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Sam & Alice Penny
We are 1998 retirees who search for ways to survive the future and tell others what we find
Interests: RV, Travel, Prudent, Sustainable, resource depletion, climate change, over-population, Boondock, Science, LED, Solar, Technology
Recent Activity
Death of the SmartPhone
After the shaking had stopped long enough, twelve-year-old Julie released her hugging grip around the trunk of the tree in the patio of Memphis's Benjamin L Hooks Central Library and reached for the iPhone in the pocket of her vest. Her thumb flipped across the gorilla-glass screen by rote, knowing... Continue reading
Posted Dec 25, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Overcrowding In The Memphis Jail
Deputy Police Chief Keith Smothers slammed the headset of his phone into its cradle on his desk in the 201 Poplar Street Jail, the fifth-largest jail in the United States, a 14-story lockup built in 1981 to house less than 1,300 prisoners, now crowded with more than three times that... Continue reading
Posted Dec 15, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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On The Job CERT Training
Dave Williamson, the Training and Education Officer for Memphis EMA, and Betty Flowers, a volunteer, led the CERT class of eighteen into the EOC room in the basement of the armory. Every two weeks a member of the MEMA staff and a volunteer trained another Community Emergency Response Team in... Continue reading
Posted Nov 28, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Neighborhood Watch
Billy Monroe shoved his cellphone back into the leather pouch hanging from his belt and chuckled. He looked at Pamela Weekes, dressed in her jogging costume and sitting in the shade of the magnolia tree in his back yard watching him clean his large barbeque smoker trailer, preparing for the... Continue reading
Posted Nov 22, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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A Train, Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Half a mile east of Overton Park in Memphis, two bright orange Canadian National locomotives pulled a string of fifty-three tanker cars southbound on the CN tracks alongside Cumberland Street, approaching the Poplar Street overpass and the crossing with the CXST tracks coming from the northeast. The string of rail... Continue reading
Posted Nov 17, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Does Fracking Make A Difference?
Here we are a year and four months away from Sammy Hardy's birth in March, 2015, as told in my novel Was A Time When. The world I described in the book was poorer than the one in which we now live and expect to live in the future. Where... Continue reading
Posted Nov 16, 2013 at WasATimeWhen
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The Scenario Begins
Jenny Fox sat on the stool in front of the display screen of Chris Nelson’s computer workstation. As agreed, she had come to the Seismology Lab at the University of Memphis at 8:00am Saturday morning after her early morning bike ride and now awaited Chris's phone-call as promised. So far,... Continue reading
Posted Nov 13, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Fear The Homeless Along The River
The wrinkled Muse stood over the old man clad in a long-sleeved plaid shirt, ragged at the elbows, and faded blue-denim overalls, ragged at the knees, and prodded him in the back with a stick. “Posey, you've just about given up on everything. It's like you don't care any more.... Continue reading
Posted Nov 8, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Making Friends
As Tina, the young waitress at the NASTY'S cafe in New Simon on Stateline Road at the bottom of the Missouri Bootheel, placed the hamburger and fries in front of the Chris Nelson, he asked, “Were you here when the earthquake hit Saturday morning?” She stepped back and exclaimed, “Oh... Continue reading
Posted Nov 4, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Long Distance Runner
Pamela Weekes, dressed in sweatshirt and shorts, jogged most of her circuit around the University of Memphis campus and headed west on Center Street. The University's Seismology Lab marked the ten mile point of her early morning Saturday run from her apartment high above the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis.... Continue reading
Posted Oct 31, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Memphis 7.9 - A Synopsis
You can purchase the book Memphis 7.9 (revised) as a kindle book or as a printed book at Amazon. If you do not have the time to do that right now, you can read a synopsis of the book below. First, let me explain why I wrote this book in... Continue reading
Posted Oct 30, 2013 at Memphis 7.9 Synopsis
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Broken River - A Synopsis
You can purchase the book Broken River as a kindle book or as a printed book at Amazon. If you do not have the time to do that right now, you can read a synopsis of the book below. The Synopsis of Memphis 7.9 begins with an explanation of why... Continue reading
Posted Oct 30, 2013 at Broken River Synopsis
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Memphis in May
“Fellows and girls, good to see everyone here for the first organizational meeting of the Sun Done BBQ Crew.” Billy lifted his dripping bottle of beer into the air. Shade from the old oak trees of the neighborhood kept the temperature in the yard under control but did little to... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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References
In my studies of seismology and specific earthquakes I made use of several important references. The most important and interesting are listed here. By now in many cases, the reference is out of print. This is the list as of 10/29/2013. As I find others in my collections, I may... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2013 at 7.9 Scenario
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Research
After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, I began to collect books about earthquakes. A list of the major documents in my research is found in References. Residing in Sacramento after living a quarter century in the San Francisco Bay Area, my primary focus was on seismic activity along the... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2013 at 7.9 Scenario
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circa 1998
During the spring of 1997 I experienced another small heart-attack. It became more and more apparent that the stress of managing an Engineering department would kill me. I continued my research into seismology and had started my preparations for retirement a couple of years before, so things were moving along.... Continue reading
Posted Oct 29, 2013 at 7.9 Scenario
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Circa 1995
What follows is a second installment of the short story telling how “The 7.9 Scenario” came about. As before, I make this disclaimer. By this time in my life, much of what I write can be considered fiction, for my memory is no longer sure of just what is reality.... Continue reading
Posted Oct 27, 2013 at 7.9 Scenario
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Recovery, A New Word
Gloria King, the newly elected mayor of the city of Memphis, Tennessee, leaned back into the wooden slates of the glider swing on her porch in Germantown and contemplated Marion Roberts, her newly appointed Director of Seismic Safety for Memphis. He was a healthy man of sixty-two; of course, she... Continue reading
Posted Oct 27, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Poseidon's Legacy
A cool but humid night-time breeze whispered through the curtains surrounding the open window of the downtown Memphis apartment. Not the penthouse, but five stories above the mighty Mississippi River on the bluffs overlooking Mud Island, the apartment offered one of the finer views when the moon set in the... Continue reading
Posted Oct 26, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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Prologue
The next story is online as of 12/25/13. What if the phones don't work. I tried to write the third book in the series for the 7.9 Scenario, but Hurricane Katrina swept in from Florida and wiped out my plot. That was eight years ago, but I am still reeling... Continue reading
Posted Oct 26, 2013 at Phoenix of Memphis
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The 7.9 Scenario -- The Beginning
The 7.9 Scenario describes a possible result of a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault, an event similar to that of December 16, 1811. Continue reading
Posted Oct 14, 2013 at 7.9 Scenario
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The End of Growth
This is from my 3 Cats Stalking blog. Several excellent blog articles in recent weeks have danced around a subject that I have long thought could be the real problem facing our world. Upcoming changes in our physical world will happen so quickly, important parts of our society will be... Continue reading
Posted Jan 25, 2013 at WasATimeWhen
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WATW Timeline Update
My WATW timeline does not expect the next pandemic of "neu-flu" to appear until next year in Bangladesh. But a precursor started last fall here in the USA. The influenza A (H3N2) has spread from the east coast toward the west, and already 41 states are reporting high levels of... Continue reading
Posted Jan 8, 2013 at WasATimeWhen
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A Path to Cultural Psychosis
This is a repost from my blog 3CatsStalking. In my book, "Was a Time When," I detail a story in which American society collapses from within, its citizens making poor choices and denying the inevitable, until it is reduced to a tribal society where the have-nots are parasites living on... Continue reading
Posted Jul 14, 2012 at WasATimeWhen
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Free - Another Way to Get the Word Out
Response to my new book, "Was a Time When," has not been enthusiastic. Seems like everyone else is coming out with a similar message of the difficulties the future holds, and I am a small cricket chirping in a strong wind. During the month of April I only sold two... Continue reading
Posted May 4, 2012 at WasATimeWhen
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