groggy panic and realization before their mind-numbing venom steals our consciousness forever - don't say I didn't warn you!!










 Okay,  from spiders to gadflys then. On my way through my boxes of musty but cherished paperbacks to find my copy of  Heinlein's  The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress  ( which I never did locate ) I laid hands on one of the most well-thumbed items of all. From 1968 until mid 1971 Harlan Ellison wrote a weekly column of television reviews and social comment for The Los Angeles Free Press under the title The Glass Teat. Approximately half of the reviews were out in paperback around that time and the second half appeared somewhat later. I recently snatched The Other Glass Teat off of iBooks and am looking forward to returning to and finishing up that set.  Revisiting this tumultuous time after four decades and a bit may yield some additional interesting perspectives. I did mention in my very first sortie here  (10/7/2012)  that there would be some "Forward to the Past" adventures to be had "de temps en temps". 


 So be on the lookout soon for some time to be spent with what one dust cover blurb  (from the apogee of the  stick-it-to-the-man  era ) referred to as " the famous pain-in-the-ass writer and critic ".  ( If the spider overlords will allow, that is ! )



Now to address the doppelgänger blog that briefly surfaced here in truncated form late last week but had to be given the hook because the blogger application was having a behaviour. I don't think it was the Supermoon's fault, Carolyn,  but if I were to crack open my PC right now it wouldn't surprise me much to find a thriving cell  of those arachno-terrorists  working their insidious sabotage therein. There's  more than one kind of software bug!

BTW - I went out in search of said moon Sunday and Monday nights and was thwarted by clouds on the former and fog on the latter. Ratz!


Since it really didn't appear here online last time, I guess for simple posterity, I should include the riddle that you guessed at from the draft version:

For dogs and cats and other creatures

Truly one of their best features

Always there to handle food

Used by humans to be rude

 

 

 

 

I can see why you would have guessed mouth but I was actually talking about tongues. The raspy ones that felines have and the slobbery ones that dogs show affection and cool off with are among their best features. Speaking of cooling off, I'm guessing that yours from last Sunday was air conditioners.

Here's one to consider for this week.

Hung to initiate a practice or profession

Dreaded in affliction form

Protective and hot in the summer

Unmarried status pronounced by drunkard

 

 

 

P.S. Very glad to hear , Carolyn, that the flow is  anything but blocked for the next Tracker installment. All that I've encountered have been highly readable and supremely character-driven.  I've experienced that gotta get it down feeling too - not nearly as often as you have and not as often as I would like for sure. Pass some along if you have extra.  Write on, dude!

 

 

Don

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



All images sourced from Google Images

 

Fig. 1 - npr.org

Fig. 2 - blog.hillcartoons.com

Fig. 3 - thisnext.com

Fig. 4 - wildshots.photoshelter.com

Fig. 5 - baynature.org

Fig. 6 - leo-and-diane-Dillon.blogspot.com

Fig. 7 - antickmusings.blogspot.com

Fig. 8 - snuzzy.com

Fig. 9 - cutcaster.com

Fig. 10 - myspace.com



Lunar Lunacy and its effects on writing

It’s here, the magnificent moment when you think you can reach out and touch the moon. Sunday night the moon will be the closest to earth this year. And because of the magnification of the atmosphere, at moon rise, the moon will appear bigger than ever before! And in fact, that would be true – it is 14% bigger than usual and much brighter.

Welcome to the perigee moon, also called the Supermoon.

Even though the moon will “exert 42% more tidal force … compared to spring tides …that coincide with the apogee next January,” it is forecast that tides won’t be exceptionally high (news.yahoo.com/supermoon-rises-weekend-night-sky…)

Amazingly, there will be webcasts of this great event. SPACE.com will be covering it with their Slooh Space Camera.  (The link button isn't working - click on this link or cut and paste it into your browser  http://www.space.com/21682-supermoon-full-moon-webcast-slooh.html).

I wonder if there will be an increase in “human activity” tonight. Of course, to the naked eye, the moon looked full Saturday night and will look full on Monday night so I wonder if this is going to be a super busy weekend for hyperactive humans. Guess I’ll read about it tomorrow.

I wonder, Don, could this have been the cause of your technical problems? Maybe Mercury is in retrograde along with the moon being at its best.

In the meantime, I’ve been finishing my Tracker story which is due for publication in August. I’m down to the last act, as Don would say. I’ve found this story to be particularly interesting to write. I have an outline, but I’m finding that it is squishy. I know the ending, but how I get there keeps changing.

I have also found that it has interfered with my activities. On Monday I ran into some situations that I couldn’t resolve. When this happens, I pull back, go walking or shopping. In this case, we took two days off  to go see the grandkids.

The questions in the story that needed to be answered presented themselves to me in the middle of the night. The answers waited until lunch the next day to present themselves – and it became imperative that I go home – even though I wrote notes, my husband could not drive fast enough. I don’t travel with my laptop, I like to take a couple of days to not be “plugged in” – I also consider it rude to work while I’m visiting. This time I should have taken it.

Talking to my husband about the insistent need to get back to the story, he asked who was in control - me or the characters? Good question. I get a bit distracted and disconnected with the world when I’m working on a story or some creative adventure. I remember that this used to happen when I was designing a new water color quilt. I think it has something to do with creativity denied. Maybe I can blame it on the moon...

Time to go – Act 3 is impatiently waiting.

Don, your riddle is good! I'm not sure, but my guess is mouth.

And for you I have:

Stirrer of Air

Loud racket or whisper soft

Needed only at certain times

Makes sleeping possible during insufferable times.

 

 

 

 

Images downloaded from Google images:

Super Moon to Rise Saturday Night/ksdk retrieved from www.ksdk.com

Super Full Moon Nasa Science retrieved from science.nasa.gov

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moon Shine and Characters Amuck!

Okay, Don, I’ll admit that the gravitational pull of the moon may not be the cause of all the strange/weird/bizarre things we encounter during the full moon. So maybe the problems are due to the effects of the light it emits? I mean, it does cause some people to become werewolves…

I read several websites that  purport that the mind has a heightened cycle of activity due to the moon’s illumination. They define mind as feelings, emotions and desires. (This is what seems to be out of control during the full moon.) Several other sites report that “moon shine” creates a super charge of hyper activity. And believe it or not, many farmers plant according to the moon’s phases. I have several friends that plant their gardens according the moon phases. And yes, their gardens do really well. Just a thought.

I was glad to hear that Chris Hadfield isn’t going to become a politician. I think we have enough of those. I understand the dilemma of figuring out what to do next. As humans, we often identify ourselves as what we do. I know a lot of teachers who have had a hard time adjusting to life after the classroom. It is nothing as fantastic as being an astronaut, but it still is what we do, and when we’re done, what should we do next? Is there anything else that effects as many people when they are at the impressionable age?

Your blurb about Dr. T. Horikawa and his recording people’s dreams using MRI was interesting.  It reminded me of Tamara’s story, Pain Free Life which we ran last month. In another light, I have to admit I don’t remember my dreams. Occasionally I’ll remember thoughts and maybe pictures, but in what context escapes me. I’m also not sure I want to remember my dreams – those  pushy few that are able to poke through my veil of unconsciousness wake me up and then I’m awake for the rest of the night.

On the subject of the subconscious, one of the questions you proposed to authors was about the characters and the plots we’re writing about and how it inserts itself into our daily lives. O’Ryan described her characters “being like a familiar movie playing in the other room.” Tamara said her characters insert themselves into her life “at unlikely times – the shower, waking up.” Zack eves drops on conversations his characters are having. He said that having characters have an authentic response was comparable to doing a 3-month calculus problem.  (He should talk to Tamara, our Dr. of Mathematics!)  Out of neglect, my characters have begun to follow me around. My main character has even been brazen enough to change her hair color. She felt blonde went better with brown eyes - more dramatic. (Of course, the truth that my youngest granddaughter "filed" my notes for me last time she was here just isn't as dynamic as a character that talks back).  I’m most likely to hear and pay attention to them when I’m doing things like the dishes (O’Ryan, Tamara and Zack said the same thing) or watering the plants – doing those things where the outside voices of the world aren’t as loud.

I say this because I’m currently working on the next installment of Tracker due to be published in August. A couple of months ago I wrote about the problems I was having with voice. This time my problem is just not being able to type fast enough.  As a writer, I guess that's an okay problem to have.

 

 

On to the Riddle Cave!

Raises you to greater heights

Enables an extended reach

Plastic steel rope aluminum

 

Sequential to progress miss one and you’re through

 

All pictures downloaded from google images:

Fig. 1 – BiH PremijerLiga 2012013. Retrieved from www.bigsoccer.com

Fig. 2 – Get Inspired – Dream Quotes. Retrieved from uwillmakeit.blogspots.com

Fig. 3 – Dreams and Reality [wall paper] Retrieved from blog.thirty3rpmprodutions.com

Fig. 4 – How many lof you are a one finger typer? Retrieved from www.sodahead.com

Other Frontiers

Hi Carolyn,



Believe me, I'd love to be able to say that all of that research  was wrong and that the full moon is the explanation for all of those strange/weird/bizarre items we've encountered - especially as educators. 

 Supposedly,  the original rationale was that just as the moon influences large bodies of water so too it affects smaller ones. The brain, being made up largely of H2O ( I know a few folks whose brains are 100% water,in fact! ) is susceptible. What seemed to get overlooked in the full moon lunacy scenario is that the gravitational pull is the same whether its a full one or not! 







So, there have been tidbits of note in the world of tomorrow this week. First item that caught my attention was the news that Chris Hadfield is retiring from the space program and moving back to Canada. This isn't a surprise since he's been at it for three decades plus. One thing I found intriguing was his mention that he's going to take a good deal of time to contemplate his  next phase  because he knows of astronauts who have struggled to adjust to life after the space program.

 

 

 

I thought this to be a strange statement at first but as I thought about it more it occurred to me that leaving the space program would probably be a major come down ( small pun intended ) since there isn't much else one could be doing that would be nearly as fantastic.  He mentioned also that he's ready to pursue interests " outside government " . This seemed a bit telling as entering politics seems to be a step that has been  taken before by retired spacemen on both sides of the 49th parallel. Another Canadian former astronaut,  Marc Garneau, recently just about became the leader of the Federal Liberal Party and a potential next Prime Minister.

Somehow Hadfield doesn't seem like he's cut from a politicians cloth, though.


Also:


Saw the first promo blurb for Act Two of the Hobbit movie ( Let's call it what it is - a three act movie. After all it was made that way.) It's not going to be out until Christmastime so prepare for five or six months of merciless teasing and enticing.







And...., back on March 13 ( coincidentally, the same entry that I yapped about Chris Hadfield's taking over as commander of the I.S.S. )  I  wondered why couldn't we replay our dreams like we do our memories. Well low and behold I ran across this item recently.

According to a recent report in Science magazine, researchers in Kyoto, led by the study's lead author, Dr. Tomoyasu Horikawa, have gotten one step closer to accurately recording people's dreams. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the research team was able to successfully record visual imagery from a group of sleeping test subjects.


Cool!



And..., I was stretching myself three ways while putting this blog item out. The Stanley Cup first game was on, and chugging into a third overtime period, and a special episode of The Colbert Report featuring Sir Paul was airing as well. I wouldn't even mention this except to carp a bit about how one of the numbers he performed was Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,  from the Sgt. Pepper album. It was originally  John Lennon's  melodic pastiche inspired by an old circus flyer he had framed in his rock star mansion. It simply didn't work  in a voice other than Lennon's.

 

 

 

I'm going to follow your lead  Carolyn and take a riddle R&R break this week. You were correct about last weeks offering. It was fingernails.

 

Don

 

 



All images sourced from Google Images

Fig. 1 - moontidepress.com
Fig. 2 - cbc.ca
Fig. 3 - o.canada.com
Fig. 4 - onlinetutblog.com
Fig. 5 - Sciencemagazine.com
Fig. 6 - tumblr.com

Lunar Effects and new books

Don, are you sure there is no connection between the full moon and strange behavior? I have classrooms full of young adults that just might prove that wrong. I've also heard that more babies are born around the full moon than any other time. I haven't had time to check that one out, though. And I question the validity of the "illusory correlation" and joint pain before the weather changes! My thumbs say otherwise!

One of our favorite astronauts is Alan Bean. We even have one of his prints. Amazing. We've looked for others, but they are a bit pricy. When we have an extra hour and don't want to be unandated with reality, we watch a series called From the Earth to the Moon, hosted by Tom Hanks. Our favorites are the episode about the building of "Spider", the Alan Bean episode, and then "Galileo Was Right" - how the astronauts were trained to be geologists. If you haven't guessed, I really miss the space / moon program.

Yesterday we went to the Estes Park Wool Market. Since our granddaughters show cashmere goats and sheep, they were up there wrangling their animals and getting them ready for show. I am totally in love with alpacas! And I was honored to be allowed to stroke an alpaca hi-bred. Their fleece, once spun and woven goes for $1000 a meter. The fleece is so fine it is like touching a cloud. I think it is the eyes of the alpacas that drew me in - so large, soft and intelligent. I wonder what they're thinking about all of us humans squiring around.

The sheep judging was interesting - the women who sat in front of us on the bleachers, sheep raisers, said that sheep were the drama queens of the animal world. After watching the judging, I would have to agree. I've never seen such drama, whining, balking! Even donkeys are better behaved!

The web designers got the latest Science Fiction Fantasy Transport 22 up on the web site Friday. Take a look! They did a real nice job! I keep asking them to add more to the page, and somehow or other, they keep finding ways to do it! This month we are showcasing Colby Elliott, one of our writers and his audio books. The web guys were able to link an audio sample of one of his books.

S.M.Baughns wrote a reality thriller that is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. It is a great blend of facts with reality. Wyf is written like a Dragnet story (don't know if you remember that TV show). Ariel's third episode is really bringing the story of Touching Lands Dance into focus. I think this book is by far her best. We also just started Lisa Manifold's story, The Search. A forensic accountant caught up in her aunt's search for home. See what I mean! Such different yet compelling stories!

Just took a step back and looked at what we've accomplished so far as a group of writers. We are at the 19th month mark of bringing great science fiction / fantasy to people.  Thank You's to the authors - we have published 5 books to date - showcased 2 more. Next month we will publish a science fiction only book. I am amazed!

Okay, Don. Bumblebee it is. And as to the May 26th riddle, you guessed it: dandelion.
My guess for yours is: finger nails.

As for a riddle from me - I'm going to pass this week. I am just coming up for air after grading the final essays for my Comp I classes. I still have 10 research papers to go - then I'm done for a couple of weeks. So, I'll get you next week, Don.

Have a great week everyone!
Carolyn

Figures 1 – 3 downloaded from google images:

Fig. 1 – Full Moon Jan 29, Wallpaper downloads retrieved from loadpaper.com

Fig 2 – Alan Bean Gallery retrieved from http://www.alanbean gallery.com

Fig 3 – Some concluding Evolutionary Mysteries retrieved from chronicle.com

Fig 4 – Touching Lands Dance created by Ariel Cinii

Full Moon Fever Buffet

Hi Carolyn,

 

 

 

Yes, I know that the title sounds like a musical tour of Tom Petty's best album to date, (and that sure wouldn't be a bad thing) but its not. I'm finishing up the whole moon theme that you initiated a few entries back.  In my web travels lately I've run into a few moon items of note - well actually about the moons effects on we earthlings. There's certainly plenty more where they came from BTW. 


 So I thought I'd assemble a small smorgasbord here. It contains one thing I said I was gonna look at last time, one thing I've always been curious about, and one thing I previously knew absolutely nothing about.

 

 

 

I mentioned briefly in the last entry that I'd downloaded a recent documentary and was going to report back on it and here we go. The title of the item is " Lunarcy" and it's a scarily apropos title, at that. This documentary deals with a number of people whose lives, one way or another, are inextricably wound around the moon. Although it handles the whole topic in a sometimes cheeky and almost irreverent manner, the conviction, commitment and in a couple of cases, absolute spiritual fervor that  these individuals exude is unmistakeable. One of them is Alan Bean, who was actually the fourth astronaut to visit the moon and it clearly colored his existence and his life direction deeply everafter. If you have the chance to rent it online or see it popping up on PBS in the near future, I'd suggest checking it out. It's relatively short and briskly paced so it won't  be a chore to consume.

 

 

 

The second item on the table concerns a question I've asked myself at various times, especially when, as a teacher, I was dealing with young humans during that seven year period known as " the teens".  Is there a link between strange behaviour and a full moon? The extensively researched  answer, it would seem, is No.

 An article in the Feb 2009 issue of Scientific American titled " Lunacy and the Full Moon " does a very succinct and effective job of debunking what the authors referred to as " an astronomical and psychological urban legend ". It also introduced me to what researchers have dubbed  (and what will probably become my next " term du jour " ) -  "illusory correlation". It's refers to our tendency to see associations where none exist. The example given was of those folks with joint pain who claim that it is amplified by rainy weather. I can think of a few too. In fact, I think a good deal of all advertising pivots on peoples ability to make associations that have no basis in logic at all.  If you want some more interesting reading you can find it at the Scientific American site.

Finally, in the process of wading about in all this moon-a-phenalia I found out about the Full Moon Party. This isn't a wacko political organization but rather a beach party that goes down on the night of the full moon.  It started in 1985 in Haad Rin on the Island of Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand and has slowly grown into a fairly large scale phenomenon attended by roughly 20 to 30 thousand partiers each month - mostly westerners.  The British Government, as the Wikipedia article notes, "has officially warned tourists who attend to exercise caution ". It seems that burns and cuts from broken beer bottles and various smoking materials are part and parcel of the whole experience. I wonder if this kind of behaviour could be a corollary  of that "illusory correlation" thing we just heard about. Anyhow, if you know of anyone thinking of attending, here's the schedule for what our British cousins would probably have nicknamed a colossal monthly " piss-up".   

 

 

 

Anyhow, after this little trip to the moon and what it's shown me I can only fall back on Spock's trademark utterance in response - " Fascinating ".

 

 

 

 



How bout some minor lunacy of a milder nature here - i.e. riddles.

So Carolyn, re. your previous entry of May 26, this is the second time that you've left me with a riddle and not given me the answer.  What unfathomable torment!!  My last one was Pride and I'm guessing that your riddle from last week was Bumblebees. Here's another:

 

Painted or plain

Chewed but not swallowed

 Communicate impatience

With a rat-a-tat-tat

 

 

Don

 

 

 

All images retrieved from Google Images

 

Fig. 1 - aktisticmusic.co.uk

Fig. 2 - sphinxproductions.com

Fig. 3 - scientificamerican.com

Fig. 4 - sickchirpse.com

Fig. 5 - cosmicintelligenceagency.com

 

 

Imperial Fighters, Interplanetary Internet and Subscriptions

You'll notice a subscription form on the right - I thought I'd start a Now and Then Newsletter to let readers know what is going on behind the scenes at Wormhole Electric. I'll pass on news about the authors, what is coming up next, advance notice of specific sales... and as always, I'm looking for comments from readers - what do you want to read next? What are you curious about? What thoughts are tickling the burners of your imagination? As always, you can opt out of the Newsletter is you so desire. But if you do leave, please let me know if it is something we at Wormhole have done wrong.

Don, I heard the Imperial fighter sound too and thought I was going nuts! Glad you cleared that up for me. I was wondering about some of the visuals, again, thought I’d seen them somewhere before, but I was so engrossed in the movie that I didn’t give it much thought. I’ve always felt that those “easter eggs” as you call them were for people who were bored with the movie. It’s kind of like people notice the kind of socks you’re wearing only if they’re bored with what you’re saying or what is happening around them.

I got a great list of what has been happening space wise from Sean Ludwig’s “A year after SpaceX’s first major launch, space exploration has never been hotter” article. I guess I’ve not really thought through all the things that have to be in place so we can go out into the final frontier. I’ve always known that space suits, water and radiation protection were important, but I never considered “interplanetary Internet” connections. According to NASA, the connection is “good to go”. And warp drive is being considered, but from all the articles I’ve read lately, it is not possible the way Star Trek does it.

You asked a great question, Don: Who’s Moon is it, anyhow? Some of the most recent stuff that has come out is suggesting that maybe it is time for a private space race. Not one between nations, but a race supported by private companies – a commercial race for the brass ring – the moon. Since Obama decided that we, as a nation, needed to turn our attention to Mars and mining asteroids, private industry is starting to pick up the slack between us and Mars. No matter how we get there, having some type of base on the moon will make it a lot easier to jump further out into space. Corporations are going to end up owning the moon. At least there isn’t an eco-system as we know it on the moon for the corps to destroy in their haste to be top dog.

Do you remember the Invisible Man and the cloaking device of the Klingons? Guess what? A biotech company out of British Columbia has actually created a fabric called Quantum Stealth that bends light waves without the use of batteries, mirrors or cameras. Interestingly enough, it even blocks infrared and thermal scans. Not sure I want to see that go public – or “not see” which is the better way to say it. Star Trek sure caused a lot of young minds to question why not. Wonder what is tickling the brain cells of this new generation.

Pine needles – at least I was kind of close. Haven’t the foggiest about your latest. My original thoughts are alcoholic drinks – being drunk? Is this going to be another head slap?

For you – I’ve rolled out:

Short stubby wings

It shouldn’t fly

It visits bright colored places

Bags packed yellow

It returns home
 

 

ADVERT:

I just finished putting the last editing touches on Transport 22 and sent it off to the web developers. It looks like a great addition to our Transport collection. We are introducing Lisa Manifold as a new to Wormhole Electric writer. She's completed a full length novel that we'll carry monthly for the next 6 months. Next month we are putting out another book! Science Fiction at its Best! It will have just the top sci-
fi stories we've published over the last 2 years. I have been reading them and catching more of the grammar/punctuation mistakes and I have to admit - these stories are brilliant!

And like I said at the top, sign up for our Now and Then Newsletter! Use the form on the right to receive inside news from Wormhole and it's authors.