Part-time prevaricator
I got back earlier today from a camping trip to Manipogo with three other gentlemen. We ate like kings, drank some fiery drinks, enjoyed a ridiculous game or six of “Chicken Time Warp”, paddled on the lake, stared at the stars, discussed the world’s problems, and generally had a relaxing time.
Same time(ish) next year, guys.
Last night the sky was clear and my batteries were charged. I loaded up my gear and headed to a spot I found last fall: an abandoned church south of me.
For almost the entire time I was there—about 10:45pm till 2am—it was just me and the fireflies and the crickets. A truck drove by at one point (very slowly, because I’d seen them coming and turned on my car’s lights), but other than that I was alone under the stars.
Look at all those fireflies.
I did up a multi-photo panorama, too, before I left.
Below is a timelapse of the night. It’s made of 169 still images, each one a 30-second exposure at 11mm, f/2.8, ISO800.
It was almost 3am by the time I got to bed. It’s been a while since I stayed up that late. I think it was worth it, though.
I just spent 90 minutes or so stacking 16 images from my 2nd camera into this image of a portion of the galaxy.
Spotted on my bike ride earlier today.
A Facebook friend of mine recommended The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud. My local library was able to get a copy via interlibrary loan, and I picked it up on Friday. Last night—Monday—I finished reading it.
It starts off a bit like True Grit[1]I’ve only seen the Coens’ version of the movie, but I’ve heard it hews pretty close to the Charles Portis novel. One day I’ll have to read it.—a rough-around-the-edges life in a frontier town, narrated by a thirteen-year-old girl. But it’s set on Mars. In 1931.
Continue reading “Review: The Strange”Footnotes
| ↑1 | I’ve only seen the Coens’ version of the movie, but I’ve heard it hews pretty close to the Charles Portis novel. One day I’ll have to read it. |
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I decided to put my weird little Lensbaby 2.0 on my camera and take it on what turned out to be a 20km ride yesterday. I used the narrowest aperture ring on it to make sure I had a decently-large area in focus. I think it turned out all right.
I went out for a walk after supper tonight, and got a few photos with my phone.
I went about 15km today with my camera. I set myself up with a challenge: try to use the 35mm lens and the filters I bought at the Dunrea Flea Market[1]Which, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, takes place in Boissevain. a few years ago.
I set myself up with a polarizing filter and a red-blue filter (ie, one that will let through red light or blue light but not, it seems, both). It was a cloudy day and I figured I might get a bit of drama from the clouds by polarizing the red / blue light.
Did I succeed? You tell me.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Which, as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, takes place in Boissevain. |
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A man wakes up alone and can’t remember, well, pretty much anything. A computer asks him “What’s two plus two?” When he finally answers “four”, it asks him his name. But that’s gone.
It comes back to him before long, of course. Slowly, slowly, through flashbacks to his previous life, we find out who he is, what he does, and why he’s all alone on a starship that’s somehow arrived at Tau Ceti, thirteen light-years from Earth.
As it turns out, he—his name is Ryland Grace, which isn’t really a spoiler, since it’s in the book-flap synopsis—was one of the people who discovered a threat to our sun that could spell the end of all life on Earth. He’s been sent on a one-way mission to try to find a solution.
And, well, he’s not really alone. There aren’t any other humans alive on his ship, but… there’s more than one race afflicted with the solar problem.
Continue reading “Review: Project Hail Mary”
Spring is my favourite season, especially once the mud dries up a bit. New life and all that.
Also, Hoss the rabbit seems to be getting less and less skittish.
Page-count–wise, there’s not a lot to this novella by Amal El-Mohtar. The story isn’t quite a hundred pages, and some of those are full-page illustrations.
Story-wise, there’s plenty: sisterly devotion, unrequited love, racism[1]Or is it speciesism if it’s human versus fae?, shapeshifting, witchcraft, baking. Truth, lies, and consequences. Willows. Grammar.
Esther and Ysabel live near the edge of Faerie, where the river Liss runs between two giant willows called the Professors. Esther is courted by a local farmer, but her heart has been captured by a person from the other side of the line, an inhabitant of Faerie. This little love triangle[2]Possibly a rhombus by the time the dust settles. has far-reaching consequences.
Continue reading “Review: The River Has Roots”