UFOs

It's all over the Nets that more strange lights were spotted over Phoenix again. By strict definition, these are UFOs...Unidentified Flying Objects...however, that does not mean that they are aliens visiting us from another star system.

I have several problems with UFO's. First of all, our radio signals have only propagated about 50-60 light years into our galaxy, which on the galactic scale is not very far. Statistically speaking, the odds are fairly low that there are any intelligent civilizations that close. There could be, but it's not likely. So, why would aliens be here?

In America, southern Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico have the highest percentage of UFO sightings. It's probably not a coincidence that this is also where a lot of top secret research is done by the American military. Many years ago there were pictures of strange objects that were spotted throughout this area...many people claimed these were conclusive evidence of aliens visiting Earth. Then we had the first Gulf War, and we all got to see the stealth bomber, and guess what, it looks EXACTLY like the pictures that showed conclusive proof of aliens visiting us.

Why would aliens come to Earth and not make contact, but make it obvious that they're here with all of their lights flashing and moving in our skies...

...oh yeah, the lights. Why in the hell would an interstellar spacecraft need lights???? Especially the big gaudy lights that we see on these UFOs. Space is huge. Even if there are thousands of civilizations out there, the idea that they would need lights so they don't bump into each other is absurd. Plus, at relativistic speeds, flashing lights aren't going to help a whole hell of a lot when you suddenly see a ship approaching.

Although I do think it's likely that there is some kind of alien life out there, until I see proof that they've actually visited, and I mean real scientific proof, I won't believe it. Sorry, but I'm a rationalist, I have to have evidence...just like I don't believe in ghosts, gods, or the Loch Ness Monster...I don't believe in little green men...

Happy Earth Day!

Personally, I think every day should be Earth Day. I think we're destroying this planet, and we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Whether you believe global climate change is real or not, I think most of you would agree that we have done a lot to damage this planet...and ourselves. Certainly some forms of pollution are having an adverse effect on humanity.

However, one thing that bugs me more than corporate polluters is hypocritical Hollywood types that show up one day a year trying to tell me how I should care more about the planet...like they do...

WHAT??? In this video, Lewis Black calls them on it...

Forgive Men Their Trespasses

My story Forgive Men their Trespasses has just been picked up by Afterburn SF. The story is set in the same universe as my novel The Opium of the People, but it's a stand-alone story set in Denver.

This will be my first appearance in Afterburn...and it's always nice to get a publication in a new zine.

Order The Opium of the People

For Joe

Like me, Joe was a cycling fanatic. We'd watch the Versus coverage of the races, and then e-mail each other and discuss the race. Even through all of the doping scandals, we were both hardcore fans.

So, these videos are a tribute to Joe's passion for cycling...





It won't be the same watching this season's races without you buddy. You'll be missed.........

Mortality sucks

Early Tuesday morning, my friend Joe lost his battle with cancer. I got the news while I was at work tonight, and I'm still stunned. Joe had been my supervisor at my real job several years ago, but we quickly became friends. He was one of the few people I'd ever met who was actually a cycling fan...most people just stare at me with dumb expressions on their face whenever I talk about the sport. He was a super nice guy, and a bit of a smart ass, which fits my wise cracking personality really well.

He was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, and he vowed to fight it like Lance Armstrong had fought his, but unfortunately, this time the cancer was too strong.

He was actually three years younger than me, so that's a slap in the face for me, and he was also very health-conscious, which just shows you that cancer can get anyone.

The worst part of all of this is that he had two young boys. I believe they were eight and four, and now they have to grow up without their father.

A sad day, a sad day indeed...........

If you were going to a Con...

...what kind of panels would you like to see?

Every year, MileHiCon asks its participants to suggest ideas for panels. This is one of the reasons why I love this Con, the participants get a lot of input into what's going on.

So, like I did last year, I thought I'd open it up to fans of speculative fiction and ask them what kind of panels they'd like to see.

So, how about it?

Still here

I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that I was still around. We're having a massive sale at the "real" job, and it has meant a lot of hard hours for me...so that's pretty much been the story of my life lately.

I've gotten some work done on Ephemeris the RPG, but not as much as I'd like, and I've gotten some editing done, but not as much as I'd like.

I did agree to help edit an anthology from Sam's Dot called Infradead. We'd started this project about a year and a half ago, but we didn't get much of a response...mostly because Tyree wanted novellas. We're going to re-open in May to submissions, but we're going to drop the lower word limit significantly, which should bring in some submissions. Obviously I'm quite crazy considering I already have so many projects going on. My girlfriend commented that as long as I was enjoying myself, there's nothing wrong with adding more to my plate...I then informed her that it wasn't so much a plate as a buffet.

I spent yesterday at the dentist watching them pull one of her wisdom teeth. All I can say is that I certainly can imagine more torture scenes for future books. Dentistry hasn't evolved much since the dark ages...

Hunted

The new issue of Tales of the Talisman features my short story "Hunted." This is a story that I've re-worked again and again for many many years, and now it's finally found a home.

It's not exactly one of my deepest stories, since I'd classify it as space opera...but that stuff can be fun to write too.

The Magenta Equations

My short story, The Magenta Equations, has been picked up by Allegory E-Zine. This will be my second appearance in this zine. They also published my story Entropy a while back.

Open forum

I should be posting more, but I don't have a lot to say right now...so I'll open this blog up as an open forum. Feel free to ask me questions...

An interview with me

Robert E. Porter, who is a frequent visitor to this blog, recently interviewed me for his LiveJournal. We talk politics, environmentalism, editing, and writing. I always like doing these interviews, especially when the questions are not your typical run of the mill variety.

You can read the interview by going to http://bearleyport.livejournal.com.

I've been Kindled

Two of my titles are now available for the Amazon.com electronic reader...the Kindle...

My new short story collection, Seedlings on the Solar Winds can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Seedlings-on-the-Solar-Winds/dp/B00166YE3Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1206038448&sr=1-3

And my novel, The Opium of the People can be found at http://www.amazon.com/The-Opium-of-the-People/dp/B00166YE0O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1206038448&sr=1-1.

I've heard a lot of people comment that the Kindle is the best e-reader they've ever seen. I myself can't afford one at this time...but maybe in the future...although I've always really liked the feel of a book in my hand.

Arthur C. Clarke

I've just learned that Science Fiction Giant Arthur C. Clarke has passed away.

If you want to read a brief article, click here.

Clarke was a good novelist, but he was a brilliant short story writer. And let's not forget that he and Stanley Kubrick created 2001: A Space Oddyssey...still, in my opinion, the greatest science fiction movie ever.

It's over

The vacation has come to an end. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. I have to be back at the day job. I know I've said this before, but I really think it's time that I start looking for something else. The sense of dread that I'm feeling right now is more overwhelming than anything I've ever felt before. I don't want to go back!

The owner of the company is a great guy, and I wish there was something else I could be doing for him, but where I'm at right now makes me hate life. I know I'm capable of so much more than what I'm doing, I just have to decide to go out and find something else.

Now I have to try to go to bed so I can wake up and go waste my day tomorrow doing something I shouldn't be doing...

A Problem with A Problem in Translation

I just put the finishing touches on what I'm hoping will be the final revisions for what was supposed to be my new novel A Problem in Translation. Unfortunately, the story is just too short. It comes in around 60,000 words, which makes it more of a novella as opposed to a novel. As most writers know, a novella is very hard to market. So, I've created a real uphill battle for myself.

The story is so tightly spun with events leading into one another rapidly that I really can't find a way to expand on it without completely destroying the flow...

The Game

We now have a name for the game...it's Ephemeris. If you're actually interested in the game, here's the first draft for the introduction page of the first rule book...

The year is 2185. The human race has gone to the stars, and found that they’re not alone. Local space is teeming with civilizations, some hostile, some friendly, and some indifferent. This is the universe of Ephemeris.

Ephemeris is a game of galactic trade and galactic conquest; of inter-species conflict and cooperation. Ephemeris is a science fiction role playing game. Here you will be able to take on the role of your favorite alien species and your favorite class. You will be able to trade, fight, negotiate, conquer, whatever you’d like to do with your fellow players. You can play the role of an Althani Trader, or maybe an Arbonix Cyber Wizard, or maybe even a Human Nanist. You can create a party made up entirely of one species and set out to upset the trade routes of a rival species. Or maybe you want to create a party with a variety of races that prey upon the trading routes of the various civilizations. Or maybe you want to explore the ancient ruins on long dead planets, ruins that clearly show that there were other species roaming the spaceways in the past...but where are they now? You can fight in great wars, negotiate grand peace treaties, explore sections of the galaxy that no sentient has ever explored. Or maybe your party has joined with one of the interplanetary corporations; corporations whose motives are never entirely clear. These are just some of the possibilities open to you.

The universe of Ephemeris is yours to do with as you please. What you now hold in your hands are the basic guidelines for the games. Here you’ll find the races, classes, abilities, skills, weapons, and ships that allow you to create your own Ephemeris universe.

Now, step inside for the greatest science fiction adventure you’ve ever been on…


If you're interested in following the development of the game, we've set up a MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/ephemerisrpg.

Vacation!

I am officially on vacation from the dreaded day job! One solid week just for me!

I'm going to spend Wednesday morning and early afternoon catching up on some small odds and ends. Then that night my girlfriend's oldest daughter has her birthday party. So it will be Chuck E Cheese with a bunch of first graders.

I'm going to spend Thursday doing nothing. I hardly ever do that, so I think I've earned it. I'll probably just watch lots of Babylon 5. I loved that show!!!

For the last five days, I'm going to really try to get some work done. I want to finish the revisions on A Problem in Translation and then start the revisions on (working title) Red Moon Rising. I'm also going to put in some serious hours working on the RPG.

Yes, it's a working vacation, but it's doing the work that I actually want to do...what could be better than that?

A sad day for geeks

Apparently Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax has died at the age of 69. He was apparently in bad health after suffering multiple strokes and heart attacks.

D&D is basically responsible for all of the RPGs that came later, and has given me many hours of enjoyment over the years.

If I can find more information, I'll post it...

Whatifers

Tyree Campbell of Sam's Dot Publishing has posted a rant...er...a commentary on the current election situation here in America. You can read his rant...er...commentary in his Tuppence at The Fifth Di...

Tyree, much like me, is arguing that the Democrats and Republicans no longer represent the people of America, and that it's time for us to take back our government. Like me, Tyree is arguing that we should be voting for third party candidates...and before anyone says it's just throwing away our vote, if enough people do it, we can send a wake up call to the powers that are, letting them know that the people want change (and not Obama change). Already at local levels third party candidates are becoming a force, and we now need to take this to the national level.

I agree with much of Tyree's rant...er...commentary, except that I disagree with voting Reform or Libertarian. I say vote Green all the way!

The Green Party

An Amazon review

Marva Dasef posted an Amazon review of Seedlings on the Solar Winds. She really seemed to enjoy the book.

Cyberpunk? Really? I'll have to give that some thought...