25 May: 145

25 May is the 145^th day of the year. Here are 10 fun facts about the number 145.

1. The Alfa Romeo 145 is a small family car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 1994 and 2000.

2. 145 Adeona is a large Asteroid discovered by C. H. F. Peters in 1875. He named it after Adeona, the Roman goddess of homecoming, because he had recently returned from a journey across the world to observe the transit of Venus.

3. Psalm 145 begins: I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

4. According to Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, Joseph and Rose Kennedy spent their 1914 honeymoon in room 145 of their hotel.

5. London Bus route 145 runs from Dagenham Asda to Leytonstone Station.

6. The 145 is a 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m) two person sailing dinghy with main, jib, spinnaker and trapeze, popular in Australia in the late 20th century.

7. A pleasing progression of chords, as heard in "Cat Empire"'s song 1,4,5. Feelgood and uplifting.

8. The A145 is an A road in Suffolk. It runs from east of the town of Beccles, close to the border with Norfolk, to the village of Blythburgh where it joins the A12.

9. 145th Street is a major crosstown street in Harlem in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It forms the southern border of Jackie Robinson Park.

10. In numerology, 145 energy initiates things. It is independent, self-sufficient and methodical. It likes to explore new things in its own way and in its own time.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

24 May: Brooklyn Bridge

On this date in 1883, after over 15 years of construction, the Brooklyn Bridge, connecting the cities of New York and Brooklyn, opened. 10 facts about the bridge:

1. It wasn’t called the Brooklyn Bridge when it opened. During construction, it had been referred to as the “Great East River Bridge” or the “Great East River Suspension Bridge." When it was opened it was dubbed the “New York and Brooklyn Bridge.” It wasn’t called the Brooklyn Bridge until 1915.

2. Construction of the first fixed crossing of the East River began on 2 January  1870. It was also the first bridge to use steel for cable wire. For a time, it was the longest bridge in the world with a span of just over 1,595 feet/486 metres. Its reign ended in 1890 when the Firth of Forth cantilever bridge in Scotland was built. It remained the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1903 when Williamsburg Bridge was built nearby.

3. Around 20-30 people lost their lives during construction (there were no official figures kept at the time). The first fatality was John A. Roebling, the designer of the bridge, who was taking readings for a survey before construction even started. His foot got crushed between pilings and a boat; he died of tetanus a few days later.

4. His son, Washington Roebling, took over the overseeing of the construction, but he suffered an accident too, and ended up bedridden. His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, stepped in to help. At first, her job was mainly to relay messages from her husband to the site, but she ended up doing much more and ended up taking charge of overseeing the design, construction, and business management. Once the bridge was finished, Emily was regarded as a pioneering female engineer. She went on to take a degree in law.

5. A number of the deaths and injuries, including that of Washington Roebling, were caused by decompression sickness, or the bends. This was because they had to work in underground structures called caissons, sealed chambers that kept the riverbed dry and allowed for digging. The air inside was compressed and coming back up could cause decompression sickness. Doctors at the time didn’t know what it was, and called the condition “caisson disease”.

6. Emily Warren Roebling was the first person to cross the bridge when it opened. She rode over in a carriage with a rooster on her lap, the bird being a symbol of good luck and victory. After that, President Chester Arthur, New York Governor (and future president) Grover Cleveland and various local politicians marched onto the bridge, along with a military band and troops. When they reached the opposite side a cannon was fired and there was a Firework display that lasted for an hour. There were speeches and receptions before the bridge opened to the public. More than 150,000 people went across in the first day.

7. However, the bridge’s troubles weren’t quite over. About a week later there was a stampede in which 12 people were crushed on a crowded stairwell. It started because of a rumour that the bridge was about to collapse. No changes came about in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, except that more police were stationed on the pedestrian promenade. Fears that the bridge could collapse didn’t go away, and to show that it was perfectly safe, P.T. Barnum took 21 Elephants over the bridge in May 1884.

8. When the bridge first opened, people had to pay a toll to cross. It cost one cent to cross by foot, 5 cents for a Horse and rider and 10 cents for a horse and wagon. Farm animals cost 5 cents per Cow and 2 cents per Sheep or Pig. The pedestrian toll was repealed in 1891, and the vehicle toll in 1911 with the support of New York Mayor William J. Gaynor, who said, “I see no more reason for toll gates on the bridges than for toll gates on Fifth Avenue or Broadway.”

9. The engineers built vaults up to 50 feet tall into the bridge under its anchorages. These were rented out to the public as wine cellars until World War I. During the cold war, one of them was turned into a fallout shelter which was rediscovered in 2006 during a routine structural inspection of the bridge.

10. The bridge appears in works by Georgia O'Keeffe and Andy Warhol, and has been a filming location many times. It Happened in Brooklyn, Moonstruck, Godzilla and Spider-Man are among the films it has appeared in. It has also become home to a pair of peregrine falcons.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

23 May: Douglas Fairbanks Sr

Born this date in 1883 was Douglas Fairbanks Sr, American actor known for playing the masked vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckling roles in silent films. Here are ten things you might not know about him.

1. He was born in Denver, Colorado and given the name Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman. His father was Hezekiah Charles Ullman, an attorney who had been a captain for the Union forces during the Civil War. He abandoned the family when Douglas was five. His mother, Ella Adelaide Marsh, then reverted to the surname of her previous husband, John Fairbanks, using his name for herself and her children.

2. Douglas was interested in acting from an early age and began his career in amateur dramatics in Denver. The first time he appeared on stage he muffed his one and only line. He should have said "Stand back, my lord, and let the coffin pass," but it came out as "and let the passon cough." He left school at 15 and joined an acting troupe.

3. He was married three times. His first wife was Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist Daniel J. Sully. He married her in 1907 and the actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr was their only child. In 1916 he began an affair with an actress, Mary Pickford, who he married after he and Anna got a divorce. They spent their honeymoon in Europe and were greeted by huge crowds of fans everywhere they went. This has led some to argue that they were the first celebrity couple. They owned a mansion called Pickfair. Fairbanks and Pickford separated in 1933, because he was having an affair with Sylvia, Lady Ashley, who he married in Paris in 1936.

4. His first film was called The Lamb. In it, he got to show off for the first time his athletic skills. More often than not, he would perform his own stunts, although there were times when the studio decided to call in a stunt man when they deemed a stunt too dangerous for their leading man. He engaged a world champion fencer to coach him in sword play.

5. He wrote a self help book. It was called Laugh and Live, and was about the power of positive thinking. It was published in 1917.

6. Both Superman and Batman were based on him. Batman was based on his portrayal of Zorro, and his looks (at the age of 55) were the inspiration for how Superman looked.

7. He was a founding member of United Artists and the Motion Picture Academy. He was the co-host, along with William C. de Mille, of the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929. Two years before that, he and Mary Pickford had been the first stars to ceremoniously place their hands and feet in wet cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

8. Fairbanks gave President Woodrow Wilson an early film projector, which Wilson used to watch films most afternoons in the White House when he was recuperating from a stroke.

9. He grew a moustache for the role of D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers in 1921 and kept it for the rest of his life.

10. He died on 12 December 1939, of a heart attack. His last words were allegedly "I've never felt better." He was 56. Fairbanks became the first posthumous recipient of an Academy Honorary Award a few months later at the 12th Academy Awards, bestowed for his legendary career achievements in the development of motion pictures as the Academy's first president.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

22 May: Julia Name Day

Today is the Name Day for people called Julia, which is feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. 10 famous Julias:

1. Julia of Corsica: also known as Julia of Carthage, virgin and martyr who is venerated as a saint. Her feast day is 22 May and probably the reason today is the name day for Julias.

2. Julia Child: American gourmet cook, author and television personality.

3. Julia Ward Howe: American author and poet, known for writing the lyrics to Battle Hymn of the Republic and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation.

4. Julia Lennon: mother of John Lennon.

5. Julia Louis-Dreyfus: American actress, co-star of the TV series Seinfeld.

6. Julia Roberts: American actress, starred in Pretty Woman.

7. Julia Sawalha: British actress, known for playing Saffy in Absolutely Fabulous.

8. Julia: character in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

9. Julia: programming language, designed to be fast and productive. Most commonly used for numerical analysis and computational science.

10. Julia Drusilla: member of the Roman imperial family, the second daughter and fifth child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder to survive infancy. She was the favourite sister of Emperor Caligula, who, after her death, had her deified under the name Diva Drusilla Panthea.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

21 May: Wait Staff jokes

Today is National Waitresses/Waiters Day, so here are 10 jokes featuring waiters and waitresses:

1. Waiter, waiter, there’s a dead fly in my glass of wine. Well, you asked for something with a little body in it.

2. Waitress: Welcome to the Karma Cafe. Customer: What do you sell? Waitress: Just desserts.

3. Waiter: Good evening, sir. Would you like to hear the specials? Customer: Yes, please. Waiter: This town (ahh ahh) is comin' like a ghost town…

4. Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup. Yes Sir, it’s the spider’s day off.

5. Waiter, there’s a fly in my ice cream. Yes, I know, they’re going in for winter sports this year.

6. “Waiter, I’m in a hurry – will my pancakes be long?” “No, Sir, they’ll be round.”

7. Waiter, there’s a button in my salad. Waiter: It must have come off while the salad was dressing.

8. Waiter! Waiter! This coffee tastes like mud! Waiter: I’m not surprised, sir, it was ground only a few minutes ago.

9. Waiter! Waiter! There’s a fly in my soup! Waiter: Shush sir, or they’ll all want one.

10. Customer: There is a fly in the butter! Waiter: Yes sir, it’s a butterfly!

 

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

19 May: Sultans of Swing

On this date in 1978 Dire Straits released Sultans of Swing. 10 things you might not know about the song.

1. It was Dire Straits’s first single, one of five songs they’d included on a demo tape they’d made in July 1977.

2. The song was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler.

3. He got the idea for the song when he visited a pub in Deptford, South London, where a mediocre Dixieland Jazz band were playing. The pub was almost empty. When the band finished their set and announced their name as the Sultans of Swing, Knopfler thought the contrast between the name and reality was quite amusing and wrote a song about it.

4. Knopfler wasn’t that impressed with the song when he first wrote it. It was only when he played it on a new Guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, that he realised the song had potential. He said, "It just came alive as soon as I played it on that '61 Strat ... the new chord changes just presented themselves and fell into place."

5. The song is about a similar band called Sultans Of Swing. The band in the song aren’t bad, but aren’t bothered about taking things any further. At least one member – Harry – has a daytime job and is doing alright.

6. "The band was playing Dixie double four time," say the lyrics. Dixie double is an actual style which was popularised by Django Reinhradt. The guitar plays fast, together with the bass.

7. The line “Then a crowd a young boys they're foolin' around in the corner, Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles” was inspired by an actual group of young men who were in the pub at the time, ignoring the music.

8. The B-side, Eastbound Train, was a live track from the Live at the Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival album.

9. Despite the name, the song is not played in a “swing” style.

10. "Guitar George" and "Harry", mentioned in the lyrics are George Young and Harry Vander, who were guitarists in the band The Easybeats. George Young was the older brother of Angus Young of AC/DC.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

20 May: 140

Today is the 140^th day of the year: 10 fun facts about the number 140.

1. 140 was the original character limit for the social network, Twitter. This gave rise to urban slang in which the 140 means the basic gist of something.

2. It was also the thinking behind a 2009 film developed by Frank Kelly, in which 140 filmmakers in 140 locations worldwide took to Twitter to film 140 seconds at the same time. They had to film something that connected them to their home and do it in 140 seconds of continuous footage. The entire film was produced over the Internet, through email, Facebook and Twitter.

3. 140 is a video game developed and published by Carlsen Games. The object of the game is "syncing up your moves and jumps to the music-controlled elements"; the Music changes as the player progresses through levels to reflect the difficulty.

4. London bus 140 runs from Millington Road, Hayes to Long Elmes, Harrow and Wealdstone.

5. 140 Siwa is a large asteroid discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa in 1874 and named after a Slavic goddess of fertility.

6. It’s the atomic number of unquadnilium, a theoretical chemical element with the symbol Uqn. While as of 2023 this element had not been discovered, it exists in the Star Trek universe as Corbomite (symbol Ct).

7. The A140 is an 'A-class' road in Norfolk and Suffolk, East Anglia. It formed part of a Roman road, known later as Pye Road which ran from Camulodunum (Colchester) to Venta Icenorum (near Norwich).

8. The Roman numeral for 140 is CXL, and in Binary it’s 10001100.

9. Psalm 140 begins with the words, “For the director of music. A psalm of David. Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers; protect me from the violent who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.”

10. In numerology, 140 energy resonates with broad vistas of potential. It sees great potential where others may just see a desert. It is a relevant number for organisations and activities related to travel, adventure, entrepreneurship, and independent living.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

18 May: Bertrand Russell Quotes

Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual, born on this date in 1872. 10 quotes from him:

1. One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.

2. The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.

3. The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

4. The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

5. Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.

6. I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.

7. Organized people are just too lazy to look for things.

8. There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.

9. Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don't know.

10. Be isolated, be ignored, be attacked, be in doubt, be frightened, but do not be silenced.

11. Life is just one cup of coffee after another, and don't look for anything else.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

17 May: Rebecca Name Day

In Sweden, today is the name day for people called Rebecca.

Rebecca is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. The name comes from the Semitic root meaning "to tie firmly". 10 famous Rebeccas:

1. Rebecca: wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. Pictured, painting by Giuseppe Molteni.
2. Rebecca Adlington: British competitive swimmer
3. Rebecca Ferguson: English soul singer and songwriter. In 2010, Ferguson finished as the runner-up in the seventh series of The X Factor.
4. Rebecca 'Becky' Sharp: anti-heroine in the 1847 novel Vanity Fair.
5. Rebecca Ryan: British actress from Manchester, England, best known for her roles as Carly Hope in Emmerdale and Debbie Gallagher in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Shameless.
6. Rebecca: 1938 Gothic novel by the English author Daphne du Maurier. It depicts an unnamed young woman who marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, the title character.
7. Rebecca Ferguson: Swedish actress. She is bilingual, and has worked extensively in Sweden, Great Britain, and mostly in the United States. Plays Juliet in Silo.
8. Dame Rebecca West: British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer.
9. Rebecca "Becky" Thatcher: a main character in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
10. Rebecca De Mornay: American actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred in Risky Business.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

16 May: Endangered Species Day

Endangered Species Day is observed on the third Friday in May, 16 May in 2025. 10 facts about endangered species:

1. A species is classified as endangered when its population has declined by at least 70 percent from known causes, or by at least 50 percent from unknown causes.

2. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List (founded in 1964) lists the conservation status of the worlds animals and plants. The categories are: Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Threatened, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Conservation Dependent and Least Concern. There are also categories for species for which data is not available.

3. Factors deciding which category a species goes into include: The rate of population decline; The geographic range; Whether the species already has a small population; Whether the species has a very small geographic distribution or lives in a restricted area; Whether the results of a quantitative analysis indicates a high probability of extinction in the wild.

4. Each year, thousands of scientists around the world assess and reassess species according to these criteria. The IUCN Red List is regularly updated accordingly.

5. Biodiverse regions that require protection on the grounds that they host a significant number of endangered species are called hot spots.

6. 1 million animal and plant species are currently under threat of extinction. As many as 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading toward extinction including 440 tree species with than 50 left in the wild.

7. A species is declared extinct after many years of not being spotted. It is probable that there are many species already gone that we are unaware of. Or species which have been declared extinct but there are still some out there which are good at hiding.

8. While extinction does happen naturally, the rate expected would be about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times that. 99% of currently threatened species are at risk because of human activity. This includes: habitat loss, introducing new animals or plants from elsewhere which become invasive; over-hunting and overfishing (the passenger pigeon, Tasmanian tiger and steller’s sea cow all went extinct for this reason); and, needless to say, climate change.

9. Scientists say that ‘extinction breeds extinction’. Close ecological interactions of species on the brink tend to move other species towards extinction, creating a domino effect.

10. Internationally, 195 countries have signed an accord to create Biodiversity Action Plans that will protect endangered and other threatened species. (Though if one of those was the US, it’s probably down to 194 since saving animals isn’t as important to them these days as lining billionaire’s pockets.)

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book