Leap!

This is mostly just an excuse to post on the 29th of February. I'm perversely fascinated by the leap year day. I really don't have anything in particular to say.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.

Move along.

Welcome 2020

And now it's 2020. I don't seem to have a flying car. I'm mostly okay with that. Given what dumbasses most people can be when driving in two dimensions, I don't wanna add a third to the complexity. Especially given how I drive! I don't have a jetpack. I'm okay with that for the same reason.

The world is a hot mess. Literally, on a global scale. Large chunks of the Amazon (a huge part of our oxygen supply) has been burning. Most of Australia is on fire, it seems. California's got a break right now, but we'll see more fires as the weather warms.

Politics... brr. I'm not ready to rant about that today.

In lighter news, I binged through all eight episodes of the Netflix version of "The Witcher". Not too shabby at all! I found some of the casting choices to be a bit odd, but the actors and actresses did an excellent job. The production values were high and I find the bard character's probably my favorite. "Toss a coin to your Witcher" is in my brain now. Argh!

I don't have any specific resolutions. I don't think I'm going to bother. I have to figure out some goals and focus on those instead. I think I can do this.

Okay, 2020. Let's see what you've got!

See ya 2019!

2019 now comes to a close in a few hours here.

I've got a belly full of tasty pizza. I've had more than my fair share of beer (and now am enjoying a glass of whiskey). I'm doing a marathon of "The Witcher" and pretty much chilling.

Been a hell of a year. Some bits were good. Some bits were bad. Most of it was just variations of batshit crazy.

I'd like to hope that 2020 will be different, but I don't really think it will. I think we're in for scary times ahead. I hope we're all ready to deal with them.

Maudlin thoughts to end the year, but that's what booze does, I guess.

If you're reading this, I hope the best for you in 2020. Guess we'll see what happens.

Some ramblings as 2019 comes to a close

Not sure if I'll get around to posting to the blog before 2019 ends, so I figure why not ramble now?

2019 has been a hell of a year. Trump is President. Lord knows why. People still support him. Lord knows why.

A new Star Wars film came out. I find myself surprised how little I care. The Last Jedi really did a number on me. I can't work up any interest in seeing any more Disneyfied Star Wars.

Except maybe the Mandalorian. Provided there's a way to watch it without giving the Mouse money for their streaming service. I have no desire to do that.

Game of Thrones ended. Also a disappointment.

Indeed, I find many things in 2019 to be surprisingly-disappointing.

Can't say I'm holding out high hopes for 2020. Looking like things could tilt either way next year and I'm increasingly-happy I don't have kids to inherit the shitshow I expect is coming.

Ah well. At least there's good booze to drink. On that note...

Review: "Zero History" by William Gibson

I finished "Zero History", the third book in William Gibson's "Blue Ant Trilogy", last month. I meant to write up a review, then November just happened, distracting me from ever thinking about my much-neglected blog.

"Zero History" starts up a few years after "Spook Country". It revolves around two of the protagonists from "Spook Country": Hollis Henry, the former musician turned journalist and Milgrim, the translator and drug addict.

"Zero History" explores more of the politics of Blue Ant and Hubertus Bigend's control of the company while dealing with another MacGuffin in the form of a mysterious clothing designer. Fashion remains a consistent theme throughout the book, echoing "Pattern Recognition". Indeed, many, many, references call back to "Pattern Recognition" in this book.

Overall, I quite enjoyed it. It goes from rambling observations of fashion and culture right into a caper in weird ways. I enjoyed all the characters, though I tended to find the Hollis Henry character a bit annoying by the end. Still, there was surprising closure for "Pattern Recognition" which pleased me. Loved it.

Review: Pattern Recognition/Spook Country by William Gibson

I could have waited until I was done with "Zero History" and reviewed the entire Blue Ant trilogy of William Gibson's, but I'm feeling like typing blog stuff, so...

Pattern Recognition

I have to admit, this is one of my "comfort read" books. I must have re-read this novel a couple of dozen times. "Pattern Recognition" is found in the science fiction section of most bookstores, but I would not call it a sci-fi book by any stretch. It's really more of a peculiar thriller. Set a few years after 9/11, it tells the story of Cayce (pronounced "Case") Pollard, a marketing consultant who suffers from a peculiar psychological reaction to marketing. As such, she serves as a sort of tester of marketing ploys for big companies when she's not "coolhunting". Cayce is a follower of a web phenomenon known as "the footage", a sort of mysterious online film that is released in small segments. The creator is a mystery and has developed a cult following. Cayce finds herself in a contract with Blue Ant, an unconventional advertising agency run by one Hubertus Bigend, a Belgian Tom Cruise-lookalike who is wealthy and wants to know who is creating the footage. Bigend convinces Cayce to assist and... yeah. The story gets a bit weird from there.

I honestly can't say why I like "Pattern Recognition" so much. At the end of the book, I look back and realize it's sort of a peculiar story with a somewhat anticlimactic ending, but all the same it haunts me.



Spook Country

A sort of sequel to "Pattern Recognition", "Spook Country" is set an unspecified time after "Pattern Recognition". For the most part, there's new characters consisting of Hollis Henry - a former rock musician turned journalist, Milgrim - a drug-addled translator of Russian, and Tito - a member of a Cuban-Chinese crime family trained in Russian systema.

As with the previous novel, "Spook Country" goes off in some weird directions set in the modern world. There's a fascinating crew of background characters, including a return of Hubertus Bigend. The story also is kind of hard to describe, with a somewhat anticlimactic ending. And yet I have to say I find this one haunting me as well.



I'm about 80% through "Zero History", the third novel, and see a pattern emerging. Fun reads, though.

Review: Grim Workshop's Everyday Carry Tool Roll Wallet

Okay, on their website, they call it the EDC Tool Roll Organizer, but in their Kickstarter campaign, it had the moniker of being called a wallet.

As a backer of that Kickstarter, I do have to say it's really more of a tool roll than a wallet, but it does work as a very beefy wallet.

Whatever you call it, the Tool Roll thing is a beefy-but-pocket-sized thing of beauty that can fold out with many pockets and elastic bands to hold small tools, knives, and the like as well as cards and cash. It folds into a fairly compact size that's kept shut by a restraining strap of the same Buffalo leather that the main roll is crafted from.

This thing is a beast, but it's a tough beast. Gotta say I'm more than a little in love with mine.