Genre Writing Challenge Round 03 — R. G. Broxson

As mentioned, we’re starting a new challenge — the Genre Writing Challenge. Each round, the three writers — Perry, Gary, and I — will write a story on a genre. The Twins decided the Third genre is Science Fiction.

For the record, I think this is a difficult assignment if trying to think of something in the future. That’s because we’ve easily exceeded expectations — well, some expectations, the more reasonable ones from 20-30 years ago, let alone from 50 or 100 years ago — and completely missed amazing things that are now commonplace in much of the world. I mean, Captain Kirk and Spock would be very envious of my Galaxy S23 Ultra . . . probably as envious as I am of their Phasers.

Anyway, we’re again staggering the publication of the stories, and this is Gary’s story. Perry’s story went live this past Saturday and can be found HERE.

Our usual disclaimer:

The writing challenge has no restrictions, and the stories span a wide gamut of subjects. The majority of the stories fall in the PG range, with a few perhaps pushing into the R range. Those ratings are guidelines, but they are subjective. If you find a story disturbing because of the topics, language, and/or plot points, stop reading and move on to the next one. The same goes if you are not interested in finishing a story. It may seem like obvious advice, but many people go out of their way to experience outrage (and then complain about it).

So, without further ado, here’s Gary’s contribution to the Science Fiction genre.

Wait . . . first, the blurb:
I know, weird title, right? But if you can stick with it till the end, you’ll get it. There are a lot of moving parts in this epic tale. They all lead to a new beginning. So follow along as the Jones family in Hawaii try to survive the forces that would destroy their unique newborn. For better or worse, hold on for a wild ride.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 066

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

The photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post covers one of the stops in our flight from the Mainland, the Joshua Trees National Park.

It might be worth reading the original post since I’m writing this in a hurry because it’s late and I’m tired. Plus, the post is from seven years ago, when I was much cleverer, funny, and creative.

The gallery opens with the namesake.

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Genre Writing Challenge Round 03 — Perry Broxson

As mentioned, we’re starting a new challenge — the Genre Writing Challenge. Each round, the three writers — Perry, Gary, and I — will write a story on a genre. The Twins decided the Third genre is Science Fiction.

For the record, I think this is a difficult assignment if trying to think of something in the future. That’s because we’ve easily exceeded expectations — well, some expectations, the more reasonable ones from 20-30 years ago, let alone from 50 or 100 years ago — and completely missed amazing things that are now commonplace in much of the world. I mean, Captain Kirk and Spock would be very envious of my Galaxy S23 Ultra . . . probably as envious as I am of their Phasers.

Anyway, we’re again staggering the publication of the stories, and this is Perry’s story.

Our usual disclaimer:

The writing challenge has no restrictions, and the stories span a wide gamut of subjects. The majority of the stories fall in the PG range, with a few perhaps pushing into the R range. Those ratings are guidelines, but they are subjective. If you find a story disturbing because of the topics, language, and/or plot points, stop reading and move on to the next one. The same goes if you are not interested in finishing a story. It may seem like obvious advice, but many people go out of their way to experience outrage (and then complain about it).

So, without further ado, here’s Perry’s contribution to the Science Fiction genre.

Wait . . . first, the blurb:
Winifred and Darlene are a disgruntled lesbian couple searching for a more fulfilling relationship. Desperate, they turn to technology…introducing a Third member – a cyborg designed to meet specific needs. What could go wrong?

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Quick update May 13, 2023

I follow the Cosmic Focus blog for excellent astrophotos. I’m amazed at the quality of photos that can be captured by backyard telescopes and cameras (albeit trending toward the high end of the consumer market).

Already having more interests than time — with more waiting in the wings (interests, not time… that’s running out way too fast) — I console myself by asking AI Art Generators such as Dream AI by WOMBO to give me images of distant nebulas, such as the image above and this next offering.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 065

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

The photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post covers a 2008 very short trip to Chicago’s Millennium Park and The Bean (a. k. a. the Cloud Gate).

It might be worth reading the post since I’m writing this in a hurry as we prepare for a quick trip.

The gallery opens with the Crown Fountain.

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Tiny Thoughts 011 — Belief and Reason

This post is 1,000 words long, or about 4 minutes of a slow reader’s time.

It’s a strange turn of events when conservatives and liberals fringes agree on the same solution to problems they share . . . and it’s not a good thing. 

You see, both object to the expression of ideas they don’t agree with, be they spoken or in writing; both claim to be offended by said ideas; both refuse to debate the merits or faults of said ideas, and both insist the only path in response to the self-proclaimed harm done to their fragile psyche is through legislation barring the expression of what they deem offensive.

As Tim Urban eloquently states, this is not how grown-ups act. He’s wrong, of course, because these days, that is exactly how grown-ups act. 

Do you know what’s different between immature petulant kids and many adults these days?

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May 2023 Calendars

On time, for a change.

Note: you should see Thirteen calendars in this post (I think) . . . if you don’t, just reload the page as sometimes they’re slow to load.

Since I have mucho many AI offerings, I will be using them for the calendars. . . or I will until I get tired of AI-created stuff. Here is the first of the May offerings:

The printable files for the monthly calendars will all be uploaded HERE. Previous calendars are also there, and I’ll add each month’s calendar as I create them. You should then have the option to download any or all the files.

If you have a color printer — and you so desire — you should be able to print them on 8.5×11 letter-size paper. As mentioned, if you don’t have a color printer, you can print the color versions in grayscale or just print the monochrome versions. I could have made an A4 version, but unless requested, these will all be Letter-sized.

I’ve also turned on the download option for the SmugMug Gallery (HERE), so you could also download them from there . . . and let me know if it does — or does not — work. One thing, if you right-click and choose “save-as”, it will download whatever size you’re looking at. There’s an actual download icon to get the original size file. View full-size to download the full-size version if you plan to use “save-as” and want the full-size version. (The Google option is probably easier.)

No, I won’t be offended if no one downloads them. Part of doing this is to keep in practice with some Photoshop features, so, again, it’s for my benefit.

As before, I don’t expect anyone — in this digital assistant age — to actually use a paper calendar, but a few readers said they’ve used them, so I’ll continue to offer them.

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SmugMug Appreciation Sunday — No. 064

In brief, these posts serve to introduce new readers — and reintroduce regular readers — to photos from the early days of this blog and, occasionally, to photos from days before this blog came into existence.

The photos are from THIS SmugMug Gallery and are documented in THIS post. That post is part of a series documenting our 2004 trip to Washington (the state). That trip was the first trip out West, and it had a purpose … we were looking to move from Michigan, and Washington was a consideration.

As many might know, we eventually ended up in Colorado.

The gallery documents our day trip to Mount Rainier in between looking for potential places where to live (it was almost the farthest we could get away from the auto industry while still in the continental US).

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