Thanks for using the MVS-Amazon link!

[matthew1]

Whoohoo! I just got my new Sorels! Just in time for cold weather.

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This is the third Sorel Chukka Madson pair for me over the years. Like I mentioned many posts ago in this thread, these things are tough. I wear these all day every day. Why? I have arch supports which are a pain to move from shoe to shoe, and are too expensive ($300+) to have more than one pair. So it's the same shoes for me every day.

When the pair wears out, I get a new pair and move the old pair to yard/car duty to keep the current ones nice to wear to parent-teacher conferences, etc.

I have other shoes, but don't wear them, so these do 365 duty. I need Abscate to help me do a cost/mile calculation!


There are other nice Sorel Chukka styles, all kinds in fact.

[matthew1]

Yesterday I ordered this Sylvania flood light and it came today. Completely unremarkable (it works fine) except for two things:

• on the box it says its annual estimated cost to use is $1.69 (!)
• it lights up for one second when you turn it on, even though it's got a daylight sensor to activate only at night

The second one just made my day. It lets you know, after you climb up on a ladder to screw it in, that it's functional. What a great touch by the engineer that made the tiny chip inside it. I love things like this.

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[matthew1]

Sometimes you can find Flawless Victories on Amazon still. Here's one:


https://amzn.to/3i6h3Cb $1.48/roll

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[matthew1]

Sorel - Men's Madson Chukka Waterproof Boots

I just today re-ordered these durable Sorel brand boots. My last pair I got in October 2016, and I wore them every day until last week. Incredibly durable, good for snow/rain, good looking enough for anything casual. I'm a same shoe every day guy, and these are it. I love them.

These things WILL NOT DIE.

Sure, they don't look good any more, but I've been waiting for a blowout or sole failure, and neither of those will happen.

Do me a favor and if you order some, be sure to use my link and it helps keep MVS's gears turning.

Same with anything... when you use the MVS-Amazon link, it helps! Thanks so much for your support.

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[matthew1]

I've got a couple authors for you if you've liked the various books I've recommended here in this thread.

Gene Wolfe

Official Author link to Gene Wolfe on Amazon.

The Shadow of the Torturer: The Book of the New Sun, Book 1

The Shadow may be too brutal for some in some parts. But its theme of sleep/wake is so awesome.

Sleep/wake
Magic/reality
Dream/fact

I haven’t read a Fantasy book in 40 years, and here I am reading what some say is the best ever written. I’m on the second book already. It’s a 4 book series. The magic is “quiet”. There aren’t teams of screaming wizards riding fire dragons over castles casting explosion spells read from scrolls. It’s not Dungeons and Dragons. It’s subtle and creepy. But mostly the series is about a young protagonist who is easy to root for. He moves through a dangerous, strange, wicked world on his adventure.


other author coming up...

[Missypitt00]

I desperately need a copy of the vida software and manual please please please

[abscate]

I desperately need a copy of the vida software and manual please please please

See the download instructions in the VIDA forum , missy!

[FireFox31]

I desperately need new work boots. Now I'm considering those Sorel ones above based on Matthew's recommendation. I've heard great things about the brand and I think my extreme winter boots are from them. Thanks for the reference.

[matthew1]

No steel toe -- I think you know that though. Also check the sole rating for oil/whatever because I don't know if they're rated.

[matthew1]

I've got a lot of catching up to do with this thread.

But to start, I just finished The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, and wow was it good. It's a 1974 book, so for me this is what I consider on the leading edge of Science Fiction. Yes, I know War of the Worlds, and the bulk of Isaac Asimov's work, and tons of others were published well before 1974 and I've read many of them. So maybe it's best if I say it's on the leading early edge of the type of SF I like.

So why the distinction? IMHO, SF from before generally the early 1970s are just ok, not great. They can have hokey planet names, or goofy non-human races, for instance, or they'll typically not have computers in the stories, which are crucial to their advanced timelines. Can I deal with it? Sure, but I don't love it. I understand that general computing was decades away when Asimov (RIP) wrote the Foundation books, and for that I cut him slack. Foundation was the first great SF novel I read; I just picked it off a library shelf in Denver in a fit of serendipity circa 1980 when I was visiting my grandparents.

So I can't help but lump pre-computers and post-computers into their respective categories. I prefer the latter, and it's simply my taste.

If you've made it this far in my monster preamble, thank you. Its purpose is to point out that The Forever War might be the earliest SF book that I consider to be "modern". It has computers, lasers, time dilation, exoskeleton combat suits, and everyone's favorite, nukes. The one alien race in it is a bit goofy, but that's one strike not three.

But what really got me is the expanse of the time/setting and Haldeman's remarkable prediction of future society and its crushing alienation. His protagonist is relatable and it's very easy to be sympathetic to him. Most everything is believable, and if you come back to me and say it isn't I'd say, "Hey man, this is science fiction." But I'd concede to you that SF has levels of believability (although my threshold setting for this characteristic is kinda high, see above).

The Forever War, if you choose the audiobook version, is narrated by George K Wilson, who I rank as one of the best.

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