KD^3C^3 - 20250420 I like this mess I've made so far
I made the mistake of thinking I could remember what I wanted to write about without making a note of it.
I had an idea and I thought about putting it down in my notes app but I didn’t bother. I said to myself “it’s a good enough idea, I’ll remember it later.” And here we are.
Our pressure cooker broke this week. We think it might be just a blown fuse (they have fuses inside!) but until the new one arrives we won’t be able to check. I don’t know if I fully believe in planned obsolescence as an active strategic decision being made by companies, but I do think they are incentivized towards not making things that last a long time. This pressure cooker is not yet five years old. It’s one of those countertop versions that has 6 or 8 different modes so It can sauté, or become a rice cooker or a pressure cooker all in the same little R2-D2 shaped box on the counter. And it’s pretty good at what it does! I have a history of preferring a stovetop pressure cooker, because they can hold more (generally) and have fewer moving parts, none of them with a microchip. But this countertop one has been entirely functional. Until it wasn’t.
I’ve been thinking about the economic and supply chain instability that’s facing our country as terrify are added, paused, added, adjusted, lowered, increased, and paused again (but only partially.) I’m not an economist, but almost none of the economists I’ve heard from seem to think this instability is a good thing. Something I suspect could happen if the arrogance continue and further cut the US’s economy off from he rest of the world is that we as a people will have to get better at making old and broken things work again. I’m not a very handy guy (I’ve only got the two) but I’ve been found some research on making old things work again. We have an amazing resource in the internet and if you want it, the information on how to fix almost anything is out there. Some of it is just a lot harder to fix than it used to be. Especially if it’s a device that requires an app or a live connection to the internet. I own the dishwasher in the video embedded in that article
I watched the movie Duel this week, which was Steven Spielberg’s first ever outing as a feature film director. It’s a good movie! It is a very simple premise, albeit a terrifying one. A guy driving along a mostly deserted highway starts being terrorized by the unseen driver of a big rig. He’s chased and followed and it really seems like the truck is trying to kill him. It’s a good movie! It’s also firmly in the camp of movies that couldn’t be made today. One of the big plot points is the main character trying to find a phone, which would be hard to do today even if you did the “oh no, there’s. I service here” cliche, because you’re in a car so you can probably drive to somewhere with service.
An early moment in the movie has the protagonist stopping for gas, and the attendant takes a look under the hood of his car. It’s the story of thing that wasn’t uncommon back in the 70s, but most modern cars have gotten increasingly computerized and complex that a simple look under the hood tells one a lot less than it used to. Again, I won’t fully endorse planned obsolescence as an active conspiracy, but things aren’t made to be user serviced anymore and that includes cars and pressure cookers. The movie is worth checking out though. They can’t make movies obsolete, as long as you actually buy them. It’s also written by Richard Matheson, a science fiction and horror author most well known for the story I Am Legend, which has been adapted into movies a few different times.
The Hugo Awards! That was the idea I had. The Hugo Awards Finalists were announced recently, and that is always big news. I’ve been derelict in my duties as a Hugo Voter the last few years, not getting all of the reading done in advance and thus having to leave parts of my ballot blank. I’m trying to remedy that this year and get as many of the finalists read or watched before the voting deadline. I think I can pull it off, as long as I focus on it.
The full list of finalists can be found here.
As with every year, the Hugos are administered by that year’s World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon. This year it’s being held in Seattle. Anyone can become a member of the World Science Fiction Society by buying a membership through the convention. It’s something I’ve been doing for over a decant now, even if I only ever attend the convention virtually (if at all.)
A WSFS membership is $50 this year, plus another 30 if you want to attend the virtual version of the con. Still a pretty good deal, and you get to have voice in what many consider to be the biggest award in fandom.
I’m a little behind, as I sometimes have read at least one or two of the novel finalists when the list is announced, but fully all six of them are unread by me, so I have my work cut out for me. I’ve got holds placed for them all at the library, and hopefully the Hugo Voters Packet will contain most of them, or at least substantial excerpts.
I’ve read one each of the Novella and Novelette categories and 3 of the short stories. The Short Story category is particularly strong this year and I’m already having a hard time ranking the three I’ve read.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short form is an easy category this year, since all the finalists are episodes of TV shows I have seen, mostly Dear Trek Lower Decks and Doctor Who. The Long Form category is made up mod movies I want to see, which 2 I already have (Furiosa and I Saw the TV Glow.)
This year there’s also a new category for best Poem, which is an interesting change. I’ve read 5 of the 6 nominees, but the 6th is a novel-length piece of poetry, so it will take some additional time.
I’ve got until July 23 to get all my reading and watching done, which should be possible, especially since I have a beach trip coming up in that time and that’ll be good for at least a couple novels getting knocked out. I can’t wait!
If you’re interested in voting as well, I strongly recommend it. It’s a great way to participate in fandom and have your voice heard while also sing some of the best stuff that’s being made in a given year.
I had an idea and I thought about putting it down in my notes app but I didn’t bother. I said to myself “it’s a good enough idea, I’ll remember it later.” And here we are.
Our pressure cooker broke this week. We think it might be just a blown fuse (they have fuses inside!) but until the new one arrives we won’t be able to check. I don’t know if I fully believe in planned obsolescence as an active strategic decision being made by companies, but I do think they are incentivized towards not making things that last a long time. This pressure cooker is not yet five years old. It’s one of those countertop versions that has 6 or 8 different modes so It can sauté, or become a rice cooker or a pressure cooker all in the same little R2-D2 shaped box on the counter. And it’s pretty good at what it does! I have a history of preferring a stovetop pressure cooker, because they can hold more (generally) and have fewer moving parts, none of them with a microchip. But this countertop one has been entirely functional. Until it wasn’t.
I’ve been thinking about the economic and supply chain instability that’s facing our country as terrify are added, paused, added, adjusted, lowered, increased, and paused again (but only partially.) I’m not an economist, but almost none of the economists I’ve heard from seem to think this instability is a good thing. Something I suspect could happen if the arrogance continue and further cut the US’s economy off from he rest of the world is that we as a people will have to get better at making old and broken things work again. I’m not a very handy guy (I’ve only got the two) but I’ve been found some research on making old things work again. We have an amazing resource in the internet and if you want it, the information on how to fix almost anything is out there. Some of it is just a lot harder to fix than it used to be. Especially if it’s a device that requires an app or a live connection to the internet. I own the dishwasher in the video embedded in that article
I watched the movie Duel this week, which was Steven Spielberg’s first ever outing as a feature film director. It’s a good movie! It is a very simple premise, albeit a terrifying one. A guy driving along a mostly deserted highway starts being terrorized by the unseen driver of a big rig. He’s chased and followed and it really seems like the truck is trying to kill him. It’s a good movie! It’s also firmly in the camp of movies that couldn’t be made today. One of the big plot points is the main character trying to find a phone, which would be hard to do today even if you did the “oh no, there’s. I service here” cliche, because you’re in a car so you can probably drive to somewhere with service.
An early moment in the movie has the protagonist stopping for gas, and the attendant takes a look under the hood of his car. It’s the story of thing that wasn’t uncommon back in the 70s, but most modern cars have gotten increasingly computerized and complex that a simple look under the hood tells one a lot less than it used to. Again, I won’t fully endorse planned obsolescence as an active conspiracy, but things aren’t made to be user serviced anymore and that includes cars and pressure cookers. The movie is worth checking out though. They can’t make movies obsolete, as long as you actually buy them. It’s also written by Richard Matheson, a science fiction and horror author most well known for the story I Am Legend, which has been adapted into movies a few different times.
The Hugo Awards! That was the idea I had. The Hugo Awards Finalists were announced recently, and that is always big news. I’ve been derelict in my duties as a Hugo Voter the last few years, not getting all of the reading done in advance and thus having to leave parts of my ballot blank. I’m trying to remedy that this year and get as many of the finalists read or watched before the voting deadline. I think I can pull it off, as long as I focus on it.
The full list of finalists can be found here.
As with every year, the Hugos are administered by that year’s World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon. This year it’s being held in Seattle. Anyone can become a member of the World Science Fiction Society by buying a membership through the convention. It’s something I’ve been doing for over a decant now, even if I only ever attend the convention virtually (if at all.)
A WSFS membership is $50 this year, plus another 30 if you want to attend the virtual version of the con. Still a pretty good deal, and you get to have voice in what many consider to be the biggest award in fandom.
I’m a little behind, as I sometimes have read at least one or two of the novel finalists when the list is announced, but fully all six of them are unread by me, so I have my work cut out for me. I’ve got holds placed for them all at the library, and hopefully the Hugo Voters Packet will contain most of them, or at least substantial excerpts.
I’ve read one each of the Novella and Novelette categories and 3 of the short stories. The Short Story category is particularly strong this year and I’m already having a hard time ranking the three I’ve read.
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short form is an easy category this year, since all the finalists are episodes of TV shows I have seen, mostly Dear Trek Lower Decks and Doctor Who. The Long Form category is made up mod movies I want to see, which 2 I already have (Furiosa and I Saw the TV Glow.)
This year there’s also a new category for best Poem, which is an interesting change. I’ve read 5 of the 6 nominees, but the 6th is a novel-length piece of poetry, so it will take some additional time.
I’ve got until July 23 to get all my reading and watching done, which should be possible, especially since I have a beach trip coming up in that time and that’ll be good for at least a couple novels getting knocked out. I can’t wait!
If you’re interested in voting as well, I strongly recommend it. It’s a great way to participate in fandom and have your voice heard while also sing some of the best stuff that’s being made in a given year.