A New! Nintendo 3DS XL because I did not like the form factor of my Nintendo 2DS (also an impulse buy). I bought a bunch of cheap games and I’ve been playing Pokemon Sun a bit.

Also bought an e-bike. I haven’t had a bike in a while and I used to walk around the neighborhood or to the store all the time. I moved to an area that the grocery store is pretty far to walk to and it’s very hilly. The e-bike is great for going up those hills. It’s a pedal assist (no throttle acceleration) and I try to minimize how much I use the actual assist so I can get a workout too. It’s been great and I’ve taken it to the grocery store and library a few times. I bought it when I did because I knew tariffs were going to affect the pricing. The company recently said they are raising prices due to tariffs, so I think it was a wise decision.

Same and in that order. Mexican food has always been my #1 favorite followed closely by Indian food. So yum!

Fuck yes my dude! The hamstring connection isn’t the most obvious, but makes a lot of sense once you hear it. I spend 5 minutes on hamstring stretches alone and it helps keep a lot of my pain away. I could never touch my toes until I had 2 metal rods in my back! 🤣

I am so glad to hear it’s helping!

I agree this has been a major factor. During the early internet days, folks used to tell me “don’t believe everything you read on the internet”. Now those same folks believe everything they read on the internet.

Oh Trillian, that was such a good program. I loved changing the skin to fit my mood.

Sorry to hear about your aches and pains, I get them too as I’ve been getting older, especially my knees. I have a spinal fusion and a few things have really helped to alleviate my chronic back pain.

1. Stretch every day. I pay special attention to my hamstrings, they get most of the stretching because it helps loosen lower back muscles too.

2. Try not to sit too much. A sit stand desk helps with that, but I also try to stand if I’m watching tv. It’s weird, but it works.

3. Go for walks. I don’t have to go anywhere, I just throw on an audiobook or music and walk for an hour or two around the neighborhood.

These keep my daily pain minimal, most days it’s so low pain, I can just ignore it and I’m fine.

I’m a Tolkien fan, but I can definitely agree with that!

Ken Liu, but his family immigrated to the USA when he was 11, so I’m not sure that counts? He does a lot of translations for Chinese scifi authors including Three Body Problem. I do have all of his Dandelion Dynasty books, but I haven’t started them yet.

I am a big fan of his short stories and I would recommend Hidden Girl and other stories. There are a few in that book that are loosely tied together and it was made into a tv show called Pantheon, which was great!

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is another great collection of short stories. I first listened to the title story on the LeVar Burton Reads podcast, then bought the book. My favorite story was The Literomancer, which was so moving I couldn’t read anything for a few days. Good Hunting from that collection was also an episode of Love, Death, & Robots.

Philip Pullman will always and forever be my favorite author. I first read the His Dark Materials series when I was 11 and I was hooked. Those books made a huge impact on me and how I think about the world.

I would recommend his book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. It’s a retelling of the Jesus Christ story where Jesus and Christ are 2 brothers, one who is moral and the other who is not at all moral. I am not a religious or even spiritual person, but that book was really good!

Oh! I forgot about that one, I liked Edge of Tomorrow too

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

I was 11 when the book came out, so I was the perfect demographic for it. That book played such a pivotal role in my life at that age. I remember being excited for the next books and waiting for their releases.

I’m 41 now and I still will pick up any book by Pullman and read it. He is my very first favorite author.

I have two.

I do not like Will Ferrell in his typical roles at all and I’m glad I’m not the only one saying this anymore. Everyone quotes Anchorman and I just did not enjoy that at all, or Elf, Step Brothers, or any of his “everyone loves” movies. Stranger Than Fiction, however, was amazing and I wish he would do more roles like that.

Tom Cruise is my other one. I find his acting very bland and unappealing. Mission Impossible has put me to sleep every time I try to watch it. I am not a big fan of Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, or any of them. My Cruise exceptions are Tropic Thunder which I wish he did more comedic roles like that and Minority Report, not a perfect movie but it was the very first DVD I ever owned so there is a bit of nostalgia tied to it.

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Epistory and Nanotales

Both fantastic games with beautiful graphics and good for typing practice.