Rap lyrics as a confession isn’t a new topic or question. I remember hearing about this a few years ago with someone who had rap lyrics on their Facebook page that was arguing it should be inadmissible in court. Just Googling “rap lyric confession” gave me these examples: The Controversial Use of Rap Lyrics as …
Author Archives: Eric Mesa
Examining Web Browsers: Microsoft Edge on Windows; Linux Browser Update
This post continues a series on exploring new browsers: Are Web Browsers getting exciting again? Vivaldi Part 1 Vivaldi Part 2 Vivaldi Part 3 Brave on Windows Part 1 Vivaldi Part 4, Brave Part 2, Qutebrowser Part 1 Quite a bit has changed since I first started this series about 18 months ago. Back then …
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2021 in Books
In Calibre, I now have 2529 ebooks and e-magazines, 2026 unread. To be fair, I get a free book from Tor.com and Amazon.com every month. This also counts any ebooks I’ve bought for the kids, many of which I will not end up reading. (I also have some number of physical books and audiobooks I …
Review: Rave Master Vol 11
Rave Master, Vol. 11 by Hiro MashimaMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Things continue along at a manga’s pace. The characters have a few fights in the same location and we learn more about how various characters and/or their ancestors/mentors are intertwined. I’m curious where Mashima takes things from here, especially given the infamous kiss. …
Review: Rave Master Vol 10
Rave Master, Vol. 10 by Hiro MashimaMy rating: 3 of 5 stars At the end of Volume 9 I had no idea where Mashima could take the story. It seemed he had painted himself into a corner, perhaps not knowing if he’d get to go past volume 9. He expands the story by making all …
Review: Harmony
Harmony by Project ItohMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is clearly a reaction to Japanese society, but it’s also prescient (given when it was written) about our current situation where no one wants to experience anything that could bother them. It’s incredible that he saw this coming 11 years ago. This is not …
Review: Ancillary Mercy
Ancillary Mercy by Ann LeckieMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was the perfect ending to the Imperial Radch trilogy. It continues in the same vein as the previous two books: deeply introspective within the context of Anander Miaanai’s war with herself. The final chapter (which, of course, would have been an epilogue in …
Review: Aces Abroad
Aces Abroad by George R.R. MartinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Up until now, we’ve been very America-centric with the Wild Cards series. In fact, except for the first book, it sometimes seemed as if there were only cases in New York City. With this book, things are expanded out. Sometimes it’s because some of …
Review: Koreatown: A Cookbook
Koreatown: A Cookbook by Deuki HongMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Let me start with the good:– The photography in this book is beautiful– The interviews with various celebrities and chefs are great– The narrative style of the recipe intros work well– the section on the the Korean pantry is important and well-written The neutral:– …
Review: Head First Go
Head First Go by Jay McGavrenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I will admit that I just skimmed over the web server part. I barely write web backend stuff in Python, I’m not about to do it in Go any time soon. My main goal with this book was to finally learn Go after having …
Review: The Poppy War
The Poppy War by R.F. KuangMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I recieved this book as part of the Hugo 2021 nominations packet This book was GREAT! I can definitely see why its series was up for a Hugo nom this year. I wasn’t able to get past the first book before it was time …
Review: Men at Arms
Men at Arms by Terry PratchettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars This is my second time reading this book. I left the rating the same When it comes to the Anhk-Morpork based books, Pratchett lays in the final brick in the foundation for all that will come. The Night Watch is elevated to full Watch. …
Review: Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!
Learn You a Haskell for Great Good! by Miran Lipova?aMy rating: 3 of 5 stars Learn You a Haskell (or LYAH as it’s known on Stack Exchange and other parts of the internet) is the most often recommended resource for learning Haskell. I think it has a lot of things going for it. 1. It’s …
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Review: The Ruin of Kings
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received this book for free as part of the 2021 Hugo Voting Packet This was a great, fun book. The only point I really had against it is that eventually with all the fantasy names and locations and history, things eventually …
Review: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is the story of the beginning of computers, written in the 1980s. I’d already read about many of the events portrayed in the book via other books or magazine articles. But this was nice and detailed. I like …
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