Buzzkill prevention thread {capture and kill the bad juju}

[too larry]

It was one of the best-elaborated treatments of true aliens I ever read. I highly recommend the sequel, and also Footfall. Niven/Pournelle do a truly epic we-repel-alien-invaders tale. The aliens are elephantoid.

I've read some Neven, but it's been a while. I did four years of writing, and didn't read anything published after 1750 that whole time. When I gave up on the writing, I never got back into novels. I do keep a Carl Hiaasen in the car for waiting rooms. I took it in the airport this week, but my friend got in before I could find my last stopping place.

 

[cannabineer]

Further favorites:
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
the Barrayar/Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold (prequel Falling Free, first proper volume Shards of Honor).
Earth by David Brin
Moving Mars and Anvil of Stars (sequel to The Forge of God in which we lose our planet), both by Greg Bear
and E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series, definitive space opera written in the 40s, and the technical confidence of the era shines through.

I'll read anything written by Bujold or Stephenson.

 

[cannabineer]

I've read some Neven, but it's been a while. I did four years of writing, and didn't read anything published after 1750 that whole time. When I gave up on the writing, I never got back into novels. I do keep a Carl Hiaasen in the car for waiting rooms. I took it in the airport this week, but my friend got in before I could find my last stopping place.

I tried my hand at writing science fiction. It is significant that of the dozen or so educated people whom I've shown my short stories, not one said "I'd like to show this to someone". My bubble didn't burst so much as slowly shrink and wrinkle.

 

[too larry]

I tried my hand at writing science fiction. It is significant that of the dozen or so educated people whom I've shown my short stories, not one said "I'd like to show this to someone". My bubble didn't burst so much as slowly shrink and wrinkle.

Yea, my wife tried to read my stuff, but she didn't last long. My writing was set in 1717 Emden East Frisia through 1718 Bathe Town North Carolina, with a couple three stops in between. I was coming off a reading bender where I started reading westerns since I had read everything else in the library. I saw so many crappy books in print, I figured I could do as well as them. But it's hard. Especially with a series. I was at 7 1/2 novels when I hung it up. I've thought about writing short stories. Less to keep up with.

 

[too larry]

Further favorites:
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
the Barrayar/Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold (prequel Falling Free, first proper volume Shards of Honor).
Earth by David Brin
Moving Mars and Anvil of Stars (sequel to The Forge of God in which we lose our planet), both by Greg Bear
and E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series, definitive space opera written in the 40s, and the technical confidence of the era shines through.

I'll read anything written by Bujold or Stephenson.

Other than the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle novel {which I borrowed from someone on my ship}, I haven't read a lot of scifi writers. I did get into a Dean Ing mode for a while.

 

[cannabineer]

Other than the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle novel {which I borrowed from someone on my ship}, I haven't read a lot of scifi writers. I did get into a Dean Ing mode for a while.

What I remember of Dean Ing is technothrillers with a definite prepper slant.

Pournelle did a neat book called Janissaries. Displaced human military from several eras.

 

[too larry]

What I remember of Dean Ing is technothrillers with a definite prepper slant.

Pournelle did a neat book called Janissaries. Displaced human military from several eras.

Ing had one story where there was a chip in everyone's brain. If you tried to take it out, it blew up. People went down in caves to cut them out, so the wifi didn't reach.

Another of his that I remember was about a giant robot logging machine. Don't remember the plot at all.

 

[cannabineer]

Ing had one story where there was a chip in everyone's brain. If you tried to take it out, it blew up. People went down in caves to cut them out, so the wifi didn't reach.

Another of his that I remember was about a giant robot logging machine. Don't remember the plot at all.

Speaking of giant robot machines, Keith Laumer's various Bolo stories are something I half-remember with fondness. I was touched by a thousand-ton nuke-spewing self-aware hypertank that drove into the face of a very near-victorious enemy. "For the honor of the regiment."

 

[too larry]

Speaking of giant robot machines, Keith Laumer's various Bolo stories are something I half-remember with fondness. I was touched by a thousand-ton nuke-spewing self-aware hypertank that drove into the face of a very near-victorious enemy. "For the honor of the regiment."

Those Bolos sound like the bomb. Kind of reminds me of the Doctor Who, Face of Evil episode where he had helped out the computer to a space ship by hooking it to his brain. Years later he came back by, and it had gone insane. Too much knowledge.

 

[too larry]

I worked at the pond and river yesterday afternoon. {the wife and I went down early and looked at the land we will be buying}

This morning I took down some more fence. You have to clear a damn brushpile worth before you take out the first staple.

 

[too larry]

I got as much of the section of garden fence pinned by the tree down and rolled up as I could. I can see a path through there. With just a little trimming, I'll be able to cut the wire on each side, leave the tree where it's at and just go behind it. I will need to cut a couple of limbs to get my trash can lid back.

 

[too larry]

The roofers are supposed to be back toward the end of next week to roof the two sheds. That means I have a ton of shit to move. The store bought shed has to have the two studs closest to the corner replaced, so that section will have to be cleared. The other shed has no roof now, but it's got all sorts of crap in it, just covered with tarps. They will need to get to the center ridgeline. Lumber, tables, chairs, etc, etc will have to go outside. Not sure what the plan is yet, but I'll figure something out.

 

[ANC]

 

[Eltomcat]

It's all good. Quite a life event to go through. My folks lost everything in hurricane Irma. No insurance. Wiped out their life savings having to get a new place. This is the backyard. Neighbor to the right… no damage. Neighbor to the left…gone.

View attachment 4279906

Nice pic tho

 

[too larry]

I worked in the shed today. Threw away 6-8 trash bags of clothes from the 70's and 80's. My wife used to be really thin. And she owned lots of skirts and sweaters.

But the main task was to get to the corner where the tree had busted the studs. Did that to a certain degree. Still need to get it a little more open, then start on the big shed.

 

[too larry]

It's official now. I saw it in flashing lights on the drive home last night. Debris to the road by May 1st.

I did my part by dragging a few of the whole pine trees and a whole lot of tops and shorter sections from behind the house out to the road. Also got everything between the garden and the graveyard, except for one tree on the very back next to the Rough. I would have to drag it through the 3 year old longleaf's and decided to leave it. I drug plenty over the one year old trees, but don't think I did too much damage to them.

I was running late, so no pictures.

 

[too larry]

I worked just off the back yard, where the wife's she shed will be going. Got a little bit done.

 

[ANC]

Many people here will envy you for having a shed to keep the wife in.

 

[too larry]

I didn't get any pictures, but I got into the busted up corner of the shed. Had to toss a compressed wood cabinet type thing. Also got the weeds and grass cut around the sheds. The roofers have got into several snakes at other locations, and they had ask for me to get it cleaned up before they came back. The mowing was no big deal. But there was so much shit sitting outside the sheds it took three times as long to get all that cleaned up as it did to mow. It was drawers out of a dresser, metal stands from an old art display {that I hope to find a use for one of these days}, twisted roofing and rain gutters, stray pieces of firewood and a good sized pile of broken plastic totes and lids. There is a broken tree that has eased down on the shed while I wasn't paying attention. I will have to cut several smaller trees and bushes to get to it. That will wait til another day though.

 

[too larry]

Also got one of the fresh cut longleaf's out to the road. I had to pull it backward by the top to clear the other trees, then go around the house and pull from the butt end. Is doable, just time consuming. Eight days left to get debris to the road.