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We are here! Dec 21st 2008 -
I hear you saying ‘so?’

But know this, 12-21-12 is the end of the world. The Mayan calendar predicts this. All great religions see the end of the world as coming in 2012. Well, all the good religions anyway. And why would you want to be a part of a creed that has no impending doomsday scenario? Where’s the fun in that, really?

So, you’ve got four years left before the poles switch, the ascension occurs, and the human race goes extinct. What are you going to do with your time?

That’s a big question. Do you stop going to work? Spend your days plying your family and friends with fond farewells and try to play as much golf as you possibly can?

Should you sell your water-front property? Between global warming and the polar shift, water front property should be a lot less valuable in five years. The market may be soft now, but think how soft (or even underwater) the ground will be in five years.

There are so many things to do before facing the end of the world.
Let’s start with The Basic Apocalypse Readiness Check-list:
1 - make certain that you have a survivable low point in the house to weather high winds, tornadoes, things of that ilk.
2 - make certain that you have a survivable high point in the house to weather floods and such.
(It doesn’t really matter if your area is at risk for these kinds of disasters. Who knows what will happen when all this goes awry?)
* Sidebar - there is no advice for California. I am sorely afraid that the old Lex Luther drop-California-into-the-ocean plan may come to fruition here. Notice how I moved far away from the state . . .
3 - keep plenty of canned foods on hand. You can also get MREs, or Meals Ready to Eat at Military supply stores. If you have any questions regarding the debatable tastiness of the MREs simply ask any military person you know.
* Freeze-dried ice cream is also a great thing to have on hand for end-of-the-world scenarios. Just keep in mind that the labeling is correct about the ‘freeze-dried’ part but not the ‘ice-cream’ part.
4 - keep plenty of drinkable water on hand. You should have one gallon of water per person per day for the duration of the planned siege.
* because the ‘siege’ will be until the end of all time, you should realize that your life span after December 21st will be measured in gallons per person per day.
5 - don’t bathe in your drinking water. If you want to continue to be able to be near the ones you love during this time of crisis, bathing water is a must. Keep non-drinking water on hand to encourage cleanliness at the end.

There are all kinds of things still to be done. You have only for years to build a shelter to house your entire family (comfortably?) until the world is a safe place to live in. Remember, the Basic Apocalypse Readiness Check-list only covers minimalist survival. You’ll likely want things like beds, entertainment, and communications devices so you can talk other survivors into checking out the ‘surface’ and reporting back to you. Without this, someone in your shelter will have to make the foray into the unknown and (hopefully) return to tell you all about it. It’s far better to have a patsy to do the early recon; communications systems will help ensure this scenario.

If you are looking for a handy guide to survival shelters, may I suggest “Blast From the Past” with Brendan Fraser (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124298/). Whether or not you enjoy the comedic value of the film, there are excellent ideas for survival shelters in the movie.

And last but not least, what else do you have to do before the end comes? Each of us must look deep into our own hearts. Is there someone we need to forgive? Someone who needs forgiveness from us? A wrong that must be righted? There are deep soul searches to be conducted.

Remember, you have just four short years from now to do what needs to be done. Me, I have to go shark diving and parachuting. Because, hey, if something goes wrong, my family will survive for that many more gallons per person per day!

First it was Michael Crichton. The man who wrote Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain - and may or may not have hired ghost writers to churn out some more recent pieces like Next - has passed on. (Don’t get mad at me about the ghost writers comment. I’m just repeating gossip. The fact that a lot of people didn’t think his latest works were his best only makes it jucier.)

Now Forrest Ackerman is gone, too. He is credited with having coined the term ‘sci-fi’ and finding such literary sci-fi greats as Ray Bradbury. He had a huge collection of, shall we say, paraphernalia and opened his home to the public, like a museum, every Saturday.

I have to assume the man believed in forces beyond this world in order to throw open his doors once a week and believe that the visitors wouldn’t do his things any harm. And that his wife wouldn’t do him any harm, either. And, no, it wasn’t his wife that killed him. I think.

I have to admit that all this has me nervous. Something is after sci-fi writers. So I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Crichton, Ackerman . . . (It’s sci-fi, three shoes is appropriate.)

I find myself looking over my shoulder in public places. I mean what about all the smaller authors that maybe don’t make national news? What’s their morbidity rate? And why isn’t anyone putting the clues together!?!?!?

Please excuse my outburst. I’m sorry. I just let my imagination get a little carried away for a minute, there.

But that’s okay. It really isn’t about me is it? I mean, after all, I write thrillers. I get that it’s a fine line of distinction, but it’s one I’m hoping will keep me alive through the coming dark times for sci-fi writers.

I have to say that I am sorry to see Crichton and Ackerman go. They were the giants who founded the industry and they leave a grand legacy that someone among us will have to step up to carry on. But it seems the even the grand masters themselves were not able to defy science and medicine in the end. Or were they . . .