TheCreepyLurker

On 3/21/2024 at 1:36 PM, James T Kirk said:

 

@TheCreepyLurker

I got you bro. 

This was a fun day back in May.  We were in Disney with family and decided we'd make a run out to the ocean for part of the day.  We played at Coco Beach for a while until the kids got tired and hungry.  We packed up and were headed to the cars.  While rinsing sand off, someone heard that there was going to be a rocket launch soon when explaining why there were a bunch of people headed to the beach without beach gear in tow.  

We all finish loading the cars and drive a couple blocks to the restaurant for dinner.  While waiting, someone from our group mentions the rocket launch and I start doing some research.  I realize there was the Boeing Starliner Orbital Test 2 launching in 20 minutes.  After some prodding, the lurker family headed back to the beach while the others went in for dinner.  

After a brief wait, we see a rocket lift off.  The launch pad was about 10 miles from where we were.  After the rocket was well into the sky, we could start to hear and even feel the power from the rocket.  A low rumble that just shook everything.  It was the first rocket launch I've seen.  Fantastic experience.  Want to go back.  The big-little-lurker enjoyed it as well.    Credit to Mrs. Lurker for the photo - taken on a Pixel 3a.  

Also, after we finished watching the rocket, we went back and met up with everyone for dinner.  While getting settled in, I ran into a high school friend who lives in the area and used to work at NASA.  She happened to be eating dinner at the same place we were!  Small world...

Because I was guilted into posting a photo because it's been so long, here we go.  

This is from Feb 2021.  The name of the rock, fittingly, is Hollow Rock.  It's just sound of Grand Portage MN, near the Canadian Border.  It was a solid -25F this morning, absolutely frigid.  I had all kinds of issues with my battery getting too cold and dying on me (sign, mirrorless cameras...). 

There ended up being a couple photographers there this morning all there for the sunrise.  Mostly from around Minnesota, but one from the Chicago area who regularly makes his way to the North Shore of Lake Superior and was building a photography community made up of folks from around the Midwest US.  The camaraderie of photographers suffering together in the bitter cold really made enduring it completely worth it.  (that and the photos we all left with...)  

Depending on the day to day temperatures, it is common for ice shards like you see here on the right side of the foreground to form this time of year.  Wave action can usually keep the lake open, but some calm, cold nights you see a layer of ice forming up to an inch thick.  When the morning breeze blows that freshly frozen water into shore, it fractures into these shards and piles them up against one another.  Another example of this ice can be seen here.  

Taken with my Sony A7ii. 

EDIT: A detail shot from the hole in the rock can be found on Slack in the #photocorner channel.  

I know it's been a while, but finally got around to updating my reading list in the OP.  Added a bunch of older books I'd read but hadn't included here.  Also updated my current read as I finished 2 books since I last updated this list. 

I played trumpet back in the day.  I don't play any more.

Total band nerd:  Concert band, jazz band, pep band, marching band.  

Thank goodness I'm not a nerd anymore... 

On 7/4/2021 at 7:21 PM, Ragnar-Danneskjold said:

Just yesterday I started re-reading "And The Mountains Echoed", by Khaled Hosseini. It's one of my favorite books. 

 

I don't want to put together a big list like y'all, but I've read the Stormlight Archive and really enjoyed them. I think in the future I'll be picking up more Sanderson books, and I'm open to advice on which to try next. 

Definitely recommend the Mistborn series by Sanderson.

So after sitting down to review my last two years of reading, I decided I didn't want to have to put together that list again.  It's also nice to have a full record of what I've read. I'll plan to keep this updated and include some older reads as well.

So here is an inventory of my past reading, my current read, and what I'm planning to read in the future. I would love to see what others have read or are reading. Share your lists!

Read

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette - Hampton Sides

Denali's Howl: The Deadliest Climbing Disaster on America's Wildest Peak - Andy Hall

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey - Candice Millard

Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day - Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption - Laura Hillenbrand

Touching the Void - Joe Simpson, Tony Colwell

Consider Phlebas (A Culture Novel Book 1) - Iain M. Banks

The Player of Games (A Culture Novel Book 2) - Iain M. Banks

The Martian: A Novel - Andy Weir

Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World - Joan Druett

Dune - Frank Herbert

The Atlantis Gene (The Origin Mystery, Book 1) - A.G. Riddle

The Atlantis Plague (The Origin Mystery, Book 2) - A.G. Riddle

The Atlantis World (The Origin Mystery, Book 3) - A.G. Riddle

Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission - Hampton Sides

Breakthrough (Breakthrough Book 1) - Michael C. Grumley  

Leap (Breakthrough Book 2) - Michael C. Grumley  

Catalyst (Breakthrough Book 3) - Michael C. Grumley 

Ripple (Breakthrough Book 4) - Michael C. Grumley 

The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America - Erik Larson

The Dark Tower - Stephen King

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, Book 1) - Brandon Sanderson

Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) - Brandon Sanderson

Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, Book 3) - Brandon Sanderson

Edgedancer - Brandon Sanderson

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Mistborn (Mistborn 1) - Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn 2) - Brandon Sanderson

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn 3) - Brandon Sanderson 

Leviathan Wakes (Expanse 1) - James S.A. Corey

The Alloy of Law (Mistborn 4) - Brandon Sanderson

Shadows of Self (Mistborn 5) - Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn 6) - Brandon Sanderson 

Educated - Tara Westover 

Caliban's War (Expanse 2) - James S.A. Corey

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide 1) - Douglas Adams

The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu 

Abaddon's Gate (Expanse 3) - James S.A. Corey

Cibola Burn (Expanse 4) - James S.A. Corey

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide 2) - Douglas Adams

Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson 

Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, Book 4) - Brandon Sanderson 

Nemesis Games (Expanse 5) - James S.A. Corey

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing

Babylon's Ashes (Expanse 6) - James S.A. Corey

Moonshot - Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton

Persepolis Rising (Expanse 7) - James S.A. Corey

Current

Tiamat's Wrath (Expanse 8 ) - James S.A. Corey

Future Queue (no particular order)

The Liberator - Alex Kershaw 

Leviathan Falls (Expanse 9) - James S.A. Corey (released November 2021)

Memory's Legion (7 Expanse Novellas) - James S.A. Corey (released March 2022)

Mistborn Secret History (Mistborn Novella) - Brandon Sanderson 

The Lost Metal (Mistborn 7) - Brandon Sanderson (released 2021/2022)

War Breaker - Brandon Sanderson 

Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir 

Into the Abyss: An Extraordinary True Story - Carol Shaben 

8 hours ago, United Kingdoms Of Europe said:

Science fiction and space books, for that I would recommend reading The Three Body Problem, if you haven't read it already, and the sequels The Dark Forest and Death's End.

I did read the three body problem. For some reason it didn't draw me in as much as I expected to keep reading the sequels. 

1 hour ago, Infinite Citadel said:

I think I'll try to give the Expanse series a shot after I finish lies of locke lamora 

I really enjoy it. But I'm a space/sci-fi nerd. So...  Plus when you're done there's the Amazon Prime series to watch. 

What's lies of locke lamora?

5 minutes ago, Sorenia said:

Also, you need Ready Player Two on that list!

Some of the reviews I read said it was meh.  Truth?  

Hi fellow book readers.  As many of you know, I've made it a priority in my life to make time every day for pleasure reading (I read a lot for work as well but I don't count that).  Usually, this is in the form of 5-45 minutes of reading before going to sleep (depending on how tired I am and how early I need to get up the next day).  I am happy to report that I have exceed 2 years of reading (for pleasure) every day!  

The stats are recorded automatically by my Kindle and not something I can manually manipulate which makes me even more proud of this record (thanks Amazon for tracking me ).  I was about 6 months into the streak when I first noticed it.  Thought it would be fun to get to 1 year.  When I hit the 1 year mark, I stopped paying as much attention to it until the past few weeks as I knew I was closing in on 2 years.  It was never really a goal of mine to reach this record but is something I'm actually quite proud of now that I have.  I don't really a goal to hit another number but do have plans to continue reading every night.  Maybe 1000 days?  

(weekly streak simply means that I read at least 1 day in each week during the recorded dates) 

Here's a list of all of the books I've read over the past two years (in order of reading): 

2019

Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson

Edgedancer - Brandon Sanderson

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Mistborn (Mistborn 1) - Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn 2) - Brandon Sanderson

2020

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn 3) - Brandon Sanderson 

Leviathan Wakes (Expanse 1) - James S.A. Corey

The Alloy of Law (Mistborn 4) - Brandon Sanderson

Shadows of Self (Mistborn 5) - Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn 6) - Brandon Sanderson 

Educated - Tara Westover 

Caliban's War (Expanse 2) - James S.A. Corey

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide 1) - Douglas Adams

The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu 

Abaddon's Gate (Expanse 3) - James S.A. Corey

Cibola Burn (Expanse 4) - James S.A. Corey

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide 2) - Douglas Adams

Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson 

2021

Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson 

Nemesis Games (Expanse 5) - James S.A. Corey

Endurance - Alfred Lansing

Current: Babylon's Ashes (Expanse 6) - James S.A. Corey

Future Queue (no particular order)

Moonshot - Alan Shepard Deke Slayton

The Liberator - Alex Kershaw 

Persepolis Rising (Expanse 7) - James S.A. Corey

Tiamat's Wrath (Expanse 8 ) - James S.A. Corey

Leviathan Falls (Expanse 9) - James S.A. Corey (released November 2021)

Memory's Legion (7 Expanse Novellas) - James S.A. Corey (released March 2022)

Mistborn Secret History (Mistborn Novella) - Brandon Sanderson 

The Lost Metal (Mistborn 7) - Brandon Sanderson (released 2021/2022)

War Breaker - Brandon Sanderson 

Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir 

Into the Abyss: An Extraordinary True Story - Carol Shaben 

Summer is just winter with less snow for those of us beyond the 'school-age.' 

It also means mowing the lawn again though...

What if I've visited them all? 

Only in the context of "bopping" someone.  Think of it as a nicer way of saying "I'm gonna smack you upside the head."   "I'm gonna bop you..."

Obligatory....

"Eras" are just labels.  I prefer a time where labels weren't wielded as weapons or shields.  

Buttery.

I'm a band geek, a computer nerd, and a dorky dad.  

Do I win a prize?  

You can only take off so many clothes when it's hot.  So those are out.  

When it's -20F and dry, the air just hurts.  

Cold air can't hold much moisture so even 75% humidity in sub zero temps feels really nice.  

Fite me.  

OJ is my go to. But grapefruit is nice to spice things up a bit.

Black. Easier to creep and lurk. 

1 hour ago, Vodkavsky said:

You gotta get intimate with your envelopes. Go on, give it a lick.

Kinky...

Hot black tea for me.  Don't put milk in tea.  It's sacrilege.  If you want milk, drink milk.  If you want tea, drink tea.  

I do enjoy oolong on occasion as well.  A good mint tea can be good as well.  

Fun story, the best mint tea I ever had was from this mountain tea house in Banff National Park in Albert Canada.  

Admittedly though, it could have been the views that made it taste so good...  (it was a 7-8 mile hike through rugged terrain to get here)  

Bother me in December. 

6 minutes ago, Infinite Citadel said:

I play games on my pc primarily, but I'll end up getting one of these two as a way to stay in touch with my nephews when I move 9 hours away (they're 5, 7, and 9, and the older two are starting to really get into video games). Will probably only own whatever games they play online and stick to PC for everything else~

#thecooluncle

I'm sad I missed this one last week...    

It would totally be a fair fight.  It'd be like fighting myself.  Keyboards are light and can be swung easily.  The others have cords or are heavy.