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5 Weird Things I’ve Never Shared With You

5 Weird Things I’ve Never Shared With You in the whole three years I’ve been writing this blog. How can I be sure? I’ve just learned about them in the past month.

But first, let’s have this:

I wasn’t planning to count this as one weird thing since it’s satire, but I wanted to start with something funny.

Okay, this next item begins the weirdness:

This triggered so many things in my mind: first, the cloaking field from Star Trek.

The Enterprise decloaking

Next, Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility:

https://giphy.com/gifs/harry-potter-magic-J5lxA8X7kisRG
Harry Potter getting his invisibility on

But the oldest example is below:

The Invisible Man – “I’ll show you!”

On we go to the next weird thing.

Your Second Weird Thing of 5 Weird Things

How can I not have the phrase ‘intelligent slime mold’ in my blog post? You may ask, ‘How can a slime mold be intelligent?” They can efficiently solve the famous ‘Travelling Salesman’ problem. You haven’t heard of that? Check out the following article:

5 Weird Things
The Travelling Salesman Problem – click the image for more

Earlier in my life, I worked in operations research and this problem was difficult to solve by computer. How difficult? It belongs to a class of problems called ‘NP hard problems’. That means the difficulty goes up as a factorial (1*2*3 = 3 factorial) of the number of cities.

You can solve this by brute computing force, but the slime mold does it without brains! That’s weird.

Your Third Weird Thing

But first, a book break!

I am an author, so I love books. Tell me your favorite and I’ll send you a free short story.

On to our next weird thing! How about a robot that does gymnastics? It also weighs about four hundred pounds.

If this robot isn’t grist for a science fiction story, then I’ve never read SciFi before!

The Penultimate Weird Thing

I love vocabulary for its own sake, ever since I read the ‘Abecedarian Book’ when I was twelve. Penultimate is one of those weird words you read, but may not know the meaning. Look it up.

I read this book when I was 12.

Your new weird thing begins here.

Do you believe this?

You know it’s weird when you can’t believe it (I didn’t) and yet it’s true.

The Last Weird Thing of 5 Weird Things – And Free Stuff

Who doesn’t like dragons?

Finally, I bid you adieu!

5 Weird Things
Andy Zach at Archon in St. Louis

PS: I forgot to tell you where you can get free stuff.

First, you can get 31 free books here:

5 Weird Things
Click image to get 31 free books

Then, you can get my comic paranormal animal book, Zombie Turkeys here:

5 Weird Things
Click to get your free copy
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Events, News, and Gifts for You from Friendly Author

“Events, News? Who cares! Where are the gifts?” you ask. I’m happy to answer. My first gift is a free ebook for anyone who has reviewed the book, or wants to review it. Just send me your review link to your Amazon review or Goodreads review of any of my books.

Events News
Andy Zach’s books

Or use the same link to contact me and get a free ebook in exchange for a future review.

Or, if you like audiobooks, I’ll give you a free one to review. Check them out below. You can listen to a sample for free. Or, if you belong to Audible, you can listen for free.

Events, News
Zombie Turkeys free audiobook sample
Events, News
My Undead Mother-in-law free audio sample
Events, News
Paranormal Privateers audiobook sample

That’s three ways you can get free books. If you don’t want to write reviews, you can enter my two monthly drawings right here. I have another one coming up in October, so don’t miss it.

My newsletter also supplies free short stories to subscribers. So you get a twofer.

Events, News for those who want to meet Andy Zach

On September 21st, first day of autumn, I’ll be at the I Know You Like A Book bookstore in Peoria Heights signing my books for you.

Then there’s Area 51 meeting in Nevada. I won’t be there. Will you? If you go there, give me a report and I’ll give you a book of your choice, the format of your choice: paperback, ebook, or audiobook.

Did you know I have aliens in my third novel of my Life After Life Chronicles, Paranormal Privateers? Here’s a chapter icon for you:

Now here you have another chapter icon from Paranormal Privateers showing one alien species, the foxcat.

Yet More Events

I’ll be at QuadCon in Peoria in October!

Come to Peoria, meet me, and mention this blog and I’ll give you a free book and autograph!

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5 True Science Fiction Reports and fun news

5 True Science Fiction Reports in this blog post: let’s begin with the first that follows below: real hoverboards, like Paranormal Privateers.

5 True Science Fiction Reports

In case you don’t believe hoverboards are in Paranormal Privateers, here’s the chapter icon to prove it:

Here’s a video of one in action:

The Next True Science Fiction Reports

From hoverboards to small fusion plants!

Small mass conversion devices are also in Paranormal Privateers. Here’s an excerpt:

Talana turned her briefcase sideways. Legs descended
and the briefcase unfolded, revealing a cube and two glass
vials, one golden, one scummy green. Disturbingly, the
cube and vials were larger than the briefcase.


“Our first gift”—Talana picked up the cube, the size of
a breadbox—”is a universal power source. Simply pour in
water and out comes electricity. The unit produces
electricity in the voltage and frequency you wish, controlled
by these dials.”

“Hey, Talana!” shouted Lashon Miller from the press
box. The camera panned to her.

“Yes?”

“What’s the catch? This is like those infinite energy
scams you read on the internet.”

“There’s no scam! The unit works by splitting water into
hydrogen and oxygen and fusing the hydrogen. Out comes
oxygen and helium, which you may capture and use.” She
gestured to two tubes exiting the box. “Let me show you.
My cell phone needs charging.” She plugged the charger
into an ordinary socket, and it began to charge.

“How long does it work on water? How much water?
And how much power comes out?” Lashon asked.

“A cup is good for a year of phone charging. But you’re
not limited to that. See this power transmitter on this
socket?” She plugged a black box into what appeared to be
a two-hundred-and-twenty-volt socket.

Read more in Paranormal Privateers

Next, some fun news

I signed books for fans at the comic con QuadCon in Peoria! Let me know if you want me to come to your area. Click here to tell me!

Here’s one of the cosplay people at the QuadCon. Can you identify the character? Please tell me.

Here’s a bit of fun:

Andy Zach reveals what happens when My Undead Mother-in-law versus Zombie Turkeys

What happens when unkillable Zombie Turkeys meet the irresistible Undead Mother-in-law? Find out in the video above.

Another True Science Fiction Report

Imagine the societal effects of hypersonic air travel. How will the world change if we can get anywhere in an hour? That’s the import of the story below.

I’ll give a free ebook to anyone who posts a fiction story of any length on this topic to this blog or in an email to me.

5 True Science Fiction Reports – The Fourth

This story seemed unbelievable to me, but the technique is sound and may be commercially possible. What would we do with material that floats and is light as wood and strong as titanium? Once again, a free ebook or audiobook of your choice for some fiction on this sent to me.

The Last True Science Fiction Story – for now

Going to the outer limits of outer space, we encounter our next story.

How many of you remember this movie?

Disney’s Movie The Black Hole from 1979

To be honest, I was a disappointed in the unscientific nature of the movie–based upon what I knew in 1979 when I was 23. It’s ludicrous now.

Space Balls