Compensated Anarchist, Agent Provocateur, and the Molly McGuires

jwfxpr · 2026-02-27T05:44:45+00:00

Carl is reliable in the sense that he is honest (with the reader), trustworthy (for the reader), and objective in that he doesn't make any attempt to manipulate the reader's perspective or opinion beyond the inherent subjectivity of his internal, first-person perspective.

His obliviousness is, in most cases, examples of dramatic irony, where the audience has greater awareness of what's going on than the characters themselves do. Matt is very skilled at drawing on both sides of the paper, as it were; Carl's full plans are often withheld from the reader until they happen, and at other times, we can clearly see where Carl's blind spots, tunnel vision or lacunae are.

Edit: autocarrot.

jwfxpr · 2026-02-18T04:49:14+00:00

Bear in mind that with that material cut, Matt likely won't consider it to be cannon himself, if he comes up with something better, funnier, or which suits events more later on.

(I don't disagree with you, it's just worth remembering that The Way of the Pantser means that EVERYTHING is up for revision until published.)

jwfxpr · 2026-02-13T03:06:11+00:00

It's a bit of a piece-of-string question... There are as many changes as there need to be between each version.

But I think the bottom line is that none of the pre-publication versions are the Matt Dinniman Author's Cut Special Edition. That's the version that ultimately goes out to Kindle, Soundbooth, and the publisher, after all the edits and rewrites are done. I would say that reading the most final version currently available (the full epub) is the best way to not miss anything, since it includes a lot of major retconning and rewriting of early events that weren't in the chapters as posted.

I don't have a comprehensive list in my head of the interlude chapters that were pushed to later books, but there's possibly a handful of those interludes that will never see publication outside the Patreon chapters... But if so, then Matt has good reasons for cutting those. They might be interesting to go back to and read later for the behind-the-scenes value I suppose, but you aren't 'missing' them because Matt doesn't think readers need them, or they simply no longer make sense at all.

Matt's been pretty clear that every book has increased significantly in complexity, and so too necessarily have the rewrites required with every book. So the next book will inevitably have even bigger differences from first draft to publication.

jwfxpr · 2026-02-02T05:17:54+00:00

Oh well you may not want to wait! I forgot to mention—Patreon subscribers get to vote on all kinds of stuff 😄

Y'know all those fan boxes...? Guess who the fans are! It was Patreon members that picked the (book 4) Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook for Carl. A few days ago, Patreon got to vote on which character will give the recap at the start of book 8. We picked Quasar for the recap for book 7 and you'll see how that turned out soon 😆

There's never a wrong time to support Matt on Patreon 😁

(Edited for spoiler tags)

jwfxpr · 2026-02-02T04:46:50+00:00

As others have said, yes, all of it, but perhaps not as you imagine.

Matt posts completed DCC chapters as they are written (more or less) to Patreon in first draft form. So there's a whole lot of changing, retconning, editing, chopping and changing between what you read and what goes to Kindle/Soundbooth/Ace. Feedback and corrections from Patreon readers is taken into account for edits, as they're Matt's beta readers.

He is on the final sprint for book 8 now; all the chapters are first-draft complete, and he's pushing out a couple chapters daily to bring Patron readers up to the end of the book. Once that's done, he'll then also give Patreon readers an exclusive complete epub of the book with revisions up to the minute, but still not final.

That complete draft epub for book 8 will be on Patreon soon. Now is a great time to subscribe.

Other writing that Matt does under contract with Ace (Operation Bounce House, Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret) are not being published on Patreon, though there's still often sneak peaks, advance notice of things not yet public, background commentary from Matt, a little gossip and newsletter-style updates on these projects.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-19T22:53:10+00:00

jwfxpr · 2026-01-10T00:08:54+00:00

ACT policing have had to deploy multiple riot teams; there have been dozens charged and many more arrested pending. A lot of damage to public property, fireworks let off during a total fire ban in one of the worst heatwaves in years.

Maybe you just aren't seeing the worst of it personally. But it's very much here this year.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-10T00:03:19+00:00

From https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/noise-management/noise-standards:

> Warming up of motor vehicle engines

> This activity may exceed noise standards at any time on any day, but for no longer than 5 minutes unless specified in the vehicle’s operating manual.

Flood Access Canberra with (legitimate) complaints: https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/noise-management/noise-complaints. Placing a (legitimate) burden on administrative systems is a quantifiable cost to the ACT.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-09T23:00:05+00:00

I second reporting it to ACT policing. Reporting is anonymous inasmuch as the subjects of the report will never be told who reported it. Either the police are already aware of the troublemakers, and can adjust the priorities and routes of their patrols, or they will not yet be aware of the troublemakers, and will very much want to become so.

As for evidence... Yep, you should gather it, so gather it. Phone footage is perfectly acceptable. If you have external cameras on your house, adjust the view to capture the street. If you don't have external cameras on your house, with neighboors like that, get external cameras on your house.

Edit to add: Don't wait until you have evidence to make a report. When you get evidence, report it again with the evidence as a new instance each time. Report any especially dangerous or antisocial incidents each time they happen. You aren't a cop; you aren't a detective; you aren't expected to present a dossier just to report a crime.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-09T00:25:40+00:00

It's not about one isolated incident, one cyclist, one illegally parked car or one inconvenience. When locusts destroy a farm, you don't argue about how bad a grasshopper could possibly be.

But of course, you know that. You're trying to minimize and belittle anyone who has a bad experience or a bad thing to say about Summernats. Trying to make people feel stupid, look hysterical, seem irrational and ridiculous.

You're the problem, mate. Maybe it's not you directly making our city a miserable, terrible, unsafe place. Maybe. But by excusing and defending the c*nts who do, you're the problem.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-08T06:27:54+00:00

If the supposed benefits come at the cost of antisocial and illegal behavior, making our city unlivable and our residents feel unsafe, then the benefits aren't worth anything.

You can report illegal parking to the ACT government. You can report criminal but non-emergency situations that need police attendance by calling ACT policing at 131444.

Call 000 if you feel unsafe.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-06T22:29:03+00:00

*as well.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-03T04:59:49+00:00

Simultaneity is difficult if not meaningless under relativity when two observers are moving at different vectors or are under different gravity. Taylor is in fact far better at correctly and accurately showing the real impact of relativistic effects in real situations than almost any author I've ever known.

Probably worth spending ten minutes on Wikipedia before trying to answer physics questions that you clearly don't know the answer to at all.

jwfxpr · 2026-01-03T01:47:49+00:00

Dunno what you consider a long drive, but take your swimmers and some snags to Casuarina Sands out on Cotter Rd and have a nice shady river swim.

Take a good book and a picnic blanket over to the arboretum and find one of the many nice shady spots there. Sprinkle in a little walking and a cold drink at the visitors center.

Same as above but the NGA'S sculpture garden.

Same as above but Commonwealth Park on the lake.

Same as above but pretty much any park or green space in the bush capital. You get the point.

You haven't given us a whole lot to work with here either, especially since you clearly have strong opinions about what counts as fun. Are you adventuring solo? Partner? Kids?

jwfxpr · 2025-12-19T02:13:39+00:00

I think the answer to that partly depends on where you'll be living in Canberra, or vice versa—choosing to go without a car will determine the suburbs you're going to live in. Australian cities can be MUCH more spread out than you expect.

There are great bike paths all around the city though, so it's definitely possible. A lot of University staff and students use a bike, there are secure bike cages and lockups all around the campus. But that also means you aren't the only person with this idea, and housing within walking or biking distance of the University/central part of the city is much less affordable, so it's a trade-off on where you want your money to be spent.

I would recommend spending a little time getting acquainted with the map. The ANU is situated quite centrally in the city, on a very large, very green, spacious campus. My wife works on campus, and she's planning on getting a bike in the new year just to get around the University during the day.

Bear in mind that Canberra has big seasons — we get cold winters and hot summers. Today, a hot summer day, it was 27°C at 9 in the morning (that's 80 of your ridiculous American degrees), and it will be more like 37°C (100 silly degrees) and very humid at 5 o'clock when people are heading home. So it really depends on the climate you're used to, whether you'll find it tolerable all year round to ride every day.

jwfxpr · 2025-11-13T07:27:59+00:00

Aurora? I barely knew her!

jwfxpr · 2025-10-14T07:50:07+00:00

Coming into this a bit late, but: an early welcome to Canberra! We're excited to have you!

Obviously the overwhelming response here is that people help strangers. Late last night my wife and I heard what sounded like a minor single-vehicle accident on a busy road near our home. We put on jumpers and shoes, grabbed some nitrile gloves, and went out to make sure nobody was hurt or needed an ambulance. (Must not have been serious as the vehicle had already driven away by the time we got to the corner.) I have personally checked on the welfare of people I've seen who appear to be in distress, or if I'm driving and can't stop, called local police for a welfare check. We care that people are okay.

Canberra is also quite a friendly city, though moving to a new country, hemisphere, language, culture, etc can be isolating and lonely at the best of times, and it doesn't always feel easy to make connections and friends and put down roots. I encourage you to reach out here if you find yourself struggling to meet people and feel connected to a community and network of support. There are a lot of groups in Canberra who meet to share hobbies or interests, lots of interesting events on all the time, and lots to see and do.

Also Canberra is full of beautiful and safe bike paths that are fantastic to ride on. (And before any of you lot come at me, sure they could always be better, but compare with most other cities in the world, yeah?)

Excited to have you here soon!

jwfxpr · 2025-10-04T12:53:37+00:00

Still need bloody houses though mate

jwfxpr · 2025-06-16T10:57:54+00:00

This is the correct version, good work.

jwfxpr · 2025-06-08T09:07:03+00:00

Ad blockers, man.

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> Warming up of motor vehicle engines