Over at Wasteland and Sky JD Cowan reviews Nightblood and generally likes it [https://wastelandandsky.blogspot.com/2020/04/nightchills.html], but does spend some time pointing out a trope that was all too common in Vampire fiction of the time: > The "Crucifix only works if you have faith" trope is in this book. It barely features, and I'm sure it was only put in because it was all the rage at the time, but it doesn't change the fact that it makes no sense. It is a misunderstanding of the monst…
I generally ignore XKCD these days, but this one was brought to my attention: Hover over the image for the alt-text.…
So, even as I tried the sandwich bread out, I'd started on sourdough starter. This was actually my second shot - the first a long while back having failed miserably to really "take". Turns out the process is both very simple, but there are a few things that can help or hinder. Take, for example, my insistence on using unbleached flour this time around. I'll provide links to several videos and articles I found useful, but starting and maintianing a sourdough starter can really be boiled down t…
Been wrapped up with family, spending time with friends online shooting the breeze and/or playing RPG's, usually both at once, reading, and taking care of various household projects such that, as work slowed down, I've had less time for posting. There's plenty to write about, but first, I have to credit a friend of mine for reviving an interest in making homemade bread that I had explored a while back and dropped because I didn't have the right tools on tap. What got me started though was the…
Alexandru Constantin recently put up two posts I'd like to tie together. The first was a review of "Neon Harvest" by Jon Mollison [https://barbarianbookclub.com/2020/03/23/book-review-neon-harvest-by-jon-mollison/] . > Neon Harvest does something different, something cool. It’s not a true sci-fi nor a true cyberpunk. Jon takes the technological baseline of the early 80’s and stagnates it. It’s a pre-digital cyber-thriller. The heroes still use pay-phones, newspapers are still on paper, and cas…