John Altson

The SR-71 was one of the most amazing aircraft ever built. It was the fastest aircraft ever flown, setting just about every conceivable speed record. To top it all off, it was a very effective spy plane. Many books have been written about the design of the aircraft, the technical details, and the operational missions. For those wishing to explore the in-depth history of the SR-71, I heartily recommend Lockheed Blackbird - Beyond the Secret Missions by Paul Crickmore and SR-71 Revealed - The Inside Story by Commander Richard Graham. There is another yet-unwritten story however - the story of how a small group of talented techies, many of them fresh out of college, banded together to write software that planned the missions and fed the Nortronics navigation system which, in turn, flew the plane. This book is about the team that developed the software and how that software was used for a remarkable twenty-two years. Parenthetically, the author was the Airborne Instruments Laboratory Group Leader that managed the mission-planning programming effort.

Overview: Does Harry Dream of Electric Sheep? is a witty novel written for an adult audience (high-school or beyond). It is an allegorical novel written on several levels: - A fantasy about a space explorer and his comical misadventures with sheep-like creatures which seem to mirror human behavior - A tongue-in cheek comedy about life in the United States, circa 2014 - A serio-comedy which explores almost all of the current social and political issues - A story with a moralThere are four sections, similar to sections in Gulliver's Travels. The main character is Harry Enlightenment, a quack psychiatrist ("healer") who wants to be the first earthling to set up a practice on an alien planet. I. Harry arrives on Planet Baa. In this section, Harry meets with a number of the locals while learning about their divisions by sect. He attends a congressional session, listening to the debates on many issues. He is an honored guest on the Baabaa Show and then plans his visit with a member of congress, to Mesa View, the land of the Technobirds. II. Harry, with his escorts, tours Mesa View and is treated to a series of weird and comical technical innovations. At the conclusion of his tour, he is accused of stealing technology and banished from the island. III. Again with his escorts, Harry tours Corporus, the land of the (corporate giant) Ohmys. His stated purpose is to look for potential trade agreements but, in reality, he is just on an expenses-paid spree to learn the culture in advance of his healing practice. His tour includes such enterprises as (the equivalent of): Ralph Lauren, Pepsico, Dow Chemicals, Campbell Soups, General Motors ... many more. At the trip's conclusion, it is apparent to the host congressman that Harry was really on a boondoggle and he is banished to Nowhereland, the island for criminals and misfits. IV. On Nowhereland and with some unexpected help from the Holies, Harry is given a challenge: If he can reform four out of the eight worst criminals, he will be given his freedom to return home. This is not an easy task as he must reform Attila the Hun, Caligula, Hitler, Lizzy Borden and four others.

Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. Satan had been patiently waiting for the time when smartphones utilized artificial intelligence to assist users in their daily lives. That time is now. A hard-nosed blonde investor and demon-worshipper steps in to take over Eden Coaching Systems to do Satan's work. As the story unfolds, Eden's "Coach" device becomes more and more an instrument of evil, wreaking havoc on all of the unsuspecting users.