Sitrep

Well!
    I'm enjoying the odd weather... well mostly. I love rain, and getting it is what Socal needs desperately. Getting it as thundershowers though... and down here... not so much. I'm not thrilled about the muggy humidity, but I love the rain. Just love it.
Except when it comes with lightning and I have to shut my PC down. Just in case. :P

   Anyway... I followed Rick's advice and reshot the cover of Stepping Stones. In so doing it messed my PC up. (I'm to lazy to see if I mentioned that before) I ended up replacing my liquid cooling with a much more powerful set up (H100i which has my CPU at 8C right now!!!) as well as a new graphics card and 16 gig of 1866mhz memory. Very cool. So my PC is now ever so slightly faster... and a lot more cooler.
It rendered the new scene components without breaking a sweat or setting an alarm off. Very nice.

   Here we are tighter in on the action. You can't see as much of the habitat as I had intended, but it has some nicer action. Even if you can see Giz's booty a little too well. Oh well. LOL

   The betas are still working on Stepping Stones... I haven't heard a sitrep from them in a week. From what I understand, life keeps getting in the way so it is plodding along. :)

   In other news, the family has gone off on their cruise (I don't do vacations. I haven't had one in 25+ years. My 'time off' is when they all go and get out of my hair so I can work in peace and quiet. Besides, I have the cats.) I have been plugging away at The First A.I. War  pretty well. I've gotten the first 10 chapters roughed out. It's looking like it is going to be a bigger book than the anthology. (Which is what I wanted) Chapter 12 is done, 11 I'm tripping over, 14 is half done, and there are tons of material tucked into the other chapters and acts. 156 pages so far. With the weather the way it is, it is tough to get my 10 pages a day in. (and I am super sticky right now, which isn't fun) I will hopefully get the majority of the book finished before the family returns. (Fingers crossed)

   Speaking of storm... when it really hit yesterday I shut down early and broke out Tin Men by Christopher Golden. (I love to read when it rains out) I devoured it before bedtime. It is an... interesting book and close to what I'm working on, so it keeps me in the mindset. A bit one dimensional on combat, (focusing on the robots without considering intel, UAV's fighters, or other things) myoptic on a few things, (really? a plutonium powered soldier running around in the middle east? You think this is a good thing??)  but it had some really good action sequences. Some good character development, and a couple good twists. I like that he pointed out that America acting as a self appointed sheriff hell bent on keeping the peace would backfire. The breakdown of civilization... not bad though I've got plenty of questions on it. (for instance, why doesn't anyone else try to figure out a way to fix things??) It is also set up for a sequel.
   If we get more rain (they are predicting it for the afternoon) today and tomorrow (yeah!) I'll try to get my 10 in beforehand then shut down for another book or 2. Or catch up on The Last Ship and Falling Skies. Or watch Ex Machina or Chappie or Hurlock.... :)

 

I hope everyone else is having a fun summer!

   EDIT: PS, I forgot to mention something. For those of you wondering about Lil Red, she is okay. She's blond now, with a red streak down her back. She is finally growing, which is a good thing... except when she tackles the boys. lol 

    We tried to get her fixed again (for the 4rth time)... even while she was in heat. The vet kicked her back to us 6 hours later without doing the procedure. Supposedly she had a minor sinus infection? She passed her preop just fine but they found mucus in her tube when they hooked her up. She's fine, but dad left me with a horny, frisky, SHAVED, blond pussy running around the house.

 

Why couldn't it have been of the human variety???

-and now you know why I'm single. lol

171 pages, time to keep trucking! Woot Woot!!