Hyrum Laney's Blog, page 2
November 6, 2016
You are invited to join our Advance Reader Team
As part of the Advance Reader Team, you will get to preview Book 3 in the series,
provide valuable feedback on the plot before it is published, and vote on the title and the cover design!
Join our Advance Reader Team
The post You are invited to join our Advance Reader Team appeared first on Hyrum Laney.
October 21, 2016
National Debt
Hello Die-Hard Patriots!
My second book Choosing Sides takes place in Washington DC and exposes stock market manipulations by the Chinese in retaliation for the failed mission into the Bo Hai Bay. Both Time Bomb Ticking and Choosing Sides create a scenario that highlights the threat of our national debt and the constraints it imposes on us as a superpower. Today the national debt stands at a whopping 19.736 trillion dollars.
To pay it off, each and every US citizen would have to pay $60,777.00 dollars. And remember folks, that’s only to pay off past expenditures, not future liabilities. The debt is projected to top 20.1 trillion in FY 2017, and so on and so on. As a fiscal conservative, I’m opposed to any national debt, except in time of war. That means we need to hold our elected leaders accountable for balancing future budgets by taxing more or spending less. I prefer the latter because it bridles politicians from spending someone else’s money, a feat they master without breaking a sweat. So let’s assume “We the People” rally and force them to balance the budget. That still leaves us with 19.736 trillion in debt, with interest accumulating by the second. How would you suggest we pay it off?
#TimeBombTicking #ChoosingSides #StockMarketManipulations #BoHaiBay #NationalDebt #19Trillion #FiscalConservative #WeThePeople #BalanceBudget
The post National Debt appeared first on Hyrum Laney.
October 12, 2016
The ASDS—Advanced SEAL Delivery System
“The ASDS—Advanced SEAL Delivery System—was a 65- foot long, 8-foot wide minisub designed to ride piggyback on the Charlotte’s hull. It attached to specially built docking pylons with a collar that allowed underwater access between the vessels.”
“She can move a 16-member SEAL team, complete with equipment, to land or sea locations we couldn’t reach otherwise. And then we have the lock-in, lock-out chamber. Being able to quickly enter and exit at will while we’re submerged without making any noise is like waking up in the Playboy Mansion for us SEALs.”
ASDS History
So now you know what the ASDS is, but here are a few interesting tidbits you might not know. The contract for the first ASDS was awarded in 1994. In 2002 the USS Greenville successfully launched and recovered the mini sub. But technical problems with the lithium ion batteries delayed its deployment. In 2005 the mini sub suffered a propulsion system casualty, which caused further delays to the program. Time Bomb Ticking takes place in the spring of 2008. On November 9th 2008, the Navy announced the ASDS was destroyed by fire during a routine battery charge. Eight months later the Navy canceled the entire program.
But did it really catch fire? And if so, was the fire accidental? Choosing Sides, the sequel to Time Bomb Ticking will make you think twice.
And one last question: has anyone read another novel that features the ASDS?
#ASDS #AdvancedSEALDeliverySystem #ASDSDestroyedByFire #TimeBombTicking #ChoosingSides #USSGreenville #USSCharlotte #SEALs #SubmarineTechnothriller
The post The ASDS—Advanced SEAL Delivery System appeared first on Hyrum Laney.
October 10, 2016
Happy Columbus Day Folks!
I have always been a fan of Christopher Columbus and would like to share a short excerpt from a letter he wrote on his fourth voyage. If you would like to read the whole letter you can click on this link: columbus-letter-from-the-fourth-voyage.
In the month of January, the mouth of the river silted up. In April, the ships were all wormeaten, and it was impossible to keep them above water. At this time, the river made a channel, by which with difficulty I brought out three empty. The boats went back into the river for salt and water. The sea became high and rough and did not allow them to come out.
Photo credit: steeljam via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND
The Indians were many and gathered together and attacked them, and in the end they slew them. My brother and all the rest of the people were in a ship which remained inside. I was outside on so dangerous a coast, utterly alone, in a high fever and in a state of great exhaustion. Hope of escape was dead.
I toiled up to the highest point of the ship, calling in a trembling voice, with fast falling tears, to the war captains of your highnesses, at every point of the compass, for succour, but never did they answer me.
Exhausted, I fell asleep, groaning. I heard a very compassionate voice, saying: “O fool and slow to believe and to serve thy God, the God of all! What more did He for Moses or for His servant David? Since thou wast born, ever has He had thee in His most watchful care. When He saw thee of an age with which He was content, He caused thy name to sound marvellously in the land. The Indies, which are so rich a part of the world, He gave thee for thine own; thou hast divided them as it pleased thee, and He enabled thee to do this. Of the barriers of the Ocean sea, which were closed with such mighty chains, He gave thee the keys; and thou wast obeyed in many lands and among the Christians thou hast gained honourable fame. What did He more for the people of Israel when He brought them out of Egypt? Or for David, whom from a shepherd He made to be king in Judea? Turn thyself to Him, and know now thine error; His mercy is infinite; thine old age shall prevent thee from achieving all great things; He has many heritages very great. Abraham had passed a hundred years when he begat Isaac, and was Sarah young? Thou criest for help, doubting. Answer, who has afflicted thee so greatly and so often, God or the world? The rewards and promises which He gives, He does not bring to nothing, nor does He say, after He has received service, that His intention was not such and that it is to be differently regarded, nor does He inflict suffering in order to display His power. His deeds agree with His words; all that He promises, He performs with interest; is this the manner of men? I have said that which thy Creator has done for thee and does for all men. Now in part He shows thee the reward for the anguish and danger which thou hast endured in the service of others.”.
I heard all this as if I were in a trance, but I had no answer to give to words so true, but could only weep for my errors. He, whoever he was, who spoke to me, ended saying: “Fear not; have trust; all these tribulations are written upon marble and are not without cause.”
#ChristopherColumbus #HyrumLaney #DieHardPatri0ts
Original Source: The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Being the Journals of his First and Third, and the Letters Concerning his First and Last Voyages, to Which is Added the Account of his Second Voyage Written by Andres Bernaldez. Now newly Translated and Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Cecil Jane. London: The Argonaut Press, 1930. Copyright 2006.
The post Happy Columbus Day Folks! appeared first on Hyrum Laney.
October 5, 2016
Time Bomb Ticking Audio Book Coming December 2016!
Hello Die-Hard Patriot Fans! Book three is finally ready for editing and should be released as an Ebook this winter. Also, the audio version of Time Bomb Ticking has entered the production stage and should be released before Christmas. I am very pleased to announce that Richard Riemann is the narrator and I’m in the process of selecting a lead female voice to assist with the audio production of Choosing Sides.
http://die-hardpatriots.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Time-Bomb-Ticking-Coming-Soon-No-Audio-10-4-16.mp4
The post Time Bomb Ticking Audio Book Coming December 2016! appeared first on Hyrum Laney.
October 4, 2016
China vs. the United States. Is the Spratly Island dispute really over oil?
In my novel, Time Bomb Ticking, Captain McGraw and the USS Charlotte are tasked to penetrate China’s Bo Hai Bay in a daring mission of espionage. To clear the bay of Chinese naval ships, the Pentagon stages war games near the Spratly Islands.
To quote one of my characters, Admiral Donavan, “The damn thieves are trying to muscle in on the Reed Bank oil that belongs to the Philippines and he (the president) wants to send them a ‘hands off’ message.” I wrote that back in 2012.
This summer we witnessed headline news as the Chinese continued to construct an airfield atop Fiery Cross Reef despite international objections. Not only will this airstrip give them military superiority in the region, but it will extend their exclusive territorial sovereignty, thereby allowing them to lay claim to the Reed Bank oil. That oil reserve is estimated by some to be the fourth largest reserve in the world.
In 1990 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, President George Herbert Walker Bush responded with overwhelming force in Operation Desert Storm. Over the past two years, President Obama has failed to prevent the Chinese from island building and shows little interest in resolving the problem before his term expires.
If you were the Commander-in-Chief, what would you do, and why?
#TimeBombTicking #SpratlyIslands #ChinasRiseToSuperPower #ReedBankOil #Philippines #FieryCrossReef #ObamaUnableToContainChina
The post China vs. the United States. Is the Spratly Island dispute really over oil? appeared first on Hyrum Laney.
