Terry Persun's Blog, page 2

Robots and More Robots

Most people who know me also know that I write a lot of technical articles for mechanical and electrical design engineers. It’s a fun job and I get to talk with engineers from a wide variety of industries. Lately, I’ve been writing about robots a lot, and not just your ordinary robots, no sir. The robots I get to talk about vary as widely as their applications.

One such robot is the cool RHex robot being worked on and developed at the University of Pennsylvania. This thing has six legs, patterned after insects, and can move through almost anything. I love it when engineering students are developing what appears to be the next robots that will be going to Mars or the Moon. I often wonder why NASA doesn’t come up with similar designs. We have some immensely creative students out there. Check out the RHex here: http://kodlab.seas.upenn.edu/Main/Hom....

Another robot that I’m still working on an article about actually climbs up a furnace tube. The thing is an inspection robot (although that’s not exactly what they call it), and it can inspect a tube at about two feet per second. I love talking with the engineer over at the company (which I won’t mention until I’m finished with the article). Such an interesting guy.

Then there are the disaster robots that are being designed and built. A lot of companies are working on these types of robots. All the robots have video, their own lighting source, and the ability to go up and down stairs. These robots also carry all kinds of sensors for testing just about everything—poisonous gasses, liquids, temperature… Robots are replacing humans who have to wear environmental suits all the time now, and it’s something that will save lives in the future, I’m sure.

I’m also working on an article about a bionic leg. Many of you have probably already seen this in the news, but if you haven’t you can look it up fairly easily. The difference between what I’ll be covering and what other articles covered has to do with the mechanical aspects rather than the interface between man and machine. Every aspect of these projects are cool, though, so you can’t go wrong. I know there are a lot of other robots out there to write about, and I plan on finding more as time goes on. This is all just fodder for my next science fiction novel, as you can imagine. Talking with engineers and hearing how excited they get about their work always reminds me how wonderful it is to do a job that you enjoy.

May we all have that opportunity as we work our way through the maze of possibilities.

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Terry Persun holds a Bachelor’s of Science as well as an MA in Creative Writing. He has worked as an engineer, has been the Editor-in-Chief of several technology journals, and is now marketing consultant for technical and manufacturing companies. Seven of his novels have been published. His science fiction novel “Cathedral of Dreams” won a ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Finalist Award, and his historical novel, “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is “Hear No Evil”.

All Things

The elemental building block of life—DNA—is merely a chain of chemical information. Housed within this molecule is the story of our evolution as human beings. What is even more interesting is that we share 90 percent of our genetic material with all other life on this planet. Everything from animals to plants to bacteria has the same four amino acids making up their bodies. We are all made of the same stuff.
And yet, we humans somehow see a hierarchy with us at the top. We kill, we mine, we harvest, all for our own interest and well-being. We believe that our presence is divine, that we are above all other life.
This thinking has gotten us into all kinds of trouble. And, some scientists believe, that we are killing the very planet that sustains us.
Why us? Would any other species be just like we are if it had our consciousness? Would a sentient bacteria mine the Earth until depleted, all for its own survival?
Are we merely doing the same thing any plant or animal would do? Is everything created to survive instinctually? It is true that some plants, like the fragrant honeysuckle vine, will smother its host. Certain species of owls will multiply as long as there are plenty of mice and moles for them to eat. And they’ll eat and multiply until the food population depletes to near nothing in one region. Then the owls will die off until the mouse and mole population returns.
As humans, being on this planet such a short time, are we merely doing what comes naturally? And at some point, will we die off until the planet rejuvenates? I wonder about these things, and am sorry I have no definitive answers. But, this is what writing is all about for me…exploring, considering, and maybe coming up with a few theories that can be applied to the human condition. And then writing about them.

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. His novels, “Wolf’s Rite” and “Cathedral of Dreams” were ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists in the science fiction category, and his novel “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is, “Hear No Evil”, his latest fantasy is “Doublesight”, his latest mainstream/literary novel is “Ten Months in Wonderland”. Terry’s website is: www.TerryPersun.com or you can find him on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Terry%20Persun&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank

Accepting What Comes

Begin With Observation

 
"[Poet Jane Hirshfield] said in [a recent] interview, 'Both [science and poetry] begin with observation.' For me, this says it all. Observation, awareness, being one with your life, in my belief, is where everything begins. Doesn’t the musician observe? The sculptor? The executive secretary? The salesperson? 
Life is very much an observation..."
Read the rest my guest post on  Author Magazine, "Begin With Observation."    
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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .  
 

Short Story on Amazon: The Beach Cabin

I love it when even a short story can get these types of comments: 

"Surprisingly haunting... [T]he images of the book filled my dreams. Not nightmares by any means, but disturbing and haunting images. Persun seems to have touched a chord in the psyche."

See more: Amazon.com/Beach-Cabin-Terry-Persun-ebook


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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .  

Making the Most of Wartime

I spent ten months and fifteen days at the Royal Thai Air Force base in Udorn, Thailand during the Vietnam War era. My stay, from October 11, 1973 to August 26, 1974, was during the oil crisis, which started around that same time, so we were flying fewer jets, even for reconnaissance. This meant that GIs assigned to the base had less work, and our hours were cut considerably.
During the time I spent in Thailand, I kept a notebook of my writing (a lot of poetry at that time), but also wrote a lot down on my return to the U.S. I remember many of the stories about other GIs, events that went on around me at the time, and things that I experienced first hand.
Make no mistake, “Ten Months in Wonderland” is fiction, but the best fiction is often based on real life events. And, every novel should read as though the story actually happened. So, when I decided to write a book about GIs in Thailand, I had a lot of information to pull from. But there’s one more element to confess.
Before writing the novel, my daughter and I went to Thailand on two school trips, two years in a row. The time I spent there — so much different from my first time as an airman — was wonderful, and reminded me of the sounds and smells so much that I wanted to write about it.
Novels need drama, or character development (or destruction) in order to be interesting. But, a grasp on the environment where the novel takes place is essential, too. I was able to combine my memories and stories with the senses of the place freshest in my mind to create a story that I believe works on several levels.
Writing novels is something I’ve been doing for many years now, and knowing how to pull in the real world just enough to add validity and reality to the piece has become second nature. I loved writing “Ten Months in Wonderland” and hope that readers enjoy it equally as much.

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. His novels, “Wolf’s Rite” and “Cathedral of Dreams” were ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists in the science fiction category, and his novel “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is, “Hear No Evil”, his latest fantasy is “Doublesight”, his latest mainstream/literary novel is “Ten Months in Wonderland”. Terry’s website is: www.TerryPersun.com or you can find him on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Terry%20Persun&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank

Dialogue: Between the Lines

I stopped by Dialogue: Between the Lines with Susan Wingate today. 

If you missed the live transmission you can catch our discussion on demand:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dialogue/2013/10/31/dialogue-between-the-lines-with-susan-wingate

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .  

Pubcamp Seattle: The 10 Commandments of Writing

Writing Craft Workshop: The 10 Commandments of Writing Presented by Susan Wingate and Terry Persun
Ten rules of writing--when to believe and when not to. Writing team Terry Persun and Susan Wingate will lay out 10 rules of writing from "Show Don't Tell" to "The Use of Active Verbs." Through a series of examples and writing exercises, Terry and Susan will guide participants through a lively lecture and discussion of why we apply such rules and when to break them.

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PubCamp Seattle ~ Hosted by Writer.ly

 

November 22nd, 8:30am - 6pm



 University of Washington 
Center for Urban Horticulture, 
3501 NE 41st Street 
 Seattle, WA 98105

 Drop me a note, RSVP or simply let me know if you will be joining us here. Find more details on PubCamp here.  ###

Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .         

Creating is a Discipline

"It’s difficult to write well without practice. It’s difficult to do anything well without practice...steady, daily, yearly, practice... If you have discipline, you’re a lot further along the path of succeeding than without it."

Read the rest my guest post on  Author Magazine, "Creating is a Discipline."    

 

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .

Writer's Block

"Harlan [Ellison] used to.. take an idea from anyone and then sit in the display window [at a bookstore] and write the story—start to finish. 

He was never out of stories... At a very young age, I picked up [the] belief [that] not every story, novel, or poem comes out perfect, nor are they imperfect. Each has its audience, large or small, and it’s not for me to say which..."

Read the rest my guest post on  Author Magazine, "Writer's Block."    

Intrigued by the story about Harlan Ellison writing in a bookstore window? You'll find a 1981 transcript where he discussed the idea on the NBC Today Show here. 

See also: Whidbey Island Writers Conference

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .