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Sci-Fi

Chester L. Richards

By Author, Sci-Fi, Science, TV No Comments

This episode is sponsored by:

Calling all Star Trek fans! Chester L. Richards, the co-writer of “The Tholian Web” episode of Star Trek, joins in the conversation, and it’s fascinating!! Some of his stories are almost unbelievable like the story about almost being killed by the great potato, the Colorado River, a crocodile, a crazed gunman…

In this episode:

  • What it was like when a rocket engine blew up
  • Working with the royalty of the industry
  • Meeting astronauts
  • Making something that’s actually space-qualified
  • What hooked him on science
  • His UFO encounter
  • SR71 planes
  • UFOs or swarms of insects?
  • How he came up with the Tholian Web
  • What he thinks of William Shatner
  • What he thinks about the newer Star Trek
  • The closest to death he’s come
  • How his wife’s eulogy affected him
  • Losing his wife

Quotations:

“That’s one of the things I hope comes through in the book. I talk about some very, very interesting people in that book–some in the rocket business and in some of the adventure travels I’ve had over the years.” ~Chester L Richards

“I’ve been privileged to see a couple of [rocket] launches.” ~Chester L Richards

“I had a deal with the local, regional library that I got first dibs on every science fiction book that came into the library.” ~Chester L Richards

“It turns out that there are clusters of insects that get electrified, and they glow in the dark, and a number of UFO sidings have now been attributed to these swarms of insects.” ~Chester L Richards

“I didn’t use to be a fan of Shatner, but I am now I have to tell you he’s a good guy, and he’s a fine actor. He really is a funny, talented, funny actor.” ~Chester L Richards

“When I see work [scripts] that is a little slip shot, I kind of get turned off by it. On the other hand, some of the stuff can be really a lot of fun, and you just say, ‘Well, oh, what the heck? You know, it’s a fantasy, and you go with it.’” ~Chester L Richards

You can sit in your house all day long and not have a very rich life, or you can go out and do things. Yeah, there are some hazards, but the richness you gain as a result more than compensates for the hazard that you experience.” ~Chester L Richards

“The more stories that I wrote, the more comfort I had, and I gradually was able to rebuild my life and get back to some kind of a normal psychological perspective through the process of writing these stories.” ~Chester L Richards

“I felt totally hollow when she [wife] passed away.” ~Chester L Richards

“You don’t have a fully rich life without the darkness.” ~Chester L Richards

Guest’s Bio:

Prior to retirement, Chester L. Richards was an Engineering Fellow at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Division. At Raytheon, he was Chief Architect for Advanced Concepts and Architectures. Before joining Raytheon, Mr. Richards had an engineering consulting business. His diverse technology career spans half a century.

At the beginning of his professional life as a scientist, Mr. Richards invented and patented the first successful automatic focus sensor using real-time image analysis. It was used in aerial reconnaissance cameras.

Subsequently, while at the Ford Aerospace Corporation, Mr. Richards was Chief Engineer for Strategic Systems. At Ford, he developed the flight instrumentation for the AGNT space flight and re-entry experiment. Mr. Richards invented and patented the Holographic Optical Element, which is widely used in large aperture adaptive optics telescopes. Mr. Richards also invented and successfully field-tested sub-resolution tracking techniques, which improved tracking accuracy by two orders of magnitude.

During part of his career, Chester L. Richards served as a System Engineering Technical Assistant (SETA) consultant to the U.S. Government. In this role, Mr. Richards developed the modern Space-Based Laser architecture for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. He was a member of SDIO’s Mission Analysis Working Group and its Innovative Science and Technology group. As SETA, he helped define the functional architecture of Schriever Space Force Base and wrote the Statement of Work establishing the requirements for the base.

For the Air Force, Chester L. Richards created the definitive high-fidelity sensor model for the DSP satellite series. In addition, he developed high-precision target tracking techniques for the Hover Test Facility at Edwards Air Force Base.

At Raytheon, one of his most important discoveries was the complete quantitative theory of bistatic radar, which previously had been only partially understood. This led to multiple fielded applications.

The technical interests of Mr. Richards include system architecture, space systems, physical optics, high energy lasers, image processing, radar, ergonomics, and jet and rocket propulsion.

Other activities include: Co-author of “The Tholian Web” script for the third season of the original Star Trek series. 

Chester L. Richards has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Physics from UC Irvine. He completed all coursework for PhDs in both Physics and Engineering at UC Irvine. Mr. Richards has 19 patents. His latest patent is for a centrifugal gas generator for gas turbine engines. 

Guest’s Contact Info:

https://www.chesterlrichards.com

Dylan White

By Author, Comedian, Fun, Movies, Sci-Fi No Comments

You know how big of an audiobook fan I am, and I know many of y’all are, too. So, I had to bring Dylan White on my podcast! He’s an author, actor, comedian, and even played the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin musical! Plus, I’m sure you’ve heard his voice on national commercials.

We talked about a variety of things, including Will Smith and aliens. This conversation was so interesting, it flew by! If you’re a fan of Sci-Fi, be sure to listen!

Also in this episode:

  • Being an odd kid
  • Knowing your audience
  • How he came up with the idea for his first book The Orion Abduction.
  • The art of narration (where he would project his voice from to change the sound for each character)
  • Why he didn’t watch the version of Aladdin with Will Smith in it
  • Aliens
  • His writing process
  • Having a teenage girl’s insight
  • The biggest secret skill a man can use when arguing with a woman
  • The technicality of comedy
  • Offending people during comedy shows
  • Looking at the universe from our limited perspective

Quotations:

“I wasn’t like a normal kid.” ~Dylan White

“You gotta know your audience.” ~Dylan White

“The technicality of comedy; you wanna get more laughs per minute or per set as you can. And if it takes you too long to get to your next punch or your next laugh line, you’ll lose an audience.” ~Dylan White

“I didn’t see it [Will Smith’s Aladdin].” ~Dylan White

“I’ve always been fascinated with aliens and UFOs and abductions.” ~Dylan White

“What if we’re the weird ones [instead of aliens]” ~Dylan White

Bio:

After over 10 years of playing the Genie in Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular at Disney California Adventure, Dylan is “out of the blue”—but only in terms of the costume and makeup. Dylan has been on the standup scene for quite some time and uses his snarky Gen-X sensibility to share his unique perspective on divorce, dating after fifty, depression, and everything in between. He is also a successful author and voiceover artist so be sure to follow him on his social media. But not on the street. That’s creepy.

Guest’s Contact Info:

https://www.dylanwhite.com/

Instagram username
@itsdylanwhite

Amazon page

A.K. Frailey

By Author, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Sci-Fi, Uncategorized No Comments

Key Takeaways From Episode:

  • Being a widowed mother of 8 children
  • Her time in the Peace Corp
  • Where she got her passion for missions
  • Responding with hope and love
  • Learning to see people as human beings
  • Finding faith and living in it
  • Focusing on what is good
  • Her writing process
  • Being a compassionate listener
  • What she loves about living in a small town

Quotations:

“Everything that’s ever happened to us has happened in a bigger theatre than we can imagine.” @AK Frailey

“We must be connected as human souls.” @AK Frailey

“I’m not going to pretend to know the mind of God.” @AK Frailey

“It’s very good to step back sometimes and say ‘What is God doing with this child.’” @AK Frailey

“It’s imperative to get in touch with who we are and our heritage.” @AK Frailey

Guest’s Bio:

I’m A. K. Frailey, a published author of 15 books. The majority are historical sci-fi where people of ancient times struggle to find meaning in a world dominated by evil choices. While managing their own conflicts, aliens fight for their place in human events. Movie director and producer Cary Solomon endorsed me with the summary, “Ann’s work ranks among the best.” I’ve been writing for over a decade and host podcasts of my short stories and life reflections. Since I was widowed 8 years ago, I have raised my 8 kids and discovered that epic trials forge epic heroes.

Guest’s Contact Info:

Justin B. Long

By Author, Sci-Fi No Comments

Key Takeaways From Episode:

  • Why Justin Has Used The Pen Name J. Boyd Long and How He Makes His Characters Names
  • Why Science-Fiction Writers Are The Watchguard of The Human Race 
  • How Damaged People Raise Damaged People and Generational Cycles of Brokenness
  • How a Garbage Can Was Used For Punishment In Justin’s Childhood
  • Weaponizing the Bible
  • How To Heal From Abusive Parents

Quotations:

“We all have the ability to change things about ourselves,  but if we don’t know that and we don’t know what the tools are to get us where we’re trying to go, then we just stay broke.” – Justin B Long

“If there is a way to make money and screw people over, there is somebody that’s willing to do it.” – Justin B Long

“I’ve learned that alcohol wasn’t my problem, alcohol was a solution that worked and then it didn’t work, my real problem was the way that I felt about myself.” – Justin B Long

“His only emotion that he could really put out was rage and hostility and he didn’t know how else to express himself.” – Justin B Long
“Second grade was the year that my mom decided that the television screen was satanic.” – Justin B Long

Guest’s Bio:

Justin Boyd Long is a self-embracing nerd who loves crunching numbers, researching interesting things, and listening to podcasts, in addition to reading loads of books. His exposure to Stephen King’s books at the age of 10 probably stunted him in some way, but he is still determined to leave the world a better place than he found it. He lives near Gainesville, Florida on a small farm with his incredible wife, 7 horses, 5 cats, 2 donkeys, 2 dogs, and a sheep named Gerald.

Guest’s Contact Info:

https://jboydlong.com/