Thoughts on Last Week

 Pick up a copy of Outbreak: Boston for your Amazon Kindle here!

And the sequel, Outbreak: Brave New World is available now!

So for like the six of you that didn't hear, a couple cheesedicks apparently decided to blow up a bunch of innocent people at the Boston Marathon last week. The whole last week or so has seemed just plain disorientating. The whole mess was just so close to what I was seeing in my head while I was writing that it was kinda hard to tell if I was just imagining the entire thing.  Never mind the screaming and chaos and such being played over and over again on the news but everything after that.
Did anybody ever think that you'd ever see an entire city locked down? That there'd be American police pulling innocent American citizens out of their homes at gunpoint as you can see here? Am I the only one who's seen something like that before? Did anybody ever DREAM that we'd actually hear politicians arguing over reading an American citizen his Miranda rights? That there'd be a debate as to the American government branding a criminal suspect an 'enemy combatant' and disappearing his ass into a military prison someplace most likely never to be heard from again? That there'd be some pretty serious bad guys popping in for a visit on our President...some more? There's so much going on that the mainstream media isn't saying or inconsistencies in the story being put out too. Really too much to go into here. Again I always say don't believe me go on and do your own research. Suspects getting slipped out of the country. The suspected bomber's mom giving two completely different stories depending on where you get the information. 

And a part of me can't help but get a little freaked as I thought I was exaggerating a little bit as to how bad things could get. Now I'm not so sure. I mean...after watching what went down in Boston last week I can't help but really see things getting as crazy as they do in my book. I couldn't really imagine my government turning the police and military loose on its own citizens like that. Now? Now I'm really not so sure.
I also never thought that I'd see Senator Rand Paul actually have to filibuster for over thirteen hours to get an answer to a simple question as to wither or not my government would violently reduce it's own citizens to their component parts with a Hellfire missile without so much as a trial. And more chillingly, the answer he got was some kind of mealy mouthed mishmash instead of a simple 'No' like he should have gotten. I mean...God Almighty shitfire is this what we've come to? 

And it isn't like those missiles are as selective as they make out either. They tend to not only kill the guy that they mean to hit but anybody else that happens to be around them too. I just plain can't believe that I'd ever actually hear or see any of this stuff that's gone on in the past week or two would ever happen. I can't be the only one who can't help but wonder if the world's gone mad (or madder than usual, anyways). 

Well...I guess that's all I've got for right now. Thanks for checking out the blog and if you've got a $1.50 USD to spare, click on the link at the top of the post and get a copy of my book for your Kindle. There'll be a sequel out soon and also look up Outbreak: Boston on Facebook and give the book's page a like. Thanks!

The Importance of Water

Get my ebook Outbreak: Boston for the Kindle here!

Hey folks! How's things? So first thing's first. Been busy teaching myself to use Photoshop (badly) and finally got around to issuing a new version of Outbreak: Boston now with 100% more cover art. It's been surprisingly easy to figure it out. Then again, it's not like I was doing anything that complex so I guess there's that. Thanks again to everybody who's bought the book so far.
The second book will be out soon, probably another week or two. I dunno because of the various jobs getting in the way. I've been kinda making myself take it easy the past few days (turns out working 12-16 hours a day 5 to 6 days a week for months is really not good for you). Of course I barely noticed because I love what I do even if it doesn't pay that well...

Oh! I'm also thinking of putting together a few short stories just for something to do after I finish the second book. It would be basically sort of a prequel to the series (don't roll your eyes at me. It'd be way better than the forcible bowel scraping that the Star Wars prequels were). I thought it'd be kinda neat to show you guys who these people were before their world got pulled apart by a bunch of miserable toxic zombie bastards. Anyways, thought I'd also smack you guys in the brain meats with some handy information in the event of zombie attack (or natural disaster or whatever): how to sanitize water.
Clean drinking water is one of the most important things you need to keep you alive. It's not that hard to get a clean supply of water. The first thing you can do if you have warning is fill your bathtub and  sinks with tap water. Then dig out every clean sanitized milk jug or really anything with a number 2 in the recycling triangle thing on it and fill those. Remember time may be limited before the water coming from your tap might be unsafe so don't wait or if you're in a group give this job to somebody.
So now you've hopefully got a pretty good supply of water but you may not be able to stay in your home so here's a couple things you can do in a pinch. Of course, bottled water is the best but if you can't find any these are some ways you can get hydration.
REMEMBER RUNNING WATER LIKE STREAMS OR RIVERS ARE JUST AS LIKELY TO BE BIOLOGICALLY CONTAMINATED AS STANDING WATER LIKE LAKES AND PONDS. DO NOT DRINK WATER DIRECTLY FROM ANY SOURCE NO MATTER HOW CLEAN IT LOOKS. DON'T USE UNTREATED WATER FOR COOKING, DRINKING OR BRUSHING YOUR TEETH!! SHITTING YOUR GUTS OUT IS A REALLY, REALLY EMBARRASSING WAY TO DIE!!
1. Use a piece of fabric as an impromptu water filter. Take two containers (one for clean water and the other filled from your dodgy source) and hold the CLEAN fabric (a clean tee shirt or the like will work fine) over the container where your clean water will go. This will take care of most of the big, obvious stuff you don't want like insects and such. THERE STILL MAY BE DISEASES IN THE WATER. TAKING WATER FROM A RIVER OR OTHER RUNNING SOURCE IS NO LESS BIOLOGICALLY SAFE THAN POND OR LAKE WATER!!
2. If you have time and your water is in a clear container, expose it to direct sunlight for TWENTY FOUR (24) hours. The ultraviolet light of the sun will kill any bacteria living in the water.
3. Of course you can always boil the water if you have time and access to the necessary heat source and pot or pan or whatever.
4. There are water purification tablets you can use. Be sure to read and follow the manufacturers instructions.
5. You can actually use household plain UNSCENTED bleach to purify water if you use the proper ratio.

EIGHT DROPS (1/8th of a teaspoon) PER GALLON OF WATER 

Once you add the bleach, shake it up and let it stand for THIRTY (30) MINUTES.
Remember to store all disinfected water in CLEAN and SEALED containers with LIDS. Screw caps on tight and try to keep them off the floor in case your area gets flooded. A good investment, if you don't have one, is a good quality drinking straw that has a built in filter as well as a Camelbak. It keeps your hands free so you can climb or run or whatever you need to do and you can carry a whole mess of water on your person. 

Anyways, that's all I got for now. Again, thanks for reading the blog and check out Outbreak: Boston's Facebook page. I post more on there than on here. Also there will be fun little things popping up on the Facebook page as well. If you haven't already click on the link at the top of the post to pop over to Amazon and pick up a copy of Outbreak: Boston for your Kindle. It's only a $1.50 USD so it's a pretty good deal for the amount of entertainment it gives you. See ya!