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Review: Cory Doctorow’s Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Today I just finished Cory Doctorow’s Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. It’s the first epub book I’ve ever read and the first ebook I’ve read that I hadn’t previously read as a physical book. I’d been wanting to read the book for a long time, but the idea of sitting at my desk…
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What 8bitDo can learn from the Competition (and also what 8bitDo is doing better!)
I’m all-in on 8bitDo. Prior to getting on the 8bitDo train, I was mainly focused on PC gaming, so I would get Xbox controllers (whatever the latest was at the time). But with 8bitDo supporting PC, Switch, Android, and (I think) the Xbox and PS4/5 with addaptors – it’s a no-brainer to go with 8bitDo,…
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2023 in Music (Last.FM and Spotify Listening Trends)
Another year has ended and so it’s time to take a look at the music I listened to all year. First of all, it was yet another year in which I grew my personal music collection. I’ve seen more an more artists removed from places like Spotify, Apple Music, etc, so it’s still important to…
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Review: Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything
Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything by Kelly Weinersmith My rating: 4 of 5 stars A popular science book about emerging technologies. I’m not sure if it’s because Kelly Weinersmith is actually a scientist, but they do a good job probing potential downsides to each of the technologies. Zach provides cartoons (in…
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Review: The Everyday Athlete Cookbook: 165 Recipes to Boost Energy, Performance, and Recovery
The Everyday Athlete Cookbook: 165 Recipes to Boost Energy, Performance, and Recovery by America’s Test Kitchen My rating: 4 of 5 stars ATK teams up with a dietitian and nutritionist to create a series of recipes for “athletes”, defined in the book as people who do vigorous exercise at least 3 times a week. So…
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Others are also excited about Obojima Tales
I’ve been backing a few different D&D 5e adventures on kickstarter, but the one I’m most excited about getting fulfillment on is Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass. It’s so freakin’ beautiful that I had to hold myself back from getting the package that came with everything. But I’m not the only one excited bout…
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Howard County, Zum, and Industry Disruption being Disruptive
Last week was the first week of school in Howard County, Maryland. It was a chaotic week for transportation and, I think it was caused in large part by contractor issues. In the USA we tend to believe that privatizing everything makes it better. But, in fact, all it does is create an extra layer…
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How My Kids Got into Dungeons and Dragons
Two years ago, while spending time with my brothers, I played Dungeons and Dragons for the first time ever. David had been introduced to D&D by a coworker during COVID. Tony and Alex apparently had played in high school. I’m not sure when David’s wife started playing, but she joined us that night, too. David…
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Bad Time Records 2023 Concert: We Are the Union, Catbite, and Kill Lincoln
As I mentioned during my 2022 Music Wrap-Up, I got back into modern ska via Bad Time Records. So when Bad Time Records announced their Bad Time Records Tour 2023 featuring We Are the Union, Kill Lincoln, and Catbite – it was a no-brainer to buy the tickets. As a bonus, they’re also filming a…
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Review: Come Tumbling Down
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book has a more straight-forward narrative style rather than the more poetic one of the last few stories. Chronologically, it takes place after the events of Beneath the Sugar Sky. Books 4 and 4.5 are prequel novellas. In addition to completing (maybe?)…
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Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book serves as a prequel to Every Heart a Doorway but should definitely be read after that book in order not to spoil any plot points. The book elicits an incredible amount of emotion and I believe this is…
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Review: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was part of the kickstarter that funded this book I did not immediately jump into this book (Sanderson’s Secret Project #2) because it was not a Cosmere book. (The Cosmere being the equivalent of the MCU for…
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Review: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo My rating: 5 of 5 stars I got this book for free from the Tor.com ebook club Once again Vo creates a novella from The Singing Hills Cycle that I had so much trouble putting down. Vo expands the world a little more as Chih…
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Carol Chidester Series Swim Meets #4 and #5 (Jan and Feb 2023)
Meet No4 (Jan 2023) This meet was at the Arundel Olympic Center. It was my first time there, and what a beautiful venue for a swim meet! Unlike the other pools in the Carol Chidester series it has 6 or more lanes available for warmup and cooldown while the meet is running. This is due…
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2022 in Music (Last.FM and Spotify Listening Trends)
Another year, another look at my music trends for the year. It was another year of music acquisition (supporting the artists, ftw! – I knew Spotify wasn’t paying artists well, but Corey Doctorow’s book, Chokepoint Capitalism really brought home how much they’re screwing over artists), although I think things may slow down in 2023. Here…