Getting Around After The Apocalypse

 Should we ever find ourselves in a post-apocalyptic (PA) world, what will we rely on for our transportation and cartage needs? Will it be the horse as many, if not most, PA writers speculate? Probably not.

But if we won’t be using horses in a PA world, what will be our options? Fortunately we have three excellent ones.

For the past four weeks I’ve been talking about transportation in a PA world. And I’ve made a point that we won’t be using the horse — books, movies, and TV shows to the contrary.

Horses are skittish, high-maintenance animals. In addition, they are not only dangerous but have pretty much always been the speciality of the rich. The poor and middle class used their feet or dog carts. Or perhaps rented a horse and wagon.

Even in the 1800s, when the horse was everywhere, most folks did not own a horse. They were simply too expensive to maintain. So why would things be any different in PA world, where survival of the human is going to take precedence over everything else?

In fact, the most valuable use of the horse, should we find one, just might be to fill our stomachs.

Aside from our feet, what are our land transportation options? 

First off, we have man’s best friend: the dog. Dogs have been with us longer than horses. They are also far more manageable and versatile than horses. 

Dogs can guard our possessions, warn us that intruders or predators are about, haul our goods, and, while we can’t ride them, they can pull us about in a cart or sled. In addition, most of us know dogs. The same can’t be said for horses.

Dogs. Probably the most practical animal in a PA world.

But when it comes to transportation, what we are most familiar with are cars and trucks.

Just because the gasoline runs dry doesn’t mean we can’t use our cars or our trucks. We simply need to think outside the box. And the answers are already before us: steam-power and wood gas. Both of which are established technology. No need to reinvent the wheel.

1970s Dutcher steam car prototype-owned by Jay Leno

Converting an internal combustion engine to run on steam would take a considerable amount of machining, but it can be done. In fact, it has been done many times over by steam-power aficionados. The tech is out there, and has been since at least the 1970s. 

All the savvy prepper and survivalist has to do is find the info on the Internet and print out the instructions. Now, rather than later. Then, when the SHTF, team up with a machinist to rebuild engines and to make boilers and burners. Easy-peasy.

Steam cars. It’s really what we should be driving today.

Wood gasification is also established tech. Once again, no need to reinvent the wheel.

Wood gas can fuel our cars and trucks, be used to fuel our stoves and furnaces, provide us with lighting, as well as provide power for industry.  And in a PA world, bringing back industry will go a long way towards building back a new and better world.

Many countries survived on wood gas in World War II. Why wouldn’t survivors do the same in a PA world?

Once again, the savvy prepper and survivalist simply needs to print off the abundant material available on the Internet (now, rather than later), and life will be good when the SHTF.

So, the next time you read a book, or watch a movie, or TV show that makes abundant use of the horse after the apocalypse just chalk it up to the writer’s love for westerns — because that’s the only place where the horse was king. And most westerns are the stuff of fantasy.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright, award-winning poet, and a fictioneer; as well as an armchair philosopher, political theorist, and social commentator. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

Wood Gas for the Win

 

For the past three weeks I’ve been talking about transportation in a post-apocalyptic (PA) world. Specifically, how unlikely it will be that the survivors will be using horses.

We’ve looked at the horse and found it wanting. A much more practical animal is the dog, and we might see the return of the dog cart and dog sled in a PA world.

Last week I looked at the steam automobile. The great advantage of steam cars is that anything that burns can be used for fuel to power the vehicle. Another significant advantage is that we know how to drive cars. We don’t know jack about horses.

Today, I want to look at wood gas. The advantage of using wood gas is that it doesn’t require any major modifications to the internal combustion engine. And like the steam car, a wide variety of “feeders” can be used to generate the gas; the one most used being wood.

So what is wood gasification? Basically, it is the process of cooking wood to produce a burnable gas. 

Here is a link to a detailed manual on wood gas: http://www.gengas.nu/byggbes/contents.shtml Be sure to print out this manual. It will make a great addition to your survival library.

A wood gas generator turns carbon containing material into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, with possibly some methane in the mix. This “producer gas” or “syngas” can then be used to power cars, trucks, buses, and tractors.

Wikipedia has an excellent introductory article on wood gas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas

This article at Make contains diagrams, and notes the pros and cons of using wood gas: https://makezine.com/2010/06/24/lost-knowledge-wood-gas-vehicles/

Here’s a how-to article on building a gasifier that outlines the problems a DIYer might encounter: https://www.instructables.com/A-Home-Built-Biomass-Gasifier-for-Producing-Wood-G/

The major problem as noted in the above article is the production of tar. Which probably would necessitate a tar scrubber in order to be able to use a wider range of less “fussy” biomass.

At the end of the day, even though the above DIYer encountered problems, the wood gasifier is established tech. These devices are currently in production in China and Russia. All one needs to do is to obtain one and essentially copy it to provide a wood gas culture here in the States and anywhere else where self-sufficiency is valued.

Like the steam-powered car, the “woodmobile” can be powered by any carbon containing material. In a post-apocalyptic world, such flexibility will be crucial to the survivors and will enable them to continue to use cars and trucks.

In addition, a wood gasifier can be used to fuel a cookstove or a furnace, or a gas-powered refrigerator, and even a gas lamp — and thus enable the PA survivors to enjoy a certain amount of pre-apocalyptic normalcy.

Europe survived on wood gas in World War II, and, as noted above, China and Russia still manufacture wood gasifiers for cars and industrial use.

In fact, wood gas is one way the world could free itself from petroleum. Because any carbon-based material, not just wood, can be used to produce gas. In fact, all manner of agricultural waste can be used to generate producer gas.

Here in the US, we have a tendency to make things complex and difficult. We spent millions developing a space pen. The Russians used a pencil.

The battery-powered electric car is another ridiculous example of making things complex. Instead of using established technology to solve the problems of fossil fuel use and pollution, we resort to solutions for which we don’t have the technology to make them feasible on a wide scale.

Battery technology is not sufficiently advanced for electric cars to be able to compete with the internal combustion engine. In addition, to the lengthy charge time, improper charging of the battery can shorten its lifespan. 

Further more, batteries are toxic — both to manufacture and dispose of. And the last thing we need is more toxic manufacturing and waste in our environment. Batteries also use non-renewable resources in their manufacture. How wise is that?

On the other hand, wood gas makes use of established technology and contributes no waste to the environment and provides a much cleaner exhaust than gasoline or diesel. In fact, using wood scrap, agricultural waste, and waste biomass material, a wood gasifier actually saves the environment from being polluted.

Now advocates of electric cars will say that an electric car doesn’t pollute. And that is true. But the production of electricity for the power grid to charge the car does generate pollution. And let’s be honest with ourselves: the day when wind and solar will be able to supply all our power needs is way off in the distant future. We are going to be relying on fossil fuel for a very long time. But we can significantly reduce our dependence — with currently available technology.

The manufacture of batteries is highly polluting. And uses non-renewable resources. And their disposal adds to our toxic waste problem. Which makes batteries, in my opinion, a non-starter for mass transportation.

Let’s face facts: electric cars are polluters. The pollution is just being hidden from us, the potential consumer.

The electric car is not the answer. Which is why they went out of fashion back around World War I. By contrast, the steam car didn’t make it only because no one mass-produced them. Which made the price tag something only the rich could afford.

Steam cars and gasoline cars powered by wood gasifiers are the real solution. They make use of established tech and could end our dependence on fossil fuel in a very short period of time.

In a post-apocalyptic world, there will be no re-charging stations, and no petroleum production or refining. But that doesn’t mean we have to do without cars and trucks, and try to recreate a horse culture, which would take hundreds of years to reproduce.

Wood gas is readily available and just might be what saves us and enables us to rebuild a better world.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright, award-winning poet, and a fictioneer; as well as an armchair philosopher, political theorist, and social commentator. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

A Steam-Powered Post-Apocalyptic Future

 

1930 Doble Coupe

The Steam Automobile

The last production steam automobile was the Doble. That was back in the 1920s. The car was so advanced, it could easily give any production car on the road today a run for its money.

In fact, rather than spending all of the money that’s being spent on electric cars, all a car maker would have to do is put the Doble back in production.

For fuel, the car could use grain or wood alcohol, biodiesel, bio-generated methane, or any other renewable fuel.

Performance and range would be equal to any car on the road today, and would be superior to an electric car. And that’s with 1920s tech. Update the tech to 21st-century standards — and we’d have a superior automobile.

Here is a video from Jay Leno’s Garage, where he discusses his 1925 Doble:

https://youtu.be/rUg_ukBwsyo

 

Steam is the old tech that is still new.

That is why Bill Arthur, in my post-apocalyptic The Rocheport Saga, makes the big push to produce steam cars by converting diesel engines to run on steam.

Converting to Steam

How would that work you may be asking. Fairly easily. Although not without problems.

Here is a discussion on a steam auto forum which outlines the how and the problems to overcome: https://steamautomobile.com:8443/ForuM/read.php?1,4664

And here’s a patent description for converting diesel engines to run on steam: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2538019A2

The following video shows how to convert a two-cycle engine to steam: https://hackaday.com/2012/10/04/how-to-convert-an-internal-combustion-engine-to-run-from-steam-power/

This video talks about the 1969 Chevelle that GM had converted to steam:

https://youtu.be/OoXr09y2AQ4 

And this video series shows how to convert a 4-stroke engine to steam:

YouTube.com/watch?v=8G1h4xR5q5Q

In the early 1980s, I collected piles of info on steamers. Unfortunately, I no longer have that data. One article that impressed me, however, was of a father and son who converted a diesel engine Volkswagen rabbit to steam, drove it to Detroit, and ran it through EPA testing. The steam car’s exhaust was cleaner than the air in the building.

The steamer in the post-apocalyptic era will be a much more practical option for travel than the horse. Unlike the hayburner, the steam car is an omnivore — it can use anything that burns for fuel. The PA steamer can be set up to use liquid or solid fuel or both.

And the great advantage of the steam car is that we know how to drive cars. We don’t know how to ride horses.

An equestrian I’d talked to, who’s been riding for 9 years, and doesn’t consider herself anywhere near expert, thought it highly unlikely untrained people would be riding horses shortly after an apocalyptic event.

When I read PA fiction, I find most authors have not done a very good job on their worldbuilding. They haven’t taken the time to completely think out the consequences of the collapse of technology, supply chains, and society. Or what it would take to rebuild in order to get to where we are today. A case in point being the classic Earth Abides, where the main character drives all over the country and has no problem finding fuel, or with fuel quality.

The PA writer needs to seriously consider how people will react to having no electricity, gas, or cell phones. What happens when the batteries are gone? And the gasoline? How will the lack of light at night affect us? Have you ever been in the country with no light other than the stars and moon? It is almost like being in a cave, unless a full moon is out. And what about failing infrastructure, like roads?

Will we really trust our neighbors? Or will it be everyone for himself, or herself? Especially when it comes to who gets the last can of soup on the grocery store shelf. And no law enforcement’s around.

And will we really be using horses? Do we even know where to find one? Will any be alive with no one around to feed them? After all, there are virtually no wild horses left. Horses are a domesticated animal.

Steam-powered cars are better than battery-powered electric cars, because they are not reliant on the power grid and don’t suffer from the problems inherent with batteries. 

Steam cars have all the power and convenience of the gasoline-powered car — and they don’t need to burn fossil fuel. Plus, the technology has already been developed and is ready to use.

In a PA world where one has no power grid and no petroleum production facilities, cars are still the vehicle of choice and are possible because they can be made to run on steam with bio-fuel.

The steam car. It’s what we’ll be driving in a post-apocalyptic world. And what we should be driving today.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

Doble ad

CW Hawes is a playwright, award-winning poet, and a fictioneer; as well as an armchair philosopher, political theorist, and social commentator. He loves a good cup of tea, and agrees that everything is better with pizza.

Horses After The Apocalypse

 

Given the fact that horses are no longer a part of daily American life — and haven’t been for some 90 years — I’m always amazed at the common use of horses in many post-apocalyptic books, movies, and TV shows.

In actuality, most of us have little to no knowledge of horses. We are as familiar with horses as we are with the cows that give us milk and cheese. And cows are a lot more important to us than horses.

Urban People

We are an urban people. Heck, most of us don’t even know how our cars work, never mind our computers and smart phones. And those things we use every day.

We are technology users, but most of us know little about how that technology works. What makes any writer think we would be able to learn en masse about horses and horse culture overnight? It’s totally unrealistic.

Without a doubt, the writer of such post-apocalyptic scenarios has probably never had anything to do with horses. And not understanding how cars work, resorts to an even more unlikely scenario: people using horses as they used to use cars.

This is on my mind because I started reading a post-apocalyptic novel where horses, as usual, feature prominently. Everyone knows how to ride them, without ever having ridden one prior to the apocalypse. That was an immediate put off, and I quit reading the book.

The vast majority of us know nothing of horses, other than what we see on TV or read about in books. And oftentimes, the picture presented isn’t anywhere near accurate. Horses running at full gallop for long periods of time, for example. Impossible.

Horses

The US horse population reached its high of 20 million in 1915. Today, the number is much less. And their use very much restricted. Mostly, they are pets for the rich. Think about it, when was the last time you rode to work in a horse-drawn carriage? When was the last time you even touched a horse?

Today, the US horse population numbers somewhere between 1.9 million and 9 million animals, all depending on how you count them. Perhaps the most accurate number is 7.24 million as of 2016, which is some six years ago. And that number was down from 9.22 million in 2003. The number of animals may even be less than that today, in 2022.

Regardless of the number of animals, how many of us actually know anything about how to use and care for a horse? I’d wager darn few. Probably not a single person in any average neighborhood.

The last time I was on a horse was 64 years ago when I was in kindergarten. And I only sat on the horse I didn’t really ride it. Somebody walked the horse around a small enclosed circular track.

The last time I saw a horse up close in real life was perhaps 6 to 8 years ago when 2 mounted Minneapolis police officers rode past me on Nicollet Mall.

I know more about goldfish and cats than I do about horses. In fact, I know more about the theory of how rockets work than I know about the practical care needed for a horse.

What we'll actually use

Which is why Bill Arthur, the hero of my Rocheport Saga, said horses weren’t the answer. We know about cars and trucks. They are the answer.

In any post-apocalyptic world, transportation will be achieved by cars and trucks — not horses. 

But in such a post-apocalyptic world, where there is no gasoline or diesel fuel, and no re-charging stations, what will power our cars?

The answer is actually simple: steam and wood gas.

It is fairly easy to convert a diesel engine to run on steam. After conversion, all you need to add is a firebox or burner and the boiler. The great advantage of a steam engine is that it can use just about anything for fuel.

A wood gasifier is fairly easy to construct. It converts wood to burnable gas that can be used in a gasoline engine. Wood gasifiers were in fact used during the Second World War on the domestic front to provide fuel for tractors, cars, and buses.

We know how to drive cars. We don’t know how to ride horses. After the apocalypse, I’m betting we’ll be driving cars — not riding horses.

Another advantage of cars, either steam-powered or wood-gas powered, is that you don’t have to clean up any road apples.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

Good Storytelling in 2021

2021 — it was a good year for reading. I got reacquainted with old friends and met a number of new ones.

All told, I read 110 works of fiction and non-fiction. The breakdown is:

44 novels/novellas

54 novelettes/short stories

 6  screenplays

 6  non-fiction

Of those 110 works, 43 were by indie authors. Which makes for 39%.

Eleven storytellers stood out above the rest. Below is a brief explanation of their outstanding merits.

Matthew Cormack

The Piranha Pandemic: From Small Acorns is Cormack’s third book chronicling the events of the Piranha Pandemic. The first two are Don’t Dream It’s Over and Ganbaru.

Cormack’s strengths as a storyteller are his realistic post-apocalyptic worldbuilding, and his vividly realistic characters. 

James Patterson once said about himself that he was a lousy writer, but a good storyteller. 

Mr Cormack is both a good writer and a good storyteller. Quite honestly, there are few writers who can touch him. He’s that good.

James Vincett

Vincett is one of the very few writers who can give Matthew Cormack a run for his money. 

Vincett’s storytelling transports us to highly imaginative worlds. He puts us into exciting space operas that we don’t want to leave.

As of now, he has 3 series going: the Hominim Union, the Independencies, and the Far Frontiers. The books in all three are fabulous. Take a look at his Amazon page.

Suffice it to say, I’ve bought and read all his books and will buy anything he publishes in the future because he knows how to tell a great story. And I love a great story, with memorable characters.

Neil Mosspark

Mr Mosspark burst on the scene a couple years ago and then vanished. Which is a shame. He’s an engaging writer. An imaginative writer. He has, though, left a number of works on Amazon — which is good for us. I recommend you get them.

His Sand Fall Trilogy is survival science fiction. Crash landed on a desert planet, can a ragtag group of humans survive when everything is against them? Very much worth your money and time to read. Pick it up on Amazon.

John F Leonard

John F Leonard tells horror stories which are subtle in nature. The spookiness and the terror hit you after the fact.

Call Drops involves a phone that works, but shouldn’t. The story is about choices and consequences. The ending will get you.

A Plague of Pages explores ownership and vengeance. Hold onto your socks.

Mr Leonard tells good stories. I look forward to reading more of his work in 2022. Pick up his books on Amazon and let them give you goosebumps.

Andy Graham

Andy Graham writes atmospheric horror. His prose is literary. And his stuff is so scary I have to be in the right frame of mind to read it.

His book A Demon Risen is terrifying. Plain and simple. It’s also the third or fourth book of his that I’ve read. And every one is terrifying. Get them at Amazon.

Just remember: his books are best read while the sun is shining.

Terry Newman

A number of years ago I read Detective Strongoak and the Case of the Dead Elf. It was a magical blend of humor, hardboiled detective fiction, and fantasy. And I loved it.

Nicely Strongoak is a dwarf. He’s also a detective and a shield for hire. And he’s one of the most fascinating characters I’ve come across in a long time. Sam Spade meet Terry Pratchett.

Last year I read The King of Elfland’s Little Sister and Dwarf Girls Don’t Dance, the latest books in the Nicely Strongoak series, and was not disappointed.

The books are hilarious, suspenseful, and engaging murder mysteries. All set in a highly imaginative fantasy world. Get over to Amazon for some super great fun.

Lisette Brodey

I’ve read 3 books by Ms Brodey, the latest being The Waiting House; which is a fine example of literary fiction blended with magical realism, humor, and a bit of fantasy.

Ms Brodey’s storytelling is characterized by the vivid and memorable characters that she tells us about. And it’s what keeps me coming back to her fiction. After all, characters are the thing. Pick up a copy of The Waiting House on Amazon.

Garrett Dennis

Port Starbird is my kind of murder mystery. The book is laid-back, cerebral, touched with humor, transports you to the world of the detective, and introduces you to a whole lot of new friends.

I was only partway through Port Starbird, the first of the Storm Ketchum mysteries, when I fell in love with the world Mr Dennis had created and bought all the books. I’m looking forward to reading more of Storm Ketchum’s world this year. And you can get in on his adventure’s via Amazon.

KD McNiven

Ms McNiven writes fast-paced action adventures. One of her most fascinating characters is Detective Brock Scanlin. He’s a hard as nails police detective, yet he’s human. All too human. And that’s what makes Blood Alley and Blood Pool so good. Climb aboard the Brock Scanlin roller coaster today.

Richard Schwindt

Richard Schwindt is no stranger to this blog. I’d buy his grocery list, his writing is that good.

In The Death of Brenda Martin he has tied together all of his various fictional worlds. Quite a feat.

Schwindt is an artist who gives us a world we can see, touch, smell, taste, and feel. He blends mystery, monsters, and real life problems with panache. Enter his world. You won’t regret it.

Caleb Pirtle III

Caleb Pirtle has been writing and telling stories his entire life — and it shows. His fingers dance across the keyboard with the grace and power of a Baryshnikov.

What is undoubtedly the most powerful novel I read in 2021 came from his genius: Last Deadly Lie. The book is a tale of lies, lust, deceit, power, and destruction.

The setting is a church community. But this is not a religious novel. It’s the story of people. People who crave power and control and what they will do to get it and exercise it — no matter the setting, no matter the cost. It’s a tale of lust and secrets and the lies that are told to mask a person’s true intentions.

Last Deadly Lie. A powerhouse of a novel. One you will not forget. Get it from Amazon if you dare.

That’s my cream of the crop for 2021. I’m eager to see what delights 2022 with reveal.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!

Indie April Suggestions - Part 9

 This is the last day of April and the last day of Indie April for 2021. However, I have 2 more authors I want to leave with you before the month is out. And while they may be last, they are certainly not least. They’ll help us depart April with a bang.

Alexander Pain

I’ll confess up front, I don’t like the zombie apocalypse craze. That said, I do like the writing of Alexander Pain and he writes about the zombie apocalypse. So that should tell you something right there.

Pain has one novel and several short stories in his oeuvre, and they are worthy additions to your entertainment library. What I admire about Pain’s writing is his ability to take a thoroughly impossible idea — the zombie apocalypse — and make it real.

For example, when reading Zombie Complex: The Battle for Chattahoochee Run I was drawn into the story because of the realistic characters he peoples it with. The same can be said for Neither Seen, Nor Heard. He puts real people into an unrealistic setting and by doing so enables me to suspend my sense of disbelief.

Using humor, pathos, and suspense, he makes the reader accept the implausibility of his world, and that is quite a feat. And he draws our attention to the question, How do I survive in such a world? Or any world for that matter.

Good post-apocalyptic fiction is, at base, philosophical in nature. Everything I value has been stripped away from me. Now what? Who am I? What is my purpose? What is of real importance in life? And Pain subtly poses those questions for us to ponder in the backs of our minds.

If you’re looking for action, adventure, and a good survival story, as well as food for thought, head on over to Amazon and check out the books of Alexander Pain. You won’t be sorry.

Ernestine Marsh

I love a good laugh and the older I get the more I value laughter. Because laughter puts everything into perspective and lightens any and all loads. I hope I die laughing.

When reading one of the things I look for is humor. If  it’s present, the author gets a plus.

Ernestine Marsh writes humor, and that is a tough job for the best of writes. In Agonising: The Problem Page Letters of Jean Price and Raine Vincent and In Agony Again, Marsh has created two of the most delightful characters I’ve come across.

Price and Vincent are competing agony aunts, or advice columnists for us Americans. The plots of both books chronicle their battle of oneupmanship, and along the way we are treated to the most ridiculous and hilarious advice to the most incredible and incredulous problems.

The humor is often a mask for satirical commentary on our times. And the satire can be bitingly wicked. Satire and humor that is in league with Voltaire, Twain, and Wilde. Marsh doesn’t pull any punches.

So, if you’re looking for a good laugh with a hefty helping of hilarious social satire, head on over to Amazon and pickup Ernestine Marsh’s books. And prepare to be incapacitated by your funny bone.

Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!