C James

I'll respond to the posts later (they're great!!!) but I just wanted to let y'all know; I'm back a few days early (and I didn't become bear chow). I've been driving all day so I'm exhausted and will be asleep soon, but I'm baaaack.

There is at least a #4; deuterium cavitation. Cavitation occurs when an object (such as a propellor) moves fast enough through a liquid to create vacuum bubbles. When the bubbles collapse, they do so with great force. In deuterium (heavy water) this is sufficient to cause a very tiny amount of fusion. Not enough to e useful, but it does occur. The problem with fusion is the break-even point; releasing more energy than it takes to cause the fusion. We haven't even come close yet. Even the "hydrogen bomb" is a bit of a misnomer; modern hydrogen warheads are called three-stage devices; fusion actually occurs in the first two stages; the first stage, a plutonium-implosion core, is usually "boosted" (yield-enhanced) via tritium (an isotope of hydrogen) which releases more neutrons, thus boosting the yeild. The main fusion occurs in the second stage, where the imense pressure and heat of the primary detonation is focused to achieve hydrogen fusion (often of lithium-6, transforming it into a tritium-lithium mix during detonation to avoid the short half-life of tritium, which is only a few years). The second stage fusion (there is also some fission in the second stage, the core of the holarum is usually a fissioning rod of plutonium) produces mainly high-energy neutrons (around 11MeV as I recall). These neutrons are energetic enough to cause fision of the third stage; the normally inert u-238 (often called depleted uranium). It is the fission of the third stage that releases about 75% (the percentage varies based on design) of the energy of a "hydrogen" bomb. There are may variants; a neutron warhead, for example, is essentially a very small hydrogen bomb lacking a third stage (though there are many design differences). There is also the "layer cake" design of much lower yield (no much seen since the 1960's) and almost all single-stage modern nuclear devices use a fusion-boost to both decrease the amount of plutonium needed, and also to boost the yeild. My own guess as to the road to fusion power is that it won't be a direct one. An intermediate fission/fusion reactor will be the stepping stone, and it will use small amounts of fusion to create the high-energy neutrons needed to fission u-238 (with is about 99% more abundant than u-235, which is what fissions in a conventional uranium reactor). Just a guess. One advantage of such a reactor would be a very high operating temperature, high enough to crack hydrogen from water, thus making for a great source of hydrogen for fuel. Currently, most of the hydrogen used to run hydrogen vehicles, etc, is catalytically converted from natural gas, a fossil fuel, so it is not "clean" energy at the moment, much the same way that electric vehicles, when re-charged from fossil-fuel generated electricity (such as by plugging them in) are far from "clean". OK, I'm rambling because I'm over-tired (I spent 15 hours on the road today) so I'll shut up now.

The goat might just be able to sneak online via an open wireless hotpoint at a passing hotel... But, fortunatly, goats have bad memories so I have no idea what you were talking about? :wacko: I should be back late on june 19th, just sneaking in here via an open wireless hotpoint at a hotel I'm passing. I've been 4-wheeling on some roads that would give an eagle vertigo, and for three days I was camped out 10 miles from the nearest trail (where I parked). I packed in, found a place, and camped. A grizzly came sniffing around in my camp one night, scared the heck out of me, but I scared him off (with intentional near-misses) and he didn't return. When the bear arrived I became very aware that I was probably the only person for 20 miles in any direction and no one knew where I was, so I had some trouble sleeping after that, LoL. anyway, I'll get going for now, and I'll reply to all the above messages (THANKS!!!!) when I return. Now, Now, Mr. Anonymous Beta Reader, Shadowgod... No breaking anonymity... Sheesh, these anonymous beta readers... Take care everyone! See y'all in a few days, unless I become bear chow.

Chapter 29, "Mixed Emotionsis up! BTW, I'm heading off on my vacation in a couple of hours, and I'll be gone just under two weeks, and I'm unlikely to have internet access while away. I'm going to miss all of you, take care! CJ Edit: I posted the WRONG VERSION for about 45 minutes. Sorry, fixed now!

I hope all goes well for you, Kevin!!! Don't worry about your blog lying fallow during your absence. When i return from my trip, I'll try and do my duty as the self-appointed fashion consultant of your blog, and do my best to educate your readers on the joys of Coors belt buckles, overalls, and clothes shopping at high-class joints like Wallmart. Embrace your inner redneck!

Just a reminder; due to my vacation beginning Wednesday night, I'll be posting Ch 29: Mixed Emotions, a double-length chapter, late Wednesday instead of today. Sorry for the delay. CJ

Wonderful news all 'round!!! I must say I'm a little surprised, though, that it costs $112 to adopt a kitten from the pound. I'd always assumed that animals from the pound are free? I take exception to charging money at the pound, as I'd think it would deter many potential adoptors.

Thanks Bondwriter!!! I'm still planning on posting the edited and polished version of this, plus ch. 1, to kick of the serial in a few weeks.

Lol!!! Thanks Ieshwar!!! The contents of the data stick are revealed in full in Ch 29 (no tricks this time). Due to my upcoming vacation, I'm delaying the chapter posting by one day, to this coming Wednesday, and Ch 29 is a large one; about twice my normal chapter size. I'll be gone for about ten or eleven days after that, so hopefully doing it this way will avoid disrupting the posting schedule overly much.

But... but... but... I'm a lurker, not a poster! I think the only reason I know what "exfoliate" means is due to reading Kevin's blog! I keep telling, him that he should embrace his inner redneck, but he won't listen.

Happy Birthday!!!! :king: :king:

I thing I'll argue the first point: I very much liked the intros to "Falls Creek Lessons" and "Heart of the Tree". The original draft of the prologue above (the one you read quite some time ago) did indeed have some more hints as to where the story was going to go. That was the version I wrote several years ago, and it was an excerpt from Ch 1 instead of a prologue. I'm a little uneasy about prologues as many writers don't use them, but I like them, both as a reader and a writer, when they are used to "set the stage" a little. At the moment, I don't plan on adding much to the prologue (just a few minor things, plus of course Beta and Editing suggestions) but I will post it at the same time as Ch 1.

Congratulations, and welcome to the Millennium Club!!!! Thank you for being a great member of our forums!!!

ROFL!!! Or, for an allusion to another TV show, one that features a 1969 Dodge Charger, what if the sheriff turns to Thaddeus and mutters "I never should have married your fat sister..." Let's just hope none of eat the chapter. But don't most places have office dress codes? No discriminations here! All the four-footed are very welcome! I think the upcoming one in FTL might provide a better eyeful. Uhoh. OK, this isn't an access issue, I've checked, and you aren't the first to report it. Could you, or anyone who is having this problem, please do me a huge favor and grab a screen shot of the error message, and also please let me know what operating system and browser this occurs in? Thanks for the pic repost!! But, um, I thought it was only your heart that was black?

Thanks Graeme! I'll see what I can do with that "now", because it felt a little odd to me too. Thanks Jack! I can't be too specific about the isolation; that's covered early in Ch 1, which will be posted at the same time as the final version of this. It's peripherally related to the second highlighted sentence, but more of a contributing factor. In answer to your question about dreams, the answer is yes. That's part of the story too. (Chapter one gets into that). I can say that the "formless" part was my was my way of saying that he had no real plans regarding how to become a model, just hopes (dreams) that he'd be discovered. Those are not his only dreams, however. Maybe it was the wrong way of doing it, but I kept the background info very limited in the prologue, using generalities and hints mainly to intro one of the protagonists (there are several), so that we know something went badly wrong for him, but not what. What I was trying to do was show this particular protagonist, where he's at, and what his past has done to him, without having to go through all that detail first. I can then reveal it during the story itself, having intro'd a main protagonist first. If I'd just done it linearly, without a prologue, I think it would have been a boring Ch 1 in this case as I'd have needed to write it quite differently. So, this being a prologue, the style is a little different, much more vagueness and allusion rather than specifics. That's what I was hoping, anyway (fingers crossed)

You raise a very good point. I did overdo it with the reader-teasing there. I was trying to avoid revealing Eric's parentage and the data stick contents in one chapter, so I put the initial revelation in the chapter break. I've only done the "narrator being unforthcoming" bit once before in FTL, waaaay back in Ch 3: (So I'm not surprised that it appeared incongruous, due to the elapsed time) Steve filled me in on his plan, finished by rubbing his hands together, vengeance on his mind. I told him "Yeah, sounds like a plan. That would sure solve our problems. I'm in." and then let the plan (the "dead mean tell no tales" hanging threat) itself play out in the next chapter. You also raise a good point on Eric; Thadeus and the sheriff are indeed brothers-in-law; so Eric is not, actually, a blood relative of the sheriff. Eric didn't call the sheriff "uncle", those were Mr. Williams' words, but I'll clarify that in CH 29. Also, this does make my "Blood is thicker than water" usage a stretch, I admit, because Eric and the sheriff aren't actually blood relatives. I can't comment on point #2 due to fear of your spines. Well, okay, I guess I can drop a few hints... OUCH!, hey, watch the spines! they won't be spoilers, honest! The "thousands of..." is accurate and a major clue. Of course, Chris could have been about to say "Ones and zeros, its a binary data storage device after all". Seriously though, the "thousands of..." really is a big clue, and the contents are revealed in full in Ch 29.

I feel there may be some confusion here... Emoe is the last name of the Fundamanralist preacher (and criminal conspirator) in my story. EMoe is my editor. Please note that the names are NOT the same. (small m vs. Capitol M). I'm sure that the similarities are purely coincidental. Of course, clarity is not aided by the fact that my editor seems to have a penchant for misspelling his own name. And EMoe (See, spelled correctly...) What a thing to say about Eric! Oh, and regarding Blackheart, the key word there is yet

That was a nasty close call, but I'm sure glad to hear that things are looking up for you! And aren't those skeeters the state bird? I'll bet they are real Texas-sized mosquitoes.

ROFL! Yes indeed, and given that it's amazing that he didn't turn out to be a bad guy himself. I once read somewhere that a writer should endeavor to make his editor feel like part of the story... But, Emoe should be thankful, he could have ended up with Blackheart's role.

Hehehehe... What? Me? Evil? Yep, Ch 28 was an effort to "get the reader's Goat" but there are real revelations in there too. For example, Eric really is a bastard, in the literal if not the figurative sense. Now we know why the Williams went away; she dragged Mr. Williams to a counseling center to tell him the news.

Before anyone lynches me for the "Data Stick Shuffle", I will say that the contents are revealed to the readers in full in FTL Ch 29. (no tricks this time). Quite some time ago, the point was raised (By Graeme, I think) that it was incongruous that a gang of criminals would accept a teen into their midst as they did Eric. The short-term "explanation" in the text was that he was providing info from the LVPD, but, now we know the real reason; It's a family affair! And yes, the "thousands of" is an important clue. There is other foreshadowing in the chapter, too.

Thanks Conner! I couldn't resist the "got her goat" line. One other important bit of info in the chapter; we now know who Eric's real father is. Oh, and a comment from GRaeme on the last chapter; I can offer no other explanation other than Graeme is psychic; Dex didn't run out of $$$, but he got the rest spot-on (and this chapter was already back from Emoe before Graeme made that comment, so i didn't just copy the idea).

I have no objection to being kept an eye on, I just don't want to become lunch. Chapter 28, "Data Stick Shuffle", is up! Enjoy!

Thanks Conner! Sorry, no pool in the theater... But, there are pools in the story. Wow, thanks Ethan!! Sympathy for Gabe. eh? OK, does anyone see any problems, things they don't like, etc?