Farish's Freehold: January 2017

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The Tyranny of Large Numbers, Emersen’s Shorts, and Kindle Unlimited

Howdy everyone, blog’s been a bit quiet. Lots of things going on these day, beyond, of course, the Inauguration, and the dripping hot mess that will be travel in/around DC for the next few days.

I'm worried about my youngest, Brunette Sonya, I think she's wants to be a gangster.

I'll full on gangster, daddy!

A small bit of good news, I am getting my books turned into audio books. I'm hoping Junior Inquisitor will be ready to go by this weekend.

Shout out to my twitter buddy Emersen Lee and her collection of short stories A Girl Named Watson: And Other Short Works. You can find it here on Amazon - A Girl Named Watson

A Girl Named Watson

In yet another reason to be careful with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, Adam Dreece ran into a situation where he was believed to be a scammer by Amazon, and for at least a short while, had his books removed. Full story here - http://adamdreece.com/2017/01/17/video-amazon-incident/

Everything is more or less back to normal, but let’s remember Adam is rather successful, to the point that being an author is his job, and that is not true of most folks in the Indie world. Adam called out for help and lots of people came out of the woodwork to help support him. I’d like to believe that Amazon did their investigation and realizing Adam was not the problem reinstated his account. The cynical side of me thinks that without many, many people pinging Jeff Bezos and Amazon, in support of Adam, Adam’s account would still be under review.

Main Rant

I have found mathematics to be a real bitch, not only to master, but to comprehend what it means in the real world and of course in my stories. The concept I’m talking about is what I call ‘The Tyranny of Large Numbers’. Anyone who has gone to college and monitored their Grade Point Average (GPA) has noticed that once you hit about one hundred credit hours it becomes very difficult to move your GPA. It has become fixed. However you wish to describe it, your GPA is sticky, it's not likely to move without a lot of effort, or lack thereof, for a long duration.

First caveat I’m making a point, not working on a mathematical proof. Things are rounded and simplified.

When it comes to The Tyranny of Large Numbers, space travel and space battles are difficult to accurately describe if you have people in them.

Example – Star Wars. Millennium Falcon is escaping from the Death Star and is being pursued by two Tie-fighters. Han and Luke drop into gun turrets and using eyeball targeting blow the bad guys out of the sky. Cool right? Only problem they are traveling in space in really fast ships. Leaving off the physics, (no Virginia you cannot bank in space, that takes gravity) and just dealing with the numbers we run into this problem;

Human reaction time is about 215 Milliseconds

Light travels 186 miles in a Millisecond

Even if the Millennium Falcon was barely escaping at 1/100 the speed of light by the time Han and Luke could even mentally process there were Tie-fighters coming at them, let alone aim and shoot, the Tie-fighter would have travelled about 400 miles, (215 * 1.8 = 387) about the distance from Washington DC to Toronto. Humans are too slow, defense turrets would have to be automated, not as cool as depicting WWII air combat in space, but far more realistic.

The same would be true if you were attacking another ship, they are travelling so fast that the human mind could not accurately target the enemy, unless they both happened to be travelling close together (say less than 50 miles for visual acuity) and a close to the same speed, otherwise they would just blow past each other.

Next issue, troops of the Galactic Empire of Evilness invade the home planet of the Utopian Bunnies of Purity. A million strong the Evil Soldiers of Evilness land at the starport and begin their invasion. Bunny resistance is strong but the Evil is even stronger, what will happen next?

Realistically either the Bunnies need a new planet because the invasion ship is the size of the Great Pyramid and probably wiped out an area the size of city size in landing (rockets burn) or if it slammed into the dirt, asteroid like, there are earthquakes and a nuclear winter from all the dust thrown into the atmosphere from the impact. Either way it’s not looking good for the Bunnies.

So a person is roughly two meters by one meter by one meter. 2 cubic meters. A million of them means your ship, if you stack everyone like cordwood, will have to be at least 2 million cubic meters. A bit smaller than the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Now, to off load them Soldiers of Evil.

Let’s say that to get off of the ship a soldier has to travel 100 meters and there are 10 exits. Even if they all sprint the whole way and they are nearly as fast as Usain Bolt, you will get 600 Soldiers of Evil off every minute. In a bit more than eleven and 1/2 days you will have everyone off loaded.

10 seconds to get to the exit so 6 will make it per minute * 10 exits is 60 per minute

(60 per minute * 60 minutes per hour * 24 hours in a day) = 86,400 per day

1,000,000/ 86,400 = 11.57 days

You can see why this might be a problem for the invaders. When dealing with large numbers things stack up, on D-day the Allies did not land on one beach, but had five different major landing sites, using close to 5,000 landing craft, plus airborne insertions and glider landings. And that was to get about 150,000 troops into France.

However, the same issue holds true for any activity. Mal Reynolds of the starship Almost Serenity is smuggling a million beagles onto a planet some of which have eaten rubies. The local authorities decide to x-ray all of the beagles to find contraband. You get the point on the time, but remember what else do beagles do, besides bark? Dogs poop up to five times a day, let’s say a beagle only poops ten ounces, that works out to be

5 times * 10 ounces * 1,000,000 beagles / 3200 ounces in a ton = 1562 tons per day of beagle poop.

The Tyranny of Large Numbers also plays hell with economics. Rivendell has grown until there are almost half a billion elves. But not all elves are hale and hearty. Some have grown old or are sick and cannot work. The Elf Queen has decreed that every sick or elderly Elf will receive 1000 marks per month, which is less than even the lowest paid elf, but enough to live on. Only eleven percent of the elves receive this aid.

Sounds good right?

Let’s run the numbers; 400 million elves 11 percent receiving The Queen’s stipend of 1,000 marks a month.

400,000,000 * 11 percent = 44 Million * 1,000 marks * 12 months = 528,000,000,000

528 Billion marks a year. I have no idea how big the Elvish economy is, but 528B marks is not going to be a rounding error.

So keep in mind the issues with large numbers, if a space ship is travelling a long distance a small error can have them way off course. If a smuggler is dropping off a million meals to a starving planet that will feed 100,000 people for ten days. On day eleven there is going to be a problem, make sure it’s in the story. 20,000 soldiers will drain an Olympic size pool of water every day. There are 2.3 million parts in a 787, no one person is going to check them all, a team of 50 to 100 will do so. I would guess starships would have parts in the millions, automation would have to be used to keep track of supplies and replenishment.

Sorry for the ranty post, I’ve been reading and seeing online that some do not understand numbers or refuse to believe that numbers can control them. If only it were so.

Speaking on things that control you, or at least try, how about them witches?

Click on the links and enjoy.

FREE

Get it free here - Goth Witch of Philly

Junior Inquisitor Book One

Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX

Smashwords - http://goo.gl/XsGgAC

Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8

Soulless Monk Book Two

Smashwords - https://goo.gl/NXw3Gr

Amazon - http://goo.gl/p9fBn0

Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/5lCyaX

The Witch’s Lair Book Three

Amazon - http://goo.gl/ZRO6Jw

Smashwords - https://goo.gl/MokJnC

Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8

The Vampire of Rome Book Four

Amazon The Vampire of Rome

Smashwords The Vampire of Rome

Nook The Vampire of Rome

Kobo The Vampire of Rome

Goodreads The Vampire of Rome

Monday, January 2, 2017

2017, Groundhog Day, and The Generalist Taboo1: Double Down

We have finally made it to 2017! Next major event is Groundhog Day! I don’t know about anyone else, but I made a few goals for myself this year, to include increasing my output story-wise. So I have three stories I am currently penning. Number Five in the Inquisitor Series, a super-special, double-secret project with another author, and a modern day horror, but more Cthulhu and future tech mythos focused. Other than that I plan on lounging around. Ha Ha Ha So we have Thomas Duder who would like to tell you about his action series The Generalist - Taboo 1: Double Down!
Take it away Thomas -

Amazon
Smashwords

With the release of Taboo 1: Double Down, the original run of “The Generalist” has been completed, which will now prompt the release of the rest of the series.

In Taboo 1: Double Down, readers will be introduced to the Order of Magi, an esoteric organization of magic-wielders and their teachers, the talented staff and faculty.

Amongst them being one Frank “The Generalist” Todd, who is also moonlighting as their prisoner. While navigating his way through a treacherous onslaught of the Order’s dramas and internal strife, Daniel “Dash” Hopkins must prepare The Shop against a mysterious foe who, for once, actually DID bring an army!

Synopsis: “Assassins on the outside, an employee strike from the inside, the Order of Magi have sent a pesky, perky pest with an order for Frank's arrest, and apparently there's a bell tower on the top of The Shop that no one remembers existed.

Magic, misfits and mayhem collide in The Mayhem Arc!”

Thomas Duder, Author of the Things is an American-born writer currently taking the world by storm with his violence-drenched brand of action literature. What started with the almost noirish introduction story found in Taboo 0: Double Feature Show, The Generalist is a rollercoaster ride of wild action, heady violence, and witty dialogue as the series progresses.

Perfect for those looking for a bit more bite to their favorite reads, The Generalist is sure to satisfy even the most burnt and jaded of Urban Fantasy readers! Monsters, magic, misfits, mayhem, martial artists and more await the reader brave enough, curious enough, or hungry enough to give it a go.

You can pick up The Generalist - Taboo 1: Double Down for Kindle and Nook apps with the following links at only $2.99:

Amazon
Smashwords

The official Grand Release event can be found on Facebook with the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1169126729838123/

The Generalist! Because you simply cannot read about people getting punched in the face ENOUGH!

Amazon
Smashwords

Excerpt - The next fraction of a second all thoughts flew from his mind as pain, sharp and searing, ripped through him. Screaming inhumanly Dash felt his arms and ribs cave in fiercely as the Elemental pounced on him hard, wrapping its' own long arms around him and drawing him in close. Amidst the overpowering smell of bubbling, cooking troll muscle and flesh the still-human part of Dash frantically fought as training took over - he began to slam his forehead into the Elementals' face, ignoring the pain as he felt satisfyingly solid impacts score.

Swaying about, the Elemental let go of Dash for the brief moment he needed - while it grabbed at him, he vaulted off of it, horribly burning his feet. Taking a moment to allow his healing factor to kick in, he realized it was working slower than usual, his weakness to flame beginning to deaden his regenerative ability. Taking stock of his resources as the Flame Elemental sized the situation up, he realized that the Guerrilla Gorilla Pound had indeed wounded it, only not enough to slow it down.

“Fine then...let's see how it likes it Full Force!” He growled to himself mentally.

Feeling a little better, Dash backed up slightly, giving the mage-assassins time to put further distance between themselves and the battle. Giving them a moment more Dash rushed forward, tackling himself shoulder-first into the Fire Elemental and driving it physically back towards the staircase. Answering roar-for-roar, Dash ignored the intense pain as he felt his body bubble and catch aflame even as he drove the Big Boy, fully charged, into the creature.

“FULL! FORCE! IMPAAAAACT!!!!”

For a moment the bright flames became extinguished, revealing the burnt and charred humanoid form of the creature as the room became awash with red highlights and purple hues, the kinetic and magical energies colliding with an explosion of color as Dash expended the final two charges within the artifact at full-blast, point-blank range.

Dash frowned as he noted the melted handle, all that was left of the Big Boy artifact bat, left in his hand as the Elemental lit aflame once again. Looking back at the creature with a tired look of exasperation, Dash grumbled aloud, "I don't like you," then grunted as the creature knocked him away, sending him sailing through the air with a double-fisted backhanded blow.

Flying into the kitchen area he slammed against the back wall and landed in a heap, grunting only once as several cupboards opened up and deposited a wave of pots, pans, and dishes onto him.

Author and book links

Thomas Duder

My main website - http://www.thepenismysword.com

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/AuthorOfTheThings

The Generalist series on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheGeneralistSeries

Amazon
Smashwords

Questions

Main characters motivation -

Character motivation for The Shop are both pretty simple at first, and it’s best summed up with one of their sayings (a homage to Desert Punk): “Do the job. Get paid. Repeat.”

At FIRST things are pretty simplistic for the boys. Kick ass, retain the so-called titles of “Kings of LA, Sultans of Swing,” and that coveted position of being the #1 organization and power in Neo-Los Angeles, but as the series progresses both of their true intentions are kinda revealed.

Dash suffers from his constant problems with memory, but there are reasons behind it, and he has to come to terms, eventually, with the why’s and the how’s. Even more so, with his true nature. One of the things I delight in, greatly, with Dash is how human he is despite his monstrous appearance and unnatural capabilities.

With Frank, ohhhhh baby. His backstory is absolutely immense and forms the backbone of The Generalist, so to speak. In many ways, both Shopkeepers mirror each other - if Dash is a truly human creature trapped inside of a monster’s body, then Frank is an absolute and utter monster trapped in human flesh.

Frank’s motivations are his own, completely and beyond any other agency. The Shop exists to fulfill that, and he stands paramount as a the trickiest bastard alive or dead.

What is the Main Characters strengths and weaknesses?

Believe it or not, despite how insanely powerful both are and can become, they do have quite a few weaknesses. For storyline purposes, I can’t quite divulge what Dash’s are, save that if you kill him you’re going to have to really REALLY liquify him or he’ll keep coming back.

Frank is human, absolutely human. He’s killable, far more so than Dash. In a sense, this is also Frank’s greatest strength too.

He is vicious. He is cruel. He has bested immortals and knows intimately how fast the lifespan of a human is, but because of that it’s all the more sweeter when he destroys a killer god or interdimensional crusading villain.

But if you prick him, he will bleed.

Of course since he practices Thaumaturgical Magia, if you prick him he’ll probably use the resulting blood swell to kill you.

Any philosophical issues in story? If so how do you address them? How does the mc live and overcome them?
Strength. Most of my “Extreme Existence” Multiverse is based around the concept that absolute power does not corrupt absolutely, a challenge I’ve faced as a writer since my earlier years.

The Generalist, as a whole series, is ALL about strength, whether it be heroic bounty hunters, evil interdimensional overlords bent on conquest, blood frenzied demons, whatever.

Ultimately, The Shop stands in true, utter strength. This doesn’t make them unbeatable, this doesn’t make them unkillable, but it DOES make them the true boogeymen of the series. It’s not that they win all the time, ESPECIALLY considering how I put them through the freakin’ meatgrinder!

No, it’s that if you don’t kill them, then they’re gonna come back and kill you in a very cruel, very extreme manner, and probably force feed your body parts to your loved ones.

At the start of The Generalist, it’s only been a couple of years since The Shop was hailed as the Sultans of Swing, the Kings of the Angels and other powerful titles. At this point the various gods of the Pantheons are either jockeying to claim their souls or to fight them indirectly, but never outright - the wrath of the Shop is well known, and there’s an actual conspiracy between the FBI and the Vatican to make their actions look less heinous.

Any offbeat obscure or 80s references?

TONS bro!!! Holy crap, I only hand-squeeze the FINEST 80’s action flicks into each book! EACH book!

Hell, if I can fit in more I will. You can expect it!

I dunno ‘bout offbeat, but every time I get a chance in ANY of my writing you can expect either a freefall mid-air battle, post-morten one-liners and quips, or things like my favorite scene from Predator, dubbed “The Brohammer.”

”You SONUVABIIIITCH!”

[BROHAMMER]

When did you start to write this book and why?

What, this one or the series in general? I wrote the Mayhem Arc because the first two books (now one book) were such a great way to get the reader not only into the world of Neo-Los Angeles, but also expanded on it with the government dealings with the Shop. It also allowed me to show off The Shop from completely fresh eyes (Special Agent Judas Maxwell, fresh in Neo-Los Angeles at the request of Agent Ronald Mesmer, the Shop’s usual handler with the Spook Squad) and even show off the boys a little.

The Mayhem Arc, presented in Taboo 1: Double Down, now explores a little bit more of Frank’s past, allows Dash to take on some present trouble, and also allowed me to show off some of the Shop’s more physical defenses. I also got a chance to reveal certain oddities about The Shop and point out how truly expansive it is. I love to play with pocket dimensions and “interdimensional bullshittery,” and you DO get more of that in this.

Amazon - https://goo.gl/9ZTM50
Smashwords - https://goo.gl/RV28cw

What's next in this series or in your next book?

I’m almost done with the second book in the Angel Arc trilogy, “Anger of the Angels.” Angle of the Angels is already completed, and the finishing touches on the trilogy is “Anger of the Angels.”

From there I DO have something, like, twenty more books in the series to write. SO, first things first - let’s kick this in high gear, get the series read by a wider audience, and go from there!

How about an exclusive teaser from your next book - "Anger of the Angels?"

Enjoy!

As soon as Williams mentioned their possession, both twins boo'ed loudly.

"Boooo, did you hear that Danny?" the younger twin said in a low, rumbling voice.

"Boooo, I did, I did, Denny!" the older twin grinned mischievously at his brother.

Dash raised a scaled, green eyebrow and pointed from one to the other, "Wait, I thought your name was Snick and yours was Snack?"

Williams chuckled, catching on, "About a week ago the hairy one was Jibber and the ugly one was Jabber. You two, this is the new Agent from the Spook Squad I told you about, Jude."

The twins looked at one another, the older brother nodding to the younger, "I told you I should've been the ugly one this time around. Jabber has a better ring to it."

"Better than Jobber for either of us, brother," the younger one said.

Jude blinked, his eyes taking in the entire tableau before speaking aloud, "Say...wasn't there, like, more bookcases over here? Also, is one of those circles made of blood? Is that blood?"

Dash held up a massive hand towards Jude, "Do NOT ask whose blood that is. Suffice it to say someone owed, someone paid, justice is done. And yeah, we had more of the alchemical reagents segment over here, but Control pointed it out to us that we wouldn't be pushing the reality-warping glyphs if we just compressed them into the spot over at the southwestern segment. Besides, we need this space for our new training...not to mention the second time the twins showed up a something-or-other came with them."

"'Twas a Banshee Lordling. Hello, I'm Timmy Ricketts," said the older twin.

"'Twas a Lordlet Revenant. Hello, I'm Tommy Ricketts," said the younger twin.

Grinning, full of good cheer, Jude took off his hat and held it over his chest, bowing slightly, "H'lo there! Ol' brother Williams tol' me all 'bout you two and what to expect. Good to see y'all are okay after all."

"Boooo, that's no fun," the older Ricketts grunted, "He knew ahead of time that our real names aren't Tim and Tam Ricketts. He's way too ready for us!"

"Wait, wait, bro...perhaps we can still get some fun out of the agent, yet!" the younger Ricketts countered.

"AFTER you two have checked into your guest rooms and get cleaned up," Williams spoke with an authoritative tone, one that brooked none of their usual nonsense.

Sensing the finality in their team leader's voice, they spoke in resigned unison, "Yes, Mom."

Thanks Thomas, sounds like a book that needs to be on your TBR list, and another on your Pre-order list. Speaking of New Year's resolutions, I think everyone should devote a bit more time to reading in 2017. My suggestions -

Click on the links and enjoy.

FREE

Get it free here - Goth Witch of Philly

Junior Inquisitor Book One