tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28618249816379927492024-03-06T00:43:00.020-08:00Meddlers in TimeAlternate history, science fiction, adventure, time travel, portal travel, action, New Zealand, Wairarapa, ninth century, Derbyshire, gateway, new bookOswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-78317669762441167022014-11-15T16:32:00.001-08:002014-11-15T16:35:47.637-08:00The start of Book Four<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">.</span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">..With the shuttle well into its automated re-entry, the pilot got up to stretch- nothing unusual on a routine drop. As he stood up, the shuttle was violently slammed from what seemed to be an impact. Taken off-guard, he was thrown to the deck and lay there unmoving, as a multitude of alarms sounded.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Wayne started moving to the pilot’s seat when he saw one of the other recruits headed there- a colonial pilot, Lieutenant Sally Gettings. He paused to let her take control and took the unmanned co-pilot/navigator's seat, while she quickly brought the pitching craft under manual control, he ran the damage assessment checklist.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Grav drive down, comms out, ILS out- hull tight," said Wayne.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Going to aero-brake profile, optimize a path to dry land, Nav."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Aye skipper- we don't have reaction mass to land at New Zealand- looks like an overshoot to Australia- that's the big island next door."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"OK- listen up folks- we are going for a crash-landing in a neutral to hostile zone. Secure the casualty and get ready for a bumpy minus-gee ride- I'm using the deck grav planars to retro-brake, so they won't be compensating. Lumps and bumps in sixty seconds," said Sally.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">For the next 20 minutes the craft continued its roller coaster ride, as Sally balanced braking against hull temperature. With the comms still down, Wayne's suspicions were all but confirmed- an impact that would do so much damage to these nearly foolproof systems should have destroyed them. Now his remaining instruments were starting to build a terrain picture of their projected LZ.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Skipper- I have a clear LZ five kilometres past a small watercourse. Reaction mass margin 300 kilos."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Copy Nav- in the pipe. All hands prepare for impact in 90 seconds."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">With the small river in sight, Sally started braking hard with the reaction engines, while overriding the SWL on the deck planars, fighting the effects of the negative g's- then they appeared motionless for a split second and she fought to catch the shuttle on the low-powered planars. The shuttle settled with a jolt and they were down and intact.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Start power-down- ring-lasers off, planars off, matching pressure. Nav- start a sensor sweep and all hands are clear to unlock."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Environment shows green, small life readings, no human profile, no local RF emissions. Temperature 35 degrees, humidity low. Clear to unlock hatch."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Hatch unlocked. Mr Jamieson, you are now the senior here. Will you take command?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Aye pilot, I relieve you- and thanks from all of us for a soft landing. Mr Phillips, take five volunteers and sweep the area. Watch for native life- everything here is reputed to be toxic and foul-tempered. Remaining detail- inventory our stores and let's have a look at our casualty," said Wayne. As the rest set off to their tasks, Wayne asked Sally; "Have you ever done an aero-brake re-entry before?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Only in sim- I joined up so I could get to do that sort of stuff- didn't think it would happen so soon into the program though."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">"Well, if I was still in the business, I would offer you a job right now-ah- our sleeper awakens. How's the head Chief?"...</span>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-91093831254058662902014-01-25T20:32:00.000-08:002014-01-25T20:32:02.115-08:00ProgressYes- there actually is some!<br />
<br />
I have done most of the storyboarding done and now have a framework for the next book. This requires a rewrite of half of the stuff I have so far done, but that's only 30k words.<br />
<br />
Now if my fan base could stop sending me these wonderful ideas that I want to use ;-)...Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-33981064312836927762014-01-03T10:55:00.001-08:002014-01-03T12:37:22.408-08:00Reviewers that don't 'get it'<i style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">"...<span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">However, the characters are genocidal sociopaths, so I stopped caring whether or not they died or succeeded in meeting their goals. [SPOILERS] A character dropped a nuclear weapon on a city to eliminate a few leaders, despite previously having demonstrated the ability to fire a sniper rifle through a time portal and kill them individually. Some characters needed some prefabricated metal sheds. They had unlimited money, and had previously purchased metal barns in kit form. However, instead of just buying more, the characters hijacked a WWII Liberty ship and killed much of its crew, to get a few bulky, leaky, and generally inferior Quonset huts. A character wanted coconuts for drinks, so he and a friend went to a tropical island, chopped down the inhabitants' trees, and then shot them when they complained. As another character pointed out, they could have just gone to a supermarket instead of killing human beings</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">…"</span></span></span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">A bit of a comprehension fail here.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">OK- the whole point of nuking the city was made quite clear- To impress on a primitive world that the reign of the church is OVER. They would waste a nuke otherwise?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The Liberty ship was already doomed- it was to be sunk by a U-boat with a loss of all hands. This was mentioned in the story. With the intervention off the MIT team, most survived and the rest got a cleaner death that freezing/burning in the Atlantic.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">As for the Coconut incident, the shooting was at & around, by way of discouraging the local headhunters from investigating. That probably didn't come across clearly in the book. As was said- "They usually run away when we fire a few shots."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i>"...I loved the technical aspects, such as building a base out of standard container units pre-kitted to meet mission needs. However, I'd like to see the characters hauled before a War Crimes judicial panel in The Hague and sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of their extended lifespans…"</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Maybe one of them will be in the up-coming book ;-) Keeping these characters in jail though...</span></span></span>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-57083932479504236802013-04-27T00:43:00.001-07:002013-04-27T00:43:16.409-07:00Why time travel?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrM5p62X-hyhZNUiXCDCb3ZSO8eULrVNoL2fpDNcamOFy0kTxymXbKjX2TO_BuB-BJvDPxRLP1CX1XdT_pnw-0nBZezbv5_2J52jQ_bwpCZXNFiDrQ0EFXPlRUakrD3YEh5bIzTyJPhaBg/s1600/time+travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrM5p62X-hyhZNUiXCDCb3ZSO8eULrVNoL2fpDNcamOFy0kTxymXbKjX2TO_BuB-BJvDPxRLP1CX1XdT_pnw-0nBZezbv5_2J52jQ_bwpCZXNFiDrQ0EFXPlRUakrD3YEh5bIzTyJPhaBg/s320/time+travel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-90373843270369947762013-01-26T18:32:00.001-08:002013-01-26T18:32:53.429-08:00Visiting the site I have written about.Yesterday I took a drive to the area that parts of Meddlers in Time were set- the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.<br />
<br />
I wrote the piece using maps and pictures from the net and having physically visited the site I picked for my Ninth Century New Zealand colony- I can say it was a good choice!<br />
<br />
A beautiful bit of country.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.northlandnz.com/destinations/bay_of_islands/">http://www.northlandnz.com/destinations/bay_of_islands/</a>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-79251591749660563842012-05-15T00:28:00.001-07:002012-05-15T00:28:29.766-07:00Major milestone10,000 downloads to date!Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-40409666161750543142012-03-06T22:25:00.002-08:002012-03-06T22:25:38.905-08:00Long live the blip!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMUCFYH2CW-3QDcr8SeD4e9wXfALKiLcV1MSJ4oeACfHD2x616kbe0fFpnicYDe3o_GfTWXeufh9zBRqym1B36KZ3kKqULGoTr1j03_TloqXv65q4Q-N_9nKi0PqPsLu9hsS098mUH2Ur/s1600/chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="75" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaMUCFYH2CW-3QDcr8SeD4e9wXfALKiLcV1MSJ4oeACfHD2x616kbe0fFpnicYDe3o_GfTWXeufh9zBRqym1B36KZ3kKqULGoTr1j03_TloqXv65q4Q-N_9nKi0PqPsLu9hsS098mUH2Ur/s320/chart.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-27461988627768219592012-03-03T14:16:00.001-08:002012-03-03T14:16:04.818-08:00Another milestone'Meddlers in Time' has passed the 5000 downloads mark, with 9000 downloads for the series coming up fast.<br />
<br />
I don't know what has happened, but downloads have shot up over the last few days- from the usual 5-7 per day to 50 so far today.<br />
<br />
I hope this is more than just a blip in the stats!Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-64805373666523515162012-02-29T21:41:00.000-08:002012-02-29T21:41:37.989-08:00Research before jumping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Bv0sYVtOfOr7uUSGKupFwyllL6O3O1inTIcgHS8n1fCesudTdwdiFM17zaBhxvtj0aqZLlTvA9zkI6s9fVv2ZlhSIesNh5QTp29rBDRBDJYXBmQAnMuzmZmH5ArYiXvo203frnXiF5eK/s1600/trepidation+st+time+travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Bv0sYVtOfOr7uUSGKupFwyllL6O3O1inTIcgHS8n1fCesudTdwdiFM17zaBhxvtj0aqZLlTvA9zkI6s9fVv2ZlhSIesNh5QTp29rBDRBDJYXBmQAnMuzmZmH5ArYiXvo203frnXiF5eK/s320/trepidation+st+time+travel.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-24772503468443252862012-01-01T20:23:00.000-08:002012-01-01T20:23:55.674-08:00Smashwords 2011 in review<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i>"Welcome to my annual Smashwords year in review.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i>2011 was another strong year for Smashwords and our authors.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i>We're ending the year with over 92,000 titles published, up from 28,800 at the end of last year.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i>In my <a href="http://blog.smashwords.com/2010/12/smashwords-year-in-review-plans-for.html" style="color: #511fb3; text-decoration: none;"><b>2010 year in review post</b></a>, 75,000 was my stretch goal for this year, so we beat it by a good margin.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i>Smashwords today supports over 34,000 authors and small publishers around the world, up from 12,000 a year ago.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<i>I launched Smashwords four years ago with a crazy idea to change the way books were published, marketed and sold. I believed authors should have the freedom to publish directly to their readers without the interference of publishing gatekeepers. My ideas were not unique. The great <a href="http://blog.smashwords.com/2009/02/exclusive-dan-poynter-on-future-of-self.html" style="color: #511fb3; text-decoration: none;">Dan Poynter</a> has been evangelizing the virtues of self-publishing for over 30 years..."</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">
The rest of the story here: <a href="http://blog.smashwords.com/2011/12/smashwords-year-in-review-2011.html">http://blog.smashwords.com/2011/12/smashwords-year-in-review-2011.html</a></div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-87418851798897670132011-12-09T23:54:00.001-08:002011-12-09T23:56:05.839-08:00The helmet hides the ears<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdw7tY0kiQ0LQoQLoHuFcFHqomg4lXaBo_wLMw0mENKkBcYcVUEgqF9iyTNt731Ds-woCS3m_WFajLsWSc3UgU_fsFd1lcKBEIVC6YGtJnU6fuIxRwTwGpbwm8Qiypl6QXY4EFY1BbU53H/s1600/discombobulate+st+time+travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdw7tY0kiQ0LQoQLoHuFcFHqomg4lXaBo_wLMw0mENKkBcYcVUEgqF9iyTNt731Ds-woCS3m_WFajLsWSc3UgU_fsFd1lcKBEIVC6YGtJnU6fuIxRwTwGpbwm8Qiypl6QXY4EFY1BbU53H/s320/discombobulate+st+time+travel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-68882761456292568842011-11-28T22:42:00.001-08:002011-11-28T22:43:07.757-08:00More time travel trekkie stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGSn1TSE5AJi9RSYJx-kfUe7T2lx99nFRvytY1SgHp3idXyEytoF5yZJEGYCuAEA-K6Rt1GGJbxWelLXdcJAi87Z5ktg4Desw-BU4Q6zRUcmi45hWIf56jX5BiEMU3_9m7WkQZAHeXxrM/s1600/manipulative+st+time+travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGSn1TSE5AJi9RSYJx-kfUe7T2lx99nFRvytY1SgHp3idXyEytoF5yZJEGYCuAEA-K6Rt1GGJbxWelLXdcJAi87Z5ktg4Desw-BU4Q6zRUcmi45hWIf56jX5BiEMU3_9m7WkQZAHeXxrM/s320/manipulative+st+time+travel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-46690316652427168392011-11-19T21:53:00.001-08:002011-11-19T21:53:54.021-08:00Lower tech time travel...Is listening to the music of your youth...Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-10408551537823119072011-11-12T10:58:00.001-08:002011-11-12T10:58:53.543-08:00More time travel pics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bressnEJudnPfRpKv5cEYsBfjpSsAEI7zmYz9O4FPVzaHyfcJ-sUY0D7ziO8J9xtkagGK3T8RgxmJfsoJfwJxDW_0PtiLgpf24egXW5ZUkyMZJIc3CBt7w_XT70NpAALh6bOG2LYd_vC/s1600/student_drivers+st+time+travel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bressnEJudnPfRpKv5cEYsBfjpSsAEI7zmYz9O4FPVzaHyfcJ-sUY0D7ziO8J9xtkagGK3T8RgxmJfsoJfwJxDW_0PtiLgpf24egXW5ZUkyMZJIc3CBt7w_XT70NpAALh6bOG2LYd_vC/s320/student_drivers+st+time+travel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-14271855440367093612011-11-06T01:02:00.001-07:002011-11-06T01:02:47.016-07:00This one isn't<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WrGBCvspEOh7L4WgRUDGI4IFncYsf6jhhetPfRPZZy8gtutIAJok9yGQCMAAOq75FUciSZgWjtbUFLBHpaE0GP5VLCgPOjiRwdqB2hNVlmt5dTPE3LGVlY86khor2Rn7ikjuczkBvBJ8/s1600/time_travel+st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WrGBCvspEOh7L4WgRUDGI4IFncYsf6jhhetPfRPZZy8gtutIAJok9yGQCMAAOq75FUciSZgWjtbUFLBHpaE0GP5VLCgPOjiRwdqB2hNVlmt5dTPE3LGVlY86khor2Rn7ikjuczkBvBJ8/s320/time_travel+st.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-37793938860049997322011-10-01T00:26:00.000-07:002011-10-01T00:26:27.263-07:00Its apparently a real photo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowEQF7As9EmH0bFjIcmiuasVxqTHt3yRWSvqzR3rDhxGm-BBzwuH5H8bVHoXRWZ4QyYRNkiNYRiQuev4lIZYBzsRfucnPHnwS8obR-NcUvSOQmX4TPZ5v-1XJSE8XCew7QnkxvfgV3uoz/s1600/time+traveller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowEQF7As9EmH0bFjIcmiuasVxqTHt3yRWSvqzR3rDhxGm-BBzwuH5H8bVHoXRWZ4QyYRNkiNYRiQuev4lIZYBzsRfucnPHnwS8obR-NcUvSOQmX4TPZ5v-1XJSE8XCew7QnkxvfgV3uoz/s320/time+traveller.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-1345168239737627262011-09-22T23:02:00.001-07:002011-09-22T23:02:32.287-07:00Engage FTL drive<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #eeeecc; color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<i>"A pillar of physics - that nothing can go faster than the speed of light - appears to be smashed by an oddball subatomic particle that has apparently made a giant end run around Albert Einstein's theories.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<i>Scientists at the world's largest physics lab said today (NZ time) they have clocked neutrinos travelling faster than light. That's something that according to Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity - the famous E (equals) mc2 equation - just doesn't happen..."</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The rest of this story <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/5671848/Pillar-of-physics-challenged" style="color: #445566;">here</a>.</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
In my opinion, this is the greatest discovery of the century (at least, so far!)</div>
Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-4182606789217781522011-09-03T18:26:00.000-07:002011-09-03T18:32:01.113-07:00You do have to wonder...... how some types manage to log onto a computer, download a book and write a shitty review, when they lack the brainpower to notice the blindingly obvious.<div>
<br /></div><div>One craphead complains that 'I can't see why they traveled to the 9th century'</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Never mind that the blurb on the website states- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> ‘Meddlers in Time’ explores the shaping of a parallel earth, by altering events in 9th century England.'</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Back to your comic books and Spongebob DVD's!</span></span></div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-60589914604367344262011-07-23T23:25:00.000-07:002011-07-23T23:27:20.951-07:00The latest6700 downloads!Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-45788813587040894952011-05-31T21:08:00.000-07:002011-05-31T21:12:26.406-07:00I like this chap!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; " ><strong style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; ">Review by: </strong><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rrjchristopher" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; ">Richard Christopher</a> on May. 31, 2011 : <span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; border-width: initial; border-color: initial;"><img src="https://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" height="16" width="16" alt="star" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; " /></span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; border-width: initial; border-color: initial;"><img src="https://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" height="16" width="16" alt="star" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; " /></span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; border-width: initial; border-color: initial;"><img src="https://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" height="16" width="16" alt="star" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; " /></span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; border-width: initial; border-color: initial;"><img src="https://www.smashwords.com/static/img/star.png" height="16" width="16" alt="star" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; " /></span></span><br />Time travel/alternate history somewhat in the 'Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court' (or' Crosstime Engineer') vein. Reads like the Mission Diary it's framed as - the writing is promising journeyman work - but for a REALLY interesting mission. The main characters are pretty bloody minded - nukeing a medieval city to get rid of maybe 5% of the population would take a thicker skin than mine, for example. Heinlein's 'Time Enough For Love' is referenced, staying just this side of the homage/fanfic line. Was surprised to find this one offered for free - it's worth paying for. There is certainly worse out there from major publishers. The author might - if he hasn't already - consider submitting to Baen Books, which has published a deal of similarly themed work.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; ">From <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/6204">Smashwords</a></span></div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-58237844119844195982011-05-19T00:35:00.000-07:002011-05-19T00:38:45.629-07:00Future projectA discussion about WW2 lead to the idea that two teams of Meddlers in Time could havc been operating during WW2.<div><br /></div><div>One boosting technology (pro Germany)</div><div><br /></div><div>One other interfering in politics (anti-Germany)</div><div><br /></div><div>What one would be my team and why...</div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-24313173854129733272011-04-22T22:26:00.000-07:002011-04-22T22:28:53.269-07:00Back to editingOk, I have re-read MIT after my line edit.<div><br /></div><div>The errors are <i>way</i> down,but there are a few, so here I go again...</div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-53027193948131769212011-04-03T00:15:00.001-07:002011-04-03T00:21:04.680-07:00MIT countryThe New Zealand setting of Jamieson & Associates farm is shown over in my photo blog:<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://nzinthesticks.blogspot.com/">NZ Back Country</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The posts under 'The Tora Collection' show the coastal setting of Earth's main portal site.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are more coming.</div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-1489435590063908462011-03-23T00:12:00.000-07:002011-03-23T00:19:13.090-07:00Bloody grammar nazisI have weeded out 99.9% of the typos now and yes, I know that not all of my grammar is not perfect.<div><br /></div><div>I have written much the way the characters would actually speak. Some may not know that military and ex-military do not speak the same as civilians. That is way 'some of the words are not used properly', to quote a reviewer. Tradesmen are the same, to a lesser degree. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mark Twain used to do this too...</div><div><br /></div><div>But I have made the concession of not using 'fuck' as every third word, which I would if I was being strictly accurate, along with using a 'civilianized' form of radio procedure.</div>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861824981637992749.post-33818862412873266992011-03-12T23:25:00.001-08:002011-03-12T23:30:06.324-08:00Back from camping<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUclGLzMEvhjo1EPDtwWUSl3i5rOnsx63qYtcTgeIvHUHhi2lccnodCLt7Zxi7UPORNBHpGdlZF_4v9dnzbCt1AcdfmBRvHp5kq-V3CAd2rVvZvHdXTYX8mb7Xbwi880Mv9ttOgwOhGe2p/s1600/DSCF0002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUclGLzMEvhjo1EPDtwWUSl3i5rOnsx63qYtcTgeIvHUHhi2lccnodCLt7Zxi7UPORNBHpGdlZF_4v9dnzbCt1AcdfmBRvHp5kq-V3CAd2rVvZvHdXTYX8mb7Xbwi880Mv9ttOgwOhGe2p/s400/DSCF0002.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583462924376051314" /></a>Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.com0