Showing posts with label Real World Speculating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real World Speculating. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Industrial Electronics- Building a Power Supply

Hey everyone! I am back from a bit of a hiatus due to my engineering classes at Florence Darlington Tech. I am working towards my degree in Electrical Engineering and due to the curiosity from friends on facebook I have decided to share a project I worked on this past semester.

I had to build a power supply and write up a report. Here goes:





To build a power supply, three circuit sections will be needed. Knowledge of transformers, how to build a filtered bridge rectifier, and how to build a voltage regulator is also necessary for this project. A transformer, four 1N4001 zener diodes, a 741 Op Amp, a 2N2222 Transistor, four resistors, a zener diode, and a capacitor will all be needed for this project.

To begin, we started with a step down transformer which was built with a 10:1 or rather a 0.1 turns ratio. This lowers the incoming 120Vac coming from the wall outlet. This particular transformer was center tapped so we could pick either 13vrms or 26vrms. We chose to wire it for 13vrms. Using the formula Vsec=(Nturns)(Vpri) we would come closer to 12vrms however Vrms from the wall can fluctuate within a range so for this report I will stick with 13vrms as it was already established on the transformer. 
In order to know that our transformer was working correctly we need to calculate the peak voltage expected on the oscilloscope screen. Rms=.707(vp) gives us an 18.387Vpp. The oscilloscope verified this by displaying a 18vpp (approximate) sine wave. The sign wave is far from the flat positive voltage we need for DC. 
To start smoothing this sine wave out, we need to build a bridge rectifier. To build the bridge rectifier, we wired together four 1N4001 diodes in this pattern:


We were careful to keep the positives and negative ends of the diodes in the proper direction. At one point, failure to double check our work resulted in the melting and untimely death of a few diodes. The capacitor and the load resistor were chosen to keep the ripple factor low. With a 20KΩ load resistor and a 10uf capacitor our ripple factor turned out to be 4.2%. We could have modified this by switching out the capacitor and resistor and using these formulas until we created the desired ripple factor:

Vp(rect)=Vp(sec)-1.4
Vr(pp)= 1/(fR_LC) x Vp(rect)
VDC= (1- 1/(2fR_LC)) X Vp(rect)
% ripple factor =vr(pp)/ VDC


Connecting the bridge rectifier up to the oscilloscope produced a 18vpp approximate ripple wave to appear on the screen. This is possible due to the diode positioning. During the positive half of the AC sinewave cycle, one pair of diodes conducts the current while the other two are reversed biased. As the negative half of the AC sinewave cycle passes the reversed biased diodes become forward biased and conduct current while the first pair become reversed biased. The process repeats itself bringing all the negative voltage into the positive. Like this:

Adding the capacitor into this circuit creates the sawtooth like ripple. This is created by the capacitor charging during the positive cycles when the diodes are forward biased and discharging as the cycle begins to drop (when the diodes are reversed biased). This created a signal on the oscilloscope like this (exaggerated):


This still isn’t flat DC though. We need to build a voltage regulator to smooth this out. For this we will need a 741 Op Amp, a 2N2222 transistor, three resistors, and a zener diode wired in this configuration:

A zener was chosen to set a voltage of 6.2 volts and R1 was chosen to be 1k to limit the current to the zener and help it maintain a nearly constant 6.2 volts no matter how high or low the incoming voltage goes as long as the current does not exceed the zener limits. In order to create a flat DC voltage this voltage level held by the zener holds the positive input of the op amp at 6.2v creating a reference voltage. Any time Vin decreases or the IL (the load current) increases (due to a decrease in the load resistance), and vice versa, the voltage divider created by R2 and R3 insures that a proportional increase or decrease is applied across the negative input of the op amp.
The difference between the two op amp inputs is amplified by the gain and sent to the base of the transistor. This change in voltage applied to the transistor causes the emitter at Vout to increase until the voltage to the negative op amp input matches the zener input at the positive terminal. This creates a flat DC voltage who’s voltage we can predict by plugging the zener reference value and the chosen R2 and R3 values into the gain formula:

Vout= (1+ R2/R3)Vref    ->      (1+(10k/10k)) x 6.2= 12.4V expected output.
The power supply was completed by connecting the two circuits together by a wire connected in parallel with the capacitor and resistor from the bridge rectifier circuit over to Vin of the voltage regulator:

Connecting the oscilloscope across vout and ground showed that the signal that was once sawtooth in shape was now a flat and solid 12V (approx) DC readout.

To test whether our power supply could handle a variable load we connected an 80k potentiometer at Vout in parallel with R2 and R3. Keeping an eye on the oscilloscope we were able to turn up the resistance to find where the transistor could no longer keep up with the current load (and could no longer keep the voltage at a stable 12volts). As the transistor failed this caused the signal on the oscilloscope to become distorted once again. We unplugged the potentiometer and tested the resistance with a meter to find that the transistor was able to handle the current and keep a steady 12v signal going to the output as long as the resistance of the load stayed under 6K.

Using what was learned in this project it would be possible to replace pieces of the circuit to create a power supply that could operate at higher voltages or tolerate wider load resistance variances. It was very interesting to see firsthand how each part of the circuit worked individually and then how they changed the Ac to Dc once they were connected together. The greatest challenge for me during this project was making sure the diodes in the rectifier were all going in the proper directions and figuring out where everything was in relation to the diagram once we started adding the circuits together. 



  If you have come this far (Holy smokes CONGRATULATIONS!) and have questions (I'm sure you do!)... feel free to leave them in the comments or reach out to me on facebook/twitter ;)

Also, hit the subscribe button because I will be going back to writing sci-fi short stories on my blog as well as entering in updates on my current work in progress which should be out of edition hopefully before May 2018... Just in time for ConCarolinas- I hope.

Meanwhile... run on over to Amazon to get the updated edition of The Alien Mind on kindle for just $0.99 till Jan 1st (afterwhich it returns to $2.99)!

Till next time-> Never stop reaching for the stars and exploring your potential!



Tuesday, July 5, 2016

UnBlocking My Site With Social Media Buttons


Improving 
For those of you out there with websites I have a very interesting piece of info for you!

Originally I was using Social Media Button Maker to help me create the coding for the social media buttons on my website. That is until I started getting reports from Avast Users that they were getting blocked from my website!

After weeks of googling for a solution, I finally sent an e-mail to Avast to report to them that all other antivirus software (including Kaspersky) were reporting that my site was clean.

Avast sent me back a fast reply telling me that the Social Media Button Maker code (they actually sent me the erroneous piece of code to assist in me finding the problem) was why my website was getting blocked. Back to my backend to figure out why.

I pulled up my code for that widget and found a link INSIDE the code to a shifty hotel site! That was my tip off! I don't remember that being there before! So I deleted the Javascript and sat down to find better buttons and write the html myself. This sent me to a google search where I found ALL of my buttons (including the ones the button maker didn't offer) on WikiCommons! SCORE!


And here's what the buttons look like!:



website buttons
Buttons in use!
Just regular buttons! YAY!

Once I was finished I reported my fix to Avast and they promptly sent me a confirmation saying that my site would be taken off "blocked" in the next antivirus definition update! YAY!!!

Because I have so many friends that love building their own websites I figured I would offer the code here. They don't have counters, don't lag in loading, or do anything fancy. All you have to do is update the BOLDED links with your own social media links and paste the html where you need it on your site!

HTML Code for social buttons:


<div><a href="http://www.instagram.com/author.vl.jennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="WikiInstagram button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Instagram_icon.png" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="www.twitter.com/vljennings" style="font-size: 100%;">  <img alt="Wikitwitter button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Twitter_Logo_Mini.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /> </a><a href="www.facebook.com/vljennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikifacebook button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Facebook_icon.jpg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /> </a><a href="https://plus.google.com/+VirginiaLoriJennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="WikiGplus button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Google_Plus_logo.png" style="border: 1; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/vljennings/" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikipinterest button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Pinterest-logo.png" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/virginialorijennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikiyoutube button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Youtube_logo_stacked-vfl225ZTx.png" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/VLJennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikigoodreads button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Goodreads_%27g%27_logo.jpg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alien-Mind-V-L-Jennings/dp/1940812658" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikiamazon button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Amazon-mp3-store-source_Faenza.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vljennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikilinkedin button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Linkedin.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a><a href="http://www.virginialorijennings.com/feeds/posts/default" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="WikiRSS button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Rss-feed.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a></div>


<end code>

Once again these codes are completely clean! Once you replace the bolded links with your own there will be no further link back to me at all ;) 

If you'd prefer to take out some of the buttons or perhaps re-order them... here's the breakdown:

Instagram:
<div><a href="http://www.instagram.com/author.vl.jennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="WikiInstagram button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Instagram_icon.png" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

Twitter:
<a href="www.twitter.com/vljennings" style="font-size: 100%;">  <img alt="Wikitwitter button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Twitter_Logo_Mini.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /> </a>


Facebook:
<a href="www.facebook.com/vljennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikifacebook button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Facebook_icon.jpg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /> </a>

Google+
<a href="https://plus.google.com/+VirginiaLoriJennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="WikiGplus button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Google_Plus_logo.png" style="border: 1; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

Pinterest:
<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/vljennings/" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikipinterest button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Pinterest-logo.png" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

Youtube Profile:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/virginialorijennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikiyoutube button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Youtube_logo_stacked-vfl225ZTx.png" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

Goodreads:
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/VLJennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikigoodreads button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Goodreads_%27g%27_logo.jpg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

Amazon Author Page:
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alien-Mind-V-L-Jennings/dp/1940812658" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikiamazon button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Amazon-mp3-store-source_Faenza.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

Linkdin:
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vljennings" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="Wikilinkedin button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Linkedin.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a>

RSS Feed:
<a href="http://www.virginialorijennings.com/feeds/posts/default" style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="WikiRSS button" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Rss-feed.svg" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 42px;" / /></a></div>



I hope this helps someone out there! Thanks for stopping by!

***"Improving, Non-stop"photo credit: Broadway via photopin (license)


Find The Alien Mind on Amazon!

Did you like this post? If so you might enjoy my book!

For adults and teens alike, it is truly a science fiction adventure for the whole family!

If you'd prefer an autographed copy straight from the author you can buy one here as well!
Autographed Copy:$13.00 + Shipping
 


"If you enjoy my writing, would you care to buy me a cup of coffee?"



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Saturday, June 4, 2016

My First X-File

I finally have my very own X-File! 


My very own xfile!The day started normal. We were headed out to celebrate both my Husband's and Son's birthday (their birthdays are one day apart). Realizing that I had forgotten to get cake for the party I ran to walmart. There were delays at walmart that put us behind in our party day itinerary but that lateness put us on the highway right behind this guy at just the right time!




I'm going to college for electronics engineering so this unique design of what I could only assume was an antenna intrigued me and I wanted to get a closer look! It's not everyday you see someone riding down the road with a forked antenna tied down with a shoelace!

Once the highway opened up to three lanes I got my chance!

Now I could tell there was something really peculiar about that antenna... there were white shapes that looked like spark plugs at the bottom of every fork. I just had to get a closer look, so I asked my husband to pull into the third lane beside the car.

As he was pulling up beside the car I took one more shot of that antenna before things got weird!



I was aiming for more of a sideways shot so as we pulled up I took one last shot before putting the phone down on a gut instinct. My husband saw the phone show the final image which was a picture of JUST the forked part of the antenna close up and dead center. With my phone in my lap we passed by the driver who was an older graying guy. My son remarked that he turned to look at my kids in the back seat with a weird look as we passed him by. MOMENTS later, the guy passed from the center lane and left the highway at the first exit. 

I turned to my phone to get a closer look at my pictures in my album and suddenly felt CHILLS run up my spine! The picture was BLACK!!! Not blurry, not gone... just HORSESHOE!

I'm wondering HOW the picture ended up blacked out AFTER my husband had seen the successful picture. Why did the guy turn to give a weird look to my kids when there was NO way he could have known we were taking pictures. But the MOST mysterious thing is his immediate departure off the highway and the blackening of my phone's photo (which has never happened before!) I'd bet anything that "Spooky" Mulder would have gone off after that guy! 

And so, dear readers, I submit to you my very first X-File! Rivinaig (my character from The Alien Mind) thinks the guy was trying to secretly hunt for the Aruk that are believed to have already infiltrated the Earth at various levels of government. I told her "the truth is out there," and left it at that!




By the way? Did you find the secret word? 


This week's clue is: "Not blurry, not gone..."



Based on the secret word, do you think you know what the secret phrase is? The secret phrase opens the first door which contains special secret goodies from Stacy Garrett who is currently trying to promote her new book The Door with an indigogo campaign . It truly is an amazing project that deserves to be supported! Gorgeous original photos illustrate this amazing fairytale story! You can find a list of other sites hosting other pieces of this week's secret phrase over on Stacy's facebook page or on "The Door" link on her website!

If you have figured out what this week's secret phrase is... enter it here and don't forget to come back next week for the next hint!: http://www.stacyjgarrett.com/#!the-door/tqu6j 


In other news:

I have been invited to do a book signing at Florence SC's Magnolia Mall Barnes and Noble. I'll be there on July 16th from 1-4pm! I'd love to see you there!



I also have a Summer Reading Giveaway I am running if you'd like to join in!

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Being A Writer In A World Of Free

Boy Meets Girl Meets Boy Meets World: Waiting for Topanga's Bra to Fall
Speculating among the stars- none too happy about what I see...

I've been an author for, oh, going on 11 years now... I've never seen anything strike me so hard in my gut as what I found out yesterday.

Let me explain, Yesterday I was alerted to a call to arms by a colleague of mine, fellow author, and social media guru Kristen Lamb in her post: A Culture Addicted to FREE—How FREE is Poisoning the Internet & Killing the Creatives.

Apparently a performer, Revolva, was approached by Oprah's team to perform at an event that they are charging up to $999 dollars per ticket. The kicker... Oprah's team wanted this performer to do her work- FOR FREE. Kristen has checked back in with this performer and although Revolva's post has received thousands of hits, nothing was ever said by Oprah's team. Wil Wheaton, a well known actor, was also approached by Huffington post who asked to repost his blog post on their site for free as well! Will commented on twitter: "If you write something that an editor thinks is worth being published, you are worth being paid for it. Period."

 I'd like to point out that it is not only hurting creatives but also the economy at large!


Think about it. Bookstores (who were once willing to host book signings) are now few and far between. So, in order to reach you, my audience, in person I must pay for my exposure. A lot goes in to being an author.

See that price on the back of the book, preferably above the bar code? If you are buying direct from the author- TWO THIRDS of that cost is money that pays for the printing and shipping of the book, as well as paying the illustrators and the editors! The other third (if the author is lucky) is profit. When you buy the book elsewhere a store like Amazon or Barnes and Noble- that third gets cut into a further half (IF the author is lucky).

By the time an author buys bookmarks or business cards and a table space from which to sell their books. That money is gone. Add in the gas and the hotel to come to the event, the author is now in the red.

BUT in this case at least the author is selling some books.

So they CAN make some of their money back.

 Not only that but the author's money is being funneled back into the economy through the event staff who will likely spend it elsewhere too. The author pays the hotel and the eateries so that helps the economy too.

PLUS If the author has been lucky enough to pay for all of this and STILL have money when they get home? Well then the economy benefits even more- someone's tuition gets paid, the light bill gets paid... Or... the author makes enough money to contribute a few bucks toward the jar saving up to get their roof fixed. (Exposure makes the whole family sick when it is 25 degrees outside and raining!) And now the economy thanks you because a general contractor can be paid too!


This is not always the case at events where you see creatives though. 

Free entertainment in trade for 'exposure' has become an epidemic!


Lately it has become commonplace for events to "hire" creatives to speak or perform at their events on the premise of exposure.  I didn't know this till recently but many of these large Sci Fi conventions do this. Consider many of the panels where you get to spend an hour listening to a creative talk about their job and answering your questions, unless the creative has a table where they are selling their stuff, that creative is there working for FREE with very little chance of making even their lunch money back for the day.

By the way, I don't see them charging an extra fee for those who want to participate in the gaming rooms- which is also entertainment!

Which leaves the author inevitably saying:
Indien: Mumbai
"Sure! I'll work for free! I'll just sell my wares out of my purse for the rest of the weekend."
Because THAT looks completely professional right?

Consider this... If I manage to make $4 in profit off of a book...when you already assume $200 in expenses for the cheapest hotel, gas, and food- I'd have to sell 50 copies in a weekend to break even! This is equivalent to spotting a rainbow- it doesn't happen every day! I've already had to turn down a few myself!

 Not all events treat artists like traveling salesmen either. I've been to some events that have just a small table fee for authors/illustrators who each get a 3 foot space. In return they request that you (the creative) speak at their panels which are pulled together for the benefit of their guests. Sure, you are working but you are also being treated as a professional and given the opportunity to make some money.

Consider what happens if your authors and artists realize they can't afford to show up to your event? Then your event will have dwindling amounts of entertainment, in which case your audience will slowly start to dwindle. What happens then? You will slowly die off... which in turn, further hurts the economy! 

On the flip side of that...


 I have also come across libraries holding book expos that PAY their author speakers. Why? Because you are doing that library and that event a service. You are providing their audience for a REASON to show up and hopefully spend money which in turn supports their event and the economy. KUDOS to you Birmingham Author Expo!

 Even if it is something small... 7$ an hour even! It is something!

HECK I can get paid minimum wage to sort through lose electronics wires and bits at my local Technical College under their work study program!

I submit that taking hours putting words to paper, having them professionally edited and illustrated, and then talking to an audience and allowing them to pick my brain for hours is much more emotionally and physically taxing then sorting electrical bits.

If someone small like a library event can afford to pay their speakers something than YOU CAN TOO (here's looking at you- international scifi conventions! )

The Solution:


Time= money... and all I'm saying is (for our bills sake), We creatives would love to be able to earn even just a little for the time we spend being entertaining!

Those of you who are sending your work out there for free (here's looking at you- amazon authors) all you are doing is shooting yourself in the foot and teaching MORE people that your work is worth so little that every creative SHOULD give their work away for free.

Authors:

-Perhaps offer up a 'sampling', a free chapter or two from the middle of your book to those who sign up for your news letter? (Putting my actions where my mouth is... once I pull the file together I'll be offering this shortly! Stay tuned!)

-Please stop offering to trade your books with others- it doesn't look very professional unless the other person is already a good friend of yours. PLUS- every book that is given away for free eats into the funds required to buy the next shipment of books!

Conventions, events, trade shows..

-Please pause and consider how much your vendor would need to sell in order to make it worth their while - AS WELL AS what you need to be able to afford the space fee, before you set your table fees. (I'm not completely heartless, I know you need money to be able to run the show next year!

-Perhaps consider us paying you a percentage of sales instead?

Consumers- We are consumers too. We know how wary you are to pay top dollar for a performance by an unknown artists, or for a book by an unknown author. But before you give in to the disease that has become the dime store/ free epidemic... please consider asking any of us if we have a small sample that you could try for free before buying. We would be honored that you even asked!


With that in mind... sign up for my newsletter if you'd like a free sample of The Alien Mind! 


Or:

"If you enjoyed my writing, but can't buy a book, would you care to buy me a cup of coffee?"

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*Photo credit 1: Boy Meets Girl Meets Boy Meets World: Waiting for Topanga's Bra to Fall via photopin (license)

*Photo credit 2: Indien: Mumbai via photopin (license)

Friday, August 7, 2015

Trying Out My New Printer

I bought a new printer from a nice lady in my local For Sale or Free Yard Sale group on Facebook just a day or so ago. Since then I have been trying it out, putting it through its paces. I'll be attending Kaboom Arts And Crafts monthly second sunday festival in Garner NC This sunday from 12:30- 5pm. (Find out more about Kaboom Arts And Crafts)

For this event and for my future events I decided to create a name tag just for the fun of it:

Author tag2

I also pulled together a flyer helping to show off all the other events I will be appearing at. I love spreading the word about these events because they are all so much fun! Come bring your whole family!
VL Jennings Flyer

Then afterwards, on their request, I took some time and whipped up some name tags for some of the other PDMI Authors. I wish paper could support clickable links... QR codes are close but only those who have smart phones AND QR readers can access those links. 
So... in the mean time, you can click on the badge pictures here- all three of these guys are wonderful authors! 



DavenclayBrian3Brian2

If you have a moment... come by for a post by Karina Fabian... Come find out what she blames me for O.o

I also have another friend that will be sharing a short story on my blog here in the next few days. While I'm at it... I really need to get back to writing some more shorts again myself! Stay tuned!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

How To Set Up A Facebook Party- The Alien Mind VBT Post

I am honored to be featured on Writers And Authors today! Have you ever wanted to set up a Facebook party to release your book but you weren't sure how? Maybe you want to have a party to celebrate a special mile stone? Come on over to Writers&Authors and I will be happy to tell you how to do it! I've even included some game ideas to help you get started!


*Tomorrow, I'll be at Frampton Plantation at 1 Low Country Ln, Yemassee, SC 29945  from 8 till closing time signing copies of The Alien Mind! I'd love to see you there!

And... as a side note... This is also my 100th post on my blog! YAHOO!



How to set up a facebook party

Friday, June 19, 2015

Jo Linsdell's Top 5 Twitter Tips for Twittering






Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator and internationally recognized marketing expert. She is also the founder and organizer of the annual online event “Promo Day” (www.PromoDay.info) and the Writers and Authors blog (www.WritersAndAuthors.info). To find out more about Jo and her projects visit her website http://www.JoLinsdell.com.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

L: Litter In Space- flash fiction

UFO flies near ISS as Russian astronaut space walks on CNN news cast, UFO Sighting news. May 2011.
Matt fired the thrusters on his ship just for the briefest of moments. His locating equipment was warning him of an object just to his right.

 Why can’t I see it!

 As his ship slowly floated into position the magnification raised on his screen revealing the tiny shiny metal object. Matt used the mechanical arm attached to his ship to pluck the tiny metal object out of space. Turning the object back and forth in front of his window he realized that the darn thing was a screw! Matt groaned in irritation before using the arm to tuck the bolt safely into a compartment in the side of the ship.

 Space litter was a problem for all ships. One tiny bolt colliding with a moving ship was the equivalent of a bullet being fired at the ship at point blank range. Many crews and many ships had been lost to these disasters, spilling more debris out into space.

A few months ago, Matt had suggested to his father that someone should go out there and pick up all that litter. 

Matt rolled his eyes. How did this become my job?


->photo credit: 3rd UFO Sighting around Shuttle Endeavor since May 16th launch date, Video. via photopin (license) <-



Today's post was also inspired by the letter L. L is for: Litter   as part of the Blogging from A to Z April 2015 challenge! Click on the letter to join on in the fun!

Every day (excluding sundays) I will be writing a post about something that begins with the letter for that day. Most of the time you will find a sci-fi flash fiction piece here.



For Readers: Though this is fictional there really is over 19,000 pieces of space debris floating in Earth orbit being tracked by NASA. They have to prepare flight plans to keep any vehicles from being hit by it or it could severely damage the ship.

So... what say you? Should we go up there and collect it all- or wait decades till it all falls/burns back to Earth (as it will eventually)?

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

K: Kids In Boxes- Flash Fiction

Untitled
Every few months Sandra would sadly look through her daughter’s report cards. Failing grades, always failing grades.

 “Whats going on, honey?” Sandra asks her barely responsive daughter. “Do you not understand what the teacher is saying?”

 The little girl shrugs, “I listen,” is all she says.

 Teacher meetings come and go, new goals are placed. They are never reached. Farther and farther her daughter falls behind and still they push her to the next grade.

 “She can sit in class and participate in the work; she gets some of them right.” The teachers say proudly.

 “But she’s not passing the tests and her grades are horrid.” Her mom points out.

 “Oh, but she’s come so far.”

 Picture a world that you can not understand. Picture a world in which everyone who tries explaining things sounds a lot like Einstein. It is in this world that Tiffany is trapped.

 A new textbook, more words she can not understand. She floats by because she can at least read the words. She dare not ask questions because she can’t figure out how to explain what she isn't understanding. Everyone else understands it, why can’t she.

 Tiffany starts to wonder if it’s her.

 “The kids ask how I got here, if I’m so dumb.” Tiffany tells her mom.

 “You are not dumb, honey, your brain just learns at a different pace then theirs do.” Sandra explains while trying not to cry.

 Years have gone by. One step forward and two steps back. They have no explanation, they have no reasons why she should be struggling.

 More tests paint a dismal picture and new suggestions that don’t help.

 A kid in a teen’s body, desperate to learn, but bottled up inside. Trapped by her mind’s deficiencies; she’s left with just muddling through.

 The potential is there, if only she could... remember... if only she could... understand.





Today's post was also inspired by the letter K. K is for: Kids  as part of the Blogging from A to Z April 2015 challenge! Click on the letter to join on in the fun!

Every day (excluding sundays) I will be writing a post about something that begins with the letter for that day. Most of the time you will find a sci-fi flash fiction piece here.



For Readers: Sorry... I don't really have a question for you today. Tomorrow shall be a cheerier post though ;)

Thursday, April 9, 2015

H: Husbands- Name Game

Count & Countess Armfelt (LOC)
photo credit: Count & Countess Armfelt (LOC)
via photopin (license)
Why Do Husbands get to keep their names but we don't?- (A just for fun, not to be taken seriously, post)

Ok... because I needed a little bit of a breather from writing sci-fi flash fiction posts, today I thought we could play a little game instead.

 In many cultures when a couple gets married the wife takes the husbands last name. However, many wives have grown so accustomed to their maiden names that they don't jump for joy in letting go of it. I've also heard the excuse that "they didn't want to become just another Mrs. soandso" - in the case where the husband had been married previously.

Hey, it happened to me... it didn't bother me much. Sure I was glad to take my husband's last name! My NEW problem I was also already published under my maiden name. Twice. Sure... I could jump through hoops and have my publisher reprint the covers (LOTS of hassle). But even then my married last name is a bit bulky for a book cover. So whats a woman to do?

Wait a minute... who says it should always have to be the woman that worries about this?

Then it struck me... we need a new fad! Instead of the woman hyphenating her name or taking her husbands name there is ANOTHER choice.

Mashup your last name!

So here's the game...  take your hubby's last name and your maiden name (or your last name and your wife's last name if you are a guy) and combine the two to make up a new last name!


In my case... Instead of V.L. Jennings... I'd be V.L. Yarninngs

*Cue Laughter




Today's post was inspired by the letter H. H is for: Husbands   as part of the Blogging from A to Z April 2015 challenge! Click on the letter to join on in the fun!

Every day (excluding Sundays) I will be writing a post about something that begins with the letter for that day. Most of the time you will find a sci-fi flash fiction piece here.

*For Readers: Mash up your last names! Tell me what they are in the comments!

As always... if you have something that starts with the letter I that you would like me to try to incorporate into tomorrow's short story, I'm always open to suggestions!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

G: Gas Giant Predicament- Flash Fiction

Giove and Europa
photo credit: Giove and Europa via photopin (license)
“Ok, so how would we build a colony on a gas giant, assuming the gas giant has some sort of solid ground.” Edward asked the rest of the team sitting around the long table.

 “Why not just look for a more solid planet?” Darren asked.

“What if the crew needs to land for repairs or an emergency and they have no alternative?” Celia suggested.

 “Really?” Darren rolled his eyes.

 “Yes really. Our team is going to be out there for years, they’ll need to have contingency plans.” Edward replied.

“Ok, so lets say they release an inflatable bubble out of the air lock.” Joe suggested.

 “What, like they would an inflatable raft?” Edward asked.

“Sure!” Joe answered “We could realistically package a space dome small enough to stow somewhere but big enough that they could begin building their more permanent shelter inside.”

 “Ok, but how would they repair their ship?” Celia asked.

“Why not have a plastic bubble, zippered air lock?” Andy suggested.

 “Big enough to drive the ship through?” Darren asked.

“Sure!” said Andy.

 Edward walked over to the drawing board to peruse their list of possible materials.

“Ok... but where would they get the materials to build their more permanent station?”

“Perhaps, they don’t build the more permanent station unless it looks like they will have to stay there. Otherwise they could just move the ship inside and live in the ship.” Darren said.

 “Do we think we can find a material that will stand up to whatever storms may be on the gas giant? What about acid rain?” Edward pointed out.

 “I know who to ask about that.” Joe volunteered.

 “Ok, you see to that Joe,” Edward double checked the board again, “What does everyone else think? Will this plan work?”

Nods from all four of the other members satisfied Edward.

“Ok, so we have the story line, can we do all of this on our budget?”

 “I’m more worried about how we are going to make the gas giant storms look realistic using just green screen technology!” Andy exclaimed.




Today's post was inspired by the letter G. G is for: Gas Giant  as part of the Blogging from A to Z April 2015 challenge! Click on the letter to join on in the fun!

Every day (excluding Sundays) I will be writing a post about something that begins with the letter for that day. Most of the time you will find a sci-fi flash fiction piece here.

For Readers: Do you think their plan would work on a real Gas Giant? Why or why not? What would your plan be?

As always... if you have something that starts with the letter H that you would like me to try to incorporate into tomorrow's short story, I'm always open to suggestions!