Finious

Review: Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
The Expanse series #1
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My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
First Published: June 2011
Read from: Jun 22 to July 3, 2014
Awards: Nominated for 2012 Hugo Awards for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction

“Leviathan Wakes” My Appetite For Cool Space Opera

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“Humanity has colonized the solar system – Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond – but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, “The Scopuli,” they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for – and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why. Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to “The Scopuli” and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything. Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations – and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.”

Spoiler: Book Blurb

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Leviathan Wakes on the whole was a VERY entertaining bit of space opera science fiction, with some tantalizing bits of “hard sci-fi”, “horror”, “detective story” & “military sci-fi” thrown in. The book is the first in the highly acclaimed Expanse series, written by James S.A. Corey – a pen name for the collaboration of Albuquerque, New Mexico authors Ty Franck & Daniel Abraham, the last of which also is known to work closely with George R.R. Martin. Read My Full Review →

Music: These Presidents Still Rock

So I got an email from The Presidents of the United States of America recently…

The rock band, not the actual politicians who have held the office.

I knew that PUSA had put out a new album called “Kudos to You” recently and had downloaded some free songs that probably got me on their mailing list. I have actually been listening to them a lot recently, so decided it was past time to check out the new album more fully. After a quick listen to the tracks on their site, I went ahead and added this album to the earlier five PUSA albums I already own. It’s hard to believe that this band from the 90’s is still rocking it, (albeit with one new member and after a couple of hiatuses).

Below is a fun music video of one of the cool songs on the new album: Poor Little Me. Continue reading Music: These Presidents Still Rock

Basically, RUN!

One of the things I like about the silliness & craziness of the later incarnations of the Doctor in Doctor Who is that when he suddenly turn serious, angry or threatening, it carries VASTLY more weight. You know he’s serious when events manage to crack his child-like persona. Calling this a personality trait of the later Doctors though is a little untrue, as the Second Doctor played by Patrick Troughton was the first to start to exhibit those childlike personality quirks.

Anyway, one of my favorite examples of the crazy Doctor suddenly turning deadly serious is in the episode The Doctor’s Wife featuring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Continue reading Basically, RUN!

Weber’s Big Book of… YUMMY!

So I stumbled on this cook book the other day that inspired me to start a cooking and grilling “project”…

I don’t normally read a lot of cookbooks, but Weber’s Big Book of Burgers caught my eye. Or I should say, what caught my eye first was the gorgeous photography on the cover of some of my favorite, and very delicious looking food. Caught by the attractive cover, I started to flip through the book, and every SINGLE thing in there looks simply awesome, with clear and well laid out instructions. There is much, MUCH more in the cookbook than burgers and brats. There are side dishes, salads, drinks and general grilling and cooking tips too. Continue reading Weber’s Big Book of… YUMMY!

Munchkin + Pente = Gaming Fun

I had a fun evening & morning playing games with my sister & nieces a couple of days ago. I discovered an awesome game that was entirely new to me (Munchkin) while rediscovering an old childhood favorite (Pente) and finding an adult respect for its more advanced rules.

My sister Shannon and nieces Kathryn & Emma were in town last Wednesday & Thursday (which happened to be my Friday & Saturday) staying at my Mom’s house. I went over after dinner and hung out with them, and figured Shannon & I would play some cribbage or something. As I left the house, just in case, I grabbed my Munchkin Deluxe card game that I had gotten well over a year ago but could never get anyone to play. I’m glad I did.

Continue reading Munchkin + Pente = Gaming Fun

Review: “Witches Abroad”

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
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My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
First Published: 1991
Read from: May 31 to June 20, 2014

Witches on Holiday Make ‘Ugly Americans’ Look Like Saints

Three witches take a road trip through the Discworld on a quest to complete a deceased fairy god-mother’s last wishes: The goal, to stop the wishes of a princess from coming true, and instead give her what she really needs.

Read My Full Review →

Into the Jaws of Death – 6/6/1944

U.S. Army soldiers wade ashore on Omaha Beach as part of the Normandy landings of World War II.

“We do not know or seek what our fate will be. We ask only this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believed was right.” — Lt. Col. Robert L. Wolverton, CO 3rd battalion, 506th PIR.

Memorial Day and such is all well and good. But sometimes we need to remember specific days, so that we don’t forget… So we don’t forget the tragic consequences of our human darkness, our imperfection and evil. And so we don’t forget our human light, the self-sacrifice and bravery of those who helped bring us out of the dark, becoming casualties in the process. Continue reading Into the Jaws of Death – 6/6/1944

Review: “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart
View Movie Info on Wikipedia

The Days of Meh…

I went to the movie “X-Men: Days of Future Past” last night with high expectations. I had heard a lot of people who said they really liked it and was looking forward to some fun comic book entertainment. My final assessment however was simply, “Meh.” I liked it, but not nearly as much as I hoped.

Without giving away any spoilers, the premise of the story is that in the future, the world has gone to hell in a hand basket. The X-Men send Wolverine back into their past in an attempt to make a vital change to their time-line that would prevent the horrors of their time from ever occurring… Read My Full Review →

Always Backing the Losing Horse

It seems that I find myself always backing the losing horse in this race called life. At least the race dealing with technology products and services. 🙁

I don’t go out to pick the horses that will fail. Far from it. I make my choices based on features, usability, customer service, price, product and the company’s reliability, user ratings and more. But when it comes to a technology company succeeding, it really seems to have nothing to do with any of these factors. The deciding factor is always money. Logic seems to say that the money would follow those who succeed in those other factors I mentioned. Sadly there is absolutely no correlation between the two, though sometime it seems there is an INVERSE correlation. Continue reading Always Backing the Losing Horse

Today Skunked Sister, Tomorrow N00b Nephew Pwned

I am a childish old man who enjoys the simple things in life… Gaming.

This evening I played a game of cribbage with my patient sister who is in town visiting for a couple of days. Luck of the draw, but I “skunked” her big time. Continue reading Today Skunked Sister, Tomorrow N00b Nephew Pwned