Dar-Wednesday

That’s right, it is time for another installment of The Darwin Awards.

(3 June 2009, North Carolina) Greensboro was innundated with four inches of pouring rain in two hours leading to standing water, and stranding cars on several roads. Rosanne Tippett, 50, was not deterred. She hopped on her moped and drove to a convenience store where she possibly had a beer, according to her mother, before deciding to blunder home through the storm. She phoned home to share her intentions, saying, "My moped has two rubber wheels, Mom, I'll be fine."


North Carolina does not require a license to own a moped.
Ms. Tippett had acquired hers two years previously after a DUI conviction.


The Highway Patrol had blocked off several roads that were inundated with water, including Ms. Tippett's path home. But Ms. Tippett rode right past the officer and the barriers, lost control of her vehicle, and fell into the swollen creek below. The officer retrieved rope from his vehicle and proceeded to haul her from the water.


He then interviewed Ms. Tippett, probably inquiring about her motivation for speeding through a roadblock during a flash flood. The officer began to suspect that she had been drinking. When he briefly returned to his patrol car, Ms. Tippett took the opportunity to confirm his suspicions. She escaped -- by jumping back into the creek!


The Highway Patrol officer attempted to rescue her again, but alas, it was too late. The victim's mother speculated that her daughter's motivation for jumping into a flooded creek was to rescue her drowning moped. "She loved that thing."

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Scary Times

As I’m sure you know, Halloween was last weekend. My son went trick or treating and I handed out candy. Here are a few pictures of our costumes:

My son decided to be Jason Voorhees. I thought he did a wonderful job with his costume. I know he scared me. :D

I on the other hand decided to emulate an 80s rocker. My wife said it was scary because it looked like I could play the part a little too well.

After the trick or treating we had a few friends over and played various games. Of course, given my costume we did spend the majority of the time playing Guitar Hero World Tour. It was a hoot.

So how did you celebrate the holiday?

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Friday 55

Welcome to Friday 55. The object of the exercise is to write a story using exactly 55 words. If you participate, be sure to drop a comment at G-Man’s blog so others will know how to find your story.


Clouds roll in, a storm on the hunt. It will not rest until it can release its pent up energy. Shadows spread, chewing up streets, marking its territory as the power builds. Darkness rules, the sun turns away, unable to bear witness. With a mighty roar, it unleashes it’s fury, cleansing the world once more.

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Fangs for the Conflict

I am conflicted, downright unsure of everything I previously held as gospel. My world is officially topsy-turvy. You see, I read Darkness on the Plains The Beginning by fellow RP author Jayme Malvagio and I really enjoyed it. Why is that so weird? Because it is an Erotic Paranormal novel. I don’t read erotica. Not that I’m a prude or anything, but when I sit down to read, I want to be thrilled, scared, and/or entranced. There is more than enough sex and sensuality in my life, I don’t need to read about it to boot.

Then I read DOPTB. From the first paragraph this book drew me in. It was intense. It was dark. It was full of wild adventures, death, love, beauty and… vampires. And yes, it was full of sex. The funny thing is, that the sex scenes all seemed to be pertinent to the storyline. The vampire is a sensual creature in the most popular of folklores, but this book merged sex and violence in such a skillful way, I didn’t even blush as I read through M/M/F threesome. It may seem like a strange comment, but of all the odd sexual fantasies out there, this one probably repels me the most. James doesn’t share women and he damn sure doesn’t get into rolling around with other naked men.

When I finished reading the entire story, I realized something rather profound, for me anyways: This is a great book that happens to be erotic.

I recommend this book to fans of, Romance, Horror, Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries, Erotica and well… anyone who enjoys a good fast-paced read.

Blurb

When Native American myth collides with the world of vampires, the fate o the entire tribe could hang in the balance…

A storm brews in the Indian Territory. Nightfall is coming, and something lurks in the darkness that is as beautiful as it is terrifying. There is a new hunter on the plains and his prey is… human.

Reunited with his people, Kanati has the love of the most beautiful woman he ever met, and is leading the life he always dreamed of, but a chance encounter with a charismatic vampire will launch him down a path wrought with peril and suprises. Will Kanati be able to preserve the life he loves?

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

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The Big Launch

Okay, this weekend was as low key as it gets, almost to the point of ridiculous. My wife worked twelve hour days all weekend and my son was grounded. I had no one to play with. So, I decided we should spend Saturday getting a jump on a science project my son has that is due on November 23rd.

He brought home a piece of paper that said “Engineering Project” at the top. I just so happen to know an engineer. My wife, who is a chemist, is usually the self-designated helper with all things science related, but this one clearly fell into my realm.

Friday evening we sat down and discussed the parameters of the project. The gist of which was, build a ping pong ball launcher to launch a ping pong twelve and have it land inside an empty 3lb coffee cup. We put together a Hypothesis and a list of steps needed to carry the launcher from idea to completion.

We developed a rough materials list and though I led him with gentle nudges here and there, he came up with the items needed on his own.

A mousetrap to be the launch mechanism.
A spoon to hold the ball
Duct tape to hold the spoon to the arm of the trap
An angle bracket to keep the trap from closing all the way.
A piece of wire to be able to trigger the trap without having his hands in the way.
A block of wood to stabilize the trap when it is triggered.
Screws and wood glue to hold the trap to the block of wood.
A means to “sight in” the trap for accurate launches into the can.
Paint to decorate it.

Saturday morning, I got up early and worked up a series of parabolic equations to calculate the angle of launch necessary to give the ball the proper trajectory. You see it is not enough that the ball goes twelve feet, but the arc of its path has to be such that it is coming almost straight down when it lands so that when it is used on test day, the height of both tables and the height of the coffee can would not be a factor.

By the time my son was ready to begin construction, I knew what he needed to be done, I just had to figure out how to help him without giving him the answers. It is HIS project after all. You would be surprised (I know I was) at how easy it turned out to be.

I calculated the force exerted by the arm of the trap, the weight of trap and used it to determine the best means of stabilizing the launcher was to attach it to a block of wood. Using a two by four, I determined that we needed about ten inches of the two by four to keep the trap from moving when it was triggered.

I asked my son how big he thought the base should be. He promptly placed a large chunk of wood on our work bench, placed the mousetrap on it and rested the spoon up against the spring. He grabbed a tape measure and looked up at me and said, “We should probably leave an inch up front to put the sights on. He moved the trap back and measured from the end of the wood to the end of the spoon. Guess what… it was just shy of ten inches, so he decided to round up for good measure.

We continued on in this fashion until the entire thing was constructed. My only interference came when I asked if I could set the angle of the restraint used to keep the trap from closing all the way. I set it at “X” angle (I’m not revealing that one in case someone else googles this to do their project).

We prepared to launch and though the trap was vertically stable, it moved from side to side on the table as he tried to pull the trigger. I suggested putting Velcro on the bottom, but my son had a better idea. He grabbed the tip of a broken skateboard deck, used a hacksaw to shorten it to the right length and attached it to the bottom. Worked like a charm.

He was read for his first test launch. We measured out twelve feet, put a coffee cup on one end and the trap at the other. He pulled the trigger and it went right into the center of the coffee can and stayed…

I think he may just get an “A” on this thing and I was shocked at just how little I actually had to help. I wonder if this means my boy is a chip off the ol’ block. I guess time will tell.

So, how was your weekend?

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Available now from Resplendence Publishing

It’s also available at Amazon.com You can reach it by clicking HERE

Here is a blurb:

Carl and Jessica fell for each other during their final year of high school. Unfortunately, they come from different worlds. The people of their small Oklahoma town were taught from an early age that they should steer clear of the kids from the Cherokee reservation, and the animosity flows both ways. Carl's mother is heartbroken to learn that her only son has strayed from his people by falling in love with a white girl, while Jessica's family sees any relationship with a 'Rez Kid' as the ultimate betrayal—and they want Carl to pay for their daughter's mistake.

What happens next will awaken an ancient power thought long gone from the world of man. The pounding of the drums may mark their coming, but it's the screams that will let you know the Nunne'hi have arrived...

Here is a blurb:


Johnny Walker is a FBI agent in need of answers. His sister was murdered a year ago and the police still don’t have a suspect.


Mary Marshall founded a watchdog group to rid the world of online predators after her sister fell victim to a charismatic stranger she met on the popular website, HiyaSpace.

The similarities of their losses bring the two together and hurl them down a path wrought with peril, betrayal and unimaginable suffering at the hands of a madman whose unspeakable deeds threaten to destroy them all.


Will they be able to put an end to his reign of terror? Or will they be forever lost in a maniac’s world of Pixels and Pain?

Look for The Writing on the Wall from Wild Child Publishing.

A chance encounter in a bar plunges Dennis O’Brien into an adventure wrought with death, love, and the fragility of the human mind. When Dennis realizes he’s had a brush with a killer, things take a turn for the worse. Not only is he unable to stop the madman, but he finds himself the chief suspect in the murder investigation. Following a trail of bodies and revolting clues, Dennis uncovers the true motive behind the slayings. Yes, killers kill, but nothing is more shocking than the reason why. He should have seen it coming, shouldn’t have become involved. After all, the writing was on the wall…

Have you read The Dance yet? Are you holding out for the print version? I realize that there are still a lot of people who just can’t bring themselves to read an e-book.

Well, if this is the category you fall in, I have some fantastic news. The Dance is now available in print!

Click on HERE to order a copy directly from the publisher.

It’s also available at Amazon.com You can reach it by clicking HERE

Nearly a decade ago, Detective Tom Wiley worked a case that continues to haunt him to this day. But while the nature of The Puppeteer’s horrific crimes will always remain in Tom’s memory, it’s the guilt of not catching the serial killer before he vanished that still weighs heavily on his heart.

Eight years have passed since the last victim fell under the blade of that maniac during his vicious killing spree. The time of peace and quiet has come to an abrupt and gruesome end.

The Puppeteer is back.

James Goodman was born in Dover, Delaware in 1971, but has traveled extensively. Some of his travels around the world have been in service to his country. Others have been in service to his family, but most have been in service to his heart.

He graduated from Peach County, Georgia before joining the Army during Operation Desert Shield. He served with honor, pride and a whole lot of spent shell casings during his three-year hitch. He attended college at Oklahoma State University and eventually received a BS in EET.

He resides just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma with his with his loving wife and their rambunctious son. They are an active family and when they can pull James away from the keyboard or out of a book, they spend their free time wakeboarding, hiking, practicing mixed martial arts, riding motorcycles and taking road trips.

To find out more, visit his website http://www.goodysworld.com/ or contact him directly at jgoodman@goodysworld.com. He would love to hear from you.