S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 136

Planet Just Around the Corner

Scientists have found an Earth-sized planet not too far away, as astronomical things go.  Colonization potential?  Probably not since it is too close to its star and surface temps are a bit balmy at 2,200 degrees.   The planet circles Alpha Centari B which is about four light years away, or about 25 trillion miles.

But not all is lost because this planet might mean there are more planets circling the star and some might be capable of supporting life, even human colonists (or Kzin invaders).

Problem is getting there.  If you could send a spaceship at the speed of the Voyager probes, now the furthest away human-made things, which is around 35,800689 mph according to Google, it would take . . . about 689 million hours (in round numbers).  That's about 79,000 years.  To get there.  So obviously we'd have to figure out something faster.  And forget sending humans (80,000 years of "are we there, yet?").

But it is interesting.  Let's just hope the Kzin aren't there waiting for us.

Not your Grandparents' Snow White

Last night I watched on Blu-ray Snow White and the Huntsman.  (It took me until this movie to figure that Thor was Captain Kirk's father?)  I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  It was a big production stylistically shot (according to the Internet Movie Database it had a $170 million budget).  Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart were both lovely in it (although Charlize had the cooler costumes) and there was enough action, adventure, and fun to keep even me interested.  They didn't over-use CGI effects as is so common in movies these days.  There were a lot of CGI effects but they were part of the story, not the story itself.

I did think the writers/directors needed to study medieval war tactics a bit more for accuracy sake.  And I was trying to decided if explosions pre-dating gunpowder were an anachronism or were magical.  I gave it three stars on Netflix but it was closer to 3.5 (not an option on Netflix).  I enjoyed it, I just didn't really enjoy it.

Me on Horror

Read about why I don't read horror at Noracast. Also an excerpt from Book of Death.  Check it out!

Sunday Six: The Sniper

Today's Sunday Six from Chapter One of Book of Death :

I thought somebody dropped a dish.  I heard a tinkle of broken glass, but it was followed by what sounded like a distant gun shot.  Anica made a yelping noise and I looked at her.  Blood was flowing down the front of her dress, staining the tasteful blue to dark red.  It seemed to take me ages, but in reality was probably less than a second, to realize she'd been shot and the bullet had come from the woods across the lake and had broken through the window. I dove over and knocked Anica to the floor as the window shattered, letting in frigid air and the sound of more gunfire.

Second Draft Done!

Been working on this secret book project for about six months now (maybe longer, time flies when you're an old fart).  Tonight I finished the second draft at 51,572 words.  The ending may be a bit abrupt.  Not sure.  Anyway, now to con someone into proofreading it.

Online Ads Stalking Me

Maybe I should switch to Firefox and use the "ad block" add-on (actually, I do, but I use IE9 for "casual" web surfing).  But I love when ads on websites try to say your location and get it wrong.  For some reason a lot of ads think I'm in Virginia (I'm in Washington State) such as the ad to the left.  Then some think I'm in Bellingham, Washington (on the other side of the state).  My ISP was headquartered in Bellingham before it was bought out by a bigger company (in Virginia?).  And sometimes they say I'm in a small town near here where I believe the fiber optic connects to the main Internet backbone (can you tell I know almost nothing about this).  And some get both the town and city right, I just don't believe all those beautiful, lonely women live here.  Sorry.

Starbucks

If I'm not home or off interviewing someone, I'm usually at Starbucks. I may be addicted!

Exotic Food

A while back I posted a pic (testing the mobile app for Blogger) of Mexican food.  Then this weekend I went out for Korean food in Spokane (see picture at left).  I really like Korean food and this place (actually, in Airway Heights) has good stuff.  I was a little insulted when they handed us the "English Only" menus (I read a little Korean).

I like exotic food, just not too exotic. When I was in Peru they had guinea pig on the menu.  But I like Chinese, Mexican, Korean, Japanese (sushi and sashimi), and Thai.  I guess that's not all that exotic but it beats McDonald's.

So what kind of foreign food do you like?

Masquerade Giveaway

My publisher, World Castle Publishing, is having an eBook giveway one per week in October.  To enter, use the Raffle Copter below.  Prizes are free eBooks published by World  Castle. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tired!

Not exactly what I would call a relaxing weekend.  Years ago I promised my son when he was 18 he could go the the high performance driving school (driving on a racetrack) that I let his older brother go to and that I attended many, many times.

I decided not to drive this time so I ended up sitting outside in the sunshine (not something fair-skinned redheads should do a lot) while my son drove on (and twice off) the track.  Because of his second departure from the track today, the car is filthy inside and out.  I said we looked like a couple of rednecks who drove their Camaro off the farm.

So I'm tired.  Just thought I'd let you know.  But boy, I heard the roar of the engines, smelled the hot brakes, felt the ground-thumping of massive power being applied, and I so wanted to be out on that track.

So now I'm tired, and sunscreen is getting into my eyes, and I just want to rest.  How was your weekend?