So, chunks are falling off the Eiger because of higher temperatuires due to global warming. Only someone in deep denial would pretend that it wasn’t a sign of the larger problem. (Don’t think of this as the oxygen of publicity for deniers, more the carbon dioxide of mockery. Though they probably call carbon dioxide life.)
Technorati tag: Eiger, Carbon Dioxide, Global Warming
Sinfest, making me laugh and cry at the same time. We’ve all done the Fort of Knowledge thing at some time.
“Bank and come due South.” Jayn instructed.
Half the flight followed Reed’s plane. “Fan out and look for surface contacts.” He added to their instructions.
The order had come through shortly after they had grouped up. The troop transports, taking what they thought was a safe Southern route, were under attack from air and sea.
Above and ahead of the Wasps, the Cicciles kept a look out for the reported fighters. Jayn scanned the sea for the trails of ships’ wakes. “Contact. Red Seven has contact, bearing 200.” Came the report.
Red Seven was on the Eastern arm of their spread. Jayn rapidly calculated the necessary course adjustments. “All Wasps come to….” Explosions shattered the engine bay of the Ciccile ahead and to the left of their plane. Robbed of power, the tail dropped, forcing the fighter into a false climb. It faltered, reached stall speed and tumbled backwards out of the sky. Ahead and to the right another Ciccile went into a flat spin as shell severed most of its right wing. Two fat, tubular shapes with wide square wings shot up through the gaps, climbing rapidly.
“Wasps, follow Red Seven to target.” The unspoken order to the Cicciles was obvious. Some climbed to intercept the Corkscrews, the rest formed cover above and below the Wasps.
The surface battle came into view. Four transport ships- one damaged and lagging as the others broke for shore- two combat vessels and a messy slick where another was sinking. Both of the fighting ships looked familiar. Similar types had escorted the Heavensent. “Can we contact the ships?”
“We were not told the frequency or any of the call signs.”
The single gunned ship fired on the transports, the shell falling just short. “No matter. I think that is identification enough. Wasps, form up for attack behind me.”
They did not have the right bombs to puncture a warship’s hull. The best they could hope for was to destroy the command and control. Reed lined up for an attack along the length of the ship. No different to hitting trucks on a road, he told himself. They came in low, from the rear. “You have the plane.” He told Jayn.
She made some basic adjustments, lining up the rockets, then pulling up when they had fired. They exploded in the antennae behind the main island, just as the bombs were released. One bomb overshot, bursting just behind the turret. Jayn pulled up, ready to hand control back to Reed.
Something exploded behind the cockpit, then inside it. One of the fat tubular planes passed overhead, trailing smoke.
Red smoke.
No, the red was inside the glass. The arrowhead shapes of two Cicciles passed above the Wasp, chasing down the Corkscrew.
Jayn kept the plane level. Why wasn’t Reed taking the controls back? She glanced over. He was slumped back in his seat, his chest a big red hole where the shell had passed through. She didn’t feel nausea, or even panic, still running on the adrenaline of the bombing run. However, the plane was beginning to shake and sink.
It was possible to fly and land a Wasp from the bombardier’s seat, and Jayn had trained to do so. She had never had to land in the open sea. She was heading over the transports, a little more power kept the plane a safe height above them. A little bank brought it perpendicular to the rollers and then she let it drop. Letting the flaps out slowed the plane, but Jayn had to fight to keep it level.
The tail dipped and clipped the top of a roller, pitching the plane nose down onto the top of the next wave. The propellers and nose dug into the water, tipping the plane forward. Another wave hit, bringing the tail splashing back down.
Water was flowing into the cockpit. Jayn stared at it as it washed over her boots. She was numb, now the shock was beginning to set in. Suddenly the clasp on her harness was too complicated to unlock. The water splashed over the top of her boots. She remembered how to unfasten the harness. When all the belts had fallen away she stood on her seat and pushed at the emergency panels. Another wave hit the plane and for a moment it rode along on the crest, threatening to tip over.
Jayn looked back into the cabin. The water was up to the bottom of the seats. There was nothing she could do for Reed, she kept telling herself, but she had to survive. The floatation aid she wore would not serve as well as the life raft the plane carried. There was a panel above the rear of the cockpit. She twisted the handle and opened it. The big yellow bundle was hard to handle on her own, but she managed to push it into the water, grabbing the pull handle as it went. When it was inflated she leapt into the water and swam over to it.
Only when she was safely aboard the life raft did Jayn allow herself to lean over the edge and be violently, painfully sick.
Heavensent 9.13
Heavensent 9.11
Heavensent 1.1
Technorati tag: Fiction, Heavensent
Another edition of Adrift is up. This one’s a special remix edition, reusing previous renders but still progressing the story.
The Waltzer’s gun thundered. Thick grey smoke wrapped around the turret then washed back over the bridge. Everyone had jobs to be doing, but they forsook them to stare at the shot’s target and will the shell to land true. A fountain of water shot up just before the second transport. “You have one more shot and then we shall take evasive action.” Null shouted into the communications pipe.
The gun roared again. This time Null was spinning the control wheel before the recoil had even subsided. The stricken attack ship came into his view as Waltzer heeled over. They would pass close to it, but not collide. The seamen in the water around their old ship would not be so lucky, pushed under by the wash or churned over by the screws. The sailors’ code did not apply in the middle of a battle.
“Hit sir!” a spotter cried. Null allowed himself a glance at the transports. There was black smoke over the nearest one and a large jagged scar in its plating. If they could inflict a few similar hits to the other transports they might be able to halt the invasion fleet. “Planes!” shouted another spotter, “They are not ours.”
Heavensent 9.12
Heavensent 9.10
Heavensent 1.1
Technorati tag: Fiction, Heavensent
I reached a natural end for Heavensent last night. It’s not really the end of the tale, as there are a few plot threads still up in the air, but it is a point at which everything has become clear and back story has been filled in and info-dumped. I could go on and start a third part to the tale, but I think it would be something of an anti-climax so it’s best to leave it as is.
You won’t get to see the end for a month or so, but just be aware that it’s on the way.
Technorati tag: Fiction, Heavensent
Over the weekend, whilst I was putting together my post about future goals and aims for Spinneyhead I mentioned a target of averaging over $3.34 a day from various sources. Well, on Saturday I cleared that hurdle. This was primarily from sales and the tail rather than advertising, and I’m not going to see all that money in one go because it’s spread across several channels. I’m also 8 cents shy of clearing $1000 in income from the web.
It’s an important psychological point. The next step is to clear £100 in a month, currently translating to $6.31 a day average.
Technorati tag: Spinneyhead
Technorati tag: moblog
Get some idea of the complexity of recording sound for a movie.
Even more information on filmsound.org
Technorati tag: Technorati
Additional to last night’s list- when the tail gets long enough I want to start learning a craft. There’s a joy to making something solid and doing so with your own hands.
I know we haven’t even started shooting the first Presents presentation, but I want to hear people’s ideas for future films. If there’s the momentum from Memory I don’t want to lose it waiting for scripts.
Send your thoughts to spinneyhead and become part of the adventure.
(PS Still looking for someone to take the role of Rob if you’re interested.)
For reasons I may never fully understand and wish I could reverse, my future is wide open once more, teeming with possibilities I’d rather not have.
The last month has been the hardest I’ve had in a long time. The way I feel at the moment, the next week or two could be worse.
I hope you haven’t noticed.
Spinneyhead’s never been that kind of blog, and still isn’t. Let’s just say that most of my hopes and plans, long and short term, no longer hold and I’m feeling lost.
But this isn’t the kind of post that burdens you with the details of my angst. It’s about the future.
Where I go, spinneyhead follows (occasionally it leads, there may be more of that as time goes by), so where do I want to go?
Right now I need money. I also need something that gets me out of the house and keeps me from brooding. But the temp agencies I’ve registered with are shit and can’t find anything. I’m applying for proper, permanent jobs as well. Despite efforts in the past I’ve never had a proper, permanent job. I guess it’s something I should try at least once. However, I can’t go back to the sort of rubbish I’ve been doing since 1998. I need to do something more creative, with better prospects. I’m looking into web design. I have a lot of practical experience of it, if not wide ranging and formal, and there’s a course at city college I can take as an evening class. It might take longer, but it’s better overall.
Of course, in the really long run I want to work for myself. I say that to people and they get a worried look. Some of them come straight out and say what they’re thinking, “Isn’t that a bit risky?” The answer is no. As an employee you have a number of people above you, any one of whom has the ability to take away your livelihood for reasons of budget, spite or stupidity. With a range of clients or, as I plan, products for sale across a number of shops, no one person has that power over you.
Hence spinneyhead’s growing tail. The number plate transfers have sold well this month off a little publicity and the photo backgrounds for renders and artwork are doing better than expected. They’re nowhere near making enough to pay the rent, but I’m a lot closer to one of my key targets- average $3 a day, totalling $100 a month- than ever before. As I add products, income grows. As income grows I can afford/justify more time creating products. Expect more photographic backgrounds and the repackaging of Adrift and Heavensent as pdfs.
Income from the tail is almost location independent. Anywhere I can get a fat enough connection to the internet will do. So, when it’s long enough, I’d like to take it abroad. America doesn’t interest me any more, maybe somewhere in Europe, for a year or two at least. You can only really know a culture by participating in it. I’d like to be a bit French, or maybe Spanish or Italian, the Mediterranean beckons.
But that’s a long term aim, I need some things to do in the next couple of months. Job hunting and work on the tail have started already, as has the Presents project, something that I wasn’t planning to start for a few years that’s come to the fore in the last month. We’ve had our first team meeting and stuff is moving. I’ve taken a few days off, but next week will see me location hunting and trying to round up one last actor so we can have read throughs and start filming.
By the end of the month I’ll be out of the flat and casa spinneyhead will become a floating thing for a while. With deep gratitude to Damian I have somewhere to stay until work gets sorted and I can afford to move properly. After that, hopefully I can find a shared house.
I want to share not just because it will be cheaper but because it’ll help me meet new people. My friends have been great and supportive, but there are some things I want that will likely involve someone I don’t know yet.
I’ve composed this over three days on my phone, editing furiously. Likely I’ll go and delete it in a few days. Let’s see.
Anophtalmus hitleri, AKA the “eyeless Hitler” beetle, is under threat from neo-Nazis who collect them as mementoes of the dictator. Named by a Nazi entomologist in the 1930s, the species only exists in one habitat- a cave in Slovenia and examples are currently selling for as much as £680.
In the spirit of yesterday’s post on Quickly Greening your new home, and another entry in the ProBlogger group writing project, comes this list that agrees with How to Save the World for Free’s philosophy- Top 10+ ways to save money and help the environment
Technorati tag: Environment, Money Saving
Heavensent will return on Monday.
Technorati tag: Fiction, Heavensent
The guardian reports says she was not, as suggested, brandishing a screwdriver, Vaseline and matches, but the latest version of the story on the radio has her with hand cream and matches. Either way, a 60 year old woman having an anxiety attack meant a flight from London to Washington had to divert to Boston.
Hand cream!!?? “Olay, for when you absolutely, positively have to freak out every motherfucker on the plane!”
Technorati tag: Paranoia, Hand Cream
Should have put on crappier trousers though.
Technorati tag: moblog
Those of us who rent accomodation don’t have as much scope for improving household efficiency as owners. However, there are still things we can do. This list is a checklist for anyone moving into a new house or flat. What can you do in your first few days to use less energy and save yourself money-
1. Let there be light
Low energy lightbulbs are cheap nowadays. They’ll repay your investment in a matter of months, if not weeks. Take those filament bulbs, throw them away and replace them with compact fluorescents.
2. Fix the flush
You can reduce the amount of water used each time you flush the toilet in a number of ways. The traditional one is to fill a bottle with water and dunk it in the cistern. More technical fixes involve gadgets such as the Hippo. If you’re feeling particularly dedicated, how about adopting a “yellow is mellow” policy and choose not to flush at all some times.
3. Get balls
Ecoballs are a good alternative to washing powders and liquids. They do the job and cut down on the amount of pollution generated by washing clothes. Just remember not to leave them in when tumble drying. Two of my balls were left in once and the foamy bumper rings around them now look a lot worse for wear.
4. Recycle
If your new home doesn’t have recycling bins then call your council and get some sent over. Some councils won’t supply recycling bins for houses split into flats unless you get on the phone and peck their heads.< 5. Compost
If you’ve got a garden then put your green waste to good use. Keeping organic matter out of the bin and landfill reduces methane production and the by-products can do wonders for your flowers and herbs.
6. Declutter
The charity shops of Withington are doing well out of me at the moment as I trim my book and comic stashes so I have to cart less stuff when I move. There are few better times to separate the wheat from the chaff than when you’re boxing everything up anyway.
7. Switch suppliers
There are plenty of green energy companies and schemes popping up. Why not vote with your direct debit and move to one of them.
8. Master your thermostat
It’s always a good idea to get your heating set up sensibly. Choose a level a little lower than the previous tenants and accept that some days you might need to put on an extra layer.
9. Shop local
Most urban dwellers can get everything they need from local shops, often for less than they’d pay at the supermarket. If there’s a good market nearby they’ll have a wider choice, for significantly less, than Asda et al can provide.
10. Explore
You’ll be going for a walk to find all those local shops, so turn it into an expedition. You can achieve a lot without having to get into a car. Look for public transport connections, parks, public spaces and little zen corners where you can recharge. Be on the lookout for fruit trees as well, few things taste as good as meals you harvested yourself.
This list was inspired by the current group writing project at Problogger.
Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Energy Saving, List