As I mentioned before, my family was waiting for me to watch the new movie. We finally did, and I really enjoyed it. I found parts of the book frustrating, but the movie made it more enjoyable for me. That’s not often the case. I’m glad they waited for me, and I’m glad I read the book first, but I think the movie stands up all on it’s own.
#movie
I just finished Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. I started this book back in early November as I was starting Jury Duty, but had to take a long break. It took me a bit of time to get back into the book, but once I did, I found I rather enjoyed it. My wife wanted me to read it before we watch the movie adaptation on Netflix, and there’s been frustration at how long it took.
It’s a pretty enjoyable read, and not very long, so one can normally finish pretty quickly if they are so inclined. I’m curious how the movie is different, but I’m sure we’ll watch it shortly and then I’ll know.
This is the first book I finished in 2024, and I look forward to reading more and leaving a little clue here for future me to remember what I thought.
★★★
#book
I finally, finally, cancelled my Google Workspace subscription. Feels so freeing.
The changes came, but I decided, I was kinda proud of the hacking together I did to make this site. So, I didn’t get rid of the old posts. They’re harder to discover right now, but they exist.
I also removed posting to Twitter because of several reasons. First, the functionality was broken. I’d lost my API keys somewhere along the way. Second, I stopped using Twitter and migrated to Mastodon. At some point, I’ll push these notes to Mastodon, but today is not that day.
I feel good about the current state. I don’t feel so embarassed about what people find when they look at my homepage, and that’s a good feeling.
Now I need to stop procrastinating and get back the school-work and work-work I need to do. It would be great to feel a little less behind.
#indie-web
#procrastination
Changes are coming.
I’m going to migrate this to a static site, and have all posting in a personal instance of Mastodon.
I think the old links are going to die, because frankly, there’s nothing worth saving anyway. I mean, I’ll have a backup, but otherwise I’m not too worried about this stuff. It’s all been ephemeral dreck, so who’s gonna miss it?
Just letting you all know. Happy New Year!
#indie-web
I may have gone a little hard this Bandcamp Friday.
#music
American-Style Strong Pale Ale
12% ABV
Mostly still, and also pretty boring. Way too sweet, and not particularly interesting. Not much bourbon, lots of sweetness – cloyingly sweet – and not much else. I’m glad they chose to include something fun in the Advent calendar, and I’m sure this was a fun idea, but it lacks a lot for me.
#beer
Imperial Stout with Marshmallow and Cloudberries
11.0% ABV
44 IBU
Deep brown body, approaching black, beneath a fluffy, moderately diminishing cocoa-colored head. The aroma is nice and not as sweet as I was expecting. Not super roasted or bitter, and definitely sweet, but not what I expected. Definitely some marshmallow, but also some roasted malt, anise, and what I can only assume is cloudberry since I’ve never had one. It’s a bright, acidic scent that leads me to think the fruit presents as sweeter than it is. Full-bodied and smooth, this has the right feel for a stout this big. The beer starts with a present but restrained sweetness before a solid roasted bitterness emerges, then ebbs as a solid alcohol warmth takes over. I like it. I was extremely apprehensive when I saw it, and put off drinking it for a few days, but ultimately this has won me over. I don’t want to immediately dip into a second can, but I can see having this every so often and enjoying it each time.
#beer
Pistacio Cream Ale with Cinnamon
5.0% ABV
11 IBU
Not my thing. The cinnamon is there, but it’s subdued and not overbearing. That said, adding an odd choice of spice to a style I don’t really dig on its own makes for a beer I still don’t like, apparently.
#beer
American-Style Imperial Stout
9.0% ABV
Jet black body with a healthy, persistent layer of beige foam. Loads of cocoa on the nose, wafts of the foretold vanilla, a bit of brown sugar sweetness, and a dose of spicy booze. It’s not overpowering at all, but it’s definitely there. Moderate to full body, smooth and velvety on the tongue. Thankfully, this is not an overly sweet pastry stout, but a fairly well balanaced stout, despite the addition of cocoa and vanilla. There’s a nice bitterness that emerges, that presents as originating from both a solid hop addition, but also roasted malts. The booze adds that spice at the end as well, giving a fullness to the entire affair. This is a nice sipper on a cool evening.
#beer
