For My Daughter’s Future

I openly oppose what Donald Trump has been doing. If you understand why, then we probably have similar opinions. If you don’t understand why, then you need to step back and examine the consequences of his actions. 

Why do I oppose him, but I’m not actually American? What the US does in many cases can have effects all around the world, especially the environmental issues. This has me worried for my daughter’s future. Still don’t understand? I’m not sure if you ever will. It doesn’t need to be explained. It seems like common sense to me. 

That’s all I’m going to write about this on this blog, unless something especially disturbing happens. I will continue to see what happens.

What’s Coming to My Videos

I have plans. Lots of plans. I made a video on YouTube outlining my plans. One of those plans includes Author Answer! Watch the video to find out what I’ll be doing.

There are a couple other bloggers who are answer the questions. But now, I’m hoping some other YouTubers will be answer the questions. Let’s see what happens!

Comments and questions are definitely appreciated!

Authors Answer 64 – Authors’ Childhood Dream Jobs

Did authors always want to grow up to be authors? Some did, of course. But most probably didn’t think of writing as a profession that they wanted to do. There’s a wide variety of jobs, and most probably wanted to do something entirely different.

Question 64 – When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Linda G. Hill

I always wanted to be a veterinarian, probably because I read All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot at a young age. But come high school I took physics instead of biology because I couldn’t stand the thought of dissecting a frog. By that time I was much more interested in human psychology anyway. Though I never went to university to study what makes people do the things they do, psychology continues to fascinate me.

Allen Tiffany

First a scuba diver, then a soldier (an infantryman). I became a soldier – which I greatly enjoyed – and then transitioned to the business world. Along the way, I’ve always written (baring one 15-year hiatus), but I’ve never thought of writing as something one does for a living, and I still don’t. I don’t think I’d enjoy writing for a living. I fear the need to produce to generate income would drive me to first think about writing to sell rather than writing from the heart.

D. T. Nova

A paleontologist. I’ve always been fascinated by dinosaurs, and when I was a kid I wanted to discover one.

Tracey Lynn Tobin

What didn’t I want to be when I grew up? I changed my mind multiple times throughout my childhood. The first thing I can remember wanting to be was a nurse, but only because as a child I misunderstood my mom’s job and wanted to be what she was (she was actually a personal care worker at an old folk’s residence). As I got a little older I got big into writing stories and determined that I wanted to be a writer, but then I also got big into drawing and fancied myself as a future cartoonist. At some point I also figured I was going to be a famous singer. Eventually my aspirations became a little more typical…I basically figured I’d be doing something in “technology”, which at the time meant I imagined myself sitting at a computer all day. But the one thing that I never let go of was that I knew I was going to be some kind of writer, even if it wasn’t my actual job, but more of a side-thing.

Paul B. Spence

An astronaut, but then I got too big. I’m just a little too tall. I also wanted to study dinosaurs, which I have. I have a degree in geology and have worked at a dinosaur bone quarry and at a museum working with dinosaur remains. I’ve always liked archaeology and ancient cultures, so my current career as an archaeologist suits me just fine. Of course, I always wanted to be a writer, too.

H. Anthe Davis

A writer.  Tada!

Seriously.  It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and though I’ve tried many other arts and sampled many fields of science, it all comes back to just writing.  I read and research and travel and interact all so that I can put everything I’ve learned back into the story.

Eric Wood

I only remember deciding to be a teacher in sixth grade. A friend and I were really into the American Civil War and loved history. I didn’t know what I could do with history other than teach it. So, at the ripe old age of 11 I decided to be a teacher. 11 years after that, I was. Before that, I don’t remember.

Elizabeth Rhodes

I never settled on this for sure until I was out of high school.  One idea that I always came back to was cooking, and that helped me decide to go to culinary school and work to become a chef.  Writing is great, but I never expected it to pay the bills especially at my pace.

Jean Davis

I wanted to be a teacher and played school with my little sister all the time. That didn’t work out so well though because by the time I was in high school, I realized I didn’t like dealing with people, and other people’s kids drove me nuts.

Gregory S. Close

A Jedi, a pilot like Han Solo, or possibly some Jedi space pirate pilot combination.  Obi Han Solo, perhaps.  Shortly after the realization that these were unlikely professions in our galaxy, I decided I wanted to be a writer, and I guess that notion stuck with me over the years!

S. R. Carrillo

I wanted to be a published author. I also wanted to join the military. I give myself credit for achieving both of those goals before the age of 21. Or thereabout hahah.

Jay Dee Archer

I see I’m not alone in this, as I also wanted to be a palaeontologist. Well, I also wanted to be an astronomer. But I lived in Alberta, which is one of the best places to find dinosaur fossils and is home to one of the best dinosaur museums in the world. I loved reading about dinosaurs, and even took pictures of the skulls and skeletons and traced over them, trying to make more realistic pictures of them. As for astronomy, I was fascinated with space from an early age, and imagined discovering new things and studying the planets. By the time the end of high school came around, I had to make a decision. Those two passions stayed with me and are still two of my favourite things to study. I chose astronomy, even though I never worked as a professional astronomer. Sometimes, I think that if I ever go back to university, I’ll study geology with a minor in palaeontology.

How about you?

What did you want to grow up to be when you were a child? Did you become what you wanted? Let us know in the comments below.

Back to Normal? Short and Long Term Goals

Now that we’re back from holiday, and I still have a couple days off from work, I can get back to work on everything. I’ve already written about plans for 2016, but I want to make some more specific things clear.

First of all, some immediate goals.

• Catch up on comments.
• Month in Review for December.
• Weekly Review for the end of December/beginning of January.
• A major project that will consist of only one post. It should come later today.

Now some long term goals.

• Authors Answer will continue weekly, despite my time away from computers and the internet in late March/early April. I’ll just have the posts scheduled.
• Quick Facts will be weekly, and maybe at some point bi-weekly.
• Put up the Taste of Japan videos regularly.
• Make Life in Japan videos based on the posts I’ve done on this blog.
• Write regularly after our move to Canada
• Read every day at home, and hopefully read 25 books this year.
• Regularly update my parenting blog this year.
• Get back to work on my Japan blog.
• Keep my official author’s site updated every month.
• Get a domain name for my official author’s site?
• Start on some major content for my official author’s site.
• Worldbuilding posts every week.
• Study French every day.
• Study Japanese every day.
• Study Spanish occasionally until I finish French on duolingo. Then every day.
• Get a car.
• Get a new job in Canada.
• Write multiple short stories and flash fiction.
• Enter a couple writing competitions.
• Join the recreation centre near our Canada home and try skating and swimming often.

Some specific aspects:

Worldbuilding – I’ve done so few posts on this, but I have so many to do. I’d like to work on writing these weekly. I have a list of topics to write about, and it’ll be extremely thorough.

Writing – Journey to Ariadne needs to be completed this year. I will also start on the first Ariadne novel and possibly the solar system novella series.

Languages – I will complete the test drives, and whenever any new language comes out, I’ll test drive that, as well. But for now, finish the course on duolingo for French while also doing Spanish at a slower pace. Once French is done, work on the reverse course and do Spanish every day while I study German at a slow pace. This pattern continues. Once I finish Spanish, German takes over, and I start Irish. Once German is finished, Irish is my focus, and I start on Norwegian. Then Russian, and so on.

Quick Facts – I’ll resume working on Astronomy Quick Facts, focusing on the moons of the solar system. I also want to get started on Geography, which will go through the countries of the world alphabetically. The other one I’d like to work on is Dinosaurs, also alphabetically.

At the beginning of the year, I feel ambitious. I just wonder if I can do all of this. These are just plans, so I can’t guarantee if they’ll all happen. I can hope.

Anything interesting catch your eye?

When My Daughter Graduates High School

The year is 2030. My daughter is graduating. She’s eighteen years old.

I’ll be 53 years old.

NASA has already had a manned mission to capture a near-Earth asteroid.

NASA is preparing to go to Mars.

A probe has been sent to Europa. What will we know then?

A probe may be studying Titan. That’s under study now.

New Horizons will have left the Solar System.

India will become the most populous country in the world.

Saudi Arabia will run out of oil.

What else will happen? Hopefully it’ll be a better world. What do you think will happen in 2030?

Inspired by a Science Museum

Today, my sister and I went to Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, in Odaiba, Tokyo.  Every time I’ve been there, I’ve found something new and very interesting to look at. Of course, much of the museum is interactive. However, today was a bit different.

There was one exhibit that allowed everyone to join a future city, get a job, and become a citizen. The concept was interesting. Simple, but very interesting. Another exhibit had people walking around an area while logged in to a system. There were cameras above that watched each person walking around, and it kept track of where everyone went. You had to interact with these personalities which helped it determine things about you, and finally that information was turned into a song. I recorded the song on video, which I’ll get up when I’m able to.

But these things showed some future ideas that were things I’d never thought of. What I like about that museum is that it focuses on future technology. And when writing science fiction, you have to think of future technologies that have yet to be invented. But sometimes, it’s not just technology, but forms of entertainment, culture, and jobs. There’s a lot to think about, and it has me inspired.

My Last Six Months in Japan

It’s September 30. It’s exactly six months until we leave Japan and go to Canada. I’ve been in Japan for more than ten years. And soon, it’s coming to an end.

How do you think I feel? Can you imagine what it’s like to leave a country you’ve lived in for more than a decade and return to your home country? I’m still trying to figure out my feelings. They’re totally mixed. I will miss a lot, I have some regrets, but it will be great to see my family again. I’ll have to adapt to life in Canada again. That might not be so easy. But we’ll see.

I’ll be posting a video about this later on. I talk about my biggest regret and what my plans are. So, check back later.

Fantasy Novel Settings Based on the Real World

A lot of fantasy authors are influenced by real history and locations. Some come out and say that they are a part of Earth’s lost history, and some are Earth’s future. And it seems like many are based on the European Middle Ages.

Lord of the Rings is based on Europe, and I think Tolkien admitted that. I believe it’s supposed to be Europe, but long before recorded history.

A Song of Ice and Fire (or Game of Thrones) is also based on Europe, but not actually in Europe, but a fictional world. In fact, the entire war is inspired by the War of the Roses.

Shannara is quite different, though. It’s based in a world that had gone through an apocalypse. I’m not exactly sure of the precise location, but it is North America.

What are some other Earth-based fantasy novels and series?

The Problem With Technology in Science Fiction

I love science fiction. I love seeing how authors view the future and how far we’ve advanced technologically and as a society.  I’ve seen some amazing things in science fiction. But there’s a problem. Some of it is already obsolete.

Take a look at the original Star Trek. Knobs and levers, cathode ray tube displays, and horribly outdated decor. It looks old. But looking at each device they use shows how far we’ve advanced in the past fifty years. The best example is the communicator. The designers of it very accurately predicted cell phones, especially flip phones. However, those cell phones developed more than a simple LCD which showed the phone number, they actually had full colour screens capable of video. That was only about ten to fifteen years ago. I remember my first cell phone in Japan. It had TV, radio, compass, internet, web browser (although archaic), and camera. It was incredibly advanced, I thought.  Fast forward ten years, and I have an iPhone, which is not actually a cell phone, but a handheld computer with wireless communications capabilities. It has completely blown Star Trek’s communicators out of the water. Cell phones of today are more powerful than the computers that ran the space shuttles in the 1980s, and for a much lower price and compact form.

It seems a lot of our technology outpaces what we predict in science fiction. We already have ion propulsion in spacecraft.  Star Trek said it was more advanced than anything Starfleet had, including the warp engine.  Of course, now we know that ion propulsion is a fairly simple concept, while warp is beyond our reach for now.  Replicators exist now in the form of 3D printers, and they’re getting better all the time. We’re even on the verge of making food 3D printers (or food replicators). We could even be close to achieving the technology seen in the Holodeck. Star Trek: The Next Generation had the PADD, which is now a modern device called the tablet computer.  Teleportation exists today, though only for energy and information.  Quantum computers are being developed now, and that’s something never envisioned by Star Trek.

In my writing, I find it difficult to predict what we will use 150 years in the future. I imagine things like 3D printers will have evolved into some kind of fabrication system that is quick and efficient. It could mean a complete change in the way we manufacture, or even do construction. Transportation is another difficult thing to predict. Will mass transportation be through the air or by maglev trains? Who knows? How will our spacecraft look? How fast will they go? How about agriculture? Will we still have fields or will we be using vertical farming?

It’s difficult to imagine the future, but it’s fun. I’ve already worked on the spacecraft that take the colonists to Ariadne, and I have an advanced version of the 3D printer in mind. And nuclear fusion is a reality.

What do you predict for technology in the future?

Creating a Distant Future

Stephen Hawking recently said that the greatest danger to humans is ourselves.  We could destroy ourselves in the next two hundred years.  He’s also warned us against the use of artificial intelligence, as it could also become our greatest enemy.

It’s so difficult to predict the future.  He may be right, or the future could be something entirely different.  But one thing is certain, many scientists have good reason to believe that we’re in danger.  And many say we must go to space, to Mars, and then to the stars.

Cat’s Eye Nebula. The future of our sun?

The future possibilities are endless.  We are now seeing melting ice caps, deforestation, desertification, extreme weather events, and the beginning of a likely mass extinction. Scientists are certain about this.  But there are many deniers who claim it won’t happen, mostly because they don’t understand the science or they think God will make it all better.  Or maybe they’re hoping this is a sign of the second coming of Jesus, so they’re trying to hasten these terrible symptoms of humanity’s greed.

On the other hand, we have made incredible advances in technology and medicine.  Computers are now small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and are readily available.  Cars may soon drive themselves. We have a GPS system that tells us where we are anywhere in the world, and we can use it to get somewhere without getting lost.  Vaccinations have eradicated or nearly eradicated many harmful diseases, and we may be able to extend our lives.

But that is all near future.  What about the distant future?  What will our technology be like? Will we still be bound to Earth?  The solar system?  Or will we be among the stars?  How long will we live? What will the environment be like? How many major cities will be long forgotten and underwater?  How many animal species will have survived?  Will technology and biology be joined?  What will happen to today’s religions? How will they evolve?  Will there be new religions?  How about language?  Will English prevail as the dominant language, or will Mandarin Chinese take over sometime in the future?  Or will language evolve so much that it’s unrecognisable?

Where will humanity be?

I ask myself this often.  As I write science fiction, I wonder what the future possibilities are.  The farther we go in the future, the less certain we are about where our future will lead us.  I want to show a distant future in my writing, an exotic life featuring incredible technology, yet a closer relationship with nature.  A culture that has overcome many difficulties and setbacks to create a new niche in their world.  It’s incredible fun to imagine.

Where could our future take us? What will it be like in one thousand years?  Ten thousand years?  Think about that and share your ideas in the comments below.