The Phoenix has landed

I just watched the coverage on NASA TV of the Phoenix landing in the northern polar region of Mars. It was mostly just telemetry data, but it was still pretty cool. The probe will be doing a lot of things while on Mars, but of course, the most exciting is that it will be searching for water and evidence of past or current life in that water...and of course, the polar regions are where a lot of Mars' water is locked up.

For more on the mission, here's a video from NASA

Engagement pics

I thought my regular readers might want to see pics from the big engagement. The close-up of the ring didn't come out...unfortunately.

I'm Engaged

That's right folks, the guy who swore off women a little more than a year ago is now engaged. I popped the question to Rebecca tonight, and she was crazy enough to say yes.

We're planning a May of 2009 wedding...and I can't wait!!!

Odd news story

The headline reads: "'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks." Yes, it's a real story. To read the whole thing, go to... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/ap_on_fe_st/odd_britain_vader_raider;_ylt=AmY..tVLx4UoPL6O4TJ2.RehOrgF

A meme

I posted this on my LiveJournal, but I thought I'd post it here as well...for anyone who might be interested...

Recently, mmerriam posted a meme that I thought was pretty cool. I've been meaning to do his, but I've been a bit brain dead lately...so hopefully I will soon.

All you have to do is cut and paste the questions below into the comments and fill in the blanks with whatever you want, and then I'll try to answer the best that I can in a new post...


1. What do you think of _____________ ?

2. When did you last ____________?

3. __________ or ___________ and why?

4. What did you ______________?

5. What's your favorite ______________?

6. How would you ______________?

7. Who would you most like to ________ ?

The Magenta Equations at Allegory

My story, The Magenta Equations, has been posted at Allegory. This is what I would consider somewhat of a hard SF story, although the hard science I used was psychology, which makes for an interesting twist.

Also, the idea of hyperspace and madness is something that plays a big role in the RPG I'm helping to create...Ephemeris. It's always interesting how these things tie together.

Enjoy the story.

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...