Shawn Jones's Blog
November 30, 2020
Let's Talk Masks
For those of you old enough to remember, they used to say the same things about seat belts that they say about masks now. Yet how stupid do you think people who don’t wear a seatbelt are? I assure you, people who don’t wear masks are twice as stupid and multiple times as dangerous.
A person who doesn’t wear a seatbelt is only putting themselves in danger. An idiot who walks into Lowe’s without a mask is a much bigger dipshit because they are putting every person they come in contact with at risk.
So yeah, that happened yesterday, and I called the dude out on it. There was a preteen with her dad in front of him. After asking if I really called him a dipshit, the maskless moron actually said, “That’s not cool saying that in front of a kid.”
“Neither is killing her because of your god-given right to be a dipshit.”
Kid’s dad smiled. Dipshit did not. Instead he said, “You aren’t worth the breath.”
I know words and wit and am quick with responses in situations like this. I said, “Your germy breath or one that isn’t a risk to the rest of us?”
If by some twist of fate, the dipshit is reading this right now, I say to him, “You are still a dipshit.” Wear a mask, dipshit.
Here’s the thing…
Wearing a mask doesn’t hurt you. They’ve proven medically that wearing a mask doesn’t suffocate you, or even lower your oxygen saturation. The worst thing that happens is that crease in your neck fat or behind your ears.
Think about it. A surgeon wears one for hours while rooting around in our guts. The dentist wears one for an hour while grinding away in your mouth. You can wear one for the trip to Costco or Lowe’s or your favorite adult toy store.
If you are not healthy enough to wear a layer of fabric or paper over your mouth, you aren’t healthy enough to walk around or shop or participate in ‘public’ activities. You shouldn’t be there if a mask makes the difference in your ability to breathe.
My wife and her coworkers wear a mask and shield eight to ten hours straight, five or six days a week. Many of them do not take an unfiltered breath for over eight hours while they are around your loved one. But people who don’t wear a mask in public are literally spitting on their efforts. When you walk around without a mask, that germ they are trying so hard to keep away from your grandma in the nursing home gets a first class ticket to see her. Thank goodness you coughed it into the air just as you walked by a little kid in the garden area or the nurse picking up a frozen dinner because she is so tired from working multiple doubles that she can barely push the start button on the microwave.
We all have a responsibility here. If you won’t pick it up and run with it, then fuck you, dipshit. Keep buying my books until they have to intubate you. After that, they will put you in a medical coma so you don’t try to rip the tube out of your throat because every breath makes you choke and panic.
However, if you do wear a mask every moment you are around people from outside your household, then thank you. I love you for protecting yourselves, your family, my wife, her patients, and all the people who take care of us right now.
See this post on M82Books.com
A person who doesn’t wear a seatbelt is only putting themselves in danger. An idiot who walks into Lowe’s without a mask is a much bigger dipshit because they are putting every person they come in contact with at risk.
So yeah, that happened yesterday, and I called the dude out on it. There was a preteen with her dad in front of him. After asking if I really called him a dipshit, the maskless moron actually said, “That’s not cool saying that in front of a kid.”
“Neither is killing her because of your god-given right to be a dipshit.”
Kid’s dad smiled. Dipshit did not. Instead he said, “You aren’t worth the breath.”
I know words and wit and am quick with responses in situations like this. I said, “Your germy breath or one that isn’t a risk to the rest of us?”
If by some twist of fate, the dipshit is reading this right now, I say to him, “You are still a dipshit.” Wear a mask, dipshit.
Here’s the thing…
Wearing a mask doesn’t hurt you. They’ve proven medically that wearing a mask doesn’t suffocate you, or even lower your oxygen saturation. The worst thing that happens is that crease in your neck fat or behind your ears.
Think about it. A surgeon wears one for hours while rooting around in our guts. The dentist wears one for an hour while grinding away in your mouth. You can wear one for the trip to Costco or Lowe’s or your favorite adult toy store.
If you are not healthy enough to wear a layer of fabric or paper over your mouth, you aren’t healthy enough to walk around or shop or participate in ‘public’ activities. You shouldn’t be there if a mask makes the difference in your ability to breathe.
My wife and her coworkers wear a mask and shield eight to ten hours straight, five or six days a week. Many of them do not take an unfiltered breath for over eight hours while they are around your loved one. But people who don’t wear a mask in public are literally spitting on their efforts. When you walk around without a mask, that germ they are trying so hard to keep away from your grandma in the nursing home gets a first class ticket to see her. Thank goodness you coughed it into the air just as you walked by a little kid in the garden area or the nurse picking up a frozen dinner because she is so tired from working multiple doubles that she can barely push the start button on the microwave.
We all have a responsibility here. If you won’t pick it up and run with it, then fuck you, dipshit. Keep buying my books until they have to intubate you. After that, they will put you in a medical coma so you don’t try to rip the tube out of your throat because every breath makes you choke and panic.
However, if you do wear a mask every moment you are around people from outside your household, then thank you. I love you for protecting yourselves, your family, my wife, her patients, and all the people who take care of us right now.
See this post on M82Books.com
September 18, 2020
In the Realm of Science Fiction
Warrior’s Realm is in the wild now. In it, Cort steps up and leads humanity into a galactic war with an enemy no one understands. Planets fall one after another, and the only hope is to trace them back to their source, and find some way to keep the Ares Federation of Planets and its new allies out of the path of destruction. But it’s also where we meet Heroc, who bonds humanity to her species in a way that only a true Queen can. More importantly, it takes us from Cort the human leader to Cort the living embodiment of war. Pick it up at your favorite ebook store and give it a spin if you haven’t already.
Speaking of war, how about 2020? Dang. Plagues, infernos, starvation, it’s almost like Momma Nature doesn’t like us anymore. But then, who can blame her? We aren’t exactly good stewards now, are we?
I’ve been pretty much stuck inside for over a month thanks to the wildfires here in northern California. But the last two days have been blissful. Particle counts in the tens instead of in the hundreds. I worked, gardened, and soaked up the sun outside today. Tonight I’ll be grilling some chuck eye steaks. Here’s a secret… it’s just a small rib eye that costs about 40% less. It’s the best grilling steak there is. Tomorrow night I’m grilling pizza. Sunday, I’m grilling something else. But I’ll be outside. To those of you still stuck in the AQI mess, you have my deepest sympathy, and I hope you get the same reprieve that we have soon. Hurricanes? No thanks. One of my remaining brothers has already gone through a couple of those this season in Louisiana, USA. So has my sister in Florida, USA. All I need is a good air filter and I’m set.
I want to get back outside, so I’m going to give Americans and those in countries with approaching elections a little advice.
Vote.
If you can’t vote, spend your dollar at businesses that support your beliefs. In a corporate oligarchy, which is what I believe the USA and possibly the world is becoming, our dollar is as important as our vote. Use both wisely.
If you can but choose not to vote, you are an idiot and I hope you choose not to reproduce, because you are giving your power away to people who don’t know you, and letting them choose your children’s futures. Giving your own power away is the ultimate betrayal of one’s self. Giving someone else’s power away is the ultimate betrayal of humanity.
See this post on M82Books.com
Speaking of war, how about 2020? Dang. Plagues, infernos, starvation, it’s almost like Momma Nature doesn’t like us anymore. But then, who can blame her? We aren’t exactly good stewards now, are we?
I’ve been pretty much stuck inside for over a month thanks to the wildfires here in northern California. But the last two days have been blissful. Particle counts in the tens instead of in the hundreds. I worked, gardened, and soaked up the sun outside today. Tonight I’ll be grilling some chuck eye steaks. Here’s a secret… it’s just a small rib eye that costs about 40% less. It’s the best grilling steak there is. Tomorrow night I’m grilling pizza. Sunday, I’m grilling something else. But I’ll be outside. To those of you still stuck in the AQI mess, you have my deepest sympathy, and I hope you get the same reprieve that we have soon. Hurricanes? No thanks. One of my remaining brothers has already gone through a couple of those this season in Louisiana, USA. So has my sister in Florida, USA. All I need is a good air filter and I’m set.
I want to get back outside, so I’m going to give Americans and those in countries with approaching elections a little advice.
Vote.
If you can’t vote, spend your dollar at businesses that support your beliefs. In a corporate oligarchy, which is what I believe the USA and possibly the world is becoming, our dollar is as important as our vote. Use both wisely.
If you can but choose not to vote, you are an idiot and I hope you choose not to reproduce, because you are giving your power away to people who don’t know you, and letting them choose your children’s futures. Giving your own power away is the ultimate betrayal of one’s self. Giving someone else’s power away is the ultimate betrayal of humanity.
See this post on M82Books.com
August 31, 2020
My Intolerance of Intolerance
I have seen several social media posts over the last few months that scare me. One even caused a rift in my own family that has left us forever divided. But I am haunted by two posts in particular.
One was made to look like a page from a book. It said, “If your religion requires you to hate somebody, then you need a new religion.” That’s really what it boils down to. If you hate someone solely because a misinterpreted, outdated, and repeatedly re-translated book tells you to, then you need a new book.
The other post was a tweet by a Libyan woman who wrote, “If you’re an American confusedly watching the darkest forces of [your] nation rally around a demagogue, maybe [you] can understand the Mideast now.” I won’t be one of those who rally around a fool who promotes hatred and bigotry and isolationism. And I certainly won’t sit idly by and watch those things boil over in my country.
When I was a kid growing up in Tulsa, I remember the KKK marching in holiday parades in our area. I remember racially-fueled fights in my high school. I remember people, even my own parents, calling north Tulsa “n* town.” I remember feeling a fear that the elders of my family instilled in me any time we drove through that area to see family in the next town over. I remember being madly in love with a beautiful young black woman named Kim, and I remember her smiling back at me. Worst of all, I remember never even having the nerve to ask her to go with me, because we both knew our parents wouldn’t have allowed it.
What is happening in the United States during this election cycle scares me. I am scared for my black friends. I worry about a black friend because he is married to a white woman. To make it worse, he works in an area of California where white men missing half of their teeth still wear denim vests quilted with the confederate flag. I am scared for the son of other friends who is a teenage black man, and for that reason alone will be targeted by the police when he gets his driver’s license next year. And I’m scared for the daughter of another friend who is an incredible young black girl who recently spent weeks raising over five-hundred dollars for the American Heart Association. I am scared for the women in my family who could lose the right to make decisions regarding their own bodies. I am scared for my friends and acquaintances in the LGBT community, because their right to have a family is in jeopardy. I am scared for the young men around me, because they may be asked to fight in wars that will further alienate our nation from the rest of the world and make us the target of other people filled with as much hatred as those who are raising their hands to pledge allegiance to a man. Not to our country. To a hate-filled man.
I am a middle-aged white man. I am probably the only demographic in America that is safe. But my safety is hollow if the people I care about and love are not as safe in our country as I am. I too, have a weapon. The written word is both my sword and shield, and if I do not use them to stand up to those who would harm my country, then I am not deserving of the safety I enjoy while those around me live nervously and in fear as we watch what is happening to the land of the free.
I don’t know all the answers and I won’t pretend to dabble in international politics. I will say that I know, with unequivocal certainty, that spouting hatred and taking rights away from people who have never raised their hand to our country, except to pledge allegiance to its flag, isn’t the way to protect our nation or our many ways of life.
I do not know how I am going to use the written word over the next few months, but I must use it, if only to be able to face myself in the mirror. If you are one of those who spout ‘patriotic’ racism and are lining up to turn back the American clock on basic human rights, you are my enemy. For every word of hatred you spout, I will render two of tolerance. I do want to be able to look at myself in the mirror, but more importantly I want the people I love to know that I did everything I could to ensure their safety.
One was made to look like a page from a book. It said, “If your religion requires you to hate somebody, then you need a new religion.” That’s really what it boils down to. If you hate someone solely because a misinterpreted, outdated, and repeatedly re-translated book tells you to, then you need a new book.
The other post was a tweet by a Libyan woman who wrote, “If you’re an American confusedly watching the darkest forces of [your] nation rally around a demagogue, maybe [you] can understand the Mideast now.” I won’t be one of those who rally around a fool who promotes hatred and bigotry and isolationism. And I certainly won’t sit idly by and watch those things boil over in my country.
When I was a kid growing up in Tulsa, I remember the KKK marching in holiday parades in our area. I remember racially-fueled fights in my high school. I remember people, even my own parents, calling north Tulsa “n* town.” I remember feeling a fear that the elders of my family instilled in me any time we drove through that area to see family in the next town over. I remember being madly in love with a beautiful young black woman named Kim, and I remember her smiling back at me. Worst of all, I remember never even having the nerve to ask her to go with me, because we both knew our parents wouldn’t have allowed it.
What is happening in the United States during this election cycle scares me. I am scared for my black friends. I worry about a black friend because he is married to a white woman. To make it worse, he works in an area of California where white men missing half of their teeth still wear denim vests quilted with the confederate flag. I am scared for the son of other friends who is a teenage black man, and for that reason alone will be targeted by the police when he gets his driver’s license next year. And I’m scared for the daughter of another friend who is an incredible young black girl who recently spent weeks raising over five-hundred dollars for the American Heart Association. I am scared for the women in my family who could lose the right to make decisions regarding their own bodies. I am scared for my friends and acquaintances in the LGBT community, because their right to have a family is in jeopardy. I am scared for the young men around me, because they may be asked to fight in wars that will further alienate our nation from the rest of the world and make us the target of other people filled with as much hatred as those who are raising their hands to pledge allegiance to a man. Not to our country. To a hate-filled man.
I am a middle-aged white man. I am probably the only demographic in America that is safe. But my safety is hollow if the people I care about and love are not as safe in our country as I am. I too, have a weapon. The written word is both my sword and shield, and if I do not use them to stand up to those who would harm my country, then I am not deserving of the safety I enjoy while those around me live nervously and in fear as we watch what is happening to the land of the free.
I don’t know all the answers and I won’t pretend to dabble in international politics. I will say that I know, with unequivocal certainty, that spouting hatred and taking rights away from people who have never raised their hand to our country, except to pledge allegiance to its flag, isn’t the way to protect our nation or our many ways of life.
I do not know how I am going to use the written word over the next few months, but I must use it, if only to be able to face myself in the mirror. If you are one of those who spout ‘patriotic’ racism and are lining up to turn back the American clock on basic human rights, you are my enemy. For every word of hatred you spout, I will render two of tolerance. I do want to be able to look at myself in the mirror, but more importantly I want the people I love to know that I did everything I could to ensure their safety.
August 9, 2020
Warrior's Blood Re-Release
Warrior’s Blood, book 2 in the Warrior Chronicles, has gone live all over the place – Amazon, Apple, B&N, and many, many more places. If you can’t find it at your preferred source, be patient – it’s out there in the netisphere, but it takes awhile for re-population, you know.
Ah, back when Cort’s time on Mars had just begun and the whole of the galaxy was waiting for him to make his grand entrance… The memories of scotch and writing that book are strong. Cort was still introducing himself to future humanity in Warrior’s Blood, and the people who would do him harm found they were vastly outnumbered. By one dude and his little dog.
Okay, okay. One seriously sociopathic hero type dude, his pet wolf, and some reluctant help.
If you already own Warrior’s Blood, download the new version and re-familiarize yourself with Mars and the roots of the Ares Federation. If you don’t already own it, buy it now, so you can get a taste of what Cort can do when he’s up against a few more bad guys than he was back on Earth.
My wife suits up in two masks, goggles, and a face shield just to treat her patients who are negative. Once her building has positive patients, they will thankfully get even more strict. I stay home, smoke and write and plan next week’s grocery delivery, and make sure she has grilled pizza or burgers or something for dinner. Or she cooks and I clean up. Or we share the cooking. Or whatever. The point is, we stay home. Like you should.
I talked a little last time about hard scifi. I try to base as much of my science fiction on valid theory as I can. Because you deserve the best possible writing I can give you. Doctors Fauci and Birx do their best to give us the most valid treatments and ways to prevent this mess. It’s pretty simple, really. They are scientists and study this enemy for a living. Like a Marine studies those that would do harm to the Constitution, those doctors and their colleagues study the germ that can stopped by...
WEARING
A
FUCKING
MASK
That’s it. If we had all done it at the beginning, this thing would already be over. The “BY GOD I’M ‘MURICAN and I don’t have to wear a mask,” bullshit is just that. We’ve known for centuries that masks are helpful. CENTURIES, people. But by all means exercise your right to a level of stupidity that MY WIFE MADE ME DELETE THIS PART. Okay, maybe that last part was a tiny harsh, but by the way, the ‘Rona seems to fix MORE SPOUSAL EDITING. So if you want grandkids…. Wear a mask.
If you don’t support masking up and aren’t social distancing, please NEVER buy my books. Save the money for the funerals you won’t be able to attend. Oh, and if you have the shits, a sniffle, or even a mild temperature, avoid the places called public and work. A coworker who ‘caught a cold at a family thing’ infected my son. SPOUSAL EDITING. AGAIN. SHE SAYS I’M RAGE BLOGGING BECAUSE OF MY BROTHER. Jesus Christ, we are being outsmarted by a single set of genes stuck in a protein shell. Not even a true single celled organism. If you don’t wear a mask, you are literally more stupid than something that isn’t even considered truly alive by most scientists and doctors.
At the very least, if you must go against science and do stupid shit like go eat crackers made of Jesus at church or get yarn at Hobby Lobby and protest against people who want nothing more than to be treated with basic human respect, please god make sure you only cough on other people not wearing masks. That way we can put you all in one big mass grave and name it “Asses’ Hole.”
On the other hand, you can do all the right stuff and still end up with this shit. Like my kid. It happens. To those folks, I’m sorry for you and hope you recover. So you can find the fucker who infected you and pop them right in the mouth. Wears gloves and a mask when you do it though, okay? And sanitize after.
Sorry we didn’t get to the drive system for the new universe. Maybe next time.
See this post on M82Books.com
Ah, back when Cort’s time on Mars had just begun and the whole of the galaxy was waiting for him to make his grand entrance… The memories of scotch and writing that book are strong. Cort was still introducing himself to future humanity in Warrior’s Blood, and the people who would do him harm found they were vastly outnumbered. By one dude and his little dog.
Okay, okay. One seriously sociopathic hero type dude, his pet wolf, and some reluctant help.
If you already own Warrior’s Blood, download the new version and re-familiarize yourself with Mars and the roots of the Ares Federation. If you don’t already own it, buy it now, so you can get a taste of what Cort can do when he’s up against a few more bad guys than he was back on Earth.
Meanwhile, back here on earth, my son has mostly recovered from COVID-19, but my oldest brother died from it this week.
My wife suits up in two masks, goggles, and a face shield just to treat her patients who are negative. Once her building has positive patients, they will thankfully get even more strict. I stay home, smoke and write and plan next week’s grocery delivery, and make sure she has grilled pizza or burgers or something for dinner. Or she cooks and I clean up. Or we share the cooking. Or whatever. The point is, we stay home. Like you should.
I talked a little last time about hard scifi. I try to base as much of my science fiction on valid theory as I can. Because you deserve the best possible writing I can give you. Doctors Fauci and Birx do their best to give us the most valid treatments and ways to prevent this mess. It’s pretty simple, really. They are scientists and study this enemy for a living. Like a Marine studies those that would do harm to the Constitution, those doctors and their colleagues study the germ that can stopped by...
WEARING
A
FUCKING
MASK
That’s it. If we had all done it at the beginning, this thing would already be over. The “BY GOD I’M ‘MURICAN and I don’t have to wear a mask,” bullshit is just that. We’ve known for centuries that masks are helpful. CENTURIES, people. But by all means exercise your right to a level of stupidity that MY WIFE MADE ME DELETE THIS PART. Okay, maybe that last part was a tiny harsh, but by the way, the ‘Rona seems to fix MORE SPOUSAL EDITING. So if you want grandkids…. Wear a mask.
If you don’t support masking up and aren’t social distancing, please NEVER buy my books. Save the money for the funerals you won’t be able to attend. Oh, and if you have the shits, a sniffle, or even a mild temperature, avoid the places called public and work. A coworker who ‘caught a cold at a family thing’ infected my son. SPOUSAL EDITING. AGAIN. SHE SAYS I’M RAGE BLOGGING BECAUSE OF MY BROTHER. Jesus Christ, we are being outsmarted by a single set of genes stuck in a protein shell. Not even a true single celled organism. If you don’t wear a mask, you are literally more stupid than something that isn’t even considered truly alive by most scientists and doctors.
At the very least, if you must go against science and do stupid shit like go eat crackers made of Jesus at church or get yarn at Hobby Lobby and protest against people who want nothing more than to be treated with basic human respect, please god make sure you only cough on other people not wearing masks. That way we can put you all in one big mass grave and name it “Asses’ Hole.”
On the other hand, you can do all the right stuff and still end up with this shit. Like my kid. It happens. To those folks, I’m sorry for you and hope you recover. So you can find the fucker who infected you and pop them right in the mouth. Wears gloves and a mask when you do it though, okay? And sanitize after.
Sorry we didn’t get to the drive system for the new universe. Maybe next time.
See this post on M82Books.com
August 2, 2020
Physics. Again.
While my blogs are probably going to go back and forth between writing and the current events of the world, I am an author, so writing should take center stage, write? I mean right? I often find myself looking at a mass of files and random scenes trying to either make sense of it all, or to find that one perfect paragraph I wrote that time when I was high or at a wedding and snuck into the can to take a note. Or, because you know me, both.
As I put the work in on the next installment in The Warrior Chronicles, I have also been planning the rest of my writing career. One of the problems a science fiction writer has, especially in my kind of hard sci-fi, that is science fiction that is based on plausible tech, is that for every new series you have to devise a new tech foundation. This means hours, and sometimes even days spent imagining how spacefarers might make intergalactic journeys. Because let’s face it, you are my audience and you want more than just, “He jumped across space and time with total disregard to science.”
So let me tell you about the foundation for the technology that will be used for the rest of my sci-fi career, and let me tell you why I’m so excited about it. First of all, the foundation for all hard sci-fi is physics, so let’s start there. You see, I think the universe is shaped like a seashell. I don’t think my theory breaks anything, either. But I also don’t think it can be proven. Not yet, at least.
What if the big bang only expanded in all directions for the briefest moment before all the matter in the universe succumbed to chaos and was no longer in perfect balance? I think the mass, and therefore gravity, being out of balance caused a wrinkle in the expanding sphere and forced the early universe to fold in on itself. Only the other part, that part that didn’t fold in, kept expanding outward.
That part that folded in still wants to expand too, though. And I think it’s that expansion that is pushing the rest of the matter of the universe outward, where it eventually folds back over itself, completing another layer of the known universe.
I also think the universe obeys the rules of the curve Fibonacci explained to us as it expands.
Until proven otherwise, in my mind and therefore my writing, the universe is seashell-shaped and its expansion can be measured simply by applying Fibonacci’s knowledge to my imagination.
Next time I might tell you how folks are gonna jump through space.
Same stuff, fancier look at M82 Books
As I put the work in on the next installment in The Warrior Chronicles, I have also been planning the rest of my writing career. One of the problems a science fiction writer has, especially in my kind of hard sci-fi, that is science fiction that is based on plausible tech, is that for every new series you have to devise a new tech foundation. This means hours, and sometimes even days spent imagining how spacefarers might make intergalactic journeys. Because let’s face it, you are my audience and you want more than just, “He jumped across space and time with total disregard to science.”
So let me tell you about the foundation for the technology that will be used for the rest of my sci-fi career, and let me tell you why I’m so excited about it. First of all, the foundation for all hard sci-fi is physics, so let’s start there. You see, I think the universe is shaped like a seashell. I don’t think my theory breaks anything, either. But I also don’t think it can be proven. Not yet, at least.
What if the big bang only expanded in all directions for the briefest moment before all the matter in the universe succumbed to chaos and was no longer in perfect balance? I think the mass, and therefore gravity, being out of balance caused a wrinkle in the expanding sphere and forced the early universe to fold in on itself. Only the other part, that part that didn’t fold in, kept expanding outward.
That part that folded in still wants to expand too, though. And I think it’s that expansion that is pushing the rest of the matter of the universe outward, where it eventually folds back over itself, completing another layer of the known universe.
I also think the universe obeys the rules of the curve Fibonacci explained to us as it expands.
Until proven otherwise, in my mind and therefore my writing, the universe is seashell-shaped and its expansion can be measured simply by applying Fibonacci’s knowledge to my imagination.
Next time I might tell you how folks are gonna jump through space.
Same stuff, fancier look at M82 Books
May 21, 2020
The Power of Silence
The sound of silence is hatred. If we hear hate speech, and we don’t speak louder, then those around us only hear the hate speech.
Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, then you must live with evil.
We cannot be idle, we cannot close our eyes, and we cannot be silent.
Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, then you must live with evil.
We cannot be idle, we cannot close our eyes, and we cannot be silent.
May 12, 2020
Back in the Saddle!
It’s great to be back at publishing again. The gang here in the cigar galaxy are in the process of releasing the second editions of the first six books in The Warrior Chronicles across all eBook formats, culminating with the release of book seven, Warrior’s Peace, in the fall of 2020.
Warrior's Scar is newly released to Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Kobo and more. Still to come is the release to Overdrive and Hoopla (woot! Talk to your librarian!).
https://books2read.com/u/mdze6W
Warrior's Scar is newly released to Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Kobo and more. Still to come is the release to Overdrive and Hoopla (woot! Talk to your librarian!).https://books2read.com/u/mdze6W
April 20, 2020
4-20-(20)20
I’m back, Cort’s back (For a little while anyway since that guy is always jumping timestreams.), and the great companions are back. I’m sure by now you guys have figured out that my buddy stories almost always involve non-human companions that matter more than people do. In any case, we are all back.
When last we visited I was in a pretty bad place in life. Marital woes, family fires, depression, etc. A recipe many of my professional ilk share. But I had another issue that I didn’t think was related. I grew up with asthma. I don’t mean, ‘Oh darn I need to sit for a minute,’ asthma. I mean waking up to my mom’s cigarette breath in my mouth because she’s giving me CPR while dad races us to the ER with his own cigarette in his hand, kind of asthma.
I was able to control it with meds. Daily steroid inhalers, emergency inhalers, and humidity always kept me alive. When I got to high school a science teacher and a coach talked me into trying out for the swim team. They both had asthma as kids and swimming had helped. So I tried out and sucked. But that coach kept me on the team anyway. Eventually I didn’t suck so much and the asthma got better. I still fought pneumonia once a year. I still got sick. My lungs still sucked but I was able to breathe.
Fast forward to around the time I last published. So… several years ago. Great book. Warrior’s Curse was a hit and I was miserable. My wife was staying late at work to avoid coming home. My kid and I nearly came to blows a few times. Basically, I was a dick. A suicidal dick. Had I mentioned that part yet?
Anyway, I was camping near the Donner Campsite in the Sierra Nevadas wearing a Soylent Green t-shirt and trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me when I came across a study from a famous university talking about how in a small percentage of patients long term heavy use of steroids for the treatment of asthma could lead to… depression… suicidal thoughts… anger issues… Well holy hell! Eureka! Fuck me running! Damn!
I immediately quit taking all my asthma meds. We all know that wasn’t going to end well. But I knew from experience that if I didn’t have my inhalers with me, pot would lessen the symptoms of an asthma attack. The short reason is that if you get these tiny receptors in your lungs stoned, the things that get inflamed during an asthma attack are too high to give a shit. So I upped my pot intake. Then I upped it some more. Let’s just say I’m glad I live in a state where I can have it delivered right to my door, and I’m glad my delivery guy drives a hybrid.
Now I can’t say pot is gonna work for you if you have asthma, I just know it worked for me. Even my lung capacity has increased dramatically over the last two years. And the only time I’ve been sick was when the pseudo-grandkid brought over some sort of alien gut parasite on Superbowl Sunday. I don’t even get colds or have to take allergy pills now.
My wife and I are better than we’ve been in over a decade. Even though we are both working from a very small home right now, as the world faces the COVID-19 battle of our collective lifetimes. I also believe pot saved my marriage. And my wife agrees. It’s always good when your spouse agrees with you.
Thanks to a spit test, I do know that I have some extra Neanderthal DNA compared to most of you, and while I’m not a geneticist, I gotta believe there’s a link between it being called The Stone Age and the fact that we knew getting stoned was good for us long before we knew how to make stone tools.
As for what this means for you the reader… Like I said, I’m back and I’m writing a lot. I’ve teamed up with M82 Books to let them handle the business end of this business, and I’m gonna write.
And by the way, very soon you’ll find my books everywhere, not just Amazon. Sit back, drink a toast to our future in the Cigar Galaxy, or maybe smoke a bowl. I’m gonna do that. Because after all, it is 4-20.
When last we visited I was in a pretty bad place in life. Marital woes, family fires, depression, etc. A recipe many of my professional ilk share. But I had another issue that I didn’t think was related. I grew up with asthma. I don’t mean, ‘Oh darn I need to sit for a minute,’ asthma. I mean waking up to my mom’s cigarette breath in my mouth because she’s giving me CPR while dad races us to the ER with his own cigarette in his hand, kind of asthma.
I was able to control it with meds. Daily steroid inhalers, emergency inhalers, and humidity always kept me alive. When I got to high school a science teacher and a coach talked me into trying out for the swim team. They both had asthma as kids and swimming had helped. So I tried out and sucked. But that coach kept me on the team anyway. Eventually I didn’t suck so much and the asthma got better. I still fought pneumonia once a year. I still got sick. My lungs still sucked but I was able to breathe.
Fast forward to around the time I last published. So… several years ago. Great book. Warrior’s Curse was a hit and I was miserable. My wife was staying late at work to avoid coming home. My kid and I nearly came to blows a few times. Basically, I was a dick. A suicidal dick. Had I mentioned that part yet?
Anyway, I was camping near the Donner Campsite in the Sierra Nevadas wearing a Soylent Green t-shirt and trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me when I came across a study from a famous university talking about how in a small percentage of patients long term heavy use of steroids for the treatment of asthma could lead to… depression… suicidal thoughts… anger issues… Well holy hell! Eureka! Fuck me running! Damn!
I immediately quit taking all my asthma meds. We all know that wasn’t going to end well. But I knew from experience that if I didn’t have my inhalers with me, pot would lessen the symptoms of an asthma attack. The short reason is that if you get these tiny receptors in your lungs stoned, the things that get inflamed during an asthma attack are too high to give a shit. So I upped my pot intake. Then I upped it some more. Let’s just say I’m glad I live in a state where I can have it delivered right to my door, and I’m glad my delivery guy drives a hybrid.
Now I can’t say pot is gonna work for you if you have asthma, I just know it worked for me. Even my lung capacity has increased dramatically over the last two years. And the only time I’ve been sick was when the pseudo-grandkid brought over some sort of alien gut parasite on Superbowl Sunday. I don’t even get colds or have to take allergy pills now.
My wife and I are better than we’ve been in over a decade. Even though we are both working from a very small home right now, as the world faces the COVID-19 battle of our collective lifetimes. I also believe pot saved my marriage. And my wife agrees. It’s always good when your spouse agrees with you.
Thanks to a spit test, I do know that I have some extra Neanderthal DNA compared to most of you, and while I’m not a geneticist, I gotta believe there’s a link between it being called The Stone Age and the fact that we knew getting stoned was good for us long before we knew how to make stone tools.
As for what this means for you the reader… Like I said, I’m back and I’m writing a lot. I’ve teamed up with M82 Books to let them handle the business end of this business, and I’m gonna write.
And by the way, very soon you’ll find my books everywhere, not just Amazon. Sit back, drink a toast to our future in the Cigar Galaxy, or maybe smoke a bowl. I’m gonna do that. Because after all, it is 4-20.
April 16, 2020
The Morality of Fiction
I was still writing Warrior's Wrath when I started thinking about book five of The Warrior Chronicles.
Even then, I knew it would be darker than the earlier volumes. Really dark. So much so, that I may lose readers over its content. That didn’t stop me from writing it though.
In reality, I don’t really think of myself as a writer anyway. I’m more of a biographer for my characters. I let them tell me what happened to them. My wife laughs at me, because I’m often as surprised by what I put on paper as readers are when they buy my books.
In the end though, I have to admit that whatever makes it to the final version of a book came from my mind. Time travel, loyalty, inclusion, whatever you read in my books was born inside my psyche. And I know what is in Warrior's Curse came from some dark recess deep in my mind. That scares me. Or at least it did.
The reality is, like your favorite foods or your capacity for charity, good and evil are subjective. The exact same act can be interpreted a multitude of ways.
Even then, I knew it would be darker than the earlier volumes. Really dark. So much so, that I may lose readers over its content. That didn’t stop me from writing it though.
In reality, I don’t really think of myself as a writer anyway. I’m more of a biographer for my characters. I let them tell me what happened to them. My wife laughs at me, because I’m often as surprised by what I put on paper as readers are when they buy my books.
In the end though, I have to admit that whatever makes it to the final version of a book came from my mind. Time travel, loyalty, inclusion, whatever you read in my books was born inside my psyche. And I know what is in Warrior's Curse came from some dark recess deep in my mind. That scares me. Or at least it did.
The reality is, like your favorite foods or your capacity for charity, good and evil are subjective. The exact same act can be interpreted a multitude of ways.
December 31, 2016
A few weeks ago, I told everyone that Alex had written a ...
A few weeks ago, I told everyone that Alex had written a great essay about the DREAM Act concept. It's been graded now. He got and A, and I couldn't be more proud of him. Here is the paper, minus the bibliography.
What if it were you? It could just as easily be you who is fighting for the gift that many Americans are given simply just because they happen to be born here. A gift that most people take for granted. That’s United States citizenship. We already have the freedom of being a citizen so that’s all that matters right? No. We cannot forget about the hardworking young men and women that immigrate, sometimes not by their own choice but that of their parents, to our country in search for a better life. America took a step in the right direction of immigration reform by fighting to help deserving young immigrants. In 2001, the DREAM Act was introduced. The DREAM Act stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. This act allows young immigrants a chance to become a citizen if they pursue higher education or join the military. The DREAM Act was rejected multiple times. 2010 was the height of the DREAM Act, as reinforced by Mariela Olivares, an associate professor of law at Howard University, “The possibility of the DREAM Act becoming law was at an all time high.” The DREAM Act had actually passed in the house of representatives. However, when the bill got to the senate, “legislation failed to garner the necessary sixty votes.” Although many states have developed their own DREAM Acts, America is still fighting to pass this as a federal law to this day. It would be beneficial for all of America to help these young immigrants and make the DREAM Act a federal law. Many people who do not support the DREAM Act make the argument that it would encourage immigrants to continue to enter illegally, as reinforced by senator John Cornyn of Texas, “This bill, sadly, does nothing to fix our broken immigration system. It may be worse that we’re providing incentive for future illegal immigration.” However this is not true. The DREAM Act is not an “amnesty” program for all immigrants. The white house explains that the DREAM Act is not meant for just anybody, but that “The Dream Act requires responsibility and accountability of young people…” This goes to show that the DREAM Act caters to a certain type of person rather that just immigrants in general. America is making an effort to reward those immigrants who were brought here as young children through no fault of their own. Those who work just as hard, if not harder than other Americans. The Dream Act is meant for the “cream of the crop” of students. The young men and women who would benefit from the DREAM Act would be bettering themselves, becoming working and productive members of society, and show that they are hard-working people and have a great amount of ambition. The DREAM Act is a great way to encourage immigrants to get educated and seek out a better and more productive life. The DREAM Act could also help break the chain of poverty and lack of education for immigrants. Maryland has their own DREAM Act in place on a state level. The Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research conducted a study covering the costs and benefits of the Maryland DREAM Act. Within their study, the authors T.H. Gindling and Marvin Mandell “Predict that 435 Maryland students will take advantage of the Dream Act to go to college each year.” This is a significant number because there are that many young students that have the opportunity go on to improve their lives, breaking the chains of poverty that are common among immigrants. They can go on to start successful careers and businesses, and when they have their own children, they will not have to face many of the challenges encountered by their parents. The cycle can be changed from generation after generation of being poor, to centuries of changed lives, just by giving these immigrants the opportunity that they deserve. If 435 immigrants can benefit from the DREAM Act in just one medium sized state, just think about how many could benefit in the United States as a whole. Many of these immigrants have the hard-working mentality that it takes to be successful but lack the resources they need to fulfill their dreams of a better life. The DREAM Act can give them the boost that they need. One of our Senators, Richard Durbin, supports the idea that if we enact the DREAM Act, these immigrants can “contribute more fully to our society…” rather than tying them down and ultimately “relegate them to a future in the shadows…” It just takes one opportunity for one generation to change many lives after that. The DREAM Act would actually benefit the economy. If these people can become educated and start a career earning a higher wage, they would have more to contribute to the nation’s economy, as they “would be eligible for some refundable tax credits, Social Security, and Medicare benefits…” Once these immigrants are given this opportunity to start a better life, they earn legal U.S. citizenship and therefore are given both the freedoms and responsibilities that other Americans take for granted. One of those is paying taxes. That could lead to substantial amount of taxpayer dollars that will be pumped into the betterment of our nation. The Congressional Budget office reveals that DREAM Act legislation would increase the amount of qualified workers would result in higher corporate and social insurance taxes, which ultimately “would increase revenues by $2.3 billion over 10 years,” and even “would increase net direct spending by $912 million.” (Congressional Budget Office, pg. 1). The hard working students that can be assisted by the DREAM Act could help contribute to making our nation stronger by increasing the number of college graduates our country has and hopefully putting America back in that number one spot in the world, which is “something vital for America to remain competitive in today’s global economy.” It is also possible that these students can go on in life to do special things. This will just increase our chances of creating the next big invention or discovering a new medicine that will ultimately make our country stronger. It can’t be a bad thing for there to be a higher number of educated people in our country. Another point that many do not think about is that if America deported many of these undocumented immigrants, it would create large expenses. How would those expenses get paid? Taxpayer dollars coming out of your pocket. Economically, it seems that the DREAM Act could be a win win for everybody. The DREAM Act could enhance our national security. Their are some immigrants who come into our country who are bad people. However, the DREAM Act is not meant for those people. This act will be put in place solely for the benefit of those who have good morals and character. The DREAM Act could allow immigration enforcement to “focus on those who pose a serious threat to our nation’s security.” Otherwise law-abiding immigrant students are not the immigrants that America should be worried about. For the most part, these people are just like Americans. Most have grown up here and “are fiercely patriotic." So it would make sense if we could document these immigrants so we have a better idea of who is actually dangerous and who is not. This would enable us to be more aware of who is in our country. In order for these immigrants to qualify and benefit from the DREAM Act, they “would be subject to rigorous criminal background checks and reviews.” This would eliminate the possibility of bad people benefiting from this act and would ensure that anyone who is granted citizenship from the DREAM Act would be well deserving and we would know exactly who they are. The more insight and knowledge that the government has about the people in our country, the more safe and better off we will be. However if the government were to continue to consider these immigrants illegal, these people will stay in the shadows in fear that they could be deported. One of the other paths that these immigrants have to gain citizenship is to join the military. These men and women could have a lot to offer to the military as they bring diversity “linguistically and culturally,” which is something that could be very valuable and important to America’s fight against global war on terrorism. A study was conducted by the Center for Naval Analyses, regarding non-citizens in today’s military, and their final report concluded that immigrants do “extremely well in the military,” and that “noncitizens have 36-month attrition rates that are 9 to 20 percentage points lower than the attrition rates of white citizens." Furthermore, this shows that if America helps out these young immigrants hoping to attain U.S. citizenship, they can give back to our country and even help us out contributing to the strength and security of our country. America can gain a plethora of benefits by enacting of the DREAM Act. This could be a significant step in the right direction for reform on immigration, and could even turn around many people’s lives, sending whole families in the right direction. Citizenship would be something that these immigrants work very hard for and it is something that they can show that they deserve. The DREAM Act would be positive for the country as a whole as these young men and women have a lot to offer and are willing to take action and responsibility in order to support and help this country to which they are so thankful.
What if it were you? It could just as easily be you who is fighting for the gift that many Americans are given simply just because they happen to be born here. A gift that most people take for granted. That’s United States citizenship. We already have the freedom of being a citizen so that’s all that matters right? No. We cannot forget about the hardworking young men and women that immigrate, sometimes not by their own choice but that of their parents, to our country in search for a better life. America took a step in the right direction of immigration reform by fighting to help deserving young immigrants. In 2001, the DREAM Act was introduced. The DREAM Act stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors. This act allows young immigrants a chance to become a citizen if they pursue higher education or join the military. The DREAM Act was rejected multiple times. 2010 was the height of the DREAM Act, as reinforced by Mariela Olivares, an associate professor of law at Howard University, “The possibility of the DREAM Act becoming law was at an all time high.” The DREAM Act had actually passed in the house of representatives. However, when the bill got to the senate, “legislation failed to garner the necessary sixty votes.” Although many states have developed their own DREAM Acts, America is still fighting to pass this as a federal law to this day. It would be beneficial for all of America to help these young immigrants and make the DREAM Act a federal law. Many people who do not support the DREAM Act make the argument that it would encourage immigrants to continue to enter illegally, as reinforced by senator John Cornyn of Texas, “This bill, sadly, does nothing to fix our broken immigration system. It may be worse that we’re providing incentive for future illegal immigration.” However this is not true. The DREAM Act is not an “amnesty” program for all immigrants. The white house explains that the DREAM Act is not meant for just anybody, but that “The Dream Act requires responsibility and accountability of young people…” This goes to show that the DREAM Act caters to a certain type of person rather that just immigrants in general. America is making an effort to reward those immigrants who were brought here as young children through no fault of their own. Those who work just as hard, if not harder than other Americans. The Dream Act is meant for the “cream of the crop” of students. The young men and women who would benefit from the DREAM Act would be bettering themselves, becoming working and productive members of society, and show that they are hard-working people and have a great amount of ambition. The DREAM Act is a great way to encourage immigrants to get educated and seek out a better and more productive life. The DREAM Act could also help break the chain of poverty and lack of education for immigrants. Maryland has their own DREAM Act in place on a state level. The Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research conducted a study covering the costs and benefits of the Maryland DREAM Act. Within their study, the authors T.H. Gindling and Marvin Mandell “Predict that 435 Maryland students will take advantage of the Dream Act to go to college each year.” This is a significant number because there are that many young students that have the opportunity go on to improve their lives, breaking the chains of poverty that are common among immigrants. They can go on to start successful careers and businesses, and when they have their own children, they will not have to face many of the challenges encountered by their parents. The cycle can be changed from generation after generation of being poor, to centuries of changed lives, just by giving these immigrants the opportunity that they deserve. If 435 immigrants can benefit from the DREAM Act in just one medium sized state, just think about how many could benefit in the United States as a whole. Many of these immigrants have the hard-working mentality that it takes to be successful but lack the resources they need to fulfill their dreams of a better life. The DREAM Act can give them the boost that they need. One of our Senators, Richard Durbin, supports the idea that if we enact the DREAM Act, these immigrants can “contribute more fully to our society…” rather than tying them down and ultimately “relegate them to a future in the shadows…” It just takes one opportunity for one generation to change many lives after that. The DREAM Act would actually benefit the economy. If these people can become educated and start a career earning a higher wage, they would have more to contribute to the nation’s economy, as they “would be eligible for some refundable tax credits, Social Security, and Medicare benefits…” Once these immigrants are given this opportunity to start a better life, they earn legal U.S. citizenship and therefore are given both the freedoms and responsibilities that other Americans take for granted. One of those is paying taxes. That could lead to substantial amount of taxpayer dollars that will be pumped into the betterment of our nation. The Congressional Budget office reveals that DREAM Act legislation would increase the amount of qualified workers would result in higher corporate and social insurance taxes, which ultimately “would increase revenues by $2.3 billion over 10 years,” and even “would increase net direct spending by $912 million.” (Congressional Budget Office, pg. 1). The hard working students that can be assisted by the DREAM Act could help contribute to making our nation stronger by increasing the number of college graduates our country has and hopefully putting America back in that number one spot in the world, which is “something vital for America to remain competitive in today’s global economy.” It is also possible that these students can go on in life to do special things. This will just increase our chances of creating the next big invention or discovering a new medicine that will ultimately make our country stronger. It can’t be a bad thing for there to be a higher number of educated people in our country. Another point that many do not think about is that if America deported many of these undocumented immigrants, it would create large expenses. How would those expenses get paid? Taxpayer dollars coming out of your pocket. Economically, it seems that the DREAM Act could be a win win for everybody. The DREAM Act could enhance our national security. Their are some immigrants who come into our country who are bad people. However, the DREAM Act is not meant for those people. This act will be put in place solely for the benefit of those who have good morals and character. The DREAM Act could allow immigration enforcement to “focus on those who pose a serious threat to our nation’s security.” Otherwise law-abiding immigrant students are not the immigrants that America should be worried about. For the most part, these people are just like Americans. Most have grown up here and “are fiercely patriotic." So it would make sense if we could document these immigrants so we have a better idea of who is actually dangerous and who is not. This would enable us to be more aware of who is in our country. In order for these immigrants to qualify and benefit from the DREAM Act, they “would be subject to rigorous criminal background checks and reviews.” This would eliminate the possibility of bad people benefiting from this act and would ensure that anyone who is granted citizenship from the DREAM Act would be well deserving and we would know exactly who they are. The more insight and knowledge that the government has about the people in our country, the more safe and better off we will be. However if the government were to continue to consider these immigrants illegal, these people will stay in the shadows in fear that they could be deported. One of the other paths that these immigrants have to gain citizenship is to join the military. These men and women could have a lot to offer to the military as they bring diversity “linguistically and culturally,” which is something that could be very valuable and important to America’s fight against global war on terrorism. A study was conducted by the Center for Naval Analyses, regarding non-citizens in today’s military, and their final report concluded that immigrants do “extremely well in the military,” and that “noncitizens have 36-month attrition rates that are 9 to 20 percentage points lower than the attrition rates of white citizens." Furthermore, this shows that if America helps out these young immigrants hoping to attain U.S. citizenship, they can give back to our country and even help us out contributing to the strength and security of our country. America can gain a plethora of benefits by enacting of the DREAM Act. This could be a significant step in the right direction for reform on immigration, and could even turn around many people’s lives, sending whole families in the right direction. Citizenship would be something that these immigrants work very hard for and it is something that they can show that they deserve. The DREAM Act would be positive for the country as a whole as these young men and women have a lot to offer and are willing to take action and responsibility in order to support and help this country to which they are so thankful.
