The Hyades Cluster

by on September 7, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

There are rules to interstellar warfare. It is slow. Every system is separated by vast interstellar gulfs. There is no such thing as calling up for reinforcements from another system and having them arrive in time to save the day. You have to bring everything you need with you, or you do without. The Hyades Cluster violated all of those rules, and the Chinese had used that fact to smash almost every Alliance system they could find within a hundred lightyears of the cluster. Considering that Earth is only 150 lightyears from the Hyades, that was a disturbing amount of the stellar real estate available to mankind. The Hyades was a fortress in the stars, and as long as the Chinese held it, they had the advantage. We had to crack it.

 Comment 

Sunnydale

by on September 6, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Essential Galactic Atlas

I spent over a decade flying out of Sunnydale. I was one of the last Cowboys to arrive back in January of 2309. Got to enjoy one last Christmas and New Years on New Earth before I left. Oh, the stories I could tell. But Sunnydale? Sunnydale was a whole different world in every way one could imagine. It’s one really bright and hot sun surrounded by five major rocky worlds, one asteroid belt, and a single gas giant. There’s a lot of planetoids further out, just like most systems have, but that’s the primary inhabited real estate in the system. Though calling some of those areas habitable is a bit of a stretch of definitions if you ask me.

 Comment 

A Primer on the Races of Humanity – Branan

by on September 5, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: The Races of Humanity

The Branan systems were separated by lightyears of space, but they were linked together by the lightspeed networks that allowed communications across their far-flung colonial holdings. It may have taken them years or decades to send transmissions back and forth, but the networks were filled with Branan heroes and leaders of the past. These Second Life Branan kept all of Branan civilization from balkanizing into a dozen different smaller civilizations with nothing in common. And they had their own Second Life Colonies as far as a hundred years transmission time from their homeworld, but they were mere years from their nearby neighbors. We Contacted a lively civilization over two thousand years old, spanning two hundred lightyears of space, as well as the biological and electronic worlds. It was an eye-opening experience for everyone involved.

 Comment 

This Week in America

by on September 4, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

This has been an interesting week in America.

Hurricane Harvey smashed much of the Gulf Coast into dust bunnies and flooded hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes.

Fires in the west threaten cities and they would love just a little bit of the rain that Texas and company got.

Antifa are beating free speech organizers in Berkley. Berkley, California, the self-described birthplace of the free speech movement.

And Cajun navy and red neck monster trucks are rescuing people from houses that are flooding even now.

The legacy of Hurricane Harvey will last for years, and just the removal of junk that used to be peoples’ possessions will take months at least. Homes and businesses will take months to rebuild, and city water systems will be right with them.

Harvey will be remembered for decades, maybe centuries, but most of us will forget it in a matter of weeks as we worry about what shoes the First Lady wears while we eat cake, or if it is an ethical violation for the President to wear one of his own hats. Harvey will become a footnote, like Katrina, Sandy, and so many other storms that have come and are forgotten.

But the people who were affected by it will still be rebuilding while we go on with our lives. Here are some links to non-profit aid organizations that will help them, and will not forget about those in need.

Samaritan’s Purse

Salvation Army

Red Cross

All Hands

If you can’t help directly, please consider giving money to these or other non-profits you know of so they can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Any money you give now will be greatly appreciated by those who need it in the months and years to come.

Thank you.

 Comment 

Hurricane Harvey

by on September 3, 2017 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Hurricane Harvey is fading from the news. The hurricane itself is a thing of the past.

But make no mistake that Harvey is still with us. A chemical plant is on fire right now because it lost power. It’s backup power systems failed. Extra power generators brought in on an emergency basis failed. Spraying liquid nitrogen on the tanks to keep them cool failed. This is a true Act of God, and nothing we did was enough to keep the chemical fires from starting.

And in others areas, new mandatory evacuations are underway as dams have to let water out of their reservoirs to keep the dams from failing. New neighborhoods are drowning today, homes that have weathered over a week without water damage are now being abandoned to the rising waters.

Hurricane Harvey lived for only a few days, but the recovery will take years. People need our help now, next week, next month, and next year. When most of us have forgotten about them, they will still need help.

Here are some links to non-profit aid organizations that will do that help, and will not forget about those in need.

Samaritan’s Purse

Salvation Army

Red Cross

All Hands

If you can’t help directly, please consider giving money to these or other non-profits you know of so they can help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Thank you.

 Comment