Enjoyed

By aaron.axvig, Wed, 02/19/2020 - 21:24

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

I haven't watched this movie for 10 or 15 years but I still found myself trying to remember it for comparison.  I'm not sure there is that much similarity!  I suppose the majority of the content of the book is not suitable for the movie screen.

I did enjoy the philosophical parts, there were some interesting ideas.  For example, the discussions of value, who is qualified to vote, etc.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Sat, 02/01/2020 - 15:41
UnCiv screenshot

UnCiv

I found this clone of Civilization (the fifth release I believe?) on the F-Droid app store.  I played through on the apparently pretty easy settings that were mostly default and got a science victory on my second playthrough.  On my first playthrough I reached 100 turns and got a message from the developer saying something like "I'm sure by now you've noticed that the game is incomplete" and just sort of put the game aside for a week or two until I decided to try it again.  Maybe the AI isn't finished as I was never attacked, or maybe it was just on that easy of a difficulty.

Overall the game played quite well.  The graphics were occasionally a little difficult for me to figure out but got easier as I got more experienced.  There is a lot going on!

It was fun to build out a big civilization and I could see myself doing it again in a month or two.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/22/2020 - 08:29

The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories by Mark Twain

A collection of enjoyable stories by Mark Twain.  I have only previously read his most famous works, and that many years ago.

As the foreword alludes, these stories get darker as you go further into the collection.  I enjoyed the lighter ones more but the darker ones did make me think.

Strangely, this book did not have an ISBN number in it.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Sat, 01/11/2020 - 15:14

With Reckless Abandon by Captain Jim Sharp

I was fortunate to be part of a guided tour of the Sail, Power, and Steam Museum in Rockland, ME that was guided by Captain Jim. Now about 6 months later I finished his book in one day.

Needless to say it is a great read if you love stories about boating.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Fri, 01/10/2020 - 12:54

Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy: Jedi Search

I probably read this book back in middle school as I used to read a ton of Star Wars and Star Trek books back then.  Anyways, now I have read it again.

I believe I read a while back that the new Star Wars movies have removed all of the Expanded Universe books from canon.  So it was a little weird to be reading this book and be thinking all along that it isn't really "true."  Of course it is fiction, but now it is like discarded fiction.  Still a quick enjoyable read though.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Wed, 01/08/2020 - 18:42

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

This was a nice read about memories and memorization techniques.  The story of the author is woven in pretty well and my interest was held throughout.  He described the techniques used in a good amount of detail--enough to understand but not so specific as to get boring.

Overall I now know a little more about the topic and it was also an interesting story.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Sat, 01/04/2020 - 14:41
Screenshot of 2048 stats page

2048

I played the version available on F-Droid. On my third attempt I achieved a 2048 block. The statistics say that I have played for 0.92 hours.

I see that 5x5 grids and larger are available too so I may try that out sometime.

Completion status
Complete
Rating
Enjoyed
By aaron.axvig, Sat, 12/07/2019 - 18:59

1982 Ford Bronco

This was the vehicle that I most often drove to high school in.  It had an anemic motor that guzzled gasoline, something like 120 horsepower and 10mpg.  I believe the motor was replaced once when I was really young too.

Memorable notes:

Enjoyed