Ironwood: Excellent
In the early evening I finished Ironwood, a Catalina Novel by Michael Connelly. It was an excellent read; a real page turner. I liked this novel slightly more than Nightshade, which I also rated excellent.
Ironwood
Sworn to protect a scenic island meant to be far from the evils of the mainland, Detective Sergeant Stilwell can feel danger closing in.
Detective Sergeant Stilwell knows that his posting on Catalina Island is no paradise, but to most residents, it seems blissfully separated—by twenty-two miles of ocean—from the troubles of Los Angeles County. But now a threat is coming to his safe haven.
Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, Stilwell and his deputies watch a plane land in the middle of the night at the Airport in the Sky, a remote airstrip in the mountains. A duffel bag of drugs is dropped and the deputies move in, but things quickly go sideways. While Stilwell chases the fleeing pickup man into the mountainside brush, shots are fired on the runway and the plane flies off.
An internal inquiry follows, putting Stilwell on the bench until he is cleared of responsibility for the disastrous operation. But he is determined to find out who brought deadly violence to his island, and begins his own secret investigation into the drug deal gone wrong.
While under orders to remain in the sheriff’s substation, he finds in the lost and found a valuable backpack that was never claimed. He traces it to a woman who disappeared while hiking on the island four years ago. But then why was the pack only turned in two months back? Now thoroughly intrigued, he follows the mystery all the way to the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit and Detective Renée Ballard.
Stilwell and Ballard work the case from both sides of the channel, and soon realize they are on the trail of a criminal who revels in taunting the authorities. Meanwhile, frustrated at being shut out of an investigation on his own island, Stilwell risks his already shaky standing in the department to pursue a case whose reach is wider than he ever imagined.
In the afternoon I started in Ironwood, a Catalina Novel by Michael Connelly.
The Smoke Ring: Good
In the afternoon I finished The Smoke Ring, The Smoke Ring series book 2 by Larry Niven. I really enjoyed rereading this book.
Feeding a Monocentropus balfouri
In the evening, after having watched the second half of the Costa Rica tarantula documentary part 2 with Esme (we had seen the first half in the afternoon), I checked upon the four female tarantulas I keep.
First, I tried to feed the juvenile female Monocentropus balfouri. She immediately raised herself into a treat pose. This specimen is very skittish in my experience, so no surprise.
After a short while, however, the spider relaxed and rested on top of the morio worm.
I feed my tarantulas mostly morio worms: larvae of the darkling beetle Zophobas atratus. I do crush the head to prevent the larva from burrowing into the substrate and appear later as an adult beetle.
After I had fed the Monocentropus balfouri I dropped a pre-killed morio worm with the Pterinochilus murinus, Acanthoscurria geniculata, and finally Tliltocatl albopilosus; one larva each.
Love Tarantulas The Complete Archive Volume 1
The 8th of May in the afternoon I ordered The Complete Archive Volume 1 from lovetarantulas.com, a 64GB USB stick with 13 ebooks and 15 documentaries. I paid £30 (€36,22) which in my opinion is a steal for this wealth of information. A few hours later I got a confirmation email by Andrew Smith: it would be in the post the next morning.
And today, in the morning, the package finally arrived. No idea why it took so long. The USB stick was in a small plastic bag glued to the inside of a DVD like cover: very neat.
In the evening I watched the first of two Costa Rica documentaries. Alone, because Esme had school (Dutch) followed by a dance workshop. I liked the documentary a lot: it was a mix of historical/taxonomical information and actual field work.
Monocentropus balfouri out and about
After I had watched the Costa Rica documentary I checked upon the tarantulas I keep and noticed that the juvenile female Monocentropus balfouri was out and about.
Rehousing an Orange Bitey Thing
In the evening I decided to rehouse the Orange Bitey Thing; a female Pterinochilus murinus Red Color Form. I drilled holes in the lid of a 19 litre plastic container, to which I added coconut coir, and some plastic plants.
Next, I took the tarantula, still inside her small enclosure, up to the bathroom. This species can be quite skittish and moves fast, so I wanted a place where an escape wouldn't cause too much of a problem. After quite some time I managed to finally move the spider in a plastic cup using a paint brush. No threat posing by the spider, and no running around; it was actually resisting to move at all.
I cleaned up some of the decoration in the original enclosure: some cork and some plastic plants, and moved it to the new enclosure as well. Then I tried to move the spider in her new home. But it refused to move from her position near the bottom. There was no hole in the bottom of the catch cup (recommended) hence I couldn't push her carefully out that way. So I decided to let the catch cup with spider inside the large enclosure so she could get out in her own time.
Notice in the above photo how the plastic plants provide plenty of anchor points for webbing. In my experience Pterinochilus murinus webs a lot. Because this species uses some height of its enclosure, when available, it's now and then called semi-arboreal.
The last time I rehoused this tarantula was way back in 2020, when it managed to escape the catch cup I used.
The Drama (2026)
A happily-engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.
In the evening Esme and I watched The Drama. I liked the movie and rate it a 7 out of 10.
They Will Kill You (2026)
A woman takes a job as a housekeeper in a NYC high-rise, unaware of the building's history of disappearances. She soon realizes the community is shrouded in mystery.
In the evening Esme and I watched They Will Kill You. The movie was both weird and funny. It was nice to see Angus Sampson in a (short) role similar to his one in The Lincoln Lawyer: a private investigator. Anyway, I liked the movie, and rate it a 7 out of 10.
Carolina Reaper Chocolate
Yesterday I noticed a small green dot in one the 10 sections of a seed starting tray; a Carolina reaper chocolate chili pepper plant had breached the soil. And today, in the early afternoon, a tiny seedling could be seen.
I planted the 10 seeds Sunday the 26th of April. I got the seeds earlier this year from my brother. According to him this pepper grows slowly. It is my first attempt at growing chili peppers.
The Integral Trees: Good
In the afternoon I finished The Integral Trees, The Smoke Ring series book 1 by Larry Niven. I really liked the setting of the story and how one learns more and more about the smoke ring environment. A good read; recommended.
The Smoke Ring
In the free-fall environment of the Smoke Ring (an immense gaseous envelope and neutron star circling a habitable cluster of plants, trees and animals), descendants of the starship Discipline’s crew no longer remember their Earth roots or the existence of Sharls Davis Kendy, the computer AI controlling the ship — until Kendy initiated contact once more, 500 years after the crew whom the half-mad AI calls “mutineers” were abandoned on this strange world (see The Integral Trees).
Fourteen years later only Jeffer, the Citizens Tree “Scientist”, knew that Kendy was watching and advising. When Citizens Tree rescues a family of loggers, they learn of the Admiralty, a military organization in a town unknown to Citizens Tree. Jeffer is among those who want to visit the town and the Admiralty, which may have maintained intact Discipline's original computer library. The events following the visit to the town and the subsequent flight from the Admiralty form part of this exciting tale of adventure, danger and courage.
In the evening I started in The Smoke Ring, The Smoke Ring series book 2 by Larry Niven.
Rehousing an Acanthoscurria geniculata
In the early evening I finally rehoused Jaiden's Brazilian whiteknee tarantula (Acanthoscurria geniculata). The juvenile female's enclosure had become quite cramped. I had already made a batch of coconut coir by soaking a brick and let the sun dry it out quite a bit the past days.
I first transferred the large spider to a catch cup and put it in a safe place because our cat, Lina, was paying close attention. She likes to watch the enclosures with the spiders within.
Next, I transferred the "old" substrate also to the new enclosure, it was still good enough, and added some decoration: plastic plants and a cork tube. Finally, I transferred the spider from the catch cup into her new enclosure using a paint brush.
On both occasions, into the cup and out of the cup, the spider kicked some hairs in defense. When it finally was in her enclosure it kept her legs tucked in; a sign of stress. I'll let her acclimatize for a few days before attempting to feed her.
The Domains of Koryphon: Good
In the early afternoon I finished The Domains of Koryphon by Jack Vance. I enjoyed rereading this novel.
The Integral Trees
In the far future, the crew of an interstellar expedition abandoned the main spacecraft, which housed an AI who monitored the crew for the all-powerful State. The “mutineers”, as the AI calls them, made a new home in a gas torus that rotates around a neutron star, rich in trees, animals, sufficient water, but no real gravity. Five hundred years later, their descendants live in various, sometimes waring, clans.
A scouting expedition by men and women from one of these groups meets with hardships and enforced servitude. A revolt ensues. And all the time, the AI of the original ship, observes and waits…
In the evening I started in The Integral Trees, The Smoke Ring series book 1 by Larry Niven.
When I was a teenager I didn't want to read the book because I thought it would have math in it (integrals). Later I did read the book and it became one of my favourite books by Niven.
The reading order of Jack Vance's Alastor series
Recently, while checking out the Jack Vance bibliography Wikipedia page, I noticed that the publication order is as follows:
- Trullion: Alastor 2262 (1973)
- Marune: Alastor 933 (1975)
- Wyst: Alastor 1716 (1978)
The official Jack Vance website names Wyst book 2 of 3 and Marune book 3 of 3. Based on a reply by "Kilo Volt" to a Facebook post I made, a short review of each of the novels, this is the order the books were written, which is:
- Trullion: Alastor 2262
- Wyst: Alastor 1716
- Marune: Alastor 933
As the books are stand-alone it doesn't matter much, although I recommend to read Trullion first as this book explains hussade which is mentioned in Wyst several times.
There is also an Alastor book by the Dutch author Tais Teng, written in English: Phaedra: Alastor 824.
And according to the Alastor trilogy Wikipedia page:
Vance planned a fourth novel Pharism: Alastor 458, but it was never written.
Emphyrio: Good
In the early evening I finished Emphyrio by Jack Vance. It was a pleasant reread; I really liked the story.
The Domains of Koryphon
The races of Koryphon keep an uneasy peace- the swift, nomadic Wind-runners, the fierce Uldras, and the aristocratic Outkers. For over two hundred years the Outkers have occupied the Alouan lands, living in baronial splendor where Uldra chieftains once ruled. When the self-proclaimed "Gray Prince" leads Uldras in an onslaught to expunge the Outkers from ancestral lands, he faces a challenge from the Outkers, and from history itself!
In the evening I started in The Domains of Koryphon by Jack Vance with cover art by Dylan Carroll.
Terminal applications for macOS
In the afternoon I wrote a reply to a Usenet post in both comp.os.linux.advocacy and comp.sys.mac.advocacy. In the post I replied to the author stated that there is an impressive choice of terminal applications for Linux, implying that this is not the case for macOS. I replied that I knew of at least 10 terminal applications for macOS. Soon after, I replied to my own post with the following list (reformatted to link directly):
Also the author complained about lack of customization features to make the command-line environment aesthetically pleasing on macOS. To which I replied that one could install starship and a neat font like Firacode Nerd Font Mono.
Personally, I use Alacritty. In the past I have tried kitty but I like the simplicity of Alacritty more.
The Blue World: Good
Early in the evening I finished The Blue World by Jack Vance. Even though I have read this book several times before I still enjoyed the story once more. Recommended.
Emphyrio
Halma is a planet forever shrouded by the mystical epic of Emphyrio. Governed by an antiquated feudal system, all but the powerful Lords are involved in the planet's arts and crafts handiwork, which is exported and highly regarded throughout the galaxy. Work on machines is punishable by death, and profits are small. From his father Amiante, Ghyl Tarvoke learns that the inequalities of life on Halma can be remedied, and that the answer lies in legend. When Amiante dies a cruel and unjustifiable death, Ghyl begins his quest - to know the true story of Emphyrio.
In the early evening I started in Emphyrio by Jack Vance. I had downloaded the edition with cover art by Joe Bergeron.