Older blog entries for mikal (starting at number 922)

Redshirts




ISBN: 9780765334797
LibraryThing
I was super excited to get my hands on the latest John Scalzi book because I've really liked his previous stuff. Unfortunately while this book is fun I feel that the underlying concept is pretty weak... Its more of a toy boy than something which makes you think, which is a disappointment to me.

Don't get me wrong, the overall execution is good, but the book feels lazily plotted, much like a badly done Harry Harrison does. So, if that sort of thing annoys you, give this one a miss.

Tags for this post: book john_scalzi exploration comedy space
Related posts: Dirk Gentley's Holistic Detective Agency; So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish ; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe ; Military satellites fly north-south, commercial satellites fly east-west?; The Man in the Rubber Mask; Bill The Galactic Hero ; Colony; Bill the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Bottled Brains; Ohhh, space junk; Russian scavengers life off abandoned space junk; The Light Fantastic; Starbound; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy ; Better Than Life; Bill the Galactic Hero Series; Marsbound; And Another Thing; Bingo!; Have I mentioned that I'm a big Smithsonian fan?; Life, the Universe and Everything ; Red Dwarf


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Syndicated 2013-02-14 01:08:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

I give you Fidel, the slightly questionable LCA2013 organizer

I love this outfit. He looks so disastrously dodgy. Luckily for me, Jeff did a great job of handling our accommodation requirements for the week of the conference.

             

Tags for this post: conference lca2013 pictures 20130125 photo

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Syndicated 2013-02-11 22:45:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

Pictures from Catie and Pete's engagement party

This is how I spent Sunday afternoon. I can think of worse ways to spend time.

                                       

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Tags for this post: events pictures 20130210 photo

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Syndicated 2013-02-11 22:32:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

Yet more lca2013 setup

Some bag stuffing, move AV setup, and network kit starts appearing.

                                       

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Tags for this post: conference lca2013 pictures 20130124-lca2013 photo

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Syndicated 2013-01-24 13:29:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

Pool

It was hot the other day, so we went for a swim. Notice how hard I am working on the conference in these shots.

               

Tags for this post: blog pictures 20130111 photo

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Syndicated 2013-01-18 15:52:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

Earthbound




ISBN: 9781937007836
LibraryThing
This is the third book in the Marsbound series. The Others have just turned off all electronics on Earth, and now we need to survive. One problem with this book is that it jumps straight into the action -- I had to go back and re-read Marsbound and Starbound in order to understand what was happening in this book. That was ok because those two books are excellent, and I enjoyed re-reading them. In fact, those two are probably a little better than this one.

Overall Earthbound is pretty dark, and there isn't a lot of hope presented -- its just a series of scenes where the main characters attempt to deal with an all powerful adversary. Perhaps if the Others weren't so powerful this would be a better book, because you just know that everyone is doomed. I also respect authors who are willing to kill off lead characters, but that happens a lot in this book, which sort of bothered me. Perhaps that's what combat is really like though -- people you have an attachment to just stop being there. There's no warning or explanation.

The end of this book isn't very satisfying. There better be a sequel or I'm going to be annoyed.

Tags for this post: book joe_haldeman mars aliens exploration space_travel first_contact marsbound post_apocalypse combat
Related posts: Starbound; Marsbound; Rendezvous With Rama; Red Mars; Mars: A Survival Guide; Camouflage ; The Coming; The Apocalypse Troll; Death Bringer; Battlefields Beyond Tomorrow ; East of the Sun, West of the Moon; The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress; Agent to the Stars; Runner; The Ship Who Sang ; Bolos 1: Honor of the Regiment; Iron Master; Cloud Warrior; Amtrak Wars; The Accidental Time Machine ; Earth Thunder


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Syndicated 2013-01-18 15:11:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

How will I identify an organizer at lca2013?

I think it will be pretty hard to spot us given how cunning our camouflage is.

     

Tags for this post: conference lca2013 pictures 20130116-lca2013 photo

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Syndicated 2013-01-17 16:55:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

First day of setup for lca2013

Some of the linux.conf.au 2013 team took the chance to rock on over to ANU today and do some final AV testing. While I was there I took some pictures of the various theaters, as I figure it will help answer some of the questions our speakers have.

                                       

Tags for this post: conference lca2013 pictures 20130117-lca2013 photo

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Syndicated 2013-01-17 16:28:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

Its either a third child, or Cat is pregnant with a unicorn

So... Catherine is 8 weeks pregnant. We had an ultrasound this morning, and everything seems to be going well. We wouldn't normally tell people this early (its traditional to wait until 12 weeks), but it turns out that we're terrible at keeping secrets. This child is code named "Ducky" until released to the public.

   

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Tags for this post: children ducky ultrasound pregnant
Related posts: 31 October 2002; Friday 8 June 2001; 13 August 2002

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Syndicated 2013-01-17 16:08:00 from stillhq.com : Mikal, a geek from Canberra living in Silicon Valley (no blather posts)

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