F3 The New Frontier

            Walker Andrews looked at the data from Frontier’s nanosats in his presentation one last time. It was phenomenal, to say the least, and it really resembled a map of wind patterns across the globe, spread out over the galaxy. Well, a very small part of the galaxy, anyway.

            The nanosats had quickly gotten out of range to transmit their data back in a timely manner, if the signal even could make it back to earth among all the galactic interference. But what they had discovered was impressive.

One Down

            One month of summer is already gone. Why is it that time seems to move faster outside of the semester? I’ve still got plenty of work to do. Fortunately, I can say that I have chalked off plenty on my to-do list, but there’s more to go. Well, back to it.

M3 Eternal Athena

            Athena, like most of the Greek gods, reveals herself to have some complexity. Being the goddess of wisdom does not gain her automatic entry into sainthood. She has her moments, as we saw with Arachne.

            For one thing, Athena is very competitive. Even barring Ovid’s version of the Arachne story with its direct contest, Athena judges Arachne as if in competition. Athena bests Poseidon to win Athens. She competes against both Hera and Aphrodite in a beauty contest. The aftermath of that contest becomes the Trojan War, where she, in a symbolic fight against Ares, demonstrates that she is more skilled in battle than he is. Her involvement in the fights of heroes, to have them triumph is also part of her competitive nature. She not only wants to win, she needs to win.

F3 Customer Service . . . Again

            I was almost out of patience listening to the muzak on the phone, but it did finally give way to a person.

            “Thank you for calling Milpack Customer Service. My name is Debbie, how can I help you?”

            “Yeah. I need to send my backpack in for some repair.”

            “Can I have your name, sir?”

            “Reilly Hawkins.”

            “H-A-W-K-I-N-S?”

            “Yep.”

            “I see you have two of our backpacks. Is this the charcoal or the navy?”

            “The navy.”

            “I see. Can you describe the damage? It might be covered under our warranty.”

            “Heh, doubt it. So there’s this real douchebag takes a disliking to me. A Hothead who was showing off with his flamethrower, and he got it too close to my pack. Entire front is roasted, almost gone.”

Re-shifting Focus

            It’s hard devoting myself to my own projects. I struggle every week, going back and forth. I’ve got this ever-present threat of the semester looming, and part of me wants to work on it, to cross it off the list. Another part of me still can’t bear to face it, so I only cross off simple stuff instead of working on the meat of it.

            I think I can finally put it aside until August, putting my own projects front and center, which is where they should be. I’ve got a lot to do, and I actually want to get this stuff done. I feel like I’ve been away from it for too long.

M3 Arachne: Athena's Jealousy

            The story of Arachne tells the origin of spiders, and is a story that only gets more tragic the more I read it. It also shows a disturbing side of Athena, who, up until now, has been an admirable goddess. Full of wisdom, the inspiration and protector of heroes, on the surface she seems ideal in every way. Her ability to get the best of Poseidon is not a trick, but a reflection of who she is. With the story of Arachne, though, we begin to see another side to her.

F3 Date with a Storm Rider

            I was apprehensive as Kate and I sat down. I had never been to Ben BBQ Boulevard, probably because it was in Wyoming. Of course, that was only a few terrifying, life-screaming minutes away as Kate hauled me behind her as she lassoed a lightning bolt.

Dust

            I’ve been planning some overhaul to this site for a while, never getting very far with it, but that ends, now. I’ll be tinkering with the site all summer, trying to decide, exactly what kind of look it’s going to be. I’m also flirting with another website, focused solely on providing a service for authors, but I might just fold that into this site for the time being. Keeping things separate might be good, but then it might hearten other authors to know that an author can design and implement a website independent of paid templates and services.

            Anyway, excuse the digital dust as I play with some things.

M3 Athena's Birth and Nature

            Athena is a favorite of many people, and it’s not hard to see why. She’s the goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy. She can kick some serious butt all on her own, but she’s also the patron of heroes. Perseus, Odysseus, Diomedes, and other heroes frequently receive her aid as they go about trying to make the world a better place. But she’s more than just her titles. She has layers of personality and complexity. So let’s get to it.

            Most people are probably familiar with the basics of Athena’s birth. Zeus had a splitting headache, so they decided to actually cut into his head. Athena flew out, fully grown and armored. But this is only part of the story, a story which reveals a lot more about both Athena and Zeus. So, we go backwards, when Zeus found out about a prophecy. His son by the goddess Metis would one day overthrow him.

F3 The Fight for More Funding

            Virginia Meyer scrunched her forehead as she pored over the pages, feeling a migraine whenever she tried to understand the words. Next to her, Terry Sandhurst, the Chairman of their committee, did the same. Finally, she closed the 300 page proposal for Frontier.

            “Just tell us, Jim, why do you need a second Argo launch?”