Welcome to Night City: 2013, the Distant Future

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When I was a kid, role-playing games like D&D were at the height of their popularity. Video games were still in their infancy, with only slightly better than 8-bit graphics on the best of systems. Into this target rich environment of 1988, R. Talsorian Games, Inc. introduced Cyberpunk 2013. In addition to their style, tone, and bleak outlook, there is another aspect all of these stories have in common, time. Each is set in an increasingly distant near future. I think these visionaries were too pessimistic in their estimates.

The Long Roomn at Trinity College,Dublin

Looking Backwards to See Forwards: Review of Cause for Alarm

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There is something supremely satisfying, and a bit nostalgic, in reading classic thriller novels. The classics seem fresh, nuanced, with rich full characters that are multifaceted and contradictory. Newer forays into the genre seem cliched or formulaic. Even the newer pieces by the classic authors fall prey to this issue. Eric Ambler’s Cause for Alarm was only the fourth novel he wrote back in 1936 - publishing it in September of 1938 - and considered remarkable for its prophetic tone. Most of us in the 21st century forget, to the average person in 1938 World War 2 wasn’t inevitable, or at least so it didn’t seem.

The Long Roomn at Trinity College,Dublin

Rethinking Terrorism; a reveiw of Open Source Jihad

On By Ramblings of a Distracted MindIn Books, History, Military, Reviews1 Comment

Terrorism and terrorism studies seem to have taken a back seat in the public consciousness of late. At least it appears to have in regards to the subject of National Security. Most governments have shifted focus back to great power confrontations and the desire to escape from the long wars we have been fighting for the last 18 years and focus instead on the more familiar aspect of state on state traditional maneuver warfare. However, terrorist and terrorist attacks still occur and we are likely to see an undercurrent of terrorism studies persist.Open Source Jihad takes a meta-analysis of the academic pursuit. Not looking at terrorism itself but attempting to quantify our attempts to study this phenomenon effectively.

The Long Roomn at Trinity College,Dublin

And the world be upside down: a review of The Nutmeg of Consolation

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There’s an odd thing that happens with a long series. It happens regardless; any medium is just as susceptible as a series of novels. This odd thing is a dichotomy that develops with the work and our relationship with it. And I find sometimes… I’m really okay with that.

The Long Roomn at Trinity College,Dublin

How we fight? A review of Insurgencies and Counterinsurgencies: National Styles and Strategic Cultures

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Insurgencies and Counterinsurgencies: National Styles and Strategic Cultures should be taken as a cautionary text by those involved in all aspects of national security; from the tactical level of the Lieutenant in charge of a platoon, through the field grade officer in charge of operational concerns, through to those who create the national strategy followed by all.

Excerpt from a short story: Beyond the Following Star

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Looking out from the direction of the star, out away from what little warmth and light there is, the faint band of the galaxy arches across the endless black. Deep in the endless black, out beyond the safety of the stellar winds lies the possibility of more. The possibility of other stars, other planets, other.

The Long Roomn at Trinity College,Dublin

My Review of 1984

On By Ramblings of a Distracted MindIn Books, Reviews1 Comment

Everyone surely knows the story in 1984. Or at least they think they do nowadays with terms like facecrime and doublespeak being thrown around the news and social media as if we’ve all just come from a high school English Lit course. I certainly thought I did as well. 1984 warns of the dystopian future where the state has taken control of every aspect of life. Like most people though I had missed some important points by not reading the source material.

The Long Roomn at Trinity College,Dublin

My Review of The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution & Future of the Human Animal

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Human beings have always liked to think of themselves as special. So what, exactly, is it that does make us special? Are we, in fact, special at all or our we just another - albeit less harry - chimpanzee? This is the question Jared Diamond asks in The Third Chimpanzee: the Evolution and Future of the Human Animal. He asks it not with metaphysics or theology but with biology, geography and social science. He questions our unique construction, the places we live and how we interact; both interspecies and intraspecies, and which of these key components that can be measured may - or may not - either separately or in combination be the key that makes us human.

Op Ed: Exert from an upcoming short story

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“Fontreux,” Alex continued, “is and has been one of the primary manufacturers of aircraft engines and parts to the French government. They are an essential part of the supply chain for eighty five percent of fighter engine parts and seventy two percent of rotary wing engine manufacturing for the French military. “And the Bank is to provide the bulk of the initial investment in the expansion.” “There is just one issue that may interfere.” Stevens had come to Annex B of the internal portion of the prospectus. “Oh yes. This could be a problem,” Stevens mused turning to Alex.

Conscience of the King; Fortune Favor the Fool

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It’s that time of year again. That’s right everyone it's award season again. It is also that other time of the year. The time of the year when the number of angry rants from my more conservative friends - yes I actually do have a number of more conservative friends - increases exponentially.