Richard:
I usually have two books going at a time. When there’s free light available I’m re-reading something from my dead tree collection. Otherwise I’m reading or re-reading something on my tablet. My last dead tree re-read campaign was Neal Stevenson’s trilogy The Baroque Cycle. Unlike most of Stevenson’s stuff this one comes to not just one but several satisfying conclusions in a series of epilogues. I’ve since then started a re-read of Neal Asher’s trilogy The Rise of the Jain set in his Polity Universe. Someone here recently said that he took a stab the Polity with Gridlinked, the start of the Agent Cormac series, and couldn’t get into it. Like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series the first two books of Agent Cormac aren’t the best place to start. That series ends fantastically but a better introduction to the Polity is Dark Intelligence the first of the Transformation trilogy.
On the tablet I’m nearing the end of a re-read of Ben Aaronovitch’s River of London series which is excellent up until what at this point is the most recent novel Amongst Our Weapons. Aaronovitch is clearly rebooting the universe with a hope for movie productions aimed at “the modern audience” which is too bad because the original cast of characters was already quite diverse. But no. The two male protagonists are being shunt aside and a whole slew of new women, homosexuals, and transsexuals introduced. The story sucked too.
Queued up next on the tablet is Turtles All The Way Down: Vaccine Science and Myth which someone here recently mentioned and a neighbor has been urging me to read. It has an astonishing 4.9/5 rating on Amazon.
Fourscore:
This month’s book is Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond, same guy that wrote Guns, Germs and Steel. I got this book as a Christmas gift from my son, I had read Guns… several years ago, but I can’t remember much of it, it’s been a while.
Diamond compares four collapsed historical societies with Montana in 2005. How societies transition from a success to a spiral down and finally failure. It was released in 2005 but if we look hard enough we can find similarities in today’s world.
According to the author there are five points that every society shares. I’m only a little ways into the book (500 pages of small print) but in my opinion he seems to play down the role that the government shares in the grand scheme of things.
Very interesting, a little too heavy for a fun read for some of us, though. Still, it’s challenging.
The Hyperbole:
Ian Rankin The Black Book (1993) ***Inspector Rebus book 5. Brian Holmes (Rebus’s underling) uncovers evidence of a long gone cold murder/arson case but when he is bashed in the head and hospitalized Rebus takes over.
Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes (1912) and The Return of Tarzan (1913) **** It’s Tarzan, ’nuff said.
Ian Rankin Mortal Causes (2011) *** Rebus Book 6. A victim is given a ‘belfast sixpack’ before being murdered, is it terrorist or drugs? As much as I have enjoyed this series so far Ian is going to have to step up his game or I can see myself losing interest fast. Good writing can only carry a series so far and then it gets redundant, Looking at you Hap and Leonard, and Jack Taylor.
James Carlos Blake The Pistoleer: A Novel of John Wesley Hardin (1995) ***** The Life of John Wesley Hardin, one of the wild wild wests’ most feared killers, as told through the eyes of many people whose paths he crossed, One of the best books I’ve read in a very long while. Each chapter is told by a different narrator- Family, friends, whores, lawmen, and outlaws. Will definitely be reading more from JCB.
Richard — I think you’re right about the Asher books, across the board. His Owner trilogy, set in a frighteningly plausible near future dystopia, is also very good.
Very sorry to hear the Aaronovitch series is crashing burning. I quite enjoyed the ones I read (up through 5 or 6?).
I’ve got Rob Wilkins’s Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes queued up, but that’s about it. Re-reading various Patricia McKillip fantasies.
I have been working my way though “Stalin: Waiting for Hitler 1929-1941”. The book is well written but something about reading Russian names makes me tired after awhile. Plus I had several hundred pages of the Great Terror to work through. That period is horrifying not just for what and how Stalin wrought; but what didn’t happen while was doing it. What other security service would simultaneously be conducting mass murder, while undergoing mass murder? It was a relief to get to the start of WWII and the Winter War.
For light reading breaks from Stalin I have started “The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam” by Douglas Murray. (Mahalo to Hayek for the recommendation.)
Several times this month on Skype calls with some of my grandkids I have been reading to them from “Norse Mythology” by Neil Gaiman. NG updates the language in the myths to be more modern (not contemporary). It isn’t my favorite translation but does well with an 8 and 5 year old.
I have just started reading an old autobiography of a fast clipper sailor from the turn of the 20th century. Once I get into it some I’ll give it a go/no go for continued reading. Maybe I’ll even send in a description before the deadline.
Murray’s The Madness of Crowds is also excellent.
I am off to the water to help perform race committee duties. Free beer and lunch while hanging out on the water. Life can be worse.
Have a great afternoon all. I look forward to catching up on the reading recommendations later.
We’ve had much water returning to the ground after its atmospheric adventure. Gravity always wins.
Ben Aaronovitch wrote one of the better stories of Sylvester McCoy era, a stinker, and god awful ones that were thankfully never made.
Picked up Japanese the Manga Way on Sensei’s rec. quite good.
“Arming the Dragon” by Dolf Goldsmith
“Lays of Beleriand” by J. R. R. Tolkien.
I could never get through The Sillamarillion Like I never got the people who’d learn Klingon or Dothraki. (Note: not making fun) If I’m going to put in that time, I want real use in the real world. So French / Spanish/ Vietnamese. Did try Russian once. At least I can still read the alphabet.
I concur. In the height of my nerdiest-nerd-nerdy D&D Tolkien days, that was a struggle. Even though Ive likely read the trilogy a couple times through.
Fun fact- Ive never seen any of the movies, other than YT bits or trailers.
It helps to have a guide, like the Tolkien professor (original class/series, not the 200 episode Simarillion one)
OM will be happy. I’m reading Chemistry by Nivaldo Tro.
Time to catch up on some old learnin’ Need a physics accompaniment. Then, Math. Fuck you, Algebra!
Collapse…
Sir John Glubb also downplayed the importance of the specifics of government in his “Fate of Empires” essay. Once an empire is created, they all seem to be on the ten-generation clock before the collapse into decadence and corruption. (Unless of course they are destroyed militarily like the Japanese Empire). Monarchies, theocracies, and republics all went the same stages.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/208726450/Glubb-the-Fate-of-the-Empires
Just about finished Len Deighton’s “Blood, Tears, and Folly.”. As he says, “One good reason for looking again at the Second World War is to remind ourselves how badly the world’s leaders performed and how bravely they were supported by their suffering populations.”
I managed to get through Alfred Thayer Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, which is a bit tedious at times but has some bearing on something I’m trying to write at the moment. Not sure what I’ll read next. I usually read myself to sleep at night but last night I guiltily laid there and watched stupid YouTube videos until I passed out.
In my continuing quest to familiarize myself with more eras of English history (and thence to mainland Europe,) mainly between the Romans’ retreat and WW1, I’m reading The White Ship, nominally about the death of Henry I’s heir in the wreck of said ship. After extensive back story, mainly about the dysfunctional relationships of William the Conqueror’s sons, I’ve just read the account (about halfway through the book) of the fateful shipwreck. Supposedly I will shortly find out how that event is going to change English (and, apparently, Norman) history 4EVUH!!!
No spoilers, please.
Cant recommend Kate Colquhoun’s The Busiest Man in England highly enough (nor often enough lol).
Thanks! 👍🏼
Be honest- us briars dont read.
::bristles:: I’ll have you know my ancestors came from Indiana and Iowa.
Come to think of it, I’m not sure how much better that is.
The appellation ‘busiest man in England’ was from Charles Dickens. Paxton designed the Crystal Palace, built the gardens at Chatsworth into a wonder of the world, and bids fair to be the man most responsible for the Englishman’s obsession with his garden. The book is the up-side view of the Industrial Revolution as it transformed Britain and the world. An utterly charming book about a man who seems to have been a genuinely nice guy.
Man, white, dead – not possible; somewhere down in there is a monster.
Invested heavily in foundries and in spreading railroads across Britain. Had the unmitigated gall to rise from humble beginnings. Benefited from the patronage and friendship of a Lord of the Realm. One of many significant figures in ‘the Great Enrichening.’
Yup, a monster.
Currently reading the comic for “Oshi No Ko” in a second attempt. Right now the anime came out and has gotten rave reviews. When I first read it I just thought it was so bleak.
It’s basically a takedown of Japan’s “idol industry”. I know if I had a daughter in Japan I wouldn’t want her anywhere near it. OTH, I will fully admit to be a fan of several idols and I’m always hoping for their success. The comic deals with this conflict as well.
A beloved Florida ambassador has passed away. All I can say is “Oh, the Hugh manatee!”
The Mote in God’s Eye.
That’s sad.
This caught my eye, “Hugh, and his brother Buffett, are the world’s only manatees to participate in voluntary, detailed behavioral research designed to aid manatee conservation.” How exactly did they determine it was voluntary.
Just finished reading Hell with the Fire Out about the Modoc War. I’ll be biking in Modoc County in a few weeks and wanted to know a little of the history.
GlibBooks.
https://archive.is/up8eY/96ac7201ed5ba53c6754be8746069f6897f7a928.jpg
NSFW.
https://archive.is/1NiBa/cfc9fc97ea2dc08517fee2f7da284cfb6549a156.jpg
NSFW.
https://archive.is/5XWDW/b52e27a55cebbe3d00febea48f4ed5c8439ffeb0.jpg
NSFW.
https://archive.is/vixYW/8dced4ca1099140f84c83589cab7dc7fd8bae113.jpg
NSFW.
I suddenly want to be a librarian.
Been trying to get into John Dickson Carr mysteries lately. Not crazy about them so far, but switching detectives and just started on The Plague Court Murders.
Have you read Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries? Very ‘period’ New York, I find them very entertaining.
I’m going to try Stout next, I think.
The two season TV series with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chakin is mostly excellent, but the books should come first.
I read “The Hollow Man” by Carr, I wasn’t very impressed, maybe it’s the british-ness.
Everyone says the main reason to read The Hollow Man is an in-story dissertation on locked-room mysteries. I’m gonna finish this one and then The Judas Window, and then do The Hollow Man. That’ll determine whether I stick with Carr.
Now that you mention it that is exactly why I read it, I was on a Locked-room mystery binge and it gets brought up a lot.
Ian is going to have to step up his game or I can see myself losing interest fast.
I’ve read every book and really enjoyed them. I do think they got better as they went along, particular the supporting cast.
Re-read The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene. Highly recommended thriller set in WWII.
On a recommendation from one of You People, I read The White Album by Joan Didion. Enjoyed it very much – the chick had an amazing existence.
I’m continuing my war and mayhem books. Finished Storm of Steel which was harrowing, depressing and amazing. Junger is a flat out bad ass and a terrific writer.
Next up was Mine Were Of Trouble by Peter Kemp. He was a Brit who volunteered for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. It was a really good book that gives a different slant to the common narrative.
I just started Always with Honor: The Memoirs of General Wrangel Wrangel was the leader of the White Army in the Russian Civil War. Another badass.
I might finish that one and go on a funny book spree for a bit. Getting a tad heavy!
If you’ve not read Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem, it’s a must. It kind of sets the stage for the title essay in The White Album.
I’ve not. I’ll check it out.
Thanks!
I don’t know how similar it is to the book, but the Fritz Lang/Ray Milland Ministry of Fear is definitely worth a watch.
Thank you. I will.
Triangulate between the title essay and Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and you’ll have a good read on the sixties. Actually, the whole first section. ‘Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream’ is an exquisite study of, well, you’ll see. Hunter wrote with a bludgeon. Joan wrote with a scalpel.
Seconded! My film collection goal is all Fritz Lang and all Akira Kurosawa – everything else is secondary (well….maybe all Jean Pierre Melville too).
That is to say…”all” of their respective films.
Greene is one of the greats, and while Ministry of Fear is what he called an “Entertainment”, it is still miles away better than most other books. But, if you want to really dive into his Catholic moralism and how it plays out in people being the best Catholics while failing that religion, read The End Of The Affair. One of the best books I have ever read.
Thought I was cracking up and had lost the correct oil filter cap socket thingy. Nope, turns out Ford in their infinite wisdom allowed or specified that their contract manufacturer should change the flutes from 36 to 15. Fuck you assholes.
Do you have a strap wrench?
It’s my back up for these situations. Otherwise you cripple the vehicle of you shove a screwdriver through the filter and fail.
Another reason I thank my stars I found an honest and reasonably priced independent mechanic within walking distance of my house. I drive it down, go home and come back. No muss no fuss and for not much more than if I did it.
Clamping filter wrench got it off. But the strap is a good idea. I should add that to the list.
Pretty happy with the shop for my truck but not all that convenient and I do like to do things myself.
I’m in the middle of two books:
“Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War”, by R. M. Douglas
Summary: The Germans were nasty and their victors were nasty right back, especially to the Hitler heilers but also to those who weren’t. Worth reading to get a better understanding of what life was like in the immediate aftermath of the war.
“Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II”, by Keith Lowe
Summary: Post war Europe was not as nice as some have been led to believe.
It wasn’t just revenge against the Germans. The various groups who had hated each other for centuries took the opportunity afforded by governmental breakdown to wail on each other. As a foreshadowing of what’s in the news today, there was some particularly nasty business involving Russians, Ukrainians, Germans and Poles.
Same with WWI.
Yes. Also, they did a fine job pasting Yugoslavia together, as could be seen when it came apart.
In 1986 I took a college class on the history of southeast Europe. It was fascinating. When the Berlin Wall fell and it was clear the Soviet Union was dead, I told my friends how Yugoslavia would come apart along ethnic lines. I was pretty close to what actually happened.
Weird times. I was in the middle of pursuing a German major when the wall came down and I was completely blindsided. Nobody saw it coming or at least that’s how it felt as a busy and clueless college student.
I knew a German woman whose father was held in a French POW camp for several years after the war; conditions were horrible and medical care was nil. Within a short time after release, he died of diseases untreated in the French camp.
Yeah; if anybody brings up the alleged Palestinian “right of return” I like to bring up the Benes decrees and the Sudeten Germans having as much of a “right” to return.
The concentration camps never stopped. Just different guests.
Our founders were pretty damn smart with that avoiding foreign entanglements, and steering clear of Europe’s perpetual grievances with one another.
I’d love to know how the timeline is going where we didn’t stick our dick into WWI.
Too bad Princip didn’t run into Wilson instead of Ferdinand.
Or Czolgosz had waited another dozen years to kill a president.
Some of German literature immediately post-WWII is bleak as fuck. Some of the most depressing shit I’ve ever read.
Just received and finished Tsalmoth – Steven Brust.
Allow me to pilfer a plot summary from Wikipedia: The story is set early in Vlad’s career, when he is still working for the criminal Jhereg organization, and is planning his wedding to his fiancé and fellow assassin Cawti. The plot revolves around a sum of money Vlad is owed by a man who is later murdered, and Vlad’s attempts to unravel the mystery and get his funds back.[1][2] In terms of the internal chronology of the series, Tsalmoth is set between the novels Yendi and Jhereg.[3]
I enjoyed it. Vlad is snarky and irreverent.
I love that series! Not so wild about his other books, but Vlad is a treasure, as are the supporting cast.
Brust’s The Phoenix Guards is possibly my favorite book ever. Set in the same world as the Taltos books, but written as homage to Dumas’ Three Musketeers.
His non-Draaeran (sp?) books are hit and miss, particularly anything co-written with his commie buddies.
Russian pilots tried to ‘dogfight’ US jets over Syria, US Central Command says
WHO RUN BARTERTOWN!
Let me guess they were inverted overhead, gave the US pilot the bird, and took his picture?
Nah, no way a trained fighter pilot would be that reckless and stupid.
Chinese fighter pilot dead in Hainan incident would dispute that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident
“Unsafe and unprofessional.” Is this the NFL? Is a magic referee in a stripey shirt going to appear and throw a flag?
A safe and professional intercept of a hostile jet would be a smoking crater at FL00.
“Let me just whip this out”
Apropos of nothing
Yesterday when I was hunting for various lost things in my storage unit, I decided to bring the Big Teevee home so I could watch the Barber race in style. It came from my parents’ house, and it dwarfs my puny old 40 incher. Today when I tried to connect the over the air antenna (NBC broadcast), all I got was “No Signal”. Apparently the coaxial cable “in” is kaput. So now I’m wondering if there are over the air antennae which use an HDMI slot.
Type ATSC Tuner into Amazon.
Never used one, but use a variation that sends over Ethernet.
Depending on price I imagine the tuner is more sensitive. Don’t expect great results on weak stations.
or even some manner of coax to HDMI adapter dongle.
“Unsafe and unprofessional.”
If it was a Russian pilot, he was most likely drunk.
Love it.
Original
https://youtu.be/qORYO0atB6g
Homage
https://youtu.be/eqfaQHsbgbE
Just ordered The Pistoleer for Pater Dean’s Father’s Day gift. Sounds like just the kind of thing he will enjoy. Thanks, Hyperbole.
I hope he likes it, I kind of want to read a more ‘accurate’ biography of Hardin now just to see how much JCB stretched the ‘truth’, on the other hand his ‘mythological’ version is so good why spoil it?
Have you ever read The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? I always lump the two books together, but I am not sure how the play out.
No I haven’t, just downloaded it to the Kindle.
WTF, Bruins?
Sloppy passing.
Never mind them. What were the Rays on? To get the shit kick outta you by the White Sox like that?
Apparently not performance-enhancing drugs?
Roughly my reaction to this whole series.
And, of course…
My internet is out. UCLA was playing?
Poorly.
Unbelievable.
All too believable, sadly.
They played like shit for most of the series.
I wasn’t expecting too much of them – I assumed that ridiculous regular season would leave too little in the tank for the playoffs. But I expected more than this.
I spent last month reading a bunch of Joseph Conrad’s lessor known novels, such as Typhoon, The Shadow Line, and so on, followed up with some Simenon Maigret crime books. Love both of them, for different reasons, obviously. Conrad is so good at nailing down the specific, but letting you feel your way through the moral ambiguity of the stories, while Simenon is the perfect antidote for the millions (seemingly) of British crime novel I have read over the last 40 years. But, I felt it was time for a change, so I picked up Bug Jack Barron, a late sixties social SF novel. I won’t say anything more about it, other than it was in some ways quite prescient, and deserves an actual book review.
I enjoyed both the Michael Gambon and Rowan Atkinson adaptations.
I recently watched The Duellists, based on a story by Conrad. Ridley Scott’s first film, and some odd casting with Harvey Keitel of all people as a Napoleonic-era soldier.
Really need to look up a lot of his stuff on film. Read a review of the 90s adaptation of Victory that sounded pretty good. Think there may be one out there for Almayer’s Folly too.
There is a modern Dutch, I think, version of Almayer’s Folly, and I enjoyed it. It is one of Conrad’s least works, so make of it what you will.
Also, back in the nineties, there was a version of Heart of Darkness staring Tim Roth as Marlow with John Malkovich. I remember it being very good.
I really like that, Keitel and Carradine. Keitel was perfectly cast, if you had read the book. If you hadn’t, he would seem a poor fit, and I thought so at first.
Been a long time since I really read them (maybe post-college) – although I know I enjoyed them (esp for the Indonesia references – much nostalgia, I’ll pull them down again.
I think the “Nigger of the Narcissus” was the last one I read and that was 2 or 3 years ago.
Is “The Person of Color With a Bad Cough Aboard the Narcissus” still printed anywhere?
Mine is one of those budget Dover Thrift Editions
Yes https://www.amazon.com/Nigger-Narcissus-Tale-Sea/dp/0342893904/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1EHJQFIMTZDR7&keywords=nigger+of+the+narcissus&qid=1682908408&sprefix=nigger+of+the+narcissus%2Caps%2C322&sr=8-2
Agree about Bug Jack Barron. I think I still have my copy, I should give it a re-read.
I’m half-way through Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America’s First Frontier. Aside from a couple annoying woke disclaimers it’s top notch thus far. I never really knew much about Daniel Boone other than the old Disney shows and that he was somehow associated with the Cumberland gap.
With nearly 4,500 car thefts so far this year, NYC is handing out free Apple AirTag trackers
Nice bandaid.
Just ditch your car and save Gaia at the same time.
I’m sure Alvin Bragg will get right on prosecuting the car thieves.
I am taking some pleasure in watching NYC get what it voted for.
NYC needs to know where the thieves are…so they can send them their oppression compensation checks.
Sounds about right.
Back in the zone of sitting in the office at the workstation (other than this past drill weekend) and reading all shift (due to various “technical issues”). After years of reading references to it in SF (esp John Ringo), I finally picked up Pat Frank’s “Alas, Babylon” and blew through it really quick – solid, post-apocalyptic read – esp for the late 50s with tons of good prepper points. Think I’m going to have to pick up the rest of his [too short] bibliography.
Also picked up a mass market paperback collection of Ayn Rand’s novels for a discount – will probably start those after I finish rereading Joe Abercrombie’s “The Heroes” (the last hard copy I needed to complete my collection of his main series).
I recently watched The Duellists, based on a story by Conrad. Ridley Scott’s first film, and some odd casting with Harvey Keitel of all people as a Napoleonic-era soldier.
It’s a great movie.
Just left Little Creek around 4:30 this afternoon – rainy earlier in the afternoon but dryish until I got through the bridge tunnel heading East when all hell broke loose. Guess I got out in time.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/strong-winds-penny-sized-hail-211800297.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tornado-strikes-virginia-coast-damaging-homes-leaving-power-rcna82184
Saw the base notification warnings when I got home and plugged in to my email. Hope Ron is ok.
We only got a couple days straight of downpours, and some T-storms. Ending soon finally.
A Firster’s gotta First like a fish needs to swim. It innate.
Please respect the No
OTfirsting is the first 30minuteshours after a post goes live rule. Thanks.Me Firsting on one of your articles would be the fucking honor of your life. Not a chance in hell I’d do that.
I’m going to get on Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography, but the dead-tree book is just too beautiful to handle, so I’m going to get the Kindle.
I finished re-reading Snow Crash and I think the ending really gets a bad rap. The ending is fine, people are just looking for an epilogue where Hiro meets up with YT at a taco stand and we find out that Hiro and Juanita become a couple and YT makes amends with her mom and Enzo heals up and everything is wrapped up with a nice little bow and everyone lives happily ever after.
Moving on to re-read The Diamond Age next.
Side note: I decided to dip into some classic golden-age sci-fi and read Deathworld by Harry Harrison, and holy crap what a pile of garbage. Apparently back then you could just have an idea about a weird alien planet and skip over the part about having realistic and interesting characters, instead the whole book is “Hey here’s a planet that’s super deadly to humans and everyone there is an asshole and nobody does anything remotely intelligent.”
Hey here’s a planet that’s super deadly to humans and everyone there is an asshole and nobody does anything remotely intelligent
Earth?
Just finished the Empire of Man series by Ringo and Weber myself – the planet Marduk starts out that way but thankfully the characters are pretty resourceful – some great development over the 4 books too although like most of Ringo’s stuff it’s tight in the middle and a little weaker towards the end/wrap-up (adding more and more characters doesn’t really help even if a lot of them get killed off). The space battles for instance in book 4 were vastly less interesting than anything on the ground.
I love The Diamond Age.
“Apparently back then you could just have an idea about a weird alien planet and skip over the part about having realistic and interesting characters,”
This is, mostly, what I’ve found about older sci Fi.
It was a lot more about writing about interesting places/technology than about how people for into that. What do you expect from nerds?
The vision to extrapolate how such differences or technologies might ripple through societies and economies in potentially contradictory ways and how humans will react or fail to react to these changes?
But most of the time we get sterile dystopias.
Hey, morning folks.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhs0JD6XJyQ
🎶🎶
☕😉
Morning, Sean.
Good Morning to all.
I hope it is a grand day.
Good morning, ‘bodru!
First of the month, so month-end reports loom, BUT I have a head start on a couple of them AND I no longer have to do the most tedious and time-consuming one I always had to tackle first thing on the first business day. 😁
😎
I have to figure out what the new hire can be tasked with, as it’s only day three of his tenure, and not all of his access is in place yet.
Required trainings, of course.
Or reading sop’s
One of the things he doesn’t have access to yet is the learning management system, so he can’t do the mandatory training.
And there are only so many procedures that are standard. We’ve already used a lot of them.
Mornin’ all.
How goes it?
Part 2 of the pipe organ article drops tonight, so I’m prepping to be up way past my usual bedtime 😉
I have to run to the post office once they open; sold a couple of books that I need to ship out. Other than that, I’m hoping for a calm and peaceful day indoors, with a good book and music playing.
How goes it for you?
I’m in the office with a chair that has moved on from being uncomfortable to causing actual pain, I have to figure out how to keep the new hire busy and trained in something I hardly know myself, and I have to get my own other work done before topping off the day with the high-low bowling tournament this evening, if the chair doesn’t take my legs out from under me.
😕 Have the new hire hold your chair up to the correct height?
That is out of title work, I can’t require him to do that.
Your job descriptions don’t all have the “all other duties as assigned” clause my boss is always citing to me?
Do you want to argue with a union rep that “Chair Stop” falls under the responsibilities of an “IT Specialist”?
Hmmm… “I” stands for “Infrastructure,” which includes chairs, right? 😃
Information.
I know. 😉
High-low bowling? That sounds weird. Does that mean a gutter ball is equal to a strike?
No, it means the teams are formed by pairing up the best and worst bowler in the league, then the best and worst left, and so on, then running the tournament as normal.
Ah, so the last shall be first. Too biblical.
No, it’s meant to give the teams a more equal chance of winning. Otherwise people would soon stop participating.
I have zero chance of winning, but I keep competing. Admittedly, it’s because I really like the mental state that happens sometime between the buzzer and the first sight picture.
There’s a difference between the league and the high-low.
And besides, you’re not allowed to shoot the pins.
I imagine splinters are hell on the setting machine.
Speaking of: the local radio station had a “woe is we” story about the Death of Candlepin. Apparently nobody makes the steers for it anymore, which of course means the game is going to go extinct.
If there’s a demand, somebody will make more.
Good morning, Shirley, U, and Sean!
Circling back to yesterday’s IFLA:
Late last night, I finally figured it out – that’s my cat.
See? SCIENCE!
Well I’m back in the USSA.
You don’t know how lucky you…
Never mind. Welcome home! ::ashamed to admit she’s forgotten where he’s been::
Labor, enacted…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yOYArc7mFiE&pp=ygUcYmFjayBpbiB0aGUgdXNzciB0aGUgYmVhdGxlcw%3D%3D
Welcome back.
Taking the day off today. Actually, I had originally taken off this past week to work a major match but when that didn’t happen I withdrew all of the PTO requests except for this one.
Lily is getting spoiled.
Give her a scruffle on the noggin (or whatever she likes) from me. Sweet doggy.
Morning all.
Morning.
Morning, UCS ☕️🌅
Good morning (or noon?) limey! How are things on your side of the pond?
Limey is running at about 63% efficiency, and would like his hip to stop complaining in the evenings, please. The weather however is 15 dungarees centipede/59 Frankenstein, and dry. Praise be.
How you doin’, Red? Your Tranquility Base has inspired me to think about fixing a similar spot but I lack the privacy really, so maybe some sort of screen is in order.
I’m doing well, thanks! Sadly, after an initial blast of spring, it’s been too chilly the last couple of weekends to hang out at Tranq Base of a morning. 😞
Feel Winter’s gentle parting kiss on your rosy cheeks and bid her farewell for another year 🌬❄️
Snow overnight here in mid-Mich. won’t stick, snow & rain mix for tomorrow. Whee ;-\
Mornin’, reprobates!
Good morning, ‘patzie! ::raises travel mug o’ coffee::
☕️🚬
LOL never change, The New York Post.
By the way, the A train does not travel to the Bronx.