Really enjoyed both Memory and Desolation. I recommend them whenever I can, it never seems to crop up in peoples lists.
Strangely, I don't think I ever saw this response when you first posted it. Apologies for that. Everything you've said makes sense!
Fuck I love chopping wood. It's so cathartic just hammering at some logs. The smell, the gritty feel, the sweat of solid hard work and knowing I've got heating sorted for the remainder of the winter. Sometimes the log is a knotty bastard and I get to wail on it. Excellent workout, and super harsh on my core so I think it's highlighting an area I need to work on. I got out to mow the backyard for the first time since April. It's been so wet, and with our bathroom renovation taking place in the early stages of winter I wasn't keen to get out and cut grass without a proper way to clean up after. My poor mower. She did the job though, and I'm keeping the clippings to use in my next soil build up for planting season. Hoping I've got my veggies dialed in this year. 2x tomato plants, 2x cucumber, 2x chilis in the greenhouse, then potatoes, carrots and peas in the raised beds.
I had wondered if you'd be able to snap any photos at Uluru. Pity you couldn't, but understandable - I'm glad you got to visit though!! I'm gonna need to check out that new sci-fi trilogy. Didn't know they had one underway.
Been reading a bit more lately. - Started The Poppy War Trilogy, by R.F Kuang, but stopped after finishing the second book, didn't feel compelled to read further. - Finished This is how you lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladston. Had a good time with that. Very short. - Finished Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Had a blast with that. - Finished The Will of the Many by James Islington. Had my gripes all throughout, but the end did leave me wanting to know more. So I'll get the sequel when it emerges. - Finished The Book that Wouldn't Burn and The Book that Broke the World both by Mark Lawrence. I had initially sworn off Mark Lawrence's stuff after struggling through one of his early, edgy books. But these were fun. They didn't go in the direction I was expecting, at points, but good fun. Will be keen to read the final one when it's ready. - Finished The Fisherman by John Langan. Was in need of a horror, and I think that fit the bill. - Finished The Three Body Problem but haven't gotten to the rest of the series. - Finished The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne. It was cool, I can get invested pretty easily into things but it definitely had some issues. I think it was clear that was his debut series, he's gotten noticeably tighter with his stories since. - Finished The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, as a part of the book club I'm in. Was cool. Historical Fiction isn't usually my jam but that's the joy of the book club! Throwing stuff my way I'd not normally delve into. - Re-read Downunder by Bill Bryson. It's just really funny and entertaining, felt like dipping back into it. Currently reading The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm 80 pages in and I've laughed out loud, but also felt compelled to skip entire sections because they're just aggressive lore-dumps, jammed into an already set scene. I'll see if this continues, if it does, I might stop while I'm ahead. My friend got me onto the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, so might give those a hoon at some point.
The burdened tree reminded me.. In NZ we have this wood-pigeon, the kererū. They're hefty lil guys. And they love to roost in the kōwhai tree. We had a kōwhai in our backyard, prior to buying our current house. One spring, I watched as one bird sat on a thin branch, extending from the otherwise sturdy trunk. Then another bird sat on it. The branch began to dip. Then a third bird joined in, and it dipped further. I didn't move away from my spot as it was in clear view of the tree and I was worried I'd chase them away, so I stayed very still and didn't try to find my phone. A fourth bird hopped on the branch, and at this point it was inching towards a 45 degree adjustement downwards, then, I moved to scratch my nose. Two of the birds took flight, and the change in weight flung the branch up, dislodging the other two in a flurry of feathers. Laughed so damn hard. They're delightful birds who sometimes eat fermented berries, get drunk and topple out of trees, but these guys didn't need any booze for this.
Trudging back through things I've saved/shared, this still resonates. I'm not saying I'll get "Worldbuilding is the quintessential "writing about writing" masturbatory fling" tattooed on my forehead, but... It sings to me nonetheless. Epsecially when I'm putting off a chapter in favour of just fleshing things out. Things that don't need fleshing. At all.
Uluru is somewhere I absolutely want to visit at some point. I hope you have a blast.
Partner finally caught covid (or, first time she's had symptoms and tested positive). Been playing nurse for the last week as it hit her pretty hard, but I seem to have avoided it. Plonk her by the fire, ply her with soup and meds. She's back at the office tomorrow, we think. I'll have been in my 'new' job for a year come August. Quite surreal to think about, and I'm still reaping the benefits of the minimised stress. Amazing what you'll adapt to without realising, and I absolutely adapted to a shitty environment at the time. The new job has afforded me so much more time to put towards hobbies. I write a lot more, I maintain the garden better, I'm more sociable. I'm just way happier. Very grateful towards the people who nudged me in the new direction. We got snow yesterday and everything froze over today, so I'm WFH this morning and getting the fire going. Cat is purring, partner is stirring. All's well.
It felt such a delightful mix of comically petty but also keeping the spirit of the record alive. It's anyone's game to take it if they wanted to, and I hope the next record is won with 202 drones just for a giggle.
Tis the heart of winter in NZ, and even more wintry in dreary Dunedin. Icy footpaths, fire crackling at night, rugging up everywhere you go and my glasses steam up whenever I enter a cafe. Went to a 'drone light show' last week, and I swear most of the fuckin' town turned up. The organisers learned a lesson in event infrastructure at least. Four toilets, four, for thousands of people. The food trucks were all arranged next to each other, so every line for one truck became the line for another. They'll know for next time. The show was cool though. Perfect night for it, and there were exactly 201 drones operating the show. This number was chosen, apparently, because the previous NZ record for such a show was 200 drones. So uhh, suck it, those guys. They floated in towards us in a swarm, then organised themselves into gently rotating shapes of native birds/animals. Many "oohs" and "aahs". One kid screamed "It's a Kiwi!" when, in fact, it was an eel. Got tickets to go see Hozier this November. Big fan of him. Not a big fan of concerts, but I'll brave it for my partner. Hope you're all well.
Maybe Andy Weir is the ultimate litmus test, to sort out cheerful idiots like myself, who can't analyse a thing particularly deeply?
Huh. I haven't encountered people who didn't like it. I mean I know they're out there, but I'd only heard good things in my circles.
I really enjoyed The Martian, I loooved Project Hail Mary but Artemis was lower down the rung for me. I think just because of Jazz. I couldn't gel with her, and maybe I'm being cynical but her character felt very 'male author struggles to write a woman'. Still, I love what he does with his books. The nerd stuff is the action and it's a delight to follow along.
The moon jellyfish one is fucking amazing too.
Ooooh thank you for the recommendation. Going through the album now and enjoying it.
Inspired a whole ass chapter in a writing project, just by listening to it last week.
Very silly things so far. A janky password generator, a guessing game. Stuff to teach some basics really. The software I use/support at work uses it and currently anything require coding or messing with a script we go to a vendor for, but they've also been teaching me bits and pieces so I don't have to bother them with small things. I don't need to learn it but my employer is happy for me to fuck around with it on work time if it means I can fix problems myself down the track!
Slowly trying to learn Python. It's fun when I get to implement things in little beginner projects, but the content is pretty dry. Tomatoes are going red, very exciting. Two plants are still going hard, the other two are consistently producing messy/split tomatoes, so I'm considering just cutting my losses and focusing on the two that are succeeding and chalking this up as a lesson in trying too many different kinds at once. Tuh'may'ters. Next up on my piano-relearning-adventure, Sea Power's ZA/UM. My most played song from 2023. Hope you're all doing well.
Shit you not, in my previous job I heard this was happening (via a colleague who uses TikTok) and in the next recruitment run I checked some of the documents loaded up in applications, to see if anyone had snuck white font text in. Of 30 applications, 3 had. Using words that could be found in our job descriptions. Just tucked away in between paragraphs and in page breaks. We don't use AI in our recruitment so it may as well not have been there but, interesting to spot once you start to look for it. We knew people were using AI to write cover letters, and it was fairly obvious when the letter was a little too immaculate and had absolutely zero personality. White font though, that was a new one.
I clicked on KILLCAM, and skipped to random section. Just to get the full absurd blast. I was greeted with autotuned Squidward yelling "That's my dick in your main bitch", then Spongebob hit a 720 quick-scope. Consider me blasted.
and
Gardening! Tomatoes! (growing very nicely) Cucumbers (they snuck up, I didn't see these until yesterday, very well hidden) Chillies! (this is very new, still got the flower at the end but I was excited) So I will have a bountiful harvest, and likely more than I will be able to eat, so friends and family will have impromptu salads and veggies forced upon them.
The Discord server where most of my 'gaming' takes place is a good example of how easily someone can be swayed. We all bought Elden Ring, those who were Souls players knew they'd get it anyway, so no harm done. But there were plenty of the group who'd never played those games before and wanted to 'join in' on the fun while it was fresh. Most of them hated it initially, some never completed it. And it wasn't cheap. Granted Elden Ring didn't need much tweaking outside of a few horrific bosses that had to be nerfed, but the desire to experience it alongside everyone else even though they normally wouldn't care about a game like that, was present. Hype can be so insidious.
So far the three big boppers of my own personal game-release-shitstorm have managed to turn things around, surprising me each time. No Man's Sky Cyberpunk 2077 Battlefield 2042 (it's vastly improved, and fun, but my tongue was severely burnt by this particular number.) One particular developer I'm always happy to throw money at is Supergiant Games. Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades and upcoming Hades II. Loved em all. They know what they do well and I am comfortable expecting quality out of Hades II. As I say this, I realise that I will also be throwing money at SquareEnix with the upcoming FF7: Rebirth. But I have to get that or my childhood self will travel into the future and kick me in the head.
Tacking a reply on to say I read this Bake-Off/Reality show information, and your other linked discussion, to my partner - who is a dual citizen (NZ and UK passport, most of her family are in Cambridge). It went: -- Partner:... Hmm... Me: Hmm? Partner: Yeah all of that tracks. Plus, you should see the average Brit on a snowday. Crumpling under every individual flake. And why the fuck do they have to manufacture all this difficulty? I mean I know why but why? Baking shit like that should be an art, not something you barely limp over the line for. Give them all the resources, all the time, and let them loose on a project. You'd see some bangers. Ughh! You know how you used to joke you wanted to see a non-tested Olympics? All the athletes drugged to the gills and seeing who's really the fastest person alive? That, but in a baking context. No steroids. Well maybe some. No, no steroids. Time and resources, that's the steroids of Bake Off. Me: Another episode? Partner: Yes please. I do love seeing her demure personality flicker when she gets really wound up about something.
Yeah we both know it's kinda hot trash, but I do appreciate how there's less "aggression" on the show. Yeah they've got to compete against each other, but so many other shows would really ramp up the tension and have contestants slagging each other off over pastries. In this aspect, the show seems more wholesome in their approach. Still, it's reality TV. Can only polish that turd so much. Blood feud has begun - we're up 3 matches to 0. 1 very close match, then 2 steamrolled matches as we got into the groove. Hackusations, shit talking, mini-feuds with players who keep killing each other. I missed the banter. Amazing what muscle memory can retain. Though I'm rusty enough that my aim will vary from nailing every shot for 10 minutes straight, to missing an entire clip on someone who is literally stationary. I can't go back to Destiny, it begun to feel like a second job and whatever story they were trying to tell, fell over a while back IMO. Still, best gunplay I've ever had in a game, BF V and Titanfall 2 coming in close 2nd and 3rd. I have also started a Cyberpunk run, I got the DLC so heading into that. Similar feelings though, just not quite invested. Ah the Shield, tis good! It's one of those "pro" ones, I got it in 2019 I think, and before then I was also using a Firestick. Agreed on it's wretchedness. The Shield hasn't let me down, but it's been for pretty basic use. I've got the usual streaming suspects, Netflix, YouTube, Plex etc. Lets me chuck a VPN in there, lets me cast to it. Everything runs through it. It does have an annoying, dedicated, Netflix button on the remote. I could probably unbind it somehow, but eh. It's almost worth it for the laugh we get when the cat steps on it and whatever we were watching is suddenly interrupted by the Netflix "DUH DUHN" start up sound.
Christmas was a quiet one. Usually, about 40 of my extended family descend on one person's home for the day. This time our family was fractured across a couple of countries, so I spent it with my brother and Boxing Day with my partner's family. Felt weird not being surrounded by the cacophony that is my family, but I did crush some excellent naps over the break. I have four tomato plants growing in my greenhouse, combined with the cucumbers and the mystery plant that turned out to be pumpkin, it's a mini rainforest. However, one tomato plant has blossom end rot, apparently a problem caused by a calcium issue, but the true catalyst is infrequent/too frequent watering. The other plants are producing like mad, and they all get watered at the same time, so unsure what my approach is here. They're fussy plants these. Good lessons for the future though, this is the first of many attempts. Strange update. Once upon a time I played a lot of Battlefield V, across two accounts, probably about 1000 hours in it. Enough to be a menace. Back in the day I was in a 'clan' and we'd typically just have a bit of fun in a server, if we ever started to dominate a match we'd split ourselves up to make things even. Since Battlefield 2042 came out, most of us have stopped playing, because it was hot trash and it burned our love of the game. Now we hear that the BF V servers are popular again, and there's a new clan running the roost. Allegedly they're talking shit about us and other old clans, so we've been summoned, to come back for a shitfight. Is it stupidly childish? Yes. Could we ignore it? Entirely. Am I reinstalled and testing my aim? You bet. This weekend the battle begins, the glorious old guard BDSL (Basement Dwelling Sweat Lords) vs the whiny upstarts EZPZ. Oh! So turns out my partner loves, and I mean fuckin' looooves, The Great British Bake Off. It's surprisingly hard to track down, legally or not. Most streaming services don't have it in NZ, and those that do, have like a season at best. I didn't know she adored this show, and apparently she had been trying her best to solve this access issue, on and off, for the better part of two years (we have been together for almost seven..). She finally told me this week, about her deepest desire. I checked which Netflix region had the show (USA does!), flicked my VPN on in our NVidia Shield, changed to USA, and restarted Netflix. Great British Baking Show was the first thing that appeared as a suggestion and my partner lost. Her. Shit. She was wriggling, actually wriggling. I asked, once she had stopped writhing on the couch, why she never told me about this before? Took all of five minutes to rectify. She didn't want to bother me with it, apparently. Which sucks, cause she can bother me with anything and I'll take it off her plate. The new job environment is still paying dividends it seems, my partner feels comfortable coming to me with things she thinks are inane. Reading a book next to her on the couch, cat in her lap, as she critically judges ganache application on the screen filled me with an awful lot of joy.
Reading Iron Gold I found myself struggling to get through it. There was a timeskip and a sudden shift to multiple POVs. Both aspects surprised me and I found myself trudging through it a little bit. It was hard to suddenly care about these strangers after having one POV the entire time. However about 1/3 of the way through it clicked and I was on board again, as things began to coalesce. The next two books I didn't have any issues with and devoured them greedily. Especially as later on you get the POV of a character whose head I always wanted to get inside of. I also felt Morningstar finished in such a way that had nothing else been written after, I'd have been happy. That said I'm very glad I got past my initial reluctance in fourth book, it was well worth it and I'm hanging out for the final book now!