World Builders Unlimited

Tribal Knowledge

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:58:00 +0000

Tribal Knowledge

a 100 word story

Jeff Hite

“I don’t understand what you mean. What is tribal knowledge?”
“It is a simple concept. One tribe of people, say in the jungle, learns something, but does not share it with the other tribes.”
“Why would they not share the information.”
“It does not matter, the point is they don’t. So say a flood happens and that tribe is wiped out. That information is gone forever. That is why we log everything, so that if something happens we have a record.”
“I believe I understand.”
“I am telling you HAL,” Dave said “tribal knowledge will kill us all some day.”

Separate Volume

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:02:00 +0000

Separate Volume

a 100 word story

by Jeff Hite

“It is with a heavy heart and and pitiful spirit that I bring you the news today. They have decided to split our work into two volumes.” The crowd gathered in front of him began to murmur, he knew he had to get it under control or there would be chaos.
“Please, everyone settle down. We already have dividers within the group, we will just need to further subdivide. We have to keep the separate volumes untied as one. Though they will be divided we must not be. Day and night must not be divided, we will not be twilight."

Story of the same title

Count Dracula

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Count Dracula

a 100 word story

by Jeffrey Hite

“That is not fair.”
“What?”
“Look at this, we all got the same thing again.”
“What’s wrong with that? Do you think you should get more just because you are wearing a suit or something?”
“Well no, but all you guys do is yell trick or treat, they always ask me to do something. I don’t think that is fair, if they are going to ask me to do something I should at least get something extra.”
“What are you talking about I have not heard them asking you to do anything.”
“They always say count, Dracula. 1, 2 ,3.”

LIkeness

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Likeness

A 100 word story

by Jeff Hite

“Well sure it looks like her, that is the point of a portrait isn’t it?”
“I don’t know Jim, I just don’t know that this is a good idea.”
“To be honest Tom I don’t care if you think it is a good Idea or not. What I want to know is if it is a good likeness of her.”
“It is a good likeness alright, too good if you ask me. I mean really did you have to draw all the fangs?”
“Of course I did... Wait did her eyes just twitch? I think she is looking at you.”

The Turkey

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:08:00 +0000

The Turkey

A 100 word story

By Jeff Hite

“The Turkey is dead.”
“Yes it is.”
“That is the way we like it best.”
“Yes, it is.”
“We don’t like it alive.”
“No we don’t”
“The Turkey is dead because it’s head is cut off.”
“That is right.”
“The skin does not have any feathers.”
“No they were taken off.”
“We don’t like it with feathers.”
“No they are hard to chew.”
“I don’t like chewing feathers.”
“I hope not.”
“The turkey is dead, with no feathers and it’s head is cut off.”
“Yes. Look can we talk about this after dinner?”
“Ok. Dad, is the bacon dead too?”

Thanks Laurence

A Hole in the Ground

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:52:00 +0000

A Hole in the Ground

A 100 word story

By Jeff Hite

“Tim you said this place was a hole in the wall, I didn’t really think you were serious. This place is a real hole.”
“Yeah, it is a bit, but man they serve the best fires here.”
“Excuse me miss.” A man in a apron said standing next to their table.
“Yes?”
“Well you said that this place was a hole in the wall. I am the owner and I take exception to that.”
“I didn’t mean insult you, I...”
“Since it is actually below ground, it is a hole in the ground. I would appreciate you getting it right.”

Inspired by Mr. Simon

Five Rivers to Publish A Method To the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Five Rivers to Publish A Method To the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil

Villains rejoice! Co-editors, Michell Plested and Jeffrey Hite have reached an agreement with Five Rivers (www.5rivers.org) to publish the anthology, A Method To the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil.

A Method To the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil will be a tongue-in-cheek anthology of short essays aimed to guide the up-and-coming mad scientist to success in a career of supervillainry.

A Method To the Madness: A Guide to the Super Evil is a for-love anthology, accepting submissions until May 31, 2012. The anthology is scheduled for release Spring 2013 in both print and digital formats, and will be available globally through online booksellers.

Guidelines for the anthology can be found at: http://madscientistanthology.wordpress.com/.

Update

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:12:00 +0000

I just wanted to give you an update and let you know that I have not dropped off the face of the earth. I have been a bit busy, but I am getting back into the swing of things and the stories will come back pretty soon here. Like I hope to have a few 100 word stories again this week. In the mean time, I do have an announcement. Late last week, I released a short story on SmashwWords. The story is called Cargo and it is in my Mars Colony universe. You can get a copy of it here for only $.99.

Thank you for sticking with us here, and thanks for your support.

Read Meat

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Read Meat
By Jeff Hite

“Gary,” his doctor began, “you have to cut out some things from your diet. Not more kindles not more ipads or iphones, in general no more read meat.”
“You mean, red meat right doc?”
“No Gary, if I had meant red meat, I would have said red meat, I mean no more read meat. You’ve been consuming entirely too much technology of late.”
“But I can’t get over the stuff I love it.”
“Well you have got to stop.”
“But what harm is it doing? I mean isn’t tech good?”
“Yes, but too much and you can’t pay my bill.”

No Squid Left behind

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

No Squid Left Behind
By Jeff Hite

Water world was a terrible movie. I don’t think anyone will argue that. But I think I have thought of a way that it could be a lot better. What if you introduced giant sea creatures to it. I mean if the entire planet was covered with water, there would be more oceans for them to grow in. Little things could get bigger and big things could be gianormous. Can you imagine a ten foot Maryland blue crab? And what about the epic battles between the Super blue whale and and ultimate giant squid. Can you imagine the ticket prices?

Hansel and Regrettel

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Hansel and Regrettel
By Jeff Hite

“I really think we should go back now.” Grettel said to her brother.
“But if we go back now, you know mother is just going to throw us out again.”
“I really wish we had not broken the milk jar.”
“Well if you hadn’t started swinging the broom around.”
“I know I know.”
“Do you think we should have let the geese out when we left? I mean that did seem like a little bit over over kill, and besides they caused us to be lost.”
“Look quit complaining Regrettel, and help me find a way out of this cook pot.”

Exoplanet

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Exoplanet
By Jeff Hite

“The Idea of exoplanets is so cool don’t you think?”
“I don’t know Betty, I mean it is neat that there are other planets out there, but what good are they going to do us?”
“Come on Jed use your imagination. What kind of life could be out there?”
“I’m using my imagination, and I can see some pretty strange life right here. I mean have you ever been to L.A. or what about West Mineral Kansas, those folks are weird with that giant digging machine.”
“It is called Big Brutus and I think it is kind of cool.”

Big Brutus is a real attraction in West Mineral Kansas, I have been there more times than I care to admit.

http://www.bigbrutus.org/index.html

The Fix

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The Fix
By Jeff Hite

John looked at his watch.
“20 minutes.” He could not believe that it had only been 20 minutes. “What is this stuff, that it only lasts 20 minutes.”
He looked at the packaging.
“Quick fix, for when you just can’t wait for the real stuff. Warning this product is not meant for long term use and may only resolve your problems for a short amount of time.”
He could hear the announcer's voice in his head as he read it. He sighed, “Well I guess you get what you pay for.” He picked up the other pill and took it.

Detention

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Detention
By Jeff Hite

“The big house, jail, the slammer, detention, whatever you want to call it, yeah I spend some time there, why?”
“Well I don’t know if Joe is read for a girl that has spent time behind bars.”
“Why what’s he got against us jail birds?”
“Well nothing, but you see he just lost his wife and well he is kind of on the rebound, I don’t know if he is really ready for anyone.”
“What are you his mother?”
“No, but I am his friend, and I don’t want to see Joe get hurt ok?”
“Only if he wants it.”

Mine

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Mine
By Jeff Hite

“Mine!” The demon in the parking garage screamed.
“But this is my spot.” Steve whined.
“Mine.” The demon screamed again this time advancing on his car.
“But, really I have the parking tag and everything.”
“Mine, mine, mine!”
“Look I understand you are upset but I paid for this spot.”
“Mine.”
“I don’t know what I want you to do?”
The demon looked at him for a moment, tilting its head to one side. “You have to go down to the parking office and tell them they gave you someone else’s spot, this is mine and you can’t have it.”

Skipping stones

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Skipping Stones
By Jeff Hite

Skipping Stones Audio

“Well Sam there are a couple of things that you could do. The first, you could cut out most of the fatty foods, including the red meat and then you need to cut out things like milk and citrus at the same meal. They tend to calcify and that what causes these stones in the first place. However, you are going to have to pass these. We can try to break these up using ultra sound but it will not be much fun I’m afraid. Any questions?” The doctor finally took a breath.
“Well yeah, how do I skip these stones.”

The Speed of Pie and Ice Cream

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:29:00 +0000

The Speed of Pie and Ice Cream
By Jeff Hite

I once had someone one ask me what the speed of light was, the answer is one. It is always one. One foot per nanosecond. It is not exact, but at that kind of measurement who is really counting. Besides, if you were going to do any real calculations with it you would need to convert everything else from meters to feet and nanoseconds. And since there are 3.28 feet per meter, it makes the other numbers kind of messy. But if you want to bet your friends for some pie and ice cream, one is a good number.

The Mars Colony Thought Experiment

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:10:00 +0000

The idea of a Martian Colony is nothing new. Buzz Aldrin, you know the second man on the moon, himself has said that we need to skip the moon all together and head to Mars not as an expedition of scientists and researchers, but as a group of people who would start a colony. Great thinking and physicist Steven Hawking has said, and I am para phrasing here, The longer we keep all of our population on Earth with out expansion the more likely it is that some terrible thing will happen to wipe us all out. When you look at the state of the world around us can you really disagree?

The Journey

I invite you to join us as we look at what it would take to make the journey to Mars. Click here For more information about the project

I Vacuum

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:19:00 +0000

I Vacuum
By Jeffrey Hite

Every night I vacuum the rug. Every morning I wake up and there are foot prints on my rug.
I vacuum.
Foot prints.
I vacuum.
Foot prints.
Little tiny foot prints!
Finally a bought a night vision, inferred camera. I caught the little beasts making foot prints all over my rug. They were little elves or gnomes or something. I also caught them fixing the broken wires on my stereo, and the loose screws in the furniture. They did everything, everything that is but wipe their feet before they came in the house. So I vacuum and they leave footprints.

The Princess

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

The Princess
By Jeff Hite

The Princess lay in her tower asleep for nearly 100 years. The Prince, selected to be the one to wake her after generations, stood over her watching the seconds tick by. Hhe had made his way through the thorn forest and and the castle grounds he had seen the people whose lives would or had already ended with this one kiss. It didn’t seem fair, the other men who had died thinking they could fight past the trees to inherit the kingdom, the servants who slept and would disappear once she awoke. Instead he turned away and left.

This is a much shorter version of a retelling of Sleeping Beauty that I am working on. My version is already in the 4000 word range, but this pretty much captures the essence of the story

The Llama

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

“I just wish she would use my real name when she checks us into our hotels, but she thinks it is funny.”
“Well there is really no harm is there?”
“The really problem is not that those people out there think they’re here for someone else, it is that she thinks that they are here for her. When she goes down there to sign autographs they won’t even know who she is. And she gets pissed, and that never ends well for anyone.”
“I don’t get it. What name does Ms. Parton use”
“She sign’s me in as Dolly’s Llama.”

The Boy Who Never Laughed

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:32:00 +0000

The Boy Who Never Laughed
By J. Hite
“There was a boy who lived in this house at one time, why do you ask?” The realtor asked.
“Oh no reason.” The little boy replied twisting his finger.
“Well it was a very sad story about him."
”

“Did he die here?”

“Oh no nothing like that. He didn’t have any friends.”

“Why didn’t he have any friends, was he ugly? Did he smell bad? I know I bet it was that he was mean, and shove people’s heads into their lockers.”

“No nothing like that. He always picked his nose.”

The little boy pulled his finger out of his nose and blushed.

The Story's Inspiration

The Ship

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:26:00 +0000

The Ship
By J. Hite

“It was there and then it wasn’t I tell ya.”
“Alright Gramps but was it there when you pulled the collision alarm?”
“It was there, I might be old but I am not stupid.”
“Well... So tell us about this ship you think you saw.”
“It was pretty foggy.”
“So maybe it wasn’t there?”
“It was there! It was there, It has three masts.”
“So a sailing rig?”
“Exactly. It was moving slowly, only the main sail was up. But it was right in front of us. Then it wasn’t.”
“Hmm sounds like a case for Scooby Doo to me.

The Christmas Clause

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Claus stepped out of the advent towers feeling like he had missed something. He had gone in there to, to. To what, he couldn’t remember.
“What did you do?” The complex owner asked.
“He said the towers were going to have to come down, because he kept disappearing.”
“So what did you do?”
“Well I brought him in here to talk about turning the reality dampers down a bit...”
“And...”
“Well I turned them all the way up. I think he lost part of his memory of the event. The part where he said the towers had to come down.”

The Third Ghost

Jeffrey Hite (Jeffrey Hite) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:17:00 +0000

Scrooge watched as the third of the ghost materialized in the middle of the potters field near his home. Even before the ghost had full formed he began begging and pleading.
“No, No, No not here, not me, don’t let it end this way, I will keep Christmas.”
The ghost slapped him.
“What?”
The ghost pointed.
Scrooge’s eyes followed the ghosts pointing finger to the rich court yard across from the grave yard.
“There am I to live there?”
Later the first ghost grilled him. “You told him what? How could you?”
“I hate for people to die without hope.”