Tag: HeroX

Good News Everyone!

good_news_farnsworthHello all! I know it’s been forever since I posted last, and of course that has had everything to do with the fact that I’ve been rather busy. Somehow, having a day job and two writing jobs really cuts into your blogging and personal writing time. But I felt I should log in today and let everybody know that, due to some fortuitous circumstances, you’ll be hearing even less from me in the coming months!

Well, probably not less, more like the exact same amount. And the reason for this is… I got a new job! For months now I have been in contact with an old friend of mine in Vancouver who has created a startup dedicated to water recycling systems. Their latest proposal is a concept for a grey-water recycling toilet which, as the name suggests, turns used bathroom water into flushing water to reduce your total household expenditure.

Artist's concept of the ReFlow system in an existing bathroom.
Design concept of the ReFlow system in an existing bathroom.

Originally, I was going to profile his business and his idea for HeroX. But after some changes in their company structure, he decided to take me on as their new communications manager. So starting now, I will be the guy in charge of contacting anyone and everyone in North America who’s got a stake in water conservation and letting them know we exist. Also, I will be responsible for making sure there’s a media blitz when we choose to launch.

In a few months time, we will be crowdfunding the idea  – known as the ReFlow Green Grey-Water Recycling Toilet – and raising he money we need to make it commercially available. And I’ll also be doing a writeup about it for HeroX, just to let the design and innovation community know its out there.

Naturally, I hope that people end up hearing about it from sources other than myself. Because of course, that will mean I’ve done my job and done it right! Wish us luck, and I promise to drop in and say hello whenever I possibly can 🙂

Also, here’s the ReFlow G2R2’s concept video which explains how it works and the difference it could make:

Busy, But Getting Back to ‘er!

Mindfulness-and-Living-a-Busy-LifeHey folks. As you may have noticed, I’ve been pretty absent in recent weeks. And as always, it’s because life intervened. Nothing bad, just a busy schedule with all the new writing assignments. At the same time, I’ve been busy with Tae kwon-Do since the Grand Master was coming for a visit. And on top of that, the wife and I have been house-hunting lately and that’s taken up a lot of our attention.

As you can imagine, this has not left much time for personal writing or blogging. But in and around all that stuff, I have managed to make a bit of time for my works-in-progress. For instance, I finally started making some progress on Oscar Mike the other day. I left that story in the midst of a cliffhanger chapter, so stopping short of completing it was a bit silly on my part.

Oscar MikeAlso, I got back to editing Flash Forward, which I also stalled on, and managed to get a few more stories polished and ready for publication. I was really hoping to have of these stories ready for publication by now, but professional writing and my preoccupation with one other story kind of put a hold on that plan. That would Reciprocity, which I went into some detail about a little while ago.

Ever since I decided to redo that idea this past summer, I’ve been pretty much obsessed with it. This is typical of me, always hopping from idea to idea and becoming fixated the latest one. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I suffer from a peculiar condition when it comes to writing. It’s known as Literary-Attention-Deficit-Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder (or LADOCD, for short).

Yuva_coverOr at least it would be, if it were recognized by any medical authority on the planet. But I digress! The point is, I’ve managed to shake myself loose from that story long enough to commit to work that needs my attention more. And I really, REALLY need to get back to my writing group and get the boll rolling again on the Yuva anthology. People are working, and waiting for direction. I cannot abandon them!

Well, that it’s for me right now. What’s up will all you fine folks? What’s new and interesting? Or, failing that, what’s just new? Any plans for the holiday season? And to my American cousins, how’s Thanksgiving treating you?

New Articles and Apologies

solar1Let’s start with the apologies. I’m very sorry for the prolonged absence of late, and I trust that people actually noticed I haven’t been around 😉 But both my day and my side job have both been very busy and have left me mentally and physically taxed by the end of the day. However, I do have things to show for it, mainly in the form of a new list of articles that were recently published on both Universe Today and HeroX.

I’ve taken to posting the new entries on their respective pages (over on the right there). However, if you’re like me, you don’t bother to check these out much and would rather be notified if something new is happening. And the way I see it, a post now and again that contains the links to all the latest is something people won’t mind hearing about (as opposed to being notified every time one does!)

So here they are, in order of publication:

  • Small Spacecraft Ejected from ISS Will Provide Same-Day, On-Demand Delivery – Basically, the ISS is getting a small fleet of return vehicles that will allow them to deliver samples back to Earth in less than 24 hours. This will help research and experiments quite a bit, and could also open the way for commercial use of the ISS’s National Lab.
  • Make a Deal for Land on the Moon – This one was not only fun to write, it contains a cautionary tale worth sharing. No matter what some realtors may tell you, there’s absolutely no way to buy land on the Moon… yet! However, given the way that commercial aerospace and space industries are heating up, this may soon change.
  • HeroX News: The Promise of Solar Power – This is probably the longest article I’ve written for either publication of late. It deals with recent innovations that are causing solar power to break its own the efficiency limits and usher in an age of renewable energy. And none too soon either!

Some New Articles from HeroX

fusion-quotepanel-reactorI know, I promised I would stop doing this. But the other publication I started writing for – HeroX – now has two new articles written by yours truly. Luckily, I have now added pages for both this website and Universe Today so you can see any news ones that have been added to the queue. If you feel like it, that is 😉

My most recent article for HeroX was about the promise of cold fusion, which is getting very close to realization. In the past few years, a number of developments have been made that is making the technology more practical, more cost-effective, and even more compact.

https://herox.com/news/134-is-fusion-the-way-of-the-future/

And here is my first installment for HeroX, which deals with the burgeoning trend of flying cars. Sure, they may be fourteen years late – weren’t we promised flying cars by the 21st century? – and they still aren’t quite affordable. But progress is being made!

https://herox.com/news/133-the-case-for-flying-cars/

Writing for HeroX and Universe Today!

good_news_farnsworthGood news, everyone! My services as a freelance writer were recently enlisted by the good folks who run HeroX and Universe Today. Thanks to my old friend and mentor, Fraser Cain (who consequently got me started in the indie publishing bizz), I’m going to be bringing the experience I’ve garnered writing my own blog to a more professional format – writing about space exploration, innovation and technological development.

As you can imagine, this means I’ll be doing less in the way of writing for this here website. But I promise I’ll still be around! After all, I’ve got lost more work to do on my stories, and there are always articles and headlines that need to be written about that I won’t get a chance to cover at those other sites. So rest assured, storiesbywilliams will be in operation for a long time to come.

XPRIZE_GooglePlus_Cover_2120x1192For those unfamiliar, HeroX is a spinoff of the XPRIZE Foundation, the non-profit organization that runs public competitions intended to encourage technological development and innovation. It’s directors includes such luminaries as Google’s Elon Musk and Larry Page, director James Cameron, author and columnist Arianna Huffington, and businessman/ philanthropist Ratan Tata, and more. In short, they are kind of a big deal!

Fraser Cain, founder of Universe Today, began HeroX as a way of combining the best of the XPRIZE with a crowdfunding platform similar to Kickstarter. Basically, the site brings together people with ideas for new inventions, finds the people with the talent and resources to make them happen, and funnels contributions and donations to them to bankroll their research and development.

big_bangUniverse Today, on the other hand, is kind of an old stomping ground for me. Years back, I did articles for them that dealt with a range of topics, including geology, natural science, physics, environmentalism, and astronomy. In both cases, I’ll be doing write ups on news items that involve technological development and innovation, and doing interviews with some of the people in the business.

If possible, I’ll try to link articles done for these sources to this page so people can check them out. And stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming release of Flash Forward, Oscar Mike, and my various other projects. Peace out!