Finished reading: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A fun read. I really liked the structure of alternating each chapter between fantasy and sci-fi, plus the story was intriguing 📚
Finished reading: Perhaps the Stars by Ada Palmer. A satisfying ending to the Terra Ignota series. I really enjoyed this series, though it can be a tough read. Jammed full of ideas and rich details, which can seem overwhelming at times. In the end, I’m not sure it was a successful novel, despite the ambition and fascinating world building📚
🎧 The Essential Sam Harris is a well done, comprehensive set of podcast episodes that dive into the details of specific topics, including artificial intelligence, consciousness, and morality. I’ve enjoyed each one, so far
🎧 Interstellar jazz from Hyper Dimensional Expansion Beam will wake you up
📺 Slow Horses seasons 1 and 2 are both great. I enjoyed the sarcastic competence of the rejects at Slough House
Started 2023 with a polar bear swim 🥶. 0°C air temperature and 2°C in the water. Now we’re huddled by the fire to warm up 🔥
My 2022 focussed on fitness. Strava helpfully summarizes this as over 4,000 km travelled with 1,600 🏃♂️, 2,500 🚴♂️, and 100 🏊♂️. Plus 🏋️♂️ and essential 🧘♂️ sessions. I’ll build on this in 2023 while striving for balance
🏃♂️ Nice run along the river. I’m glad it has warmed up a bit
🎶 I listened to a lot of Nils Frahm this year. Slightly biased, perhaps, by his most recent album being over three hours long
Precarious
Great additions to my reading list. Family knows me well 📚
Reading more books in 2022 📚
I read many more books this year than in recent, past years. Although this was intentional, I’m glad it worked out. I really cut back on my various internet feeds, so that I was less distracted away from books. Purchasing a Kobo and connecting it to the local public library was also helpful. The most influential non-fiction book for me this year was Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. Plenty of practical and insightful advice in this book.
Finished reading: Network Effect by Martha Wells. Murderbot is great! I’ll happily keep reading any books in this series 📚
Waiting for the train
Finished reading: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. This series has been really entertaining so far📚
Computation with marbles 🧮🧐
I’ve been interested for a while now in better understanding the underlying mechanics of computers. I’ve also been keen to do something other than stare at a screen. Turing Tumble is a fun solution to both of these goals. Turing Tumble is an educational game in which you build a mechanical computer that is powered by marbles. The game comes with a comic book that guides you through ever more complex computing principles, adding more sophisticated parts as you progress.
Spotted on today’s run
📺 Although I was entertained by The Rings of Power, I agree with Bret Devereaux’s criticisms of the show that left it feeling hollow
🎧📺 A fun episode of the Strong Songs podcast about the great Andor TV series
Festive moose
