Finally!

The package I was waiting for arrived. Over on my other blog, 25 Years Ago..., I'm doing a 25th anniversary retrospective review of the 3rd edition D&D game. I finally got the September purchase order in, so I'm working on the review of the 3.0 Dungeon Master's Guide.

The nice thing about this is that I got a 1st printing DMG. It is a sweet deal, although it means errata is necessary to keep it updated. Still, I can't complain. There were some other things in the package as well, which I'll discuss in later posts on that blog.

I was supposed to get this package two days ago, but FedEx is a pain. They told me they 'tried' to delivery the package on Monday, but they didn't bother letting me know where the package actually was, so I spent two days hunting for it. Talk about frustration.

Ah, well. What's done is done, and it's nice to finally have it.

Some horrible news from south of the border as Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an open-air forum at a Utah university campus. Prayers go out to his family, who were there when it happened and were with him when he died in the hospital. It's insane to think about how far political discourse has deteriorated in the 21st century. I'm worried that this will touch off a wave of political violence, possibly escalating into a full-blown civil war. After all, wars have started with less provocation than an assassination.

I avoid talking about politics on this blog because I get enough of that on different websites, and I wanted to keep this clear from all of that. But something like this makes my blood boil, and I can't stay silent. I'm not going to turn this blog into the Huffington Post or Rebel News, though. I just hope people can start thinking before they act before we see even more violence and death. We are supposed to be civilized, people. We need to act like it.

And now, back to baking...

A to Z Blogging Challenge

I wanted to do this before, but always forgot to sign up. This time, I remembered.

So, the A to Z Blogging Challenge is simple: During the Month of April, I'm going to blog every weekday and Saturday, with topics all related to a theme. And each topic will be starting with a different letter of the alphabet.

There's a sign-up list for this at this site for those who are interested in joining up. Candidly, I'm hoping that I'll get more blog traffic from people who are sharing this challenge, and maybe get some new readers out of the deal.

So, what's my theme? Writing, obviously, but more specifically, the World of Meterra. Okay, it's more like a small region than a world, but it counts. My theme is going to be both writing-based and gaming-based, since Meterra is more than just a setting for my writing, it's my homebrew gaming setting for D&D. I'm going to blog about twenty-six features, creatures or characters from Meterra, alphabetical from A to Z. My Sunday blogging, if I continue it, can be on anything; Sundays aren't part of the challenge.

I'm looking forward to this challenge; I've been wanting to do it for a while. And it will motivate me to get another Meterra book written, which is important, too. I've got two of them so far: Arrival and The Devil's Playground. I plan to write quite a few more, and I do have a couple started but in limbo. Time to dust them off and get back to work.

So, this should be a fun month of blogging, and I hope to see more of you in the future.

Our First Hurricane

Well, that was certainly exciting. We got to experience a rare weather event here on the island, an event rare enough that even few Islanders have experienced it before. Apparently, Fiona was the most intense storm PEI has seen in a long, long time. By the grace of God, we came through it very well, especially compared to some other places on the island.

We spent three days getting ready; we moved all the chickens and bunnies into the barn, closed off the pig pen to the outside, gave them all lots of food and water to last them at least a full day. We moved every loose item we could find indoors, using an old, rusted freezer and a bunch of logs to keep the back door of the garage closed against the 192-km/hr wind gusts that hit us Friday night and Saturday morning. We harvested as much as we could from the garden, including tomatoes, squash, celery, and more. The potatoes weren't a concern; they're underground anyway. The corn, sadly, is no more; the winds flattened the entire crop, so that's two years in a row that we get no corn from the garden. Better luck next year.

So, Friday night was a hunkering-down time. The animals were checked once more, and as I was coming in for the last time I saw a rainbow off to the northeast, where the storm was coming from. I felt an incredible peace at the sight; that was God, assuring us that He's got this in hand, and we would be safe. I went in to grab my phone to take a picture, but by the time I got back outside, the sun had dipped below the horizon just enough, and the rainbow was gone.

So, the doors were locked and the praying began. The winds picked up here around nine o'clock, and by midnight it was like nothing we've ever experienced before. The rain pounded on the back of the house, but I checked the basement several times, as well as the attic, and there were no leaks, thankfully. We stayed nice and dry. The power went out around one or two in the morning; I was asleep then; Honeybunny had woken up and was downstairs. She came up as the house was shaking from the force of the winds, and woke us all up and said we should all be down in the living room for safety.

It wasn't comfortable, but it was for the best. We all stayed there and tried to sleep; some more successfully than others. By the time morning came, the winds were still pounding, but the dim daylight made things seem much better.

That's when we saw what the storm had done to our farm. The trees in the front were practically denuded of their lighter branches (and some bigger ones); the yard, which we had just cleaned up the day before, was full of sticks again. The worst was the barn; the doors, which we had finally repaired and closed in anticipation of the storm, were broken; one of them was hanging with just a single panel remaining, the others having snapped off. There was a piece of translucent plastic on the roof to let light in that had torn and partly broken off as well. A few trees in the back came down, and as I mentioned, the corn was flattened.

Amazingly, though, that was all the damage we suffered. The barn door is the biggest headache; we need that fixed before winter sets in. But other than that, there wasn't much else to worry about. I rebuilt the outdoor coop today for the meat birds, who are ready to go to slaughter this week, and the boys did some tree-cutting behind the barn to clean up the few trees that came down.

One thing that did come through nicely was our pumpkin patch. The leaves didn't do so well, but the pumpkins themselves? Beautiful. Here's Tanner with the first pumpkin picked from the garden.

  

In behind him, you'll see a tree at the front of the house. That tree has come down; it was leaning over the house and threatening the second floor, so we took it down today as well. Still, all in all we came through this ordeal very, very fortunate.

And, as a bonus, the power (and internet) are back on earlier than expected, so I get to post this blog tonight. Yay!

That's it for now; the tomato plants came through the storm very well, so we're still going to get to harvest more of those before the season is over. And, as I mentioned, the pumpkins are turning orange and beautiful. I can't wait to see how many we end up with by Halloween.

Freedom Convoy 2022 PEI

There comes a time when a man has to stand up and decide what he is standing for. It's one thing to talk about what we're going to do; it's another to actually get up and do something. Today was one of those days, and while we didn't do a lot of standing, we definitely did our part to join in the freedom movement.

Tanner and I joined the slow-rolling convoy (which wasn't going that slow on the highway) near our church. Unfortunately, the Honeybunny was working, or she would have joined us. The oldest boy was at home, watching the youngest. So, it was just the two of us. I was going to crank some Meat Loaf in honor of the drive, but he wanted Weird Al instead. Well, it's father-son bonding time, and that's what matters.

The convoy grew in stages; there were about five gathering points up west before ours. There were about a dozen vehicles at our gathering point, which may not seem like a lot, but Western PEI is not exactly an urban metropolis. The largest towns (both of them) have about a thousand people each. Still, it was exciting to be a part of this, and once the convoy arrived, we followed along and headed for Charlottetown.

The drive to Charlottetown was about an hour and a half, but once we got there, it was a forty-five minute drive to get downtown. According to the people who were watching the convoy, it ended up being ten kilometers long by the time everyone had joined it. Again, tiny island with a population of about 165,000 people. A 10km convoy driving into Charlottetown? That's massive. And that doesn't include all the people who were cheering roadside along the way.

We didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but there were plenty of people waving flags and cheering as the convoy rolled by. It was quite the feeling to be a part of that, and Tanner was loving it, waving and holding up his sign out the window as we waited at traffic lights and other delays, getting more cheers from people who were recording the convoy themselves.

It was quite the time. But the best part was when we got downtown, where the bulk of the bystanders were. There were a few hundred people down there, cheering like crazy. It's not Ottawa, but it was fantastic.

What a day to be a Canadian in PEI. Make no mistake: This is no 'fringe minority' movement; we are the majority. I can remember each and every person we saw today who was opposed to the convoy; there were only a dozen or so of them.

Will convoys like this have any real impact on the politicians? I believe it will, because the people are speaking loud and clear. We want the mandates to end; we want our lives and our freedom back, and even the vaccinated people are tired of being cooped up at home.

As I mentioned before, I don't really like talking about politics on the blog. But history? That's my jam. And this is history in the making.

Proud to be Canadian

There's one topic I have studiously avoided since I began this blog: politics. Because, let's face it. Today, having a political stance means alienating about half your potential audience. And as a writer trying to get a foothold in the market, that's not a good or wise thing to do. So, politics are out. Pop culture, writing, hobby farming, family stuff...that's all good stuff that doesn't irritate people.

But right now, there's something going on that I simply can't ignore, and I can't let it go without talking about it. Frankly, I don't want to ignore and avoid it, because it's so important that it will literally determine the country's direction for the immediate and foreseeable future, maybe even the future of the entire Western world. And that would be the massive trucking convoys winding their way across Canada from all directions, heading for the nation's capital to demand that the government rescind all the vaccine mandates.

I put the 'history' tag on this post because this is history in the making. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime things that many people don't get to experience. Right now, there are literally tens of thousands of truckers, and hundreds of thousands of people riding along with them, who are telling the Canadian government in the loudest possible way, We Have Had Enough.

It's been almost two years of having our lives torn apart by mandates, masks, and fear. Two years in which loved ones have been separated, the elderly have died in nursing homes and hospitals without their loved ones allowed to be with them, where birthday parties are celebrated over Zoom calls, and where human contact is shunned because of an endless litany of fearmongering from the government, the media, and the medical establishment.

And now, Canadians have announced, in numbers unheard of outside of an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final, that we have had enough. We want our lives back. This isn't about getting rid of the Covid vaccines; this is about no longer permitting the government to force us to take it. I know people who were forced out of their jobs because they refused to take an experimental, untested drug. I know people who haven't seen family members in over a year because they're afraid to leave the house. And I know people who lost their businesses because they were forced to close while big corporations continued to rake in big profits with even less competition around.

We are done.

I don't drive a truck; I live on a tiny island on the east coast, and I couldn't even make it to the rally at Borden-Carleton this morning because I'm lucky enough to still have a job in this economic climate. But I sat with my family tonight, watching videos on YouTube of this incredible, unbelievable show of patriotic unity across the country, and I was deeply moved. This is a true watershed moment in this country's history, made even more significant because the entire world is watching this unfold. The world is teetering on a precipice, and many of us wondered if anything would be able to prevent the inexorable slide into the world of 1984. Many of us wondered if anything could be done to stop it.

Enter the truckers, who have rallied the entire country to take this ride with them. They aren't a 'fringe minority', as the Prime Minister disparaged them in a press conference. They are riding with purpose, and the show of support from Canadians at every milepost is staggering to behold. These men and women are finally doing what needed to be done from the very start, and it is a glorious sight to behold. And they aren't doing it alone; there are thousands of truckers crossing the border from the United States to join them. This is going viral around the world, and it might be the spark that restores our freedom and our hope for the future.

And so, it's been a long time since I wrote a proper song parody, but the time is right. This one is for each and every trucker out there, as well as everyone who wishes they could be part of the Freedom Convoy. Lee Greenwood, thanks for the tune. Cheers to you all.

*****************

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my days
Cause the mandates kept on coming, setting freedom all ablaze
I'd spend my life in wonder at the things that we'd let slide
But I see those flags wave in the night as our trucking brothers ride

And I'm proud to be Canadian, in the true north strong and free
And I won't forget the men who drive to save those rights for me
So I'll gladly stand out in the cold and cheer you as you go
Cause there ain't no doubt you love this land! You listening yet, Trudeau?

From the lakes of Manitoba to the mountains of B.C.
Across the frozen Maritimes, from sea to icy sea
From Vancouver to Kenora, from the Rock to Montreal
Well, there's pride in every Canadian heart
And it's time that we stand tall

Yes, I'm proud to be Canadian where the winter comes on strong
And the convoy is a hundred miles and a million heartbeats long
So I'll gladly stand up, cheer you on, and wave the flag with pride
Cause there ain't no doubt we love this land! So ride, you truckers, ride!

Yes, I'm proud to be Canadian to see history unfold
And I'm going to tell my grandkids 'bout the time the truckers rolled
So I'll gladly stand here, spread the word, and wish I drove a truck
And as far as all the mandates go, I just don't give a darn.

Paradigm Shift

It's incredible to think of how much our lives have changed in the past fourteen months. And I'm not talking about COVID. No, I'm talking about how our attitudes toward certain things have completely changed. Things like sports. And movies. Pop culture in general, really.

I mean, the Oscars were last night. I'm not really a movie buff, but I love lists. And I can name just about every Best Picture winner of the 20th century. Including the ones that really didn't deserve to win. But I couldn't even name a single nominated movie from the past year. More importantly, I don't care; I watched maybe two movies that came out last year, and both of them sucked. I can't even name them now; they made no positive impression on my mind whatsoever.

And I'm not an isolated case; the Oscars set a new futility record for apathy, producing the lowest rated show they've ever had. Nobody was watching. And this is in a time when people are being forced to stay home, with nothing to do but watch TV. Hollywood hasn't just lost its glitter, it's been tarnished to an ugly green mess.

Sports is another example of this. The sports leagues are trying to explain away the loss of viewers, but every major sports league is plummeting in the ratings. Again, this is at a time when people have been stuck at home for over a year. It's the most captive audience in television history...and nobody is watching. The Super Bowl's ratings were dreadful, the lowest they've been in fifteen years. The NBA Finals were the lowest rated Finals EVER. They were getting more people to tune in during the 1970s. Baseball is also seeing lower ratings, though not as bad as the other two leagues.

Why is this happening? In a time when the vast majority of people are desperate for something to do to escape the boredom of being locked in their homes by governmental decree, why aren't people watching movies and sports? It's not even that they're not gaining new viewers who previously had better things to do; they've lost a lot of people who DIDN'T have better things to do in the past.

Well, a lot of people have found better things to do. Spending more time with their families, for one thing. I used to follow football religiously on Sundays, but I haven't for quite some time now. And my family is better for it. And I've cut way back on my movie watching as we get ready for the planting season, not to mention tax season at work is reaching crunch time.

People are looking for better things to do, and a lot have found them. Frankly, I think it's for the better. Ironically, in a time where we are separated from our loved ones and friends, people are getting closer as a result. It's as if we've started to realize what we've been missing for so long as we chased bigger and better things, things that didn't provide us with the happiness we wanted so badly.

It's a very significant shift, a reversal of a trend that has been growing for decades. It will be interesting to see the end result of this shift. People are rediscovering old values. I just hope it's not too late for society.

A Bonus Post

I know, I know...I didn't post last night. And I haven't done the next Arabian Nights post, either. I'm actually debating whether or not to continue the series, since it really is a raunchy, R-rated book. I'm still reading it, but I don't know if I want to keep putting this stuff on what I would like to think is a family-friendly blog.

So, let's talk about something more important: Skating. As in, Tanner is doing really, really well. He's finally found something that motivates him to learn and work hard, something we have been seeking for years. He's even doing skating drills instead of just fooling around on the ice. And he's taking it seriously. He's four days in (we missed a day due to the mountain of snow and freezing rain that fell on us), and he's already learning the basics of power skating and stopping (without falling in the snow). He wants to play hockey next year, and he's determined to get the skating to a decent level by then.

I've been struggling with the book I've been writing. Not the Cameron Vail book (although that one is a pain in the butt), but the fantasy book, the next Meterran book. I came to the realization tonight that I was writing the wrong book; I've got some interesting ideas for the character that it focuses on, but I just don't have a good feel for his story. And it's frustrating the living hell out of me, because I'm not able to progress on the book. So, I'm going to lay it aside and focus on the one that I do want to be writing for Meterra. It's going to be a novel, rather than a story anthology like The Devil's Playground was. And it's going to be fun, because I have a lot of interesting ideas for it. Some I might save for the next book, but a lot of them are going to end up in here, including some new monsters, a new locale in Meterra, and a different kind of quest.

As for the Cameron Vail book, I'm going to try to get it done by the end of the weekend. If I can, it should be published ready to go by the end of the month. It's only a month behind, but it is what it is. I will be getting the third Meterra book out before the end of March, no matter what; I've set that as a firm deadline. And now that I'm freeing myself from the constraint of writing a book that I 'had' to write before this one, it should go a lot more smoothly.

And that's about it. Life on the farm in PEI is still great, and I'm very, very glad we're not in Ontario anymore. Every time we head another update from the Ontario government, it gives further confirmation that we made the right decision to leave. I'm praying for the people left behind, because they need it. It's turning into a political cesspool, and I want no part of it ever again.

And on that cheery note, I'll leave you with one last plug. I have ten books out, with more on the way; if you're looking for something new to read, I recommend either Final Exam, the first Cameron Vail mystery, or The Chronicles of Meterra: Arrival, the first book in my pulp fantasy series. Either one will, hopefully, entertain you, and give you something to read that is different from the usual fare that we see on the shelves these days. Until next time, though, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you come back again.

Watching and Reading the Past

I've been pretty busy lately downloading a ton of public-domain material for my kids to have in the future. With the current climate of constant cancellation, it's only a matter of time before cherished childhood memories are wiped away from society. So, getting a bunch of free stuff now is a good idea.

The public domain rules are a bit hazy at times, depending on where you live, how old the material is, and whether or not the copyright holders bothered to maintain them. For example, Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, is locked down by Disney, and they won't let that copyright go even if they have to lobby Congress to change the copyright laws (which they've done before). That cartoon came out in 1928, and about twenty years ago, Disney lobbied to extend copyright from 75 years to 95 years to keep Mickey from falling into the public domain.

By contrast, Warner Bros. let several of their cartoons fall into the public domain by not renewing copyrights. Some of those cartoons include some early Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons. Go ahead, check it out here. Not to mention old movie serials, like Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy. Sure, they're old, but they're fun, too. And of course, even in the United States with its excessively-long copyright time frame, anything that was published, printed, or filmed prior to 1925 is now in the public domain. That includes early issues of Weird Tales magazine, tons of classic silent movies (including Nosferatu, The Mark of Zorro, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and a bunch of Charlie Chaplin shorts), and tons more. And best of all, it's entertainment that won't cost you a dime.

Now, I know what you're thinking: This guy's a writer who wants people to buy his books. Why is he telling us to get a bunch of free stuff instead of plugging his own books for us to buy? Well, what I write is inspired by the pulp stories. I want people to read those stories, to watch those movies, and to be entertained by them in a way that today's society doesn't match up with. Sure, we've got bigger special effects today, but special effects don't make a movie great if the story sucks. And even primitive special effects can fascinate and entertain if they're done right.

Here's an example, a short film I downloaded for my twelve-year-old to watch with me. He's the one who is most like me in that imaginative sense; his older brother is more practical, machine-oriented, and a worker, and his younger brother is autistic and spends most of his time in his own world. So, I grabbed some early stuff, such as this film from 1900, The Enchanted Drawing. It's less than two minutes long, so it won't take up much of your time. It's ridiculously simple by our modern standards, but when you look at it in the context of the time, it's magical. And my son grasped that right away.

Now, I've spoken about the decline of quality in pop culture before, and I'm sure people have waved that off as just being some old guy's rants about kids getting off his lawn. Well, I won't deny that's a possibility, but let's face it, there ain't nothing original anymore. I just read an article where Hollywood has announced thirty movies to be released by spring of 2021. All thirty of them are sequels. Not one of those thirty movies is an original story. I don't know if I've ever heard of such a thing. I don't think I ever imagined something like that could happen. Thirty movies, all of them sequels?

Avatar 2, Jurassic World: Dominion, Fast 9, Rush Hour 4, Black Panther II, Captain Marvel II, The Boss Baby 2, Coming 2 America, Sing 2, Fantastic Beasts 3, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Peter Rabbit 2, Escape Room 2, G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes, Halloween Kills, Godzilla vs. Kong, Matrix 4, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Thor: Love and Thunder, Wonder Woman 1984, Hotel Transylvania 4, Baby Driver 2, Tomb Raider 2, Aquaman 2, Hobbs & Shaw II, Aladdin II, Star Trek 4, John Wick 4, The Croods 2, and Venom II.

A sequel to Eddie Murphy's Coming to America? Rush Hour 4? PETER RABBIT II?!?!?!?!

We've reached peak ridiculous, folks. And it's only going to get stranger.

And now comes the book-shilling part. My newest book, Cold Star, is available on Amazon right now; check it out, and support indie publishing, because the traditional media is doing that list I just gave you. We can do better; give it a try.

On the Cusp of Summer

Depending on where you are, it's feeling a lot like summer now. Shorts, barbecues, swimming pools, and other such fun stuff. Of course, our ability to do these things has been curtailed by current events, but we'll get there. Eventually.

You know, I try to avoid politics in my posts, because they tend to divide the potential audience, especially these days, when having the wrong political opinions can get you labeled all kinds of fun things. Now, I'm not so sensitive that I can't handle someone throwing a bad word or two in my direction, but someone who's trying to get noticed in the world of indie publishing can't afford to alienate half the people who might swing by to take a look at what he's doing.

Having said that, I'm getting really sick and tired of politicians and bureaucrats telling me I can't get a haircut or take my wife out to a candlelit dinner at our favorite restaurant, while they turn a blind eye to wanton destruction. Apparently, social distancing doesn't apply when you're setting fire to an entire city block, and COVID-19 isn't contagious in groups of twenty or more, as long as those groups are protesting against racial injustice or white supremacy. It's the dishonesty that bothers me the most; we're told that we're supposed to stay home to prevent spreading this virus, on pain of arrest in some cases, but it's perfectly fine for certain people. Double standard, anyone?

What I really want to do is talk about writing, or gaming, or music, or old movies, or old books. But it's tough to do that when my job is in limbo, cities are looking like war zones, and I'm reliant on the government sugar daddy for my family's next meal. I hate that, I really do. That might come as a surprise to people who've known me for a long time, because I used to be the opposite. But not anymore; now, I have a family to take care of, and it's my responsibility, not anyone else's, to make sure there's a roof over our heads and food on the table. That's why I'm writing, that's why I'm trying to get the word out about my books so people will take a look, buy them, and hopefully recommend them to other people. Word-of-mouth is still the best form of advertising.

Alright, that's enough of the ranting. It is what it is, and I'm just going to have to deal with it, just like everyone else is. At least there's nobody setting buildings on fire where I live, so that's a bonus. And the jobs will be back. It's just going to take more time than we'd hoped, that's all.

So, about the writing. I'm glad I made that commitment to getting those two specific books out by the end of the month, because it's forcing me to concentrate on actually writing them. I could have picked a couple of other books that I have already finished, both of which are fantasy novels (not set in Meterra, though). But this way, I'm going to buckle down and actually get them done to have them both out by the end of the month. Besides, I haven't done a sci-fi book yet, so I'm looking forward to getting the Bard Conley book done. Next month, I can do some more fantasy novels. We'll see what I feel like doing at that point.

In the meantime, since the next book will be a mystery, why not check out my first published work, Final Exam, which is the first Cameron Vail mystery? You can't beat the price, and you won't be disappointed.

We Have Lift-Off!

When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut. I read science fiction about space-bound heroes, read books and articles about the early space program and the race to the Moon, watched movies and documentaries on them as well. It was my dream.

Obviously, that dream didn't come true. But I've never forgotten that feeling or that desire to go where very few people have ever been. And it really isn't that far away; the International Space Station is only a couple of hundred kilometers up in the air. My parents live further away than that. Of course, horizontal travel is a bit easier than vertical over that distance.

Still, it was exciting to see the Space-X launch today, a launch that had been delayed due to weather a couple of days ago. I watched it live, and it was an exciting feeling, a thrill that I remember from watching Space Shuttle launches when I was a kid. Including the worst one, the Challenger lift-off in 1986. I saw that one live, too. Not a pleasant memory for a teenager dreaming of the stars.

But there was an aspect of this launch that I enjoyed even more: My son's reaction. He's twelve, and the last time there was a manned launch in North America, he was a toddler. So, for him, this was the equivalent of watching John Glenn lift-off, or watching the Eagle land on the Moon. We turned on the NASA livestream about half an hour before the launch, and he was riveted. He watched the interviews, the shots of the astronauts waiting for launch in the capsule, all of it. And as the countdown began, he was practically bouncing in his seat.

I've heard and read people talk about how this isn't a big deal, we did this fifty years ago, it doesn't mean anything, blah blah blah. Well, to that twelve-year-old boy, it meant the world. Literally. He watched that rocket fly up, saw it enter orbit, and watched the edge of the earth going by a couple of hundred kilometers below. He was riveted from start to finish.

When we're older, we forget the impact that seeing something for the very first time can have on a child. We're jaded, cynical, world-weary. Even the most upbeat, optimistic of us can forget that sense of wonder, of something beyond our limitations. That's when we need to see through the eyes of a child, a fresh perspective that can jolt us out of our complacency and same-old, same-old.

I wonder how many other kids watched that launch, a new generation of starry-eyed gazers. Maybe this will spur their interest in science and space exploration. Maybe they'll be watching documentaries about this launch and what it means for the future of space travel. Maybe one of them will be strapped into a launcher twenty years from now, taking the first steps on a long journey to Mars.

There's enough misery and anger in the world right now; it's time to look at something wonderful, awe-inspiring, and fantastic. Let's go explore the stars again.

In other news, The Devil's Playground is available in paperback format as well on Amazon! Check it out, and get your copy today!

Stuck at Home

Well, today didn't quite go as expected. I went to work despite the $1000 fine for breaking 'social distancing,' and then fifteen minutes after I got there, it was time to go home; the place was shut down because someone had been in contact with someone else who contracted Coronavirus, aka the Beer Plague. On the plus side, I'm home for the weekend, giving me a chance to get caught up on my delayed courses and get some extra writing done.

Since I started my job, I've found that there's been plenty of time in between calls to get some quality writing time. I've averaged over 4,000 words a day on days that I worked, in fact. But this past week, that went down the toilet with the insane amount of calls and emails we've gotten from people desperate to make sure the internet, their sole means of survival remains intact.

I know, it's a bit hypocritical of me to talk about people desperately needing the internet when I'm typing up a blog post. I feel neither guilt nor shame.

So, the workplace is now locked down like Patient Zero showed up. At least I'm getting paid. And the company is working on getting us the tools to continue our work at home, because we must keep the modems running. I shudder to think of the backlog when we get back to work; we'll be weeks getting caught up, if that. My writing time at work is likely to have come to an end, which is going to slow down my production. I've still got some exams to write, after all, and courses to finish, plus I've got family to spend time with. So, writing is going to slack off. To a point. I'm still going to write, but I'm going to concentrate on getting some of my almost-finished material completed and published. In the meantime, though, I'm going to keep writing these blog posts that no one is actually reading, because everyone needs some kind of an outlet.

Hopefully, people aren't reading these posts because they're busy reading other things, like my books, which you can find on Amazon.

Final Exam
The Missing Magnate
The Chronicles of Meterra: Arrival

How Much is Too Much?

 “Our top story for the day: Two people have been diagnosed with Coronavirus in Zimbabwe. In other news, a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania just suffered a meltdown, and two million people are either dead, dying of radiation poisoning, or displaced from their homes due to the fallout. Now, back to the latest on the virus.”

That’s where we’re heading, people. The CBC might as well rename themselves to the Corona Broadcasting Corporation. And now, I just learned that the Ontario government is now going to fine people $1,000 for not following ‘social distancing’ guidelines. So, as of now, shaking hands with someone is illegal. So is hanging out at the mall (if there’s one open). So, apparently, is shopping, since it’s tough to stay two metres away from the cashier at Wal-Mart if you want to pay for something.

How exactly is a society supposed to function without human contact? Sure, there are the folks like myself who don’t make much of a habit of social interaction anyway, but come on, people! This is getting ridiculous! And most of us don’t want to spend that much time with our families in the first place!

And businesses are going to get hit even harder, apparently. Great; let’s just shut down the economy altogether, because that will really solve the problem of Coronavirus. I work in tech support for a major internet provider, and we’re not set up for work-at-home. How exactly is that going to work, if the government shuts us down? We’re three days behind as it is on all the customer requests; shut the building, and watch people’s freak-outs get even bigger as the internet doesn’t work, and nobody’s around to fix it for them.

Now, I admit I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But I’m not an idiot, and the levels of panic we’re seeing are just way, way over the top now. People are upset that parents have the nerve to let their children play outside now! How dare you give your child fresh air at the park? Give me a break. You can’t find a roll of toilet paper in any store on the planet right now. Grocery stores are completely screwed for the next few months, since there isn’t enough stuff in the warehouses to restock every grocery store in North America. But everyone is stocking up on stuff they’ll never use, because heaven forbid you run out of pie filling and taco sauce.

It’s frustrating to see society breaking down like this. And we’ve largely lost the ability to function without the massive technological infrastructure that’s been created. So, what are we going to do? Because things are changing in a big way; I doubt we’ll see the death rates that people are hysterically repeating every time the news cycle starts over, but society isn’t going to be the same. We’ve coasted for too long on a wave of ever-increasing debt spending and financial unsustainability, and we’re now finding out just how vulnerable we really are.

Buckle up, people; it’s going to get worse before it gets better, and the people in charge are finding new ways to show how unsuited they are to leading us in this situation. In the meantime, however, why not take your mind off the social chaos and read a book? I have a few recommendations below.

Final Exam

The Missing Magnate

The Chronicles of Meterra: Arrival

Corona-Mania

So, everyone is sitting at home, stuck in limbo as we wait to find out if civilization is coming to an end. If it is, then it's been a heck of a ride, but it really seems that this whole situation is very overblown.

That's not to say that people aren't suffering and dying; obviously, that's not the case. But people have been suffering and dying for centuries, even millennia, and we don't have a major crisis every time it happens. I remember the SARS scare, of course, which turned out to be much ado about not very much. And I grew up during the origins of the AIDS panic, which turned out to be largely restricted to a particular sub-set of the population. To this day, I've still not met anyone who suffered from AIDS. SARS, either. But now, Coronavirus is the great leveler, the one that is bringing down the mighty and the small all together.

Now, for someone like me, there's really not much of a difference. I work in an industry that has basically become an essential service (internet tech support), so I'm still going to work every day while my family sits at home and waits for the all-clear. It's like everyone is in a miniature bomb-shelter in the Cold War, waiting for word that the fallout has cleared.

I'm sure that there are people reading this who think that I'm being ridiculous, that it's a global pandemic and that I'm an insensitive jerk (or worse) who doesn't care that people are suffering. That's not true; I do care that people are suffering. What I find hard toa ccept is that this is so much worse than the last seven or eight of these 'epidemics' that have come down the pipe. Covid-19 has become the new Black Plague, except with a lot less dead people.

So, how do we survive Corona-chan aside from avoiding all human contact? Which, by the way, is the preferred method of dealing with most situations for a growing percentage of the population. The internet has replaced human contact for a lot of people, so this is just an extension of that. However, according to the vast majority of the population, toilet paper is an essential component to surviving this mini-plague.

By the time anyone reads this, the virus panic is likely to be over, so it doesn't really matter what I say. I can make jokes, I can provide silly advice, who really cares? It's complete freedom!

So, in no particular order, here are my recommendations for overcoming the odds and surviving the deadly plague that is sweeping the globe.

First, don't be old. The latest numbers indicate that in Italy, one of the hardest-hit locales in the Western world, the average age of the deceased is over 80 years of age. So, clearly, the most important factor in surviving this is to be younger than that. The younger, the better. Now, this isn't a 'state of mind' thing; you can't pretend you're only thirty when you're pushing seventy-five. No one's going to believe you, for one thing, no matter how much Oil of Olay you're using. Mentally regressing to your childhood won't help, either.

Second, don't be sick. The virus itself isn't killing people; again, going to Italy, the deceased are elderly people who have pre-existing conditions, especially lung problems. If you've got COPD or recurring pneumonia, stay away from everyone. Seriously, stay away. Nothing good will come of human contact for you. If you're old and have lung issues, lock the doors, hide in the basement, and send out drones to scope out the landscape before you poke your head above ground again.

Third, don't be stupid. This one is the most difficult to overcome, because people have a pronounced tendency to demonstrate gross stupidity in times of crisis. So, what qualifies as 'stupid' in this case? Things like licking a toilet seat, like someone did on Youtube, calling it the 'Corona challenge.' Actually, if you're that stupid, by all means, hang out by the emergency rooms of the hospital and take deep breaths; we'll all be better off once you're eliminated from the gene pool.

All seriousness aside, just stay home, unless you absolutely can't. And use less squares of TP; they'll last longer, and you won't have to run all over town trying to find that elusive hidden 4-pack. Because it won't be there, believe me.

Aside from that, there's not much else to say. Upgrade your internet speed to counter the inevitable slow-downs coming from the increased usage everywhere, and get a good book to read while you're hunkering down and hiding from the Kung Flu. I recommend the following:

Final Exam

The Missing Magnate

The Chronicles ofMeterra: Arrival