RogerBW's Blog

Future World 31 December 2020

2018, dir. James Franco/Bruce Thierry Cheung, Jeff Wahlberg, Suki Waterhouse: IMDb / allmovie. After the androids were used to fight the Last War and civilisation fell, all is sand and motorcycles, and hawt babes are a far more jealously-guarded resource than leather or petrol.

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Perl Weekly Challenge 93: Max Path 30 December 2020

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved colinear points and binary tree sums. (Note that this is open until 3 January 2021.)

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The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow 29 December 2020 - 5 comments

2020 fantasy. In Gilded Age America, there's no such thing as witches: they were burned, and all that sort of thing was stamped out. But there will be witches again.

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The Lego Movie 2 28 December 2020

2019, dir. Mike Mitchell/Trisha Gum, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks: IMDb / allmovie

The peace of Brickville is shattered by invaders from Duplo.

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Marlow Tabletop and Board Games 21 December 2020 27 December 2020

This Meetup-based boardgames group remains on-line for the moment; as usual we got together on Jitsi and then played some games online.

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For Want of a Fiend, Barbara Ann Wright 26 December 2020

2012 fantasy, second of a tetralogy. Princess Katya and her consort Starbride must deal with opposition on several fronts, even if it does lead back to the same source.

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Perl Weekly Challenge 92: Isomorphic Interval 25 December 2020

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved string isomorphism and interval merging. (Note that this is open until 27 December 2020.)

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Ghostbusters (2016) 24 December 2020 - 7 comments

2016 action comedy, dir. Paul Feig, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon: IMDb / allmovie.

Two paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker band together to save New York from paranormal threat.

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Boardgames in Isolation: December (part 1) 23 December 2020

More boardgames played from home.

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A Game of Battleships, Toby Frost 22 December 2020

2013 humorous science fiction, fourth in the Isambard Smith series. Smith and his crew take on an unbeatable prototype warship, protect a peace conference, invade a planet of religious fanatics, and visit Europe.

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I just want to buy drugs 21 December 2020 - 10 comments

Buying drugs is more difficult than it used to be. I don't do it very often…

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Coronavirus Information for Serial, Spree and Cult Killers 20 December 2020

As National restrictions apply from 16 December, we want to assure customers that we are continuing to deliver the range of services to serial, spree and cult killers across the country while the majority of our people work from home.

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Midwinter, John Buchan 19 December 2020

1923 historical thriller, set in the rebellion of 1745. Alastair Maclean is carrying messages to England and getting promises of support for his Prince. But it seems that one of his fellow couriers may be a traitor to the Cause.

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Perl Weekly Challenge 91: Number Jump 18 December 2020

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved breaking down numbers and following sequences. (Note that this is open until 20 December 2020.)

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The Spy Who Dumped Me 17 December 2020

2018 action comedy, dir. Susanna Fogel, Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon: IMDb / allmovie.

Drew dumped Audrey by text message a few days ago… then two men claiming to be from the CIA interrogate her… then Drew comes in suddenly through her window. Then he gets shot by someone her roommate Morgan picked up the night before…

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Marlow Tabletop and Board Games 7 December 2020 16 December 2020

This Meetup-based boardgames group remains on-line for the moment; as usual we got together on Jitsi and then played some games online.

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The Devil and the Dark Water, Stuart Turton 15 December 2020

2020 historical mystery with fantastic elements. In 1634, the Indiaman Saardam sets sail from Batavia on the eight-month journey to Amsterdam. Sammy Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to answer for a crime that nobody seems to be able to name. His bodyguard, Arent Hayes, is determined to prove his innocence. And there are signs of a demon on board…

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Crowley wuz ere 14 December 2020 - 4 comments

(Guest post from Chris.)

Shortly before I moved into this house, I decided that my pint Pyrex measuring jug was so constantly in use that I might as well have another for when the first was in the Sisyphean washing-up pile, and went out to the nearest kitchens shop (it was called Kitchens) and bought myself a second pint jug. I assumed, in my folly, that since it had the same function and was made by the same company it would be the same.

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Never Surrender 13 December 2020 - 1 comment

2019 documentary, dir. Jack Bennett: IMDb / AllMovie.

The surviving cast and crew of Galaxy Quest discuss, twenty years later, the making and reception of the film.

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Lt. Leary, Commanding, David Drake 12 December 2020

2000 military SF, second of this ongoing series. With a heroic reputation from the previous book, which can be both good and bad depending on who has power over him, Leary waits to learn his next assignment… then gets sent to a volatile allied world where political games are rapidly becoming deadly.

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Princess Charlotte General Knowledge Paper 2020 11 December 2020

In the spirit of the King William's College General Knowledge Paper, released each December for completion over the Christmas break, I offer my own quiz for the holidays.

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Perl Weekly Challenge 90: Ethiopian DNA 10 December 2020 - 3 comments

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved base sequences and a binary multiplication system. (Note that this is open until 13 December 2020.)

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The Mummy and Miss Nitocris, George Griffith 09 December 2020

1906 SF. Professor Marmion has, by an excess of abstract thought, accidentally conquered the Fourth Dimension. And the tragedies of ancient Egypt shall be tragedies again.

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Boardgames in Isolation: November (part 2) 08 December 2020

More boardgames played from home.

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Pulling Power from the Sky 07 December 2020 - 3 comments

2020 documentary, dir. Kate Stirr: IMDb.

The Makani project tried to solve a simple problem: wind turbines are already big and expensive, but there's more wind at higher altitudes. So why not put a wind turbine on a kite rather than on a pole?

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In the Heart of Darkness, David Drake and Eric Flint 06 December 2020

1998 alternate-history war story, second of six books. Belisarius is a guest of the Malwa empire in India, as they try to bribe him to turn against Justinian's Constantinople; meanwhile his wife Antonina works on developing a military force to use crude gunpowder weapons, which will be tested sooner than they expect.

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Perl Weekly Challenge 89: magic sum 05 December 2020

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved GCDs and magic squares. (Note that this is open until 6 December 2020.)

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What, both at once? 04 December 2020

On the last day of the most recent isolation period, I went shopping. It turns out there were two separate panics on at the same time.

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Marlow Tabletop and Board Games 30 November 2020 03 December 2020

This Meetup-based boardgames group remains on-line for the moment; as usual we got together on Jitsi and then played some games on BoardGameArena. (I missed the mid-month meeting, but we had an intercalary one on the fifth Monday.)

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A Wicked Kind of Husband, Mia Vincy 02 December 2020

2018 American Regency-ish romance, part of a loosely linked series. Cassandra has been married for two years, and has only met her husband once; it was arranged by her father and neither partner wanted anything more than the legalities. But now she has her sisters to launch into society, and she'll have to use his London house to do it…

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November 2020 Trailers 01 December 2020 - 1 comment

Some trailers I've seen recently, and my thoughts on them. (Links are to youtube. Opinions are thoroughly personal.)

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