Charles Sheehan-Miles

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Republic Podcast conclusion
2008-03-10 00:33:00
Hi folks, it's finally done. I uploaded the final episode of Republic a few minutes ago.I have to say, I'm kind of sad it's finished.  I've spent more than nine months recording it, and along the way I've learned a lot -- enough that I'd really like to find the time to go back and remaster the first few episodes to improve the audio quality.In the meantime, you can check it out, and also consider subscribing to the sequel, Insurgent.Republic: Episode 24 Insurgent on iTunes  http://feeds.feedburner.com/Insur gent 
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Why does Dell suck so much?
2008-03-08 22:46:00
Ok, this is a bit of a rant. But I deserve a rant, because of the WEEKS I've been dealing with Dell 's fucking technical lack of support.As most of you probably aren't aware, I make my actual living not selling books (funny) but doing technical work.  I started out about 13 years ago, working help-desk in the basement of the U.S. Department of State. Later I moved on to Teligent, which was briefly an awesome company at the height of the tech boom.  At Teligent, I went from help desk, to Microsoft Exchange team leader, to DBA, to Application Support Manager, to Data Center Manager, to IT Operations Manager.  Today I'm still doing technical work, as IT DIrector for VFA.  That said, in all those years I've bought and recommended Dell equipment.  We had thousands of Dell desktops and laptops at Teligent, at hundreds of Dell servers distributed throughout the country (alongside HP-UX, AS400, and a big monster Sun E10K).Why did I like Dell? &nb...
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No podcast this week
2008-03-05 15:16:00
Just a quick update -- I'm sick, and extremely busy at work, so no podcast this week. I'm all to aware that the next episode is the LAST of Republic, but, we'll just have to wait another week. With luck I can record it Friday night or Saturday.
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Insurgent Podcast
2008-02-25 19:18:00
Now that I'm editing and wrapping up the next to the last episode of the Republic Podcast , I wanted to go ahead and get a link up for those of you interested in subscribing to the Insurgent Podcast, which will begin in just a couple of weeks. It's not up on iTunes yet, but you can subscribe at Feedburner: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Insurgent&nbs p;

Wrong Door Drug Raid
2008-02-01 15:58:00
Wyoming police busted down the door of the wrong apartment when serving another no-knock search warrant. The good news is, nobody got hurt -- unlike the incident a couple weeks ago, where raiding drug task force members killed 26-year old Tarika Wilson and shot baby.I don't want to get into a knee-jerk discussion here. In the Wilson case, the police did not get the wrong address--they were there to arrest her drug dealing boyfriend or husband, or whatever he was.  But I can't help but question the wisdom of a swat team assault on a house with six children inside, unless they are in immediate danger.But what about the danger to the cops?  If this guy was a drug dealer, he could have shot at them?I get that. But the job of the cops is to protect children, not the other way around. Why didn't they take this guy down when he was walking down the street?  Then they could knock on the door and serve the warrant without killing any mothers or shooting their child...
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Insurgent update
2008-02-01 15:14:00
Just a quick update on progress on Insurgent, the sequel to Republic.  I've posted the very rough, not edited first draft of 3 chapters, but then I got sidetracked, writing some chapters in the middle of the book.  So, it may be a week or two before I get back to chapter 4.Sometimes that's just the way I work.  With Republic, I wrote the first three chapters, then the last three, then the middle.  Crazy maybe, but whatever.If you enjoyed the first book, you'll be happy to hear that a number of characters are returning -- Jim Turville has a much larger role in the story, Valerie Murphy and Al Clark are both back and trying to keep things sane.  Joe Blankenship, a secondary character in the first book, is a major player now.  I'm writing a lot of his backstory at the moment, because it's going to take a considerable amount of work to make him a sympathetic character in this book--especially given some of the hideous things he's goi...
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Time running out on the so-called Protect America Act
2008-01-24 02:47:00
You know what they say: you don't have anything to worry about if you don't have anything to hide. Yeah, right. The question: should the federal government be able to listen in on mine and your telephone conversations without a warrant? Did I miss the part of the constitution that protects us from search and seizure except when the government feels otherwise?Anyway. The so-called "Protect America Act" is running out, and Congress seems poised to renew the unconstitutional ability to wiretap all of us without judicial oversight. Weaklings. Panderers.Are you willing to give up your freedom for an illusion of security? If so, as the saying goes, you should consider a move to a country where big daddy tells you what to do and what to think. That isn't America. More facts and less ranting at Threat Level.
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Whatever you are doing, stop and read this
2008-01-24 01:51:00
Mark Benjamin is my favorite reporter. He's been digging for years into all the crap that surrounds veterans issues and, in the end, has done a tremendous amount of good for the military and veterans. They ought to give him a medal.  In any event, you need to read his latest article in Salon, which says almost nothing about veterans, but everything about the plight of investigative journalists.Here's the article. Trust me: you'll laugh.
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Words still make one hell of a difference
2008-01-22 15:15:00
In the category of books that are making a difference comes Kancha Ilaiah, whose children's book Turning the Pot, Tilling the Land takes aim at India's thousands of years old caste system. From the Washington Post: Books about caste come at a critical juncture for this developing country, analysts say. Instead of dissolving caste, India's rising prosperity is driving an economic wedge between the higher castes, who work in gleaming skyscrapers, and the lower castes, who build them. "There has actually never been a more important time to teach to the next generation that dignity for all labor is a human right," Ilaiah said. It will be interesting to see how this book and others impact India in the long run. Don't forget that it was books that ignited movements here to end slavery. Given that I live in a county where, 150 years ago, it was illegal to teach a black man or woman to read, one can only imagine the impact.
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Speaking of changes in publishing....
2008-01-19 19:56:00
Every once in a while I'll write here about changes in the publishing industry.  I haven't really gone in depth about my thoughts on print-on-demand, new media, podcsting, etc., probably because my own thoughts are still somewhat fuzzy on this topic.  However, the rise of the "cell-phone" novel in Japan definitely provides some serious food for thought.According to the New York Times, in Japan:Of last year’s 10 best-selling novels, five were originally cellphone novels, mostly love stories written in the short sentences characteristic of text messaging but containing little of the plotting or character development found in traditional novels. What is more, the top three spots were occupied by first-time cellphone novelists, touching off debates in the news media and blogosphere. If an 18 year old can sell 400,000 copies of the print novel originally tapped out on her cell-phone and posted on the web, I think that without a doubt, we're all in fo...
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Times Under Fire for Vets article
2008-01-17 15:59:00
On Sunday, the New York Times ran a lengthy article chronicling a series of homicides committed by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans over the last several years—more than 120 killings here in the United States. Now, the Times is under fire, according to some articles and bloggers, for perpetuating “The Killer Vet lie” and “Vet-Bashing.” Not surprisingly, the culture warriors who are still intent on perpetuating the Vietnam era hawk vs. dove debate have jumped in feet first, specially after the Weekly Standard ran an analysis by John J. Dilulio which attempts to debunk the conclusions of the times by pointing out that the murder rate among same-age Americans is much higher than among returning veterans. The terms of the debate are the usual: · The article is “presumably an attempt at making another case for ending the war, if we know anything about the Times's editors.”· Mike Burleson writes: Just throw out a few...
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Insurgent: Chapter Three
2008-01-16 14:54:00
The story begins three months after the close of Republic. SPOILER ALERT -- If you haven't read Republic yet, you might want to wait before reading these entries. A number of events that wrapped up the conclusion of the book are referenced in the early chapters of this one. If you want to read Republic now, you can pick it up at Amazon, download the ebook or listen to the podcast.The draft versions of this story as posted here on the site are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Please let folks know about it, and feel free to send people the link, but I'll be changing/editing/correcting here as I go along and therefore it's best not to actually forward the text. Again, this is first draft stuff: if you read it, please drop me a line with feedback. Thanks. Send feedback to charles [at] sheehanmiles.netPrevious chapters: Chapter One. Chapter Two Brigadier General Tom Murphy stood in the sunlight near the helicopter pad on the roof of the Governor’s m...

Republic Podcast updated
2008-01-12 16:13:00
Just a quick note to let folks know that the latest episode of Republic (episode 20) is now online. You can check it out at feedburner.
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Insurgent: Chapter Two
2008-01-11 11:44:00
The story begins three months after the close of Republic. SPOILER ALERT -- If you haven't read Republic yet, you might want to wait before reading these entries. A number of events that wrapped up the conclusion of the book are referenced in the early chapters of this one. If you want to read Republic now, you can pick it up at Amazon, download the ebook or listen to the podcast.The draft versions of this story as posted here on the site are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Please let folks know about it, and feel free to send people the link, but I'll be changing/editing/correcting here as I go along and therefore it's best not to actually forward the text. Again, this is first draft stuff: if you read it, please drop me a line with feedback. Thanks. Send feedback to charles [at] sheehanmiles.netClick here to read Chapter One. Chapter TwoShe no longer knew how long she had been in the cell.It was a tiny cage, not much bigger than the bathroom she’d had ...

Will Chelsea Clinton end up as dictator of the United States
2008-01-10 15:13:00
Ok, bear with me. In 1988, George H.W. Bush was elected President of the United States . 20 years later, and we’ve had either a Bush or a Clinton in office. What happens if Hilary Clinton gets elected following her victory in the New Hampshire primary?Imagine 28 years. An entire generation, with nothing but Clintons and Bush’s as President. If Jeb Bush became President after that, they’ve have it clinched. America’s two royal families.36 years later, Dictator for Life Chelsea would waft into office.

Insurgent -- Chapter One
2008-01-06 03:32:00
Some time ago I blogged that I was planning to blog the sequel to Republic here on the site, as I wrote it.  Of course, that means you're getting the ugliness of it all here on the blog -- including the stuff I'll be changing, correcting, whatever.  That's okay with me, provided I get feedback.  That's the deal -- if you read it, drop me a line.The story begins three months after the close of Republic.  SPOILER ALERT -- If you haven't read Republic yet, you might want to wait before reading these entries. A number of events that wrapped up the conclusion of the book are referenced in the early chapters of this one.  If you want to read Republic now, you can pick it up at Amazon, download the ebook or listen to the podcast.The draft versions of this story as posted here on the site are copyrighted and all rights are reserved.  Please let folks know about it, and feel free to send people the link, but I'll be changing/editing/corre...
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Retrospect: New time travel story in this months FSF
2008-01-05 22:40:00
Wanted to post a quick note about an excellent and somewhat haunting story in the February edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.  Ann Miller’s Retrospect was a real eye opener, especially for book lovers like me.The story centers around this question:If you could give a book, anybook, to someone who had lived before, what book would youchoose and to whom would you give it?A little bit haunting, and with a surprising (and funny) twist, it is well worth taking a look at.  You can pick it up and bookstores now, or get a downloadable version of the magazine at http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/
More About: Travel , Story , Time , Time Travel , Months

Children of Rhatlan
2008-01-03 22:14:00
Fellow Podiobooks author Jonathan Fesmire just sent an email that he is now also offering a free PDF of his novel, Children of Rhatlan.I haven't read it yet, though it is on my "to be listened to" list for when I drive to Washington, DC next week.  Here's a good quote about the book:"New concepts are a rare thing in fantasy literature. Settings are created. Characters are wrought from legend or from thin air. New mythologies are conjured up. Genuine inventions, though, are a unique treat. Fesmire's duals is definitely one of those inventions. And all of the previous short stories, and now this full-length novel are certainly a treat." Check it out here:  http://jfesmire.livejournal.com/83557.htm l

Will number of downloads translate into books sold?
2008-01-02 17:24:00
Yesterday morning I posted that starting with the first of the year, I’m giving away the ebook of Republic for free.  The million dollar question is, will books downloaded translate into a ratio with books sold?Of course, it’s not an academic question. The evidence out there, with Baen publishing being the big example, is that giving away ebooks translates into longer term sales for the author.  What’s been particularly interesting about this is that I never expected the response the post has received so far.866 Diggs thus far, and the link is at the top of the Lifestyle section of Digg.  Nice.  The blog entry got something in excess of 40,000 hits, and the ebook had more than ten thousand downloads by the time the server crashed last night. Chris Anderson over at The Long Tail has blogged about it (which is pretty cool) as have a few others. I’ve since moved the ebooks to Mediafire to relieve some of the bandwidth pressure on my server, w...
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New Years action: Giving away my book
2008-01-01 15:45:00
I've never been one for New Years resolutions.  Quit smoking? Yeah, right.  However, a New Years action I can deal with.  Here's the plan: starting today, I'm going to be giving away the ebook version of Republic for free.No more sample chapters, partial books that end in the middle, none of that. You can download and read the complete book. Share it with your friends, email it, do anything you want with it except sell it. Hope you enjoy the book and tell others. Ebook Links:Adobe Acrobat PDF Mobipocket / Amazon KindleHTML (Read online)RTF (Rich Text Format / MS Word) Podcast Links:Subscribe with iTunesPodiobooks.com Feedburner   You can also order from Amazon: $16.95 Okay, so maybe you are wondering why? After all, I'm hoping that within the next few years, I'll be making enough money from book sales that I'll be able to write full time.  Isn't giving the book away somewhat counterproductive to that goal?I don't thin...
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And the winner is....
2007-12-25 14:28:00
John Mayson of Austin, Texas!  I was going to post a video review last night, but we're a little crowded here in Atlanta for Christmas, so I'm just posting a quick blog entry instead.John will win a $150 gift certificant, either from Amazon or iTunes, whichever he chooses. Congratulations!
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Reviving the Bonus March
2007-12-07 20:14:00
About ten years ago, I picked up a long out-of-print copy of Walter W. Water's account of the 1932 Bonus March . Waters was one of the leaders of the original group that travelled from Oregon to Washington, DC. The book had been out of print since before I was born, but is now back.Walter W. Waters was an Army sergeant who had served in Europe during the first World War. Like millions of other Americans during the great depression, he struggled to find a livelihood for his family, with little luck.In 1932, he led 300 veterans in a cross-country odyssey to petition Congress for release of the promised bonus for World War I veterans. Eventually, more ten thousand veterans gathered in DC.They were driven out. From Waters’ account of the tragedy:“The troops stopped at the buildings in the Pennsylvania Avenue area and took them one at a time. Each one housed forty to a hundred men. The men were chased out with drawn bayonets and gas bombs. The men of the B.E.F. had come ...
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Republic featured title at Borders
2007-12-05 15:44:00
Just wanted to share the news that at Borders ' political fiction category, Republic is now a featured title. 
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Happy Birthday to my big brother
2007-12-05 15:09:00
Happy Birthday to Richie (who I neglected to call on his birthday yesterday, oops). He's 41 today, which means I must about 25 now. I've included a before and after picture. See if you can tell me which one looks better.Before: After:Unfortunate, isn't it?Happy birthday big brother.
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Irritated this morning (or why Chris Hedges pisses me off)
2007-12-05 14:34:00
About 2 days a week, I work from Cup a Joe Hillsborough in Raleigh, rather than driving all the way home after dropping my son off at school. This morning, I sat down at my table to see a copy of the Triangle Free Press, which the previous occupant left behind. The headline: "Top Commanders Oppose Iran Attack."So far, nothing too surprising. But then I read the first paragraph of the article, written by Chris Hedges. Here it is:When military command is the voice of reason in a debate about a new war, you know our democracy is in trouble.Chris, Chris, Chris. Come on. Where have you been the last decade? Here's the point you miss -- the last person who wants to go to war is the people who have to live through it. It's the stay at home couch commandoes who yell for war. The soldiers go where they’re told, and no doubt if they have to go to war, they do it without question and with absolute loyalty. But our recent history demonstrates all too well the fact that t...
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Republic: Chapter Twelve
2007-11-21 15:08:00
CHAPTER TWELVEJUNE 27A drop of sweat crawled down Morris’ back as he stood in front of his assembled company. At 0800 hours, the sun already beat down on them mercilessly. It was going to be a hot day, over a hundred degrees. They stood on the edge of a parking lot, close to where their tents had stood for the last four weeks, next to the ruins of the shopping center. Damaged buildings and debris still scattered the area, but the Army’s job was over.“You’ve done a good job out here. We came into a dangerous situation a month ago, and each of you has seen things we’d have rather not seen. We’ll talk more on that subject, quite a bit, but in the meantime, I want you to remember a couple of key points here. Because of your work, the Department of Homeland Security has been able to collect the evidence they needed to identify the terrorists, and yesterday afternoon they filed charges against those who were responsible for this terrible crime. Because ...
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Get Republic by December 25 and win a $150 gift!
2007-11-15 17:25:00
Hello friends,The holidays are approaching, and you can get yourself a nice gift: a $150 gift certificate for iTunes or Amazon.com!On December 24, I’ll post a video drawing right here.  The lucky winner will get a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com or iTunes (your choice which one you prefer).  Each person who buys a copy AND posts a review on Amazon gets one chance to win.  For each copy you buy as a gift for someone else, you get TWO chances to win.How it works:1)    Buy your copy of Republic : A Novel of America’s Future by December 23, and email me the receipt at charles [at] sheehanmiles.net2)    Post your review at Amazon.com (also by December 23) and send me a note with the details.3)    Buy a copy as a gift for someone else, and get double the chances to win.If you bought Republic, send me the receipt and you can still win by entering a review on Amazon.When will the drawing take place?  I’ll ...
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Remembering Oxford Books
2007-11-15 16:48:00
For about ten years ? from 1984 until ?94, I was a regular at Oxford Books in Atlanta. It?s been on my mind the last few days, because Veronica and I have pretty much made the decision that we want to be closer to family, and we?ll likely move back there once the school year is over. It?s hard, however, for me to imagine an Atlanta without Oxford Books. I realize the population of the city has near tripled since I was in high school, and many of you in Atlanta now never knew Oxford. It was a literary paradise ? a wonderful independent bookstore, originally at Peachtree Battle shopping center, then expanded into the space next door, then they expanded more into a huge old house nearby for the used books, then much later they opened their flagship store on Pharr Road. The rapid expansion in 90-92, combined with the recession, did a lot of harm financially, and the company finally went bankrupt.What I remember ? living just a few blocks away in middle school, Oxford was a regular han...
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A Nation of Sheep
2007-11-09 13:59:00
I'm adding this one to my reading list. Judge Andrew Napolitano has written a new book called A Nation of Shee p attacking some of the main issues I've been writing about for the last five years -- the attack on American freedom from our own government. Check out this video from Fox News.

Why interface design is so important
2007-11-06 16:41:00
I’m finally finished doing the layout and design of Cincinnatus Press’ newest book, B.E.F. The Whole Story of the Bonus Army.  The book was originally printed in 1932, and is a must read for anyone who follows veterans issues: written by one of the key organizers of the 1932 bonus march, it chronicles the story of the bonus marchers as they crossed the country on their way to Washington, the summer spent lobbying Congress, and their final expulsion from DC at the hands of the U.S. Army.What does this have to do with interface design?  Well, the authoritative place to go when you are registering new titles in print is Bowkerlink.com, because Bowker is the authorized manager of the US ISBN agency.  If you want to be listed in Books In Print, you have to go there.  And my conclusion, after dealing with their terribly designed and nonfunctional system, is that no system at all is probably better than a badly designed one.The issue I’m struggling wit...
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