Copper River by William Kent Krueger

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

This 6th book in the series is quite different. Many new and engaging characters.

I like it.

Desperately avoiding the professional hit men who have already put a bullet in his leg, Cork finds sanctuary outside the small Michigan town of Bodine. But while he’s hiding out in an old resort owned by his cousin Jewell DuBois, a bitter widow with a fourteen-year-old son named Ren, the body of a young girl surfaces along the banks of the Copper River.

And then, soon after, another teenager vanishes.

Instead of thwarting his assassins, Cork focuses on tracking a ring of killers who prey on innocent children—desperate to catch them before anyone else falls victim. But as his deadly followers close in, Cork realizes he’s made an error any good man might make—and it may be his last.

williamkentkrueger.com

Staying NEUTRAL is Supporting the Oppressor

On By Rick McIn bad news, education, ethics, firearms, GOP USA, government, human rights, things getting better, things getting worseLeave a comment

In Coach Education we have a concept called ETHICAL ACTION.

If you see something you think is wrong, take action.

Record what you saw in a diary. Keep records.

Videotape what you saw.

Notify authorities in a respectful, diplomatic way.

Ideally you ask the (possible) offender: “Why are you doing that? I don’t understand.”

People wonder why I’m so vocal about the high crimes of Donald Trump.

Ethical action. That’s why.

Trump inspired smarter people in Florida to enact a law called Don’t Say Gay. That’s like passing a law called Don’t Say Black. Don’t Say Latino.

We should take ethical action against people who discriminate when their Constitution clearly states that ALL ARE CREATED EQUAL.

Support the lesser of two evils if both sides are bad.

Martin Niemöller was a Lutheran pastor. Initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler and a self-identified antisemite. Later best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem:

“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Lisbon AGAIN — May 23rd

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

I had dental implant surgery in Lisbon in November. Expen$ive — but excellent. A dental holiday.

Six months later I’m headed back to have my implant installed. Finally.

I’ll be arriving May 23rd, 2022.

Click PLAY or watch highlights on YouTube. (3min)

Tourists love Lisbon.

Fantastic street art for pretentious influencers. 😀

Long Ago and Far Away by James Taylor

On By Rick McIn music1 Comment

A big fan of James Taylor in my youth, the song that means most to me many years later is Long Ago and Far Away.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. He was age-23 in 1971.

On the Mud Slide Slim album version Joni Mitchell sings background vocals and Carole King plays piano.

Cloud Atlas 2012 film

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

This movie is either BRILLIANT. Or a disaster. I’m not sure. 🤔

It’s included on various “Best Film” and “Worst Film” lists.

Cloud Atlas is a 2012 epic science fiction film written and directed by the Wachowskis (Matrix) and Tom Tykwer.

 Based on the 2004 novel by David Mitchell, it has multiple plots occurring during six eras in time, with the cast members performing multiple roles.

I watched mainly because it was one of the only Tom Hanks films I’d not yet seen.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926).

Hercule Poirot retires to a village near the home of a friend, Roger Ackroyd, to pursue a project to perfect vegetable marrows. Soon after, Ackroyd is murdered and Poirot must come out of retirement to solve the case.

It is one of Christie’s best known and most controversial novels. There are MANY suspects.

The ending…

I dunno.

There have been many adaptations.

Artificial Intelligence – Video Creation

On By Rick McIn videoLeave a comment

How soon can I use this kind of A.I. to modify my own videos?

To create this new kind of film, Osk trained their A.I. on hundreds of thousands of images of landscapes, architecture and cityscapes. As it learned, the A.I. developed a neural model of our natural and built environments.

… The resulting film is an epic yet intimate journey across our planet imagined by artificial intelligence.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Easily the best book in the Cork O’Connor series. So far.

Happy and content in his hometown of Aurora, Minnesota, Cork O’Connor has left his badge behind and is ready for a life of relative peace, setting up shop as a private investigator. But his newfound state of calm is soon interrupted when Henry Meloux, an Ojibwe medicine man and Cork’s spiritual adviser, makes a request: Will Cork find the son that Henry fathered long ago?

With little to go on, Cork uses his investigative skills to locate Henry Wellington, a wealthy and reclusive industrialist living in Thunder Bay, Ontario. When a murder attempt is made on old Meloux’s life, all clues point north across the border. But why would Wellington want his father dead? …

williamkentkrueger.com

Portable Wind Turbine on the Trail

On By Rick McIn cycling, hikingLeave a comment

I sometimes hike and often bikepack with the 1.66 pound Big Blue Solar Charger.

It’s enough power for me on the trail, except on particularly overcast days.

I’d be tempted to carry a 3 pound portable wind turbine instead, on some adventures.

Though heavier and more expensive, wind power would be faster and more reliable than solar.

DETAILS.

Click PLAY or see how it works on YouTube.

Watch an unboxing and first set-up on YouTube.