Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Planet Lava

Welcome wild readers. Thanks for being here.

After a few days off I’ve been reflecting on my life on planet Kusha. What a lovely world I live on. I hear that Earth has become a wonderful place but I have not been there. Any readers care to share their Earthly experiences in the comments?

Having grown up on Planet Harappa I understand that not all worlds are created equal.

Planet Lava is a fine example of a world you would not necessarily choose to live on. I haven’t been there either but I have spent some time discussing the world with Max Gavaskar. She spent a year there when she was a young woman, before she became known as the Mother of the Galaxy. Until her health became a problem she visited there regularly and still maintains several friendships with Lavans.

For those who do not know much of the world, it is known as the world tipped on its side. The south pole of Lava points almost directly to the world’s sun.

The northern hemisphere is perpetually frozen and the southern half of the planet too hot to live there. But, there is a livable belt around the equator. Just south of the rain belt it is quite comfortable.

With the collapse of the SID after the Galactic War the Lavan peoples were finally allowed to have a say in how the world was run. A new democratic government formed after a few years of conflict. Several groups tried to exert their influence of that of their rivals.

It is not a heavily populated world. The ice mining programs have stopped. Max Gavaskar herself played a part in that. It was her calculations that showed that the program would never have the impact on planetary climate that the SID had hoped. There are less than a half a million people living there.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Finding Planet Harappa

Welcome terrific readers. Thanks for being here.

Life on planet Kusha is a sweet endeavor. Having grown up on planet Harappa helps one appreciate living on the garden world.

Marcus Johnson, known as the founder on Harappa and the Messiah of the Greenies on Earth found planet Harappa as part of a survey while he was building his starship the Arc of the Millenium.

Planet detection systems were still fairly primitive back then and when he and his followers left Earth for the new homeworld they only had an inkling about the true nature of the planet.

I suppose, coming from Earth, that Harappa was a bit of a disappointment. Much of the world was too hot to be comfortably occupied. The Great River Valley was temperate enough but any closer to the equator would make life difficult or at least uncomfortable for humans. 

The grand oceans of the world were filled with a green algae that was edible and high in protein. It was just a matter of getting past the smell. I’ve given up the stuff but some older Harappans still have a bowl of it for breakfast. Me? I’m someone who likes to look forward. I’ve moved on from Harappan cuisine.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The beginning of the story.

Welcome marvelous readers. Thanks for being here.

It’s been good to take a little break. Ina and I spent a few days up on Founder Lake, near the Gavaskar Hills. It’s a lovely spot, but then most places on Planet Kusha are lovely.

I am indeed fortunate to be living on The Garden World. It was a long and winding tale that led this Harappan mountain man to live on the Milky Way’s most beautiful world.

For those of you who are new to the blog let me offer a little introduction. My name is Philip Normer and I grew up on planet Harappa in the White Mountains among the Clan. We were hunter / gatherers and traded hides, meat and crafts with the people in the low lands, notably the town of Sandon.

I grew up believing that we were the only humans in the universe. We lived with a myth that we came from a world of gods. These gods had become too powerful and they destroyed their world. Our Founder, Marcus Johnson had escaped and settled here with us. 

Then, two hundred years later, humans from planet Earth showed up and everything changed.

The Earthers came for the illumaphane, the exotic mineral that fueled their space ships. In the fight for this the Earthers blew up a huge vein of the stuff and that knocked my homeworld off its orbit.

Harappa is now spiraling towards its sun and I and most other Harappans now live on Kusha thanks to my friend Dorian Thain who negotiated with the SID (the Science and Industry Division) for us to take possession of the newly discovered world.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Happy Al Davis' Birthday

Welcome brave readers. Thanks for being here.

Happy Independence Day and Al Davis' birthday.

See you next week with more tales from planet Kusha and the life of Max Gavaskar.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.
Earth year 2014

Bubba the Science Fan: Russian space suits and fine art.

Welcome brave readers. Thanks for being here.

Philip the Bard returns next week with tales of Max Gavaskar and her life. This week I’m sharing memories from the Evolution Expo just held in Oakland California.

If you are interested in science and science fiction you must go to this event! I’ve been to just a few conventions and this was a cut above the rest. There are rumors of some very interesting science people for next year and the celebrities all have a great time and many are expected back. I’d look for some new names as well.

The promoters did such a fine job, all the little details were handled and handled with poise and class. The staff was well informed and helpful.

There were some quality art on display and very fun vendors. Certainly the usual memorabilia was available but there was fine jewelry, some with a sci fi theme but some was just fine crafting. Several artists were there, and the Chabot Science center had several displays.

There was an inflatable planetarium, several displays explaining various things about living in space. One display I found fascinating was a relatively current Russian space suit.

As a young man in the U.S.A.F. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to watch an SR-71 crew suit up. They wore suits similar to the Gemini  suits. Getting in them was a complicated affair involving locking together several suit pieces with precise metal seals and each joint.

The Russian suit, however, is a little more low tech. You back into the one piece suit through a large fold of material. When you have finally wiggled into the thing you are left with a garbage baggie’s worth of loose, tightly woven nylon. Take this loose material and twist it together (much like a garbage baggie), tie it off and sip up the outer shell.

Does it make a perfect seal? No!

What it does do is hold long enough to, hopefully, get you to safety.

Tomorrow I’ll share my final notes from the Evolution Expo.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Bubba the Science Fan's Science Blog: What I learned about Mars.

Welcome fine readers. Thanks for being here.

Philip the Bard will return next week with tales of Max Gavaskar and her world. This week we are discussing the Evolution Expo, just held in Oakland California.

I’ve been mentioning how much I enjoyed rubbing shoulders with celebrities from TV, the movies and science but the expo wasn’t all about parties. I was fortunate enough to make it to several lectures on science.

Several of the scientists there were working heavily on Mars. I think most laymen who think about man’s future in space think Mars would be our most likely candidate for colonization. I’ve kind of leaned that way my self. Not so fast.

There are some huge problems with trying to live on Mars. First of all the red soil is highly acidic. Sure, we can go there and build settlements but anything we build will most likely corrode within a couple of years or sooner. Seals will break down and fail. Maintaining a clean environment will be almost impossible. Until we solve this issue our visits to Mars will have to be held to a matter of days or weeks.

I think I’ll take a pass on Mars One. 

What if we terraformed the planet? It is looking like there is enough water there that we could indeed create an atmosphere that would be breathable and could sustain life. However, Mars doesn’t have the mass or the magnetic field to hold on to an atmosphere for very long. We could possibly make Mars comfortable but it would only last for a couple of hundred years.

One well known scientist I spoke with, Pascal Lee, said he believes we’ll colonize a planet about another star before we live permanently on Mars.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

All this week: Notes from the Evolution Expo

Welcome smart readers. Thanks for being here.

Philip the Bard will return next week, this week I will share some of the things I learned at the Evolution Expo last week. 

What a fantastic event!!! I had the bast time of my life, and as a hedonist I’ve had some pretty great times. I’m not normally the most outgoing person. Like many writers I am more of an observer. Not last week. There were so many opportunities to meet and greet smart, funny, fascinating, beautiful people that I was out there all day and night. Up till the wee hours drinking scotch with astronauts and movie stars.

I know the attendance was not quite as large as the promoters had wished for this, their first year, and perhaps that made the event a little more casual and intimate. I am going to do what I can to urge people to go next year. I think the concept is brilliant and the people running this show are top notch. This was a classy event.

The concept of this Expo that lifts it above the common sci fi con is mixing real science with the sci fi. Science fiction has long been an inspiration fro scientists. Many of our latest discoveries started as an idea in a science fiction story. Many of our scientists were inspired as young people to pursue science because of great science fiction. And, I learned this week that many of our best scientists still draw inspiration from speculative fiction.

The other thing I learned this weekend was that the artists and entertainers who participate in the science fiction many of us love so much are bright, funny, smart and very real. Many of them are fans just like the rest of us.

I’m not going to let any cats out of any bags but there are rumors of some big names in science and entertainment for NEXT year. Keep your eyes on the Evolution Expo web site for information and mark your calendars for next years event!

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Who is tearing holes in the Gavaskar Field

. . .

 and why does it matter to me?

The Gavaskar trilogy encompasses the extraordinary life of Melanie Gavaskar as she transforms through time and experience from a young physics student to

 "The Mother of the Galaxy". 

She begins as a naive, but brilliant young woman who is forced to flee her planet when she discovers a dark government secret. As a fugitive hiding from the government, she must learn to adapt to each new situation and gather friends whom she can trust. Political intrigue and adventure, heros and villains, make this journey a thrilling fantasy to immerse oneself in, with an ending that is both dramatic and uplifting.

The Gavaskar Trilogy

The Gavaskar Field

Kusha

The Mother of the Galaxy

Available on Amazon as ebook or paperback.

Read it today!