The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion
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Jim wrote: "Merry Xmas, all. My little chainsaw is acting up, so I need to get to the bottom of that. "
I don't need to use a chainsaw all that often so I would have to run all the gas out after each use and then refill it before each use. Sometimes it was reluctant to start or reluctant to keep running; messy, a PITA. My Christmas present was a new cordless electric chainsaw. I hope it will make life easier for my occasional use. Still in the box -probably be a while 'til I try it out.
I got my daughter a drill and bits. To install my granddaughter's new hanging chair we needed to drill a hole in the ceiling joist. I drilled where the the stud sensor insisted it was, but it felt like it drilled into insulation, but the location checked out. Finally realized that the new bit was so sharp that the wood offered no more resistance than the drywall. That new drill bit was really sharp! Now I want to replace all my old dull bits.
Happy new year to all.
I'll be curious how the cordless chainsaw works out. My son-in-law got a cordless weedeater & it runs for about 20 minutes, long enough to do their back yard. Has plenty of power, too. Cordless tools have come a long way.I'm happy to report that Cloud is now a much better mount for me. When we first got him, his back was like riding a rail. Even with extra pads, I had to get off after 20 minutes. Yesterday, I rode him bareback & was comfortable. My wife is very good at fattening everything up.
:)
Jim wrote: "I'll be curious how the cordless chainsaw works out. My son-in-law got a cordless weedeater & it runs for about 20 minutes, long enough to do their back yard. Has plenty of power, too. Cordless tools have come a long way."Yep. Chainsaw is still in the box - I'll report back when it gets it's first test. no hurry.. 20 minutes would probably usually be adequate, and I have other batteries if need be. My cordless leaf blower is much quieter and less obnoxious than the gas ones. I use it mostly for blowing off the roof and cleaning out the gutters, then have to go down and blow away the mess I made in the garden. Its batteries usually last til the end of the job.
I've never been around horses. Lived in city & burbs all my life. Just got back from visiting my daughter and her family in Aiken, SC. It's horse country. My grandaughters' high school's teams are the Thoroughbreds.
Horses are weird. I dug out my fish pond & replaced it with a couple of buckets of dirt. I put it out in the field where I could dump the muck at the bottom & left it there for the horses to play with. They originally thought it was a monster, of course. It was funny watching them snort & blow around it. Eventually Tango flipped it over & they ran away as it flopped, but soon came back to play some more.I started to replace a rotted post in the board fence & found it was set in concrete. I got half of it dug out on one side when it got dark. I covered the hole with a big, flat rock & will finish it up once it gets light this morning. I do not understand why they used concrete. What a waste & it makes repairs a lot harder.
I moved some hay yesterday & the sliding door (12' square oak) to the big barn fell off the front roller when I was closing it. The old bolt that runs from the roller down to the bracket on the top of the door stripped. They're a drag to work on at the best of times since there's very little room & the door is heavy. Thankfully my son-in-law came right up & we got it done. He was down on the ground with the tamping bar levering the door up while I was up on the ladder putting a new bolt back in. I had to hold the nut with a washer balanced on top in a pair of needle nosed vice grips while turning the bolt to thread it on. Very little maneuvering room.
I'm making some cell phone holders, cute scrollsawed figures about an inch wide on a base that will hold a cell phone either vertically or horizontally for reading or watching movies. My daughter & several others have requested them. I'm making them out of the maple I cut down at her house a couple of years ago.
Yeah, I couldn't resist this one, though. :)
I just read Legend. I remember one of my grandchildren at Christmas was talking about this trilogy. And I asked my wife Peggy if she could remember which one. Of course she could. It was Chelsea and David. And 15 year old David is here right now. So I wrenched him away from his video game machine to ask him about it. "Yeah" he said "The next one is Prodigy" and he went back to his game device. "Wait" I said, " Did you like it?" He nodded his assent and said "The third one is Champion." They had listened to the audio books on our recent semi-caravan road trip.
Unbelievable. My teen grandson and I actually have something in common.
Legend is on the same shelf with Hunger Games, Divergent, etc. It's a little farfetched, but intense, and absorbing. I expect to read Prodigy and probably Champion too.
That's great, Buck. I read a lot of UF/PNR books when my daughter was a teen. It was the only thing that we had in common. (I can't stand them any more!) Reading is a great bond, though. Now, if you can just get him to actually talk about them... Good luck!
:)
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Happy Ukrainian Christmas everybody!
Happy Epiphany everybody!
Did La Befana (the Italian Christmas Witch) bring you anything good?
I went to school with a lot of kids whose grandparents emigrated from Slavic countries after WWI or parents after WWII. About half the class celebrated Christmas on December 25 the other half on January 7. Because half the class was absent on January 7, We had pretty much a free day. We went to our classes but just sat around and BS‘d with our teachers and classmates.
It is interesting that orthodox x-mas date is due to the fact that Russian empire was 13 days behind the rest of Europe in XX century. Initially, when after the 1917 revolution the calendar has been changed they started having the same Dec 25th x-mas, but later decided that if other celebrations like Easter differ in date from Catholics, let's keep Jan 7th instead. Right now Ukraine got its own orthodox church and some priests moved to Dec 25th.Bearing in mind that both dates aren't close to Jesus birthdate (the censuses, like the one that forced his parents to move to Bethlehem weren't conducted in winter), but 4th century addition to use pagan holiday, it is funny that churches still break spears on when to celebrate
I anyone else a Jeopardy! fan? We just watched the first night of the champion tournament with Jennings, Rutter, & Holzhauer. It was really good. those 3 are amazing. The second night starts in a few minutes, but we won't watch it until tomorrow night so no spoilers, please!
Jim wrote: "I anyone else a Jeopardy! fan? "Not exactly Jeopardy!, but I like games where you win with your mind
Kathy Kusner is a friend of my mother's & reminds me a lot of her. They're the same age & about the same size (tiny), but a truly daunting duo. When our oldest boy was going for his higher ratings in Pony Club, she gave him one of her saddles, a close-contact Hermes, that she used in the 1972 Olympics. She also helped one of my best friends get sober which isn't mentioned in this great article about her.https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2020/01...
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Maybe some people are trying to build a career using self-promotion on this site and want to get associated with my super-popular 'brand' by becoming my 'friend'. Good luck with that!
Hm, what's the chance that 3 different people do that at the same time? About zero. Must be something else.
I've had that happen before. I figured the book must come up somewhere on the site & folks are looking through the reviews.
There is this odd thing that has started happening to me recently, that makes me think GR has changed some algorithms. I have people 'liking my reviews', when I post that I have started to read a book. That never used to happen and it has caused a certain amount of confusion in my friend groups. I wonder if this is related
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That has happened to me, too, but almost always from one of my actual 'friends'. So I think it just means "Yay! you are reading something I'm interested in."
I believe Jim is right about the other thing. One person 'likes' my review and then their friend sees it and 'likes' it too. No big deal. But so weird for a book where I didn't even write a review.
(Outside of this site, about 5 years ago I downloaded some sheet music from a composer's site and asked him a question about one passage. Last week, five years later, he finally replied!)
Ed wrote: "Deborah wrote: "... I have people 'liking my reviews', when I post that I have started to read a book..."That has happened to me, too, but almost always from one of my actual 'friends'. So I thin..."
Yes, the first couple of times I had a few people I had never heard of 'like' an old review, I was so confused. It was so old I had forgotten the book. But I agree, GR shows you things your friends have looked at recently, that is how a lot of it happens.
I gave my wife 2 electrical outlets with covers for Valentine's Day. Pretty romantic, eh? ;)
It's tough to find anything to give her any more & her birthday is just a couple of weeks away, but this year I figured it out. I'm going to replace the 150 watt incandescent bulbs in the horse stalls with 4 - 4', 45w LED lights. I'll have to change over the light sockets to receptacles, thus the Valentine's Day gift. She's excited which is something after almost 40 years.
:)
That was a good idea.My husband and I never know what to give each other either, so we end up picking out our own presents.
UPS lost my order of 10 LED bulbs & that's a costly mess. They went out on delivery & disappeared. They were the only ones in stock that were 'reworked', so they cost $50 less ($81 instead of $130) than new ones. Worse, the new ones went up $10 since I ordered them, so if they don't find them it's going to cost me $60 more if I have to reorder. Of course, that's OK with Amazon & UPS. So I asked for an investigation which can take up to 8 business days. Sigh. I couldn't leave my girls with crappy light in the feed area, so I swiped one of the LED bulbs out of my shop. It's great that the old florescent fixtures can now operate with 1 or 2 bulbs. I goofed rewiring, though. I wasn't feeling great (probably dehydrated) & just cut out the ballast before realizing the electrician hadn't put a piece of tape on the return white wire from the switch. The wires are hidden, so I had no idea which was source & which was the switch. Then I managed to confuse myself. I finally had to sit down & draw the circuit out to rewire it. It didn't help that someone was shooting nearby so I had dogs under foot. The horses & goats were trying to help, too. What should have been a 15 minute job took over an hour, so I had neither the time nor energy to wire in the new LED fixtures I got for the stalls. They're on my list for today now.
Forthencho Pacino wrote: "All I know is that if a girl gave me some good quality electrical components as a gift, she's keeper.Also, I'm probably wrong, but why didn't you directly remove the fixture, then put in another w..."
I bought LED fixtures for the stalls & replaced the incandescent light fixtures there. We didn't want florescent lights in them since that's where the horses get worked on by the vet, so are more likely to rear. One of the horses broke one out in the run-in area just playing even though they're 10 feet up.
The incandescents have a guard over them & are a smaller target. I've never seen a guard sold that would keep a horse from putting their head through a florescent bulb & that's what the rest of the barn has. They're dual HO 8' florescent lights that I'm cutting the ballast out of & replacing the florescent tubes with LEDs in their fixtures for the rest.
I know how to wire lights & switches. I was a remodeler for 20 years. This was just a hidden rat's nest improperly labeled, I was tired, & my new volt meter wasn't working plus I had too much 'help'.
Forthencho Pacino wrote: "Also, the defense academy, or NDA, is the training academy to get into the national defense services. From there, you either go into the Air Force, Army, or Navy. Air Force is the top tier, so you ..."Good luck. One of my high school friends did something similar, but he went into intelligence. I was a screw up & just became a paratrooper even though I had the scores to do better. They offered me a free ride at West Point for a 10 year commitment. I never would have made it, so turning them down was probably the only smart thing I did during that period of my life.
The cooks I had helping me were 2 dogs scared of guns, so I kept tripping over them. The 3 horses & 2 goats also helped a lot. I didn't mind the goats climbing on the truck, it's a farm truck, but they tried to eat stuff out of my electrical toolbox & knocked over my parts bucket when I left the gate open for a few seconds. I did that because one horse swiped a temporary electric fence post of the back of my truck. It's plastic, but has a metal end. He had it gripped in his teeth & was swinging it around. I was afraid he'd poke someone's eye out - maybe mine.
A little later they all started chasing each other around my truck, so I had to pull it out of the barn & put up the tailgate. Oh, & one managed to reach over & grab the wheelbarrow I'd moved out of my way. He almost picked it up & pitched it into the wall. I made sure it was out of his reach after stopping yet again. That kind of thing just eats time like candy.
It was a gorgeous weekend & supposed to be nice today, but the rain is coming again tonight. I had to spend most of Saturday fiddling with the Exchange server, but I could do it from home. Still, I didn't get out nearly as much as I wanted to. I'm hoping to cut out early today.I got 10 LED replacement bulbs & replaced the 8' fluorescents in the overhang of my shop. They're the least used, but the easiest to access. I could stand on a work bench for them while the rest take an 8' step ladder. Anyway, I tested all 10 & they work.
I found a dozen paper wasp nests in each fixture! They haven't hatched yet & I'm sure I'll find them in the barn fixtures as well, so I plan to do them ASAP. I'm allergic. I really want to get the fields harrowed (chain dragged) though. It's a little wet, but getting them done now will allow the rain to knock the manure into the ground faster.
I guess the virus is disrupting all our lives. Mine very little, but the wife & kids have had a terrible time grocery shopping. For some reason everyone is treating this like a blizzard. No milk or toilet paper on the shelves. TP will keep, but I really don't get the milk. Lines in the store are crazy, too.I'm really sad to see so many sporting events cancelled. I'm not a big fan of any, although I do like to catch horse races & eventing occasionally. I'm really sorry for those competing, though. A lot of these competitions are something they've been working toward for years & they've got a limited window. For the Derby, it's this year or not at all. It's probably that way for a lot of the college basketball teams, too.
I know how it's going in my area, but what about yours?
Jim wrote: "I guess the virus is disrupting all our lives. Mine very little, but the wife & kids have had a terrible time grocery shopping. For some reason everyone is treating this like a blizzard. No milk or..."Well, toilet paper and hand sanitiser seem to have sold out all over Australia. They are cancelling gatherings of over 500 people from Monday on. The World Surf League has canceled the surfing competition opening that was due to happen on my local beach, I am really sad about that. I have stocked up on books, so I should not run out, no matter how long the emergency lasts.
In other news, the winds are set to go up to 40 km/h today so there may not be any diving possible for a few days....
Everything is pretty well shut down in Toronto-events and plays have been cancelled, the libraries, museums, recreation centres, etc are closed for three weeks. The schools and licensed day care centres are also closed for three weeks.Some people are going bonkers with panic shopping. I just bought a little bit extra of things I normally buy, but some people had their shopping carts loaded with enough stuff for a siege.
I am just glad that I have so many unread books at home. Plus Libby/Overdrive and Hoopla are available,plus free ebooks for my ipad as well.
Our state is pretty shut down. My wife is a school bus driver & is off for 4 weeks - no school. It's a 3 week shutdown & then spring break. My son-in-law already telecommutes a lot, but now it's mandatory.I'm really sorry for those who work for an hourly wage in service industries. Not only are they getting hammered by losing hours, but with their kids out of school & child care centers closed down, they have no way to get the kids taken care of if they can work.
Our business (sound systems for motorcycles) has already been hit. We buy a lot of parts from China & stuff isn't getting made. One of our suppliers had over 100 people on their assembly line & less than a third were back after a month. On top of that, there are some weird quarantines along the way. I just bought a server a month early because it was supposed to be in quarantine for a month, but it arrived yesterday anyway.
The daycare my granddaughter goes to is closed for three weeks. Her dad is staying at home with her and trying to work from home, with an almost four year old. My daughter works in an eye clinic in a hospital, with a lot of older patients. I hope she will be okay.
My daughter's school is closed for 5 weeks, although this includes a week where they would have been off for Spring Break. She's old enough to drive so she can feed herself but I feel really bad for working parents with young children. I don't know what they will do. And there's no sports, so my usual hockey and basketball watching has come to a complete halt. There's not even spring training baseball! I understand that professional sports is just entertainment and I can appreciate the caution, but I feel really bad for the high school and college kids whose sports have been canceled, especially those seniors who will miss their final events. College basketball, for example, was just entering its biggest time of the year and now those kids won't be able to enjoy their final games.
It would be understandable if the illness had a high mortality rate and/or some truly horrible symptoms, like ebola, but to be honest all these cancelations feel very reactionary and overblown to me and to other people I speak with. I'm not a scientist and I'm not going to argue the medical points, but I have personally spoken with doctors who also believe we are being overcautious as a society in this instance. I just wish instead of just cancelling important events (sports, school, even my daughter's SAT test for crying out loud) some thought had been given to alternate creative solutions.
We had SARS in Toronto in 2003, twice in one year, and things did not change drastically like this time around. I think that the government is being super careful because it's a new virus?
*cries*
I COMMAND YOU FORTY TO NOT GET SICK!!
I COMMAND YOU FORTY TO NOT GET SICK!!
Yeah, all schools in my area are canceled. Even after spring break. OH! I wanted to tell you I have a favorite Indian holiday!
NOOO!!! HOLI IS MY FAVORITE INDIAN HOLIDAY!!!! THAT BLOWS!!!
true. Holi still looks awesome
is the time traveler's wife a science fiction?
You are right, Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War.
hmmm, I watched the movie and it was good now I want to read it
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Such things are always subjective. There are many definitions of Science Fiction. Any book that you personally consider SF is valid for discussion here.
I've never read much of Sci-fi, I read the hitchhikers guide to the galxy. I don't know any good SciFi books I'd like
I hope I find one, but you know me, I'm open to new books. I do prefer a small romance element
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols (other topics)Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer (other topics)
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? (other topics)
Bleak House (other topics)
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Winston Churchill (other topics)Roger Zelazny (other topics)
Felix Salten (other topics)
Sam Kean (other topics)
Chuck Tingle (other topics)
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Lucky you! I'm still tortured by miserliness regarding getting a brand new 10.3" e-ink