Alternate timeline SF. A meteorite hits the US. The Space program accelerates so humans can escape earth. Our hero faces lots of sexism & other barriers to becoming an astronaut. 3/5
The family move to De Smet, South Dakota. The railroad and then a town is built about them over a year. A good entry in the series, some gripping passages. 3/5
Based on 142 interviews. A lot of summaries of findings with quotes for interviewees and people’s blogs. Last chapter has some policy push but a little lights 3/5
Just a a 6 hour long quick spin though history. First half suffers a bit with lists of Kings although there is a bit more colour later in. Okay prep for something meatier 3/5
A bit of a mix. It covers the legacy of Apollo but the best bits are chapters on the Computers, Politics and other behind the scenes things. A compliment to astronaut and mission orientated books. 4/5
A very tightly written thriller about a fictional 1963 plot to assassinate Frnch President Charles de Gaulle. Fast moving, detailed and captivating 5/5
Memoir from the first officer in charge of the US Navy’s Top Gun school. A mix of his life & career, the school and US Navy air history (especially during Vietnam). Excellent 4/5
75% about Big-wave Tow-Surfers with chapters on Scientists and Shipping industry people mixed in. Competent but author’s heart seemed mostly in the surfing. 3/5
I did a big twitter thread of the YouTube channels I am following. Below is a copy of the tweets. They are a quick description of the channel and a link to a sample video.
Lots of pop-Science and TV/Movie analysis channels plus a few on other topics.
I should mention that I watch the majority of YouTube videos at speed 1.5x since they usually speak quite slowly. To Speed up videos click on the settings “cog” and then select “Playback Speed” . YouTube lets you go up to 2x
Chris Stuckmann reviews movies. During normal times he does a couple per week. Mostly currently releases with some old ones. His reviews are low-spoiler although sometimes he’ll do an extra “Spoiler Review”. Usually around 6 minutes long. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Movie Review
Wendover Productions does explainer videos. Air & Sea travel are quite common topics. Usually a bit better researched than some of the other channels and a little longer at around 12 minutes. Around 1 video per week. The Logistics of the US Census
City Beautiful is a channel about cities and City planning. 1-2 videos per month. Usually around 10 minutes. Pitched for the amateur city and planning enthusiast Where did the rules of the road come from?
PBS Eons does videos about the history of life on Earth. Lots of Dinosaurs, early humans and the like. Run and advised by experts so info is great quality. Links to refs! Accessible but dives into the detail. Around 1 video/week. About 10 minutes each. How the Egg Came First
Pitch Meetings are a writer pitching a real (usually recent) movie or show to a studio exec. Both a played by Ryan George. Very funny. Part of the Screen Rant channel but I don’t watch their other stuff Playlist Netflix’s Tiger King Pitch Meeting
MrMobile [Michael Fisher] reviews Phones, Laptops, Smart Watches & other tech gadgets. Usually about one video/week. I like the descriptive style and good production values, Not too much spec flooding. A Stunning Smartwatch With A Familiar Failing – New Moto 360 Review
Verge Science does professional level stories about a range of Science topics. They usually are out in the field with Engineers and scientists. Why urban coyote sightings are on the rise
Alt Shift X do detailed explainer videos about Books & TV Shows like Game of Thrones, Watchmen & Westworld. Huge amounts of detail and a great style with a wall of pictures. Weekly videos when shows are on plus subscriber extras. Watchmen Explained (original comic)
The B1M talks about building and construction projects. Many videos are done with cooperation of the architects or building companies so a bit fluffy at times. But good production values and interesting topics. The World’s Tallest Modular Hotel
CineFix doesn’t a variety of Movie-related videos. Over the last year only putting about one or two per month and mostly high quality. A few years ago they were at higher volume and had more throw-aways Jojo Rabbit – What’s the Difference?
Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) does tech reviews. Mainly phones but also other gear and the odd special. His videos are extremely high quality and well researched. Averaging 2 videos per week. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Review: Attack of the Numbers!
How it Should have Ended does cartoons of funny alternative endings for movies. Plus some other long running series. Usually only a few minutes long. Avengers Endgame Alternate HISHE
Screen Junkies does stuff about movies. I mostly watch their “Honest Trailers” but they sometimes do ‘Serious Questions” which are good too. Honest Trailers | Terminator: Dark Fate
Half as Interesting is an offshoot of Wendover Productions (see above). It does shorter 3-5 minutes weekly videos on a quick amusing fact or happening (that doesn’t justify a longer video) United Airlines’ Men-Only Flights
Red Team Review is another movie and TV review channel. I was mostly watching them when Game of Thrones was on and since then they have had a bit less content. They are making some Game of Thrones videos narrated by the TV actors though Game of Thrones Histories & Lore – The Rains of Castamere
Signum University do online classes about Fantasy (especially Tolkien) and related literature. Their channel features their classes and related videos. I mainly follow “Exploring The Lord of the Rings”. Often sounds better at 2x or 3x speed. A Wizard of Earthsea: Session 01 – Mageborn
The Nerdwriter does approx monthly videos. Usually about a specific type of art, a painting or film making technique. Very high quality How Walter Murch Worldized Film Sound
Real Life Lore does infotainment videos. “Answers to questions that you’ve never asked. Mostly over topics like history, geography, economics and science”. This Was the World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park
Real Engineering is a bit more technical than the average popsci channel. The especially like doing videos covering flight dynamics. but they cover lots of other topics How The Ford Model T Took Over The World
CGP Grey makes high quality explainer videos. Around one every month. High quality and usually with lots of animation. The Trouble With Tumbleweed
Lessons from the Screenplay are “videos that analyze movie scripts to examine exactly how and why they are so good at telling their stories” Casino Royale — How Action Reveals Character
Lindsay Ellis does videos mostly about pop culture, Usually movies. These days she only does a few a year but they are usually 20+ minutes. The Hobbit: A Long-Expected Autopsy (Part 1/2)
A memoir of a senior White House staffer, Speechwriter & Presidential adviser. Lots of interesting accounts with and behind the scenes information. 4/5
A Star Trek parody from the POV of five ensigns who realise something is very strange on their ship. Plot moves steadily and the humour and action mostly work. 3/5
The book covers less than a year as the Ingalls family build a cabin in Indian territory on the Kansas Prairie. Dangerous incidents and adventures throughout. 3/5
A book about the post-Challenger Shuttle missions. An overview of most of the missions and the astronauts on them. Lots of quotes mainly from the astronauts. Good for Spaceflight fans. 3/5
Ways that people, organisations and governments can start looking ahead at the long term rather than just the short and why they don’t already. Some good stuff 4/5
Some interesting insights although everything being about New York and very left-wing politics of the author muddle the message. Worth a read if you are into the topic. 3/5
The story of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire that killed 13 smoke jumpers. Misses a point due to lots of talking to maps/photographs but still a gripping story. 3/5
The secret British operation to bug German POWs to obtain military intelligence. Only declassified in the late 1990s so very few personal recollections, but an interesting story. 3/5
A year in a life of a 9 year old boy on a farm in 1860s New Year State. Lots of hard work and chores. His family is richer than Laura’s from the previous book. 3/5 Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
A quick (4h) overview and introduction of our current understanding of the universe. A nice little introduction to the big stuff. 3/5
The Story of five of the first settlers of Marietta, Ohio from 1788 and the early history of the town. Not a big book or wide scope but works okay within it’s limits. 4/5
As the titles describes. Unusually for English Language books it focuses on France. Not much history just daily life & only 5h long. Probably works better with pictures. 6/10
A Mix of topics. Some autobiography & how she worked her way into the archeology of spaceflight. Plus items of Space History & comparisons with earth archeology. But it works 8/10
Only 3h 40m long and roughly covering a year. The author describes her life (aged 5-6) and her family in a cabin Wisconsin in the early 1870s. 1st in the series. 7/10
50h and covers up to his 1st inauguration. Not a good 1st Lincoln bio to read but very good. Some repetition as multiple sources a quoted on some points. 7/10
Each year I do the majority of my Charity donations in early December (just after my birthday) spread over a few days (so as not to get my credit card suspended). I’m a little late this year due to a new credit card and other stuff distracting me.
I also blog about it to hopefully inspire others. See: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
All amounts this year are in $US unless otherwise stated
My main donations was to Givewell (to allocate to projects as they prioritize). Once again I’m happy that Givewell make efficient use of money donated.
I donated $50 each to groups providing infrastructure and advocacy. Wikipedia only got $NZ 50 since they converted to my local currency and I didn’t notice until afterwards
Some Software Projects. Software in the Public Interest provides admin support for many Open Source projects. Mozilla does the Firefox Browser and other stuff. Syncthing is an Open Source Project that works like Dropbox
Finally I’m still listening to Corey Olsen’s Exploring the Lord of the Rings series (3 years in and about 20% of the way though) plus his other material
An okay read although I don’t follow the sport so had never heard of most of the names. It is still readable however and gives a good feel for the world. 6/10
A father takes his 15 year-old daughter for two trips to a remote cabin and a 3rd trip hiking/canoeing along a remote river in Alaska. Well written and interesting. 8/10
Based on Interviews with small town Americans it talks about their lives and frustrations with Washington which they see as distant but interfering. 7/10
This was the “almost” full text version. Lots of different actors reading each chapter (which are arranged as interviews). Great story and presentation works well. 9/10
