Trying to get my old PowerBook...

Trying to get my old PowerBook to function like it used to by doing it the Windows way--a clean install of the OS! Take that!

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Noticing a large contingent of...

Noticing a large contingent of geeks in both Westwood and Hollywood over the past day or two. Not sure what's up-comic con-Scifi con-WHAT?

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TheSaturdaily for 9-8-7!

ARG. Set my alarm for 10:45PM instead of AM and missed both the correct bus and the later bus, so I'll be on the even later bus and won't be making it to Groundwork today before 1:30. LAME. I should have just postponed it until tomorrow. Ah well.

Today, I'm bringing plenty of writing work. I'm sooo far behind on the second draft of my NaNoWriMo novel from last year. I need to get the second draft done before November begins. I also need to work out a way to trick myself into being disciplined about being creative again. I worked up this very reasonable schedule balancing all of my interests and have blown it off through negligence consistently since I created it. Ah well. I think I might have to start doing some more online fiction writing just to keep myself productive. Too bad doing my second draft online would remove my reasoning for publishing it.

OK, I should start packing up so I don't miss the even later bus.

Remember, if you are thinking about joining me for TheSaturdaily, I usually will post something about whether I'll be there or not right here at ThePete.Com or at ThePete.Community which you can get to here: http://thepetecom.ning.com. Join me! It'll be fun!

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Running very late for TheSatur...

Running very late for TheSaturdaily. Aiming for 1pm now, but possibly later.

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Today was actually semi-succes...

Today was actually semi-successful! YAY! Now I've got to crash so I can get up in 5 hours to drive TheWife to LAX for a trip to NoCal. -_-

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In Second Life in a few mins, ...

In Second Life in a few mins, looking for paid writing work. When am I ANYwhere and not looking for paid writing work??

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@21c I'm on StubleUpon! I just...

@21c I'm on StubleUpon! I just added ya! Anyone want to check out my paltry SU blog? Go here: http://urltea.com/1fin also on Ziki Natuba too

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Finally down in the Village to...

Finally down in the Village to spend the day at Boba Loca and free WiFi :)

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FIRST ON MARS a Short Story

OK, here's another episode of ThePeteFiction! This week it is in the form of a short story called First on Mars and I JUST wrote it. I haven't even proofread it yet, so please don't be offended. I literally bang out ThePeteFictions every Thursday night, barely taking a moment to spell-check them.

With that said, here is the beginning of First on Mars:

THIS WORK WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE UNTIL September 14, 2007.

First on Mars (c) 2007 ThePete.Com (this is fiction)


The press went mad--it was the new era of space travel. Of course, the press only cared because the private company that was venturing to Mars was, well, paying them off. The SSI was, after all, a private company and could keep it's finances secret. This wasn't a government-run operation and there had been quite a bit of attention from the press before the cash started to flow thanks to the entire mission, up to launch-time being completed entirely in secret. When the mission launched, it was a shock to the American government and to everyone else, too.

Why was it a big deal? Because the private company was based in the middle of the United States of America, in an abandoned missile silo that was bought up by a front company that allowed Special Space Incorporated to move in and set up shop. Joy, Kansas, where the silo was located is mostly farm land so no one was around in the middle of the night when SSI would have their materials shipped in. As a result, starting ten years previously, the entire Atlas Missile silo was refitted to support the building and eventual launch of a space rocket--a space rocket tipped with the most advanced robotic probe ever devised.

"Look, it's not like our intentions were ill," Ground Mission Commander, Joe Keegan, explained in an interview after the launch. "We hired the best engineers and scientists to design both the ETM Space Rocket and the Martian Analyzation Neurobot."

"But you, yourself said the rocket was experimental," the attractive news reporter asked.

"Experimental, yes--but how else were we to test it? Ask for permission? No. There was no other way. The government moves too slowly. The opportunity was there as were the funds, so we took it. It's not like the Space Agency had any concrete plans to go to Mars on their own. It's not like they were using the planet." Keegan's argument was sound enough on it's own, but his his good looks, handsome attire and boyish charm would sell a cynic a bridge in Brooklyn.

"Some say that if you had only gone to NASA and told them that you had a space ship and a probe already built, they and the United States government would have happily allowed you to launch under their guidance."

"Oh, no--they would have made us do all the same tests we did on the ground all over again. That would have postponed the launch for years, possibly even more than a decade. I couldn't allow that to happen."

"You're partner, Kevin Walsh, how involved was he with this entire project?"

"All the way. It was his idea, I just got the money together. Sure, I had always dreamed of re-igniting the space race with the fortunes I made in the second great Internet boom, but he was the one who guided the mission on the back end. He over saw the construction of the Neurobot and the ETM Space Rocket."

"And his death--how did that effect both you and the mission?"

"I was horrified with his death, of course. But the show had to go on, as they say and as I'm sure Kevin would agree. And the mission is going on in his memory, dedicated to him. And when the ETM reaches Mars and when the Neurobot rolls out onto the Martian soil, I know that Kevin will be looking down on us with approving eyes. He'll be missed, to say the least."

"We're actually going to rename the landing area of the OTS module to 'Walsh Base' in his honor. I think it's the least we can do. And, of course, his wife Amy will be looked after forever."

Nine months later, the press was, once again, awash with the private Martian Mission news. Every headline on every website and newspaper proclaimed something about the approaching landing date of the OTS, or Orbit-to-Surface, module. Keegan made sure of that by utilizing his extensive wealth. Learning from the mistakes made by so many during the initial DotCom Bust, Keegan got out early, selling everything he had for tens of billions. That billions were now one fourth of the funds paying for the mission and the press putting it square in front of the public every day and night. The other money came from his anonymous backers. Keegan would never tell Walsh who they were and still wouldn't admit it. He would justify it to another reporter by saying: "That's the advantage of being a private company."

Read the rest of it here: http://thepete.com/thepetefiction.pdf

Remember, as with all ThePeteFictions, they'll only be up for a week, so if you're reading this after September 14, 2007, you'll have to hope ThePete got around to publishing this someplace else, like in paperback.

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Ahh, just did a Poseidon doubl...

Ahh, just did a Poseidon double feature! The original and the remake...ohhh, the pain, the pain...sorry, wrong Irwin Allen crapfest ;)

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