The first week of hybrid WFH worked out pretty well. That second monitor is occasionally mildly helpful for gaming or music or other things, but really handy for work. Staying home 4 days was nice. Coming back in to the office today hasn’t been unpleasant; I think the balance is good with this.
Two books I was waiting for were released last week. Linda Nagata’s Needle has a couple of fascinating new characters who really stole the show from Urban and Clementine. Overall though, it was a bit disappointing. There was some tension in the plot, but it felt pretty weak compared to the earlier stuff with Lezuri, with a vague “confusing anime ending” and not much closure for something that was supposed to conclude a series.
Becky Chambers’ A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was not disappointing at all. The second in her super-cozy “Monk and Robot” series, almost every chapter is like a philosophy discussion among friends over tea (sometimes literally). It brings smiles, and there were times where I just had to close the book and sit back with satisfaction. My only possible complaint is that there isn’t more of it — I feel that it’s fitting that these books are short, but I want more, but I also feel like wanting more is part of the experience of it, if that makes sense.
Maybe rather than wishing specifically for more of this series, I should wish there were more books like this. It’s in the “hopepunk” subgenre but also feels a bit like Moominvalley in November but specifically for adults. Hmm. Anyway, after devouring this one I’ve gone back to reread A Psalm for the Wild-Built.
Over the weekend I recorded 15 minutes of music for the next album. This time I’m going to try not to be surprised when I find I’m ready to start mastering. 😉
I’m eagerly anticipating shipping notification for my Miezo — I expect it any day now. I’m also beta testing some fun stuff, experimenting with a couple of techniques, and still grabbing the low-hanging fruit from Koszalin.
One thing I’ve found recently is I really need to keep up with practice/noodling on bass. Otherwise, during a recording session — especially with the Mikro — I’ll wind up with pretty sore fingers. It doesn’t take a lot of practice to maintain calluses and finger strength, but it also doesn’t take more than a few days for those benefits to diminish.