Industrial Magic

Posted on December 28th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

{4/5} “Vamps are dead already, remember? So where do the dead go when they die? There’s a stumper. All I know is there are no dead vampires in the ghost world. My opinion? This is their afterlife.” Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong, published in 2004 Paige Winterbourne builds web sites for people — she’s also […]

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Posted on December 28th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

{4.5/5} “I knew what he was doing, distracting me with one of our old fights, but I couldn’t resist the bait, and as I marshaled my arguments, it actually helped calm me down some. Dan was that kind of friend, a person who knew you better than you knew yourself. ‘So you’re saying that if […]

Star Trek: Lower Decks (season 2)

Posted on December 22nd, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

{5/5} “Half the time when you see someone with the wrong amount of pips around here it’s usually just delicious street corn.” Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, aired in 2021 Mariner and the captain, her mother, are getting a bit tired of working so closely together. Tendi thinks Rutherford has a problem in his […]

Other TV shows I’ve watched lately

Posted on December 20th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

Here are some TV shows I’ve watched lately, game show edition. Watching old Password shows led me to some other game shows, some of which I hadn’t heard of before. Aside from Jeopardy! and Family Feud these are shows from the 70s and 80s. The previous iteration of this list is here. The $10,000 Pyramid […]

The Children of the Sky

Posted on December 19th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

{4.5/5} “Broodkenning was an essential part of Tinish civilization, a cross between marriage counsellor, animal breeder, and reconstructive surgeon… It took real skill to properly recommend which puppies should go with which packs or whether a whole new pack should be made. It took ever greater talent to create well-functioning packs from adult singletons and […]

Two artists I discovered in Europe

Posted on December 19th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

When I was in Europe, many years ago, there were 2 artists I discovered who left a lasting impression on me. Although neither of their works fall into the category of “things I usually like,” learning about them helped draw me towards what they were doing. I admire their boldness and commitment to their ideals. […]

Astonishing ancient works of art & science

Posted on December 19th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

From the Funny Foxy YouTube channel, here are some items from hundreds or thousands of years ago that are amazing. See things from people you’ve heard of like Michelangelo and Galileo. And things you haven’t heard of like 1000-year-old windmills in Iran, a globe from 1504, and a hut made from mammoth bones. Very Old […]

It’s time to get rid of monarchy

Posted on December 18th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  1 Comment »

Among the things we should get rid of in the 21st century? Monarchy. Note that I’m not talking about a specific monarchy, or specific people. Any specific monarch might be a nice person — that is irrelevant to my point. Regardless of their niceness, or usefulness, they should get off their throne. As for the […]

Incompetent people think they’re great

Posted on December 17th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  No Comments »

You might have wondered, particularly over the last 5 or 6 years, why incompetent people don’t realize they’re incompetent. For example, 88% of drivers think they’re better than average at driving — which is mathematically impossible. It happens with all kinds of things. And the people who are the least competent overrate themselves to the […]

Beautiful News

Posted on December 11th, 2021 by Dave Switzer  |  5 Comments »

From the people who brought you Information is Beautiful, now there’s Beautiful News. The subtitle is “unseen trends, uplifting stats, creative solutions.” The regular news is mostly bad, but there are good things happening in the world — things you should know about. Here’s the main page: Beautiful News There are lots of great infographics. […]