Crew Calculator Version 7

Crew Calculator v7.0

This tool has been a major labor of love of mine for many years, emerging from a request by a member of the sci-fi meshes forums to help with creating an accurate crew list for his ship.  I took a list I had already assembled for one of my own and created the first Crew Calculator.  That saw six versions and many years ago.

Previous versions of the crew calculator required the user to manually input everything into the calculator, later editions automated certain key positions based on crew numbers, and factors inputted into the mini-calculators. Version 7 has been completely rebuilt so that a user with no knowledge of how their ship should/could be manned can now have the calculator fill in almost all of the positions after filling in only the mini-calculators and answering a few key questions regarding the ship's design and mission.

Version 7 also features an automation adjustment to the crew calculations. Specify the automation level to reduce overall crew numbers based on your technical level. 0 Automation would be equivalent to a modern wet navy ship and level 3 would be a ship with heavy automation.

Users can of course override any auto-filled slots in the main body of the crew calculator at their leisure to better customize/manage the crew of their ship, but can get a quick number of what crew size to expect much easier now. In fact after filling the mini-calcs, now at the top of each page, the only slots that require user input are the following:

Civilian Dependents
Space Traffic Control (Starbases only)
Shop Owners/Workers (Starbases only)

The calculator now features the following enhancements:

1) A new, simpler/color coded User Interface that puts all the slots that need to be filled right up front.

2) The dock workers mini-calculator has been modified so that instead of referencing other example tabs for determining total possible embarked on the starbase, users can override and input the number of crew a docked starship type has in the "Ship's Crew" column.

4) Two blank crew member slots has been added to each subsection to allow users to add their own custom crew members more easily. These new members will automatically tally with the rest and add to the officer, enlisted, or civilian numbers as well.

5) The Totals box has been moved up to a more prominent position, and has a larger font to make it stand out more.

6) The example tabs are no longer truncated for smaller craft type, if I get enough comments to change them back I will.

I offer this for free and hope it is as well received as it has been in the past. I only ask that credit be given when it is used and that you post any comments, suggestions, or changes you make to it here so that I can incorporate them into future versions.

To use, simply open in excel or open office, and follow the instructions on the manual tab to determine the number of crew to add, or fill in the mini-calculators and see your crew makeup.

Reference the manual in the first tab or post questions here for additional help.

Crew Calculator Version 7

Crew Calculator Version 7
Previous versions of the crew calculator required the user to manually input everything into the calculator, later editions automated certain key positions based on crew numbers, and factors inputted into the mini-calculators. Version 7 has been completely rebuilt so that a user with no knowledge of how their ship should/could be manned can now have the calculator fill in almost all of the positions after filling in only the mini-calculators and answering a few key questions regarding the ship's design and mission.
Version 7 also features an automation adjustment to the crew calculations. Specify the automation level to reduce overall crew numbers based on your technical level. 0 Automation would be equivalent to a modern wet navy ship and level 3 would be a ship with heavy automation.
Users can of course override any auto-filled slots in the main body of the crew calculator at their leisure to better customize/manage the crew of their ship, but can get a quick number of what crew size to expect much easier now. In fact after filling the mini-calcs, now at the top of each page, the only slots that require user input are the following:
Civilian Dependents
Space Traffic Control (Starbases only)
Shop Oweners/Workers (Starbases only)
The calculator now features the following enhancements:
1) A new, simpler/color coded User Interface that puts all the slots that need to be filled right up front.
2) The dock workers mini-calculator has been modified so that instead of referencing other example tabs for determining total possible embarked on the starbase, users can override and input the number of crew a docked starship type has in the "Ship's Crew" column.
4) Two blank crew member slots has been added to each subsection to allow users to add their own custom crew members more easily. These new members will automaticaly tally with the rest and add to the officer, enlisted, or civilian numbers as well.
5) The Totals box has been moved up to a more prominent position, and has a larger font to make it stand out more.
6) The example tabs are no longer truncated for smaller craft type, if I get enough comments to change them back I will.
I offer this for free and hope it is as well received as it has been in the past. I only ask that credit be given when it is used and that you post any comments, suggestions, or changes you make to it here so that I can incorporate them into future versions.
To use, simply open in excel or open office, and follow the instructions on the manual tab to determine the number of crew to add, or fill in the mini-calculators and see your crew makeup.
Reference the manual in the first tab or post questions here for additional help.

Book Reviews Hugh B. Long's Tribes of Yggdrasil (First Trilogy)

Book Reviews

This is my first time reviewing works outside of a writing group format.   I did not want to post anything that would count as spoilers, but given that I am reviewing a trilogy here all at once, that was tricky to do.  Hopefully my reviewing style will improve as I go along, but in short, I highly recommend these fun Space Opera novels and eagerly await Hugh B. Long's follow ons.

Hugh B. Long is a fellow independent author of Space Opera and Fantasy with a decidedly Nordic flavor.

The Tribes of Yggdrasil is Long's ongoing Space Opera taking place in a universe where the Norse Gods were real, or at least very ancient and powerful aliens.  This adds an interesting flavor to the story arcs as most "Ancient Alien" sci-fi focuses more on African cultures, and especially on the Egyptians.  The First Trilogy focuses primarily on Haldor Olsen and his crew as they battle against the Hrymar threat encroaching on the expanding human empire.

Book 0 The Yggdrasil Codex

First released in May 2012 is a 15 page short story that serves as a prologue to The Tribes of Yggdrasil Trilogy.  The book follows two young up and coming scientists, one an expert in Runology, and the other Astronomy, as they make a startling discovery about an ancient Norse Runestone.  The discovery has vast implications for all of mankind as it proves, once and for all, that we are not alone, and that ancient aliens have taken an interest in us before.

The story may sound a little familiar, and at first I thought so as well.  But it is handled in a way that most stories like this don't do.  Instead of the rune stone containing some mystical device that transports humanity across the stars after deciphering what amounts to little more than a child't riddle, it contains instructions for further communications and requires the most advanced computers on the planet to unlock all of it's secrets.

I did enjoy the possibly unintentional nod to HP Lovecraft in that it was the coming together of two different specialists in vastly different fields that pointed to the rune stone being more than just an archaeological curiosity.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and sets the tone well for the rest of the series, grounding the story in hard science and a mythology not often seen in speculative fiction.

Book 1 Star Wolves

Released in December 2012, Star Wolves takes place approximately 100 years after the events in The Yggdrasil Codex.  It follows the exploits of Haldor Olsen, Hal, the descendant of the runeologist who decoded the rune stone and helped humanity make first contact with its cousin race, the Alfar.  Much has changed in the intervening 100 years, the world has come under the common rule of the Solar Inclusive Democracy, (SID) a true democracy where everyone has an equal vote.  Humanity has also expanded beyond Earth, throughout the solar system and beyond, establishing the first extrasolar colony of New Midgard. Ancient religions have risen to new prominence, with the old "pagan" religions all but replacing Judo-Christianity for many people.

Haldor serves in the SID's explorer fleet, charting new planets and finding those that might make acceptable colony sites.  After returning home to his wife and son on New Midgard he is told of a planet with another rune stone on it and is sent to the Alfar homeworld to charter a mission to investigate.  The six month mission reveals that certain runestones allow access to a vast "interstellar bridge network" allowing ships to travel much faster than they can in hyperspace.

While Hal is away however the Hrymar, another cousin race to humanity, attack New Midgard, kidnapping most of the populace to use as slaves before destroying the colony.  This action forces the SID and the Alfar to have to deal with the Hrymar, and they commission Hal and his new crew to chase them down in his new ship, the Sleipnir, a new class of Stealth Corvette.

This book again is very enjoyable read.  The science in it tends to be solid and consistent.  FTL communication can only occur between planets of sufficient mass and that have a specialized piece of equipment that uses quantum entanglement.  The use of FTL ships, a trope of Space Opera, is well handled with hyperspace, but tends towards the Trek or Star Wars model, where ships can enter and exit hyperspace at will.  Combat is executed exclusively in normal space and is well done, with battles taking place once ships are within a few light seconds of each other, and chases taking hours to accomplish because of the vast distances.

Hal serves as an interesting main character and a good windows into this universe as he make discoveries, endures losses, and triumphs through victories.  The personal and personnel challenges he faces are all too familiar and feel real.  His interactions with Devrim, the son of the Hrymar Over-Chieftain are well handled and interesting.

My biggest nit with the book is that most of the races tend towards human cousins.  They are very similar to humans, varying only by height, build and skin coloration.  More diverse races show up towards the end of the book, but with exception of Humans and Alfar most tend to be limited in their cultural depth.

Shield Rating 93%

*** Warning Spoilers Ahead ***

Book 2 Star Fury

The Solar Inclusive Democracy (SID) hangs by a thread after the devastating Hrymar attack on Earth.  Millions are dead and the rest are reeling with backroom politicking threatening to tear the government apart.  Things are no better for Haldor Olsen, Hal, captain of the Sleipnir, as he tries to recover from not only the loss of his family but the betrayal from one of his oldest friends.  Hal doesn't sit idle though, and after receiving an urgent mission from the SID president races off to chase down Earth's richest man.  This man betrayed the Earth to the Hrymar, selling them secrets and technology in exchange for subjects to conduct horrific experiments on so that he might extend his own life.  Meanwhile, Devrim, the new leader of the Hrymar begins his own quest to make his people a true superpower, consolidating their leadership and begins to turn a young human slave boy towards the Hrymar way.

Released June 2014, Star Fury is an excellent follow up to Star Wolves.  It does everything a good sequel should, it expands the universe, telling a larger story that ups the ante for everyone.  The book delves into the dark side of the otherwise Utopian SID, showing that no matter how noble the goals, human greed will not be so easily overcome.

The expansion of the universe is great, with new places and non-human races introduced as well as new characters.  I particularly enjoyed this aspect of the book as well as Hal's wrestling with the loss of his family while trying to serve a changing government that no longer stands for what it once did.

I quite enjoyed the way that Long developed the Hrymar in this book, using the human slave to illustrate many parts of their culture.  We really feel the terror the child endures as he is forced to live amongst Hrymar children.  I just feel that his eventual transformation needed one more scene to really clinch it in my own mind.

I really want to see more of these diverse aliens as the series progresses, especially the mysterious blues.  I hope they will play a much larger role as the series progresses.

Shield Rating 96%

Book 3 Star Viking

Released December 2014, Star Viking takes place ten years after the events of the previous two books.  Haldor "Hal" Olsen has broken away from the SID and the Alfar to form his own feudal government.  His major goal, to end the Hrymar threat.  For nine years he succeeds in doing just that, pushing the Hrymar back before Devrim, the Hyrmar Over Chieftain deploys his new line of ships that begin to decimate every colony they come across.  To complicate matters more the lead ship of the fleet is commanded by one of the fiercest Hrymar ever, and his protoge' Hal Olsen's own son.

I like the progression here in the books.  Hal has risen to a role of supreme leadership over his people, bringing in recruits from a variety of races to battle against the Hrymar.  The Technology has grown as well, developing from the seeds planted in the early books.  The immobility of command even begins to come into play as Hal is forced to watch others fight on his behalf, something he would much rather do himself.  When he does leave his ship to lead the troops, it is something that his crew fights against, a good touch.

As a character Hal grows a great deal in this book, his relationship with a freed slave girl opens up doors he thought long closed as he takes her as his own daughter and in the process discovers and awakening power within both of them and my favorite character, his alien Dire Wold Venn.  His personal relationships also continue to flourish, but face road blocks when he learns that his son is not only alive, but wants him dead, and leaves him questioning whether his wife might also still be alive.  

Long continues to plant seeds in this book of things to come.  Betrayals by certain characters are explained, but others left to hang enticing the reader to find out what will happen next.  Long is building up to some massive, galaxy shattering events in these books with new players coming on the scene and preparing to move in for the kill.

Shield Rating 94%

Writing Tips Wednesday 18-Feb-2015

Sorry for the lack of updates over the last week.  I was sick, then on travel, then very busy once I got home.

For this update I want to share some pointers I learned at the writers panels from RustyCon 32 out here at SEATAC last month.

The 10% Solution, Ken Rand. 
This little 63 page book will help everyone with self-editing.  I took a look at a copy one of the panelist had and will definitely pick up a copy.

IfThisThenThat 
This website links to most, if not all the social media outlets, so instead of going to each one and copying what you posted it will put them out on all of them, or send links to the relevant posts.


Do things to make connections with your readers through social media, post pics of your pets or kids with your books, post about activities you've done, hikes, bike rides, etc...

Keep a blog and update it weekly, posting updates on your social media accounts.  The revised Noble Storm Blog is my attempt to do just that, and so far appears to be working.

For local exposure and to get your books into local libraries, offer to teach classes on subjects you are familiar with. This a good way to build a grassroots following.

If you are doing a Kickstarter campaign, then hire a manager for it, otherwise you will get bogged down doing it yourself.

Writing and marketing is a full time job, if you can, involve a friend or family member to help and be your PA.

Once you start making the con/signing circuit, keep two sets of business cards, one for fans, and one for other pros (Writers and editors). The fan one should be flashy and contain links to your website, blog, and social media, but no personal contact information. The professional card should be simpler in design with just your contact information and a blank back so they can take notes to remember you by.

Provide easy links to where to buy your work on the front page of your website, blog, etc... The more links someone has to click through, the less likely they are to buy.

Look at The (Submission) Grinder or Sonar Subtracker to tracking your professional submissions.



The biggest thing to remember is to keep writing, make alliances, and increase your exposure if you want your work to get into as many hands as possible.

Writing Tips Wednesday

The problem with Adverbs

As writers, words are our tools, and while we pick certain implements out of our toolbox on a more regular basis, there are others that we keep tucked away unless needed.  Up until last year, I didn't realize that adverbs were one of those tools.  We all learned about adverbs as a kid, these modifiers are used to place emphasis on a noun, verb or adjective.  On the surface this sounds like a good thing, but overuse of adverbs, especially -ly adverbs is frowned upon more and more by editors, agents and publishers.

The question is, why?  I didn't understand it at first either, but while critiquing my new writing workshop I saw the answer.  It's lazy and paints an incomplete picture.  I hate to state it in such a blunt manner, but it's true.  Let's paraphrase a quick example from my writing group:

...the minotaur had the most gnarly horns he had ever seen.

The problem with the word gnarly here is that it tells the reader nothing.  To a surfer, gnarly means something wicked cool.  The word from which it originates, gnarled would indicate some form of twisted shape, or that they were misshapen in some way.  From reading that passage I would assume the later was what the writer meant, but it's not what they said, leaving it open for interpretation.  A way to fix that might be to say the following:

..the minotaurs horns were gnarled to an unhealthy degree with cracks and growths upon them that indicated he must have injured several times over the years.

Is that longer, yes, but it paints a more complete picture.  

Note: it has been pointed out that gnarly, is in fact an adjective, albeit a weak one in this case.  That is what I get for writing with a bad head cold.

A proper example:

...he replied lowly.

Now what does that mean?  Did he crawl under something?  Is he speaking in a low tone of voice?  It leaves things far too open to interpretation and misunderstanding.

... he replied, lowering the tone of his voice.

That removed all ambiguity.  He lowered his voice.

Let's go back to that example again, what else about it stands out?  It is a very telling statement.  -Ly adverbs are much more telling in their usage, and invite more telling phrases.  A writer does not have to say that the character sees or had seen something if the description is vivid enough.  If you are writing in 1st person or 3rd person close POV it is already implied that the character sees these things.

Lets look at another example:

... he smiled brightly at her.

Again, what a bright smile means to one person may not mean the same thing to another.

... his whole face brightened in a smile as he turned towards her.

The best example, maybe not, but again, it presents a cleared picture.

Now, I don't mean to say that there is no place for adverbs, but they are a writing tool that should be used sparingly.  In my various writing groups we came up with a few general rules for their use.

#1  Make it justify its existence.  Does the descriptor add anything, or can it be dropped and still allow you to say the same thing?

ex:  ... he happily skipped down the corridor after kissing her.  

Does happily add anything to this statement?  Isn't the fact that he is happy implied by the fact that he is skipping?  

#2  If you can replace it with just a few words, do so.  This goes back to painting a complete picture.

ex: ... he reached out to her weakly.

Compared to:

... he reached out to her, his muscles aching from the excursion.

Both say the same thing, but the later connects with the reader on a more personal level.

#3  Consider the vagueness of the adverb.  Many times adverbs are used, they leave things vague, if that is the intent, fine, but otherwise, specify things.

ex:  ...he would visit frequently.

How often is frequently?  Compare to:

... he would visit as often as he could, and if more than a week passed ...

Now we have a time frame to judge things off of, he comes by at least once a week, if not more, and the sentence leads into greater setup.  I truncated the example here.

#4  If it absolutely fits, go ahead and use it.  Some of you reading this may have noticed that outside of the examples, I have used at least two -ly adverbs.  So lets look at those:

...should be used sparingly.

This is a statement that is left vague on purpose.  (note I could have said intentionally there)  There is no absolute number of times one should use adverb, just keep them to a minimum.

...If it absolutely fits...

Is absolutely the only word I could use here.  No, it is not, but it suits the phrase fine, and sometimes fine is good enough, but ask yourself, is it good enough to get past an editor or agent?

#5  Never, ever, under any circumstance, as a new or independent writer trying to get something published include an adverb in the first chapter of your book, or paragraph of you short story.  I have been informed by several professional editors, agents, and authors that agents and editors (A&Es) will reject a manuscript outright if they find an adverb too early in a book/story.  If one creeps in later, fine, they will comment on it and tell you to fix, it, but if the beginning of you tale is marked with them, they will just throw it out.

"But SF, I've read a lot of books by big name writers and some of them use adverbs a lot."

Believe me, I know this.  I almost gagged listening to a Dean Koontz book recently with all the adverbs that just jumped out at me.  The thing is, he is an established writer and gets away with it a lot more than a new writer will.  Also, the writing landscape has changed to a significant degree since he was first published in 1968.  

The advent of cheaper computing and word processing has allowed A&Es to be much more selective compared to the days when you had to hand type a manuscript and send in what might well have been your sole copy.

I hope this post has been helpful to all my writing friends, please leave a comment below with whether or not this helped, and suggestions for future topics.

Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact Tuesday

Navy Railgun Readying for Shipboard Testing.

Short form, one of the most advanced projectile weapons technologies is one step closer to reality.  

A convention gun or cannon uses a propellant, in most cases gunpowder, to accelerate a bullet up to speed.  This is an instantaneous reaction.  The powder ignites and kicks the bullet down the barrel of the gun, the expanding gasses pushing it along.  

A rail gun launches the projectile down the barrel between a pair of electro-magnetically charged rails (hence the name).  This accelerates the projectile the entire duration of its trip down the barrel making for a far faster projectile.  This speed allows for greater firing distance, greater accuracy, and greater hitting power.

How Rail Guns Work

There are even more upsides to a rail gun.  You don't have to store bags or shells of potentially volatile gunpowder.  The projectile itself will fly at such high velocity that it does not even need to have a warhead.  We call these Kinetic Kill Weapons.

The downside, Railguns are power hungry.  If you ship can't supply the needed energy then the gun simply won't fire.

Still, this technology has long been a staple of science fiction and had a resurgence in many shows, books and movies, replacing or supplementing the ubiquitous laser or plasma weapons.  It will still be decades before a man portable railgun or coilgun is  reality, but once these are fielded on board surface combatants, and their potential is realized I would fully expect to see heavy research into putting them into land vehicles, first as heavy artillery pieces, then on tanks, followed by aircraft and once power supplies are efficient enough into man portable units.

Now for those wondering why there is still a big fire plume when this launches, that is simply heat friction.  That projectile leaves the barrel at Mach 7, so the air in the barrel is flash ignited simply by the heat generated by a body moving that fast.  The projectile itself in this case is also non-ferrous, but uses a conducting sabot body to accelerate it, that is the bit that falls away right after launch.

This Week in Flight Test: 9-February-2015

This the first in a series of weekly updates of the happenings in flight test.  Here I will post links to articles and videos on these flight test events with my own rambling about them from the POV of a former flight tester.

AFFT Museum Latest Acquisition

This one close to my heart.  When I worked at the AFFT, better known as Edwards AFB, I visited the museum often and even did a few video reports on the various unique aircraft they had in the collection.  The M2-F1 for those who don't know, was a lifting body design, developed in the early 60s to prove that a plane could fly without wings.  It was a minimally funded project, and first flew towed behind a Pontaic Convertible, as it had no engine of it's own.  It later flew, towed up to altitude by a NASA R4D tow plane.  Data gathered by the project led the M2-F2, M-F3, and the HL-10 that now acts as gate guard at the Armstrong Flight Research center, and to the designs of almost every fighter since.

Artifacts Found in Neil Armstrong's Purse

I make no bones about the fact that Neil Armstrong was my childhood hero, and a man I greatly respected as I grew up.  Not only was he an astronaut and the first man on the moon, he was also a flight test engineer and pilot with NASA.  So when it came to light last week that he saved some souvenirs from his Apollo-11 mission, it just made me smile.   

It seems that Armstrong's widow, Carol, while cleaning out his closest after his death (25 Aug 2012, the day before my 35th birthday) she found his old McDivitt  purse.  These were used to hold various mission items on Apollo missions, and were named in honor of Apollo 9 mission commander Jim McDivitt.  Inside the purse were all kind of little bits of memorabilia from the Apollo 11 mission.  For the most part these were mundane things, lights, mirrors, power cables, the kind of things flight tester like to acquire from a program as keepsakes.  

The two most interesting items, to me at least:

The Crewman Optical Alignment Sight (COAS)

This was device that Armstrong had to be intimately familiar with as it allowed him to dock the LEM with the Command Module (CM) upon their return from the moon.  Docking between the LEM and CM was no easy task because of the weight restriction placed on the design of the lander.  This device allowed Armstrong, and other mission commanders, to guide the craft without craning their necks the whole time.

Data Acquisition Camera (16-mm movie)

For me, this is the big one.  It pretty well known that there are no photographs of Neil Armstrong on the moon, except in reflections.  Neil was the one carrying the camera due to some internal NASA politics.  The footage of Neil descending the ladder and taking his first steps on the moon was taken with this DAC.  That right there is a serious piece of history.

Now I've seen some people complain that Neil taking these things was theft.  I don't see it that way.  All of these items would have been lost if Neil had not taken them.  All of them were non-mission critical and would have crashed back to the moon's surface with LEM ascent stage, destroyed.  That Neil preserved these, keeping them in his own private collection, I think, says a lot about how much he cared about these items and that he realized their importance.  As to why he didn't turn them in before he died, who cares, do you turn in all the little bits and bobs you "borrow" from work, or keep as souvenirs?

I am just glad that Carol did turn these in to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, where they will now go on display.  When I take my children there someday I will point them out, and thank Neil for keeping these safe for everyone to enjoy now that he is gone.

Space X News

This will probably be a part of every TWFT update as SpaceX is finally leading us back into space the right way.

DSCOVR Launch

Short form, the DSCOVR launch was scheduled for 8-Feb-2015.  Now the deployment of the DSCOVR satellite is a big deal in and of itself, and the primary mission of the launch, but the big deal everyone wants to see is the second landing attempt by the Falcon-9 rocket.  Landing a rocket so that it can be reused again will be a major game changer for space flight.  It will drop the cost a significant degree and finally allow the widespread utilization of space.  So I say, SpaceX, take all the time you need, get this right and take us to space.

Sorry we've been away.

Five months without an update is unacceptable, and we here at Nobel Storm Books apologize for that.  Life got a bit complicated since our last post.  SF Edwards was offered a new job away from Edwards AFB all the way up in Renton, WA with the FAA.  That necessitated moving the whole family from Southern California up to the Puget Sound.  That move took a lot of time and effort to coordinate, but now Nobel Storm is back up and running.

So, in the coming weeks expect some belated book updates, short story news, convention reports, and even some upcoming chances to meet the author for book signings.

See you all soon.

-SFE