Action! Action! Action!

Point out news stories, on the net or in mainstream media, related to polywell fusion.

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bobshipp
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Action! Action! Action!

Post by bobshipp »

A call for Action! Action! Action! A new book is just out entitled Boron Age. It can be purchased from www.villagebooks.com or downloaded from www.boronage.com

After taking some time getting to know the main character, the book chronicles the polywell story up to November, 2011. The book then gives a glimpse into the future.

It is hoped that as a first step, the book, together with help from talk-polywell.org members as well as other media attention will convince the Navy of the advantage of releasing the information it has on WB7 and WB8.

Send a copy of the book to your representative in Congress and to your local media asking for their help in encouraging the Navy to be more transparent in its use of stimulus funds

GWW57
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Location: Cambridge, UK

Post by GWW57 »

And I presume that you are the author of this book?
I think you should declare an interest before urging us to buy it to send to our political masters.

JoeP
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Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:10 am

Post by JoeP »

Is this self-published?

Instead of asking us to buy your book, maybe you should make the story good enough to sell it to a publisher. They will then have an obligation to market it, at least a little bit.

I highly doubt that if a copy were sent to every person in congress that even one of those fools would bother to read it. Sounds like you are just trying to make some bucks (since you could electronically publish on the web or make it free, etc).

Nothing wrong with trying to make money off your work, but asking us to buy copies at your profit so we can then mail them to congress is a bit insulting.

kcdodd
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Post by kcdodd »

Well he's giving it away to download. Not going to make any money off of that.
Carter

KitemanSA
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Post by KitemanSA »

So download it free.

bobshipp
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Post by bobshipp »

Yes, I am the author and it is self published. Unless this really catches on, I will not recover expenses and if it does catch on then everybody benefits.

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

bobshipp wrote:Yes, I am the author and it is self published. Unless this really catches on, I will not recover expenses and if it does catch on then everybody benefits.
You might want to read Sarah Hoyt to learn how to break into publishing.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

JoeP
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Post by JoeP »

kcdodd wrote:Well he's giving it away to download. Not going to make any money off of that.
I apologize. I saw the $9.95 price on the bookseller site, and thought the download was charged in a similar manner.

ladajo
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Location: North East Coast

Post by ladajo »

I'll give it a read over the holidays! Thanks for the heads up. Already downloaded.

rschaffer8
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Post by rschaffer8 »

Bob: I just finished reading your book and I enjoyed it. It won't win any literary awards and it may not accomplish what you hope for, but I commend you for your effort. I encourage others to not be overly critical of this effort.

KitemanSA
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Post by KitemanSA »

Bob,
Perhaps you should establish a wiki-edit and see if open source can improve things.

GIThruster
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Re: Action! Action! Action!

Post by GIThruster »

bobshipp wrote:It is hoped that as a first step, the book, together with help from talk-polywell.org members as well as other media attention will convince the Navy of the advantage of releasing the information it has on WB7 and WB8.
What, may I ask; is the advantage to the Navy? If you really think you're going to influence a large group of people to do your will, you better be convincing them first. A call to action to meet your own personal agenda is a pretty childishly untenable solution. It's the kind of thing eight year-olds foist upon one another. Lets act like adults here, Bob. How is it in the Navy's own interests to release data they are paying for, especially given the growing number of competitors?

Likewise, what compelling argument can you make that reading a work of fiction is going to change the world? Sounds pretty self-agranding to me, Bob. This is a 30 page fictional, undocumented, personal essay--not a book. I can't see a reason to read past page 4.
"Courage is not just a virtue, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." C. S. Lewis

bobshipp
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Post by bobshipp »

A key question what advantage is there to the Navy in releasing information now?

The answer lies in the fact that a successful boron polywell has such a tremendous upside for mankind as a whole that every effort should be made to get there as soon as possible. That means a commitment like
J.F.K. made to get to the moon. If more institutions than just the Navy are working this problem the better the chances for success. Finally,
the Navy is not a separate entity from the U.S. government and thus
the taxpayers. If the taxpayers want full speed ahead in this endeavor,
then the Navy should acquiesce.

JoeP
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Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:10 am

Post by JoeP »

rschaffer8 wrote:Bob: I just finished reading your book and I enjoyed it. It won't win any literary awards and it may not accomplish what you hope for, but I commend you for your effort. I encourage others to not be overly critical of this effort.
I read most of it. Bob, I also applaud the effort and the idea that a popular work could be a spark that gets things moving on Polywell. It is true that this subject is not widely known in the public mind. If it were, there could be political pressure to make something happen, so I understand your objective in doing something like this.

Bob, I think you need to decide whether this should be a work of fiction or an essay exploring polywell investment.

Writing truly engaging fiction is difficult, which is why 99.99% of all submissions to publishers (the "slushpile") get rejected. I am no editor and I am not a writer, but I am someone who has read a good number of science fiction and contemporary novels and short stories, and I know what holds my interest and what does not.

For example, read a tight piece of classic scifi. For example, "Nightfall," by Issac Asimov. You need to incorporate all literary techniques to hold a reader's interest, and include copious dialog, a plot, theme, tension (protagonist, antagonist), and so on.

If I may offer some advice? Rewrite your book and make it a non-fiction piece. That way you can focus on the message you are trying to deliver, using persuasive argumentation and include research and facts. Also get a professional editor to work with you. If you want your book to have the impact you hope, it has to be top-notch and engaging (fiction or non-fiction).

MSimon
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Post by MSimon »

If it were, there could be political pressure to make something happen
But political pressure did make something happen. And since me and a few others (TallDave was definitely an accomplice) stopped applying the pressure no one else has taken over the job.

No matter. The work goes on.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

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