Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Middle Age

I think I've officially reached middle age: I got my first pair of bifocals today.  (Actually, I think they're trifocals, but whatev.)  Several people had shared horror stories and warned me that I'd hate them and should go with reading glasses instead, but my problem wasn't just when I was sitting down to read a book.  It's a little odd where there are blurry patches that used to be clear, but that's completely offset by the joy of being able to read a piece of paper in my hand without having to lift up my glasses and hold the paper up to my nose - that was getting r  e  a  l  l  y tiresome.  I'm able to go down stairs without problem (a warning from the doctor) and even drove from the doctor's office to work.  So far I have no complaints.


Sunday, October 18, 2015

The Martian

I LOVED this book, which is really more science than science fiction.  I listened to the audio version and thoroughly enjoyed both Andy Weir's story and R. C. Bray's narration.  I also think the movie did a good job of condensing the book into movie format.

I don't agree with everything in this review - which does have SPOILERS for both the book and movie - but it does a good job of describing what makes this story so compelling, as well as superior to some of the other recent space exploration movies.

Thursday, October 01, 2015