My thoughts on Brandon Sanderson’s Oathbringer are long overdue, I actually finished reading the book in February. It’s been a busy three months. I will try to avoid spoilers for this book, but spoilers for the first two are inevitable at this point.
Most of the story follows the same primary characters encountered in Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, who have developed into Radiants. Sanderson does a fabulous job again of bouncing between their current situations and how their histories moved them to this point. Dalinar, in particular, is forced to explore the memories he had blocked of his deceased wife, and Shallan, her conflicted family history. Each of the characters has unsettling experiences, and each in some way challenges society’s rules. Discoveries are made that shake society to its core.
Shallan, still one of my favorite characters, develops unique personalities for each of the faces she draws herself. Among other problems, two of her personalities are attracted to different people; she has to determine which part is the real her and which heart to follow.
Szeth, the Assassin in White, rediscovers his passion for Truth, and reappears, along with Lift, who we met briefly in Words of Radiance, and more thoroughly in her own book, Edgedancer. And Venli, one of the remaining Parshendi, evolves in her understanding of the war between the Voidbringers and humanity.
In a couple years, I’ll re-read all of the books again, to prepare for the release of the next one.
Occasionally, I receive multiple review books together. They usually have different due dates, so I prioritize whichever one is due first. If they share a due date, I have to decide which one to read first, and I generally take a “save the best for last” approach. At that point, I only have the cover to go by, and since it’s an advanced copy, that’s usually the back cover, with the blurb, rather than a fully illustrated front cover.
This worked for me well last time, when I read a fantasy book before Side Life. This time, well, after the first chapter of the first (of two) book… I considered that I may have gotten them in the wrong order. The first book had an illustrated front and plain back cover; the description alluded to an existing world that I had no concept of. With no solid expectations going into it, I was rolling in laughter before I finished the first chapter. There were so many quotable quotes, I chose not to flood my Facebook friends with more than a couple. So I confess, I totally misjudged that book (and I’m not telling you which it was) based on the back cover.
And yet, as much as I liked it, I enjoyed the second book I had received that much more. This was what I’ll call a true review copy – plain covers on the front and back – so I only had the blurb on the back to judge by before I started reading. I may share that review at some point in the future; they publish elsewhere first. Based on the blurb, I knew that the protagonist was a half-orc, defending a borderland between the humans and the orcs, and that he discovers during the story that there are things he doesn’t understand. The character development is particularly well-written, you can understand both why the character is missing information and how he adapts as he learns. If you get the chance, read The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French. Then add the sequel to your want to read list; it doesn’t appear to have a publication date yet.
Tonight, I will test for my Cho Dan, or 1st degree black belt, in the World Tang Soo Do Association. As part of our preparation, we take a written test (up to twice, if needed; I passed on my first attempt… both times) and write a thousand words about Tang Soo Do.
I failed my sanity check and wrote it as a poem. Enjoy!
Twas two weeks before Dan Camp when my teacher and friend,
as I was leaving the dojang after a fabulous class,
asked “Are you testing this cycle” Thus the planning began.
Was this a thing I could do, could I make it and pass?
If I test in September, and again in the spring,
I would visit Tikal as a new Cho Dan Bo.
Pre-Testing next Dan Camp could be a real thing,
But I found in October one goal had to go.
January’s test is usually late,
So we relearn what holidays help us forget.
Last year it fell on my own birthdate,
Testing so soon would be a close bet.
With regular practice and no real chance to rest,
Was I being too ambitious or just slightly insane?
I gave it my all, I gave it my best.
My knife skills were iffy; my shoulder, in pain.
My breaking was lousy, I can’t say that’s new.
But my one steps were solid, and I knew all my forms,
I was happy to pass and then learn Sip Soo.
But how did I reach this point that transforms?
When Cassandra, my daughter, had turned almost four,
we went to the fair to enjoy rides once again,
stopped at some booths, thought about them no more,
till a phone call came in, we stopped to think then.
Was karate something she wanted to try?
It’s truly hard work, not like Kung Fu Panda,
while really quite fun, Po’s too goofy a guy,
earning a black belt’s more than Hollywood propaganda.
Cassandra’s first karate class
Her first class looked great, she had a fabulous grin,
When I look back at it now, I see many a friend.
Some still do karate, others have left it since then,
I didn’t know yet that our hobbies would blend.
I promised her when I saw the first buddy week,
I’d try it with her, take my turn on the mat,
I didn’t know then that my body would speak,
to say my appendix was a bit of a brat.
I woke up that Christmas in a hospital bed,
worried in two months for my stair climb,
ninety-four flights up I would tread,
forty-some minutes was quite a slow time.
I sat three more months with my books or my hook,
crocheting or reading as she learned some new skills,
watching the classes my daughter partook,
while I thought about crafts and paying the bills.
Hugging Cassandra after my first karate class. This was before I even had a uniform.
Winter became spring, as May rolled around,
I was invited to class, to my delight and surprise,
not just for a week, a whole month I had found,
celebrating mothers with some pain in my thighs.
There was pain in push-ups and again in each crunch,
though I’m flexible enough, I always could kick.
I found there’s no pain in one single punch,
unless there’s a board or even a brick.
I know that my desk job does me no good,
sitting all day is hard to offset.
Needing more exercise, I understood,
karate was something I could not regret.
Training beside that cute smiling face,
spending time exploring one steps together,
driving towards one or other new place,
these are things that we would certainly weather.
I trained most of a year, and at a regional event
saw Grandmaster destroy a piñata with skill,
after our demo teams to great lengths had went
to show their moves, devotion, and will.
The next spring was a setback, unfortunate for me.
It would not quell my passion, this thing with my shoulder,
I pulled something wrong when cutting a tree,
it felt more like I had lifted a boulder.
Six months I sat out, sad to just watch,
knowing it would take time to achieve,
the skills she would learn as she stepped up a notch,
knowing my health would give no reprieve.
On the plus side I’m older, I had a clear goal,
she wasn’t quite six, she was quite content
to learn something new, she was on a roll,
as a Little Dragon, she made her ascent.
The next summer, my health again wasn’t that great,
I wound up in therapy for pulling my hip,
I sat for two months, as it messed with my gait,
and acquired a walking stick on our road trip.
Two thousand fourteen was a year full of jaunts,
Disney, Hawaii, and Guatemala anew,
some were a first, some were old haunts,
this time though, my skills travelled too.
With some consternation and also great joy,
after extensive searching and some interview pain,
I quit my old job for a new employ,
not working at home, but still, quite a gain.
The downside I found was I had a commute,
the length of which would not let me teach;
the earlier class I would overshoot,
the later classes just in my reach.
As time went on, I found my job shifted,
I bought a new house, left for an earlier drive,
the timing restrictions were happily lifted,
I could plan out karate, make sure I arrive.
I knew by this point that I do like to spar,
and I’ve come to enjoy even hapkido.
I’m not quite the addict that my instructors are,
that may be a change I yet undergo.
It took some time, moving’s always a mess,
and a birthday piñata claimed some of my time,
my first Prep class helped me obsess
on the skills I would need to advance my belt climb.
October added another workout,
bimonthly, with black belts, all of them skilled,
I gather there could be a larger turnout,
the space we were using is nowhere near filled.
The day crept closer to the August pre-test,
one skill, then another, I learned on the mat,
with time to spare, I completed my quest,
Ninety one-steps were learned, some fell a bit flat.
There was just one month till the test in the Dells,
just enough time to refine and improve,
and appear before judges with no whistles or bells,
working hard that day to make them approve.
Three days before, a crash dragged me from the mat,
my car was totaled by a distracted pick-up truck.
The doctor said your concussion will prevent testing for that.
Between the diagnosis and car shopping, I was stuck.
At Valpo, five months later, I pre-tested – again,
enjoying myself despite a horrible cough.
I’m ready for April, it’s time to ascertain –
can I break two boards in this final face off?
Sometimes, words get in the way. Or they aren’t right to convey the meaning. That’s when we turn to more creative expressions. If a picture’s worth a thousand words, what’s a song worth?
This song was composed on Noteflight.com, which is a pretty amazing website.
Several months ago, a co-worker of mine mentioned a website she had heard of – Pack Up & Go – that will plan a 3-day vacation for you. The catch is that you don’t find out where you’re going until you go. We thought that sounded like fun, so as a spring break option we picked a price range in the “plane, train, or bus” option and filled out their survey about our interests, recent trips, and upcoming trips – they want to avoid places you’ve gone recently or are going to soon.
One week before the trip, we received some hints so we know what to pack, the weather forecast, and when and where we’re departing. Based on the weather and departure details (flying out of Midway and we’re allowed two free checked bags each), I guessed we were heading to Baltimore – Southwest (the airline for free checked bags) had four flights leaving at 8:00 AM that day, and the other three were to warmer climates. Cassandra’s guess was Philadelphia. As it turns out, she was right – that flight was at 7:55.
We woke up at 4am and opened our envelope before heading to the airport. By the time we parked, we had an email with our boarding passes and some additional details. I glanced through the sightseeing and food recommendations before breakfast, and really dug into them on the plane.
Our package also included directions to our hotel, a dinner reservation and gift card, museum tickets, and an Uber credit. And most importantly, a map of the downtown area. I marked our hotel and dinner spot, and scoped out where the recommendations landed on the map.
We stopped at the hotel before lunch, planning to leave our bags with the concierge, but lucked out because our room was ready. We took a little longer as a result, then hit the streets heading towards the Reading Terminal Market. It was lunchtime and the whole market felt packed, so instead of exploring its’ entirety, we slipped out the other side and found a lovely Ramen restaurant in Chinatown.
After lunch, we wandered towards the Liberty Bell with a stop in a chocolate shop. Despite three chocolate shop stops, we didn’t buy any chocolate on this trip! (Self-restraint is easier when traveling carry-on only.) When we reached the Liberty Bell, we saw a long line inside the building. And outside. And turning the corner. We decided to wait our visit until Sunday morning, though we did pick up postcards at the gift shop. We wandered our way around town and back to the hotel before our dinner reservation at Garces, and managed to visit a couple shops on the way to that.
Dinner was amazing, starting with sourdough bread and a selection of olive oils and vinegars, then appetizers, soups, and entrees that landed at our table. We even saved room for dessert, which went nicely with the Auchentoshan Three Wood (Scotch) I selected. As we strolled back to the hotel, we laughed as a young gentleman sang to someone in his group, then asked who else needed to be serenaded.
Sunday morning, well before the Liberty Bell opened, we descended to Urban Farmer, the hotel’s restaurant, where the waiter talked me into having a homemade English muffin… because it came with the blue crab omelette. The muffin was easily double the size I expected. It made a lovely lunch; I barely finished the omelette.
Our line strategy worked – we strolled right in when we reached the Liberty Bell shortly after 9:00 am. Next on the agenda was The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, a block away from our hotel. There were casts of dinosaurs fossils as we entered, and information on any number of animals elegantly displayed in life-sized dioramas, as well as an indoor butterfly exhibit. We bypassed the live crocodiles, since we had already decided to visit both the Adventure Aquarium (across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey) and the Philadelphia Zoo. We stopped at the hotel to grab my leftover English muffin from the room fridge and summoned a ride using Uber. Our driver did warn us that the area surrounding the aquarium is unsafe, and to get our return ride directly from the entrance.
We arrived just in time for the hippo feeding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve mostly seen hippos lounging at zoos, so this was a treat. Both hippos were in the water. From the below water level viewing area, we could see them pushing off the floor to snatch half a head of cabbage in their mouths. We moved from there to the shark exhibit, glancing at jellyfish and other creatures on the way. The final part of the shark exhibit is the optional Shark Bridge – a rope netting bridge with metal supports over the shark tank. (Yes, we most certainly did walk it.)
Then it was time for a hands-on exhibit, reaching into a tank of rays before popping outside for one of the two penguin enclosures. And back inside for the touch-a-shark tank – significantly smaller than the ones below the shark bridge – and an exploration of reptiles and amphibians. We went back outside with the crowd at penguin feeding time before visiting the hands-on kids area. (Yes, we’re above the target age range. But still welcome.) That included yet another touch tank, this time with starfish, shrimp, and fish.
An Uber ride later, we were back at the hotel trying to pick a dinner spot from the long list Pack Up + Go provided. With assistance from my phone (“that one doesn’t have an available table for two hours”, “that has no openings tonight”), we selected El Rey as our destination, and enjoyed interesting Mexican food, including a rice pudding flan.
Having reached our final morning without, we decided a Philly cheesesteak sandwich was an appropriate breakfast option at the appropriate named Spataro’s Cheesesteaks restaurant at Reading Terminal Market. And having already walked over 40,000 steps during the weekend, we chose the reasonable option of… no, wait, we walked some more. You can’t really sit down while exploring a zoo. We packed up, checked out of the hotel, and spent the next few hours at the Philadelphia Zoo. (With our luggage. Good thing it was just carry-on.)
They have some pretty interesting exhibits, including their 360 view tunnels for various animals. I can’t emphasize enough how cool it is to walk under the jaguar or the red pandas. Sadly, the trip had to end, so we headed to the airport, thoroughly satisfied with our first Pack Up + Go experience.
Sometimes, life throws you for a loop; other times, it feels like you’re being hit by full-on plot twists, like a sudden death or an unexpected pregnancy. It can feel like stepping sideways into your own life, as things shift around you that you never saw coming.
For Vin, the main character of Side Life, by Steve Tougonghi, it’s worse than that… he flat out doesn’t remember some of the loops (a cat?), and would swear the plot twists were exactly the opposite (why doesn’t his best friend’s phone number work?). It all started when he was forced out of the software company he founded, and his father referred him to a house sitting opportunity. The house, and the opportunity, don’t seem quite… right.
Vin does what any bored genius would do… he obsesses about the issue. With nothing else holding his attention, he delves into the mystery of the house and it’s owner, Nerdean. To his credit, he doesn’t climb into one of the caskets he finds in the secret basement immediately; he waits until he can log into the computers and get some information about the caskets. When he does experiment with the casket’s basic settings, his reality shifts and confusion reigns as he tries to understand what’s happening to him.
I can’t say much more without getting into spoilers. Suffice to say, I recommend this book; it will be released on May 8th. This book will keep you guessing, including deciding whether you like the main character or despise him.
I’ve attended some large conventions – Origins, DragonCon, GenCon – and they’re certainly fun, but when it comes down to it, the smaller conventions, like Capricon, are my favorites. While the large conventions focus more on seeing the big names and meeting many of your fan favorites, the little conventions are about interacting with other geeks and getting to know them. And because geeks are such a diverse mix, there are many different ways of doing that at a convention. For example, here are some of the options from last weekend’s Capricon:
Panels – these are a great way to join topics or activities about esoteric geeky (is that redundant?) topics, such as learning Circular Gallifreyan, discussing computers before computing, or even a coloring workshop for adults.
ConSuite – smaller conventions like to make sure people eat during the weekend, and provide assorted food options, along with space to socialize.
Gaming – an opportunity to meet people in a casual setting, where you can play a short game (Loonacy or Fluxx, for example) or settle in for something longer (like Terraforming Mars). You learn a lot about a person when you play a game or two with them. And you might find some new games you like.
Parties – the effort geeks put into party themes is fairly impressive. One party group was handing out surveys Thursday and Friday nights to prepare for a Saturday night Family Fandom Feud, with questions related to assorted fandoms. Whether you’re interested in drinking, dancing, trivia, books (& beer), or just talking, there’s a party for that.
Faramir, my cute shoulder cat, riding on my (surprise!) shoulder.
Dealers’ Hall – oh, the shopping! Blissfully smaller than the dealers’ areas at big conventions (you really need at least a day to get through GenCon’s), the dealers’ hall at local conventions tends to showcase a good variety of fandom wares without being overwhelming. That’s not to say there aren’t too many choices, there’s always more options than I have space or money to bring home. This time, I brought home a cute shoulder cat from the fabulous ladies at Bast’s Garden. And because I like crossing my fandoms, I named him Faramir. The vendors are friendly and outgoing, and you’re likely to join random conversations with people about what you see.
While the large conventions are good fun, the little ones – this was just over 1,100 people – are the place to go to see friends and generally appreciate your own geekiness.
Some mornings, I feel like I’m using a cattle prod to force a sloth into motion. “Get dressed! Come to breakfast! Finish eating!”
And then there are mornings like this Wednesday, when it was in an astronomy geek’s best interest to be up and moving. In this case, it was to see an eclipse, when we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the super blue blood moon.
I first heard of blue moons in elementary school… “once in a blue moon, a new smurf is born.” Yes, really, I remember that episode, though their blue moons seem to be a bit too close together. Not surprisingly, my actual understanding of a blue moon – the second full moon in a calendar month (since 1946) or the “extra” full moon in a year with 13 – came much later.
The super blue moon before the eclipse started.
What made it stunning was the “super” part – the moon looked larger than normal because of it’s proximity to the Earth. Amusingly, I just saw the technical name for a supermoon (perigee syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system) as part of a trivia question earlier this week.
“Blood Moon” refers to the moon during a total lunar eclipse, so named because it can look red. I don’t think it look particularly red here. Unfortunately, it was also sinking in the horizon as the sun was rising, so most of my attempts to photograph the eclipse part are obscured by trees. It was awfully pretty, but not particularly photogenic, at least not on my point & click camera.
We had talked about trying an Escape Room for a couple years; my work department finally got together for an outing recently. We split into two teams and did two escape rooms each at Mastermind in Schaumburg. Our organizer picked the two easiest scenarios – Sorcerer’s Secret (35% escape rate) and Lost in Time (42%).
I’ll be honest, I had no idea there were that many different kinds of combination locks available. In addition to the standard locker combination lock (3 times to the right to the number, 2 times to the left to the number, and right to the last number), there were luggage-style locks with anywhere from 3 to 5 numbers or letters needed, including some that had both letters and numbers on them, and what I can only describe as DDR locks – the options were up, down, left, and right.
Mind you, the locks weren’t the puzzles. The puzzles gave you the answer to the locks, assuming you could figure out which one to use where. There were also a few physical puzzles that required team work, like a maze where the person with the magnet couldn’t see the maze and had to be talked through it. And that’s about all the details I can give without spoiling things… I will say that there’s an Easter egg in the Lost in Time puzzle for Doctor Who fans.
I will also say that LARP experience helped, if only because of the number of puzzles involved in those games, particularly at the Whately LARPs. If you get stuck, you have clues available that you can spend points on, with a finite number of points (100) before it counts as a loss.
Both teams escaped from both puzzles… I guess that’s what happens when you put IT problem solvers in a room.
One of the thrills of winter is, of course, snow. The first snowfall of the year is always exciting, the effect on the landscape is dazzling. The effect on driving… well… you get all the slipperyness (is that a word?) of driving in rain, but in the right conditions, it looks pretty even if the drivers are crazy.
When you move north, nobody warns you there are different types of snow. It’s akin to rain in that sense, quite literally, except for the part where it’s frozen. You can have anything from a light drizzle to a downpour of white, wet and packable snow (great for building, bad for shoveling) to dry, lightweight snow that blows all over the place (especially back to where you just shoveled it from).
It can fall straight down, as if someone just flipped the snow globe over and back again. But sometimes, that snow globe is slightly askew instead, and you get to experience the effect of walking or driving into the oncoming snow. In a heavy snow, that’s obviously a bad thing, with windshield wipers working furiously to keep up.
No, I wasn’t driving when I took this photo. It also wasn’t snowing yet.
In a light snow, however, it has an idyllic effect as white bits swirl around you, paths altering with the wind impacts of vehicles around you. That is when it feels like you’re driving in a nice snow globe, and you decelerate as you pass decorated houses to appreciate the holiday season.
As it turns out, she was right – that flight was at 7:55.
s lunchtime and the whole market felt packed, so instead of exploring its’ entirety, we slipped out the other side and found a lovely Ramen restaurant in Chinatown.
where the waiter talked me into having a homemade English muffin… because it came with the blue crab omelette. The muffin was easily double the size I expected. It made a lovely lunch; I barely finished the omelette.
9:00 am. Next on the agenda was 
We arrived just in time for the hippo feeding. I don’t know about you, but I’ve mostly seen hippos lounging at zoos, so this was a treat. Both hippos were in the water. From the below water level viewing area, we could see them pushing off the floor to snatch half a head of cabbage in their mouths. We moved from there to the shark exhibit, glancing at jellyfish and other creatures on the way. The final part of the shark exhibit is the optional Shark Bridge – a rope netting bridge with metal supports over the shark tank. (Yes, we most certainly did walk it.)
