» On 8/12/2014 04:45:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Rolling thunder redux. 

We've been listening to the sound of rolling thunder for about 20 minutes. It's so cool! The Internet says this rare phenomenon can come only from an elevated thunderstorm, which draws its instability from a higher-than-normal altitude storm. The cloud-to-cloud lightning strikes are longer, which means the thunder lasts longer and rolls into a more-or-less continuous rumble. It's not the sharp crack that you hear from a cloud-to-ground strike in a surface-based thunderstorm.

Previous: Rolling thunder + Lightshow.

 
» On 8/04/2014 07:35:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Beat The Reaper! 

To commemorate the arrival of Ebola on our shores, here's a little something from 1968, created by the Firesign Theater:

GAME SHOW HOST: He's coming around, folks! He's gonna be okay and ready to play Symptom Six of BEEEEEEEAT THE REAPER! [organ music and applause]
ANNOUNCER [hushed tones]: Last week, our Patient successfully survived the common cold, measles, pneumonia, dengue fever and the yaws.
HOST: And now, the big question: are you ready to go up?
PATIENT [delirious]: Wha...where...?
HOST: He's ready! [organ music and applause]
ANNOUNCER [hushed tones]: And now, our topless nurse Judy is wheeling our Patient into the isolation ward.
HOST: Can you hear me in there? Okay, let's shoot him up. [sound of hypodermic needle] Now Patient, you have ten seconds to tell us what you've got, and BEAT THE REAPER! [clock ticking]
PATIENT [delirious]: I... I'm shaking... feverish... my hands are all... I'm turning yellow... my God, I've got jaundice!
HOST: Jaundice it is! Give him the antidote, Judy. [organ music and applause] Well, that's Symptom Six. And now, you've reached the final threshold. Here's the question: are you ready for Symptom Number Seven, longer than any Patient has ever survived before?
PATIENT [delirious]: I want to go home.
HOST: Only one way to do that. Doctor, bring in the super shot.
ANNOUNCER [hushed tones]: Now, for the first time on Beat The Reaper, we're going for the big disease! The icebox is being unlocked by the president of the Armenian Medical Association, under whose strict supervision these toxins are being administered.
PATIENT [delirious]: Ah...
HOST: This is it! Doctor, give him that really big disease! [sound of hypodermic needle] Now Patient, can you hear me? You've got ten seconds to tell us what you've got, and for the last time, BEAT THE REAPER! [clock ticking]
PATIENT [coughing]: I feel... I think I feel... I don't know... whatever it is, I want to die! [clock stops, buzzer sounds]
HOST: Oh, I'm terribly sorry, that's not correct. You didn't Beat The Reaper. Doctor, bring the Patient out and show the amphitheater audience, and all the folks at home, just what he's contracted.
DOCTOR: According to my careful prosthesis, this man has The Plague.
HOST: Thank you, Doctor!
DOCTOR: You're welcome.
HOST: You've got The Plague. [organ music and applause] Well, isn't he a good sport, folks? We'll be back in just a moment with our next patient, but first...
AUDIENCE: The Plague! He's got THE PLAGUE!! [pandemonium and contagion ensue]
Bring Out Your Dead!

 
» On 8/01/2014 12:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Free eBook! 

The Kindle version of my facebookworm book will be free today, 8/1, for 1 day only.

Free reading apps for iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, etc.:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000493771

Enjoy!

PS: [Hint] Click "Buy now with 1-Click" for $0.00, not "Read for Free" with Kindle Unlimited. Unless you've already paid for Kindle Unlimited, in which case you can do whatever the heck you feel like doing. :-)

Update: During the one-day promotion, a total of 32 units were ordered @ $0.00, which placed the eBook at Number One on the Amazon Best Sellers in Screenwriting (Free) List. Overall Amazon Best Sellers Rank of #5,993 Free in Kindle Store, with #3 in Movies and #93 in Entertainment. Thanks for your interest! If you like it, please consider writing a nice review. If you hate it, well... at least it was free!