Howdy!

Things might be looking up.  Or maybe we're actually upside down and we're looking down.  I have no idea.

Will things get to a point where we can... gasp... safely visit friends in family in small to medium groups?  Will the quaran-times endure?  Let's find out with the magic 8 ball.

Me: "Magic 8 ball, when shall the plague at last break?"

(Shaking motion)

Magic 8 ball: "Outlook hazy.  Ask again later."

Me: "Some help you are..."

In all seriousness, find fun and happiness where you can.  Sooner or later, this season shall end.

Ed is one of the main characters in the upcoming "The New Players" novel, Book 3 in the series.  He hails from the advanced and isolated nation of New Grelland, and is the youngest member of a powerful and influential family.

He is gifted with Flames of Tumult that generate within his body, which grant him hyper speed and strength, and the capability to think faster than most computers.  He can also vent the electric fire from his eyes.  He is also a skilled duelist, wielding his deceased mother's sword.

But there are draw backs to this power.  He had to spend a year in sensory deprivation to accustom himself to his enhanced perception of time.  His fellow Grells fear him, seeing an unstable weapon, rather than a person.

All of this was by design, not chance.  His family engineered his lot in life, knowing the consequences it would inflict on him.

They had to.

Corsis always lurks on the periphery.  And the Burnhelt's need every advantage they can get to fight him.  It will not be easy, but Ed has spent his life girding himself for the trials to come.

He does what is hard.

How To by Randall Munroe

XKCD is one of my favorite web comics.  Munroe's prior book, What If, asked absurd questions such as what would happen if the oceans of Earth were transferred to Mars.  This book takes the opposite track by asking sensible questions and providing absurd answers.  One of my favorites is how to throw things.  It eventually devolves into an exercise where quarterbacks are throwing blenders, and singers throwing microwave ovens.  Silly stuff that's absolutely worth a read.

Powers: The Best Ever by Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming

This graphic novel is most likely the conclusion of the Powers saga.  I've been a fan of this comic book since the late 90's.  It's a street level homicide detective story that takes place in an exceptionally violent and unsafe world of superheroes.  One of the detectives, Christian Walker, used to have powers that granted him flight and strength.  But those are gone now, and he is aging.  An old enemy with an old grudge doesn't care.  He will make Walker pay. It's a great send off for the characters of the series.  Really well done.  Check it out.

That's all for this time.

Stay smart.  Stay safe.

Jim