Monday, 14 October 2024

Quenzar's Caverns Registration and Tip Sheet - Official

 Hello,

I'm Peter Lok.  Decades ago (1993) I wrote Quenzar's Caverns as shareware for Windows 3.1.  Over the years a few people have reached out about it and I see it is in the Internet Archive now.  While this software is not abandonware, it is no longer sold or supported and only runs on older versions of Windows.  

DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility for anything that happens when anyone tries out this ancient software, so use at your own risk.  However, there are nag screens as it was shareware.  I enclose the registration and tip sheet for it below which has the code to disable the nag!

Registration Instructions For Quenzars Caverns V1.5 or Pulse Pack 1

Thank you for registering your copy of Quenzar's Caverns with Pulse Ventures Ltd., and supporting the concept of shareware.  We hope you get many hours of playing enjoyment from the game.

To remove the registration reminders for Pulse Pack 1 (Windows 95 only)

1.       Locate the Registration Program Icon amongst your other Pulse Pack Program Icons in the Pulse Pack menu folder.

2.       Run the program and enter the password diamondgem

To remove the registration reminders, follow the steps listed below for Windows 3.1 or 3.11.

1.     Start up windows.

2.     Open up the group containing your Quenzar's Caverns icon.  In the installation example, Figure 1, the icon is in the Games group.

Figure 1

3.      Select the Quenzar icon by clicking the mouse once on it.  In Figure 1, Quenzar is selected and shown in highlighted print.

4.      Click on the File menu of Program Manager.  This will bring up the File menu, see Figure 2 below.

Figure 2

5.      Now select the Properties option by clicking the mouse on it.  This will bring up the dialog box shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

6.      Click on the Command Line: edit box to place the cursor after the path and the name of the executable.  In Figure 3, the path and the name of the executable is c:\sw\quenzar\quenzar.exe.  Now type in the password diamondgem after the program executable name, leaving a space between the name and the password.  The text will scroll if you reach the right hand side of the edit box.  In the example, the contents of the edit box will now read c:\sw\quenzar\quenzar.exe diamondgem, see Figure 3 again for for an example.   The password will disable the shareware messages and enable random dungeon generation.

7.      Press the OK button to accept the change you have made.

8.      Double click on the Quenzar icon to play Quenzar with random dungeon generation.

9.      Please note that this password will have to be reentered if you ever delete the icon from Program Manager and create a new one.  Keep this sheet for future reference.

To remove the registration reminders, follow the steps listed below for Windows95.

The process is similar to the process for Windows 3.1.

Figure 4

1.     Right mouse click on the desktop so you see a popup menu with the item New, the pick Shortcut on the next level down.  This will bring up the following dialog.

2.     Browse or type in the path to the Quenzar.exe file and type in the password diamondgem after the program name in the edit box.

3.     Click the Next button and continue on to create the shortcut on your desktop.

4.     Double click on the desktop icon to play the game without the registration screens.

NOTE FOR QUENZAR 1.0 USERS:

Replace the password diamondgem with the password authentication delta to run 1.0 without the registration notice screen.  Keep the password lower case with a space between the words.


QUENZAR'S CAVERNS TIP SHEET for V1.5+

Quenzar's Caverns can be a tricky little game.  It is a challenge as you must face shock traps when navigating the dungeon and husband your resources to fight monsters.  This sheet will explain some of the details of the game, giving you a better understanding of how it works.  Use the Randomize Items function, or play an advanced level to get even more challenge out of the game!

 

A FEW SAFETY TIPS FIRST:

1.      Do not rush around in the dungeon when moving.  It is too easy to blunder into a shock trap.

2.      Always use your best weapons and armour, particularly armour.  For example, it may pay to use a two-handed sword with leather armour to do more damage against a large opponent such as a goblin, but you should usually use a one handed weapon with your armour and use a shield if you can for the extra protection.  Using a weapon, shield, and armour is definitely better against bats, rats, spiders,  hounds, and other creatures that do not do as much damage and are not that tough.  MORE ARMOUR IS GOOD, even though it reduces your chances of hitting in combat!

3.      Now that I have said more armour is good, if you are having a problem hitting monsters, check your modified dexterity.  Hitting is based upon a random number generated between 1 and 20 vs. your modified dexterity.  If your modified dexterity is only 8, then you only have a 40% chance to hit.  You may wish to adjust your armour / shield mix.  I like small shields (unless the Dragon Shield is available), and chainmail as a non-magical mix.  A modified dexterity from 8 - 10 is satisfactory.

4.      Also use the Defend option when facing dangerous opponents when their dexterity is much higher than yours if you are wearing armour.  Quenzar, the vampire, minor demons, etc., fall in this category.

5.      Use your ability to use healing potions, change weapons, and other objects in the middle of a combat to your advantage.

6.      See what types of items are contained in certain types of furniture and only search the ones you need.  For example, do not search weapons racks if you already have the Dragon Sword or another magical weapon to avoid setting off any traps.

7.      When trying on rings, save them up until you have a few scrolls, of which one is a remove cursed items hopefully, before you use the rings.  Wearing a cursed item around is discouraging and items should only be tried when you know what they are!  Finding the lens of identity early in the game is always a big bonus as it reveals the identity of everything you find.

8.      Use healing potions before restoration potions.  Use restoration potions when your strength is low (low is at your discretion, but 1/3 or less is good).

9.      Once you have a magic weapon, you can dump your other weapons as you won't be needing them.

10.    Watch your point value vs. the monster's point value.  This is a good indicator of how tough they are.

11.    When you are weak at the beginning, running into a goblin can be a treasure trove.  Using a grenade to obtain good armour, a shield, and a good weapon can give your character a good start.

12.    Save a grenade for Quenzar's bodyguard at the end of the game. Grenades also have 1 chance in 8 of doing a point of damage to Quenzar.

13.    Run away from the horror as it doesn't hit too well, or use grenades if you have them to spare.  Killing it is most satisfying for some reason though.

14.    Use potions carefully, except for pink ones.  Potions other than red or pink can permanently raise or lower your attributes.  Red potions can cure you of all wounds or poison you in some cases.

15.    Pink potions and scrolls are always good.

16.    The talk option is also underused by most people, and it is extremely handy to buy off tough monsters like vampires, or goblin chiefs.  The money you use to pay them off stays on their person, so if you come back later, you can get some back by slaying them.  Don't be too cheap when bribing.

17.    Heal often with the Healing Spirit as long as your money holds out.

 

NOTE! You do not need the Dragon Shield and Dragon Sword to kill Quenzar - they just help.


ARMOUR/SHIELDS IN ASCENDING VALUE :                  WEAPONS IN ASCENDING VALUE:

Armour/Shields

Protection

Dex.

Mod

 

Weapons

Damage

Hands

Used

none

0

0

 

hands

0

0

padded armour

1

-1

 

dagger

1

1

leather armour

2

-2

 

club

2

1

chainmail armour

3

-3

 

shortsword

3

1

partial-plate armour

4

-4

 

sword, mace

4

1

plate armour

5

-5

 

long sword, morningstar

5

1

magic chainmail

4

-3

 

battle axe

6

1

magic plate

5

-4

 

spear

6

2

 

 

 

 

greate axe

7

2

none

0

0

 

magic sword

7

1

small shield

1

0

 

halberd, greatsword

8

2

shield

2

-1

 

magic glaive

9

2

large shield

3

-2

 

Dragon Sword

9

1

dragon shield

4

-2

 

Dark Sword

8

1

MONSTER STATS (read at your own risk of losing surprises):

NAME

Avg. Str.

Avg. Dex.

Avg. Int.

Armour

Attack

Special

blob of slime

20

3

1

1

 

 

giant rat

2

10

1

 

2

-1 to hit

giant spider

1

11

2

1

 

poison, -2 to hit

killer rabbit

5

15

3

 

2

-1 to hit

skeletal guard

9

8

3

armour

weapon

 

goblin guard

11

10

7

armour

weapon

 

goblin chief

13

10

10

armour

weapon

 

black hound

9

11

2

1

2

flame

trapper plant

13

6

0

3

1

 

giant lizard

14

12

1

1

2

 

cave bat

2

12

1

 

2

-2 to hit

cave troll

15

8

5

armour

weapon

 

minotaur

16

11

3

1

2

 

cave kraken

15

12

2

 

 

 

tunnel frog

5

13

1

 

1

poison

ghoul

10

10

3

 

1

 

imicon

10

11

2

 

 

-1 to hit

minor demon

15

13

13

1

2

 

imp

6

15

11

 

 

 

vampire

14

14

11

1

1

vampire drain

giant

16

7

6

armour

weapon

 

medusa

10

10

14

 

1

stone gaze, 1/2 to hit

blood wisp

6

12

1

 

1

strength drain,  -2 to hit

giant snake

6

10

1

 

1

poison, -1 to hit

Healing Spirit

1

 

15

 

 

heals you

Quenzar the Wizard

14

13

16

m-chain

d-sword

spells

large golem

20

10

2

2

3

 

gargoyle

16

13

2

2

3

 

automaton

14

10

2

m-plate

halberd

 

dragon

18

12

2

4

3

flame

Slithering Horror

30

6

3

4

2

regeneration

 

Press ALT-F1 to activate the secret blast spell when there is a monster in the room. This costs you strength.


Thursday, 11 July 2024

2024 Edition Of My Guidebook Tokyo Intro Is In Print

This new version of Tokyo Intro is available in print form for the first time and it is also the first time I've worked through the entire process of printing a paper book.  It was a ton of work to do page layouts and especially cover formatting, but I now have a new skill!  In role-playing game terms, I leveled up!

This 3rd edition of the book is current as of June 2024.  It was a pile of work to update certain sections, while others were relatively untouched as the information was still current and relevant.  It is always fun planning for my Tokyo trips and documenting what I find benefits both readers and myself.  Tokyo constantly changes with new experiences to enjoy, but it has a stable core that you need to know to enjoy any visit.  This guidebook provides a nice base of information to enjoy any visit more fully.  I have to say holding a print copy in my hand really drives home a personal achievement.  

If you're planning on visiting Tokyo soon, or just want to read some cool stories, consider picking up a copy of this as a paperback or an ebook!

The book is now available on Amazon Canada, USA, and other English markets.
Tokyo Intro - Stories, Pop Culture, and Places on Amazon.com
Tokyo Intro - Stories, Pop Culture, and Places on Amazon.ca

Friday, 5 February 2021

2020 Sales of Ebooks and Print Books and Your Book Selling Strategy

I was doing a little reading and concluded that my next books and revisions of my older books need to have print on demand (POD) and ebook availability.  I've included some of the articles on the web I was reading for research.


Ebooks reversed a downward sales trend last year by growing due to the pandemic, but print books still held steady and grew too.  People like paper even if I do most of my fiction reading on an ebook reader with e-ink.  I buy non-fiction books that are reference or art books in paper mostly these days.  Anything with pictures chews up too much room on an ebook (I do buy some manga volumes as ebooks if the filesizes are < 150 MB as it is half price compared to the paper book, but cookbooks and some manga are huge now at 300 MB and upwards.

At some point this year I need to seriously look at publishing solutions such as Draft2Digital to allow for ebook and POD simultaneous publishing and on multiple books stores at the same time too!  This way I don't have to manage an Amazon, Google, and Apple Books accounts.

The links about these topics are listed below for your reading pleasure.

Why Are Americans Buying Far More Paper Books than eBooks in 2020?  Paper is just a great medium and we might even absorb information better in the page turning format!

Print Book Sales Rose 8.2% in 2020

Is Predicted eReader Decline Indicating Reverse Digitization?

Publishers Worry as Ebooks Fly off Libraries' Virtual Shelves.  Anyone who can is borrowing ebooks from librariesBest way to go is the Libby app, but if you don't want to read on an expensive IPAD or a small screen phone, buy a cheap android tablet such as an Amazon Kindle Fire for < $100 and use the Overdrive app if your libraries support these lending methods.

Big Fail for publishers? Just $92 per household spent on rec reading in 2019—and even that may decline long term.  This is kind of interesting as books are actually really expensive compared to DVDs / Blu-Rays too if you think about it.  How much does it cost to make a series or a movie compared to a novel?  Mass market pricing at work for the DVD / Blu-Ray and not for books.

Book Sales Are Soaring—And Not Just the Digital Kind.  Pre-pandemic from 2019.  Think about what's changed in 2020 and 2021 moving forward.

Friday, 4 December 2020

My Writing Group Has Just Published All Mapped Out - A New Anthology

Hi everybody!  Two years ago I joined up with the Edmonton Writers' Group and have been attending the meetings regularly.  The group is a loose affiliation of writers who just get together every two weeks to critique one or two short stories or pieces of writing from a member(s).  It's all done in good fun and the group has been running for fourteen years.

The group had previously published some anthologies and late last year, people started wondering if they should do another anthology.  Well, it is a year later and I contributed a story to All Mapped Out, the fourth collection that has just been published.

All Mapped Out is a set of stories based on the theme of MAPS.  Many kinds of maps are involved that range from actual paper maps to abstract concepts of a path or even a journey.  There are fifteen stories in this collection with no two stories being alike.  Some are mysteries, others are emotional journeys, and there are fantasy and science fiction stories too.  They’re all pretty enjoyable reads too (a good thing as this volume went through a number of editing passes within the group).   The volume has been in the works for over a year and it is the fourth anthology published by the group, and it is the first one for me to be involved in. All Mapped Out is available online as an ebook or in print.  All profits from this anthology are donated to the Edmonton Public Library which also hosts our meet ups when we meet in person.

It is a whole bunch of work to get out a printed book and ebook, but the Edmonton Writers' Group is a good bunch of folks who apparently love a good challenge and writing of all kinds.  Membership isn’t all that exclusive as there are no fees and you just have to attend three meetings to be considered a member, but we have people who come regularly and people who only drop in a few times a year.  The group has a pretty diverse membership with dozens of members and meets every two weeks to do friendly reviews of one or two stories.  Even with the pandemic this year, we went online to hold our meetings by video (and didn’t miss a single meeting), and I think everyone is glad to have some social contact with their fellow writers.  Personally, I’ve found that everyone is pretty supportive of each others writing and the commentary is always interesting as it brings up things that I never thought about or missed.

I contributed the story “Green Day” to the anthology.  My story is set in a future Edmonton which has undergone immense change due to climate change.  It is a story about competitors running a foot race around the core of the city while racking up scores on an overlayed virtual map.  The prize is luxury food privileges in a future that provides for all, but things we take for granted are now expensive luxuries.

It was really interesting to see the diversity of stories in this anthology and it really shows the different personalities and interests of the people in the group.  If you pick up a copy of the book, I hope you have a good read.

A big thanks also goes out to our editor, Howard, and Robin for facilitating the online meetings.

Where To Get All Mapped Out
All Mapped Out at Amazon.ca - Canadian Kindle ebook
All Mapped Out at Amazon.ca - Canadian trade paperback
All Mapped Out at Amazon.com - USA Kindle ebook

Older Works by the Writing Group
Between the Shelves at Amazon.ca - Canadian Kindle ebook
Edmonton Unbound at Amazon.ca - Canadian Kindle ebook

The Edmonton Writers' Group Blog and Website
http://edmontonwritersgroup.blogspot.com
https://sites.google.com/view/edmontonwritersgroup

My Writing
Tokyo Intro - a storytelling guidebook to the city
My science fiction books and stories



Sunday, 31 May 2020

Food Preservation with MREs and Combat Rations in General

I've always been fascinated by the science of preserving food so that it can be eaten at a later date.  In southern Chinese cuisine there are the black 1000 year old eggs from China, dried shrimp and scallops, salt fish, or tasty salted duck eggs, etc.  In Europe you have bacon, ham, sausages, etc.  The Native Americans had pemmican and smoked meats too.  While these old food preservation techniques are no longer needed, they are still used today to preserve food and to provide great variety for eating.  Who doesn't like bacon if they are allowed to eat it!  I can't believe they have bacon jerky now too!

Food preservation technology via canning took a big advance in the 18th century if I recall from watching the show Connections.  Napoleon was concerned about feeding his army and a man named Nicolas Appert figured out that he could preserve food in bottles if the food was cooked and sealed in an airtight container.  Canned rations followed later in the 19th century.  Military needs basically produced an innovation in food preservation.  On an interesting side note, this also means that making jam and other fruit preserves didn't exist until after these innovations, so the techniques are only a few centuries old.  Before canning, you had drying, smoking, salting, and pickling as methods of preserving meat and vegetables.

Skipping ahead a couple of hundred years, past WWII K-Rations, then C-Rations, you now have MREs or meals ready to eat.  So rations were bottled, then canned, and now they are stored in retort pouches made out of laminated foil and plastic.  MREs were a big improvement on previous types of military field rations that existed even in the 1970s.  These days, they would be compared against other types of dehydrated or retort packaged foods and they hold up pretty good against the competition.

It turns out there is a community of military ration enthusiasts and I watched bunch of unpackaging videos on Youtube.  You could spend hours viewing a variety of military rations from different countries and be impressed.






It was pretty interesting watching as you can see what different countries consider essential to their soldiers in the varieties of food and amenities packed. Some of the European rations like the ones from the French and Italians were pretty fantastic looking as it was almost like having a picnic, the Japanese ones were pretty darn cool for their food and contents, and the American MREs had to be the best designed.  I was really impressed with how you could eat the contents right from the pouches, mix your drinks in the pouches, only need to use a spoon, and generally eat without camp stoves and such with the flameless ration heaters.  Some of the other nations needed little stoves to boil water or to heat their canned meals.
Gundam Cup Noodle
Instant ramen is another advance in food preservation technology.  I blog about instant ramen on my Japanese Pop Culture blog, particularly cup noodles from Japan as they are far superior to the regular cup noodles you can get over here (it is more about quality in Japan than value).   It is interesting that the Japanese Self-Defence Forces actually issue cup noodles and the government over there keeps cup noodles stockpiled for emergency preparedness.
Cup Noodle cutaway
 Instant Ramen 
Back to the MREs now.  I finally bought a box of civilian MREs from Meal Kit Supply via Costco Canada (thanks Costco for carrying these at a reasonable price), and I'll try a bunch of these over the year just for the sake of trying them.  The box of 12 meals I received contained a variety of meals and they actually look pretty cool packed in their tough plastic bags. 
  • Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Potatoes au gratin
  • Chili with Beans, Fried rice
  • Vegetarian Ratatouille, Potatoes au gratin
  • Chicken with Noodles, Fried rice
  • Beef Ravioli, Potato cheddar soup
  • Chicken Fajita, Fried rice
  • Meatballs in Marinara Sauce, Potato cheddar soup
  • Vegetable Lasagna, Zapplesauce
  • 2 Apple Maple Oatmeal, Brown sugar toaster pastry
  • 2 Sausage Patty with Hash Browns, Hash brown with bacon
There is a great deal of stuff packed into each one of these, and they are heavy, but you'll get a ton of calories from them.  If you can carry the weight, they are definitely good for rations on the go, and the variety of items inside is a nice plus.

I've only tried one MRE so far, a Meatballs in Marinara Sauce and a Potato Cheddar Soup with Bacon meal.  It was actually pretty good overall and I'll comment about the meal in the pictures below.  A meal works out to cost less than $10 Canadian if you take out the shipping cost.  They last a long time too, up to five years with regular cool storage.

The MREs come in tough plastic packages within a sturdy cardboard box and are tightly fitted inside.  You'll need  a lot of muscle or a cutter to open the tough bags.
The large amount of contents in an MRE.  You get drink mixes, instant coffee, suger, salt/pepper, spoon, napkin, hot sauce, two main entrees, nice big package of crackers, peanut butter, and a flameless ration heater.  The two dull olive green packages in the top right are the main entrees in their retort pouches.
Flameless ration heater wrapped around my soup and meatballs.  It didn't heat as much as I thought it would, but I don't think I measured the water right and I'll have to try again with the next meal.  It was cold outside, so we'll see.
The meatballs in a tomato sauce.  The small meatballs were quite firm, but I enjoyed it.  It is probably better to have a firmer meatball than a squished on in my opinion.
Chedder and potato soup.  This was pretty good too and it went down real easy.
I was quite impressed by these crackers as they were crisp, had a good texture, and were fresh.  Went real good with the peanut butter.
When I write some more stories, some MREs need to factor in somehow to add good background for them!  Other than space gruel out of a tube, food synthesizers, or the little brick of miracle food (like Elven bread), science fiction MREs should be pretty darn interesting.  This is something that isn't really written about all that much, but maybe space marines will still be complaining about their field rations anyhow as it is a common thing to complain about.

As a parting shot, here is a picture of space instant noodles (ramen) that I shot when I was in Tokyo.  It was developed by Nissin for the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA).




More Scifi Topics

Thursday, 22 November 2018

Public Domain / Open Access Image Libraries

There are numerous sources of free images that you are available for use in your projects or blogging.  Most of these image banks are for older images (out of copyright, something you would need to check), but something from the 19th century is probably pretty safe.
From NASA / Flicker. No known copyright restrictions (no need for attribution either).
In some cases you need to attribute the image to the source, but that is a pretty easy restriction to follow for free use.  For tech or space images, NASA is a good source too.  Searching Flickr with filters for Creative Commons licenses also can work too, but you have to make sure the subjects are not people or owned by someone even if the image is free to use.  Before using any image check for yourself to see if you can truly use it or it is public domain, kind of like buyer beware.

Here is a short list of amazing resource sites.  Beware the Internet rabbit hole!
  1. The Library of Congress digital Free to Use and Reuse Sets.  I like the Japanese fine prints collection, and you could definitely do a lot of creating with the other historical collections.
    Their main digital collections page with millions of items that are not just images, but you need to be more careful about copyrights and usage.
  2. The British Library released over a million images on Flickr that are in the public domain.  There are lots of old maps and other images.  Search or browse for hours.
  3. NASA and it many projects and divisions have piles of space images.  Not all are public domain, so do read the usage policies and restrictions.
    Jet Propulsion Laboratory Images and usage policies.
    ASTER Satellite Images that require credit.
    NASA on The Commons are images that are in the public domain on Flickr.
  4. Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access has 400,000 images online
    Japanese Illustrated books in the public domain - check policies.
  5. Getty Open Content Images, check their usage policies.
  6. National Gallery of Art Open Images, check their usage policies.
  7. Art Institute of Chicago, under Creative Commons License, make sure the Open Access Checkbox is on for the search.
There are other sources of images too, but this is already a pretty big set.

Friday, 28 September 2018

My Tokyo Introductory Guide Book Is Now Available!

Going to Tokyo?  Want a richer experience?
Tokyo Stories provides an introduction to the city by using storytelling and Japanese pop culture in a unique format.  Learn about Japanese food, key experiences, sights to see, districts to visit, anime, and why the country’s pop culture is so popular worldwide.  Japan has a rich culture and history and is still creating more of it in the 21st century.


Learn About Tokyo
This book provides a comprehensive background for any visit on its own and easily complements other guides to the city.  Over fifty experiences to have in Tokyo are detailed to allow the visitor to pick what they think is important to them.

Key sections in the book are:
  • Japanese Pop Culture - Anime and Manga, Idols, Kawaii, Cyberpunk, and Videogames
  • Japanese Food - Eating Out In Japan, Casual Restaurants, B-Kyu Food Of Japan, and more
  • Tokyo Trip Tips – Planning, Booking, Transportation, Monetary, and Personal
  • Core Districts To Visit - Shinjuku, Harajuku, Omotesando, Shibuya, Ginza, and more
  • Great Views - Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Mori Tower, Ginza Six, and more
  • Top Tokyo Experiences – Modern Tokyo, Historic Tokyo, Seasonal Events, and Anime Culture
  • Descriptions of more than 50 Tokyo Experiences – 100 Yen Store, Akihabara, Depachika, Gardens, Kappabashi Street, Konbini, Meiji Jingu, Odaiba High Tech, Ramen Museums, and more.
Stories In Tokyo
The four short stories in the book gently introduce what it is like to ride the trains, eat a meal, explore some must-visit districts, and have a pop culture adventure at the same time.  Stories are remembered, so this is a great way to learn more about the fantastic city of Tokyo.  One early reviewer remarked that they felt like they experienced the city through them, and that they loved the introductions to each story.

The stories are:
  • Neko Astray – you help a lost cat get home with some unexpected help provided.
  • Animated in Akiba – you assist a magical girl in Akihabara, the heart of anime culture.
  • Print in Time – you meet an ukiyo-e artist who has accidently travelled in time to modern Tokyo.
  • Kaiju Knocking – you are a tourist in Tokyo when it is attacked by a giant monster.

By the time you finish this book you will have an idea about how much there is to see in Tokyo, and what you would like to see and do.  However, this book is not a guide to Japanese etiquette, hotels, the restaurants, nightlife, shopping, or things that more typical guide books cover.  Knowledge from this book supports planning with other resources, as it is intended to introduce and entertain only.  Online sources of information for travel to Tokyo are excellent.  You can use Google Maps and reviews, blogs, Youtube, Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc.  They will provide you with addresses, exact map locations, and any other details you can think up.  This book is like having someone tell you about Tokyo over a coffee with some tall tales sprinkled on top.

The author, Peter Lok, has written the novel Neo Ace, and has been blogging about Japanese pop culture and Tokyo since 2009.

The e-book is now available on Amazon Canada and USA.
https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Stories-Visitors-Introduction-Culture-ebook/dp/B07HR3YZ8N
https://www.amazon.ca/Tokyo-Stories-Visitors-Introduction-Culture-ebook/dp/B07HR3YZ8N


For more information on Tokyo, visit my travelogue page with this link.

Friday, 20 April 2018

Writing Mecha Science Fiction and Exocrisis Blue

I started out to write my mecha science fiction three or four years ago when I just decided I needed to start writing again.  I picked this particular science fiction setting because I felt that I could add to it in an original, more realistic manner, one that was inspired by Japanese anime, particularly Evangelion, Full Metal Panic! and Gundam.  I also have a Tokyo / Japanese pop culture blog too, so the focus was kind of natural.
So, how could I write a more realistic SF story with big combat robots inspired by anime roots?  I would have to avoid trying to do something only a Japanese writer would do well, do some creative thinking about the robots, integrate what I knew about modern military systems and tactics, and have a great story with great characters.

1) I didn't pretend to be a Japanese writer.
  • I grew up on reading western SF and literature, so that is what I know and will write.  I'm not Japanese, but I have a few insights into their mindset, after years of exposure to history books, translated novels, travelogues, anime, movies, and manga.  This is enough to write about the Japanese, but not as a Japanese.  I do like their creative work and pop culture in general so whatever I write is a tribute to this.
  • The stories so far are not set in Japan, but in Canada, America, or in Africa.
  • They have primary characters that are not Japanese, but there are Japanese characters.
  • My main alliance in the stories is about CAJUN, or the Canada Japan Union that arose after the Alien War.
  • Anime fans will recognize certain tropes, but it is all written from a western science fiction perspective (think Bolo or Starship Troopers) for a western audience.  This means no shouting out attacks as you enter battle like in a Shonen anime or a Hong Kong Kung Fu movie.
2) The HARM robots had to be as realistic as you could get with big robots (I'm actually with the school of thought that big robots = big targets = big missile sponges = unfeasible and expensive).  So I pulled a bit of technobabble to solve the problem.
  • Robots are built using reverse-engineered alien technology to leap us ahead. 
  • They are powered by chemical fusion, a technology that allows massive power generation and blows up real good if ruptured.  The power is needed to power weapon systems and defences.
  • Survivable, so I equipped them, and their alien counterparts with active molecular armour.  This was a lightweight armour plating that has incredible tensile strength and hardness, when it was powered up.  This expensive composite also has incredible heat dissipation protperties against lasers.
  • Large, as in 2 or 3 stories high, to carry the chemical fusion plants and be giant robotish, but not too big as to be a big target.  Basically they mass like a modern main battle tank.
  • Nimble, run quickly, to dodge incoming fire, react quickly, and allow the pilots to use their skills. 
  • Deadly, by firing hypersonic projectiles from coilguns (similar to railguns).
  • Advanced AI and neural syncing control technology to move a robots like a human.  The AI also acts like a weapons operator and copilot.
  • I also added point defences, and complimentary weapons systems like missiles to the robots to make them more lethal.
 3) The robots fit into a near future miltary structure as the elite front line units that are the pointy tip of the spear.
  • They are expensive and regular military units such as tanks, powered infantry, and artillery still comprise the bulk of the army.  
  • A HARM mecha is the equivalent of a  tank platoon in firepower, but more deadly due to its mobility, agility, and firepower.
Finally, I guess I'd say that I started with a short story, HARM, to test out if I could write about combat mechs in action.  That story introduced one of my main characters, Joshua Scott, who appears in all the stories.  Dr. Janet Chan, the lead engineer on the HARM project, was also introduced in this story and she ends up playing a pivotal role I never anticipated when I was initially outlining the stories.  HARM succeeded and I then wrote another story, Raid on Kahamba, about a mission to retrieve an alien artifact.  Finally the current novel, follows up from Raid, centered on a new generation of teen mecha pilots (there is a reason they're teens) and the alien artifact.

If I've perked your interest, head over to my publications page for links to Amazon ebooks here.  Thanks for dropping by.

Wednesday, 4 April 2018

Favourite Japanese Dining Experiences in Edmonton

Japanese food is not just sushi.  Sushi made it famous worldwide, but there are all kinds of tasty Japanese food to eat.  Below, I've listed a number of tasty dishes at some of my favourite restaurants around Edmonton from breakfast to dinner.

First up is breakfast.  I actually don't know any Japanese places that serve Japanese breakfast in Edmonton, but I ran into a hybrid the other day at Tasty Tom's down on Whyte Avenue.  I ordered their breakfast snitzel which turned out to be a fried pork cutlet with panko breading.  So western breakfast of fried eggs meets a very well made Japanese tonkatsu.  The pan fried potatos were also done with curry powder giving it a bit of a Japanese flair.  This was a great meal that was quite filling.
Breakfast Snitzel.
Lunch and dinner options for Japanese food abound in the city.  I Love Sushi does sushi, but they're one of the only places that does a katsudon or oyakudon.  This is a real down to earth Japanese dish where you have the katsu cutlet or chunks of chicken in a cooked egg mixture with sauce on rice.  Quite tasty.
Katsudon
I've eaten at a number of ramen places in town.  Tokiwa Ramen is my current favourite.  Their long cooked tonkotsu broth is quite good, but their chicken shoyu broth (for their chuka soba) has more flavour according to my taste buds.  Their toppings and noodles are good, but their soup is great, so their bowls of ramen really take off.
Tonkotsu Ramen
The funnest place to have Japanese food is Dorinku.  I've been here for lunch and dinner and it is always a favourite as the food is great and the atmosphere is great.  The restaurant has lots of Japanese pop culture loaded into its decor from functioning vending machines, a toy figure collection on the way to the bathrooms, to food models.  They even show anime on the big screen.
Izakaya Lanterns out front.
Great display at the front.
Dorinku is full of tasty small dishes - like tapas, but Japanese pub style.  They do all kinds of sushi, but their cooked dishes are what really stand out for me.  They do Japanese curry, shaka shaka fries, karaage, stir fried udon noodles, seared tuna, sashimi salad, this really tasty beef rib, and more.  Everything goes great with a beer too!
A really tasty beef rib.

Another Japanese pub type restaurant is Izakaya Tomo.  This is another favourite place.  They have more of a variety of small dishes that are more izakaya-ish. Dishes like their daikon salad and kinpura (burdock root) are not very common.  They also do a really good takoyaki that isn't deep fried as far as I can tell.  I'm mainly eating their cooked dishes here like their Udon Aglio Olio E Peperoncino, gyoza, and karaage, but their sushi is good too.  Best of all, it all washes down with a beer.
Their cool looking upside down gyoza.

Finally, my favourite sushi place is Sushi Wasabi.  I've been eating here for a decade and their sushi doesn't disappoint. Nice large pieces of niguri sushi and good looking tamago.  The Japanese family who runs it used to even have a booth at the spring festival down at the Devonian Gardens.

Finally, coming in 2018 to Edmonton is Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ chain from Japan.  I've eaten several times down at their Calgary restaurant and they're expanding up here.  You grill all of your own meat at a table top grill in front of you and it is really tasty and again, it goes well with beer.