W09/2025: Monday 24 February - Sunday 02 March 2025
- This is one of the ongoing weekly notes, as per Thej.
Tech
- Still figuring out how to de-DRM Kobo and/or Nook, so that I do have somewhere to buy ebooks, that I can read on my ebook reader (currently a Kindle Paperwhite 2018), and store as unencrypted epub files (both these use cases are vital to me). Maybe I just stop buying encrypted books?
- For Patreon-like subscriptions Liberapay looks interesting. It is so frustrating that Patreon can't have a yearly payment option, or at least one that 90% of accounts don't turn on. Of course it is the venture funded company (Patreon) that keeps getting investments. The Patreon founder himself declared that creatives can't trust platforms but what exactly is Patreon, if not a platform? Ko-fi, Buy me a coffee, and Gumroad, seem too mainstream and/or nazi-friendly (see this platform comparison between BMC and Ko-Fi if interested). Compare that with Liberapay, which granted has little functionality, but it is enough to move 20k USD each week between people. The Gumroad founder has completely turned into a venture capitalist, which I guess was his original business plan?
Health
- The small boy has been sick (again) gets this from his classmates. Overall things are normal, but we really need to kick it up a notch. I do focus on buying good produce and cooking for them most meals. There is simply too much processed, sweetened edible substances (not food) that proliferate in the culture.
- My left hand is not healing from landing on it, especially the knuckle of my index finger. Perhaps I fractured it.
Transportation
- Our BYD Dolphin had its 3 month checkup, no issues.
Reading
- Starting to read about fascism, totalitarianism, etc. Since that is where we are these days.
- Reborn to Master the Blade vols. 4,5,6 read, getting a bit boring (repetition) but there is one more volume in my ebook reader.
- Started Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, a nice trans-historical novel about Sarum (Salisbury plain, home of Stonehenge). (Thanks Michael for the recommendation)
Music
- Torley Wong's 4Culture album now available on Bandcamp. I'm a huge fan and grabbed a bunch of his music that he put into the public domain back in 2005 (and met him in SecondLife way back when).
- The Warning (embedded), fantastic Mexican rockers
Video
- Still watching Hunter x Hunter around episode 32 or so. It's still quite good and we all enjoy it.
- Solo Leveling 20 (season 2 episode 8) is now out.
- Magic Maker is quite good. We are up to episode 7 of the first season, and we await the release of future episodes.
- Checked out the Apothecary Diaries Season 1 (they are in mid-Season 2 right now in terms of releases), but not for the boys (the heroine is kidnapped and kept in the back palace where all the concubines give birth, just too much to explain at too early an age).