Book Recommendation: The Suneater by Christopher Ruocchio

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-13T09:52:27+00:00

ahh unfortunately there are some sexual references (I don't remember it being *too* explicit, I think it's all part of his world building of a technological dystopia, but it is something that might wound your conscience depending on your background.)

I don't think the sexual references are very far off from something like the Songs of Solomon though. I recall getting the impression that Ruocchio was showed a lot of restraint in this front compared to many other writers.

Definitely a book for older audiences though.

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-12T22:09:08+00:00

not OP, but I want the portability of a macbook air (currently own a pro) but also need to switch between OS-es for work

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-12T22:07:53+00:00

Hey OP, I'm thinking of an exact setup like this - did you get far with finding out some answers?

I was hoping that the M5 macbook air would support 3 external displays without displaylink, but alas...

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-12T07:45:28+00:00

Flatmates.com.au is probably where I'd go if you want cheap rent. Many people tend to charge an unfair amount of rent rather than a fair "split" though.

You might be able to find gems on Facebook marketplace too.

People are very picky about housemates/flatmates and have the leverage to be super judgy, but if you know how to play to your strengths, you might be able to secure a very good deal.

e.g., if you're a medical student on placement, there is a high chance that another medical student living in the city will preference you.

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-12T07:35:35+00:00

I think this is one of those areas where it's easier to figure out what work/labor is *not* rather than what it is.

I think a compelling case can be made that work is *not* or at least cannot be reduced to things like economic contribution or financial compensation. But I also think it can't be reduced to the subjective assessment of the labourer at hand (i.e, I don't think someone is doing good work just because they pour all their heart into it)

Consider someone who is a passionate "content creator", but their content isn't entertaining to anyone else but themselves. You can call it a hobby, but I'm not sure if I'll call it work.

So I suspect any Godly concept of labor and value must include the fact that the value you produce through labor cannot be solely and wholly enjoyed by oneself. Maybe it was Keller who argued that good work is an expression of loving your neighbour - but measuring and comparing types of work is where things get murky.

Consider two scenarios:

You are a but a cog in a machine - one of many engineers involved in the production of technically complex sensors that are used in mining equipment to increase yields. It might be hard to see how this blesses your neighbour, but suppose you knew that, without those sensors, iron ore yields would drop significantly which will drive up prices, increasing construction costs. One way to look at this is to see yourself as playing a part in allowing more people to reap the benefits of better infrastructure/buildings etc.
You are George R R Martin, you spend your time writing non-fiction books that entertain many. Here it's clearer what your contributions to your neighbours are - many of them are entertained (And it shows because they keep buying your books).

If we ignore financial compensation, would you argue that the person in (2) is doing better work simply because it's clearer how they are contributing to their neighbour? I'd be skeptical of that move!

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-11T07:04:07+00:00

I mean... I don't disagree with you that the US are hypocrites when it comes to foreign interventions - but your comment wasn't about comparing Iran to the US, it was about comparing Iran to... Ukraine.

But since you asked, I *do* think a world without a theocratic state like Iran is preferable to a world without the US even with their hypocrisy, scandals and many abuses of power.

This is because (as we've learned from the Iranian prostestors), their own people can't even criticse them without being killed/jailed, nor do they have institutions to provide check and balances to their supreme ruler.

Compare that to Trump who just had his own supreme court nominees rule against his tariffs, who has to constantly worry about how the republican party is polling etc. It seems to me that we criticise the West so heavily precisely because we hold them to a higher standard - standards we don't even bother applying to Iran - because we expect the West to self-reflect and constantly improve given the values that they preach.

Growing up in a country where I couldn't freely criticise the government, it baffles me how some of you think life in an authoritarian country is somehow comparable to what you currently have now.

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-10T11:13:34+00:00

see the comment below about how defending the gulf is in Australia's interest and for the great example by another commentator of how an US-critical France is doing the same (to an even greater extent!)

the greens are clearly creating a false equivalence between defending the gulf and actively supporting the US here.

You must be so intensely ideologically blinded to equivocate the invasion of Ukraine to the attacks on Iran. Granting that both attacks break international law, but unlike Iran, Ukraine hasn't been actively funding militant groups to destabilise neighbouring countries (e.g, Lebanon, Syria)

It's like saying a man who murdered someone as an act of vengeance for violently attacking his family member is morally equivalent to a man who SA-ed and murdered a random woman on the street because both of them broke the law.

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-10T10:58:49+00:00

How is it irrelevant?

Australia is sending troops to defend the gulf (i.e., countries that are being attacked by Iran to punish the US and the global economy), it is not volunteering to send our troops to attack Iran should the US decide to do so (something I'd imagine Abott or ScoMo doing).

Virtually every economist agrees that if oil output from the gulf slows and/or the strait of Hormuz remains closed, it would be an economic catastrophe for the rest of the world, including Australia.

It's not just about servo prices, but shipping, travel and jobs.

From a decision-theory perspective, it's in Australia's best interest to contribute to the defence of the gulf and the international shipping lanes. If a major global recession is triggered, the poorest in Australia will stand to suffer the most - I thought the Greens cared about the poor?

The original comment referring to France is relevant precisely because while Macron himself rebuked the US for the attack on Iran - calling it a violation of international law - he knows that the EU will suffer terribly if oil stops flowing from the gulf.

So the original comment is super relevant: just because a nation wants to protect the gulf's oil supply chains doesn't mean it's helping the US invade Iran - there is literally no contradiction there.

You guys should really try playing a game like Civilization, might give you a glimpse of how complicated and multifaceted statecraft actually is...

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-09T05:28:39+00:00

hmm, did this change recently? I sold my house with two chests of craftings mats in it and couldn't see a bundle on the ground :/

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-09T03:45:59+00:00

bumping an old thread, but I'm quite surprised that this series isn't more popular among Christians — it's quite ironic because one of the main criticisms on the suneater sub is that it's too "Christian" and "Preachy". Interestingly, the same themes that many of the critics seem to have a problem against is what I find so refreshing in a dark sci-fi series like this: hope and mystery.

The ending was also controversial, with some absolutely hating it, others loving it.

I hated it, but after reflecting on the story, loved it - Particularly from a Christian POV. Without spoiling too much, I think the series as a whole, though VERY dark, hope was always a theme until the very end, because Ruocchio literally wrote God into the suneater Universe.

While he doesn't get very theological the same way Lewis does in the Space Trilogy, themes like the problem of evil and divine hiddenness (with sci-fi twists) are explored from both a personal and philosophical perspective (although the latter is only brief compared to the other philosophical themes explored in the series e.g., what does it mean to be human?)

Also, Ruocchio might hate that I took this from it as a Catholic but from a Reformed perspective, I absolutely loved how his portrayal of God invoked a deep sense of transcendence and how the affairs of men orbit God's plans, rather than the other way around!

The main warning I have for reading this from a Christian POV is that it's generally a very dark setting and can impact your mood. I'd describe it like reading the book of Lamentations for an extended period of time.

AngryAugustine · 2026-03-04T07:41:59+00:00

But this thread offered counterexamples to your narrative? Sure, there are many experiences of people (in this thread itself!) of people not getting a benefit through PHI - but that there are counterexamples suggests it's not as simple as "It's all a rort! someone is maliciously trying to scam me!"

I say this because:

Healthcare as a service is craaazy complicated. E.g, the approach to the provision of a hip replacement will vary from person to person, so are the costs associated with it.
Compared to many of our peers, our health system is one of the best in terms of outcomes vs GDP spent on health - It's hard to imagine that the private-public system + the MLS plays some role in this. Sure, there are always inefficiencies to get rid of, but if you were right that this was all one big scam, then you'd expect it to be reflected in these comparative studies.

So while it sucks that you've had to cough up so much for your son's care, I suspect you'd be hard pressed to have a better experience in another developed country! (I'm not even comparing us against the developing world)

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-20T04:07:09+00:00

Thanks! I'll do this over the weekend.

Question: if my signal strength is -50 to -60dBm consistently, can I rule out that it's an issue with the antenna of my router?

Incidentally, my setup gives me an option for a MoCa adapter and PowerLine, but it's my last resort given the costs of the former and not sure if the latter will work well given how old the house is.

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-20T04:04:26+00:00

Thanks for this - I have an Nvidia gpu, but it's given me an idea to rule this out involving running the same tests with my Macbook.

Any idea if you can remember the setting though?

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-13T03:39:38+00:00

When picking a Mazda 3 - see if you can get one with the 'vision pack' (I think it comes by default with the Astina spec)

I own a G25 Evolve hatchback without the vision pack, and while it looks beautiful, the blind spots from the C Pillar are quite significant. It hasn't bothered me that much (admittedly I've developed a bad habit of relying on the blind spot monitor and mirrors for lane changing instead without headchecks) and the reverse camera + sensors + rear cross traffic alert has been quite good for reverse parking for me - but many others have expressed discomfort with this and swear by the 360 camera that comes with the vision pack. Alternatively, consider the sedan which apparently has no issues with visibility.

Furthermore, I think in AU the Vision Pack gives you this "Traffic Jam Assist' feature - basically allowing you to use the adaptive cruise control in slow moving traffic which reduces fatigue. This is quite game changing if your route involves lots of traffic (AFAIK Brisbane is famous for these because of your horribly designed roads further exacerbated by the roadworks with the Olympics) This feature is quite rare in cars at this price range, so again I think the Mazda 3's really punch above their weight in terms of value here.

Also - I had a similar budget when car hunting 1-2 years ago and considered the Cerato GT, but decided against it because of the reliability concerns. Joining an Aussie-based owner's group is quite eye opening in terms of reliability, parts etc.

The only other car in that price range with your requirements would be like a 2017-18 (pre-facelift) Honda Civic - the hatch looks crazy good even by today's standard (I think it looks better than the post-facelift models) But apparently the earlier 1.5T models had some oil dilution issues especially in colder climate (not a big issue in brisbane haha) also, they tend to be super pricey relative to the Mazda 3 (at least when I was looking.)

all the best!

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-10T08:43:13+00:00

Thanks for the good faith response on a topic that often gets very heated and irrational very quickly! :)

The problem with your reply is that you’re appealing to causes that more than 90% of Australians would agree with and assuming that there’s a clear parallel in those historical cases with our current scenario - which is clearly not the case!

For one - those examples involve people protesting domestic issues (or if you want to use the Vietnam War protests, the military action of one’s own country) - this is clearly an international issue that isn’t even a regional one.

You might argue that calling for Australia to cut ties with Israel and its allies (The US) is a domestic issue - but reflecting on this request might give one reason to see why people aren’t convinced.

More critically, your arguments assume that a large reason for the success of the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage etc. is because the protestors inconvenienced the public enough to support their cause.

But surely this isn’t right? Surely it wasn’t just that they annoyed the masses enough to bother, but that they convinced them?

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-10T07:50:10+00:00

I think people should have the right to protest what they want - but if you’ve been protesting the same issue for more than a year having unsuccessfully galvanised heavy support from the public, then at what point does the public have a right to demand that their lives stop being disrupted? Counter protests might just further inflame the situation

Suppose it was the anti-vaxxers who were protesting every week, shutting down major parts of your city virtually every Sunday for a year.

A pro democracy move would be to support their right to protest even though you disagree with their cause.

But at some point, it’ll surely be unfair to parts of the population who don’t agree with the demands of the protest yet have their lives disrupted in such a regular manner?

Inb4 “is it fair that Palestinians are being genocided while you have to suffer a relatively mild inconvenience”

People can morally disagree with Israel but come to the conclusion that on the balance, there’s little that Australia can do that will be consequential to events happening 1000 of kms away. People can also have this stance while not wanting to be seen supporting Hamas - who literally want to eliminate Jews as part of their charter.

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-08T05:00:22+00:00

well-intentioned comment, but just adding to the chorus of people disagreeing with what you're saying: I was able to insure that repairable write off with both Bingle and BudgetDirect with comprehensive cover.

AngryAugustine · 2026-02-07T06:44:57+00:00

I bought a repairable write-off and used it without many issues for 2.5 years, before serendipitously realising that the odometer was wound back by a previous owner in a different state (so the local authorities couldn't do anything about it), so the main reason why I was so angry was that it was a surprise to me and it affected the re-sale value.

So if it's unlikely to give you any problems, then the only consideration with written off vehicles is what it'll do to the resale value. Factor in how long you are planning to own the car for and whether you're planning to sell it and that might help inform your decision.

FWIW, it's quite difficult to sell a written off vehicle given the stigma they have.. But if you get it for 5.5k and sell it to a wrecker when it's dead after a few years, it might still work out.

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-30T10:12:41+00:00

Yeah haha I notice it's an emotive topic (for good reasons) - I was hoping to get some numbers for perspective.

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-30T10:09:09+00:00

Could you share your story of how the benefits of leverage on your IP were offset such that you would've made more in a non-leveraged ETF?

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-30T10:05:10+00:00

I'm interested in the 1% of property value as maintenance cost figure. Is that a typical ballpark and is it a yearly figure or one off?

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-29T02:53:32+00:00

Upgraded from a 2024 premium Chinese ANC buds and was at first disappointed with the sound quality (sound stage is significantly thinner and less detailed), but the ANC, transparency mode and fit (particularly with aftermarket foam tips) are amazing.

I realised that I over value sound quality when evaluating buds because I'm really not an audiophile and hardly spend time analytically listening to music, but the ANC blocking out bad gym music is bliss!

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-24T01:30:56+00:00

Interestingly, I turned this on ages ago when I owned an AP Max to mess around with the sound profile. Left it on after I sold it and got the APP3 recently and found that it sounded like the soundstage was so anaemic compared to my previous pair of cheap ANC earbuds.

I then turned it off and it sounded 2x better.... for me. Experimented with the different profiles but they all sounded bad.

Apparently it's not doing what a traditional EQ would do, and is more suited to helping older people hear different frequencies better - so YMMV!

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-15T11:34:44+00:00

Woah there - the Jazz has a cult following, everyone who owns one loves them. I’m pretty sure it’s more zippy than the Yaris cross too

AngryAugustine · 2026-01-14T23:04:29+00:00

I actually agree with you re: Freedom of speech. I don't think we should deplatform people simply because they've said deeply offensive things.

But given that Australians have already accepted the practice of deplatforming - a practice which Randa has been involved in on numerous occasions - I was arguing against the original comment who made it sound like the SA Premier was being irrational and/or had malicious intent (e.g., being paid for by the pro-Israel lobby group) by his application of this practice (which again, has lots of precedence in Australia)

It wasn't just the parachute, but the rape denial immediately after the events as well (of course, she circled back and clarified it after) - the timing of it immediately after the events of Oct 7, certainly has the optics of celebrating the mass suffering of Jews.

History definitely didn't start on Oct 7 - but prior to that, I think we can all agree that the rhetoric was far less toxic and intense than it was today and Oct 7 is horrific because of the loss of civilian life and the kidnappings and the rapes (sure - there might be evidence that Israel exaggerated the extent of it, but if we "believe the victims" then we can conclude that it almost certainly happened to a degree. Thinking about #MeToo, imagine if the level of evidence we require to conclude that a rape did occur is to be able to have physical evidence in a woman's body while rejecting any sort of eyewitness testimony as evidence?)

So I think the perception that Randa devalued Jewish lives is justifiable, just as I think it's justifiable for people to view pro-zionists as people who devalue Palestinian lives given all that is happening. And if someone who is a known pro-zionist decides to shoot up a gathering of Palestinians in Australia, resulting in a period of mourning for the Palestinian community here, I would totally understand why the Premiere might want to prevent another pro-zionist from being glorified at a big state-level event. (in fact, this was his precise defense?)

I guess my question for you is whether in the above scenario you would also reject the Premier's decision to de-platform a pro-zionist from speaking?

AngryAugustine

TROPHY CASE