C James

Oops! I did forget to post the chapter title!! The chapter will be up in about five minutes though. I had a hectic week; internet connection issues, cleaning up the damage from the big snowstorm (lots of trees and tree branches down) and a bunch of other stuff. On the cleartype; on my monitor, the tuning for cleartype all looks the same; fuzzy. It's most likely the monitor; it's CRT, a big one, and may be having issues. I'm going to be trying a HP 27" this week, so hopefully that will help. CJ

But but but... I never use cliffhangers! Hey now! Y'all are picking on poor, innocent me again. Okay, some good news! The writing hiatus is over! I figured out the issues, rewrote the chapter, and I think it's okay now. And heh, I figured out another issue that has been driving up the bleeping wall; fuzzy small text on my newly-built computer. This was happening with several monitors. I thought it might be my vid card, but then I noticed clear text while running Windows 2k in a virtual machine on the new system. (using a virtual machine lets me run some older software that Win7 64 bit can't). That told me the issue was in windows7. After some searching and some experimenting, I found the problem; Windows 7 installs with a "feature" called "Smooth edges of screen fonts" turned on. This makes small text blurry. If anyone wants to try this on a Windows7 machine, You get to the setting fastest by typing "appearance" in the search box. then select "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows". Uncheck the smooth edges of screen fonts box, apply, and then close the window (it won't take effect until you click okay and close the window). This gave me a massive improvement in screen clarity. CJ

The good news is, I figured out what was wrong, and I'm writing again; the block is over. Thanks for the vote of confidence, but this one truly stank. I didn't save a copy (I did the rewrite over the top of the original file) or I'd offer to post it here in the forum, for those wishing to see a truly awful mess. I'll keep a copy of my next screw-up, and if you still want to see it, I'll post it. At the very least, it will give people something to laugh at. I've heard that some authors post just one chapter a year. It's probably for the best I didn't do that with Circumnavigation.

Trevor had that coming; he should have known that the "France issue" wasn't a real issue.

Circumnavigation is on hiatus for a week, again. I'm truly sorry, I had earnestly wanted to avoid doing this for the remainder of the novel. In a nutshell, I have had some issues offline, such as work emergencies, a major storm, tax season (ARRRGGGHHH!!! PAPERWORK!!!) and I've also been spending time building a computer to replace the one that died last summer. (I'm typing this on the new one now). For all these reasons, plus a winter cold a couple of weeks ago, I've fallen behind, and was barely keeping up with posting. This week, I just didn't have time or the mindset to write much, and the chapter turned out awful, so no one has seen it yet. I'm re-writing it. Anyway, for all these reasons, I have nothing to post Tuesday. It's likely to be next Tuesday before I do. For what it's worth, one of the problems was writer's block, because there was an undecided plot issue I had to deal with. Until I figured it out, I could not proceed. The breakthrough came last night, so that's past and writing is flowing again.

Now what could possibly go wrong on a flight to New Jersey? Their plans for the future... yes, we finally see them. They have been foreshadowed from the start, by Joel's love of being at the helm. The only problem is that, at the moment, such plans are impossible, thanks to the cartel literally wanting Trevor's head. MikeL advised me to use it; I think I had the title previously as "pains", but it just felt bleh, so I pondered changing it to ballmail to MikeL, who is very good with titles. I'm an odd writer. Good catch! Yes, they do have an equal relationship, which is very hard to do under the circumstances; Trevor is the one who owns the boats. That makes it inherently unequal, or would, if Shane wasn't Shane. Yep, we're nearing the end. About nine chapters to go. Shane gets right to the point. Thanks! Yep, they do indeed share a bed for a reason. I do have explicit content in some stories, but only where it's plot relevant to have it covered in detail. So far, in Circumnavigation, it hasn't been. I almost did have an explicit scene earlier in the story, basically a conversation taking place amid sex, but I decided against it. And before anyone bemoans this choice, I should mention that the two characters in the scene were Bridget and George. I'm not saying it applies here in this case, but we can't be certain, because characters, unlike the narrator, can be mistaken, or even lie. I do have a few on the drawing board. Coming up with story ideas is easy; they just pop into my head. (proof that nature indeed abhors a vacuum, and endeavors to fill it). However, regarding Circumnavigation; bad news... I'll be posting about it in it's own thread in a moment, but it's on hold. I'm very sorry to have to do this, but the next chapter to post just wasn't working, I felt it stank, and couldn't figure out why. So, I had to put the story on hold. There won't be a chapter Tuesday, it'll be a week from Tuesday. CJ

Thanks!!! And of course, nowhere near a cliff... I'd never go anywhere near a cliff, or a cliffhanger.

Chapter 115: Ballmail Deep in the lush hills of Haiti’s northern coast, Bridget was in pain; a battle between gnawing aches from her swabbed face and wrapped leg, dragging her back towards reluctant consciousness. Slowly, her thoughts became coherent, and she remembered arriving in Haiti and being taken to the luxurious private estate in the hills overlooking the shore. Then she remembered the doctor and the preparations for surgery. She opened her eyes, the blur before her gradually resolv

Ballmail is up. It's an odd title, but I think it fits.

I hope it was a belt for just the AC; I've had them go like that on the alternator belt, and some cars have one belt for both. Jesse definitely got some poetic justice. I added the spoiler space to my post; good point!!!! And 666? The number of the beast!!!! And next comes 667, the neighbor of the beast!

Thanks!! I wonder if anyone would be surprised to learn that when I set out to write this, I intended i9t to be far simpler, and around 2000 words, not the 12000 it came out as? Some might accuse me of being verbose by nature... in which case, I can argue back by posting a 37 page explanation as to why, exactly, I am not verbose. The story was first person, so we could only know what Chad knew. So, was it coincidence that

The straight guy getting "outed" was something I just couldn't resist doing... poetic justice and all that. And, it's what made the story fit the theme.

I was torn on the details for purchasing the property; I had to include some (but not too much) to show what the resulting situation was (and Chad making some air-headed choices) but not too much... It's a short story, and ended up at 12000 words as is.

I set the story in 2004, because I felt it worked better then, regarding slightly different attitudes regarding homosexuality, and anonymous handles being far more prevalent in the pre-facebook era. I used the car's age to set the timeframe; 1990, plus 14 years.

I was in the mood to do a fun story, and in this case, Chad's density was the key. Don't feel bad; you weren't supposed to get Chad's nickname until the end; I hid the main clue in an apparent throw-away line by Carroll, when she called him I.D.

Thanks! Yeah, he managed to make his life miserable for a while... a victime of circumstance, self doubt, and of course, density.

I used to live in Phoenix... I remember my car AC quitting when it was 122 degrees! So did my apartment AC. That was a hot day, even for Phoenix. (56C, for the metrically minded). CJ

We never learn for sure all of what happened. It's from Chad's POV so we only know what he knows. Is it a coincidence that Carroll directed him to that discussion group that "Matt" happened to be in? Did that have anyth8ing to do with "Matt" trying to find other people his roomate went to HS with to call? Did that have anything to do with Jason dashing to grab the phone to Carroll at the end?

Thanks! The pacing and setup gave me some worries... I had to walk a line between too obvious, and not obvious enough.

Yep... the only crime they know he likely committed was trespassing on Kookaburra when he plated the tracker. Poor Basingstoke... he's just... misunderstood. Roughly eight tenths of a mile from the beach to where Kookaburra was. So, a good mile and a half paddle, round trip. He'd of course be slower on the way back. By the time Trevor gave up on the idea of turning back and swamping him, he was about 300 yards off the beach. From where he came ashore, it is one point one miles to where his plane is parked. Trevor's route was far longer, though I didn't give details due to length. Long story short, there are a lot of reefs and shoals on the northern and eastern side of east Wallabai, so Trevor had several choices. the safest, especially for a high speed run, gives him a route from anchorage to the airstrip jetty of just over 10 miles. He's on engines for part of it (max 11 knots) then faster under sail for parts of it. So, say an average of 13 knots, or just under 15 mph, which is generous because he's loose some speed while coming about, having to slow down in shallow water, etc. so it'd take him approx 40 minutes, assuming zero delays, to get to the point where Lisa spotted Bassinstoke, which was close in to the jetty at the end of the runway. You can see the shoals somewhat in google earth, or on that google maps link in the chapter. Basingstoke wasn't at his plane yet; Lisa guessed two hundred yards, as I recall, and that's just over a tenth of a mile, so Basingstoke had paddled almost eight tenths of a mile (let's say two mph and and assume no help from the following wind) so that'd take him 25 minutes or so. He then needs to walk roughly a mile to where Lisa saw him, and walking speed on that kind of ground (it's essentially flat, with scattered bushes) would be about 4mph if he wasn't in a hurry. (when I'm hiking I do 5 miles in under an hour, easy, so I'd say 4mph for an easy gait.) That's 15 minutes per mile, so net time, 40 minutes total. However, you did catch me in a fudge; I don't have detailed nautical charts for the treacherous waters around East Wallabai, so I guessed a route distance for Kookaburra. There is a shorter route, but I figured that at high speed, Trevor wouldn't want to risk crippling Kookaburra by taking her into coral strewn shallows more than needed. So, the main fudge factor I built in is guessing the route (10.86 miles per google earth) and Lisa's estimate of Basingstoke's distance from the plane of 200 yards. It's damn hard to gauge distance in those conditions through binoculars, and the island, though flat, has a slight rise, just a few feet above grade, about a quarter mile west of the runway. So, Basingstoke may well have been further west then she thought. (a character can lie or be mistaken, the narrator can't). If anyone is really interested, I could generate some google earth .kmz files? I can't be totally positive on the course, because I don't have nautical charts for that area, and google earth even shades out the area east of the islands, so I cant make visual estimates, so I took my best guess. :-) I like being kept on my toes. I love accuracy, so I expect to have seeming incongruities challenged. I was kind of hoping to be challenged on why, exactly, I show Jindalee having capabilities beyond those mentioned in Wikipedia and other online sources. Even Basingstoke is shown th8inking he's safe due to assuming online reports of its coverage areas are accurate, yet ever since Trevor approached Australia and was seen well west of Cape Leeuwin, I've shown it otherwise. I'll go ahead and explain... Briefly, Jindalee was largely based on a US Navy shore-based over-the-horizon backscatter system that became operational in the late 70's. the coverage areas from these linier arrays were well known. The US military was heavily involved in Jindalee's development, so it's a safe assumption that Jindalee has coverage arcs similar. The Jindalee array for the Western Australia sector, though, is V shaped, not linier, so the coverage arcs from each face should be similar to a liniear array. The leaves the limiting factor being the isosondes; transmitters along the coast that sample the ionosphere. On that coast, the southernmost known one is near Gerladton, which is why that's the reported southely limit of the coverage arc. However, the isosondes are high powered transmitters at an odd freqency; roughly 10.5 mhz (they do alter the freq a bit, based on conditions). It wasn't hard to figure out that all that was needed was an isosonde near Perth, so I checked transmitter records, and sure enough, there's a high powered transmitter in the right freq range at Base Pierce, near Perth, and quite a few of the known isosondes are at military bases. So, between that, and the coverage arc from the main array near Leviton, it's a near certainty that Jindalee has the coverage areas described. The cost guard in Australia is complicated. They have three, and at least one is a volunteer outfit. None perform all the duties we associate with the US or Canadian CG though... the maritime interdiction and patrol are done by the Customs and Border Patrol. agency. The Australian air force and navy very rarely get involved directly, though they do provide extensive support, such as maritime partol aircraft (P3C orions, etc) and of course radar data from Jindalee. He's more prone to conspiricy, I think.

Infinite Density Fate cannot be denied, and neither can Density.

Two hundred thirty four... Two hundred thirty five... Two hundred thirty six... Well, isn’t this interesting? What am I doing, you ask? I’m counting: counting cactus. Well, if you want to be pedantic, counting cacti. Now, where should I start? I guess the beginning is as good a place as any; well, I was born… nah, that’s a bit too early. Okay, let’s roll it on forward a bit, like eighteen years, and try that again: I was cruising down Interstate 10, heading out from my home town of su

A short story written for the "It Wasn't Me!" themed Spring Anthology, 2012. Fate cannot be denied, and neither can Density.

I was dissapointed that they didn't get 'em too. What? Sweet, innocent me devious? Now how could I be that? 0:-)

Thanks! Sorry for the delay; I pretty much had no choice; I was running behind. Keeping up with the weekly posting schedule is right at the limit of my abilities; I'm not a fast writer. I'm a rotten typist, which does not help. Doing the short story Infinite Density for the anthology (It's as long as two Circumnavigation chapters) put me even further behind on Circumnavigation.