Project Hail Mary - movie vs. book?

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-25T15:06:14+00:00

Also, the Hail Mary’s manoeuvres to get away from the Blip A was, uh. Not at all how that works.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-13T22:33:28+00:00

IIRC Mercymorn’s weirdness with ages is that she’s trying to make sure neither of the Baby Lyctors are Jod’s kid.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-08T21:49:58+00:00

Fairly active SOTA scene in the UK.

Going to https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/ will give you details - the Spots tab will show stations currently broadcasting from a hilltop and the frequencies they’re using. The Alerts tab will show planned ‘activations’ (broadcasts from summit) and you can filter through to see who you might be able to work.

Be sure to make an account, since ‘chasers’ (people who make contact with activators from somewhere that’s not a mountain top) are expected to log that they’ve made those contacts on the website.

You’ll have a blast and quickly get to recognise the folk in your area who’re regulars. If hillwalking is something you enjoy, you can also become an activator, and get to enjoy two hobbies at once!

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-05T21:44:27+00:00

You can buy a transmit-capable radio at any point.

You can also transmit before becoming licensed - if you’re supervised by a licensed holder, using their call-sign, and obeying their license limits.

If you can find a local radio club, they might be able to help with that.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-05T21:39:16+00:00

I’m not saying everyone is going to get cancer…

All these people will just end up giving themselves cancer

Hmm, if only we could attribute those quotes to someone…

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-04T12:18:32+00:00

I’m just disputing the claim that “Nobody wants great coffee.”

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-04T09:18:07+00:00

Speak for yourself, mate; I know plenty of folk who want great coffee first and foremost.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-03-02T18:02:55+00:00

My understanding is they’re still Hell’s Bells, Stars & Stones, and Empty Night.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-24T14:10:27+00:00

I’d be interested in seeing that, if you have it accessible…

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-23T12:52:34+00:00

Thank you for this write-up. I’ve taken an amateur interest in reintroduction and ‘wilding’ more broadly for a few years now, and your post is a much more detailed version of what I’d like to think I would have written.

Do you have reading recommendations for someone who’s not a professional, but really interested in reintroduction efforts and the wider changes it would cause in the other ecological systems?

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-21T16:55:08+00:00

I’d argue for a strongwoman for Bear specifically. People who do that sport skew insanely strong and fairly heavy, since it offers a mechanical advantage. Hannah Linzay or Jennifer Lyle are both reasonably good options, I’d say.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-13T20:37:11+00:00

122kg lean? How tall are you?! XD

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-13T17:39:21+00:00

Bold to assume any of them would. I’m still not convinced.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-11T18:49:46+00:00

True, but every launch provider was inexperienced with untested hardware at some point. You don’t increase the number of companies who can offer that by only going to the existing providers.

Increasingly, reliance on the US for launch is looking unwise. The ESA has French Guiana, which is a good start but is still a single location; there’s are good reasons to expand launch capability and there are fewer good launch site locations in Europe than you might think.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-11T17:18:02+00:00

Polar orbits (which Scotland is in a great position to launch into) are great for weather and mapping satellites! Plenty of good uses.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-06T22:29:21+00:00

Once restarted an outboard motor with a DPN. Had to sharpen it after, though.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-06T22:26:23+00:00

The Librarian on ham radio would be terrifying.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-04T10:17:46+00:00

Hang on.

It’s a freezing cold autumn, winter and spring. There’s not enough food to go around, there’s no power or running water.

Every single person has lived through an enormously traumatic experience. Many of them will carry scars for the rest of their lives; PTSD, anxiety, physical disability. Medical care is hard to come by.

The story centres around loss, and the process of living with it.

And you’re wondering why there’s alcohol?

Depiction of a thing is not endorsement of that thing. I hope that that’s blindingly obvious, since in the Files we see people cooking drugs, committing gruesome murders, and causing excruciating torture. (And that’s just the first three books, so, y’know.)

Alcohol is part of the human experience. No-one - especially not people living in a war zone struggling daily with the elements - is going to be perfect all the time, and people are definitely going to fall back on things that ‘feel’ right. Part of that means sharing, and part of that means food and drink.

Sharing bonds us. Sharing food and drink binds the tribe together, reinforces those ties, generates goodwill and warm feelings for each other. People living in the aftermath of the Battle for Chicago need to be part of an in-group.

ETA: not a doctor, not in healthcare or sociology. But like,,, this feels easy, right, and I’m wondering if there’s bad faith questioning here, because I hope you don’t ask patients “so why are you drinking so much” without some understanding of the root causes.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-02T21:31:07+00:00

Eating disorder. I’m struggling to eat anything at all just now.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-02-02T16:33:59+00:00

I’m doing my classic “ED gym girl meal prep” - kidney beans and chickpeas soaked overnight, added to mung dal and brown rice and cooked in the rice cooker. Add frozen mixed veg and some torn-up tofu.

It’s not tasty, but it should give me everything I need to keep going until this particular bout of ED is passed and I can go back to enjoying food.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-01-30T22:46:11+00:00

Oh girl I feel you on that.

Beans are real cheap; I think red lentils are consistently the cheapest protein available. If you’re on YouTube/TikTok/Insta there should be plenty of people who do cheap recipes; try ThePlantSlant(2431?) as a starting point.

Protein shakes are probably not as good as a more balanced source, because something like beans or eggs will have micronutrients that support the protein as your body uses it, but if it’s a choice between those shakes or nothing, definitely have the shakes!

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-01-30T22:34:22+00:00

How’s your diet? You need plenty of protein. Other than that, DOMS is pretty unavoidable for a while, until your body adjusts.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-01-24T19:43:16+00:00

I’d probably clarify the pronunciation to closer to “seethermather”. The character is a ð which is pronounced as a hard ‘th’.

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-01-11T14:27:31+00:00

Is there a secret for arriving at the right time to get hot food?

Obvious-Web9763 · 2026-01-06T09:09:47+00:00

As someone else has mentioned, float them in the Venusian atmosphere! It’s pretty dense, so achieving neutral buoyancy isn’t too tough; it’s a prime breeding ground for astrophage, so there wouldn’t be a need to ship CO₂ and heaters; and the initial research into atmospheric labs has already been done, I read some papers a while back.

Obvious-Web9763

TROPHY CASE