North Pole Weather 12/2/13

The sun will rise at 10:23 this morning, and set 4 hours and 34 minutes later at 2:57 this afternoon. The roads are still treacherous, and probably will stay that way for a good part of the winter, and the temperatures last weekend were well below zero. We did get a little more snow, and now have more than a foot on the ground. It’s cleared off now, though, and that means cold! The ground radiates heat upward, and with no clouds most of the heat goes straight out to space.

It’s reached the point where if I want to go shopping I must leave the house by sunrise and then go to no more than a couple of stores so I can start home no later than 2pm. Almost didn’t get home before dark Saturday.

Ravens are tricksters and gods in Native legends. There’s nothing uncommon about ravens up here, winter or summer, but I most often see them at road kill or dumpsters. Friday one was sitting in one of my trees, no doubt hoping to see something he could scavenge!

I’ll finish with this week’s picture of how my hair is growing back after chemo.

Weekend Writing Warriors: Homecoming

It’s Sunday again, and time for Weekend Writing Warriors (click on the logo above) and Snippet Sunday (click on the logo below.) Today I’m posting 8 sentences from my first published book, Homecoming, available in all formats from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

Last week, Roi admitted that the attack on Derik and Nik was not the first time he had an uncontrolled reaction, and he thinks he killed an overseer the first time. Now Derik is trying to explain to Roi what happened and why. Kharfun syndrome, by the way is a minor flu-like disease in humans which is paralyzing and eventually lethal if untreated in R’il’nians and some R’il’moids, and has left Roi totally paralyzed.

NGC 2074 (Photo Source)

“Roi,” Derik said, “what happened was a poltergeist reaction. They’re normal in crossbreds, especially around your age. It’s caused by the strength of esper powers increasing at a faster rate than the judgment necessary to control them, especially around puberty. The results can be pretty undesirable – as you demonstrated today – so esper children are normally blocked against using their abilities except in strictly limited self-defense. Then when they’re mature enough to use those abilities responsibly they’re taught to take over control of those blocks. I blocked Coryn when he was a baby, and his esper training for the last couple of years has mostly been on gaining control over those blocks. You got missed on the blocking, for the same reason you weren’t inoculated against Kharfun syndrome – nobody knew you were R’il’noid. Understand so far?

It’s an explanation, at least, but can they stop Roi from doing it again?