OceanBreezy's recent activity
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir in ~books
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Comment on Red One | Official trailer in ~movies
OceanBreezy LinkThis looks so fun!This looks so fun!
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Comment on The time I built an ROV to solve missing person cases in ~engineering
OceanBreezy LinkThis was fascinating! Thanks for sharing!This was fascinating! Thanks for sharing!
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Comment on What dying people see in their dreams in ~life
OceanBreezy LinkThis was such an interesting and positive talk! Thanks for sharing.This was such an interesting and positive talk! Thanks for sharing.
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Comment on Remembering May 4 (Kent State massacre) - An interview with Devo's Jerry Casale in ~humanities.history
OceanBreezy LinkThanks so much for posting this. The obvious parallel is truly frightening. I am appalled at the current assault on free speech by the universities, but also hopeful that the steps they are taking...Thanks so much for posting this. The obvious parallel is truly frightening. I am appalled at the current assault on free speech by the universities, but also hopeful that the steps they are taking might avoid a similar outcome to what happened at Kent State.
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Comment on A pill to make exercise obsolete (2017) in ~health
OceanBreezy LinkReally interesting idea, an exercise pill. But what tickled me most was this:Really interesting idea, an exercise pill. But what tickled me most was this:
Mice love to run, Evans told me, and when he puts an exercise wheel in their cage they typically log several miles a night. These nocturnal drills are not simply a way of dealing with the stress of laboratory life, as scientists from Leiden University, in the Netherlands, demonstrated in a charming experiment conducted a few years ago. They left a small cagelike structure containing a training wheel in a quiet corner of an urban park, under the surveillance of a motion-activated night-vision camera. The resulting footage showed that the wheel was in near-constant use by wild mice. Despite the fact that their daily activities—foraging for food, searching for mates, avoiding predators—provided a more than adequate workout, the mice voluntarily chose to run, spending up to eighteen minutes at a time on the wheel, and returning for repeat sessions. (Several frogs and slugs also made use of the amenity, possibly by accident.)
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell in ~books
OceanBreezy Link ParentI would not recommend this book. I had the distinct feeling that it was a collection of short stories, tied together rather tenuously, somewhat awkwardly, and deliberately, so that it could be...I would not recommend this book. I had the distinct feeling that it was a collection of short stories, tied together rather tenuously, somewhat awkwardly, and deliberately, so that it could be called a novel. Aside from the Luisa Rey and Sonmi stories, the characters in the others were quite unlikeable. Sloosha's Crossing was difficult reading due to the dialect (soooo many apostrophes!). I stopped reading in the middle of the 2nd part of the Luisa story; I just gave up, the enjoyment factor was lacking. There were definitely some things I truly liked about the book. I loved the descriptions of Sonmi's world, such as yellowup for sunrise and calling things by corporate names.
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Comment on "By all means, go after big tech. But for the love of the next generation, don’t pretend that it’s going to help vulnerable youth." in ~tech
OceanBreezy Link ParentThis was also my experience growing up. Friends' houses, yards, my suburban neighborhood were the places I spent 90% of my time. We walked or rode bikes everywhere. VERY occasionally, we went to...This was also my experience growing up. Friends' houses, yards, my suburban neighborhood were the places I spent 90% of my time. We walked or rode bikes everywhere. VERY occasionally, we went to shops, the mall, the pizza place, or the movies, but no one hung out there or any commercial space on a regular basis.
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Comment on How to preserve a 9000 piece jigsaw puzzle? in ~games.tabletop
OceanBreezy Link ParentFoamcore is a thin layer of rigid but lightweight foam sandwiched between two sheets of paper. You can google to see pictures of it. The foam thickness is variable.Foamcore is a thin layer of rigid but lightweight foam sandwiched between two sheets of paper. You can google to see pictures of it. The foam thickness is variable.
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Comment on How to preserve a 9000 piece jigsaw puzzle? in ~games.tabletop
OceanBreezy LinkIf you don’t want to frame it, you could go the mod podge route then attach it to a large piece of foamcore.If you don’t want to frame it, you could go the mod podge route then attach it to a large piece of foamcore.
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Comment on Utility by Jack Nicholls - fun sci fi short in which a super powerful future human tries very hard to impress and reassure a 21st century human in ~books
OceanBreezy LinkThat was so fun! Thank you for sharing!That was so fun! Thank you for sharing!
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Comment on How the ballpoint pen killed cursive in ~humanities.history
OceanBreezy LinkAs a lefty, I never believed there was a rational reason for forcing left-handed kids to write with their right hands. But then, I grew up with ballpoints. Fountain pens would be the reason!As a lefty, I never believed there was a rational reason for forcing left-handed kids to write with their right hands. But then, I grew up with ballpoints. Fountain pens would be the reason!
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Comment on Short stories compilations in ~books
OceanBreezy Link ParentThanks for posting that! I will look into his anthologies!Thanks for posting that! I will look into his anthologies!
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Comment on Short stories compilations in ~books
OceanBreezy Link ParentI loved this series! Dozois selected such a diverse range of stories every year and I discovered so many new-to-me authors.I loved this series! Dozois selected such a diverse range of stories every year and I discovered so many new-to-me authors.
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Comment on Polish train manufacturer Newag bricks trains which spend time in competitors' depots in ~transport
OceanBreezy LinkThis was a quick and fascinating read about the lengths a company will go to to control a product they sold. So aggravating.This was a quick and fascinating read about the lengths a company will go to to control a product they sold. So aggravating.
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Comment on Graduated and moving to an apartment in a major city in the US, advice/tips? in ~life
OceanBreezy LinkYou could check out FurnishedFinder or other similar sites that travel nurses use. You get a furnished unit on a short term lease. You can take your time looking for a job and a new place to live...You could check out FurnishedFinder or other similar sites that travel nurses use. You get a furnished unit on a short term lease. You can take your time looking for a job and a new place to live and acquiring furniture. It's not cheap, but probably better than AirBnB.
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Comment on Which board games have you been playing this week? (to 13th August) in ~games.tabletop
OceanBreezy LinkI played Morels, Gravwell, and Tokaido at a tabletop game bar. Morels is a card game, rather than a board game. You pick then sell or cook mushrooms, very enjoyable. The ways you acquire cards and...I played Morels, Gravwell, and Tokaido at a tabletop game bar.
Morels is a card game, rather than a board game. You pick then sell or cook mushrooms, very enjoyable. The ways you acquire cards and how you manage your limited hand provide interesting choices.
In Gravwell, you move along the board's path toward a warp core, hoping not to be sucked into a singularity; cards determine how your ship moves - towards the nearest ship, away from it, or to command all ships to move toward you by some number of spaces. This mechanic was unusual and very unpredictable, causing ships to move in unexpected ways.
Tokaido is a trip through a part of Japan, with many stops of your choice along the way. At the stops, you can acquire souvenirs for a collection, eat different foods, enjoy scenic panoramas, have chance encounters with residents, and a few other experiences. I enjoyed the journey, and keeping score to determine a winner really didn't matter much to me, though my opponent preferred to tally it up.
All three of these were good games that I would play again. Each one had a lot of creativity behind it and weren't much like anything I had played before.
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Comment on Looking for audiobook ideas that have TV/movies released in ~books
OceanBreezy LinkThe Chinese Tencent series Three Body on YouTube is 30 episodes with subtitles in English, based on the book The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Great series, fascinating story! It has science...The Chinese Tencent series Three Body on YouTube is 30 episodes with subtitles in English, based on the book The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin. Great series, fascinating story! It has science fiction, history, and a video game. The detective steals the show (no spoilers!).
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Comment on Suggest nonfiction that can be understood/enjoyed by nonspecialists in ~books
OceanBreezy LinkShadow Divers by Robert Kurson - the story of two deep sea wreck divers who find a German sub and their quest to discover the identity and history of the sub. It has the drama and thrills of an...Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson - the story of two deep sea wreck divers who find a German sub and their quest to discover the identity and history of the sub. It has the drama and thrills of an adventure tale, and the historical perspective to humanize it.
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Comment on I would really appreciate some help. Looking for moving, thoughtful or observant or interesting songs that aren't metal or rap/hiphop in ~music
OceanBreezy Link ParentAgree with Poets of the Fall and Carnival of Rust; haunting yet also uplifting.Agree with Poets of the Fall and Carnival of Rust; haunting yet also uplifting.
My reaction is nearly identical to yours. I knew almost nothing about the book the first time I read it two years ago. At that time, I read to where Grace meets Rocky and I was so astounded by how Weir got from amnesiac Grace to an alien, that I stopped, went back and re-read the beginning again. I loved this book so much, and was thrilled this was a book club selection. I re-read it all over again this month (including re-re-reading the start as I had before!). I loved how the two timelines worked to unfurl the story, with Grace in space knowing nothing just as the reader knows nothing; he discovers his past at the same time we do.
There was plenty of science presented well enough to satisfy my love for hard sf, and the characters were interesting and distinct. Grace is full of joy, excitement, and curiosity, and Weir communicates that so well. Grace's voice is quite like that of a junior high teacher, with a notable avoidance of serious profanity ("Oh my gosh! This is it! First Contact! I'm the guy! I'm the guy who meets aliens for the first time!" and "Well, hell’s coming back to you, Stratt. In the form of me. I’m hell. I don't know what I'll say to her. But I definitely plan to say stuff. Mean stuff.")
The miniature sculpture Rocky made to send to Grace with the spheres and connecting lines to communicate the astrophage problem, and the location of his own planet was so clever. There were many moments of almost laugh-out-loud humor that kept me smiling throughout. Rocky and Grace had great chemistry together.
I also adored this book and its optimism. It’s one of only a very few that I could recommend to almost anyone, even those who generally dislike sf.
How did I feel about it?
Love, love, love.