The Hunger Games Movie

Another Harry Potter type story... I'm a little iffy on the selection of actors, but I want to see it anyway.

Atlas Shrugged iPad App

In case you didn't get a sense of Ayn Rand's philosophy from the book itself, you can view supplement material as part of the iPad app:

Includes:
-Handwritten, original manuscript pages and notes from the author’s journals regarding key scenes 
-Video and audio excerpts from Rand’s talks on hot button topics from the book and her philosophy, courtesy of The Ayn Rand Archives 
-Full length audio lectures, including a Q&A on Objectivism, an outline of its basic principles, and commentary on the state of business and government (covered in the ever-timely lecture “Is Atlas Shrugging?”)

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Author’s Life and Groundbreaking Philosophy:
-Illustrated, revealing timeline of the author’s life and major works, including personal documents, letters, and correspondence 
-Photo gallery of images of the author at work
-Informative articles on the author’s life, influences, and her philosophy of Objectivism

Additional reader enrichment materials:
-Collection of sharable quotes and passages from the novel (via Facebook, Twitter, and email) embedded within the reading experience
-A fun “Who Said That?” quiz to challenge readers to recall some of the most memorable lines from the novel
-Endorsements and testimonials from celebrities and business leaders on the enduring power and influence of Atlas Shrugged
-A Discussion Guide to aid in book group or classroom conversations, and a catalog of the author’s available titles
-The trailer for the upcoming documentary Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged., from Mad Universe LLC

Additional Functionality 
-Easy in-book navigation features, including text search, bookmarks, custom reader settings, and the ability to flip pages with a tap or swipe
-Sidebar annotations alongside the novel hide away for an uninterrupted reading experience
-Complete app functionality in both portrait and landscape orientation
-Reproduced archival documents and images that can be enlarged to full screen with a double tap

. . . and much more!

Ender's Game the Movie

Having Han Solo in the movie is great, but I'm just happy it is being made. I liked these books better than Harry Potter. It is a bit of Harry Potter in space for those that are unfamiliar with the series.

andrewchen Harrison Ford locked for 'Ender's Game' - Entertainment News, EXCLUSIVE, Media - Variety bit.ly/w1BRsGTue, Jan 24 00:10:07 from Timely by Demandforce

Death to Inefficieny

Death to independent bookstores. (Amazon)
Death to publishers. (Amazon)
Death to publishers again. (Apple)

Death to inefficiencies.

GLOCK

I wrote earlier about (and poked a little fun at) an Uncrate post that was a little over the top in describing Glock: The Rise of America's Gun.

The author, Paul Barrett, was kind enough to come by and leave a comment about some better sources for information about the book:

"Brick: The Amazon.com page has a good summary, as well as early reviews from real live people who've read the book via Amazon's Vine early-review program:

http://www.amazon.com/Glock-Americas-Paul-M-Barrett/dp/0307719936

Another option is my website: www.glockthebook.com"

I'm happy to report that there is a Kindle version that is cheaper than the hardcopy. The book will be available on January 10.

BONUS: ENDO is giving away multiple copies of the book.

American Tested, Rapper Approved - The Glock

Uncrate is pimping the new book Glock: The Rise of America's Gun. What I find funny is their description of the book that:

"tells that story from its early 1980's origins in Austria through its rise as the preferred handgun of a huge number of rappers and Americans." 

In God We Trust, All Others We Nuke

Lingo has some MHI Fan Fiction - plenty of local flavoring.

Cheap eBooks

George R. R. Martin announced a sale of his Wild Cards eBooks. Four of the books are available for $2.99. Basically, they want to sell a few and get you hooked on the series. It may work with me. I bought one last night and have already been burning through the electronic pages.

Rock the Monster Hunters Vote

Larry is having a patch contest for inclusion in his next Monster Hunters International book. See all the entries here.

Might I suggest the patch for the East Tennessee chapter of MHI? How about I demand you vote for ETMHI? (Just testing boundaries.)

I saw the patch and knew it had to be someone from around these parts. Turns out, I was right... Linoge of the Walls of the City. So go vote... here!

DEAD SIX is Out Today

DEAD SIX is out today! « Monster Hunter Nation:

"The plot is big. The action is big, but we kept it plausible. The tactics/equipment stuff is solid. One of my proof readers is a guy that Jack Bauer would hang out with. We did our homework. Considering that we wrote this years ago and put in the Arab Spring, a narcotrafficante revolution in Mexico, and stealth helicopters, none of which (we knew) existed at the time, I’d say we were at least semi-plausible in our brainstorming process. We took some liberties with reality, all authors do, but we tried not to make them stupid liberties."

Larry must be listening to my suggestions.

Dead Six

I finished Dead Six while at the beach. I liked it. A lot. Even better than Larry's MHI series. I may not keep up with MHI, but, if there is another, and I think there will be, I'll grab it up. And reading it on the Android Nook was a nice experience.

W.E.B. Griffin

Slim recommended W.E.B. Griffin to me before my first beach trip this year. I picked up The Lieutenants: Brotherhood of War and finally read it at home, since I can't read a ton of books on my vacations due to the preschooler factor. I really enjoyed it, so I ran over to McKay's before this trip to get the next book in the series, but McKay's is like a box of chocolates. I ended up getting the first and second book in his Presidential Agent series. I finished By Order of the President and liked it as well. Lovely... another author and several series that I'm going to spend lots of time reading.

 

eBook for Dead Six

So my complaint with the MHI series is that it involves plots to save the world/universe/the future/the past/etc. I bought the eBook for Dead Six. For six bucks and a good chance the change of genera will limit the scope of the adventure (or maybe not), I think it is worth the click to buy now! Also, I like that I can download it in any format I prefer (for example, ePub for my Android Nook). A quick on-line purchase, a download, copied to my Dropbox, and voila... there it appears in Aldiko.

Top 100 SciFi Books

I saw it first at Robb's place, but apparently it is making the rounds as I saw it next at Tam's and she links to several other folks.

So, I've read about a quarter of the list.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King (Only the first two.)
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

EMP

Posting about the Faraday Bags reminded me of a book I read last summer: One Second After. (It was the summer of the post-apocalyptic stories as I also read On The Beach and Alas, Babylon. Nothing like some sunshine, sand, and stories about the end of the world to make for a pleasant vacation.)

One Second After describes the events after an EMP has completely disrupted modern life. With all electronics (including those in cars, computers, communications equipment, appliances, etc.) rendered useless, the supply chain quickly breaks down. When you have JIT inventories, your supply quickly goes to zero when the next truck or train doesn't arrive. Low inventories is great for cash flow, but not so hot for being prepared to survive without weekly trips to the fully stocked grocery store and pharmacy. Food becomes scarce as do medications including common place antibiotics and maintenance drugs like insulin.

In this disaster scenario, communications are down - most of the "when all else fails" ham radio gear included. Matt @ AmateurRadio.com gets to the heart of the matter:

"Amateur Radio is depended upon “when all else fails.” Ham radio operators pride themselves on their “readiness, resilience, and response.” Well prepared hams have their 72-hour Go Kits, extra batteries for their fancy HTs, etc. But what if the emergency involves some sort of EMP attack? Are you ready to provide emergency communications for your community when your solid-state HF and VHF transceivers have been rendered useless boat anchors?"

I am in no way prepared for an EMP attack or even most natural disasters. My goal is to keep chipping away at being prepared by making baby steps over time - first aid supplies in the cars, extra flashlights and batteries, radios and batteries, water, food, blankets, binoculars, fire making kits, etc.

While being able to communicate with a community or across a nation, doesn't by itself solve the issues of disease and hunger, it could go a long way in providing hope. And hope might just keep society a little more civilized.

Back to the book... it isn't high art by any stretch, but it is a good read and extremely thought provoking if not downright scary.

Winter is coming

The Starks frequently issue the warning that "Winter is coming." Despite 90+ degree tempartures, my little one has heeded the warning.

The Winds of Winter are Coming

George RR Martin has made it big time!


Via Foxtrot

Poor Larry

I have read Larry Correia's first two Monster Hunter books and was thinking about getting the new one, Monster Hunter Alpha. I got an e-mail from Amazon and based on the description, I know I must have it (see image below).

No-Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide - In Print

The No-Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide is now available in print for $12. Becoming a ham doesn't have to be expensive.

Authors@Google: George R.R. Martin

I missed the live streaming, so I'm watching the interview now.