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.