Election Day Sale

Several years ago, I started having Election Day sales for my collection of short stories of a political nature, Political Pies.  For the last few sales, I’ve also included a few other of my books.  The main reason I do this is it’s me doing a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny part of hopefully getting people to vote.  The idea being you can download some of my books for free so you have something to read while you stand in line to vote.  It’s not much, but hopefully it does someone, somewhere, some good. 

There are those who think politicians should be the ones who decide who wins elections and not the voters.  The only way to defeat them is for “We the people” to vote in overwhelming numbers and show them that that is not how American democracy is supposed to work.  So if you live someplace where – often because of their interference – there is a long line to vote, grab any of these books that look interesting, and make sure your phone and/or Kindle is fully charged.  Then get in line, stay in line, and make your voice heard.  Democracy depends on it.

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The following ebooks will be free to download from Friday November 4th, through Election Day on Tuesday November 8th.

Political Pies

Everybody complains about politics, but does anyone do anything about it? My attempt to do something about it is to collect forty of my short stories with a political element into my Political Pies anthology. The stories are either politically neutral or equally condemning of the national parties. Instead of trying to sway you to one ideology or another, my goal is to just get people thinking about politics in the hopes a rose might grow out of all the political manure.

A Man of Few Words

A Man of Few Words is a collection of fifty of my flash fiction stories. What would really happen if a “T-Rex on steroids” attacked a city? Why do science fiction writers make the best lovers? How does a company get to Second Base with VIPs? I explore these questions and more using less than 1,000 words and in various genres from humor to horror and general fiction to science fiction.

The majority of the stories were previously published (most on my website) but all were revised for this collection. In addition, each piece is accompanied by some background information on the origin of the story or a funny tale about the writing of it to give a fuller experience.

The Future is Coming

As a science fiction writer, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how technology will change the way we live. I’ve come up with these ten short essays about science fictional elements that will – almost certainly – one day become science fact as a way for people to start coming to terms with them. Because I’ve spent time thinking about clones and AIs, I feel I’ll be okay when they do finally show up whereas most people will probably freak out. I hope these essays will get people to start thinking about the future because, no matter what we do, the future is coming.

Duty

For reasons of safety and avoiding paradoxes, Time Travel Incorporated assigns a Guardian to all its travelers. So when there is an accident during political historian Roj Hasol’s trip back to 1968, it’s his Guardian Susan who sets out on the arduous task of cleaning up the mess.

Seventh Story Stockpile

Over the years, I’ve posted several short stories on websites that later – for one reason or another – died. While the corpses of some of these sites are still around where you can read the stories, many have vanished from the internet. And since there are few sites that will publish such previously published works, the only way you could read them was if I self-published them in a collection.

In addition to such “lost” stories, I’ve included some new stories that – for one reason or another – I felt I’d have a hard time finding someone to publish them. So Seventh Story Stockpile basically contains stories I didn’t know what else to do with.

Short story – “Tricked”

“Tricked”

When her doorbell rang, Mable shuffled towards the door.  She opened it to see a young man dressed as a pirate, and a kid dressed in a full-body Minion outfit from those movies her grandkids loved so much.  The Minion held out a pumpkin bucket and in a soft, muffled voice said, “Trick or treat.”

“Aren’t you adorable,” Mable said with a smile.  “And what’s your name?”

The Minion pulled the bucket back a bit, but didn’t answer.

The pirate patted him on the head and said, “Billy.  He’s just a little shy.”

“I have a grandson that’s the same way.” Mable chuckled as she dropped a handful of mini candy bars into the bucket.

“What do you say?” the pirate asked.

“Thank you,” came the soft, muffled voice.

“You’re very welcomed, Billy,” Mable said.

The pirate smiled and told Mable, “Have a Happy Halloween.”

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Out on the sidewalk, in his regular voice Bill said, “I can’t believe you talked me into this.”

Tom, the pirate, replied, “Hey, we split the candy and I’ll buy you a beer later.”

“This is so humiliating.”

Tom smacked his shoulder.  “You brought a smile to an old lady’s face.  Because of that will they kick you out of the Little People Society?” After a moment, Tom gave an evil grin.  “I know they have short fuses, but come on.”

Bill stopped and looked up at Tom for a moment.  Lifting the bucket he stated, “For every short joke you tell tonight, I’m taking a piece of your candy.”

Tom nodded.  “I guess that’s a small price to pay.”

“That’s two,” Bill told him.

Putting his arm around Bill, Tom said, “Well then, we’re going to have to hit a lot of houses for me to get any candy tonight.”

They walked to the next house with Bill muttering words children shouldn’t use.  

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This story was written in 2015 on a site that I no longer post to.  I recently remembered it, and I decided to revise and repost it.  I don’t really remember the origin of this story, which is probably for the best.

A disturbing thought about Putin

This began when I was thinking about that glorious day when a judge bangs their gavel and Trump is sentenced to prison for … whichever crime he’s committed in the past forty years they finally get him on.  And I figured that Trump wouldn’t take well to prison to the point would he offer details on any deal he had with Putin for a lighter sentence.  Given Putin’s history of assassinating political opponents, he wouldn’t have an issue taking out someone planning on squealing.  And let’s be honest, even if the bullet was engraved with “Love Vlad,” and the shooter was caught on tape, in the act, and immediately did a “Heil Putin,” or whatever, the magats would figure that it was really Antifa who killed their beloved leader and they just might start that civil war they’re always talking about.

All of that was disturbing, but then another possibility came to my mind.  Let’s say that Putin’s little war wasn’t going that well.  He could go nuclear, but that might be too difficult to coverup.  He could go biological or chemical, but it might help if there was some … distraction in the West so that his latest war crime isn’t the top story in the news.  And the mass unrest after the assassination of a controversial figure could be just the thing he would need.

To be clear, I am not calling for the assassination of Trump.  I want him to live out the rest of his miserable life in prison.  I would say maybe Putin could be his cellmate, but I seriously expect that it’s only a matter of time before Putin is “accidently” shot – in the back of the head – while “resisting” arrest.

Random Story – Stupid smoke detector

This is just an odd little story from my life.

My first apartment was in this old house that had been split up into six or seven apartments.  My door was on the second floor, but it opened to a set of stairs that went up to the third floor which was all mine.  A few months after I moved in, I got a crappy midnight-to-eight job at a convenience store.  I’m a bit of a night owl, so the hours didn’t really bother me.  Except during the summer.  I didn’t have air conditioning and, since I sleep best when it’s dark, I had thick curtains over my windows so I couldn’t get a breeze and my bedroom became a little oven.  Also, it seemed there were times when I would just be about to fall asleep and some neighbor would decide to mow their yard. 

Anyway, one day I’m about to fall asleep when I hear a faint chirp.  This repeats a few times, and then I realize it’s a low battery alarm on a smoke detector.  I got up and check my smoke detector, but it was fine.  I figured it was a downstair neighbor’s, who probably wouldn’t be home from work for three or four hours.  So I went back to bed, but this chirp was just loud enough to be heard, which means I’d be drifting off to sleep and then every twenty seconds or whatever I’d be jerked back awake wondering, “What was that?”

I eventually managed to sleep, and when I woke up I didn’t hear it anymore.  I went to work, and the next day I was going to bed when I heard it start chirping again.  So I was rather pissed wondering why this neighbor hadn’t replaced the battery.  I went down to the second floor and listened outside doors trying to figure out who it was, so I knew who to leave a note for.  But I couldn’t hear it.  I was a bit confused, but when I went to go back up to my apartment, I heard it again: coming from my apartment.  For the fourth or so time, I checked my smoke detector, but it was fine.  I then went to each room and listened, and I eventually found the source.

As I said, this was an old house that had rather high ceilings.  Well, whenever they updated the heating system, they had run the ducts just under the old ceiling and hung a drop ceiling to cover it all up.  What they also covered up was an old smoke detector just outside my bedroom door.  It had been there for, who knows how many years, until the battery finally died and ruined two days of sleep for me.

Voting is the answer

We are forty-two days away from what may be one of the most important elections in American history.  The reason why is because we have one party that believes the people should decide the outcome of elections, but they are opposed by … basically a cult who believe that politicians should be the ones who decide the outcome of elections.  And if they lose it has to be because the other side cheated, and not because they suck at their jobs and the people fired them.  The best way to stop these wannabe dictators is to show up and vote them out.  And hopefully, the other wannabe dictators in their cult will get the message.

To do that, we need as many people as possible to vote November 8.  Midterms usually have a low turnout, but that generally favors the cult.  If you are legally able to vote, you need to vote.  So make a plan.  Depending on what state you live in, you may still be able to register to vote for this election.  Your state website should have the details on how to register and any deadlines.  If you are registered, you may what to check that your registration is still active.  The voter rolls need to be updated as people die and move, but sometimes the people updating the rolls get overzealous and remove people that shouldn’t be removed.  If you check now – your state website should have details on this as well, but if not there are other reputable websites – and find a problem, you can fix it now instead of finding out on Election Day.

So you’re registered to vote, now what?  Find out where your polling place is.  Find out what all will be on the ballot.  Elections for governor and senator get all the news, but what about school boards and ballot questions that aren’t always worded in the clearest fashion.  Make a plan to vote.  Do you live somewhere with early voting?  Can you vote before going to work, or after work, or will your employer be okay if you take a long lunch?  What will the weather be like?  Will you need an umbrella or sun screen?  Will there likely be a line to vote?  Make sure your phone is fully charged, or take a book.  If there’s usually an outrageously long time to wait, can you take a folding chair or a cooler with snacks and water? 

America can only work if the citizens take an active role in the government.  And there are factions in the country deeply opposed to that.  They don’t want you to vote.  They want you to stay home and take whatever they give you.  Fuck them.  Vote.

Thoughts on the Artemis Program

As a moon firster who sees returning to the moon as the first step to making humanity a spacefaring civilization, I must be thrilled with the … possibly soon launch of the SLS.  Right?  Well, I’ve always been lukewarm towards the Artemis Program.  And I think the main reason is the SLS.  Don’t get me wrong, the SLS is a fantastic, gorgeous rocket and everyone who worked on it should be proud, and I do have the primal “Big Rocket Cool” feeling.  But I think the SLS is the wrong way to get to where I want humanity to go.

They say that the SLS will send the next person to the moon, which is nice, but I don’t want just a couple of people bouncing around on the moon.  I want a permanently crewed base which grows into a colony.  Yes, being alive when people are on the moon will be great, but I’d much rather be alive when the first human is born on the moon.  And this one mission every year – maybe – doesn’t seem to be the best way to go about that.

Over the last decade or so, my view of big rockets has dimmed.  Yes, “Big Rocket Cool,” but I’ve started thinking that we could probably achieve more using the “small” rockets we have than waiting years, or decades, for the big rockets.  Like, it’s tough accurately comparing rockets with how much they can launch and at what price, but let’s say the SLS will launch 10X what a Falcon 9 can launch.  But for the price of one SLS, you could probably buy two or three Falcon 9s and launch each of them ten or fifteen times.  Even if you just launch one Falcon 9 a month, you could easily get more mass into space in the year(s) between SLS launches. 

If everything goes as planned, the next humans to land on the moon will happen in 2025 with Artemis III.  That would be fantastic.  But the next landing would be Artemis V in 2028, maybe.  And who knows how many missions there will be beyond that.  Just given the costs, I expect the SLS to fly fewer times than the Saturn V.  And you can’t have a permanently crewed base – let alone a colony – with so few flights.  What I expect is that other entities will have separate, more sustainable programs that will take far more people to the moon.  That path of lunar exploration is what excites me.  Like, these other programs will be the featured movie while the Artemis Program will be the five-minute cartoon at the beginning of it.  Still entertaining, but not the main attraction. 

A fun idea for a moon mission

Lately, I’ve been doing some thinking on what I would do if I had money to burn.  There’s a long list of things I’d do that could be done with a million dollars or so.  But I started thinking what if I had a billion to burn.  And I figured that one thing I’d do would be to privately fund a robotic lunar program.  I am a big supporter of humans returning to the moon to stay, and if I had the money what could I do to help further that goal.  This is what I came up with.

This is the ideal program, but I’m not sure if a private citizen would be able to do part of it.  I’ll get to that.  This program would consist of three types of landers (I’ll call them A, B, and C) all landing in the same area.  There’d be four or five As, as many or more Bs, and one C.  The Bs – and probably the Cs – would all be identical, but the As might have some slight design differences.  In the super ideal program, we’d just keep building these and sending new sets to do science at various locations on the lunar surface. 

So what science would be done?  The A Landers would land and scoop up a large amount of regolith.  It would then mix this with some binding agent and 3D print a … brick.  Well, three bricks.  This first set would probably be the solid bricks we’re used to, but later sets would probably contain voids to minimize the material needed.  And there could be sets with raw regolith, and another set where the regolith is ground to make the particles more uniform.  Further A Landers could have some other processing element, or would use a different binding agent.  I don’t know exactly how much mass could be landed, but each A Lander may only be able to print a dozen or so bricks.

A B Lander would land nearby and two bricks from each set would be loaded into a return capsule.  This would be launched back to Earth where scientists could study the bricks.  The reason you’d want at least two of each type is so you could do destructive testing on one of them.  Depending on how reliable the return capsule is, you might want to only put one brick from a set in each.  And depending on how much mass can be returned, you could also send plain regolith or rock samples back to Earth.

How would these bricks be loaded into the return capsule?  That’s the job of the C Landers, which would be rovers.  Ideally, these would be RTG powered, but I don’t know if a private citizen could buy an RTG, so these rovers might need to be done in a partnership with NASA.  Besides loading the bricks, these rovers could do their own research.  But the reason they need to be RTG powered is so that they can survive for long periods of time so that they check up on the bricks that are left on the moon.  These would be left out and the rover would come by once a month or so and take photos to see how they are standing up to the lunar day/night cycle.  I see the four or five A Landers all landing within ten kilometers of each other.  Once the rover works out a path between all of them, it could just drive itself.  Or, I guess it could move the remaining bricks all to one location and just come back to it after doing its other explorations.  I suppose you could even make a D lander that would just bring more binding agent the rover could take to refill the A Landers. 

The more you think about it, the more ways there are to do things.  But why do this?  Even with gigantic, reusable rockets, it will still costs a lot of money to launch stuff off Earth and land it on the moon.  A lander that prints a structure using regolith will be able to make a larger structure than would have fit on whatever rocket launched that lander.  Yes, the first lunar base will have structures built on Earth, but the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to expand that base will be with lunar bricks.  And while some have made bricks on Earth using simulated lunar regolith, nobody has built bricks on the moon to see how they stand up.  Maybe after a dozen day/night cycles the unprocessed regolith bricks start to flake, which would be good to know before we start building a base from them.

So that’s what I’d do if I had money to burn on a space project.  It’s not flashy, it’s not inspiring, but it would bring us that much closer to being a spacefaring civilization.