"Only Human" On Sale Now

The novella "Only Human" is now available at Lulu.com both as a paperback and digital download.  Packaged with it is three short stories exploring the future of Elizabeth "Zoey" Walker.

Cost of Living

If you happen to be in the sad business of collecting toys, there are at least two things that constantly distress you: availability and cost. Availability is something that I've had to come to accept since I was ten, but the world is a lot smaller thanks to the Internet. Cost, well, rising costs are with death and taxes.

In this case, let's take Hasbro's G.I. Joe figures.  3-3/4" tall with a variety of accessories depending on the figure.  Average cost $7.99/$8.99. I was looking for the "Renegades" Airtight and the updated Lifeline for the past few months. I found them together, today, at a local Walgreens behind a Rise of Cobra Cobra Commander.  They were 11 something each, still cheaper than buying them on eBay. Bitterly, I bought them. Later, I found out that target is selling their G.I. Joe figures for $10.50. (To put this in perspective, their 12" figures only cost $19.99, close to three times the size of the small ones.)

To get to the point, one could see where cost alone could really discourage a person. I have always told myself that I did this to enjoy my childhood as a hobby, but there's a fine line to obsession. In a materialistic society, we live thinking our privileges are our necessities, and there is no doubt that there are those who take advantage of this.

What if there was a line drawn in the sand, where inflation could no longer be taken with a shrug? What would it take for us to put away our addictions? Take a moment and look at your priorities and see how important they really are.

Or will we always be a society that starves but has great cell coverage?

If Only He Had Superman Socks

Review: Junk (Yard) TARDIS

Doctor Who, the long-running science fiction television series, may not be one to lend itself to the concept of action figures, what with its hero's perchance to talk himself out of situations and only arms himself with a (sonic) screwdriver, but the new lease on life caused by the 2005 series has created many marketing venues, included action figures and play sets.

So, long story short, it's 2011, Matt Smith's second year as the eponymous hero, and "The Doctor's Wife" aired on May 14th. In the episode, the Doctor and Idris build a makeshift TARDIS console out of rubbish TARDISes so that he can chase after his own stolen TARDIS. This "Junk" TARDIS was designed by Susannah Leah, a schoolgirl who won a competition.



On to the actual review, the "Junk" TARDIS console is brought to life with great accuracy. There are little things that I could nit-pick about, but over all I was very impressed with the execution of this set. (The nit-picking would include the cardboard inserts for walls, that look a lot better than expected, and the almost zero paint work.) You can recreate everything that was done in the episode:

- The Doctor inserts the central time rotor (Removable time rotor - Check)
- One-sixth of the console falls out during flight (Removable console piece - Check)
- The console room spins in flight (Ingenious spinning action - Check)

Actually, the most fun you can have with this is that you, like the Doctor, get build the entire set by hand. It's almost a shame that the "Junk" TARDIS was only used for one story, but it was one of the better stories of the season at least. The only other quibble is the price. Roughly, $35 - $40 for a chunk of plastic is a bit harsh. (eBay is a great place to find it cheaper.) If lights and sounds had been added, this set would have been near perfect. It really is something that you have to see yourself to admire.