Plurrrr

home

Booksmart (2019)

On the eve of their high-school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night.

In the evening Esme and I watched Booksmart. I liked the movie a little and rate it a 6 out of 10.

The Tainted Cup: Excellent

In the evening I finished The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I really liked this story: excellent and a real page turner.

Nearly 3 years ago I read the Founders trilogy by the same author, which I rated as follows:

If you enjoyed The Tainted Cup you might enjoy the Founders trilogy as well.

Bugonia (2025)

Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

In the evening Esme and I watched Bugonia. I liked the movie and rate it a 7 out of 10.

Snow in the garden

For the past few days it has been hailing a bit and snowing a bit, mostly wet snow. But this morning there was quite some actual snow in our backyard. So I couldn't resist taking a picture of this winter landscape.

Snow in the garden
Snow in the garden.

Havoc (2025)

After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through the criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.

In the evening Esme and I watched the aptly named movie Havoc. I liked the movie, despite the over the top violence, and rate it a 7 out of 10.

Empanadas in The Hague

In the afternoon Alice, Esme and I went to the city of The Hague. Alice wanted her ear lobes pierced at Goons and Queens. After she had two piercings in one lobe we went to look for a place to eat.

After some walking we found Tío Bigotes: authentic Argentine Empanadas. We ordered 10 and shared them. I liked the ham and blue cheese empanada the most. The edge of each empanada had the ingredients listed. Before we left we ordered 6 more to take home so Jaiden could give them a try as well.

A bug in tumblelog

Yesterday I noticed that the Archive section of this blog had a 2026 link while I hadn't blogged in 2026 yet, thanks to the email notification I got from Ahrefs. Inside the message it mentioned a critical 4XX page. When I checked my blog, I noticed that the 404 was caused by the Archive section: the first week of januari 2026 starts in 2025, hence there was already a 2026 year link.

Today I came up with a solution: keeping track of years blogged and using that to decide if the year is a link or not. So I increased the version of tumblelog to 6.0.0 to reflect this fix. The change log is as follows:

  • Fix year bug in archive creation: a year could show up while it wasn't available
  • Use utf-8 in read_entries to make it more consistent in tumblelog.py

As usual the latest version is available on GitHub.

Hot Pursuit (2015)

An uptight and by-the-book cop tries to protect the outgoing widow of a drug boss as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Hot Pursuit. I liked the movie and rate it a 7 out of 10.

Unfinished Business (2015)

A hard-working small business owner and his two associates travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every way imaginable, and unimaginable.

In the evening Esme and I watched Unfinished Business. I liked the movie and rate it a 7 out of 10.

The Curious Cat

Just before the end of the year Jaiden had lighted two candles. Our cat, Lina, was very curious and ended up examining one close up. Jaiden managed to take a photo.

Lina the cat gazing at a candle
Lina the cat gazing at a candle. Photo taken by Jaiden.

Later she got even closer to a candle so we shooed her away before she could hurt herself.

Lina handled the fireworks outside quite well. Only close to 12 o'clock she became restless.

A new router: GL.iNet GL-AX1800 Flint

At the end of the afternoon the router I ordered yesterday at Amazon arrived: a GL.iNet GL-AX1800 Flint. Setting up the router was a piece of cake and soon it had replaced the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 with OpenWrt. The latter was causing unexplained disconnects very often. At least, I suspected the router. The Flint is noticeable faster and seems to have a slightly stronger signal.

The Tainted Cup

In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.

Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

In the evening I started in The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett.

A Time for Bravery (2025)

A psychoanalyst is sentenced to community service following a traffic accident and is assigned to provide therapeutic support to a police agent devastated by his wife's infidelity. The two will face unimaginable dangers together.

In the evening Esme and I watched A Time for Bravery. I liked the movie and rate it a 7 out of 10.

Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

Detective Benoit Blanc teams up with an earnest young priest to investigate a perfectly impossible crime at a small-town church with a dark history.

In the evening Esme and I watched Wake Up Dead Man. The movie was very slow in the beginning but got better and I rate it a 7 out of 10.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I liked the movie and rate it a 7 out of 10.

Jingle Bell Heist (2025)

At the height of the holiday season, two strangers team up to rob one of London's most famous department stores while accidentally falling in love.

In the evening Esme and I watched Jingle Bell Heist. The movie was OK and I rate it a 6 out of 10.

Genie

The film is a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas.

In the evening Alice, Esme, and I watched Genie. The movie was OK and I rate it a 6 out of 10.