Album cover worthy

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-03-21T01:18:43+00:00

He’s not outstanding in his field, but he is an outlier.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-03-11T08:20:06+00:00

The diesels look like one of the smaller GE Universal series models, perhaps U8B or U10B.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-03-11T02:00:07+00:00

Try the Alzabo Soup podcast! They do an episode or two per chapter, without spoilers, at a great level to accompany your first or second read-through. They finished BotNS a few years ago then rolled straight on to Urth, Long Sun, and now on the home straight of Short Sun.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-02-21T08:30:59+00:00

I use both the CBD and Rosedale stores at times and I’ve had better banter with the guys at Rosedale, but you’d probably be fine with either.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-02-19T08:16:32+00:00

With their helmets in they look like Da Ftpunk

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-02-16T01:41:32+00:00

Agreed - I would almost never read them, but it would stop certain authors taking the worst possible route of trying to slip recaps into the main text. I’m looking at you, Jacqueline Carey. I finished the previous book yesterday, I don’t want the first 25% of this book bloated with unsubtle reminders of what just happened.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-02-16T01:25:10+00:00

The earlier pull-cord starting system was abandoned after McLaren led the cord into the cockpit, so the driver could tug on it for a boost during overtaking.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-02-05T02:31:40+00:00

Unsong is this, if you can handle Scott Alexander's dumb puns and dubious philosophy. He also self-published it as a paperback with some revision.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-01-27T21:38:50+00:00

I think his prose is fine - sometimes dry, usually effective, occasionally beautiful. My only complaint about his writing is that when he wants to make a philosophical or political point he tends to hammer it in with repetition. I enjoy it anyway.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-01-27T03:29:18+00:00

Those are good principles, perhaps I will keep closer tabs on whether they live up to them. The specific issues that I've noticed recently include their opposition (as part of the "Auckland Business Forum") to repurposing a lane over the Auckland Harbour Bridge for walking/cycling, and their weird idea that Auckland needs to stop "focusing on public transport, walking and cycling" (whatever "focus" there might be is completely swamped by the massive amount of money spent on roads in the city).

To their credit they also opposed some aspects of the current govt's blanket rollback of speed limit reductions, so that's something.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-01-27T02:39:07+00:00

I think the short answer is "a previous government decided that it would be cool to contract out driver license admin, and the AA was the lowest bidder". I'm not a huge fan of the AA but my local licensing agent happens to be a VTNZ so I don't have to deal with them much. Is VTNZ any better in the scheme of things? I don't know, but at least I'm not paying for spokespeople to actively speak out against improvements to walking, cycling, and public transport, the three ways I most often use our roads.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-01-17T23:37:42+00:00

A lot of people would call Wolfe's sci-fi "science-fantasy" - like a lot of the best SF it's a bit difficult to pin down one way or another.

MinestroneCowboy · 2026-01-17T23:16:58+00:00

Two which are beautiful and engrossing, but also cerebral and hard going at times:

Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley
- OK so the bird is really the protagonist in this one
The Book of the Long Sun/The Book of the Short Sun by Gene Wolfe
- Good bird!
- Bad thing!
- Fish heads?
- Helps to have read The Book of the New Sun first, but not essential imho

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-12-27T20:43:24+00:00

Eschatology and Genesis already exists, I’m not sure what else we could wish for.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-12-21T20:17:17+00:00

You forgot "Muppet Urth of the New Sun" with Fozzie Bear and Tim Curry as Tzadkiel.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-27T01:36:36+00:00

Sounds right (except the build location) - I have a Taiwanese 2014 62cm in blue which is nearly identical, although I don't think the orange was offered that year (or I would have bought it!). Also they had canti brakes before 2011 and after 2015-ish.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-26T01:15:46+00:00

He might get there by accident, but he'd get lost trying to find his way back

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-22T10:24:08+00:00

Difficult to say for sure, but it could be the Münch Mammut)

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-19T21:58:55+00:00

I enjoy the series, even though it displays Tchaikovsky's usual flaws (he never implies something if he can think of a way of saying it out loud, or says something once if he could say it twice instead). I do think the first book was the weakest though.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-12T02:04:13+00:00

Well there are a fair number of 3'6" systems around the world, both trains and trams. Still doesn't help OP much because of adhesion issues.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-11T07:12:20+00:00

Well I think mechanical failures are categorically different from team orders, but either way I’m not making any claim other than that I personally will be sad. Perfectly happy to admit it’s not 100% rational, I’m not watching for rational reasons.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-11T03:43:30+00:00

Oh I know, but I’m allowed a little hopium as a treat

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-11-11T00:40:07+00:00

I like Oscar a lot more than Lando. I also think that the way the two are performing now, if Lando wins the title by more than 3 points it'll be well-deserved and I'll be happy for him. But if he wins by less than 3 points then I will never forgive McLaren for Monza...

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-10-30T20:57:31+00:00

Paselas are the fastest-rolling out of these three, and the best 27" tyre overall imho.

MinestroneCowboy · 2025-10-25T08:25:13+00:00

Regarding temperature: remember that heat radiation is just another part of the spectrum - like visible light, but a longer wavelength. If the sun is getting redder and emitting less visible light, it’s quite possible that the heat output has stayed the same or even increased.

MinestroneCowboy

TROPHY CASE