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A La Ronde – A Quirky 18th-century sixteen-sided house

January 22, 2019 By Paul

A La Ronde – A Quirky 18th-century sixteen-sided house

I’ve just visited the most amazing house that has no less than sixteen sides. Yes, you heard sixteen sides. Here in the UK, it’s one of the national Trusts smallest properties on the outskirts of the seaside townThe 16 Sided House of Exmouth, Devon. While in the house listening to the guides enthusiastically conveying its history, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it had until quite recently been occupied. The sixteen sides give the appearance of a circular building which was designed for maximum light and the rooms arranged as per the times of the day, i.e. breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, reading room etc. It was originally designed and built by two wealthy spinster cousins. The house boasts some amazing interior décor which includes a shell gallery with a collection of approximately 25,000 shells, and a wall frieze made entirely of feathers.

I think that this would be a most intriguing venue for a murder mystery and the sixteen sided-house could be a great title ingredient for a book.

Let’s think about a couple of possible titles for a moment:

‘Murder in the Sixteen Sided-House’

‘The Sixteen Sided-House Scandal’

‘The Sixteen Sided-House Gang’

I’m sure that there could be many more titles created that feature this enchanting property that is set in lush green grounds.

If you get a chance, it’s well worth a visit, and you can learn more details about A La Ronde here.

 

Filed Under: Book Research, Inspiration Tagged With: Country, Devon, Exmouth, House, Location

A Silent Motorcycle

January 22, 2019 By Paul

Silent Motorcycles (Stealth Bikes)

I was moseying around for something pretty snazzy for my character to ride upon and I came across some fantastic motorcycles that are electric but with a difference. One of which has been developed for special forces it is silent and has a multi fuel capability.

Check these out:

Zero Bikes: Electric Motorcycles | SciTech Now

This first bike is being adopted by many law enforcement agencies and for good reason, it’s capabilities and it’s running costs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9NQaGq5Jak 

image source: http://bit.ly/2uq34gT 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Logos Technologies SilentHawk Hybrid-Electric Military Motorcycle (Flex-Fuel Motocross-Type)

This motorcycle has been specifically designed for the US Special Forces and the concept is fascinating.

Filed Under: Book Research Tagged With: Motorcycle, technology

Drones & Their Use

January 22, 2019 By Paul

Drones 

During the course of writing my latest project, a thriller I have some interesting objects to tell you about.  Firstly, I’ve been looking at adopting some modernistic products into the series. One area of my research has been Drone Technology. Now without giving away too much of the plot, I want to share with you how exciting this technology is, and how much it has developed in recent years.

It has amazed me how much drones can actually lift and what their range is? For example one Drone the DJI Matrice 600 can handle a maximum payload of 6kg and has a range of 5km. There are numerous models, and they each have their own characteristics. They are truly amazing. To learn more about these types of drones click here.

Then there are the micro-drones and one, in particular, the Lilly, looked impressive but failed to get funding for manufacture. But there are plenty of others around and their uses are astounding.

Image source: http://bit.ly/2joVWrZ 

Now if you’ve seen the movie ‘Eye in The Sky’ with Helen Mirren you will have seen the drone disguised as an insect. Yes, an insect. They can be that small, and they’re getting smaller all of the time. Of course, when written into a thriller plot they can be put to great use.

Image source: http://bit.ly/2vOxnxo 

Filed Under: Book Research Tagged With: Drones, technology

Pistols and How to Carry Them

January 22, 2019 By Paul

Pistols and How to Carry Them

Now, there’s no good having a hero style protagonist in a thriller without them being well versed in weaponry is there? So I’ve been busy researching the different type of pistols. While I have lots of experience having carried one for some years, I still wanted to see what is out there today.

One of my favorites is the Glock and with that comes the decision as to how my character carries his. Should he carry his Glock in a belt holster like this?

Or should he use a thigh strapped holster like this?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now have you seen one of those elastic waistband holsters that even accommodates your mobile phone? 

I’m not so sure that my character would feel comfortable with this on? What do you think? Or should he just gauge it by the activity he’s going to be involved in?

That’s it, I think that he should have a Glock holster for all occasions. Problem solved!

Filed Under: Book Research Tagged With: Ammunition, Guns, Holster, Weapons

Watercraft – Seabreacher x

January 22, 2019 By Paul

Watercraft – Seabreacher x

Hello,
I’ve spent virtually a month in the Mandurah, South of Perth, Western Australia. I had a great time, and the whole place is full of natural coastline, water inlets, estuary, canals and lots and lots of watercraft. I had the good fortune to come across this spectacular craft, the Seabreacher X, and it might just make its way into one of the Jack Jago Thriller novels, so watch out for that!

To appreciate what this craft is all about, how versatile it is, check out these couple of videos:

 

 

 

Check out The Museum Outlet charts of – SeaBreacher – A high quality A3 Poster Print (Click the image to obtain your copy)

Filed Under: Book Research Tagged With: boats, technology, watercraft

Apiology – All Things ‘Bee’ Related

January 22, 2019 By Paul

Apiology – All Things ‘Bee’ Related

I always marvel at what research writing leads me into. And at the moment I’m researching Bees, the study of which is Apiology, the Apis being the Bee.

Without giving too much away, I’m researching bees from a variety of countries, and beekeepers or apiarists. It is proving to be a fascinating subject,  although I’m not about to get going in this area myself.

I’ve also been looking at the different types of hives that can found the world over and the reasons for the differences, which are not solely based upon the climate which was my first thought.  I’ve also come across a recent design that allows you to see Bees at work in a kind of ‘mini indoor hive’ that you can install in your house, or school (if health and safety regulations permit?). It’s a very clever design that you can see for yourself here:

 

Click the link if you’re interested in finding out more details about the indoor beehive, The BEEcosystemobservation Hive

Here are some bee and beekeeping related terms that I have come across during the course of my research for one of my future titles:

 

Alarm pheromone This alerts guard bees to potential threats to the colony. It is produced by worker bees
Anther The part of a flower’s stamen that produces pollen.
Apiary The place where beehives are situated
Apiculture The science and art of bees and beekeeping.
Bee veil Protective cloth of wire netting which stops a beekeeper’s head and neck from being stung
Beeswax Wax that is secreted by special glands on the underside of the bees.
Blending Like making a fine whiskey, mixing various varieties of honey can make something better than the sum of the parts, typically improving flavour and colour.
Brood All stages of immature honey bees; eggs, larvae and pupae
Brood chamber The part of the hive where the brood is based. Generally this is at the bottom of most modern hives.
Cell A single hexagonal wax compartment, the basic unit of comb. Each honey bee develops within a single cell, and honey and pollen are stored within cells.
Colony Honey bees are social insects. Each honey bee can only live as part of a colony and not individually. Each colony of honey bees contains one queen bee who is the female parent of the colony, a few hundred drone bees and thousands of worker bees.
Comb
The wax structure made of hexagonal cells in which honey bees rear young and store food.
Drone A male honey bee Drones undertake no work within the hive: their sole function is to fertilize the queen.
Extractor The centrifugal machine in which honey is spun out of cells within com
Forage Flowering plants which provide nectar and/or pollen for bees.
Forager A worker honey bee that collects pollen, nectar, water or propolis for the colony.
Foundation A thin sheet of beeswax embossed with the hexagonal pattern of comb. A sheet of foundation is placed in each wooden frame and this serves as a base upon which honey bees build their comb. Without foundation honey bees would not necessarily build their comb in the orientation required by the beekeeper.
Frame A wooden rectangular frame that holds a sheet of wax foundation. A number of frames hang parallel to one another inside the hive.
Frame hive A hive which contains frames. The honey bees are encouraged to build their comb within these
Hive Any container provided by humans for bees to nest in.
Langstroth hive A design of frame hive. The inventor, the Rev L Langstroth recognised the importance of bee space and this allowed him to design the movable-frame hive.
National The name given to the most popular style of hobby hive in the UK
Nectar A sweet liquid secreted by flowers, a watery solution of various sugars.
Pacifier A substance used to calm bees
Pollen The fine dust-like substances which are the male reproductive cells of flowering plants. Collected by bees as a source of protein.
Pollen basket Areas of stiff hairs on the hind legs of worker honey bees where they carry pollen
Propolis This is a sticky brown filler or type of glue that bees produce to seal gaps in the hive. It is made from many differing sources, the main one being tree sap. Propolis has many amazing antiseptic medicinal uses and is produced commercially for sale in tincture or tablet form
Queen The female parent of the colony, the only sexually developed female.
Queen excluder A metal grid placed between the brood box and super in a modern hive. The spaces are wide enough to allow worker bees to pass through with honey but are too narrow for the Queen to pass through and lay eggs.
Royal jelly Glandular secretions of worker honey bees mixed with some regurgitated carbohydrates and fed to developing bees.
Scout bees Worker honey bees that are responsible for locating new sources of forage’, or a new location for a swarm.
Smoker A device for generating smoke to subdue bees. Often made from a metal can with bellows attached.
Super Any hive box placed above the brood nest. Usually contains combs in which bees will store honey.
Swarming When a honey bee colony becomes large enough to divide into two, swarming takes place. When this happens a new queen is reared, the colony divides and a swarm leaves the hive or nest. This swarm consists of a queen, drones and workers which will form another colony in a new location.
Worker bees Female honey bees that make up the bulk of the colony and undertake all the work of the colony except for mating and egg laying. Workers are sterile females.

Filed Under: Book Research Tagged With: Apiology, Bee, Nature

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