Read in 2025: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir πŸ“š

This book was honestly unlike anything I’ve read before: Death Magic, Space-ships, Swords and Skeletons. What a mix. The mouthy protagonist actually fit perfectly into this smorgasboard of insanity. This novel moves fast and doesn’t disappoint.

Pieoneer for macOS. Time will tell if this is different enough from traditional keyboard launchers. But it’s an intriguing way of visually accessing apps and commands via an invoked Pie Menu.

Read in 2025: Mark of the Fool 7 by J.M. Clarke πŸ“š

More of the same in the seventh installment of this series. But the ‘same’ is good: It’s hearty and wholesome and reassuringly familiar. Like a well-worn TV serial, it’s chicken-soup for the soul. I’ll have more please.

Got a surround sound setup for my lounge today. I’ve just spent the last few hours listening to TV and Music encoded in Dolby Atmos. Coming from stereo - What an experience!

Finished Reading: πŸ“š Exodus: The Archimedes Engine by Peter F. Hamilton - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It took a long-time to wind-up; the first third of the book is world-building and scene-setting. Once it got going - it kept delivering. I like that Hamilton doesn’t hold the readers hand. ‘What..?’ moments aplenty.

Finally got around to watching all of πŸ“Ί Shōgun (2024) - β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…. What a ride! The pacing on this was glorious. Casting and cinematography top-notch. Like many others, I wish a follow-up adaptation of πŸ“š Tai-Pan is made.

Shōgun poster

It seems the longer any holiday extends, the more difficult I find returning to work again. If I didn’t know I’d feel even worse afterward, I’d plead for one more week off.

Currently reading: Exodus: The Archimedes Engine by Peter F. Hamilton πŸ“š

I legitimately found a good use for Soulver today, calculating the conversion of rgba values into rgb, based on a known background. Not the apps fault I haven’t used it much, I just don’t use math as much as I ought to.

Finished reading: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson πŸ“š

I somehow made it to middle-age without using Git. What a revelation! I feel like I have versioning super-powers. I’ll check that one off my ‘Pretend to be Technical’ list.

Topaz Gigapixel AI for iOS has been released on the appstore (at least in NZ). I like having this on iOS, but with cloud compute tokens, it seems more a business model than a true mobile version.

Eight hours after I congratulated myself on eating healthy today, I’m reflecting on the empty packet of cookies on my desk, wondering exactly how they just disappeared.

Tuned into my local radio yesterday. The host was seeking reassurance that letterboxd was a legit service.. Amazing in 2025 to realise so many people aren’t exposed to whole swathes of the internet I take for granted.

Hyper-focusing is one of those superpowers which is its own kryptonite. The longer its in effect, the more your life falls apart.

Hmmm. The battery on my Apple Watch Series 6 is barely limping over the twelve-hour mark now. Not even that, assuming I’ve stuck to my goals for the day. Time for a Series 10?

SonoSequencr

Just discovered this unofficial companion app for Sonos systems. Allows for one-click presets and other features that the native app makes awkward, or impossible. Ugly but functional app.

I want this Lego Brick Carry-on Luggage so badly. Never too old for Lego. Apparently it’s stackable! :)

Super pumped for the Nintendo Switch 2! The teaser trailer is really stoking the hype. Let’s hope when Nintendo say 2025 they mean first quarter.

That moment when: your seven-year old child, visits the town you grew up in and says ‘I love this place, Dad’. Beautiful.