Well, whaddaya know?

A search on Amazon for "libertarian science fiction" returns some interesting results.  L. Neil Smith and J. Neal Schulman (what is it with Neil/Neals?)m of course, a refrigerator magnet of Heinlein in midshipman uniform, the complete F. Paul Wilson (again with the initial initials!) LaNague Federation stories (staring with "Lipidleggin'")...  C.M. Kornbluth and A.E. Van Vogt.  (Met Van Vogt, way back when I was a Neo in fandom.  At the time, the thought of a Canadian writing books based on the premise that THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE RIGHT TO BE FREE was not particularly ironic...)
Vin Suprynowicz is there.
Lots of what seems to be self-published stuff, speaking of which, DO NOT buy Carl Bussjaeger's books from Amazon, they're pirated editions.
Anthony Pacheco is there.  So is a lot of NOT science fiction...
...A lot of which seems intended to bash libertarianism.
Or Ayn Rand, specifically.

Oddly enough, a "sponsoring link" showed up at the bottom of the page for one of Washington's Representatives, Cathy McMorris Rogers.  Less dodly, another one was for The Libertarian Futurist Society.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAH!

I have no doubt that Robert A. Heinlein had more to do with the man I grew up to become than any other non-blood relation.

The Heinlein Society
The Heinlein Biography
The Heinlein Archives
And, for "Heinlein's Kids" with money than I, the Virginia Edition of RAH's works includes all his works, including unpublished fiction and non-fiction, letters, and screenplays. 
Yes, that's screenplayS, plural...

In Memorium

Virginia Heinlein, April 22, 1916-January 18, 2003.

Oh, crap...

So, a photo was posted in the Heinlein Forum on Facebook of a "Robert A. Heinlein for president" t-shirt seen at Worldcon.  Searching for the source failed to locate one...

...but did lead to a link which reminded me that, according to one of the unwritten "Future History" stories, Nehemiah Scudder is elected president in 2012!

I know I've seen "Nehemiah Scudder for President" t-shirts and bumper stickers.  A little more esoteric than the Cthulu ones, I think.

Patriotism

Related to my second post for today (Your Tunage for Today), here is a link to Robert A. Heinlein on patriotism, from Phil Ebersole's Blog

Reading, Read

Just finished reading Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.  I downloaded it from http://www.baenebooks.com/ in the Sony Reader "lrf" format.

So it's 35 years old, and I couldn't help thinking how out of date it is.  A comet impact would still have much the same effect on civilization today as it would have when this was written, of course, but...  The Soviet Union is gone, there is no Skylab, no chance of a "spare" Skylab, no "spare" Apollo capsules...

...Yes, the International Space Station would certainly serve as a platform for observation of a comet, although the higher occupancy would make a difference in the book.  There's also the question of what the ISS has for escape pods.  (I think they use Soyuz capsule, in fact, which is what they wound up using in the novel...)

The biggest change since the book was written, however, at least that would make a difference, is in the field of Prepping.  In 1977 "survivalism" was the realm of whackos and weirdos and conspiracy theorists.  No shortage of those in the prepper community these days, of course, but nowadays, instead of being thought odd for stocking up on food--or putting together a vanload of jerky--your neighbors would be engaging you in a debate about the best method of making jerky, and swapping URLs for sources of long-term storage food. 

• As an aside, my father read this when I left the paperback laying around and said it was the first science fiction book he enjoyed.
• I do keep wondering why they couldn't have kept "wizard" Dan Alderson alive through the winter.  One sheep a month...
• Note to self:  Pick up set of "How Things Work"...

Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.  Likewise a Sony Reader format download.
Just getting started on e-reading this.  Again, the world has changed in the 27 years since publication.

Apparently, this is the novel that Niven and Pournelle pitched when they got the contract for Lucifer's Hammer--the editor didn't want "another alien invasion story", but was intrigued by the description of using meteoroids or comets as weapons.  Local fannish lore says that Niven and Pournelle were inspired to destroy Bellingham, WA, while serving as C-Guests of Honor at a VikingCon, the SF convention held at Western Washington University, although some point out that Dr Pournelle lived in Washington for a time, and had some hard feelings, exact nature unspecified.  (Not like anyone ever accused the man of having no opinions...)

The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown: A Novel by Paul Malmont.  (Sequel to The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril: A Novel)
In the Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, there's this somewhat minor character whose real name we learn late in the book is Heinlein. (Yes, I figured it out early on.  Such a geek...)  In AAU, it is several years later, WWII, and RAH is working at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, along with L. Sprague de Camp and Issac Asimov.  Lafayette Ronald Hubbard plays a part.  Mysteries are investigated.  Adventures are had.  Inside (fannish) jokes are made...

These I read in hardcover, courtesy the King County Library.  Recommended for fans of science fiction and the pulps, and especially for fans of RAH.

QOTD, 08/03/12

Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anytbing* from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please--this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time--and squawk for more! So learn to say No--and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.)
R. A. Heinlein
Second Intermission.

Thought I was going to get to tell a salesman to get the hell off my lawn today.  In fact, he kept going, but it still brought this to mind.



*Typo in original. 

QOTD, 07/31/2012

Political tags--such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and. so forth--are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.

Robert A. Heinlein The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Second Intermission

Also, Intermission (incorrectly "Intermission 1").

"Jerry Was A Man"

Coming soon to the Science Channel!
The Science Channel :: TV Listings :: Stephen Hawking's Sci Fi Masters

In the original short story, Jerry was a genegineered chimp, not a cyborg. 

Don't see that it changes much, although having a cyborg sing "Ol' Man River" "Way Down Upon The Suwanee River" wouldn't be quite as dramatic as a chimp...

(Wonder if They even included the micro-phant!)

{corrected - DWD}

Ooh, ohh! Ooh!

Just saw that this evening's episode of Prophets of Science Fiction on the Science channel is Robert A. Heinlein!  8 minutes!

I did not know that...

While readingTarget: America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States, by James P. Duffy
I learned that the first US ship to sink a U-Boat during WWII was the USS Roper (DD-147), on which Robert A. Heinlein had previously served as Gunnery Officer.

***

Crap. Just had a random link show up in Edit mode, and I'm using the desktop and Firefox, not the netbook and Chrome. Linked back to edit-this-post.

HEINLEIN on “Political tags"

Instapundit reminds us of this oldie but goody from ROBERT HEINLEIN:

“Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.”

All Righty, Then!

So, 'way back in what was naively referred to as The War To End Wars, Major Ian Hay*, obsereved that, no matter what they want us to believe, the military is actually divided into three sections, like Gaul.  These sections consist of the Round Games Department (Major Hay being an officer in the British Army; we would say "Practical Jokes Department"), the Surprise Party Department, and the Fairy Godmother Department.  Commodore Heinlein would later expand on this, observing in Glory Road that the Fairy Godmother Department is comprised entirely of one (1) elderly female GS5 clerk, who is usually at a doctor's appointment or the ladies' room, but who occasionally sits at her desk, (literally) puts down her knitting, and draws a name from a hat to do something nice for.

I have long known that the Salt Mines are primarily run by their own version of the Practical Joke and Surprise Party Departments; today I learned that the fairy Godmother Department had contrived to get my vacation request for September approved after all--possibly by pointing out to the Surprise Party Department how inconvenient it will be for my peers--so i will be able to attend Gun Blogger Rendezvous V after all.

Meanwhile, the Practical Joke Department denied Mrs. Drang time off, so if I go, it will be alone.  Over her birthday.  She insists this is Just Fine, and will only cost me a ruby necklace...

***
*Major John Hay Beith, CBE (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), second-lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

QsOTD, 05/01,2010

Both found at Wikipedia's page for Robert A. Heinlein's greatest (IMHO) oeuvre, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress:

A managed democracy is a wonderful thing... for the managers... and its greatest strength is a 'free press' when 'free' is defined as 'responsible' and the managers define what is 'irresponsible'.

Professor Bernardo de la Paz on the subject of free press.

and

There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. —

Professor Bernardo de la Paz on the subject of taxes.

Science Fiction, of course, has no relevance whatsoever in the real world...

Lady Vivamus!

So, while reading Glenn Reynolds' An Army of Davids, he recommended checking out Albion Arms "for a good sword."

While perusing their "Special Edition Swords", I learned that they make a reproduction of "Easy" Gordon's sword Lady Vivamus, from Glory Road!

Do want. Can't afford.

Need a Brass Cannon...

A few days ago I linked to I am Simon Jester.

Been debating, when I go to the April 15th Tea Party in downtown Seattle, should I wear a suit, or one of Simon's t-shirts?

I think the question may have been answered...  (Not on a cap, alas, otherwise I would "get both", as they say on AR15.com.)(Not on a sweatshirt, either, so I may keep the suit as a backup plan.  April in Seattle?)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Ragnarok...

...and Armageddon tired of it. (H/T to Robert Heinlein...)

Winter Storm Warning

Statement as of 2:40 PM PST on December 21, 2008

... Winter Storm Warning in effect until 4 am PST Monday...

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a Winter Storm
Warning... which is in effect until 4 am PST Monday. The Winter
Weather Advisory is no longer in effect.

An additional 3 to 6 inches of snow is expected through tonight in
the Puget Sound lowlands and the lower Chehalis valley. A few
isolated locations could receive as much as 8 inches. Snowfall
amounts will be variable from location to location.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means significant snowfall
is occurring or imminent. Snowfall intensities will be heavy
enough to reduce visibilities to near zero at times.

Record Report

Statement as of 12:29 am PST on December 21, 2008

... Record low temperature set at Seattle-Tacoma WA Airport...

A record low temperature of 14 degrees was set at Seattle-Tacoma WA
Airport yesterday. This ties the old record of 14 set in 1990.

... Record daily maximum snowfall set at Seattle-Tacoma WA Airport...

A record snowfall of 3 inches was set at Seattle-Tacoma WA Airport
yesterday. This breaks the old record of 1.7 set in 1951.

It would be an exaggeration to claim I made this post just so I could quote Heinlein's horrible pun... but not much of one.

Well, isn't that interesting...

Now, I was always going to vote against any Democrat they put up, simply because I can't imagine a Democratic candidate for President that I could stomach. Zell Miller's not running, was never in the running, and Harry Truman's dead. And since I'm not quixotic enough to vote for a third party candidate who has not chance of winning, but who's votes just might be enough to draw votes away from The Lesser Evil--c.f. H. Ross Perot, Ralph Nadir--that meant I was almost certainly going to vote for The Gop. Holding my nose, almost certainly, but nowaynohow was I going to vote jackass!

Then Colonel Tigh found himself a real-life Heinlein Woman to name for Veep! (I forget whose blog it was I first saw Sarah Palin referred to as a Heinlein Woman; probably either Roberta or Tamara.)

I had heard of Sarah Palin, because Alaska news, including politics, is included in the Seattle news, because old-time Seattlites still like to tell people that Seattle's biggest suburb is Alaska. (Not true anymore, Alaska does just fine on it's own nowadays, thankyouverymuch, but Seattle is still the Gateway to Alaska, and the habits are there. Anyway.)

Naturally, all sorts if Internet Rumors got started. I may have helped pass along a few in person. Like, for example, the one about her husband havign been an Army sniper. Based on subsequent postings by Turk Turon, the source was an article in the NYTimes, and was probably a mis-edited reference to someone in her son's unit. (NB: Her son deploys to Iraq on September 11, 2008!)

The funniest stuff I have seen, though, are all the people who are saying "But she has no experience!

Well, here is a chart that compares her experience to that of , not the Democratic VP candidate, but their Presidential candidate.
"Executive Experience
Her: Two years governor of Alaska, 10 years mayor.
Him: NONE."

In the meantime, apparently, many of Hillary Clinton's supports really are so PO'd that they will vote for McCain out of spite, and to "support the guy who supports women", links here and here.
(Links courtesy Marko and Tamara.)

Finally, Chuck Norris seems to be in danger of losing his status of Internet Myth; there is now a Little Known Facts about Sarah Palin website that includes Chuck-like items like

Sarah Palin isn’t allowed to wield the gavel at the convention because they’re afraid she’ll use it to kill liberals.

Sarah Palin once won a competitive eating contest by devouring three live caribou.

Sarah Palin once carved a perfect likeness of the Mona Lisa in a block of ice using only her teeth.

Sarah Palin will pry your Klondike bar from your cold dead fingers.

Sarah Palin pick retroactively makes the theme of #DNC08 “Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead”

Sarah Palin doesn’t need a gun to hunt. She has been known to throw a bullet through an adult bull elk.

DRANG'S LAW

Drang's Law:

The more a person talks of the importance of 'good communications', the less likely they are to practice it.

Clarification: A "person" in this case may mean an actual human being, or a corporate entity, such as a business, a cultural, religious, or educational institution, a government agency, and so forth.

Observation: The "person" in question is probably aware that they (he, she, it) have a problem with communicating, but is probably clueless that they (etc.) are the problem, and that, in classical fashion, simply talking about it won't fix it.

Back in the depths of time, when I was a cub Drang, the Army ran me through a quick course on communications, aimed primarily at tactical, radio-telephone communications, which emphasized the Three C's: All Communications must be

• Clear
• Complete, and
  
• Concise
  

Clarity: Say what you need to say, with a minimum of jargon, slang, or technical or vague language that might be open to interpretation, or misunderstanding.
Completeness: Say it all, don't leave anything out, don't assume, don't take anything for granted, and don't leave anything open to interpretation.
Concision: (Yes, "concision" is a word. I looked it up.) Say what you need to say, within the parameters of Clarity and Completeness, with the minimum words necessary. If you can say it in 500 words, do so, don't try to cut it to 400 and don't waste 600.

I am reminded of Robert A. Heinlein's James Forrestal Lecture at the US Naval Academy (AKA Annapolis) in which he spoke of a course he had at that institution on "Order Giving": When it was your turn in the barrel, you were given a situation and the requirement to draft an order to deal with it, and had a certain (minimal) amount of time to do so. Your classmates spent the rest of the period tearing your order apart: Could it be misunderstood? Could it be clearer? Could it have been given in fewer words? And so forth. From his description it was hell, but he also stated explicitly that "it was a wonderful class."
(Note: Not surprisingly, this lecture does not seem to be available on the net. I suppose it is also possible that I am mis-remembering the source of this anecdote of his, but I don't think so. If I find a source I'll post it. Maybe my Google-fu is weak tonight.)

The fact that I spent the first half of this evening's shift at work cursing my colleagues for losing a request for a day off that I was sure a normally absolutely rock-solid, reliable, employee must have submitted, and the rest of it cursing management for not telling me that the same employee was starting training for another assignment today, has nothing to do with this little rant...