Chris Niblock's Blog, page 3
April 25, 2013
Just what is there to do on Mars?
Mars, 2001, with the southern polar ice cap visible on the bottom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I only ask because a private company has announced that it’s taking bookings for a flight to Mars – the catch being it’s a one-way ticket. But I thought, hell, I’m getting on a bit; by the time we land on the red planet, I might only have a few years left in me anyway.
This set me thinking; how would I spend the time I had left before the air and water ran out, or I succumbed to the only form of life on Mars; a virus that proves deadly to humans!
I’d take my kindle, so I’d have plenty to read – yes I do know, other e- readers are available.
I could do a bit of exploring; collect a few rocks – there’s a lot of ‘em on Mars – perhaps I’ll be the first to prove there is life on Mars by discovering the virus that will ultimately be my nemesis, but then what? The Martian landscape is red and that’s it, it doesn’t have the variation and beauty of terrain to be found on earth.
So, unless there are a host of cities full of Martians hidden beneath that desolate surface, there isn’t much for a non-scientist like me to do on Mars. I wonder if they will refund my deposit?
Filed under: science/humour Tagged: Astronomy, Earth, Flights to Mars, humour, Life on Mars, Martians, science, The Red Planet, Tickets to Mars
February 7, 2013
A few ‘tasters’ from the Strictly Acoustic reportoire
Some sample tracks for those who haven’t been to see me at Housmans yet.
Hangman Recorded by Peter Paul & Mary but perhaps more surprisingly by Led Zeppelin!
Summertime My own arrangement of one of the best known songs from Gershwin‘s Porgy & Bess.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door Feel like that most mornings until I’ve had a cup of tea!
Filed under: art/music, Uncategorized Tagged: Acoustic guitar, Bob Dylan, ChrisNiblock, Church Stretton, Gershwin, Housmans cafe/Bar, Peter Paul & Mary, Sunday Lunch, taster tracks
December 4, 2012
The rise and rise of the machines
So, once again Sci-fi writers, often dismissed as purveyors of tacky pulp fiction, have turned out to be visionaries. All those stories by authors such as Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov, about machines in one form or another taking over, are fast becoming fact. The creators of super intelligent computers, are becoming increasingly worried that their creations will soon be more intelligent than themselves. If the nerds can’t control them – what chance have the rest of us got? We all know what happens when superior beings come up against a less advanced species: it’s a case of ‘Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish!’
Of course it’s quite possible that in failing to control global warming, we humans will do the job for them, and exterminate ourselves. All the machines have to do is, ‘Bide their time and lay their plans against us’ as the Martians did in H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds.
Hollywood has enjoyed considerable success in bringing these sci-fi classics to the screen and created a few of their own. In The Terminator the machines send an Android assassin back through time to kill a young boy who, if he survives, will eventually save mankind. In the light of the boffins predictions, there is a young boy living somewhere in the world right now, who should be very, very afraid . . .
Filed under: science/humour, Uncategorized Tagged: Artificial intelligence, H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, science fiction, The Terminator, The War of the Worlds 
October 15, 2012
That’s one step too far for moi, Felix!
As I watched live coverage of Felix Baumgartner preparing to jump from a balloon poised on the edge of space, I couldn’t help wondering what drives some one to risk their life on what, at first glance and indeed second glance, seems a sure-fire way of getting yourself killed.
Most of us I suspect, would only contemplate jumping from a great high in moments of extremis; because our life had become intolerable or, as in the case of some of those trapped in the twin towers, because it was preferable to being burnt to death.
When I was a child, my mother would scream at me to come away from the edge if I went anywhere near a cliff-top or castle battlement. I’m not blaming her you understand, but I’ve been terrified of heights ever since. Which is why, when Felix Baumgartner stepped out onto the tiny ledge outside his capsule, I found myself shouting ‘For God’s sake Felix, come away from there!’
Filed under: science/humour Tagged: Felix Baumgartner, Free fall, Joseph Kittinger, Man High Project, New Mexico, Sky Diving, Sound barrier
That’s one step too many for me Felix!
As I watched live coverage of Felix Baumgartner preparing to jump from a balloon poised on the edge of space, I couldn’t help wondering what drives some one to risk their life on what, at first glance and indeed second glance, seems a sure-fire way of getting yourself killed.
Most of us I suspect, would only contemplate jumping from a great high in moments of extremis; because our life had become intolerable or, as in the case of some of those trapped in the twin towers, because it was preferable to being burnt to death.
When I was a child, my mother would scream at me to come away from the edge if I went anywhere near a cliff-top or castle battlement. I’m not blaming her you understand, but I’ve been terrified of heights ever since. Which is why, when Felix Baumgartner stepped out onto the tiny ledge outside his capsule, I found myself shouting ‘For God’s sake Felix, come away from there!’
Filed under: science/humour Tagged: Felix Baumgartner, Free fall, Joseph Kittinger, Man High Project, New Mexico, Sky Diving, Sound barrier
DON’T LOOK DOWN!
As I watched live coverage of Felix Baumgartner preparing to jump from a balloon poised on the edge of space, I couldn’t help wondering what drives some one to risk their life on what, at first glance and indeed second glance, seems a sure-fire way of getting oneself killed.
Most of us I suspect, would only contemplate jumping from a great high in moments of extremis; because our life had become intolerable or, as in the case of some of those trapped in the twin towers,because it was preferable to being burnt to death.
When I was a child my mother would always scream at me to come away from the edge, if I went anywhere near a cliff-top or castle battlement. I’m not blaming her you understand, but I’ve been terrified of heights ever since. Which is why, when Felix Baumgartner stepped out onto the tiny ledge outside his capsule, I found myself shouting ‘For God’s sake Felix, come away from there!’
Filed under: science/humour Tagged: Felix Baumgartner, Free fall, Joseph Kittinger, Man High Project, New Mexico, Sky Diving, Sound barrier
August 30, 2012
First Men in the Moon
H. G. Wells published his scientific romance The First Men in the Moon in 1901, but it would be another 68 years before a human being took his first tentative step onto the lunar surface. That man was Neil Armstrong and his death at the age of 82 symbolises the end of an era in the manned exploration of space. The moon landing marked an incredible leap in technology coming as it did just 65 years after the Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903. It owed as much to the invention of computers as it did to the space race and the two super powers obsession with ever more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles.
I remember getting up early to watch those grainy, black and white TV pictures from the moon as Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder and uttered those now famous words, ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’
A further five landings followed but the American public quickly lost interest after that first lunar walkabout, and the program ended with Apollo 17, and Eugene Cernan has the dubious honour of being the last man on the moon. That was 40 years ago, and with the ending of the shuttle program in 2011, America no longer has a vehicle capable of taking men into space. Ironically they now have to rely on their old protagonists in the space race – the Russians, to transport their astronauts to the International Space Station for them.
Manned spaceflight is an expensive business and for now the machines have taken over. It’s cheaper: they don’t need oxygen, they don’t need feeding or watering. They can work in conditions that would be lethal for humans. But it’s hard to empathise with a machine, and no one who has watched a Saturn V take off, heard the awesome roar of that powerful rocket, could fail to be excited, knowing that there were three flesh and blood human beings sitting on top of it who could be blown to smithereens at any moment, if any one of the thousands of components were to fail.
So far we’ve only explored our own backyard, cosmically speaking. Armstrong and the other eleven Apollo astronauts who have walked on the moon were pioneers. They led the way. Others will follow. There is talk about sending men to Mars, but it will be decades before another human being steps off a ladder and makes the first footprint in the dust of an alien world.
Meanwhile Neil Armstrong, we salute you and all the other astronauts who made that first decade of manned spaceflight so exciting to watch.
Filed under: spaceflight/art Tagged: Apollo 11, First Men in the Moon, H. G. Wells, Manned Spaceflight, Mars, Neil Armstrong, Saturn V, The Cold War, The First Men in the Moon, The Moon Landings, The Space Race
First man in the Moon
H. G. Wells published his scientific romance The First Men in the Moon in 1901, but it would be another 68 years before a human being took his first tentative step onto the lunar surface. That man was Neil Armstrong and his death at the age of 82 symbolises the end of an era in the manned exploration of space. The moon landing marked an incredible leap in technology coming as it did just 65 years after the Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903. It owed as much to the invention of computers as it did to the space race and the two super powers obsession with ever more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles.
I remember getting up early to watch those grainy, black and white TV pictures from the moon as Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder and uttered those now famous words, ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’
A further five landings followed but the American public quickly lost interest after that first lunar walkabout, and the program ended with Apollo 17, and Eugene Cernan has the dubious honour of being the last man on the moon. That was 40 years ago, and with the ending of the shuttle program in 2011, America no longer has a vehicle capable of taking men into space. Ironically they now have to rely on their old protagonists in the space race – the Russians, to transport their astronauts to the International Space Station for them.
Manned space flight is an expensive business and for now the machines have taken over. It’s cheaper: they don’t need oxygen. They don’t need feeding or watering. They can work in conditions that would be lethal for humans. But it’s hard to empathise with a machine, and no one who has watched a Saturn V take off, heard the awesome roar of that powerful rocket, could fail to be excited, knowing that there were three flesh and blood human beings sitting on top of it who could be blown to smithereens at any moment, if any one of the thousands components were to fail.
So far we’ve only explored our own backyard, cosmically speaking. Armstrong and the other eleven Apollo astronauts who have walked on the moon were pioneers. They led the way. Others will follow. There is talk about sending men to Mars, but it will be decades before another human being steps off a ladder and makes the first footprint in the dust of an alien world.
Meanwhile Neil Armstrong, we salute you and all the other astronauts who made that first decade of manned spaceflight so exciting.
Filed under: spaceflight/art Tagged: Apollo 11, H. G. Wells, Manned Spaceflight, Neil Armstrong, Saturn V, The First Men in the Moon, The Moon Landings, The Space Race
July 12, 2012
Two Twisted Tales you can download for FREE!
Story 1: ‘Nights Alone with Garbo’
There are some games you just shouldn’t play and adultery is one of them. Lust and greed make for volatile bed-fellows and things can easily get out of hand . . .
Story 2: ‘Emily on the Edge’
A psychiatrist puts his own sanity on the line when he resorts to role-playing in a desperate attempt to uncover the mysterious forces that lie behind a patient’s multiple personalities.
Download FREE from Smashwords
Filed under: Free Fiction Tagged: Erotica, Free eBook downloads, Games People Play, Psychological Thrillers, Role-playing, Short Stories, Smashwords, Twisted Tales
July 7, 2012
FREE eBooks!
SPECIAL OFFER * SPECIAL OFFER * SPECIAL OFFER
For the month of July only, you can download Ba ck Dated FREE of charge from Smashwords.
Use the link to the right of this blog to take you to Back Dated’s home page on the Smashwords site.
“Back Dated has an original and interesting plot that engages the reader very quickly and holds them right up to the end. Niblock maintains tension and interest throughout and Ray Flaxman is a flawed but interesting character. This is a book from an author with great potential.” Jill Murphy – The Bookbag
NEW and also FREE TO DOWNLOAD from Smashwords.
Two twisted tales of lust, greed and betrayal, and what happens when the mask begins to slip and we reveal our true selves.
Story 1: Nights Alone with Garbo
There are some games you just shouldn’t play and adultery is one of them. Lust and greed make for volatile bedfellows and things can easily get out of hand . . .
Story 2: Emily on the Edge
A psychiatrist puts his own sanity on the line when he resorts to role-playing, in a desperate attempt to uncover the mysterious forces that lie behind a patient’s multiple personalities.
Filed under: Free Fiction Tagged: adventure, Arts, Erotica, fiction, Free eBook downloads, Psychological Thrillers, Sci-fi, Self-publishing, Short Stories, Smashwords, The Future, time travel 
