In the category of “So I don’t forget again”, here is how to compile a simple code.cs file to a console executable:

csc /t:exe NetDir.cs

Very simple, very easy.  To make it a Windows exe (console app with no console window, very useful for scheduled or batch processing), change the target (/t == /target) to winexe.

Ok, last review was a little over the top.  I should have called it:  The 21st Century's Alas, Babylon.  This book is credited as inspiration to One Second After and with good reason.  Having never read it, I thought it was time.

"The Day" is the one when the bombs fall.  Although we meet our hero Randy Bragg, native of Central Florida (just north of Orlando), and his brother Mark, who serves in Intelligence for SAC, a few weeks before.  Mark warns Randy of an impending attack and sends his wife and kids to stay with him to weather the threat, giving them all some time to prepare.  The threat is realized when the morning skies are lit up in the direction of Tampa, then less so from Daytona and Miami.  And all doubt is erased when the nuclear strike on Orlando itself and the resulting mushroom cloud is unmistakable.  The rest of the book is the story of a small community fighting for survival in the Florida "Contaminated Zone".

Set in the late '50s, it has an interesting perspective for me, knowing Orlando 30 years later.  The references to McCoy Air Force Base (now Orlando International Airport), Pinecastle and the St. John's River are enjoyable and interesting landmarks.  This is also a well thought out and written book, although not as grim as One Second After, and the characters seemed a bit flat to me as well.  Both these comments, though, are to be expected for a book written 50 years ago.  I found some details, such as the abundance of food, and the town rallying behind the leadership of a man all felt previously to be a amusing playboy, to be disappointing.  But it was a very enjoyable read and was significant for its times, if not so much today.

And now, the book heralded across the Internet as a must read.  One that eclipses most other novels, and tainted my perception of previous reads (Sorry J.F.Lewis).  It was referenced by Techo-geeks, Military writers and SciFi fans.  How could I not read it?  I ended up getting a copy from the local library and consumed it in little over a week.

One Second After actually starts a couple days before.  Then suddenly, the power goes out, most cars stop, and all electronics go dead. And nobody knows why.  Retired USArmy Colonel John Matherson has a pretty good suspicion having to do with high-altitude EMP burst attacks over the United States, but with no communications with anyone in earshot, who can tell?  What follows is a chillingly realistic look at how devastating the total disruption of electricity would be to our country.  The entire novel is set around the people in a small North Carolina community struggling to survive in conditions 100 years gone.

This is one of the most disturbing book I have ever read.  At the same time, it was very well written and executed.  I felt for the characters, identified with them, feared for them.  I will be buying this book for myself later, it was so good.  I have recommended it to everyone into technology and anyone who feels "safe" from foreign threats.  This is "Red Dawn" of the 21st Century.

I've gotten way behind and am having a hard time remembering what I've read. First up, though, is the sequel to Staked. Again, I bought this for the wife, but since I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to read ReVamped too.

ReVamped continues where Staked left off. Eric, a newly undead but powerful vampire with a bit of a memory problem, struggles to overcome the "Problems" incurred at the end of the first book and find answers to who and what he is. And find out who is responsible and exact some revenge. Definitely a fun story!

I was really impressed by Book 1, but not so much by this one. It's not that it wasn't good, because it was. Just not great. I came away feeling that it was a continuation of an ongoing story and didn't really resolve anything important. Maybe it was me and I had too high expectations. We'll see how the wife likes it...