Atomic Armageddon Graphic Novel (aka comic)

I stumbled across the graphic novelisation of the short film "Atomic Armageddon" that I made about 12 years ago, and found it rather funny. I amuse me, who'd have thought. Give it a read and let me know what you think. Maybe even watch the short film.

Books Read 2018

Below are the books that I read during 2018 and my rating out of 5.

Rating	Title	Author	Length
5	The Happiest Refugee	Anh Do	6h 31m
5	AlterWorld: Play to Live, Book 1	D. Rus	12h 13m
5	Inferno: Play to Live, Book 4	D. Rus	9h 58m
5	The Clan: Play to Live, Book 2	D. Rus	12h 24m
5	The Duty: Play to Live, Book 3	D. Rus	11h 23m
5	Dungeon Born: Divine Dungeon Series, Book 1	Dakota Krout	12h 32m
5	Dungeon Calamity: Divine Dungeon, Book 3	Dakota Krout	13h 12m
5	Dungeon Madness: Divine Dungeon Series, Book 2	Dakota Krout	12h 1m
5	The Singularity Trap	Dennis E. Taylor	11h 23m
5	Persepolis Rising	James S. A. Corey	20h 34m
5	Zodiac	Neal Stephenson	10h 16m
5	True History of the Kelly Gang	Peter Carey	13h 32m
5	After On: A Novel of Silicon Valley	Rob Reid	22h 5m
4	Revenger	Alastair Reynolds	14 h 38m
4	Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus	Blaise Corvin	13h 28m
4	Obligations Incurred: Delvers LLC, Book 2	Blaise Corvin	9h 31m
4	The Battle: Play to Live, Book 5	D. Rus	10h 17m
4	The War: Play to Live, Book 6	D. Rus	10h 4m
4	After It Happened: Publisher's Pack 2	Devon C. Ford	12h 11m
4	After It Happened: Publisher's Pack 3	Devon C. Ford	13h 28m
4	After It Happened: Publisher's Pack, Books 1 & 2	Devon C. Ford	12h 39m
4	Going Rogue: Spells, Swords, & Stealth Series, Book 3	Drew Hayes	15h 19m
4	NPCs	Drew Hayes	7h 50m
4	Second Hand Curses	Drew Hayes	9h
4	Split the Party: Spells, Swords, & Stealth Series #2	Drew Hayes	11h 19m
4	My Squirrel Days	Ellie Kemper	6h 14m
4	King Solomon's Mines	Henry Rider Haggard	8h 50m
4	Tomorrow War: The Chronicles of Max [Redacted], Book 1	J. L. Bourne	8h 5m
4	Babylon's Ashes: Book Six of the Expanse	James S. A. Corey	19 h 58m
4	Strange Dogs	James S. A. Corey	2 h 29m
4	The Vital Abyss: An Expanse Novella	James S. A. Corey	2 h 26m
4	Infinite	Jeremy Robinson	10h 21m
4	Starswarm	Jerry Pournelle	10 hrs
4	Critical Failures V: Caverns and Creatures, Book 5	Robert Bevan	9h 33m
4	Winter Tide	Ruthanna Emrys	12h 29m
4	Red Seas Under Red Skies	Scott Lynch	25h 34m
4	The Lies of Locke Lamora	Scott Lynch	21h 59m
4	The Outsider	Stephen King	18h 41m
4	Will Save the Galaxy for Food	Yahtzee Croshaw	10h 20m
3	Our Mutual Friend	Charles Dickens	36h 33m
3	The Ultimation: Play to Live, Book 7: Play to Live, Book 7	D. Rus	9h 6m
3	The Long Tomorrow	Leigh Brackett	8h 27m
3	Interface	Neal Stephenson, J. Frederick George	25h 15m
3	Streams of Silver: Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 2	R. A. Salvatore	11 h 54m
3	The Crystal Shard: Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 1	R. A. Salvatore	12 h 2m
3	The Republic of Thieves	Scott Lynch	23h 43m
3	Shadowlith: Umbral Blade, Book 1	Stuart Thaman	7h 37m
2	Silicon Blood	Arlan Andrews Sr.	9h 57m
2	Mother Go	James Patrick Kelly	9h 56m
2	Calculating God	Robert J. Sawyer	12h 4m
2	The Telling	Ursula K. Le Guin	6h 57m

VelectriX Ascent+29 (2018) e-bike

New bike day! VelectriX Ascent+29 (2018) electric power assisted mountain bicycle.

I moved to a suburb 12km farther out from work (now a 35km trip, 70km return), to a very hilly suburb with no protected cycling paths. I found that I was quite exhausted tackling the nearby hills on my road bike before I even got 5km out. I started cycling less, which ended up effectively being a two year break. I began looking at getting an e-bike so I could start cycling to work again.

I should also note that I live very close to a fairly hard core mountain bike course, and an easy ride to one of the better mountain bike trail areas in the state. I haven’t been a huge mountain bike fan, but the tracks are right there.

I looked around at a large number of e-bikes, eventually settling on the Ascent+29 by VelectriX. My reasoning included: a preference for the mid mounted motor, this bike seemed like good value, the somewhat larger 13.5Ah battery. There seems to be some confusion about battery capacity, the VelectriX site claims 13.5Ah, 99Bikes website says 13.6Ah, but the battery itself has 13.2Ah printed on it - embedded in what looks like the serial number. The labesl indicate the system is 36V so 13.2Ah x 36V = 475Wh.

I contacted VelectriX directly, who were pretty helpful, answering most of my questions. I asked how many teeth on the front chain wheel, but they didn’t know so I suspected it was the default 36, the Bafang site says there are three options: 36T 38T 42T. I also asked what a spare charger might cost, as I would likely need to charge at work as well as home. The guys at the retail store (99bikes) said that I should be able to make the trip both ways (70km) without the need for charging. Turns out this might not be true in my case. Note that the charger is bulky, but not particularly heavy, I could transport it in a backpack without issue if needed.

There are cables running under and outside the bottom of the mid mounted motor; is that safe? I could imagine a situation while doing the mountain bike trails that this area could easily get scraped. I didn't think that I would be doing that much trail riding, but I'll will update this blog if I start to notice any wear or damage.

There are no included headlamp or rear lights. The specs claim 21kg but after I added a small bag with tube and tools, a head lamp, drink cage, Garmin computer, Cycliq camera-light and arm mount, I get 23.8kg. It is possible that the naked bike was heavier than 21kg as I bought the large frame version, but I’m not going to dismantle my extra add-ons just to test this.

No place for the drink cage! Well, not the usual spots. I ended up with a cage that clamps on to your handle bars, which sounds insane but actually works quite well.

The quick-release on the front and back wheels were handy, although I only had to remove the front wheel to fit in the back of my VW Polo. Refitting the wheel took a little effort to line up with the hydraulic disc brakes despite the 99Bikes guys saying it will drop right in and you simply just clamp, I had to push on the wheel while engaging the quick-release.

The mini LCD display has the power button on the front (away side), you’re not going to accidentally power down, and plus/minus button on the back facing you. Holding the plus will active the backlight on the LCD display, holding the minus is the walk mode - pushing your bike along at a crawl. Tapping the minus/plus takes you down/up levels of assistance from 0 to 5. The LCD displays battery status in 4 bar levels, current speed, power assistance level, and trip distance. You reset trip distance by pressing the power and minus button together. The display can be tilted to adjust viewing angle. But that’s it, you’re going to want a GPS bike computer for detailed stats. I like using the Cycliq Fly12 arm that can hold your bike computer on top and your Cycliq Fly12 (camera and headlamp) below.

The fitted tyres are moderately knobbly, reasonable traction on the mountain bike trails where I found myself in full prolonged skid mode down two of the really steep descents. I have my eyes on a set of more road rolling 29” tyres as replacements when the current ones get to their end of life.

The seat is comfortable enough for me, however it keeps drifting downward as I ride, I need to adjust it up 3-5cm every hour of riding. I had this issue on my last mountain bike and solved it by clamping the rear reflector at the base of the seat post. Of course I could just lose some weight too, this might not be an issue for people under 95kg.

The Shimano Alivio thumb gear controls are excellent. Solid rapid changing with forward and backward push to change, and multi-change deep push for going to lower gears. My last mountain bike had a gear changer where you roll the handles … I’d avoid that type. There's only one cog on the chain ring, so all you get is 9 gears, which I initially thought might be a shortfall but works out to be plenty enough for everything except post 45km/h speeds. One less thing to monkey with while you're riding, and fewer mechanical things to go wrong.

Starting out, you probably should have the bike at level 0 or 1 assistance, because at level 5 you might place your foot resting on the pedals and accidentally push - suddenly the bike is off. Thrilling if you’re ready for it, not so much if you’re still in the garage aiming at a car. Note that I added caged / clipped pedals, just because that's what I'm used to and I expect this to be on the road more than trails.

Because of the law, the motor assistance cuts when you go over 25km/h. My Garmin Edge 520 disputes the measured speed but it is very close. When you hit that limit then it is all you and you will feel every bit of the 21+kg of the bicycle, yes - just ease back and let the bicycle help. Remember that most climbs the motor is just assistance, you’re going nowhere fast if you try to let the motor take all the effort. You are still going to get plenty of exercise.

But the hill climbs are amazing. Hills that you know you would not be able to scale without hopping off are now in the realms of conquering, and hills that would have your heart pumping over 180bpm as you struggle and gasp are now so much easier - don't get me wrong, you're still going to get your heart pumping, but the electric assist is so very nice.

I’m sure others must have discussed this, but you get used to the added power very quickly and start to wonder if the motor is on or helping at all. It is. Just set that assistance to zero and see how you go. I’ve only had the bike for a few days but for now it’s level 5 assistance all the time. Maybe as I get fitter I will back off the assistance.

The commute to work was marred by misdirection, thanks to the lack of decent cycling infrastructure in my area. I have to run the rat maze of backstreets or do battle with aggressive work car commuters along the main streets. The local council has a very cool bicycle route planner that knows about all of the cycling paths including mountain bike trails. The planner’s suggestion was to take a direct path through a mountain bike trail, but as it was my first day out ... I’m not doing that, I tried the backstreet route. Half way out of the hills, tired of getting the turns wrong, I switched to the Google maps app, with the cycle option, because I wanted turn by turn, however this was near fatal as I was directed onto the most dangerous and cycling unfriendly road in the area, away from the bike paths and trails. Google might consider some way to fix this. I finally made it to the cycle path that took me the last 25km all the way to my destination. The Bafang max drive smoothed out the few nasty hills along the way, and brought a smile to my face. This ride was pretty damned sweet.

On the down hill sections and the flats, I could keep the VelectriX cadence up to a maximum of about 40 to 45km/h using the highest gear. For comparison, on my carbon road bike I can keep pedalling at 50-60km/h thanks to the nice gears on the carbon. I noted that I started to feel somewhat unsafe on the VelectriX around 50km/h, compared to 70+km/h on the carbon. Clearly mountain bikes aren’t high speed, this is nothing new.

After a ride of 38km of road travel on the VelectriX using level 5 assistance all the way across a good amount of hills, the LCD screen showed the battery level at next to empty. Not really 70km to 110km. The recharge took just under 4.5 hours which was a little more than the advertised max charge time of 4 hours, so I’m guessing the battery was about completely discharged.

After the recharge at work, the ride home was in high humidity and heat. I passed only one other rider who was also on a mountain bike and was very interested in the electric motor. He was surprised at the price, he may have been looking at brand name e-bikes which seem to start at twice the cost. By the time I got home I was exhausted, slapped on the charger and went for a shower then a nap.

The following weekend I thought I might check out the mountain bike trail, because of the commute shortcut potential. The trails wound through beautiful forest with wallabies bouncing about, hill climbs, wide tracks - it was actually wonderful. The motor assistance was excellent. I am sure I had a smile plastered to my face, even on some of the scary downhills. I really wanted to do that ride again this weekend, however a huge rain system settled in, and the region is under a flooding alert. Of course.

E-bikes add fun to cycling by removing part of the drudgery. This is early days for me on the VelectriX, but I love the ride and how the assistance has opened up routes that I would have previously avoided. I am not particularly happy with the battery life (more testing required), the battery efficiency will improve when I fit better road rolling tyres, and as I get fitter and lighter, not so lazy (level 5 assistance all the way!). The real tell is that every time I ride this bike I am smiling.

Bafang Max Drive review by the great guys at ElectricBikeReview.com

Also see a review of an older model of the Ascent+ (rear wheel motor) by ElectricBikeScoop.

Velectrix Ascent+29 (2018)
Sensor/drive: Torque sensor
Display Unit: VelectriX mini LCD display screen
Battery: Samsung 13.2ah lithium ion (@36V = 475Wh)
Performance: Up to 110km's distance per charge (Actual = ~50km with 100+kg rider laying heavily on the level 5 assistance)
Speed: up to 25km/h with assisted power.
Charger: Smart charger included. Maximum charge time 4 hours (or so).

Final note: I am not a hard core cyclist, I just really need something to keep fit. Ideally, I would like to ride a couple times a week. If you're considering an e-bike vs driving a car vs public transport, you'll find that a riding a bicycle a couple times a week will save you money, get you fitter / healthier / happier - and you're outside riding a bike! For me, under two years on the bicycle for a couple times a week will pay for the bike, a function of the outrageous cost of public transport here.

E‐cycling with electrical assistance was associated with increased physiological responses that can confer health benefits : "Systematic review and meta‐analysis evaluating the effects electric bikes have on physiological parameters"

UPDATE: Velectrix no longer sell this specific build, but you might be able to find the same model name. The company seems to have plenty of good options but many appear to be rear hub motors. I had some issues with batteries on my mid-drive: battery was not charging, completely lost its charge, and eventually refused to recharge. Over a few months, Velectrix swapped my battery twice, and on the last time said that the on-bike charging mechanism should not be used. So I charge and store the battery off the bicycle until I want to use it - problems solved, and not an issue for me in subsequent months of usage (so far). So while this is not ideal for some, it is just an extra step, I am happy with the process, and very happy with the service from Velectrix. Also note that I replaced the Maxis Pace 29x2.10 tyres with Schwalbe Marathon 28x1.5 because I planned to use the bike for commuting and occasional gravel cycling, but no mountain biking.

UPDATE 2024 (almost 7 years): During COVID-19 my job converted to work-from-home full-time except possibly once every three months, so I use the Velectrix very occasionally for some fun touring. The battery is still holding up reasonably well - I get just over 40km on a full charge (100kg rider using mostly full level 5 assistance). The cycling infrastructure is being developed, so a large chunk of any commute I might make would be mostly cycling path, who knows: maybe the pathway will be complete before I retire. I am still very happy with the Velectrix bicycle.

Books Read 2017

Below are the books that I read during 2017 and my rating out of 5.

Rating	Title	Author	Duration
5	Artemis	Andy Weir	8h 59m
5	Walk Away	Corey Doctorow	19h 00m
5	All These Worlds: Bobiverse, Book 3	Dennis E. Taylor	7h 55m
5	For We Are Many: Bobiverse, Book 2	Dennis E. Taylor	8h 58m
4	Children of Time	Adrian Tchaikovsky	16h 30m
4	Magpie Murders	Anthony Horowitz	15h 47m
4	The Bone Clocks	David Mitchell	24h 29m
4	The Collapsing Empire: The Interdependency, Book 1	John Scalzi	9h 23m
4	The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.	Neal Stephenson, Nicole Galland	24h 28m
4	The Water Knife	Paolo Bacigalupi	14h 5m
4	Morning Star: Book III of the Red Rising Trilogy	Pierce Brown	21h 50m
4	Critical Failures III: Caverns and Creatures, Book 3	Robert Bevan	7h 32m
4	Critical Failures IV: The Phantom Pinas: Caverns and Creatures, Book 4	Robert Bevan	10h 33m
4	Critical Failures II: Fail Harder: Caverns and Creatures Book 2	Robert Bevan	6h 35m
4	Critical Failures: Caverns and Creatures, Book 1	Robert Bevan	8h 3m
4	Hard Luck Hank: Robot Farts	Steven Campbell	13h 13m
4	The Left Hand of Darkness	Ursula K. Le Guin	9h 39m
3	The Science of Supervillainy: The Supervillainy Saga, Book 4	C. T. Phipps	6h 5m
3	The Lost Fleet: Courageous	Jack Campbell	9h 42m
3	The Lost Fleet: Valiant	Jack Campbell	10h 13m
3	The Lost Fleet: Relentless	Jack Campbell	9h 45m
3	The Lost Fleet: Dauntless	Jack Campbell	9h 59m
3	The Lost Fleet: Fearless	Jack Campbell	9h 51m
3	The Cleaner: John Milton, Book 1	Mark Dawson	8h 58m
2	The Lost Fleet: Victorious	Jack Campbell	11h 17m
2	The Death Cure: The Maze Runner, Book 3	James Dashner	8h 55m
2	The Scorch Trials: The Maze Runner, Book 2	James Dashner	10h 26m
2	The Maze Runner: The Maze Runner, Book 1	James Dashner	10h 53m
2	The Regional Office Is Under Attack!: A Novel	Manuel Gonzales	10h 46m

Books read 2016

Below are the books that I read during 2016 and my rating out of 5.

Rating	Title	Author
5	The Book of Ralph	Christopher Steinsvold
5	We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1	Dennis E. Taylor
5	Leviathan Wakes: Book 1 of the Expanse	James S. A. Corey
5	Caliban's War: Book 2 of the Expanse	James S. A. Corey
5	The Dispatcher	John Scalzi
5	Forging Zero: The Legend of ZERO	Sara King
5	Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy	Steven Campbell
4	Time and Time Again	Ben Elton
4	The Rules of Supervillainy: The Supervillainy Saga Volume 1	C.T. Phipps
4	The Games of Supervillainy: The Supervillainy Saga Book 2	C.T. Phipps
4	The Secrets of Supervillainy: The Supervillainy Saga, Book 3	C.T. Phipps
4	The Pickwick Papers	Charles Dickens
4	Raising Stony Mayhall	Daryl Gregory
4	Nemesis Games: Book 5 of the Expanse	James S. A. Corey
4	Abaddon's Gate: Expanse, Book 3	James S. A. Corey
4	Cibola Burn: Book 4 of the Expanse	James S. A. Corey
4	The End of All Things: Old Man's War, Book 6	John Scalzi
4	Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh	Joseph Conrad
4	The Mysterious Island	Jules Verne
4	Golden Son: Book II of the Red Rising Trilogy	Pierce Brown
4	Fear the Survivors: The Fear Saga, Book 2	Stephen Moss
4	Fear the Sky: The Fear Saga, Book 1	Stephen Moss
4	Hard Luck Hank: Suck My Cosmos	Steven Campbell
4	Hard Luck Hank: Stank Delicious, Book 5	Steven Campbell
4	Hard Luck Hank: Basketful of Crap, Book 2	Steven Campbell
4	Hard Luck Hank: Prince of Suck	Steven Campbell
3	The Sam Gunn Omnibus	Ben Bova
3	Bloodfire: Blood Destiny, Book 1	Helen Harper
3	Locke & Key	Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez
3	Cat's Cradle	Kurt Vonnegut
3	Kindred	Octavia E. Butler
3	Ex-Isle: Ex-Heroes, Book 5	Peter Clines
3	The Halfling's Gem: Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 3	R. A. Salvatore
3	Streams of Silver: Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 2	R. A. Salvatore
3	The Crystal Shard: Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 1	R. A. Salvatore
3	The Martian Chronicles	Ray Bradbury
3	The Hunter from the Woods	Robert McCammon
3	The Wolf's Hour	Robert McCammon
3	Fear the Future: The Fear Saga, Book 3	Stephen Moss
2	Dark Matter	Blake Crouch
2	Ark Royal	Christopher G. Nuttall
2	The Nelson Touch: Ark Royal, Book 2	Christopher G. Nuttall
2	The Trafalgar Gambit: Ark Royal, Book 3	Christopher G. Nuttall
2	The Remaining	D. J. Molles
2	Barrayar: A Vorkosigan Adventure	Lois McMaster Bujold
2	Shards of Honor	Lois McMaster Bujold
2	The Harvesting (The Harvesting Series Book 1)	Melanie Karsak
2	The Lost Starship	Vaughn Heppner
1	Into the Black: Odyssey One	Evan Currie

Books read 2015

Below are the books that I read during 2015 and my rating out of 5.

Rating	Title	Author
5	Origins of a D-List Supervillain	Jim Bernheimer
5	Anathem	Neal Stephenson
5	Seveneves: A Novel	Neal Stephenson
5	Year Zero: A Novel	Rob Reid
5	The Wasp Factory	Iain Banks
5	The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August	Claire North
5	Flowers For Algernon	Daniel Keys
5	Steel World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 1	B. V. Larson
5	Dust World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 2	B. V. Larson
5	Tech World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 3	B.V. Larson
4	Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain	A. Lee Martinez
4	Battle Station: Star Force, Book 5	B. V. Larson
4	Conquest: Star Force, Book 4	B. V. Larson
4	Empire: Star Force, Book 6	B. V. Larson
4	Extinction: Star Force, Book 2	B. V. Larson
4	Machine World: Undying Mercenaries, Book 4	B. V. Larson
4	Rebellion: Star Force, Book 3	B. V. Larson
4	The Chaplain's War	Brad R. Torgersen
4	The Cycle of Arawn: The Complete Trilogy	Edward W. Robertson
4	Armada	Ernest Cline
4	Transition	Iain Banks
4	Secrets of a D-List Supervillain	Jim Bernheimer
4	Blood Rites: The Dresden Files, Book 6	Jim Butcher
4	Changes: The Dresden Files, Book 12	Jim Butcher
4	Cold Days: Dresden Files, Book 14	Jim Butcher
4	Dead Beat: The Dresden Files, Book 7	Jim Butcher
4	Death Masks: The Dresden Files, Book 5	Jim Butcher
4	Fool Moon: The Dresden Files, Book 2	Jim Butcher
4	Ghost Story: A Novel of the Dresden Files	Jim Butcher
4	Grave Peril: The Dresden Files, Book 3	Jim Butcher
4	Proven Guilty: The Dresden Files, Book 8	Jim Butcher
4	Skin Game: The Dresden Files	Jim Butcher
4	Small Favor: The Dresden Files, Book 10	Jim Butcher
4	Summer Knight: The Dresden Files, Book 4	Jim Butcher
4	Turn Coat: The Dresden Files, Book 11	Jim Butcher
4	White Night: The Dresden Files, Book 9	Jim Butcher
4	The Girl with All the Gifts	M. R. Carey
4	Nifft the Lean: Nifft, Book 1	Michael Shea
4	Neverwhere	Neil Gaiman
4	Ex-Communication	Peter Clines
4	Ex-Heroes	Peter Clines
4	Ex-Patriots	Peter Clines
4	Ex-Purgatory	Peter Clines
4	The Fold	Peter Clines
4	Blindsight	Peter Watts
4	Altered Carbon	Richard K. Morgan
4	Starship Troopers	Robert A. Heinlein
4	Spin	Robert Charles Wilson
4	Infected: A Novel	Scott Sigler
4	The Pilo Family Circus	Will Elliott
3	Galactic North	Alastair Reynolds
3	Annihilation: Star Force, Book 7	B. V. Larson
3	The Dead Sun: Star Force, Book 9	B. V. Larson
3	Storm Assault: Star Force, Book 8	B.V. Larson
3	Elantris	Brandon Sanderson
3	Dark Eden: A Novel	Chris Beckett
3	The Bad Place	Dean Koontz
3	The Bridge	Iain Banks
3	Project 731	Jeremy Robinson
3	Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles	Marissa Meyer
3	Starship: Rebel	Mike Resnick
3	Ubik	Philip K. Dick
3	Off to Be the Wizard	Scott Meyer
2	The Thought Pushers	Dima Zales, Anna Zaires
2	The Thought Readers	Dima Zales, Anna Zaires

Command line calendar for Windows

I created a command line calendar utility that others may find useful. Download the zip file from here. I originally coded this as an exercise in Turbo Pascal, translated into Delphi, then recently recoded into PureBasic which can create tightly compiled stand alone console executables - about one quarter the size of Delphi executables.

You can use the utility to create a MSWord doc using a mono font like Courier, by redirecting the output to a file:
cal > cal.txt
You can even fit three full years on one A4 page if you change MSWord's page orientation to landscape and reduce the margins
cal n=36 w=6 > cal.txt

Usage: cal Y=nnnn M=nn N=nn W=[1,2,3,4,6,12] S=nn T
Y = year of calendar; default=current year; cal Y=2000
YX = year of calendar without correction for 0-99
M = start month; default=1 (January)
N = number of months; default=12
W = nr months in a row; default=3
S = nr horizontal spaces between months; default=3
T = use tab instead of spaces - good for export to spreadsheet; cal T > caltab.txt


January 2015           February 2015          March 2015        
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
             1  2  3    1  2  3  4  5  6  7    1  2  3  4  5  6  7
 4  5  6  7  8  9 10    8  9 10 11 12 13 14    8  9 10 11 12 13 14
11 12 13 14 15 16 17   15 16 17 18 19 20 21   15 16 17 18 19 20 21
18 19 20 21 22 23 24   22 23 24 25 26 27 28   22 23 24 25 26 27 28
25 26 27 28 29 30 31                          29 30 31          
                                                                
April 2015             May 2015               June 2015         
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
          1  2  3  4                   1  2       1  2  3  4  5  6
 5  6  7  8  9 10 11    3  4  5  6  7  8  9    7  8  9 10 11 12 13
12 13 14 15 16 17 18   10 11 12 13 14 15 16   14 15 16 17 18 19 20
19 20 21 22 23 24 25   17 18 19 20 21 22 23   21 22 23 24 25 26 27
26 27 28 29 30         24 25 26 27 28 29 30   28 29 30          
                       31                                       
July 2015              August 2015            September 2015    
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
          1  2  3  4                      1          1  2  3  4  5
 5  6  7  8  9 10 11    2  3  4  5  6  7  8    6  7  8  9 10 11 12
12 13 14 15 16 17 18    9 10 11 12 13 14 15   13 14 15 16 17 18 19
19 20 21 22 23 24 25   16 17 18 19 20 21 22   20 21 22 23 24 25 26
26 27 28 29 30 31      23 24 25 26 27 28 29   27 28 29 30       
                       30 31                                    
October 2015           November 2015          December 2015     
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
             1  2  3    1  2  3  4  5  6  7          1  2  3  4  5
 4  5  6  7  8  9 10    8  9 10 11 12 13 14    6  7  8  9 10 11 12
11 12 13 14 15 16 17   15 16 17 18 19 20 21   13 14 15 16 17 18 19
18 19 20 21 22 23 24   22 23 24 25 26 27 28   20 21 22 23 24 25 26
25 26 27 28 29 30 31   29 30                  27 28 29 30 31