I’m enjoying the Really Specific Stories podcast series from @martinfeld. I’ve been listening to podcasts for a long time now and hearing people talk about the medium and associated technology has been fascinating
Microposts
Finished reading: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is a charming story about a human and a robot on a quest to find purpose 📚
Finished reading: Plague Birds by Jason Sizemore is quite the story: advanced AIs living in people’s blood, genetic manipulation run amok, the collapse of civilization, and a mysterious alien. A fun read 📚
An early start for today’s ride to avoid the heat and catch the sunrise 🚴♂️
Finished reading: Among Others by Jo Walton is very good. A celebration of SF, despite being about magic and fairies📚
Back in the city for today’s run. A bit strange after all those quiet, hilly cottage runs
Relaxed and happy
Found some rapids on today’s run 🏃♂️
Finished reading: Although the book is unfinished, I enjoyed Starlight by Richard Wagamese. The theme of appreciating the land resonates well with my cottage vacation. I also found the themes of fatherhood and adopted families compelling 📚
Ominous clouds for today’s swim
A fun Upgrade episode on automation with Jason Snell, Federico Viticci, Rosemary Orchard, and Matthew Cassinelli 🤖🎧
Finished reading: Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman is an engrossing book about students that escaped from East Germany during the Cold War, only to then tunnel back under the wall to help more people escape 📚
Finished reading: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan was a perfect vacation read. A long and immersive fantasy story with both familiar elements and novel ideas📚
Back on the gravel roads for today’s run
Nice run along the James Cooper Lookout Trail, despite some tough terrain 🏃♂️
Finished reading: Although I was initially confused by the plot of Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, once I got into the story I enjoyed it. A nice mix of humour, honouring your identity, immigrating, and classical music 📚
Rays of light
Different running route today to find some unpaved roads and justify packing my trail shoes on the vacation 🏃♂️
Finished reading: Arriving Today by Christopher Mims is a very interesting look into the logistics network that we all take for granted with an emphasis on Amazon. A fascinating mix of robotics, AI, and labour laws📚
Nice to get out for a long swim 🏊♂️
Interesting to hear William MacAskill on two of my favourite podcasts (Mindscape with Sean Carroll and Making Sense with Sam Harris). Although there’s some necessary overlap, the two hosts drew out different themes in the conversations 🎧
Finished reading: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is a delight. A strange and fascinating story that is unlike anything that I’ve read recently 📚
Finished reading: Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey is a solid start to a new Expanse story. Although I like the mystery surrounding the alien artifacts, Expanse is at its best when focused on the people📚
Around here you run hills, whether you want to or not
Misty morning for an easy run 🏃♂️
Finished reading: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson is a fun parallel worlds story with lots of plot twists 📚
Such a delight to swim in a nice, deep lake 🏊♂️
Finished reading: Shipstar by Gregory Benford isn’t nearly as ambitious as Bowl of Heaven, the first book in the series. Although there are several big ideas in the book, they didn’t really connect well together. 📚
