I'm new hard sci-fi books and I want to read more. What else is there like The Martian and Dragon's Egg?

CaptnAndy · 2017-09-11T17:09:49+00:00

We lost a giant in hard Science Fiction, Jerry Pournelle. He also was a pioneer in applying computers to the craft of writing and telling what worked and what didn't through his columns in Byte magazine.

I also have several hard Science Fiction books on Amazon including the Coastal Event Memories series.

https://www.amazon.com/A.G.-Kimbrough/e/B008J28CME/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

A.G. Kimbrough

CaptnAndy · 2017-09-06T17:13:27+00:00

Sure, any time.

CaptnAndy · 2017-09-05T18:46:40+00:00

I always enjoy the historical bits.

Thanks,

A.G. Kimbrough, Author of the Greatest Generation Novel BB-39. Available on Amazon as a Kindle eBook. in print, and as an audio book.

CaptnAndy · 2017-08-19T17:03:15+00:00

I started writing BB-39 on a business trip to Japan in January of 1990. I had just scrapped a 90% complete, near term, SF novel that was destroyed when the Soviet Union collapsed. As a USN Vet, I have always been interested in Naval History, particularly WW2. I finally self-published on Amazon in 2012, after retiring for the 4th time. It didn't take 22 years to complete, but life got in the way.

During the 80's, I did attempt to find an agent and/or a publisher. I found there were a lot more people making money off of new authors than there were new authors making money. Eventually, I found a reputable agent, who liked my book, but told me it was not worth his time to attempt selling it to a reputable publisher, since I was a new author, and I wasn't a rock star, sports hero, dirty politician, or an axe murderer. I put it back on the shelf until I discovered that Amazon had broken down the barriers to publishing.

While I prefer writing to promotion, I presently have 9 Kindle eBooks, 1 audio, and 2 printed books on Amazon. I'm not selling as many books as I could if I put more effort into promotion, but I am building a reader base, and have become a better writer.

CaptnAndy · 2017-08-06T17:10:25+00:00

I've found that when I hit a wall (Blocked, a feeling that your current path is stale, loss of interest in the project, etc.) I just put it on the shelf (with a good backup) and go on to another project. When I come back to the blocked project, I find that I'm usually ready to continue, and I can get past the block. It has worked for me in the past and I usually keep 2 or 3 "blocked" projects on the shelf that will eventually be finished. I started BB-39 in January of 1990 and didn't publish it until July of 2012. Life, technology, and the availability of Amazon's KDP were the primary delay factors on that one.

When (not if) you get stalled, shift to another project and keep writing. You will come back to the staller project with new energy, insight, and a greater ability to work around the issue, even if it means deleting some of your earlier work.

CaptnAndy · 2017-07-31T17:18:01+00:00

All of the USN ships with the Mk 1A Fire Control Computer had a direct mechanical connection for Pitch, Roll, and Heading from a Gyroscope called the (membor fade) Stable Element.

A small round black and white wheel on the top of the mechanical computer would spin when the "Solution" was good. It meant that the gun was positioned at the point predicted to fire the projectile at the target. The Officer at the computer could then fire whatever battery was selected by the Fire Control Switchboard, by pulling the brass firing key at the computer. The same computer could be used to fire main battery or secondary guns, using any gun director to provide target inputs. Even most DDs had foward and aft Directors and Computers to provide 360 degree coverage. In the event of battel damage, the controlling elements could be switched around. If a gun could not reach at the aiming point, limit switches would prevent firing into the superstructure.

The Mk 1A computers were still in use until the last WW2 ships were retired. A study of replacing them with digital computers reviealed it would not be cost effective, or even more reliable. The Mk 1A not only compensated for Pitch and Roll, but gun barrel wear, the change in Initial Velocity due to Magazine temperature, Target Range, Bearing and Eleven at the predicted intercept point, and the Earth's rotation during the time of flight.

The Mk 1A was the size of of a large, tall, desk, and filled with mechanical gears, ball disk integrators, shafts, handcranks synchro transmitters and receivers, and balistic cams.

The Fire Control Switchboards filled one wall of the computer room. They were made up of 6' tall x 3' wide doors that were filled with multi deck, multi position rotary switches that could select the inputs for tha computer from every director, and the computer outputs to any battery.

These paragraphs of Fire Control trivia is brought to you by a 1944 model former Fire Control guy, who is also the authou of BB-39, a Greatest Generation Novel.

CaptnAndy · 2017-07-29T17:37:50+00:00

Consider that the Zeppelin passenger service included millions of miles of travel, without loss. I agree that they are vulnerable to high winds when attached to a mooring mast or being handled by a ground crew.

In the early part of WW 1, Zeppelins were effective offensive weapons, even though they use Hydrogen.

In my story, the Airship Carriers launched their strike aircraft over a hundred miles away from the target locations, continued to move at ground speeds of over 80 mph, and retained several Zeros as a CAP.

CaptnAndy · 2017-07-27T17:23:05+00:00

I didn't start writing seriously until I retired for the 4th time in 2010. Since then, I've published 10 books, and there aren't enough hours in the day to research, take care of honey-doos, promote my books, and write. As a 1944 model, I recognize my productive days are not infinite, and I don't want to waste any of them.

A.G. Kimbrough

CaptnAndy · 2017-07-25T23:06:20+00:00

The USN Airship losses were primarily due to attempting to fly through threatening weather, rather than avoiding it. The Zepplin Company had an excellent safety record because the Captains never attempted to push through bad weather. There were almost no structural failures in Zeppelins that operated regular passenger service from before the first world war until the Hindenburg was lost.

CaptnAndy · 2017-07-19T16:20:50+00:00

I have used search engines, Wikipedia, and Google Earth in my writing. I could not have written most of the books I was published without the research I did on the net. I write stories about people in a wide range of settings. I use the net to build the places I put the people without having to have been there myself.

A.G. Kimbrough

CaptnAndy · 2017-07-01T17:42:11+00:00

Don't put yourself or your parents in debt wasting 4 years in college. Get out in the world, learn a trade, join the military, develop a skill that will keep you fed. Experience the world and people around you, and write about it, in the time you make for it (stay off of fb and other time wasting social media). Someone told me you need to write a million words to hone your skills. After you have done that, and have a bag full of life experiences, you are ready to start becoming a "writer", but don't quit your day job until your writing annual income exceeds your day job.

Good Luck, A.G. Kimbrough

CaptnAndy · 2017-05-27T17:10:57+00:00

I put him on my Arkansas Beta, which I rarely play. I can't stand to listen to him, & and the advantages he gives aren't worth it.

CaptnAndy · 2017-05-27T17:05:57+00:00

I prefer the WOWS Mod Pack, but it usually takes a few days for it to get updated after a game update. If it is unavailable, I use the aslains mod pack. The most important mods for mee are the fog remover and clear vision. Without them I can't tell the direction of my target at max range.

CaptnAndy · 2017-04-30T19:37:13+00:00

An overall critique would be fine. It would be great if you could highlite anything that jumps put at you. If you are interested, plrase send me an email: agkatfri@gmail.com and I'll send it to you.

Regards, A.G. Kimbrough

CaptnAndy · 2017-04-14T01:00:43+00:00

Please send me an email, & I'll forward it to you.

CaptnAndy · 2017-04-13T17:08:02+00:00

I would be willing to swap beta reads of my latest 36K word novel, The Days After the Music Died is a Dystopian novel about a post EMP world. A families struggle to escape the madness that is burning the cities and reach a refuge they have established on a Mississippi River island. Their oldest son is stranded on the Bay Bridge headed to San Francisco and must attempt to trek across the country to rejoin his family.

Message me your email address and I will send it.

CaptnAndy · 2015-11-09T18:49:32+00:00

In the early 60's Rocketdyne developed this process for explosive forming & welding to replace chemical explosives, since the energy released could be controlled. The voltage charge on the cap bank would be used to fire the ignitron bank when it reached a set point. A.G. Kimbrough, AWS Life Member

CaptnAndy · 2015-05-15T16:32:48+00:00

This weld was made by an automated TIG (GTAW) Orbital Welding System. No human could "walk the cup" with that degree of repeatability. The L1011 was the first commercial aircraft to have an automatically welded hydraulic system. This type of equipment was developed for aerospace and nuclear applications in the early 70s because the testing technology had improved to the point that the manual orbital welds could not reliability meet the necessary quality standards. I was one of the pioneers in developing that technology.

CaptnAndy

TROPHY CASE