So, you want to live forever?

This week's sure sign that the apocalypse is upon us is a product that pledges to protect your data - or pictures of your cat - in the event of an apocalyptic event. M Disc promises to do just that.

It's the rock-like layer that apparently makes the difference...

First of all, I'd like to give my friend - and fantasy author - Sherry Thompson a shout-out for bringing this to my attention. If she is planning on using an M Disc to store copies of her novels Seabird and Earthbow, then future generations will at least have some quality material to read. If you're stuck for good reading and you enjoy original, high-quality fantasy novels, Seabird and Earthbow (volumes 1 & 2) - published by Gryphonwood Press - are just the ticket.

Now, on with the show...

As I browsed the M Disc website, I was intrigued by the technology. As an author, I can well appreciate storage media that will protect my valuable intellectual property from adverse and extreme heat, cold, moisture and light.

It just so happens, I am working to recover the manuscripts of not one, but two, novels from one of my old hard drives. Judging by the graphics above (courtesy of the M Disc website), once I recover my precious words, I better get down to the nearest online retailer and purchase an M Disc-compatible recorder and some M Disc media. Because I don't want to experience this same stress and potential loss in seven or eight years all over again. I will want to inscribe my manuscripts onto a disc that will last a full millenia...

One thousand years!

The software to recover my novels will cost me in the neighborhood of $100 and will run on any Windows-based PC or laptop. How much will millenia-sized disks cost me? A 10-pack of M Discs will only set me back $29.99 plus shipping if I order them from the M Disc website. But then there's that tricky part about needing an M Disc-ready drive. You see, you don't just record pictures of your beloved Mr. Bigglesworth onto an M Disc - you have to engrave them.

There are several internal and external drive options conveniently noted on the M Disc website, in both DVD and Blu-Ray flavors. An LG Electronics 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Internal Drive GH24NS50 (Black) will run you $31.95 on Amazon. Conversely, an LG Super Multi Blue Slim Portable with 3D Blu-ray Disc Playback and M-DISC Support CP40NG10 is a little heftier at $64.99 + shipping and handling.

The problem is, none of this technology helps me recover my data...so I still have to pay the piper for software to glean my novels off of the old, faulty hard drive and then pay again to engrave them into one or more M Discs. Still, isn't the peace of mind worth it?

I'm not disputing the ability of the technology, just maybe the need for the technology. I have to wonder: couldn't we come up with something that is somewhere in the middle? I mean, we go from reasonably stable storage for up to eight years with a flash drive, all the way to one thousand years with an M Disc. I'm no math wizard but you would think there would be multiples of storage capacity available...twenty years, fifty years, one hundred years? I guess it beats clay jars...

If I'm lucky, I'll live a hundred years. Assuming our progeny live that long as well, that means ten generations of X-lings would be able to enjoy my New Kingdoms fantasy series and other stored data long after I'm gone. But the whole idea of millenia-long storage brings a few other thoughts to mind.

Today, people are discovering embarrassment can be, well, embarrassing, when words and pictures we thought were private appear in the public sector. Imagine storing the contents of your personal computer on one or more M Discs and, say, eight hundred years from now someone happens across them. Do you really want future archeologists - or some old guy with a metal detector - finding all your most personal pictures and data...and still being able to retrieve it?

"Ooh, Ima Photoshop these babies..."

Then something else struck me: Have humans really developed the hubris to believe anything we might collect and save to an M Disc will be valuable a thousand years from now? I can see where saving great works of literature, science, the arts (no, not the complete library of The Simpsons), or other things of historical significance would be a good idea. But judging by Facebook and other social media, I can't say that there is much in the personal lives of any of us that would bear up under scrutiny a thousand years from now. Unless you are willing to concede a future Jon Stewart will need light comedy material from the 21st century.

Finally, will the human race as we know it even be around one thousand years from now? Frankly, the way things are going, I have my doubts. Asteroids, Global Warming, the Rapture, Thermonuclear War, Pandemics, Starvation, an explosion at the Large Hadron Collider...any number of things could render M Disc's reported Forever Storage completely moot. And then who will be left to care about Mr. Bigglesworth?

What do you think?

X

Earthbow - volumes 1 & 2: A Review

Relocating to Huntsville, AL wasn't on my to-do list for 2011. Those pesky employers always have other plans though. Fortunately, God has a plan for our family; and wouldn't you know it includes us living in Huntsville? Although I'm seriously missing my family while we work through all the relocation issues, there is one silver lining to my lonely time...I get to read!

Between family, church, work, TV, Internet and on and on and on, there are a host of things that have kept me from reading as much as I'd like. But living up here by myself, in a home with no TV and no Internet means I can catch up on some reading (and hopefully writing, too).

The novel I completed today is nothing short of stupendous. If you have even a passing interest in reading epic series in the fantasy genre, you simply must read Earthbow.

With thanks to Amazon for letting me borrow the cover art...

Sherry Thompson burst onto the literary scene a few years ago with her debut novel, Seabird, the first of the Narentan Tumults. Earthbow - divided into volumes 1 and 2 - chronicles the second Tumult.

Reading Seabird first would help acclimate you to Narenta but it's not mandatory for you to enjoy the amazing story of Xander, Coris, Renea, Harone and what feels like a cast of thousands.

I picked up the Kindle version which includes both volumes and downloaded it to my HP TouchPad. Since I had read Seabird, I was on fairly familar ground with Earthbow but only because I had an introduction to Narenta. Earthbow is a stunning, stand-alone novel that is full of adventure, magic, intrigue and danger. It will take the reader on an emotional roller-coaster ride and as you get farther and farther along - just like on any great roller-coaster - you will not want to get off.

Earthbow revolves around the story of Harone na Hithe, a young enchanter initiate, and Xander, the Outworlder of the second Tumult. Coris na Cathel, freshly knighted into the service of the self-styled Lord of Latimus - Cenoc - is also a major player. Xander, whose sister Cara was the featured Outworlder in the first Tumult (see Seabird), arrives in Latimus with no clue regarding what, exactly, he is supposed to do to save Narenta from the second Tumult. There's a lot of talk about him using the Earthbow, an enchanted bow that he carries (but has no idea how to use), and some chatter about stones and Shadow Lords and all.

The storyline of Earthbow is complex but Thompson weaves it expertly, blending multi-dimensonal characters and an array of plotlines mixed with dark and light enchantment that is easily the equal of that boy wizard story you may have heard of. But make no mistake, this is not Harry Potter stuff. If I had to categorize the Narentan Tumults at all, I would definitely lean more toward The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings. And I only say that because of the sheer scope of Thompson's vision and the depth with which she has created her world and characters.

I could go on and on but I don't want to give away anything; Earthbow deserves to be read - and enjoyed - so that you can see what a fantastic new world Sherry Thompson has wrought for us to inhabit. With all of the turmoil in the book industry these days, it's easy to overlook major new talents - especially those who don't have the might of major publishing houses behind them. However, don't make the mistake of overlooking Earthbow and the other Tumults as they come; you will be less for the missing.

Earthbow is published by the small but rich house of Gryphonwood Press.

Greetings to the big 'G'

Nothing tremendous here, just a hi, hello to anyone who happens by. I am maintaining the original Stream of Consciousness at Live Journal until such time as I can determine a) How to successfully export all posts from LJ to here and b) If it is worth my time and effort to do so. Frankly, the only reason I am here is so that I could post to a member's blog over at CFRB. That awesome group of folks is currently touring/reviewing Seabird, by Sherry Thompson - a fabulous book that you simply MUST read. For now, please link over to the original Stream of Consciousness and follow the adventures of Xanthorpe there. Perhaps he will move here eventually; perhaps not. In either case, you will be entertained or, at the very least, some thoughts will be provoked. Thanks for stopping by Stream II. X