Beautiful and warm, sunny and blue sky. I hope. [very nice, getting into the 80s with clear skies and cool breezes]
Yesterday was very nice. 68F at 9am, 82 with a cool breeze in the shade in the afternoon.
I spent the afternoon outside. I got the electric chainsaw back out, and took the time to sharpen it. Made a HUGE difference even though it was my first time sharpening and kinda haphazard… Cut up the remaining branches, and took another of the multiple trunks off one of the chinese cherries. That wood is certainly dense.
Then I moved to the oak in the front yard and got out the “High Limb Saw” or chain saw in the middle of a long rope. I took down about half a dozen limbs that were either dead or too far over the neighbor’s yard. By the end of the afternoon, I was getting pretty good at throwing the sandbag over the high limbs to get the rope over. It is a workout.
Cut up the branches with the electric chainsaw (very handy, fairly quiet, not intimidating, recommended.) Threw the debris on the heavy trash pile.
Today if it’s still nice, I’ll get up on the roof and trim back those branches, and start in on the sprinklers. We’ve removed bushes and some beds in the front of the house and have a whole zone or two of sprinklers that should be capped off. They were originally installed poorly, with 12″ pop ups completely above the earth. In other words, a dozen sprinkler heads like cans of tennis balls, sticking up where we don’t need them. I keep tripping over them, breaking them off, and catching the hose on them. I could leave a couple of risers for drip irrigation in the future, I guess.
Number two daughter turns 9 today and she’s bouncing off the walls. Fortunately, I’d bought a bunch of stuff prior to lockdown, and amazon is still open to deliver stuff that my wife ordered. Even without a get together with her friends, she should have a good day. I thought about sending cupcakes to all her school friends, and having them do a zoom vtc while they ate them and got a goodie bag, but we couldn’t get it organized in time.
The new version of my NVR software eats hard drive like crazy. By default it records a constant stream from each camera. That’s a lot of data… Even setting up ‘record on motion’ for all the 3mpx cams didn’t save enough disk space with the three 8mpx cams streaming constantly. I LIKE them capturing everything, but I don’t have the space. So I ordered an 8 TB surveillance drive from amazon. Only $220, which is astounding to me. The surveillance drives are built to handle the 24/7 writing and constant use, and they cost a bit more. Interesting to me to see the different drives being built to different specs for specific uses. I’d say that was a sign of a mature market.
Oh, and I threw out a couple dozen shelf stable entre’s from Dinty Moore, completes, and a couple from an indian company. They were bb 2014 1nd 2015. While still sealed and under vacuum, the egg dishes had turned uniformly brown, and the meat dishes looked pretty gross. The indian dishes actually looked the best. They all smelled ok, and probably wouldn’t kill you, but I’ve got food that isn’t nasty looking. They were WAY in the back on the shelves in the garage. High heat is probably to blame for the changes in appearance, oh, and the extra 5 years….
Dinner was late and needed to be quick and easy, so frozen cheeseburgers, cottage cheese, tomato, onion, and a pasta side dish. Flavored pasta dish was bb 2016 in a foil lined paper pouch. Tasted just like it should.
Stay in, Stay safe.
nick
Belated congrats on your happy anniversary, and Happy Birthday to your daughter! We celebrated our 29th earlier in April with great thankfulness. I roasted a boneless leg of lamb from Aldi’s that we had in the freezer.
I bought an eletric chainsaw, at my husband’s suggestion, last fall and it was a wise purchase. So lightweight and easy for me to use safely to cut up fallen branches, esp after I made a sawbuck to hold them. He is seriously disabled (wheelchair) and can no longer do any work so it is all on me. Fortunately his mind and speech are not affected so he can still advise me. I’ll need to sharpen it at some point. Do you have a special tool? I have a good hand tree saw that I like a lot – like Japanese saws, it cuts on the pull instead of the push so works better for someone with no arm strength. Your rope saw sounds interesting, I’ve never heard of that. Other than the bean bag, is it heavy? The weight of tools is always a drawback for me so a pole saw is beyond what I can do. We have 3 big pecan trees and a large bur oak so there are always branches that need to be trimmed. Our house is heated with a wood stove so every branch gets used.
Lesson learned. Always carry abundant quarters when traveling in Florida. On one trip I set the GPS to avoid the connector from I-75 to Orlando, that huge money maker for Florida that snags all the tourists. At least the booths are staffed. Anyway, avoiding that road caused an extra two hours of driving, lots of reds lights through small towns, traffic congestion, etc. I decided the $4.00 to use the road (each way) was worth it. And Florida knows this and will never change.
The change buckets are a gigantic pain in the a** when designing those systems. There is a reason that they are disappearing.
Yeah, the Turnpike avoids the tourist fleecing in Leesburg, Apopka, Mt. Dora, etc. Didn’t you see “Doc Hollywood” (filmed in Mt. Dora)?
The problem in the little towns used to be speed traps, but now, thanks to the movie and various HGTV shows, the places have so many tourists traipsing through looking to dupe “gullible” Floridians out of their priceless antiques that the government entities don’t bother.
If you’re headed to Miami or Fort Lauderdale for a cruise from points north on 75, either take the Turnpike at Wildwood (most direct route) or I-75 through Alligator Alley. Both have tolls, but you don’t want to see the garden spots the GPS will direct you through like Belle Glade.
I believe southbound Alligator Alley still only has one toll south of Naples. Don’t try the side route out of Fort Myers to pick up the Alley east of the toll booths or, God forbid, the Tamiami Trail (US41). Pay the money.
(Though, if you take the Trail, be sure to stop for Cuban food where the road turns into SW 8th in Miami, just before downtown.)
The Border Patrol checkpoint East of El Paso has giant cameras for front and rear pictures. However, they are mounted right in your face, so I assume they are doing facial recognition in addition to LPR. How long before FR is added to LPR nation wide?
Our neighbor’s kid (maybe 6 years old?) had a drive-by birthday party last week. Friends in their own cars driving by slowly, honking, and holding “Happy Birthday” signs out the car windows while the birthday girl waved and laughed from their front yard.
LOL. During my tours in Korea, a classified book came around once a month called the “Black Book.” The BB contained all the nasty details of the Kim family’s sordid affairs.
I’m going with Iran since tRump already said we’re “going to blow their boats out of the water.” Plus, we don’t have to worry much about the Iranians. Let Israel deal with the fallout.
As predicted here by others, the rhetoric is starting to ramp up.
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/food-supply-chain-breaking-tyson-foods-chairman-claims-plant-coronavirus-closures
@SteveF – thanks for the EIA map, Cushing OK makes a lot more sense when you can see the piplines!
Geez. Another Plugs video. Mrs. Plugs does all the talking while Plugs stands there looking like he’s holding in a bowel movement. Not a good look.
The Border Patrol checkpoint East of El Paso has giant cameras for front and rear pictures. However, they are mounted right in your face, so I assume they are doing facial recognition in addition to LPR. How long before FR is added to LPR nation wide?
Just one aimed at the driver or multiple into the car interior?
Within 100 miles of the border, your rights are restricted when dealing with ICE, but, while a contractor may already supply FR for the feed, chances right now are very good that it doesn’t truly work.
@Peacancorner, WRT chainsaw sharpening, yes there are tools but there is a skill and art to chain sharpening. We have two farm supply stores close by that I have sharpen my chains. They do it for a reasonable charge and way better than I ever could. I also have 2 spare sharpened chains at all times. Murphy’s Law says your chain will break or go dull just when you need it most.
As predicted here by others, the rhetoric is starting to ramp up.
Cankles used to sit on the board of Tyson. Remember the penny ante cattle futures trading deal which was tied into Whitewater 25 years ago?
If there is a meat shortage, we’ve brought it upon ourselves with NIMBY-ism. Every large city used to have a meat packing district with well-paying union jobs before the buildings got turned into yuppie condos. The remaining large facilities, mostly out in the boonies, are primarily staffed with illegal labor.
We’ve been living on borrowed time with a lot of infrastructure arrangements. Though, in this case, the media is going to share some responsibility. Way too many outlets want to see Americans fighting over a last 6 pack of drumsticks in the refrigerated case, especially the sensationalist UK tabloid which seems to delight in that kind of “optics”.
Honestly, I doubt a lot of households around me know much about working with raw food ingredients and a shortage will just result in a lot of waste from hoarding. Unlike TP, meat expires.
@pecancorner, what Dadcooks said! With caveats of course.
I bought my electric for $20 at a yard sale. It’s great for anything I need to do, up to about 6-8″ diameter. As you discovered, much lighter than gas powered, and it will fire right up after sitting for a long time, VERY unlike gas.
Since I paid so little, and use it so infrequently, I don’t have any interest in spending money on it. I picked up a set of chain files at a yardsale or estate sale at some point for $1, but never used them. I thought the other day, man, that thing is slow cutting, I wonder if the chain is dull? It was still sharp to my finger test but I didn’t think I had anything to lose giving it a shot. Since I wasn’t going to pay someone, or go out, I just held the round file parallel to the existing shape and filed a bit, then dressed the tops of the chisel with the triangle file. The chisel shape was a bit more regular and shiny, and it felt a bit more sharp to my finger. The difference cutting was dramatic. Nice chips and fairly quick thru the branches. If you are going to be doing a lot of cutting, they make jigs to guide the files, and even mini-grinders (harbor freight) designed to do the job. I don’t think I’ve put 2 hours of run time on it in 10 years, so any improvement was nice, but not critical.
This is the high limb saw that I have. https://www.amazon.com/High-Limb-CS-48-Chain-Saw/dp/B0000AX849?tag=ttgnet-20 There are chinesium copies that get mixed reviews. I’ve only used this one a few times, but when you need it, it works great. NO CLIMBING! No ladder! This video gives the idea- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=54&v=ut8gsctrh_A&feature=emb_logo
n
What is the point of capital markets in which risk is distributed among individuals willing to take on that risk when the Fed bails out the likes of Carnival?
I can make a point for Chrysler back in the 70s because it’s good to foster competition but even then, that was just loan guarantees. Carnival has plenty of competition and people all over the globe bet their chips on it. Let it fail!
As I see it this is a very slippery slope towards socialism, more insidious than healthcare.
*****
And while I’m kvetching, can we get Trump to send Boris Johnson some hairspray?
Special breakfast has been eaten (cinnamon rolls) and presents opened. Much high pitched squealing ensued…. and one bouncy 9 year old is extra bouncy today.
n
My wife told me that Home Depot had a sign up yesterday to the effect that they were “discouraging” store returns at this time and extended their return policy to 180 days.
How nice of them.
Oh that sounds good. All these tools and services and such I didn’t even know existed! LOL! I will ask around and see who sharpens around here. Most likely if I need to replace the chain I’d have to get them to do that too. Thanks for the info!
This one is a $40 Harbor Freight. Still cheaper than having to hire someone, or accumulating a big pile waiting for someone with a chain saw to come by.
I like the look of that limb saw. I’ve never seen anything like that. thanks for the links. I’ll watch a lot of videos first to see if I could use it… figure out how it is done without standing under the limb LOL
Gor an email this morning from Amazon Pay stating I gave $100 to the covid19fund@unfoundation d0t0rg
My first thought was a fake email but I logged into my amz account and it was there. Found the CS phone numer and a recording says ‘Due to the crisis we aren’t taking calls – use the website.’ So I used the online form and complained. Changed the amz password and then called the bank.
About a 10 min wait there but then all went fast and well ralking with real peeps in San Diego. Yep, the transaction was there too but pending for tonight so I disputed it. Hold on my debit card and a replacement coming in about 5 days.
No response from amz yet.
Now I’ll have ro fix all the auto pays.
Nice start to Monday.
Multiple, all with big, flat, glass plate covers. And flashes.
@Pecancorner,
My last word regarding chainsaws:
Keep the chain well oiled, not just using the built-in oiler if it has one, but a good squirt of chain oil along the chain before cutting and after cutting. Sometimes I’ll use some sprays of WD-40 and an old rag to clean the chain after a sappy cut, then finish off with chain oil.
My grandfather and father instilled in me a respect for tools. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you.
Eagle Pass and Falfurrias are like that too. Being a green card holder makes it easy to pass through. The privacy aspects worry me, but also there are facial recognizers (whether or not they work), LPR, bluetooth MAC scanners etc. I’m sure they know exactly who you are before you show the document to “prove” it.
Multiple, all with big, flat, glass plate covers. And flashes.
Could be an attempt at automation to count people in the car, but I’ve yet to see one of those work at an error rate that would be acceptable for general use.
“My grandfather and father instilled in me a respect for tools. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you. ”
–and that is the right and proper attitude. Which I mostly adhere to. There are items though that I’ve always considered disposable, mainly because they were so cheap and easy to replace. They may not be what you’d expect, but my particular lifestyle (thrifting, auctions, and reselling) has warped my idea of what’s a good price. Long term collapse and pandemic restrictions change the equation dramatically. What would you do if you what you had was all you’ll ever have?
Some things that WERE and maybe will be again, disposable/very easy to get cheaply-
-pyrex casserole dishes -they are literally $3 at goodwill. I keep several sizes on hand and replace them when they chip. (actual pyrex, and anchor hocking too)
-vacuum cleaners -so cheap, usually just need cleaning, occasionally a belt or bag
-clothes -even very good brand names
-glassware, mugs, plates, dishes
-baskets
-books/dvds
-sports equipment
There’s other stuff too, but you can probably think of the ordinary stuff.
n
The electrician started the interior work today. Since this is a (custom) pre-fab house, many conduits are already in place, and he’s just hooking things together.
Entirely by coincidence, I came across a new remote-control system today. We had stated that all of the shutters should be remote-controlled, but the electrician hasn’t yet selected a system. I really like this new one: https://www.dingz.ch/en/home-41.html
It’s on the WLAN, has an open, documented protocol, and you don’t need to use their web-service unless you want to – everything can stay local. The wall-switches also contain thermostats, and optionally motion detectors.
The problem is: wall-switches. We had assumed a system that was purely remote-control – no wall switches – so these are not present in the house elements. Dunno if we can still make it work, but I sure hope so. I sent him the link, and will talk to him on Wednesday.
What Pecancorner said: the local service center will charge you about 10 bucks, and do a better job. I have a spare chain, so that I can keep working while one is being sharpened. But then, I use a chain saw quite a lot. Never had a chain break. Hope I never do – reckon that could be nasty.
@DadCooks: I’m not quite that nice to my chains, but I definitely keep things clean. I’ve been doing a couple of projects with my neighbor. I think that he thought I was a bit of a faker: I had just brought out a couple of tools, and they were all shiny and new-looking. He kept looking over my shoulder to see if I was doing things right.
Eventually I had to bring out the whole toolbox. Which is totally beat-up on the outside, from decades of use. His expression was funny to see. He also stopped looking over my shoulder. He’s a nice guy, he just trusted me a lot more after he saw the evidence…
Of course, I am a bit of a faker, because the toolbox originally belonged to my wife’s father. I took it over about 30 years ago, after her mother passed. At that time, it had already seen decades of hard use. You should see it now 🙂
Why did the D’s do this to themselves? It’s beyond stupid – it’s like they want to ensure Trump’s re-election. Seriously, who is going to vote for the creepy, senile guy?
Vacuum cleaners are the new suburban status symbol. Anyone who is anyone has a $700 Dyson or Miele.
Doesn’t matter how many living US citizens who have properly registered with the Board of Elections vote. Vote by mail, bans on voter IDs, same-day registration, electronic voting machines (with preloaded ballots at no extra cost!), and unchallenged “found” ballots, the results of the Presidential and other elections are predetermined. The lesson of 2016 was “we didn’t cheat hard enough” and they won’t make that mistake again.
Even as a teen, laboring for a bricklayer, I knew that you had to watch carefully when the new guy showed up with all new tools….
We had a young guy join our crew, bricklayer from Poland (Chicago, mid-80s, LOT of polish new immigrants working in the trades). He knew the drill and started off by explaining that his tools had been stolen, and he had to replace them with new. Not sure if we believed him…. I guess he worked out, I left the crew to start college soon after that. The building got built and was still standing and in use when I last drove by.
n
I guess Plugs didn’t get the memo: Two women come forward to corroborate disturbing details of Tara Reade’s account
Is he *now* finished? Or will the Dumbo’s turn a blind eye knowing no one can beat tRump. They can use Plugs as the sacrifice and look to 2024.
From BH in the Fort Bend Journal;
“What day is it?”
“For those who have lost count, today is Blursday, the fortyteenth day of Maprilay”
Our neighbor’s kid (maybe 6 years old?) had a drive-by birthday party last week. Friends in their own cars driving by slowly, honking, and holding “Happy Birthday” signs out the car windows while the birthday girl waved and laughed from their front yard.
So that is what the SUV caravans with balloons tied to the roof racks are doing in my neighborhood. I thought it was just a rolling party that went on for a few days.
WEEKEND UPDATE
Kim Jong Un is still alive
LOL. During my tours in Korea, a classified book came around once a month called the “Black Book.” The BB contained all the nasty details of the Kim family’s sordid affairs.
The rumor today is that he got a heart stent and the doctor was shaking so bad that he pushed the stent through the artery wall. Apparently the beloved leader is a vegetable now.
Just one aimed at the driver or multiple into the car interior?
Multiple, all with big, flat, glass plate covers. And flashes.
I keep my sun visor down when going through the tollway counting stations just to keep the camera flash out of my eyes. Especially at night.
Vacuum cleaners are the new suburban status symbol. Anyone who is anyone has a $700 Dyson or Miele.
Miele I get. Dyson, not so much — those are just another flavor of Made In China.
“14 Books Like Dune” by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/14-books-like-dune/
I have read 4 of the 14. “Ancillary Justice”, “Red Mars”, “Hyperion”, and the most excellent “Leviathan Wakes”.
Number two daughter turns 9 today and she’s bouncing off the walls. Fortunately, I’d bought a bunch of stuff prior to lockdown, and amazon is still open to deliver stuff that my wife ordered. Even without a get together with her friends, she should have a good day .
Sounds like the nine year old is old enough to watch “Labyrinth” with David Bowie in his prime that is freaking awesome. Jim Hensen handled all the puppets for an amazing story. I did not realize it was a take on “Alice in Wonderland” but that makes sense.
https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-Brian-Henson/dp/B005U9RE1Y/?tag=ttgnet-20
I still laugh hysterically at the Bog of Stench.
Freefall: proactive maintenance
http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff3500/fc03427.htm
Yup, fixing the pump that is down on a spaceship while the spare is running would be a good thing. A very good thing. Of course, if one has the room (and spaceships never do), having a second spare pump would be nice.
Is he *now* finished? Or will the Dumbo’s turn a blind eye knowing no one can beat tRump. They can use Plugs as the sacrifice and look to 2024.
Barring an unforseen development Newsom and Cuomo will go in 2024. Plugs is a rerun of the Dems throwing out Mondale knowing he would lose in 1984, but clearing the deck for the young guns like Cuomo Sr., Gore, Hart, and … Plugs!
Cuomo will jump if someone tries to get the nomination who actually stands a chance, however. He can’t afford to wait eight years, but he doesn’t want to put Robert Francis into the VP calculus, something which would have to be considered to win Texas this year.
Bernie and Andrew “Party At Kitty And Studs” Gillum roasted the Dems chances in FL this year. It is Trump’s to lose.
In 2024, Cuomo/Newsom or Newsom/Cuomo will have the data from the last two US Senate runs in Texas, win or lose, financed by Newsom’s money people, to chart courses against a popular candidate (Cornyn) and a “hold your nose and vote guy” (Cruz) in an election with Cruz running for a third term. Robert Francis will go into the Texas Dem dust bin along with the Castros and Wendy Davis.
Poor me. I installed a central vac and gave away the Oreck.
Number two daughter turns 9 today and she’s bouncing off the walls. Fortunately, I’d bought a bunch of stuff prior to lockdown, and amazon is still open to deliver stuff that my wife ordered. Even without a get together with her friends, she should have a good day .
“Enchanted” if you don’t already have a copy. That flick and “Sky High” represent my current high water mark for The Mouse before they got distracted with Marvel and Lucasfilm lucre fetish properties.
Neither film was on Disney+ the last time I checked. The “Sky High” writers were on Disney’s sh*t list for a decade before being forgiven. Kevin Lima, the “Enchanted” director is in the woodshed currently for being a little too truthful about the hand drawn animation capability — or lack thereof — in Burbank these days.
“Enchanted” if you don’t already have a copy. That flick and “Sky High” represent my current high water mark for The Mouse before they got distracted with Marvel and Lucasfilm lucre fetish properties.
Neither film was on Disney+ the last time I checked. The “Sky High” writers were on Disney’s sh*t list for a decade before being forgiven. Kevin Lima, the “Enchanted” director is in the woodshed currently for being a little too truthful about the hand drawn animation capability — or lack thereof — in Burbank these days.
What ? Those two are great movies for 6 ? 8 ? and above. Bruce Campbell blowing his whistle and screaming “Sidekick !” was hilarious in “Sky High”. And the movie had an underlying good feeling message that some kids are late bloomers and that is ok.
Here we go again on the crude oil price (June Futures drop of $17 to $13 so far today):
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CL=F?p=CL=F
OK, this person is way over the line on PPE:
https://www.lymedisease.org/patients-cant-wait-covid-lyme/
A bigger photo is at:
https://www.lymedisease.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/shop.jpg
And the doctor is wood-chipper chow.
What ? Those two are great movies for 6 ? 8 ? and above. Bruce Campbell blowing his whistle and screaming “Sidekick !” was hilarious in “Sky High”. And the movie had an underlying good feeling message that some kids are late bloomers and that is ok.
Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, writers of “Sky High”, defected and worked for Nickelodeon on “The Penguins Of Madagascar” TV series. Disney declared them to be persona non grata for a while, and buried their crowning achievement, “Kim Possible”, deep in the vault for nearly 10 years until Disney+ started.
Schooley and McCorkle were eventually forgiven and currently run the “Big Hero 6” series for Disney XD. “Sky High” is scheduled for Disney+ this Fall.
If you can handle the gore, Bruce Campbell and Lee Majors are awesome together on the second season of “Ash Vs. The Evil Dead”. Of course, that one isn’t for 6, 8, or even many 40 year-olds.
I had no idea “Army of Darkness” was NC-17 until an 11 year-old had to leave the theater at the screening in October which included a Bruce Q&A afterwards. I think I understand why, but as Campbell pointed out, “Good Fellas” was far worse both in terms of gore and “adult situations”.
An example of why all the MSM sucks.
I went out for a curbside pickup of some supplies. I hit Fox News on the SatCom.
Bret Baier: COVID-19 has claimed over 55,000 American lives…
An outright, blatant, lie. Just because you tested positive when you croaked, doesn’t mean COVID-19 killed you. It makes you want to cuss!
Death rates in US: (from MacroTrends)
Year Death Rate Growth Rate
2020 8.880 1.120%
2019 8.782 1.120%
What will it look like on December 31st, 2020
14 books…
Involution Ocean, sterling, ’77
-somehow I missed this, since I love sterling I’ll put it on the TBR pile
Jaran, Kate Elliott, ’92
-huh, I was reading a LOT of female writers at that time, wonder how I missed this? Doesn’t sound like my cup of tea.
ancillary Justice, Leckie, ’13
-yuck. and the sequels, more yuck. The pronoun thing alone is enough reason to avoid it, all the SJW nonsense is even more, and then the whole Hugo bruhaha- just no. BTW, read it and the sequels and don’t remember ANYTHING except the pronoun nonsense.
Luna: New Moon, Ian McDonald, ’15
-there are two Ians writing SF and one is a trade unionist, and all his books involve characters that are trade unionists. Him I dislike. The other Ian is readable, if not memorable. Haven’t read this book.
Red Mars, KSR, ’92
-read it and the sequel. NO memory of the actual story. Donated it in my last culling.
The Wind Up Girl, paolo something, ’09
-one interesting idea, brutal rape, sexual perversity and misogyny disguised as SJW BS. Really dumb ending. PASS.
The Stars Are Legion, hurley, ’17
– never heard of it or him
The Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe, ’80
-old enough to be free of SJW and wokeness, but never heard of it (and I’ve read literally thousands of SF&F, and followed the genres as a hobby, with award winning author friends) If you want books about a tortured torturer, nothing surpasses Susan R. Matthews’ “An Exchange of Hostages” and the sequels. Intense doesn’t even come close.
Hyperion, Simmons, ’89
-heard unbelievable good things from readers I respect, but can’t recall ever reading it. will add to TBR pile
Lord of Light, Zelazny, ’67
– missed this one, love his princes in Amber series, will add to TBR pile.
Grass, Sherri S. Tepper, ’89
– read this in hard cover when it came out. Can’t remember a single thing about it, or her other big book, The Gate to Women’s Country. Proto-woke nonsense is my only feeling looking back.
The Fifth Season, Jemisin, ’15
– she’s a politically connected hack, one of the instigator of the anti-Sad Puppies hugo campaign and nothing but wokeness and SJW nonsense. I have read her hugo nom. PASS
Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds, ’00
-read it, liked it, read all of his stuff. Don’t remember anything specific about this one, his stuff blurs together in my memory, but he is intensely creative, and some of his stuff is intensely disturbing. Space opera. Recommended.
Leviathan Wakes, Corey, ’11
– sounds cool, but never crossed my path.
I guess no one reads the classics anymore, Asimov, Poul Anderson, JEP, Larry Niven- especially the ringworld books, or more recently if you are looking for doorstop sized space opera and universe building- any thing by Peter Hamilton…
Of those in the list I’ve read NONE of them are like Dune. None have the layers, the apparent backstory, the massive sweep to cover a dozen novels, or the world and culture building. For that matter, the Pern novels have all those things, without maybe the ‘seriousness’ of Dune. I’ve read the mainline canon Dune novels multiple times, maybe a half dozen for the first three, and the same for the Pern novels. NEVER reread anything on the list. Once and done, and be glad if you don’t feel like they stole hours of your life.
(it is nice to see some titles that predate the article’s author’s likely birthday…)
n
@Nick
_Hyperion_ is excellent, as are the sequels. IMHO, Simmons is good no matter what he writes (or what name he writes under).
Leviathan Wakes, Corey, ’11
– sounds cool, but never crossed my path.
The “Leviathan Wakes” series was converted into a very cool tv show on the syffy channnel called “The Expanse”. Amazon Prime picked it up (apparently Bezos favorite show) and it is now 4 seasons. I have seen the first 2 seasons and will watch 3 and 4 soon. It is a very gritty look at people living all over the Solar System. And a space alien virus ! I have read 5 of the 8 books.
https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes/dp/B018BZ3VRO/?tag=ttgnet-20
and
https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-James-S-Corey/dp/0316129089/?tag=ttgnet-20
And it answers a question, how are people going to deal with 8 G’s of acceleration with space frigates and destroyers ?
I’ve read all 8. There are some novellas that fill the blanks, but I haven’t read them. I love the TV show, also.
“Coronavirus Antibodies Present In Nearly 25% Of All NYC Residents, Cuomo Says; Un-PAUSE In Certain Regions Of NY Might Begin In May”
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/04/27/coronavirus-antibodies-present-in-nearly-25-of-all-nyc-residents/
“ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the number of statewide random antibody tests has expanded to 7,500, which reveals a better picture of the extent of coronavirus spread in New York.”
“Cuomo said 14.9% of those tested statewide tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, which is up from the initial 13.9% statewide when a previous sample of 3,000 people was done on April 22. Cuomo said the 1% increase is statistically in the margin of error.”
“Regionally, the results suggest:
24.7% positive in New York City
15.1% positive in Westchester/Rockland
14.4% positive on Long Island
3.2% positive in the rest of the state”
Now Aesop has me wondering if the antibody test is any good ?
http://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2020/04/about-those-studies.html
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
Stop wondering. It isn’t. The error rate is close to the actual positive rate. (The article I saw didn’t specify whether the errors were mostly false positives, mostly false negatives, a lot of both, or what.)
If you missed reading “Lord of Light” you are in for a treat. Read that first.
Just got down off the roof. Nice and shady on the part where I was pruning. Now I’ve got to get all the trimmings on the heavy trash pile.
Needed a break and a cool drink though.
n
Chrysler was bailed out in part because they were the one tank manufacturer in the US.
Only Chrysler corp made a vehicle chassis strong enough to haul my ex-wife around. /snark type=mean-spirited
I noticed a local (Olympic Peninsula WA) BBQ truck vendor mentioning today that :
As a result, he is cutting back on some (but not all) of his BBQ truck outings.
An interesting tidbit for those of you that might consider taking an inventory of what you have in the freezer, or in cans.
“For Houston, a One-Two Punch: ‘It’s Going to Be Devastating’”
https://dnyuz.com/2020/04/27/for-houston-a-one-two-punch-its-going-to-be-devastating/
“HOUSTON — On the same day that the price for U.S. crude oil fell to about $30 below zero — a mind-bending concept that marked the first time oil prices had ever turned negative — Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, the self-proclaimed energy capital of the world, stood before reporters. His words were grim and muffled by the black mask covering his face.”
“The mayor announced that city employees would soon be furloughed, but he declined to say how many. The Houston Zoo, he said, could expect to see funding deferred under what he called “the worst budget that the city will deal with in its history.””
“Cities across the country are struggling under the economic shadow of the coronavirus. But few have to deal with a collapse in their fundamental industry at the same time.”
It is going to be years before the oil patch comes back.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
I noticed a local (Olympic Peninsula WA) BBQ truck vendor mentioning today that :
Multiple bulk food vendors are out of beef, pork & Chicken. One vendor would allow
only 1 package of meat per person per visit.
As a result, he is cutting back on some (but not all) of his BBQ truck outings.
An interesting tidbit for those of you that might consider taking an inventory of what you have in the freezer, or in cans.
AOC and the bunch promoting The Green New Deal are undoubtedly so pleased.
The only thing better for The Green New Deal bunch would be a complete and utter failure of the crude oil and natural gas systems in the USA so that all electric power is made from wind and solar.
It is going to be years before the oil patch comes back.
The City of Houston has been technically insolvent for years. Dallas too.
Pensions. The courts have been siding with the pensioners lately too so there goes the municipal bond market.
AOC and the bunch promoting The Green New Deal are undoubtedly so pleased.
Shot Girl’s mother probably has a couple of Sub Zeros filled with meat out in Westchester. That’s usually how it works with that type.
Speaking with my pro SF writer hat on, I go back and forth among this one, Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, and Gibson’s Neuromancer as the best SF novel of all time.
Give Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels a shot. Not everybody’s taste, but for me, along with Hamilton’s Commonwealth novels, the best space operas out there.
Of those three, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. It’s not only a rocking good story, well-written, but it strongly presents a political message without ham-handedness.
Neuromancer was a fun read and can be viewed as mildly prophetic (in that he threw out a lot of interesting ideas and some of them came true) but mostly the story was about “getting there” rather than the destination.
Lord of Light I don’t remember much of; I read it about 40 years ago. ISTR flowery language and lots of description. I prefer a much sparer style and had to push myself through most of it.
Speaking of space operas, does everyone here know that Bill’s written one? And hasn’t published it yet?
Join with me, everyone: nag nag nag nag nag.
Lord of Light, Zelazny, ’67
– missed this one, love his princes in Amber series, will add to TBR pile.
Speaking with my pro SF writer hat on, I go back and forth among this one, Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, and Gibson’s Neuromancer as the best SF novel of all time.
Ok, I will read “Lord of Light”. I like “Neuromancer” but it is not in my top ten (most are space opera).
My favorite SF/F book of all time is David Weber’s “Mutineer’s Moon”.
https://www.amazon.com/Mutineers-Dahak-David-Weber-1992-03-01/dp/B01I26CJSO/?tag=ttgnet-20
I have three Heinleins in my top ten of all time SF/F books. “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, “Citizen of the Galaxy”, and “The Star Beast”. I actually have twenty books in my top ten.
I like that, but like The Armageddon Inheritance more. The pair of them are very good.
Heinlein probably has more entries in my favorites list than any other author or group. I’d put Have Space Suit, Will Travel near the top, possibly at the very top of my list of best fiction of the spacetime continuum.
“Top-Secret Michelle Obama Doc to Hit Netflix on May 6”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-secret-michelle-obama-doc-will-drop-netflix-may-6-1291989
Oh crap, she is running for Prez. She will depose Biden at the dumbocrat convention.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
My favorite SF/F book of all time is David Weber’s “Mutineer’s Moon”.
I like that, but like The Armageddon Inheritance more. The pair of them are very good.
Nowadays, all three of the Dahak books would be a single book for Weber. I rate them 6 star, 6 star, and 5 star.
Mehh, I can take or leave Heinlein. I had the misfortune of reading all of his cr@p novels first. He famously bragged that he’d sold every word he’d ever written. Probably shouldn’t have.
Iain Banks is the other Ian I was talking about, one of the two is a hard core trade unionist and just can’t leave it out of his books. Neither is capable of writing Dune…
Neuromancer, Count Zero, Burning Chrome are on my “oh, man I want to see if that holds up, but I don’t want to buy it again on kindle…..” list. Idoru was prophetic.
I didnt’ mention Neil Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, because while it’s big, it doesn’t stand alone. If you don’t know a lot about European history of the time, about half the veiled references go straight over you head.
Old school epics, Asimov’s Foundation series, James Blish’s Cities in Flight (I want a spindizzy), Niven’s Ringworld, so many better choices for “Dune-like” than Grass.
n
Mehh, I can take or leave Heinlein. I had the misfortune of reading all of his cr@p novels first. He famously bragged that he’d sold every word he’d ever written. Probably shouldn’t have.
Nope, he did not sell every word that he wrote while he was alive. They found another book and it is being published.
https://www.amazon.com/Pursuit-Pankera-Parallel-Novel-Universes-ebook/dp/B082838YYY/?tag=ttgnet-20
I would have been happier with another juvenile. Like you, I found the later books to be weird. I read “I will Fear No Evil” at age 13 or 14. That was eye opening.
Oh crap, she is running for Prez. She will depose Biden at the dumbocrat convention.
Cuomo won’t let it happen. He doesn’t want to wait and run at 73.
Daddy passed on running in ’92 and then got booted out of office in ’94.
The President Moochelle backlash will be a repeat of ’94 and then some.
Oh crap, she is running for Prez. She will depose Biden at the dumbocrat convention.
Cuomo won’t let it happen. He doesn’t want to wait and run at 73.
Daddy passed on running in ’92 and then got booted out of office in ’94.
The President Moochelle backlash will be a repeat of ’94 and then some.
The average attendee of the dumbocrat convention is either a government union rep, a teachers union rep, or a die hard feminist. They will elect Michelle Obama in a heartbeat. Many of them will swoon on the floor as the votes are presented. In fact, there will be fist fights to be the state that pushes her over the minimum amount of votes required.
Oh my goodness. I am writing Windows OLE code in C++ again today. I swore two years ago that I would never do this again and here I am again. I wonder what tomorrow will bring ?
Yes, I screwed up the OLE code two years ago. That is why I am fixing it today. Again.
And Junior Senior Programmer is converting it to UTF-8 code. Hopefully.
Just put the birthday girl to bed. “Best birthday ever!” which ain’t bad for the middle of the zombie apocalypse…
n
Masochist. Stop while you have any sanity left.
I am writing Windows OLE code in C++ again today.
Masochist. Stop while you have any sanity left.
Too late, it left years ago.
Just put the birthday girl to bed. “Best birthday ever!” which ain’t bad for the middle of the zombie apocalypse…
Excellent !
And yes, I am wondering when we hit the MZB (mutant zombie biker) phase of the apocalypse. Maybe in December.
Oh my goodness. I am writing Windows OLE code in C++ again today. I swore two years ago that I would never do this again and here I am again. I wonder what tomorrow will bring ?
Yes, I screwed up the OLE code two years ago. That is why I am fixing it today. Again.
And Junior Senior Programmer is converting it to UTF-8 code. Hopefully.
Never went that far down the Windows rabbit hole. I experimented with Tcl and COM about a decade ago while spitballing an Outlook group scheduler someone asked about, prototyping but that’s as far as it went.
BillG signed off on ActiveX in a browser running with the equivalent of “root” on Linux, but we’re supposed to trust him with vaccinations. No thanks.
Linux and Systemd have dbus protocol to communicate between components, but the last time I looked at doing something specific with controlling a process using Systemd, I found a post in a forum from one of the developers that said to just launch the command line tool from a system() call — it would be easier on my sanity.
Linux and Systemd have dbus protocol to communicate between components, but the last time I looked at doing something specific with controlling a process using Systemd, I found a post in a forum from one of the developers that said to just launch the command line tool from a system() call — it would be easier on my sanity.
That is how I used to capture command line tools on Unix boxen. Just call system and pipe their output and error out to a couple of files. Worked like a champ.
Starting on the edits of the final chapter today. Hope to be done with it this week. Then copyedit for typos, design the cover, jump through the Kindle hoops, and bob’s your uncle.
Lords of Light has early on the pun that pretty much defined the Shaggy Pun trope.
.mg