The Forgotten by David Baldacci

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

The Forgotten (2012) by David Baldacci is the second instalment to feature John Puller, a former Army Ranger who served at Iraq and Afghanistan and now works for the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigations Division.

I like the character John Puller.

The plot is over-the-top excessive, as usual for Baldacci, but I do recommend the series.

A picture-perfect town on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Paradise thrives on the wealthy tourists and retirees drawn to its gorgeous weather and beaches.

The local police have ruled his aunt’s death an unfortunate, tragic accident. But just before she died, she mailed a letter to Puller’s father, telling him that beneath its beautiful veneer, Paradise is not all it seems to be.

davidbaldacci.com

Homeland – season 8

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

The most important TV series of all time is ended.

And — though I got sick of Carrie Mathison fairly quickly — season 8 is excellent.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 85% …

YES it started as a “critical darling, then a punching bag, then somehow an underrated show …”

It’s a fictional alternative ending to the USA FINALLY leaving Afghanistan after wasting $2.261 trillion on that endless war.

Saul Berenson, the National Security Advisor for newly inaugurated President Ralph Warner, is assigned to negotiate peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan …

Then it all went wrong.

It’s very difficult to end anything successfully. But Homeland season 8 did that very, very well.

#respect

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Dan Price – Minimalist Living

On By Rick McIn Art and beauty, economics, ethics, health & fitness, philosophyLeave a comment

Since 1990 Dan has been living off the land in Oregon.

He’s an artist. A writer. A traveller.

For the last 15 years or so he’s been living in a little Hobbit House only 8ft (2.4m) wall to wall with a roof only 4ft (1.2m) high at the entrance rising to 5ft (1.5m) at the back.

Dan has a website called moonlight chronicles where he documents his simple life.

Dan Price’s underground home, art & philosophy on $5,000/year

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Expanse – season 6

On By Rick McIn books, TVLeave a comment

Well. It’s over. For now.

The final battle with Marco Inaros and his Free Navy.

Season 6 was good overall. And I’m actually not unhappy with the ending.

James Holden reminds me of John Snow in Game of Thrones.

Other terrific characters I won’t forget: Bobbie Draper, Camina Drummer, Chrisjen Avasarala, and especially Amos Burton.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Saskatchewhat?

On By Rick McIn about Rick, friends, travelLeave a comment

Sept. 1990

rick_mugWhen I wrote this I had just moved from Calgary to Saskatoon, the summer of 1990 — expecting to stay 1 year.  I ended up staying 10 years. 

I was a tourist in Saskatchewan.

I drive home alone from Saskatoon to Calgary, in September, in the late afternoon. I take the smaller, stair-casing highways, speeding with impunity. There seems to be no R.C.M.P. left in Saskatchewan.

I drive through towns with great names like Bounty, Wartime and Conquest. Who got to name these places?


The prairies are a never ending stream of checkerboard fields, barns, churches, cows, dust-devils, road kill and ponderous, overloaded farm trucks. The heat rises off the roadway and seems to evaporate the mirage pools of water before I can enjoy splashing through them. The smells are … well, unique to the Prairies. And I never knew there were so many hawks in all of the world.

Grand daddy grasshoppers wing by as big as birds. Slower, less experienced insects splatter my windshield. The freshly oiled gravel roads splatters my car as well, but I don’t care.

I stop at Outlook, Saskatchewan and sit out in the middle of a sandbar in the middle of the Old Man River. The air is calm, the sun is smoking and the song in my head is called …

I never believed that I’d grow old.

The sandbar is the highlight of the drive. Glorious. The last day of the longest summer of my life. I wish it would never end.

If I could make a wish,
I think I’d pass …

Like everyone else in Saskatchewan, I listen to CBC AM radio constantly. The weather is updated every 15 minutes. They report that the canola is too dry to reap. It will shatter if harvested. But the wheat is still too moist to take off the field. Saskatchewan weather is one big Catch-22.

Driving West into the setting sun, I find myself alone with my thoughts. I dream a grand scheme.

As night falls, I approach Drumheller and the badlands. The warmth from my big mug of tea is comforting.

It’s harvest here. Dusty farmers take dinner on the tractor this evening and plan to work all night. I see the bright lights of combines bobbing along in the dark in every field.

I drive home alone from Saskatoon to Calgary in September.

Station Eleven – TV miniseries

On By Rick McIn books, TVLeave a comment

I really LIKED Station Eleven, the 2014 novel by Emily St. John Mandel.

But I’m not sure I can recommend Station Eleven (miniseries), the HBO adaptation.

Twenty years after a flu pandemic resulted in the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors who make their living as traveling performers ….

Mackenzie Davis is excellent as Kirsten, the main character. The entire cast is excellent.

BEST is David Wilmot.

It’s original. Brave.

But for me the story is too confused. Jumping back and forward in time worked in the book, but was too confusing on screen for me.

On the other hand, it’s 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can’t help but admire the attempt.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Curves Adjustment Tool for Photos

On By Rick McIn Apple, photosLeave a comment

I’m enjoying experimenting with this way of editing photos in Pixelmator Pro. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. 

It does feel easier and more precise than other tools. 

Actually I start with the default Machine Learning quick fix. Move to Curves Adjustment IF I want. Finally I might tweak specific colours. 

This pic was much improved, for example, using Curves Adjustment. Cluttered, I played around to make the texture of the art work on the wall more 3D.

Here’s the photo before being uploaded to Instagram. The Instagram version is compressed. Lower quality.

I’m still using the Apple Photos app to move pics from cameras ➙ to folders ➙ to my Flickr master archive.

In fact, Apple Photos is a surprisingly good photo editor now. Less powerful than Pixelmator, but fast and easy for those I’m not posting online. It does have Curves Adjustment, as well.

In fact, Apple Photos has an Extensions tab where you can quickly pull up all the Pixelmator tools without opening that more powerful app. Cool.

Martin Luther King Jr in 2022

On By Rick McIn economics, education, ethics, GOP USA, government, human rights, things getting betterLeave a comment

Would King be happy with what’s happening in the USA?

The murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin has led to some improvements. Here’s what’s WORKING.

The phrase “defund the police” was always stupid. It should have been “reform the police“. Reallocate funding.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Oh My God – Adele’s video masterpiece

On By Rick McIn music, videoLeave a comment

Actually, it’s Director Sam Brown and the video editors who created this masterpiece.

For me, the song is only OK.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. It was filmed in one day!

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

DJI Mini SE Drone Test #1

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, photos, travel, video4 Comments

I tried and failed to fly a DJI Spark drone when it was released 2017. Did not once get it off the ground. It was a dead weight on my Patagonia trip that year.

In 2021 the (Mavic) Mini SE is their entry level model. CAD $349. … How long before I break it? 😀

I’ve either gotten a lot smarter — or their drones are much easier to operate now.

Click PLAY or watch the 1st flight on YouTube.