Peter Hodges

Joining Becky for his first ‘work out’, Anthony is schooled in Ingre Na, a martial art designed for microgravity competition and defense. Upon his return home, he finds that his wife Tamra is deliberately parting with his own ideas as to how Europa should be governed.

“Privateer - Chapter Nine”
Story by Peter Hodges
Dramatic Reading: Kate Baker
Music: ”Overpopulation” by Flopsy, ”The Demise of Reason” by Obscure Desolation

 

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Privateer - Chapter 8

Hildebrandt says:

Pete,

I’m enjoying “Privateer,” but I enjoyed your shorter work more in the podcast format. A longer story (I think you said this was novella length) is harder to follow in a podcast medium. By the time a week has gone by, I’ve almost forgotten where we are and I feel like I have to spend time reacquainting myself with the Mendozas.

Gortafindle says:

The podcasts continue to be well-done. I’m eager to find out what happens on Europa, and a once-weekly dose isn’t cutting it. Post more and post faster!

Gliese

Dr. Star writes:

Excellent analysis on the probability of finding life on other worlds, Pete, but don’t be so shackled to the notion of carbon-based life, nor to typical Earth forms of life. There is no reason that a vastly different environment couldn’t force different evolutionary pressures on organisms to survive. A prime example of this on our own world would have been if sulfur metabolizing bacteria had risen to primacy rather than being an evolutionary dead-end. If so, then might there be a whole plant kingdom that uses sulfur compounds for an analog to respiration?

I lack the biological background to engage in intelligent debate, Dr. Star, but I was thinking more in terms of planets that are human-habitable. Stipulating that planets like that do exist, then what are the chances that they occur naturally? I’ve never been comfortable with the estimates provided by the scientific community.

Black Widows

Mark writes:

I hope that you’re not mindlesly killing spiders. Most of them have an ecological niche to fill…even if you don’t comprehend it. To make a mockery of their existence shows a lack of maturity and a poor regard for naturalism in general. Study these creatures and dicover if they might have something to teach you.

I’m not “mindlessly” killing spiders. In the past, I have killed spiders in the following ways, all of which required at least rudimentary thought:

• I have poured smokeless powder down the holes, inserted a length of dynamite fuse, and blown them up.
• I have sprayed them with deet (insect repellent).
• I have used a can of hairspray and a lighter to make an impromptu flame thrower.
• I have frozen them in liquid nitrogen and dropped them on a hard surface to watch them shatter.
• I have drowned them in countless toilet bowls.
• I have squashed them under a shoe.
• I have crushed them with newspaper.
• I have crushed a grass spider in my bare hand.
• I have shot them with a variety of handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
• I have immersed them in sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, concentrated hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, methyl ethyl ketone (I lit that spider on fire with a sparkler), and sodium hydroxide.

Pete will take the shot

Nina writes:

Thanks for bragging about your murder machine. Enjoy it before the next administration makes them illegal.

*rolls eyes*

SgtWebb writes:

Nice group there Pete! I recommend getting a nice red dot site for that weapon. Eotech makes a good one with a reticle site [sic] but I prefer the Burris speeddot sites [sic]. Target acquisition is fast and clean through the Burris but their [sic] pricey. I guess it depends on if you want another weapon or if you want to deck out the one you have. And good luck with the load experimentation. I’ll be interested in your final results if you and your pop don’t mind sharing the load data.

Thanks, Sarge. I have looked at a red dot sight, but they’re REALLY expensive for what you get. I’d rather go for another weapon, especially in light of how well I shoot with just the iron sights.

That’s all for this week, folks. We’ll talk again next week.

My friend Gary asked me to post this to you this morning. I will also be echoing this post on anaedream.com and seeing if any of my other friends will be willing to spread the word as well. Here is the original message. These guys are legit and great members of the ever growing video game community. Considering that Walter Reed has been in the news of late for not having the government funds necessary to help their wounded/dying soldiers, this is an excellent way for the American public to show appreciation for those men who have been wounded or hurt in the wars overseas. Please consider donating!

I got a call from Brett (Theseus from WoW, is an Army Officer in D.C.) this morning asking if I knew of anyone that would be willing to donate their used and idle game consoles (Xbox, PS2, Wii, PS3, etc) and games to the soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center. He said the guys are in need of something to do while they’re recovering, right now they just lay around reading or watching TV, and could use something to keep them a bit more occupied.

He personally donated his PS2 and about 35 games, and but is looking for more so he can assist the Hospital setup a game checkout type system for the soldiers.

I’m going to send my PS2 and the few games I have since I haven’t even turned that thing on in years. If you have something you’d like to donate, be it games or consoles please get in contact with me and I’ll help arrange the shipping.

Thanks!

Gary

Gary can be reached at gkasper2(at)gmail(dot)com.

That’s right, folks. In a hostage situation where the assailant is less than thirty yards away, Pete will always take the shot with his carbine.

I’m using my iron sights, which are configured for a 50-75 yard range. I am shooting from a standing position with one hand just behind the forward picatinny rail and the other hand around the pistol grip. I was a little disappointed to find that both of my groups were a little low and a little to the right. I’m using custom loaded .40 caliber ammunition (done by Blitzfike) that features a slow-burning powder, so I’m not sure if the ammunition or the shorter distance accounts for the slight variation in accuracy.

The picture is very large since I captured it in ultra-high resolution, so click below the cut to see the results of my “tests.”

Continue Reading »

The series is finally over.

I have mixed emotions about the book. The book started auspiciously with magic galore, hot pursuits, an element of danger, and a deeper question about the linkage between Harry Potter and Voldemort. I had high hopes as I zoomed through the first one hundred pages of the book.

Then the book just sort of stopped. For the next three hundred pages, we have filler text that is a series of squabbles and wordy descriptions of places and events that don’t really seem to matter and don’t really advance the story. This is the weakest portion of the book, and yet it must be trudged through in order to obtain a few precious nuggets of information (and a few clues) as to the end.

The book finally picks up with the final, inevitable battle between Harry and Voldemort. It has its own unique twist to it that amounts to literary cheating (in my opinion), but the result is a fitting conclusion to the novel even if the emotional impact is diluted somewhat by the effort taken to get there.

Of particular interest is that Rowling cannot resist taking digs at bureaucracy throughout this book, just as she did in the three previous books. Her social commentary is handled in a more subtle way in this outing (much less like it was in book five, where she used a sledgehammer), but whether this is maturity in her writing or a conscious effort to write to a more sophisticated reader is hard to say.

No one that’s a fan can afford to skip this novel, but in my opinion, the text could have been reduced by fifty thousand words without impacting the story. I give this one a cautious thumbs up, but only because the beginning and end of the novel were so satisfying.

I’ll discuss some specific, spoiler related material behind the cut. Be warned: All comments behind the cut and in the comment section are considered to be spoiler-rific.

Continue Reading »

November 27, 2157

“Mr. Mendoza,” Becky said. “What a surprise.”

I had joined Becky and two other members of my crew in a workout facility just off of the main corridor leading to the Tug Factory. I was dressed in loose, nylon shorts and a tank top. Becky and her companions were wearing a stylized gi, belted at the waist with a long strip of satin.

“I thought you said you guys were here to work out,” I said and gestured at my exercise clothes.

Becky chuckled. “We are. We’re learning Ingre Na.”
Continue Reading »

Shizzzzburn.

We had a bet regarding a certain occurence in the latest Harry Potter novel. I’m happy to say that I won.

I’m nearly finished with the book. (Yes, I’m a true fan. Don’t give me that nonsense about if I was a true fan I would have finished it on Sunday. I have to write content for all of you, keep up with a deadline that I’m working under, and find some time to play video games.) I’ll post the full review tomorrow or Saturday and allow discussion of the plot points after the cut.