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Even without eating the whole she bang, a food coma may not be optional, lol.

Kroger had frozen Mahi Mahi on sale again, and I finally gave in and bought some. Compared to the tilapia I often get, it’s still expensive when you consider the difference in servings per package. Took a quick Google, and decided to make a lazy adaption of this recipe for the seasoning and the results were very, very yummy. A package of Knorr Sides Spanish rice, and some onions/peppers in the frying pan round out the rest.

Not too bad, considering it’s the only time I’ve had this particular fish. Making this more an experiment than assured success. But I think it came out delicious 🤤.

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Playing through République episode two, I find the ending a touch amusing as a sell.

During the end roll of the credits, we hear The Overseer crafting a cock and bull version of a political murder, covering it up as a simple heart attack. One that could have been prevented if their over the top surveillance infrastructure, and ever watching big brother had been able to see the VIP collapse, his death could have been prevented. This is even more an amusing sell for his surveillance state, given that you can find an intel item along the way that shows The Overseer gifting the victim with one of his camera equipped owl statues.

Another nice tidbit is sparing The Librarian the irony of burning Fahrenheit 451, as they can simply censor it to greater effect on student’s e-readers and rely on the lack of cross checking the physical book. That’s an especially dangerous concept that fits both narratives IMHO.

Actually, I kinda hope someone makes a good book that utilizes that concept.

In related tidbits, whenever I get around to episode three: I might just breakout my USB-C hub, and connect my iPad to my monitor and Xbox controller. So far both times I’ve sat down to play République, I’ve basically put my iPad in a stand on my desk and fingered my way through the game. Wait, that didn’t come out right 🤣.

Future research may also include some iOS games worth trying with a controller. But +/- that Apple Arcade is kinda an interesting idea, I don’t really expect games on iPad to suck any less than Android tablets, since often the same crappy games are on both platforms. With really great ones like République being a rarer find, IMHO.

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Generally, I don’t expect too much out of Netflix films, but I have to say, Eli is probably a good, true horror film. It’s really, really rare that I watch a horror film and praise it as one, because let’s face it most aren’t very good films. Eli I think is a genuine horror film, through and through, and actually deserves some good ratings.

The first half of the movie rather plays up the terror and the horror, leaving you with the suspense of whether the ghosts are trying to help Eli or if it is all a delusion in his head. In a lot of ways, it makes me think of the 1963 version of The Haunting in the way it works that horror. But, it realizes that for the big screen something a bit more visceral is required for frightening the watcher. As a film, I think that it captures much the same concept of instilling terror and horror, and weaves something that works much better for a film, as it is not so dependent on your interpretation and understanding of the protagonist. Rather it’s gonna keep you curious when you’re not shaking in your boots.

And the twist at the end? That’s one hell of a twist.

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Pretty sure that I’ll never be as cute or comfortable as napping doggos.

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25 Old-World Italian Cookie Recipes Your Grandmother Made

I’ve probably had too many of these, at one point or another in my life. Also a nice find off Flipboard, because some of my mother’s baking recipes were lost or trashed during my last move. Among them the Italian sparkle cookies.

Maybe a decade ago, ma came across the recipe in a magazine or a website and it became yearly tradition to make a batch for the holidays. It was as close to a cookie one of the old Italian relatives used to make when she was younger, as she could find; I think it was one of my grandmother’s sisters that made them.

The difference is, our relative made them as huge cookies. My mother, made as many freaking dozen cookies as she could™. I think the recipe called for something like 6 dozen cookies, and she usually made a couple dozen more, demanding so when six eggs were involved in the process. We usually had plenty for Christmas,plenty to give others, and a few frozen to help tide us over until next holiday season.

While I stand by my grumbling about having to make so many extra cookies, it was fun helping my mother bake the sparkle cookies 👍. I’ve often thought, that I might take a shot at it if I ever found a similar recipe, someday.

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Watching Stumptown, I think I’m definitely going to enjoy this series and how full of character is. Characters make entertaining stories.

Also, I’m not sure what’s worse: how much Dex’s car reminds me of the two most significant Fords in my life thus far, or that I too, would probably take that deal for the price, lol.

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Whiskey might not be the solution to all problems, but I have to admit that a shot glass makes a damned fine refillable portion size.

Combined with one’s favorite anime isn’t a bad idea either.

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Happy fun times: when you power on your computer, and your Bluetooth keyboard doesn’t want to power on. Being lazy, rather than fetch my trusty USB keyboard I simply used accessibility features to login.

Windows NT decided my Bluetooth dongle was nadda, and only gave a faint blue like power was coming through the port but no goodness. Migrating to a neighboring USB port, and lo and behold: it suddenly lights up. I seem to recall that some ballocks like this, is how it ended up in the port it was in.

I’m pretty sure that the day I believe a Windows desktop ever does Bluetooth, or even USB things well, the deepest levels of hell may have frozen colder than can be measured.

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Some years ago, I remember my mother had a great desire for some lo mein, and the Chinese place we liked is one of my favorite restaurants in the area; because the food is good and bountiful in portion. I had made the decision, order an extra helping since I had never had it. Two orders worth combined with my meal and some other goodies, we were eating for days. It had been an experience, memorable, and delicious smorgasbord of Chinese food.

Tonight, I opted to stop off and get my favorite meal there, and I asked for an order of pork lo mein to go with my usual Szechuan style fried chicken. As anticipated, they’ve yet to learn how to skimp on the food.

That is to say, I ate like a freaking hobbit and have enough leftover for lunch plus dinner tomorrow. And Corky tried to get his nose on the fortune cookies.

Working Copy makes my heart throbb

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Working Copy is one freaking impressive feat of work.

One of my early bits of research into apps to solve less popular problems, was searching the app store for a Git client. Because I’m really more of a git and vim kind of guy than a cloud thing and browser based word processor kind of guy. On my old Tab S3 and on my Chromebook, it was easy enough to combine a git client and an editor to manage some repos, even keep a backup of some software projects for reference. Priorities being as they are, I started with iVim because muscle memory and most likely to freak out the fruity operating system. Combined with Pretext it gives me an editor I’m very familiar with, and a simple editor that matches what I’d want out of something neither vi nor emacs like.
After reading around Mac Stories, I decided to finally give Working Copy a whurl. I’m impressed, and I’m happy. Hell, judging by its user guide I could probably manage a nice local edit + git → remote build life cycle if I really wanted to.
For the most part, the software I use tends to be cross platform. E.g. developed on Linux, also available on Windows, cie; Android and iOS. And mostly the apps I use that are on both, are mostly the same on both. Except for the habit of iOS apps to use a scrunched landscape in portrait rather than going to a full screen view. Which is fine by me ‘cuz I’m a lazy git and have more than a few platforms to deal with.
Working Copy manages to be pretty native and runs with it all the way. You wanna know what my definition of professional grade, well made software for doing real shit would look like on an iPad? Well pal, Working Copy is now that definition, and what a damned stunning example it is!!!
Even more so, it appears to be feature complete enough that I don’t have to worry much. You see, I’m weird. I tend to like doing my work from the git command line client, and if I’m going to suffer a GUI then it’ll probably be git gui + gitk. And if Working Copy can’t do what I need to do, odds are I’d be running command line git regardless of the operating system, and probably quite out of my routine.
Something that makes me kind of happy about how native it is, is the file sync.
The way {App}/Documents is exported into the On My iPad provider as {App} is pretty nice. But doesn’t seem like the iOS Files stuff really has a concept of Unix style hidden files, so getting to .vim is a bit of a pickle.
Thus, I had Working Copy’s sync feature use On My iPad/iVim/vimfiles. Which for iVim, maps to ~/vimfiles. A quick :e ~/.vimrc and it only took a moment to get my stuff in order.
" For iVim on iOS.
" Working copy can sync my terryp/vim to ~/ or a subdir but not ~/.vim because iOS file goodies don't like dot files
" So let's use terryp/vim -> ~/vimfiles ala wintel.

set runtimepath+=~/vimfiles/
set runtimepath+=~/vimfiles/after
source ~/vimfiles/vimrc

Since Working Copy is trivially able to handle the submodules in my repo, which anger some GUI clients I’ve tried on PC and Android, all my stuff pretty much just works. Because my .vim/bundle gets synced to vimfiles/bundle like the rest of my stuff.

When someone makes an application as good as Working Copy,  we should all applaud. I know that I’m sure freaking happy! It takes a lot of work to make an application that great, and all to often when you find an application to scratch such a less popular itch, it can be hard to find a really great solution. Working Copy is one of those rare, great solutions.