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This was my second time backpacking at Rockpile Mountain Wilderness. Previously, I had simply hiked more or less straight to the peak of the eponymous mountain, camped there overnight, and then hiked out the next morning. This time, I had ambitious plans to explore the whole trail system. I was thwarted. For one thing, I […]
I finished Elantris. The characters that seemed so unrealistic and two-dimensional became much more realistic and grew to have more depth than my initial impression at the beginning of the story. I’m glad I finished it, because I did quite enjoy it, though I would still say it’s not Brandon Sanderson’s best work. I also […]
From an NPR article, Are Movies Getting Better? The famous screenwriter William Goldman had a saying about the ability of the movie studios to predict what would be a critical or commercial success: “Nobody knows anything.” Waldfogel calls this “Goldman’s Law,” The methodology described in the article to arrive at its conclusion is flawed, but […]
My phone since December 2015 has been a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. It is more than three years old, and until last week, it was still going strong. No performance or stability problems. The screen is still perfect. Even though I don’t use a case, there is so little external cosmetic damage that I don’t […]
I finally own the so-called “Holy Trinity” of Canon zoom lenses. I acquired my original Canon EOS camera outfit, including the 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 lenses, in 2005. Since then, I have wanted to round out my lens collection with a 16-35mm ultra-wide angle zoom lens. It isn’t useful for model photography, so it […]
I was never a hat person until I started hunting. Wearing a blaze orange hat is a requirement* for hunting in Missouri. However, it turns out that a hat is functional beyond making me visible to other hunters. For one thing, it keeps you warm. Keeping your head warm will do more to preserve body […]
When I had first heard about Skyward, it seemed interesting, but I ultimately decided not to read it. Brandon Sanderson is an amazing author who has become one of my favorites, and the description of the story was definitely interesting, but when I found out it was YA fiction, I decided to pass. My recent […]
I am just starting Elantris, which is Brandon Sanderson’s first published novel. I’m not ready to call his characters two-dimensional, but let’s say they are simple. This is a subject that concerns me, because it I find it to be one of the major factors in making or breaking the quality a novel. I have […]
I was young when I first saw Doctor Zhivago. It would be fair to say that I didn’t really understand it. Primarily, I remember a series of visuals, and perhaps the music. I had watched it a few times since. It wasn’t until this year (well, last year now) that I read the book (the […]
Ever since the Toronto van attack brought the Incel movement into public awareness, people around me have periodically made statements expressing bafflement at their violence, rationale, and rhetoric. Indeed, their violence, rationale, and rhetoric — or at least the sensational bits pounced upon by the media — are illogical. However, it has occurred to me that […]
