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Jay

How to Subvert Expectations in a Story

The best subversions in stories aren’t overbearing, or rely on jerking the viewer/reader around with cheap plot twists. Effective subversion—usually called one of the forms of irony—are more subtle and respectful of the audience’s intelligence. In this clip from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs anthology, the subversion is simple and easy to spot: The surface How to Subvert Expectations in a Story

An Actual Hack

Every new idea or workaround is called a “hack” nowadays, even if it’s a technique that doesn’t involve technology. Some of the hacks listed in this “100 Home Hacks That Will Improve Your Life” could be considered engineering 101 hacks, but really they are just weird ideas that solve a problem or make something easier. An Actual Hack

New Book Links and an Album

Item 1: I have new links to donwload Pale Blue Scratch and Bored in the Breakroom on the About + Books + Subscribe page for free. A few more online retailers. Item 2: My friend Graham, under the name Silent Music, put out a new album, called Taciturn Headphonetics. I have no idea how to New Book Links and an Album

Long-Running HTML 4.0 Websites

Even though HTML 4.0 specs were released after these sites were published, they still could be called HTML 4.0-era sites simply because it was the longest-running version of HTML before HTML 5 came around. The coding conventions, as well as the general aesthetic and subject matter, are often associated referred to using the 4.0 descriptor, Long-Running HTML 4.0 Websites

Wednesday Humpday Midday Song: “Yewbell (Balmy Breeze)” from Arc the Lad IV: Twilight of the Spirits

Years ago, I had found garudoh’s YouTube channel, where he published videos of game soundtrack medleys. From that channel I found Supradarky‘s original account before he got nuked, where he had posted this song. I put a lot of Supradarky’s tracks on my iPod to listen to at work, and as I named the files Wednesday Humpday Midday Song: “Yewbell (Balmy Breeze)” from Arc the Lad IV: Twilight of the Spirits

Recipe: Spicy Keto Porridge

Ingredients 1/2 cup 2% milk 1/2 heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons Optimum Nutrition Double Rich Chocolate protein powder (or whatever flavor) 1 tsp butter 1 tbsp cream cheese 1 tbsp peanut butter (sugar free) 1 tbsp chia seeds 1/8 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp cloves 1/8 tsp nutmeg Stevia/sweetener to taste Directions 1. Put all of Recipe: Spicy Keto Porridge

Three Cheers for Metal Slug

I was able to plow through the first six Metal Slug installments, in between sleeping, writing, reading, eating, and doing other staycation-type activities, so the re-experiencing the action is fresh on my mind. I only played the first two games, long ago, when they were both in the arcades in the late nineties. It’s very Three Cheers for Metal Slug

Photo: Jay, 1995

Here’s a nice still shot of nineties Gen X/Millennial culture. I was home from college on Christmas break when my brother took this photo. The date in the lower right corner is correct. Some things to notice: 1. The crazy-patterned bed comforter. 2. The Jim Lee X-Men poster, view it in its entirety here. At Photo: Jay, 1995

Recipe: Chicken and Broccoli

Ingredients 1 lb broccoli 2 lb chicken breast olive oil For the sauce: 1 c cream 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp pepper 1 tbsp chives Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Slather the chicken with olive oil before placing it Recipe: Chicken and Broccoli

Video: Remembering the End of the World

Interesting explanation of the similarities of worldwide accounts (stories, myths, cave drawings) of global disasters and observable cosmic phenomenon. I don’t know if it’s astrophysically possible without a detailed model of how electromagnetism would have 1) overcome the effects of gravitational forces between celestial bodies, and 2) place Saturn, Mars, and Venus into their current Video: Remembering the End of the World