23. July 2011 by RC Davison.

     The end of the shuttle era came on Thursday, July 21 at 5:57:54 a.m. when Atlantis came to a full stop on the runway at the Kennedy Space Center.  The amazing image below is a fitting finish to an amazing program, regardless of any arguments about traveling to low Earth orbit versus going to the Moon or Mars.

Here’s a link to a larger image.

     Some statistics for Atlantis:  It has traveled 125,935,769 miles while it orbited the Earth 4848 times and spent a total of 307 days in space.  It’s good to have all the shuttles back safely on the ground.

On a Orbital Maneuvers related note: I’ve put up a video promo for the book on YouTube.

Till next time,

RC Davison

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26. March 2011 by RC Davison.

      I am still trying to comprehend the magnitude of the disaster that has afflicted Japan on the 11^th of March. My thoughts are with all of those that are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and put them all back together again. It is at these times that all the trappings of modern society are worthless. One’s main concern is for family, friends, food and shelter.

     In an effort to help support the relief effort in Japan, I will donate all proceeds from sales of Orbital Maneuvers from now (March 26, 2011) until the summer solstice on June 21^st .  The more books sold, the more I’ll be able to contribute.

      I’m going to rant here. Be forewarned!

      When I watched the images coming out of Japan after the disaster, I could not shake the feeling that we should be more prepared. We, us, everyone on this planet. World wide for 2011 we will spend over two trillion dollars on defense. Defense of our sovereign lands from those who wish to attack us.

      We are missing the big picture here. What we can do to each other pales in comparison to what Mother Nature can throw at us. Look at what just happened in Japan. What about hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans and the Gulf coast. The earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 and the earthquake in China in 2008. The list goes on. But, these are small events compared to some of the major events that have occurred in the past, from super-volcanoes erupting to asteroid impacts.

      Maybe we should start thinking more along the line of joining forces. After all, it is 2011, the 21^st century. Should we not be civilized by this point? We’ve had over 10,000 years of development and yet we are constantly focused on beating each other into submission. Be it for religious, political, ideological or territorial reasons.

      I know I’m being too idealistic here, but we should stop pointing missiles and guns at each other and divert those funds to developing the technology that will allow us to survive these inevitable natural disasters. We’ve got a handle on how to build earthquake resistant buildings, but they are not earthquake-proof. More importantly, our infrastructure is very vulnerable to many types of natural disasters.

     We know this stuff happens. It has happened in the past and will again in the future. Two trillion dollars will go a long way to developing technology to study the planet we live on and understand what triggers these events. If we can’t stop them, at least we should be able to predict them reliably, and design our homes, businesses, cities and nations to withstand their onslaught.

      Orbital Maneuvers is about multiple asteroid impacts on the United States. This is not beyond the realm of probability. It was scary researching this for the book, because it does not take a very big object to create global devastation. And, if not global, local devastation, which still can have global consequences. A small asteroid hitting the ocean is going to create tsunamis that could make the one that just hit Japan look like ripples on a pond.

      So, we have a choice. We can keep preying on each other, burning money and resources to build offensive and defensive systems, and ignore the fact that there is a force out there more powerful than anything we have in our arsenals, or we can realize that this is the only place we have to live, and if we are going to survive, we have to join forces in building a common defense for everyone.

      All the weapons, gadgets, toys and technology won’t mean a thing if Mother Nature reaches out and slaps you down. Just ask the people in Japan…

Till next time,

RC Davison

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27. February 2011 by RC Davison.

Hi,

I just added a couple of new items to the website:

On the Home page you will find a link to an audio clip promo that was done for the book by Norm Sherman, who runs the Sci-Fi audio podcast site - Drabblecast.org.  Norm did a great job with the promo, as he does with the podcasts he produces for his site and others - check him out!

On the Space Station page, near the bottom you will find an image of the space station which is a link to a great animation of the assembly of the International Space Station on the USA TODAY website.  After the animation runs you have the ability to click on the names of each module on the right side to see more information and animations.

Lastly, for anyone that may have registered to get emails of new blog postings and have not been receiving them, please check the email address you entered, as I have gotten a number  notifications kicked back because of bad addresses.

Thanks for your support and enjoy!

Till next time,

RC Davison

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19. January 2011 by RC Davison.

     Check out the audio promo for ORBITAL MANEUVERS at Drabblecast.org, a great Sci-Fi short story audio podcast site.  The host, Norm Sherman did a great job putting the promo together, along with the really neat feature short story (with adult themes), A Matter of Size by Robert Jeschonek.

If you’d like to give the book a try, the first 7 chapters are available at the ORBITAL MANEUVERS website.  If you want more, you can download the first half of the book in several different electronic formats free at Smashwords.com.

If you like Sci-Fi you will do yourself a big favor by checking out Drabblecast.org.  Norm puts on some really amazing short story productions by some very talented authors, with top-notch narration by Norm and other voice actors, music and special effects, it’s a very entertaining half hour.  His site won the  2010 Parsec Award for “Best Speculative Fiction Magazine” - a very well deserved honor.

Till next time,

RC Davison

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5. June 2010 by RC Davison.

For those of you who don’t want to lug around a hard-copy of the book, or don’t own a Kindle, you can now download a digital version that is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, Palm, Sony Reader and more at Smashwords.com.

I’m looking forward to some great feedback — the only way to improve the process!

Enjoy!

Till next time,

RC  Davison

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22. May 2010 by RC Davison.

           Now that the book is available I can take a short breather to catch up on all the things that have been on my list to do. The following issues have been nagging at me to address, and I apologize for this post is a bit long.

            I would like to address the issue of ORBITAL MANEUVERS and the myths and hysteria about 2012.  While no one has made any comments associating the two, I feel it necessary to talk about this for two reasons:

            The timing of the release of the book was not planned to coincide with the wave of popular media about 2012 that is being generated by the ton everyday.  It was just by coincidence.  The book has been in development since the late 90’s and at that time, December 21, 2012 was only a date on the calendar.  If life had not interfered with my writing, the book would have been out years ago, sufficiently distanced from this upcoming non-event that I would not feel the need to be writing this. 

            The second reason for my discourse, and the more important one, is that the fears, anticipation, and madness about 2012 are all for nothing.  Many people in the world are buying into the hype that is being generated to promote this fear and in most cases it is purely for commercial reasons.  In a lot of those cases the information is presented as coming from professionals and experts, who are anything but.  Investigate the credentials of the people involved in this information, you might be surprised.

What bothers me the most from all this is the people who are terrified by this misinformation – children, elderly people, people who don’t have the ability or know-how to question what they read and hear.  It has gotten to the point that some contemplate suicide (including children) and even filicide, the killing of one’s own children, by distraught parents not knowing what is going to happen.

There is no planet Nibiru that is going to collide with the Earth in the next year and a half.  If it was out there, and that close, astronomers would have seen it by now.  You simply can not hide an object that big.  It would make itself known by gravitational affects on objects in the Solar System even if, for some reason, it was very dim and difficult to see.  

If you think that the professional astronomical community is silenced by the government, you are forgetting the millions of amateur astronomers worldwide that watch the heavens every night.  This network of astronomers is well equipped to discover such an object approaching Earth, they are constantly identifying new comets and asteroids and many are doing professional quality work.  Also, with the Internet there is no way this information would not get out and eventually be substantiated by the professional community.  These professionals live on this planet, too, and if a disaster were looming, they are going to suffer the same as anyone else.  And, even if you distrust the US government, there are many other countries in the world that have no reason to side with the US and suppress this information.  It would get out.

The alignment of the Earth with the Sun and galactic core is going to happen.  This is true, and it has happened every year since the dawn of time.  The Earth survived, and as evidenced by this discussion, we are still here.  The galactic core is about 25,000 light years away and has no influence on our planet, at least anything that would create the catastrophes predicted. 

Another fear is that the planets are going to line up and the combined gravitational pull is going to create havoc on the Earth – earthquakes, tidal waves…  Again, this alignment has happened countless times since the Solar System formed and again, we, and the Earth are still here.   Solar flares?  Yes, they will happen, they always do.   We could suffer blackouts and loss of communications through our satellites in a worst case scenario, but most likely we will have some beautiful Northern and Southern lights to watch as the Sun goes through its paces

.

The point I hope to get across is to question these tales of disaster, be skeptical about what they are telling you and do some investigation on your own.  The Internet is a wonderful resource.  It is abused with much misinformation, but there are many sites that strive to post factual, unbiased information to inform and educate.  Investigate, and when you can’t find the answers to your questions, ask someone.  Many sites have links to send in questions.  Also, your local museums, colleges and universities may provide opportunities to learn about and discuss this topic.

We tend to fear the unknown.  The Universe is not something we should fear.  It has many wonders that stretch our imagination and force us to think outside the box, think about our Earth in a much larger context.  By understanding these objects and phenomena we can allay our fears.  Knowledge is power.  Seek the knowledge for your sake, and your children’s.

Questions and comments are always welcome.

Till next time,

RC  Davison

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13. May 2010 by RC Davison.

ORBITAL MANEUVERS is now available at Amazon.com in paper back, and in a digital version for the Kindle.

RC Davison

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27. April 2010 by RC Davison.

  I happy to announce that ORBITAL MANEUVERS is now available!  The book is available now at CreateSpace.com and will soon be available from Amazon.com and other online and retail book sellers.

I hope you enjoy the book, and I look forward to your feedback.

Till next time,

RC Davison

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20. April 2010 by RC Davison.

Hi,

Just a quick update.  I’ve added 4 more chapters for your enjoyment and revamped the chapter selection button.  Hopefully this will make it a bit easier to navigate about the site.

I have one more proof of the book to go over and I’m hoping that this is it.  If so, it should be available in about two weeks or sooner if possible.

Almost there!

Till next time,

RC Davison

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4. April 2010 by RC Davison.

    The book is finished - well except for reviewing the proof copy sometime this week.  Hopefully everything will check out okay and the book will be available in the next week or so.  It has turned out to be a lot more work than I had imagined!  I’m looking forward to getting back to doing some writing, instead of editing, formatting, and tweaking the cover graphics.

In between real work, and working on the book, I’ve tried to keep up with the latest developments in space and astronomy news.  I’m just amazed at the images that keep popping up from the rejuvenated Hubble, the Spitzer telescope, Chandra, and now the marvelous images from WISE and Kepler, among others!  If you have any interest in what is out there in the cosmos, it’s a great time to be alive.  The pictures that are coming back from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Cassini are amazing! And, there is more to come with the soon to be launched James Webb Space Telescope, and the Mars Science Laboratory- Curiosity.

With all this information flooding in, there is bound to be some amazing discoveries about the Universe we live in.  Can’t wait!

Till next time,

RC Davison

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