Books

_The 9th Directive_, Adam Hall

The second book about Quiller, who is almost Bond but has less autonomy and only gets one woman per book.

Hall likes to infodump. He rhapsodizes on at length about the virtues of a particular rifle; when the government orders a halt to private airplane flights, owners are not just required to drain fuel tanks but to remove distributors... and in the bright, noisy, shiny-clangy city of Bangkok, all of the scenery descriptions are dull and muted.

It's the story of a man who only sees the world as a target gallery. There's also a plot which is obviously going to fail or be turned around simply because it comes to a head in the middle of the page count. I really dislike it when that happens. Of course, I also dislike it when I realize that there's only a few dozen pages left in the book and the plot can't possibly be wrapped up that soon... so this must be book one. Can't please me at all, so you might as well not bother.

Books

_The 9th Directive_, Adam Hall

The second book about Quiller, who is almost Bond but has less autonomy and only gets one woman per book.

Hall likes to infodump. He rhapsodizes on at length about the virtues of a particular rifle; when the government orders a halt to private airplane flights, owners are not just required to drain fuel tanks but to remove distributors... and in the bright, noisy, shiny-clangy city of Bangkok, all of the scenery descriptions are dull and muted.

It's the story of a man who only sees the world as a target gallery. There's also a plot which is obviously going to fail or be turned around simply because it comes to a head in the middle of the page count. I really dislike it when that happens. Of course, I also dislike it when I realize that there's only a few dozen pages left in the book and the plot can't possibly be wrapped up that soon... so this must be book one. Can't please me at all, so you might as well not bother.

Books

_City of Tomorrow_, Howard Chaykin

Mneh.

There's not an original idea in this graphic novel.

The plot is old. No twists that you couldn't see coming from page three or so.

The characters are mostly robots, and they all have pink cheek circles. That's how you tell them apart from the humans, who act the same way and have the same lack of depth.

The art is super-shiny and stylized, in a way that gets annoying by the halfway mark. It's full of detail, but the details don't mean anything.

Books

_City of Tomorrow_, Howard Chaykin

Mneh.

There's not an original idea in this graphic novel.

The plot is old. No twists that you couldn't see coming from page three or so.

The characters are mostly robots, and they all have pink cheek circles. That's how you tell them apart from the humans, who act the same way and have the same lack of depth.

The art is super-shiny and stylized, in a way that gets annoying by the halfway mark. It's full of detail, but the details don't mean anything.

Ice Cream

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

16 oz peanut butter -- the kind where the only ingredients are peanuts and salt.
1 quart half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Put about a third of the peanut butter in a blender with a third of the dairy. Blend until the blender stops making clunking noises and starts to whir ominously. (Yes, we use chunky peanut butter for this. What other kind are you suggesting exists?) Add a third of the sugar and stir for a bit. Repeat the cycle for half of the remaining peanut butter, dairy and sugar. Repeat to finish.

Refrigerate until chilly, then add vanilla, mix again and put it into your ice cream machine.

E was initially upset that we weren't making chocolate ice cream. Then he was upset that he didn't get to taste the mix again and again and again...

We'll see how it comes out after dinner.

Oh, yes. A standard jar of peanut butter in the US is 18oz, not 16. The other two ounces are the bits skimmed from the top, and will be whipped with sugar and a little butter to produce peanut butter frosting. Do not tell the kids yet...

Ice Cream

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

16 oz peanut butter -- the kind where the only ingredients are peanuts and salt.
1 quart half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Put about a third of the peanut butter in a blender with a third of the dairy. Blend until the blender stops making clunking noises and starts to whir ominously. (Yes, we use chunky peanut butter for this. What other kind are you suggesting exists?) Add a third of the sugar and stir for a bit. Repeat the cycle for half of the remaining peanut butter, dairy and sugar. Repeat to finish.

Refrigerate until chilly, then add vanilla, mix again and put it into your ice cream machine.

E was initially upset that we weren't making chocolate ice cream. Then he was upset that he didn't get to taste the mix again and again and again...

We'll see how it comes out after dinner.

Oh, yes. A standard jar of peanut butter in the US is 18oz, not 16. The other two ounces are the bits skimmed from the top, and will be whipped with sugar and a little butter to produce peanut butter frosting. Do not tell the kids yet...