Tunnel in the Sky by Robert Heinlein - Book Review

Title: Tunnel in the Sky
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Pages: 262
Publisher: Pocket Books (New York), 1955

Robert Heinlein's ninth juvenile, Tunnel in the Sky proposed another alternative for space travel: energy tunnels.  At the time science fiction writers loved the idea of someone coming along and taking Einstein's theories and standing them on their head and Heinlein was no exception to this.  The idea of using energy gates to move without moving became a big hit for many authors.

Like all of Heinlein's juveniles it is a coming of age story concerning Robert Walker a senior in high school who is taking his final in Advanced Survival where the school drops participants off on a semi-hostile world and expects the students to survive for seven to ten days.  In this particular case a planet in a different part of the galaxy.  Robert soon finds himself along with his classmates and others from other schools, including college students, trapped on this world with no expectation of recovery.  What follows is a tale of survival, primitive society and human beings overcoming great challenges to create a small civilization.  After a couple years, the group is rescued and the greatest choice Robert has to make is to stay or leave.

Technologically, the book is a contrast between the great advances in technology that make such trips possible and the primitive technology of a colony of young people stuck on a world with no support where everything requires great effort to create and maintain. 

Sociologically, Heinlein begins to hint at the difficulties of governments that become too bureaucratic, how primitive societies evolve and the necessity of freedom for survival. There are other elements as he hints at sex for the first time with older kids getting married and needing honeymoon cottages as well as making a little light fun at how much resources it would take to make clothing that could be put to other uses.  Scribner's (the first publisher Heinlein worked with) did not seem to have problems with this one, although it was at this time Heinlein expressed his grief over having to work with them.

Stylistically, this is one of his better juveniles as it has some great descriptive language and yet is a pretty straightforward story.  Not to say it does not have any plot twists or turns, it does and they are brilliant.  Heinlein's characters are realistic as always,  They argue, make fun of each other and have joy and sadness.  We see another strong female character in this book but in the end the 1950s chivalry wins out a lot.

Rating: 3 and a half stars.  A good simple story that addresses some basic issues of survival on an alien world.  It has a good central character and some entertaining stuff.  Not one of Heinlein's best, but I would say a good read.

Two New URLs and Writing Fatigue

I love beagle pups and this one illustrates my dilemma so well.  Plus this one is so dog gone cute.

Just to let everyone know.  I started the process of getting real URLs for two of my blogs. 

rabydtheologian2.com for Rabyd Theologian 2.0

and

opentheism.net for Open Theism

Sometime in the near future both will be fully registered and take off.  I am still using Blogger.com for my format so you won't see any difference cosmetically (for now) just the new URLs.  I am hoping this will help them both take off better. 

I haven't written on anything much (here is where the beagle comes in), since getting back from Romania I have had sort of a writer's fatigue.  I love writing but there is a mental tiredness that keeps me from jumping off the barrel.  That and what I need to do next is a bigger jump than I have done before.  Being a writer is a job I love, but like exercise you have to have the juice to do it.  The new URLs should help get me kick started.

Blog Predicitons

I have been thinking long and hard about my blogging future and the more I look at it ans study it, I began to realize that success is more a measure of hard work and being innovative than anything else.

When I get back from Romania at the end of the month one of the first things I will pursue is getting URLs for each blog.  Once that happens there are other steps to follow but the basic idea is I will get more looks and that is the main goal.  Each blog though has its own uniqueness which will determine its own success level.

The Rabyd Theologian 2.0 - by far this is my favorite blog and the most freewheeling.  it is a theological opinion blog with series of posts on different topics that involve the Bible and life.  Since pulling my book and magazine reviews though the number of hits has dropped and the unfortunate thing is that one post has been driving the number of hits.  That post has started to fall.  Despite this I have high hopes for it.  No topic being safe or sacred means some controversial stuff gets written so it might do well.

The Temple Builder for Christ - this one is about my own personal quest in bodybuilding.  In large part this is to keep my self accountable, but it might make some money in the fact I do review bodybuilding magazines that get hits. As I look more and more the part and talk about the spiritual side of bodybuilding I think that will generate some interest as well.  As I am more successful in my quest, the blog will be more successful.

Open Theism - Actually of all my blogs I have the highest hopes for this one.  Open theism is a controversial way of looking at God's foreknowledge and providence and as such will get some attention both up and down.  That being said, that means a solid blog with a good niche.

Rabyd Reader -  the blog you are reading is about books and writing when you break it down.  It is one of those blog where I think time will be on its side.  The more reviews get written the more hits it will get.  I debate whether I should make this exclusively about me and my views on these topics or make it a group project with multiple contributors.

I have one more blog in the works and its' content will remain secret until revealed.  I am planning on using a different format (probably Wordpress).  This is mostly because I want to see what the advantages are for a different format and if Wordpress will work better for what I want to do.

I like this blogging thing.  It's fun and fits my writing style better than most others.  I want to see all my 'children' succeed but you have better feelings about some than others.

The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley

The Millionaire Mind

Title: The Millionaire Mind
Author: Thomas Stanley
Pages: 406
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (New York), 2001

Having read The Millionaire Next Door I was looking forward to this book as hopefully some more detailed information on how the mind of a millionaire works and if it is possible to adopt the mentality of a millionaire.  Thomas Stanley offers up 406 pages of information, facts and conclusions about how the millionaire mind works.

The book is basically a list of success factors that make up the difference between millionaires and most other people.  It includes such things as their education, courage, vocational choice, choice of spouse, being economically productive, home life and lifestyle.  Every single one of these flies in the face of modern convention and stereotypes.  The millionaire is not only different in how he lives but also in how he thinks.

The book is loaded with facts, charts, information and stories.  The style is straightforward and informative.  There is definitely an attempt to pass on the mind of the millionaire to the reader.  Ultimately the picture is one of a person who is courageous enough to take calculated risks, but humble enough to do what it takes to be successful.

If there is a weakness it is the length of the book, the content is definitely worth the read but it takes time.  You have to be really interested in changing your mindset to really take advantage of this book as well. 

Rating: Three and three quarter stars.  This is a solid book that meets its objectives. It is well researched and does the one thing that a book of this kind should do, it makes you think.  It looses some points for length and readability at times.

My Business of Writing

Today I was reflecting as a reader and writer how much the business of writing has changed over the years.  When I was a kid, we had books, magazines and other periodicals.  In all those cases, the main way you made money at it was to type something, send it to the publisher in questions and wait for a reply.  Payment was either a flat fee or per copy sold compensation.  Sometimes people got paid per word.  It was really though, a business based on the publishers controlling what they wanted to print.

Today that has all changed, now anything, and I mean anything can be printed or more accurately posted and if it gets popular enough it will make money.  Thank you Internet.  I suppose the downside is that writers and the image of writers has changed as well.  The half shaved, half dressed, literary hermit slouching over his typewriter if gone.  Now you really can't stereotype anything about a writer, there are as many types of writers as their are types of blogs. 

What this means is that who gets paid what on the Internet is largely a question of doing the right things to get attention and different readers.  Getting enough attention generates ads and advertising.  Being at the top when a search engine looks for your topic is what you want. 

For me this has caused me to give another look at my whole writing career.  People tell me all the time 'write a book' but is that really where the money is at anymore?  How about this start writing a blog, get a big audience that generates you income and then keep doing it.  Unlike a book that sells well for a time then drops down to find its way to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, a blog can stay current and keep making more and more money.

So here I am with four blogs and plans for a fifth when I get back from Romania.   Goal to build a following on all of them as large as possible and then hold them for as long as I can.  Sounds simple, but the work is in the executing of this plan. 

Is a book still in my future?  Most likely, but that also means that a new order of ebooks has arisen as well as traditional paper books.  My guess is an ebook is better for the publisher as they only have to give out as many copies as readers request.  No leftovers to sell to the wholesalers.  Means that if I ever write a book I want to keep my royalty rights on a ebook copies. 

The thing is to keep writing, keep connecting and never quit.  What happens is really in the hands of what people want to read.   

Kindle - First Impressions

Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers

Well I got my Kindle yesterday.  This a a purchase I have been wanting to make for a long time and now that it is here I have some first impressions.  I like it: There are two major motivations for making this purchase: size and money. 

I am going on a Romania Trip in less than a couple weeks and during travel there is something I expect -- hurry up and wait.  I like to read, in fact some would say book addict (I can quit at anytime, no really!) but to take a lot of books on this trip would mean one thing - heavy backpack.  Today I put 70+ books and works on this thing and you know what -- it still weighs the same.

Those 70+ books also had another redeeming quality, 50 of them came in a collection that cost little and most of the rest were free.  Total cost" $10. If I had to buy all of them as real books -- yeah it would have cost much more.  I got my New American Standard Bible today too.    

I have noticed something about the free books.  They seem to come in three different types: classics, junk that no one wants anymore or erotica.  It simply means that it is going to take knowing what your looking for, but even newer stuff is cheaper on kindle. There are also some applications that might be helpful.  

All in all I am not disappointed, I will probably due a full review in a couple months.    

Time: The Blogger's Most Precious Resource

Time is the most valuable commodity on the planet for two reasons:  1) you can never get it back if you waste it and 2) You do not know how much you have left.  It is this unknown factor that makes time something that has great value so learn to value it and use it with purpose.

For the blogger or another type of writer, time is something we usually don't have much of as we sit down to write.  We all have stuff to do, but taking the time to blog each day is difficult and often hard to find.  Really if you think something is important though you make time for it.  Blogging is no different, I make time for it at some point every day.  The challenge is to writing well with limited time.

I am no expert on this but I have learned a little about the management of time and blogging:

1. Make sure you remind yourself how important blogging is to you -- you will make time for what you consider important.

2. Learn the word 'No' when dealing with people who want you involved in something that will not further your personal goals.  Time stealers are not your friends, they are thieves.

3. Have a notebook or some other way of recording ideas and outlines with you at all times.  That way when you are inspired you can jot it down quick and then when you write later, things will go faster.

4. Do not blog based on feelings.  Set a time for it and write.  If you think your post will be crap rewrite it and publish it, but don't come away from a set blogging time without publishing something otherwise you have wasted your time.

5. Write well but don't be a perfectionist.  There is no such thing as a perfect post.

6. Set a time to write and stick with it.

7. Do not be a blog hermit.  Get away from writing from time to time.  Overwork can rob you of creativity.  Sometimes the best use of your time is just to have fun and do something else you enjoy.

There are probably a lot more things that could be added and if you know some comment away on them.  This is what I have so far and it works for me.