Monday, 28 April 2025

15 May: 135

It’s day 135 of 2025. 10 fun facts about 135:

  1. In Astrology, when two planets are 135 degrees apart, they are in an astrological aspect called a sesquiquadrate. This aspect was first used by Johannes Kepler.

  2. The A135 is a road in England, running from Stockton-on-Tees to Yarm on the boundary with the River Tees. It is also known as Yarm Road. In the 19th century, this road was the location for a race between a stagecoach using Yarm Road and a train, Locomotion Number One, running alongside on the Stockton to Darlington railway line. There is no record as to which of them won the race.

  3. 135 film, better known as 35 mm film, is a format of photographic film used for still photography.

  4. The A-135 anti-ballistic missile system is a Russian military complex deployed around Moscow to counter any enemy missiles targeting the city.

  5. 135 is the atomic number of Untripentium, a theoretical chemical element with the symbol Utp.

  6. The Massey Ferguson 135 was a tractor produced by Massey Ferguson. Production began in 1964 and ended in 1975, when it was succeeded by the MF235.

  7. London bus number 135 runs between Crossharbour Asda and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

  8. The Badwater 135 is an annual race event held in Death Valley, California, in July. It’s a 135-mile (217 km) ultramarathon race which begins at −282 feet (−86 m) below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in Death Valley, and ends at an elevation of 8,360 feet (2,550 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. Temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C) during the day at Badwater Basin. Finishers receive a belt buckle and a medal but no prize money.

  9. 135 Hertha is an Asteroid which was discovered on 18 February 1874 by Christian Peters at the Litchfield Observatory near Clinton, New York. It was named after the Teutonic and Scandinavian goddess of fertility, Hertha, also known as Nerthus.

  10. In numerology, the energy of 135 is self-sufficient, optimistic, with a global consciousness. People influenced by this number are humanitarian and will promote human welfare, often in a creative way.



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.


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