Happy New Year

Just a quick message before the ball drops and I go to bed. Or maybe the other way around. Happy New Year to you and yours and may you leave the year 2013 in the same or hopefully better shape than which you entered it and most of all, with the blessings of the Lord in abundance.

Christmas Traditions

As I was growing up in the Panhandle of Texas, I always looked forward to the gag gifts that my great uncle would give at Christmas.  It was always junk...like rusty nails, a dried out cigar or even a few peanuts.  After uncle Frank died, my parents, but mainly my mother, took the concept to another level as it became “sacks”...brown grocery sacks with odds and ends that she collected over the course of the year.  Each member of the family would receive a sack with things like candy canes, trinkets and even a out-dated calendar and, of course some junk.  Over the course of years, mother began to search all the catalogs she received and send off for small unusual items that she would include in the sacks...sometimes they were interesting and even useful! 

Mother died in 2000 and I inherited the “duty” of the sack tradition.  Like mother, I spend the year accumulating and storing things in my closet.  However, I have changed the concept to include fun and unusual things.  Since my two children ,now 37 and 38, elected to leave all their growing-up “stuff” in the garage and attic, I can go through it and select things from their past that they haven’t seen for years...bringing about “wow, I haven’t thought about that for years...where did you find that dad?”  With three grandkids, I also have taken to buying neat toys and such for their sacks.  This year’s sacks will include a custom pool cue stick for my son...it was my dad’s, socks, used ties that I know longer wear, candy, cosmetics (for the granddaughter), Texas Ranger baseball memorabilia, some old (and maybe valuable) cookbooks for my son-in-law and many other trinkets and neat items.  I allow trading of sack items if both parties want what the other has received! 

My brother (who lives in Weatherford) and I also have a separate “sack occasion”.  We both have equal amounts of our mother’s “stuff” stored in our garages, and we have a lot of fun passing it back and forth each year.  I am sorry to say that since plain old brown grocery sacks are hard to come by (what ever happened to the grocery clerk asking if you wanted paper or plastic?), I have converted to large Christmas bags!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Real Life Characters–Kris Howe

As I’ve said before, a few of my characters from THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON are based on real people. One character in the book, Chris, is based after my friend Kris Howe. Kris is an amateur paleontologist or fossil hunter. Kris is also kind of famous. Searching over around Lake Grapevine he found the remains of the oldest known bird in North America, almost 95 million years old. And, it was a new species at that, Flexomornis howei. With that kind of notoriety, it was a given that it should go into the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The announcement even made it to one of the giant TVs at Times Square!

 

KERA – Fossil Hunter, And His 95-Million-Year-Old Bird, Land At New Perot Museum

Texas Fossils - The Oldest Bird in North America

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Five Copies of THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON Sent to Winners

I’d like to thank all the entrants into the GoodReads book giveaway that we ran a few weeks back. Over six hundred entries is not a large number compared to other contests on the site, but to me, well, I was a little humbled.

Books were sent out about two weeks ago, so hopefully everyone has them by now and are enjoying the story. After the first of the year, we will attempt a giveaway here and on Facebook to see if we can give some more away!

The winners received, in addition to the book, the first chapter of the sequel, TIME AWRY. Hopefully, they will find it just as entertaining.

In the meantime, congratulations to the winners! ~Ron

• Mary H. of North Carolina
• Kim V. of North Carolina
• Mara B. of Oklahoma
• Candace B. of Missouri
• Janet Q. of California

Happy Thanksgiving

Here we are nearly to the holiday of Thanksgiving.  However, our thankfulness should not be limited to only one day a year.  But how do you keep an attitude of thankfulness?  One teenager began writing down what she was thankful for early in her life.  She was grateful for both great things and little things.  She wrote them in spiral notebooks, and after years of doing this, she published her own book entitled 14,000 Things to Be Happy About.  You know, you have to be thinking about thanking!  If you don’t think about your blessings, you will rarely thank.

Have a “Thank” full day!

Ron

GoodReads Giveaway of THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON

If you haven’t noticed, there is a “widget” on the right side of the web page. By clicking that widget, you can go to the GoodReads website and enter to win a free copy of my book, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. Unfortunately, you do have to have an account on GoodReads, but it’s very easy to sign up. There is a little over a week and a half to sign up. Five lucky winners will receive autographed copies. GoodReads is a perfect website for avid readers to meet other readers and catch up on what everyone else is reading.

THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON is available at Amazon.com and other establishments in print and digital format.

Bumper Thumper

This is what the front end of my car looked like after I hit (@ 40 mph) a Lincoln Navigator that turned in front of me!  Can you believe that my airbag did not deploy!!  Thank God my seatbelt did its job!  It is a 2008 Toyota Corolla and Murphy's Law was in effect....I was 4 months from having it paid off!

Bookworm Bash 2012–Addison, Texas

I’m always looking for another source of books and Ron always sends me little notes about things that he’s found. This one is called the Bookworm Bash (No bookworms were hurt in the creation of this title) and it’s located in Addison, Texas, which is in north Dallas. The books are donated for the event and all proceeds go to benefit the Senior Adult Services in Addison. You’ll be able to shop everything from classics to periodicals and the admission is free. It runs Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd, from 8 AM to 5 PM to give you a chance to get over there and check it out. I offered to keep an eye open for anything Ron might have in mind, but it seems he’s too busy penning TIME AWRY, the sequel to THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, to find anytime to read. Poor guy, but YAY us, when he’s finished with it.

 

James Pickering is Ron’s assistant in technical and internet matters and writes blog posts from time to time. He can be reached at Ron’s email; it will get forwarded to him.

The Shape of Thing To Come

Nearly everyone who has read THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON  complains about the ending!  While writing this book, I just never figured out how to bring the story to a proper conclusion, so I began to plan for the sequel.  TIME AWRY is the story of how Rob battles through problem after problem to get back to his own place in time.  Remember, his consciousness (brain) is now in the body of his nine year old self in 1949, and to make matters worse, he quickly loses his telepathic connection to his alien friend, Torena, his only link back to his own time of 2005.

In his desperation, he embarks on a trip back into Northern New Mexico, where he is successful in locating the alien spaceship Sol again, and talking him into leaving the cavern again.  But hold on!  Sol must be in the cavern in 2005 when Rob originally finds him, so that Rob’s timeline will work out correctly!  The same two spaceships, one in 1949 and one in 2005 wind up in a struggle against each other; and Rob is caught in the middle!  You’re not going to believe how this works out!

THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON can be purchased at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble in print or e-book.

The Coming Election

The coming election is about choices. Either a choice for America to continue in a downward spiral and deterioration of all that we have stood for, or a choice to begin a healing and restoration of our morals and values.

This video was created before I watched the previous video post. Though there production is much more polished, I still felt it necessary to publish my own thoughts.

I am certainly not a politician, nor have I ever aspired to be one, but the last four years have forced me to look much more seriously at our government than ever before. Further, I am a small businessman and a Christian who is deeply concerned about the deteriorating state of our country. I’m not so naive as to think that our current government has fostered the entire decline that we are seeing in our American values, but I do recognize that never have we had a president and congress so bent on the destruction of these values.

I rarely think of anything as being 100 percent fact, but I am 100 percent sure that Obama is not an American. Oh, he may actually have the proof that he is an American citizen, but that is not what I am referring to. By his actions and by his words, he has proved that he doesn’t care for our country or the ideals that it was built on.

In fact, he has shown that he directly opposes everything that our country was founded on, including but not limited to our Christian heritage, our democratic government and our capitalistic economy. He flaunts his disdain for our constitution and does not in any way hold to the constitutional principle that our government is to be BY the people and FOR the people. He has no knowledge of, nor cares for American history, or our traditions. He further ignores our prescribed legislation process and has passed an unconscionable number of executive orders.

What about his embarrassing ways concerning foreign policy? How in the world does bowing and apologizing about America help our country? He would not have the freedom to be our president if it were not for the fantastic heritage of our armed forces. Yet he treats them as if they are second-class citizens. He has repeatedly put politics above our national security (see security leaks and the attack on our Libyan embassy).

As to our form of government, Obama has made it expressly clear that he wants America to become a socialistic state, where several things happen—businesses are nationalized, we are forced to give what we earn to others ,we give up our weapons and the government becomes, FOR the government and NOT for the people.

Never has a president so abused the privileges of the office. At a time when many, many Americans are struggling financially, he, his wife and children have spent vast amounts of tax payer’s money on an extravagant lifestyle--including traveling all over the world—lots and lots of golf, opulent vacations, and of course the inevitable huge costs of the secret service and the jet planes—again, all at the expense of tax payers like you and me.

I could continue to state my opinions for quite some length, but now I want to provide some proof to my allegations. Not all will be numbers and figures, but some will just be statements or sayings that provide insight as to the truth of this matter.

*It is not government’s job to run our lives for us or make our decisions for us! Neither, is it government’s job to make us dependent on it!

*Isn’t it ironic that he says he wants to improve our economy, but hammers small businesses like mine; businesses that are the engine that drives our economy!

*How can anyone think that you can improve society by taking from those who work and earn a living to give to those who are not productive, yet expect it? George Bernard Shaw said, “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul”!

*In a 2009 interview he stated that if he hadn’t taken care of our country’s problems ( the economy, jobs, energy), then he should be held accountable. He has now been in office for nearly four years but he has not taken responsibility, but continues to blame others.

*There is an economic ripple effect in the profit motive. Spending or reinvesting that profit means that other people benefit with no need of government. Liberals believe that taxation is a better distributor of wealth!

*Aliens are either illegal or not. Obama wants us to pay for health care, food, housing and schooling for people who are illegally in our country; who pay no taxes and send billions of dollars back to the economy of their home country!

*He has been setting the stage to repeal, and basically destroy the right to bear arms as set forth by our founding fathers in the second amendment. His administration is putting pressure on the UN to help him achieve this goal. The UN? What power do they have to influence our choice to bear arms? The UN wouldn’t exist without the support of America!

*His administration is marked by personal secrecy. It is amazing the lengths to which he has gone to cover up his background.

*Obama is the first president to file lawsuits against states (AZ, WI, OH, IN), states that he swore an oath to protect.

*He is the first president to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party while knowing that many millions would not be able to do so without somebody else paying for it!

*Obama’s administration is “cooking the books” where unemployment figures are concerned. He recently reported that this rate is now down to 7.8%, but independent statisticians are stating that our unemployment figure currently stands at least at 11.2%. This percentage certainly bears out when you consider that 23 million Americans are out of work, have stopped looking for work, or are underemployed.

*Approximately 50% of the voting population doesn’t pay any federal income taxes. Wow! I wonder who they like.

*Obamacare is fundamentally flawed, meaning it opposes the fundamental document of our nation. It is unconstitutional in that it gives the federal government control over several personal aspects of our lives—control of our money and control of our medical selection processes. He blatantly states that it is not a tax, but what do you call it if you are penalized (taxed) for having coverage in order to pay for those who cannot or will not purchase it?

*Obama is oblivious to fiscal responsibility and is throwing our money around as if it’s all his. How about his daughter’s opulent vacation to Mexico (while our own government was telling us to stay out)? 12 friends, 2 jets, posh hotel and, oh yes, all those secret service agents. The greater proof to this however, is in other numbers; those that show our national debt. Obama deficit spending is over 300% more than Bush’s—an increase of over 5 trillion dollars!

*What a boon it would be to America and our economy if we could lower our energy costs, but Obama opposes exploration and drilling….everywhere! America has the largest petroleum reserves in the world! Let’s not ignore our environment, but let’s do what will help a vast majority of our citizens, instead of the few.

*Although we speak of his administration’s inexperience and incompetence, Obama knows what he’s doing. He sees America differently than you and I. He has a long history of being at odds with American values and with America itself.

I’ve probably spoke too long, but it hope you have sensed my deep concern for our country. I’m 71 and won’t live a great many more years, but I have children and grandchildren that deserve a safe, secure future.

I implore you; do not let politics determine your vote, but rather use reason, common sense and yes, national pride in deciding who you will vote for. It is up to all Americans to begin the healing process of our United States. It won’t be easy, for nothing worthwhile ever is. The truth is, we Americans have so much at stake that we MUST fight this battle. Our personal freedom and our continuing right to achieve great things as individual Americans is up for grabs.

Thank you so much for listening!

Voices Without a Vote Ring of Liberty!

This struck a chord with me and I felt compelled to post it.

Wowee, Maui!

My trip to Maui with my son was both frantic and fantastic!  Well, actually the frantic part was just the first 24 hours.  After arriving in Maui, we had to quickly rent a car, stash our golf clubs in the car, park it and then go through TSA line (again), and run and catch our flight to Honolulu.  The next morning we had to catch a 7:00 shuttle to Pearl Harbor, then a shuttle back to the hotel and then a cab back to the airport by 12 noon.  Then through the TSA line again where they confiscated my toothpaste that had already made it through two previous inspections!

The fantastic part started when we hit our hotel on the west coast of Maui where we had a corner room that both looked out west across the Pacific to the Hawaiian island of Molokai and to the north and east up into the beautiful volcanic mountains!  My son Brad had never been to Maui or actually had an extended vacation, so he had doubts when I had told him what to expect----sumptuous seafood, fantastic vistas, friendly people (aloha!), unbelievable golf and the mesmerizing pull of the ocean!  He wound up repeatedly telling me that EVERYTHING far exceeded his expectations.  Heck, I even got to do two things that I had never done before; snorkel and jet-ski---what a blast for a 71 year old guy!  I brought back things for my wife and grandkids.  Sorry I didn’t bring you anything!~Ron

Photos of Ron’s trip

Fearless Felix’s Aborted Skydive Rescheduled

Felix Baumgartner has rescheduled his aborted 23-mile plunge from space. He decided to postpone it due to high winds above the Roswell, New Mexico desert. If you’ve been under a rock (which is easy to do these days) or just don’t read much about events like this, then you are probably not familiar with Felix Baumgartner. Felix was in the Austrian military where he was trained in parachute jumping and especially hitting small targets. Most of his post-military life has been spent BASE jumping. This has basically prepared him for this daring, life-threatening stunt. He’s already made two practice jumps at 13 and 18 miles up.

On October 10th he was to launch himself from a capsule attached to a 55-story weather balloon at an altitude of 23 miles. Unfortunately, the winds did not cooperate and the jump was called off. With a new date on the calendar, anticipation is back in the air. October 14th will dawn with all eyes on Baumgartner and his custom-made flight suit. Red Bull, which is sponsoring the event, will be streaming live on the internet and Baumgartner’s space suit sports five hi-def cameras so you won’t miss the action. The feed goes live at 6:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time on Sunday and actual jump times will be updated as weather permits.

Some folks may look at these as just stunts, but much information can be learned about the body in free-fall and in the upcoming age of commercial space flight, this will be important information. Baumgartner will be setting a record with this jump that has been held since 1960 by Colonel Joe Kittinger who leapt from 102,800 feet. In fact, Kittinger is the lead member of Baumgartner’s team. Did I mention that Felix is also going to go supersonic on this jump? That’s right, he expects to break the sound barrier within 40 seconds of jumping.

Question: Felix is in a class of famous “nut jobs” and thrill-seekers. Who is the most famous that you have heard of or can recall by name?

You can watch live and read more about Felix at the links below.

Watch Live at Red Bull Stratos Youtube Channel

The Red Bull Stratos Home Page

Felix Baumgartner Wiki Page

ABC7 News Report

Written by James Pickering

Musical Mondays

Here’s a lively tune to get your week started!

Old Is New Again

I got an email of a blog post earlier this year about another blog post from four years ago. It’s a collection of photos showcasing old refurbished bumper cars from The Pike amusement park out in California turned into actual cars. I remember riding the bumper cars at the Pike back in the late ‘40’s or ‘50’s, but liking the Cyclone roller coaster that went out over the ocean best. Enjoy these links to the blog post and other articles about the bumper cars.
Stix Blog – Old Bumper Cars
Theme Park Review - Bumper Cars from Long Beach's Pike Amusement Park Found
MR38 Flickr Set – Dodgems
Gadget Venue - Street Legal Bumper Cars
Old Bumper Cars Go Street Legal
Boing Boing Gadgets - Street Legal Bumper Cars

Character Origins

Have you ever wondered how a writer comes up with the names of his book’s characters?  Well, in THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, it was pretty easy.  Since much of the story was about my life-my family, my friends, my faith-I simply used real-life people and changed their names a little bit.  My name Ronald Dunn became Rob Donne; my son’s name Brad became Brady; my good friend’s name Stennis became Dennis, etc.  Except for Solomon the alien spaceship and, Torena the alien woman, all my characters were founded on people I know.  It was easy to translate their character into the book because I know them well.  I’m not alone in my methods for many writers incorporate their lives into their novels---we write about what we know and what we have experienced.

Back To The Islands!

If you’ve read the blurb on the back of my book, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, you know that it started with my bucket list.  It just so happens that “Go to Maui” was also on my list.  Five years ago, when I was about half-way through writing my book, my wife and I spent a week on this Hawaiian island!  Well, after that trip I sat down and put another item on my bucket list—“Go back to Maui”!  I became enamored with the beauty that God had placed on this island—huge clusters of Bougainvillea vines of many colors, mountains, palm trees and many other blooming trees, beautiful beaches and, of course the Pacific ocean!  I even had a hard time on the golf course—I couldn’t concentrate on my game for looking at the scenery!

Now I’m going back!  My son Brad and I are going on September 7th and will also go over to Oahu to visit and tour Pearl Harbor.  I’ll be taking quite a few pictures and hope to post some of the better ones so you can see the beauty that I’m talking about.

Aloha!

Photo: Bougainvillea by The Greenery Nursery

Great Television Moments

You don't see these moments on TV anymore.

Test Post

This is a test blog post for a web site that needs to see those special characters there at the the end. Please disregard this post and wait in anticipation for a true post from yours truly. Thank you.

SF5RYZMCPWBE

The Movie HUD and Home

My brother and I went back to our hometown, Claude, Texas last month.  Some of the things we did were planned, but others were kind of spontaneous.  We first looked for and located the two-story ranch house that was used in the filming of ‘Hud,’ which starred Paul Newman and was shot in 1963.  My 1954 Chevy convertible appeared in the rodeo scene.  We attended the Old Settler’s reunion and saw a lot of old people, some I recognized, but many that I didn’t! 

We also attended a reunion of boy Scout troop #17; the oldest troop west of the Mississippi.  My brother and I were both members during the late 1940’s and in the 1950’s.  But what really got my attention was the grand opening of the new library-a combination of town and high school library.  My brother and I went by early in the afternoon (the ribbon cutting was to occur at 5:00) just to look it over.  The door was locked but a lady let us in.  During our conversation, I mentioned my book, The Wisdom of Solomon (affiliate link),  and she wanted to put it on the shelf!  I signed and gave her a copy and she placed on the display shelf that you see as you first enter!  She since has taken a picture and placed in on Facebook!  Wow---free publicity!!  You can go to Richard S. and Leah Morris Memorial Library on Facebook and see the picture.  It just goes to show you that life is full of opportunities if you can just recognize them---or be a little bit lucky!

(Photo is an affiliate link)

Washington State Wildlife

These pictures were taken by my good friend Kris while on vacation in Washington state.  He was only about 25 feet from the eagle and about 300 feet from the orcas!

Click here to view the rest on my Facebook Fan Page!

The Passing of Stephen Covey, Author of ‘7 Habits’

 

Stephen Covey passed away after a difficult time in the hospital springing from a bicycle accident in April. His book, ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ (affiliate link) has garnered much praise over the years since it’s publication in 1989.

 

In John Hillkirk’s article for USA Today, he talks of how Covey came about writing this book.

Covey said he developed the 7 Habits after studying hundreds of books and essays on success written since 1776. He noticed that the literature of the 20th century was dominated by gimmicks or "social Band-Aids" to improve the personality.

In contrast, the literature of the first 150 years — in the writings of Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin, for example — was based on character and principles such as integrity, courage and patience.

Does anybody else find it sad that modern society looks for the Band-Aid while our forefathers concentrated on characters and principles? Maybe it’s time we got back to the basics and put the Band-Aids away. Rest in peace, Stephen Covey.

Great Civil War Photos from THE ATLANTIC Magazine

Got these in an email from a friend. I’m amazed at the clarity in some. These photos seem to have more depth than most photos do today, despite all of the electronics in modern cameras. Some photos almost seem like they are taken in 3-D! Enjoy.

The Civil War: The Places
The Civil War: The People
The Civil War: The Stereographs

(Photo from The Atlantic Website)

Our Big Blue Marble

Found this through the website Mashable. A young Croatian man has pieced together footage from the International Space Station and added music to make this wonderful video. Beautiful, just beautiful.

This is Our Planet from Tomislav Safundžić on Vimeo.

Home, Sweet Home

I grew up in the small farming/ranching community of Claude, Texas. I was the son of a share crop farmer and we had to depend on God to provide the water for the wheat and grain sorghum that we grew. Life was simple (I didn’t live in a house with an indoor bathroom till I was 11 years old!) but it was also a time that was happy and one that shaped my values. Everyone knew everyone else and the community was one large support system---meaning you couldn’t do anything that wouldn’t be reported to your parents! I remember the cold, clear water that our windmill pumped, low humidity and cool nights (even in the middle of the summer) and the pleasure of working the soil.

My parents have been dead for a number of years and I have lived in the Dallas area for 44 years; yet I still think of Claude as my home! My brother Von and I are going to a reunion there in July and I told him that we would see a lot of old people. His reply was that we would be in good company! FYI: The Paul Newman film Hud, which won several Oscars, was filmed in Claude and my green 54 Chevy convertible is in the rodeo scene!

Culture Shock Is A Good Thing

Culture shock can be a good thing; such as when you leave the heat, wind, humidity and horrible traffic of Dallas and go to Northern New Mexico! What do I get in exchange?

Well, lets start with the beautiful scenery in the Carson National Forest where my family and I go every year. The pines are majestic; many of which will grow to be over a 100 feet tall! Then there is the cold rushing water in the river, where the rainbow trout reside that I love to catch and eat! How about the wild life—stellar blue jays, grouse, woodpeckers, cardinals and eagles. But the most fun to watch are the raucous magpies, the pesky crows and the wonderfully colored hummingbirds! You’ll also see chipmunks, and occasionally a deer, raccoon, bear or badger. At 8,300 hundred feet altitude, the temperatures range from the middle 70’s during the day to around 40 at night (which sure beats the 100+ degree days in Dallas!).

With all that said, I can tell you that the most impressive sight is the nighttime sky! With little ambient light, the milky way can be viewed in all its glory. Year after year, it continues to put me in awe of the fact that God made everything we see just for us!

Thoughts On a Book Signing

I had a book signing at the Manske library in Farmers Branch last Saturday, May 19th.  I only sold one book, but as usual I met other authors that provided insight into their own methods of promoting their works.  With 21 local authors, it was, by far, the largest signing event that I have been involved in.  It continues to amaze me that many of these writers’ books contain Christian themes; which in turn, gives me hope that our community (and hopefully our nation) is returning to the roots that have made us such a great country.  Several browsers picked up my card and expressed an interest in buying the ebook version of THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.  It’s only $2.99 on Amazon.  Come see me next time!   

Book Signing at the Manske Library in Farmers Branch

Well, this book signing is much closer to a lot of you.  In fact, it’s just down the street from the church building at the Farmers Branch Manske Library, 13613 Webb Chapel.  It is for local authors and I guarantee that you will find some interesting book subjects along with authors that can tell some great stories.  It begins at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 19th.  If you haven’t read my book, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, I’ll have copies and will even sign them for you!

Ron Dunn

‘The Wisdom of Solomon’ is Available on Amazon

After some wrangling back and forth between Ron and I and Amazon, we finally got the final product uploaded. Only took two extra days and we apologize for any frustration this may have caused.
This is the second edition of The Wisdom of Solomon just like the one in print. Besides being published by the new publisher, HIS Publishing Group, it also includes a few minor edits and a new cover.
Other than that, it’s still the same great story of an unlikely friendship and a wish to make the world a better place. Oh, and did I mention space travel, alien races, out-of-this-world technologies, and best of all, time travel!

Just see what a few others have had to say about The Wisdom of Solomon!

"found TWOS to be a fun page-turner!" ~ Bob Parr

"an entertaining and thought provoking read." ~ Ann. M. Kraft

"Exciting Fiction with Biblical ideals/Christian moral content." ~ Grandmother Reader

So, click the blue title here in the post or the book cover and go to Amazon and get The Wisdom of Solomon for the low price of $2.99! And then be sure and let us know what you thought of it by leaving a review on Amazon or by email. Enjoy the read!

Wonders of the Universe

I have to agree with Tyson that we are made of elements formed by stellar events.  But what is even more astounding, is that God chose, not only to form the basics of the universe in this manner, but then to use these elements to create all that we are, and all that we perceive with our five senses!  Truly amazing, isn’t it!!!!

A Race to the Bottom of the Marianas Trench!

It would seem that James Cameron (Raise the Titanic, Avatar) and Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Everything), as well as two other teams are pulling out the stops to be the first to the bottom of the Marianas Trench! If mumblings from Cameron’s team are to be believed, he will be heading out first in the next few weeks.

This is a dangerous venture in that the depth at Challenger Deep is about 36,000 feet. That’s as much as Mount Everest is high! And this article states that the pressure at such a depth is almost 16,000 pounds per square inch which is “equivalent to 8,000 elephants standing on a Mini Cooper.” I’d pay to see that illustrated!

 

We’ll be watching the news on the outcome and will report back what we find.

 

(Photo by: Some rights reserved by Mudkipz_KGM)

Me and a storm trooper!

Saturday I attended a scifi expo at the new Irving convention center. My publisher had a table and I was there to sell copies of my book, but I spent a lot of my time just looking at all the people! They were all different ages, sizes, gender, color and many of them looked just plain weird (costumes, tattoos, piercings. etc.). I did recognize the storm trooper and got my picture with him; primarily for my 8 year old grandson who is really into Star Wars.

Another Review and SciFi Expo

Ron’s gearing up for Sci-fi Expo this weekend. He’ll have books at the HIS Publishing Group’s table and will even be in on Saturday to sign some copies. He hasn’t nailed down a time, so stay posted here,  to the Facebook page or Twitter for updates.

Also, we’ve received another review from a satisfied customer on Amazon.com. Be sure and let Ron know what you thought of it and remember that he is diligently working on the next book. He’s let me sneak a peek at the first chapter and I’m pressing him to hurry up with the rest. You’re gonna love it!

Bam Boom Straight to the Moon

Space.com reports that the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, is in talks with NASA and ESA about eventually making it back to the moon. The head of the agency, Vladmir Popovkin, states that there is enough evidence to support the idea of humans living for extended lengths on the moon or in orbit around it and the Russians have already started the research into vehicles that will get us there.
I grew up watching the Apollo space program and shots of astronauts walking on the moon and though I was small, I remember the sense of wonder and amazement as people talked about it. Even in the late seventies and early eighties, people got the wonder and awe back but then it waned. “Oh. Another shuttle taking up experiments or ferrying supplies to the space station.” Everyone wondered when the next step would be taken.
Well, I’m getting into my mid-forties and I’m getting antsy. I would love to see this happen and can’t wait to see the next step. I sometimes wonder if we got too cautious or were we really having a lack of breakthroughs to get us back on the road. Either way, ad astra!
Question: Is the moon the next logical step or should we skip it and move on to bigger and better things? Should we keep our feet planted firmly on Earth and concentration on our problems? Let me know what you think.
Another question: In your lifetime, what is a great achievement that just made you look up in the sky and say with a smile “We did that?”

God’s Plan Has Room For Aliens and Machines

A reader of my book, THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON asked me a question that I want to share with you.  He asked, “How do you see Torena and Solomon fitting into God’s plan?”  Wouldn’t you know that he would ask me something hard!

If you haven’t read my book, you need to know that Torena is an alien woman and Solomon is an alien spacecraft.  They both were exposed to God’s word and eventually responded to it by obeying the scriptural command to be baptized to wash away their sins and receive the Holy Spirit.  Afterwards, Torena’s response was in accordance with God’s plan for His children; she went back to her home planet, Herzog with the desire to teach others about Jesus.  Solomon is the hard one to fit into God’s plan.  Although he read the scriptures in both the original Hebrew and Greek, and it changed everything about him, he was still a machine.  I can only surmise that the only way Solomon can promote God’s plan is by the way that he interacts with any species of beings that he comes into contact with.

When you think about it, that’s what God expects us all to do—show Jesus in our life as we interact with others!  The only pitfall with Solomon is, how he can receive the Holy Spirit?  Oh well, maybe you can answer that one!

The Science in Science Fiction

Ron forwarded an email to me last week that he had received from a nephew with links to organizations that are on the cutting-edge of technology. Ron talked of how he has incorporated some of these ideas into his book and even expands on the unlimited possibilities. Here’s an excerpt from that email.

Wow, all these foundations must have been reading my book!  Reducing/slowing the effects of aging--as Rob did, they must consider the vast implications of people living much longer.  We've basically doubled our lifespan in the
last 150 years and now we have a population of nearly 7 billion and how many of those are starving or malnourished or disease-ridden?  Say we add just another 15-20 years to the average lifespan--what does that do to our ever-decreasing supply of fresh water? Our open space which contains wildlife and life-giving trees? Our food supplies that have proved to be quite vulnerable to weather patterns (see Texas record heat and drought and prices in the supermarket!).  Maybe the single greatest implication of an extended lifespan would be the drain on state, federal and world economies in an effort to continually build and support the ever increasing need for
infrastructure.

When you think about all the things that future society will have to contend with, I’m glad for organizations like these that are pushing the boundaries to ensure a future for us and our descendants. Do you know of any other foundations or businesses that look to the future in amazing ways? Tell us about it.

The SENS Foundation - Advancing Rejuvenation Biotechnologies

The Thiel Foundation - The Thiel Foundation defends and promotes freedom in all its dimensions: political, personal, and economic.

Learning via an MRI machine