A New SciFi and Fantasy Community

So here it is, the big reveal! Last week I posted about the Science Fiction and fantasy hub that I was planning. I’ve worked out how I think this is going to work, the intention is that each contributor will add their own work, link it back to their own site or blog. The idea is that having this one hub will give greater exposure to writers work in this area and one place for readers to go. This could work and it could be great but it needs you guys!

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Where is the hub?

My old Universe of Possibilities blog is the location of this project. There is a bit of my work in there from when I was using the blog, I still need to do some housekeeping to bring it up to date, but I wanted to get this going and see how it goes.

 

The hub can be found from the menu’s on sfarnell.wordpress.com or there is the picture above on my sidebar which will also take you to the site. From there a menu in the top right should give you what you need.

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What do you do?

This is the simple bit, go to the menu in the top corner of the site and there is a page where all the contributors will be  listed (unless you don’t want to). Read the contributors notes (this will be updated from time to time) so you know what to expect.

Leave a comment that you wish to participate, I’ll need a picture and a note to use for the contributors page and I’ll send you an invite to be an Author on the blog. This will mean that you can add all the content you need, but are not an admin.

When this has been accepted by you, the universe of possibilities blog logo will appear as an option to post from your blog. Blog away to your hearts content, do you have a short story you want to promote? Or a book? Seen a film that you want to share? I want universe of possibilities to be the place to do this. I want to see good people’s work given that extra visibility it deserves.

Make sure you leave a link back to your blog, in fact why not duplicate the post on your blog and link back to it? It’s up to you and the possibilities are universal (I hope)! I’ve left comments closed on this site, but likes are still visible, this is why it’s important to link back to your own site as the comments are meant for you and you don’t want me answering them do you?

Of course the other thing needed is those to read, you’re no less important, come and follow and join in the fun and help make this work!

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What else?

The only thing now is to remember this is only run but little me. My hope is to create a great workspace hub for readers and writers of this genre. It might take a few days to get invites out and to get your profiles onto the contributor page. I will do my best to make things work well and if you have suggestions or comments then please let me know. Leave a comment or find me from the contacts page which can be found on the menu.

 

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I hope we can make this a cool and exciting project!

Simon 🙂

Humans on Mars – My view on the Logic and Insanity

The concept of human colonising Mars isn’t new – it’s decades old and has been talked about since space travel started in the 1950’s and 60’s. Since the Moon landings the science community has viewed that travelling to Mars as being the next logical step in manned space exploration. The science and engineering behind this effort is staggering and while no actual missions are definitely planned in, the discussions have not ended and will carry on until we finally achieve this.

The way in which we travel to Mars has modified over time, I can remember when then missions talked about would last for some months on the Red Planet in order to make it worth the effort. I recent years though this has slowly changed to the realisation that missions to Mars are going to be one way only. You go to live the rest of your days there. This ties in nicely with the ethics of the colonisation of Mars, the preservation and advancement of the human race seems to be important right now. While I get this and there are those that have volunteered for this which is amazing, but do they really know what it’s going to be like? I’m sure a few months will be brilliant fun, but let’s face it 10 years down the line you might well have gone completely insane – if you haven’t starved to death.

Starvation and human preservation is kind of what brings me to some of the insanity around this. I’ve seen people talking about Mars being the next place the hum races goes to once we’ve finished ruining the Earth.

Seriously… WTF?!?

Do you seriously think that it’s all going to be ok to plunder the Earth until it’s a wasteland and then park up on Mars? When was the last time you saw this place?

This is it. It doesn’t change much. Nothing grows here, there is no atmosphere to breathe despite what science fiction movies tell us (it’s called fiction for a reason). If we reduce Earth to a wasteland we won’t find anything better on Mars. Colonising Mars is a huge step towards human living permanently off Earth but it’s not a second option to Earth. Earth must be preserved!

The other insane idea is that of Elon Musk’s to create a martian atmosphere by detonating nuclear warheads at the poles, melting them and creating an atmosphere. This is so flawed it’s not funny. Mars has a tiny magnetic field, so it cannot keep much of an atmosphere. But even if it could – everyone would be breathing radioactive air for the next 1000 years! There is also his vision to make travel to Mars accessible to all, costing around $200,000 a trip.

As in every huge project, there is insanity that rides with it. Travelling to Mars is going to be expensive. Living on Mars will be even more expensive and will be very hard! The rewards could be unimaginable and ultimately so will the costs.

Simon 🙂

THE BLOG-AHOLIC AWARD!

My good friend Acire from Scribes Canvas tagged me on the blog-Aholics award. Acire is someone who I think it quietly brilliant. She writes her stories, does her thing and doesn’t shout about it. Her love of Sci Fi was a surprise to me. Make sure you visit her blog and follow.

Rules:

1. Put the above award logo/image on your blog
2. List the rules
3. Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog (it can be to the post in which they nominated you or any other post or you can even link to their “About” page)
4. Mention the creator The Recipe Hunter (Cook & Enjoy) of this award and please provide a link or pingback as I [Esmé of The Recipe Hunter (Cook & Enjoy) ] would love to meet you!
5. Write a post to show your award
6. Share a link to your best post(s)
7. Share 3 interesting and different facts about yourself
8. Nominate 5-10 fellow bloggers, or more if you wish
9. Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

I have a few posts that I’m fond of, these show the diversity of this blog, and the randomness of my mind:

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Time Dilation and Messing with my Head

Two Wolves – A Cherokee Teching

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3 interesting facts about me :

1. I’m an engineer.
2. I find monotony boring.
3. I’m random and proud of it.

 

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I would like to nominate:

Charley

Lennon

Miriam

Hannah Fearless

Roger

Shell Sizzle

Niki

pouringmyartout

Samantha

Gail

Thank you again to Acire for tagging me on this, I’m not on as much as I used to be but I’m always trying to be about, if only to scroll thought the posts of my bloggies. I hope all those I’ve nominated can join in – if not please take the tag with the as a sign ofe you’re awesomenessssssss…

Simon 🙂

Seven Earth-size Planets Have Been Discovered Orbiting A Potentially Habitable Solar System

An exciting discovery from NASA that the world is talking about (via Sparkonit)

Seven Earth-size planets that could potentially harbor life have been spotted orbiting a dim dwarf star called Trappist-1, which is located at 39 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. According to NASA, all seven could potentially support liquid water, on the surface, but only three represent the “holy grail for planet-hunting astronomers,” because they are…

via Seven Earth-size Planets Have Been Discovered Orbiting A Potentially Habitable Solar System — Sparkonit

Credit for this post to: http://sparkonit.com/2017/02/23/seven-earth-size-planets-discovered-orbiting-potentially-habitable-solar-system/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Sparkonit+%28Sparkonit%29

Simon 🙂

Battle of the Books: Which will be Published First?

Candice has two books to publish – but which one first??

Simon

candice coates

Writing one novel ready for publication can seem hard enough, but what do you do when you have two burning and ready for the publication starting line? You ask your readers to vote for which one they’d like to see on their bookshelves first!

Coming late February, early March 2017 is the BATTLE OF THE BOOKS! “Warden,” a Science Fiction Adventure, vs “Nexus Gate 4037: The Animal,” a Science Fiction Thriller. The first two to three chapters of each manuscript will be available for you to read under the ‘Excerpts’ tab in the main menu above. Once you’ve read both sets of chapters, take to the polls and cast your vote.

Take a read of the book flaps for each book as a tasty teaser to wet your reading appetite!

NEXUS GATE 4037: THE ANIMAL  “Most important rules of time surveillance; never disrupt your…

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Murphy’s Law – Putting your Foot in it

Murphy’s law of probability or sod’s law is summarised by the saying “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” This is a new little series intended to be a numerous and light hearted look at the world of cock up. More often than anything it’s the small things in life that stress us out, I know this is the case with me. This is a kind of reverse psychology look at the fact that when things go wrong – it ain’t that bad really.

 

Situation:

You’re going to step out of your place for a moment, you have a pair of shoes or something by the door, always ready for this sort of thing. Slipping your foot in, for a second all seems well, until the cold damp feeling of water. Water which must have come from outside where the said shoes were left by the agent of Murphy, only to be brought in again and not dried properly.

You scream. Murphy’s Law has struck. Again.

What’s you view on Murphy’s Law? How has it struck you in the past… I hope you my fellow bloggies enjoy this little featurette.

Simon 🙂

The Grind, Seeds, & Patience

A reminder for us all from the lovely Niki.

Simon 🙂

The Richness of a Simple Life

This goes out to all of you who need a gentle reminder that results aren’t always instant. In a world of instant gratification, it can be hard to grind every day and not see the results. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. The process reminds me of plants. When my daughter was in 1st grade, we did a project where we planted seeds inside ziplock bags and watched them grow. Had we planted them outside, we wouldn’t have been able to see all that was going on!

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Happy Blog Anniversay

 

Yesterday was a milestone for me – four years I have had this blog running, four years of blogging fun and excitement and meeting new people!

Thank you all for making blogging as great as it is!

Here’s to another four years!

Simon 🙂

Two Wolves – A Cherokee Teaching

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

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This was something I got from the TV a few days ago and I was inspired to share it!

Simon 🙂

Wordless Wednesday – Snowy Pictures

Simon 🙂