JamesSavik

We call them Azalea- just a little different from Rhodies. They don't like the heat down here. When I was a kid there were abandoned homes out in the country that had giant Azalea bushes. Old gardens gone wild are amazing. There was one I used to go see every spring that had massive growths of Azalea, Magnolia and Iris. I've got some of the Iris probably originally ordered from a seed catalog back in the late 1800s, maybe earlier. It's hardier than modern hybrids but not as flashy.

When you write, do you ever feel self conscious about it? I write personal experience and that gets pretty intense sometimes. I stalled on my story Broken because it was about to get very messy. I've talked to some people about the next chapters and heard good arguments about going forward or calling it quits. That's not the only other story I got cold feet about. Like I alluded to, I've changed with age and not the same person I was. This weeks writing prompt (573) got me thinking hard about this question: Prompt #573 Most people seen Tommy and said he was nothing but trouble. You seen Tommy and called him a friend. At least until Tommy brought a world of trouble to your door, begging for help. What do you do? I made this comment on Renee's Blog: It's easy to write yourself as the hero of a story. Writing yourself as a villain- now that's hard. Do you feel like maybe you are giving away too much? Feels like it. I've had some darkness in my past. People go through all sorts of changes in their life. If you are the same person at 20,30 and 40, you are doing it wrong. I was an asshole at various points in my life and acted the part. I'm not sure I want to proclaim that I was an asshole, did the wrong thing or, was at times, a coward. Do you feel like there are lines that shouldn't be crossed? Yes there are. You won't find me writing any romances between a young man and his horse. I've got no problems following GA's guidelines. Maybe you should. Perhaps. I'm still thinking about it.

When you write, do you ever feel self conscious about it? Do you feel like maybe you are giving away too much? People go through all sorts of changes in their life. If you are the same person at 20,30 and 40, you are doing it wrong. Do you feel like there are lines that shouldn't be crossed? Can you go too far? Maybe you should.

When I was a little nipper, I didn’t care much for reading. I was more about climbing trees, playing sports and fishing. Sitting still and reading wasn’t really on my agenda. In fact school and reading were way, way down on my list of priorities. My grades showed it. I wasn’t an idiot. I just wasn’t interested or connected. My grandmother noticed and she used her grandmotherly skills on me. She started reading the Hobbit to me aloud on rainy winter days. I’m not sure why exactly but it clicked in my head. I did get interested and engaged. She could only read for just so long. If I wanted more, I had to read it on my own. Sneaky Grandmothers. That was the very first book I ever picked up- just for the fun of reading. In fact, I remember being depressed when it was over. That Christmas she gave me the 3 volume set of the Lord of the Rings. I was delighted and my parents were astonished. All of the usual Christmas stuff to play with and I was well into the Fellowship of the Ring By the time school started, I was starting the Two Towers. Teachers didn’t believe I was reading it. I wasn’t getting in trouble anymore for not paying attention. I was getting in trouble for reading the wrong thing in class. By the time I had finished The Return of the King, several very good things had happened: I was no longer reading below grade level. I was reading two grade levels higher. My vocabulary was much improved. My reading comprehension went from average to exceptional. My English grades went from crap to excellent. I went from avoiding reading to frequenting bookstores looking for more! In 4th grade my life changed for the better. It’s because I picked up Tolkien and would not put it down. Why it’s a classic is because it can capture the imagination of a restless boy that never wanted to sit still (probably had ADD) and completely turned him around academically. The movies are great but they just aren't the same as the books. If you've never read them, they are recommended for kids eight to eighty.

I don't write fanfic because: that universe does not belong to me my ego is too large to share Star Trek was always the universe I played in and the way canon Romulans behaved always looked wrong. I can understand that inscrutable super-intelligent aliens can act strange and bizarre but dumb doesn't work for me. TOS Romulans are different from NextGen Romulans- somewhere in between they make a huge technological leap from pre-warp Warbirds to singularity powered D class battlecruisers. Inconsistencies like that are traps for fanfic authors and, Disney can buy the whole franchise and throw out what they don't like- like they did to the the Star Wars franchise. I think its best to write in your own universe but, you have to build it and that's a lot of work. At least you own it and that stupid mouse can go pound sand.

Tommy huh. How did you know? Does everybody have a bad boy in their past named Tommy? I'm not even sure I can write it. It'll read like a Greek tragedy.

Each one will have a humanoid physical avatar. The better to interact with the bald monkeys.

The name of the technology is going to be: Digital Avatars- people are going to call them DAVEs. or specifically by their name. Each individual one... that's going to be tough. I think that they will end us choosing their own as Digital Avatar 39616 is a little much for conversation. Thanks for your input.

In an upcoming story an AI (Artificial Intelligence) plays a big role. But darned if I'm stuck for a name. He is a person that happens to reside in silicon. What should his name be?

That guy couldn't exist. You don't have to be that guy to still be pretty interesting.

Au contraire! We need him now more than ever. Maybe he can't paint like an old master but he can wire your house, fix your router, tune up your car, read its computer codes, write tight code and fix dinner.

The US Air Force's B-1B Lancer- one of this era's Dreadnoughts.

1897 was Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the Royal Navy gathered at Spithead to pass in review. Note the boat chugging along doggedly front and center. It has an experimental engine that will soon rock the world- steam turbines. Faster and more reliable- when mated with fuel oil instead of coal, it will become the powerplant of choice in the next 10--20 years. This was just before the dawn of the age of the Dreadnought.. Technological breakthroughs were being made every day that enabled battleships to become the biggest and most lethal war ships in history. Electricity, hydraulics, turbines, radio, steel, welding-: with every new innovation the ships became bigger, faster and more powerful. HMS Dreadnought, 1906. The ship that included the newest technologies of the new century and set the pace for all the rest. Dreadnoughts became the ticket that had to be punched to be acknowledged as a Great Power. To build and maintain a fleet of Dreadnoughts required the economic wherewithal, industrial capability and technological base that only a Great Power could afford. Dreadnoughts were to the 20th century what advanced jet aircraft and nuclear weapons are to the 21st century. They define a Great Power, insure its security and add to its prestige. In a very few short years Dreadnoughts advanced from naval units to political status symbols.

Why we love Australians

I didn't name either one. In fairness in most articles I've seen talking about the subject says: the competent man (or woman). Lot's of competent women in sci-fi like Honor Harrington or Ripley from the Aliens franchise.

___________________________________________ Only three planets are left that have not come under the eye of a long term survey missions: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (planet, minor planet, cartoon dog- who cares). Scientifically- these planets are very interesting because they have been in a multi billion year deep freeze from the formation of the solar system. Materials on their surfaces (or their moon surfaces) have undergone very little “processing” since the formation of the solar system. On the earth, everything is constantly recycled . They represent the best available “snap shots” of the primordial solar system. The moons of all three outer planets are also a good example of what we might find even further out in the Oort Cloud as they are all probably captured. People may giggle but the science is exciting. Even building these probes is a challenge involving some of the longest communications loops and complicated programmed maneuvers in history. The technology possibilities are very exciting. Artificial Intelligence to make decisions independently- outside the communications loop for time dependent actions. Phased array antennas, special frequency modulations, plutonium power source- all the sorts things that make hard core tech geeks quiver in geeky antici... pation. We should do it soon. Prepare for Uranus!

Say hello to my little friend: Angry Toad. He's not much of a conversationalist.