Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin

On October 13, 2021October 10, 2021 By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

I’d not read this one Rebus book … or had I?

Happily, my memory is so BAD that it seemed vaguely familiar, but not uninteresting.

Naming of the Dead is a crime novel by Ian Rankin.
… the 16th of the Inspector Rebus novels. Set in Edinburgh in July 2005, in the week of the G8 summit in Gleneagles. …
… Rebus is nearing retirement (“nobody would blame you for coasting”), and becomes sidelined until the apparent suicide of MP Ben Webster occurs at a high-level meeting in Edinburgh Castle. …
At the same time, a serial killer seems to be killing former offenders, helped by a website set up by the family of a victim. …

Weight of BIKE not important

On October 12, 2021October 10, 2021 By Rick McIn cycling1 Comment

When I started bike touring, I carried significantly more luggage than most on a somewhat heavier bike. YET I seemed to make about average mileage each day.

It’s not a race.

AND — if this video is correct — carrying 1 extra kilogram over 100 km results in only about a 2 minute time penalty.

SO — I’ll carry all the weight I want on future trips. I have a lot of capacity volume on my new bike.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

On October 11, 2021October 7, 2021 By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Fegan was an IRA killer in northern Ireland.

Went to prison for 12 years for his crimes.

Finally out of jail — now that “peace” has come — he is being haunted day and night by 12 ghosts of the people he killed.

This was Neville’s first book. And it’s much admired by fans of Irish literature, a high standard.

It’s profane and violent. But the plot is certainly engaging.

Amazon.

Cycling Scottish “Bothies”

On October 10, 2021October 5, 2021 By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

Alastair Humphreys likes to cycle to remote huts in Scotland.

The Mountain Bothies Association administers about 100 such huts.

“… No tap, no sink, no beds, no lights, and, even if there is a fireplace, perhaps nothing to burn …”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

World Travel by Anthony Bourdain (2021)

On October 9, 2021October 6, 2021 By Rick McIn books, ethics, food, human rightsLeave a comment

Said to be written by Bourdain — his longtime assistant Laurie Woolever actually only had one meeting about this book with her boss before he killed himself at the age of 61 in June 2018.

A shocking end to one of our favourite travel and food gurus.

But Bourdain had long talked about writing a summing-up travel book, highlighting his favourite foods, cultures, meals and destinations. Woolever made it happen.

The book includes short summaries of 43 destinations from his many years filming Parts Unknown and No Reservations.

Profane, opinionated and often hilarious.

Bourdain was a tough guy. But travel opened his eyes. He wanted to tell the truth, to challenge the powerful, to expose wrongdoing. He’d call out racism at every opportunity.

He championed industrious Spanish-speaking immigrants—from Mexico, Ecuador, and other Central and South American countries—who are cooks and chefs in many United States restaurants,

Amazon – World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, April 20, 2021

Finding BEST Flights on Google Sites

On October 8, 2021October 3, 2021 By Rick McIn product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

I’ve booked a number of flights lately. #PandemicOver 😀

I ALWAYS start with Matrix Airfare Search by ITA Software A few companies — e.g. Southwest — opted not to be included.

Even if my date of flight is fixed, I always start with “See calendar of lowest fares”.

Clicking around, once I have the price, date, details (usually AC or WJ), I go directly to the airline website to book the flight. One. Less. Middleman.

I try to avoid booking on a series of airlines as — when something goes wrong — each blames you and the other airline for your woes.

Google Matrix originally let you book flights. But the airlines complained so they dropped that feature.

If I can’t get the price promised on Matrix, I try Expedia or one of the other aggregators. Once in a while they have a block of cheaper tickets no longer available directly from the airline.

If that’s too confusing, here’s a comprehensive tutorial.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Recently I used another Google flight site, deciding to fly to Lisbon on November 1st from Calgary.

From that page you can click from any country to any continent. From Canada to Europe, for example.

As usual, Air Transat was the cheapest way to get to Europe from Canada.

In the Garden of Beasts (Hitler’s Berlin) by Erik Larson

On October 7, 2021October 3, 2021 By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Erik Larson is one of our best non-fiction writers.

The Devil in the White City is the best of his books I’ve read, so far.

This one is excellent too. An inside early look at Berlin under the physically unimpressive Adolf Hitler and his lickspittles.

WW II would result in 70–85 million dead, or about 3% of the 1940 world population. Hitler personally responsible for many of those millions.

He committed suicide April 30, 1945. Could Hitler have been stopped earlier?

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin is the true story of American Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd, particularly the years 1933 to 1937 when he and his family, including his daughter Martha, lived in Berlin. …
Martha, separated from her husband and in the process of divorce, became caught up in the glamor and excitement of Berlin’s social scene and had a series of liaisons, most of them sexual, including among them Gestapo head Rudolf Diels and Soviet attaché and secret agent Boris Vinogradov.

In fact, daughter Martha was once presented to Hitler. One of the Führer’s henchmen hoped the dictator would be attracted. An American concubine would make his hateful regime more palatable to the USA.

Mare of Easttown – fantastic

On October 6, 2021October 4, 2021 By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

Wow.

We’re living in the golden age of television.

Complex story telling. Superb acting. Realistic dialogue.

All the acting is good. I particularly liked Chief Carter played by John Douglas Thompson.

Give Kate Winslet ALL the Emmys.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

On October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Whodunnit?

Agatha Christie would like this book.

Shari Lapena is one of the best murder mystery writers working today.

Fred and Sheila Merton are brutally murdered the night after an Easter dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.
Or are they?
They each stand to inherit millions. …

Readers try to eliminate suspects one at a time.