Michael Kalus.ca

internet

April 2020 Culture and Media review

Intro So this month was a bit different. The whole COVID-19 thing had me sit more at home and “space out”, to that end, there was way more TV than books this month. Especially one series I got into. More details below. Books The Story of more by Hope Jahren

covid-19

What does Vancouver sound like during a Pandemic? - Part 3 - Around False Creek

This time I went around False Creek. Starting at Pacific & Burrard and working my way south / east through Granville Island to Cambie Bridge. Once again, I recommend listening with headphones.

What does Vancouver sound like during a Pandemic? - Part 2

Second in the series. This time I started out at First Beach and went along the Seawall into Stanley Park. Two things impressed me the most. The first one is just how loud cars and where you can hear them in the park just going along the causeway. In fact,

covid-19

What does Vancouver sound like during a Pandemic? - Part 1

With the shut down of a large part of the public life in Vancouver I noticed two major changes. 1. The air quality improved 2. My neighbourhood is much quieter due to less cars. But that wasn't the only thing. I no longer have drunk people hang out on the

culture

March 2020 Culture and Media Review

Books The Image - A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin This book dates back to the 1960s, but so much of it could just have been written today. It sort of shows just how strong the human condition is. Rating: 4/5 Trump and his Generals

2020

Chill with Will

Will Smith has put together a lo-fi chill mix for you to relax while socially distancing yourself. Enjoy!

culture

Stuck inside? Take a journey through Russia’s iconic Hermitage museum

Experience a 5 hr 19 min 28 sec cinematic journey through one of the world’s biggest museums in St. Petersburg, Russia. Take in 45 galleries, 588 masterpieces, and live performances. Watch the highlights: 00:01:25 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YeFsx1rIw&t=85s] Jordan Staircase 00:49:

fitness

Fitness in the time of physical distancing

With Gyms closed the question is how to stay fit and strong. Firstly it should be said, at the time of this writing, most of us aren’t locked into our homes. So things like running, biking and definitely going for a walk is a good idea. Just don’t

music

Chillhop Spring Essentials

Chillhop Essentials Spring 2020 by Chillhop Music [http://chillhop.bandcamp.com/album/chillhop-essentials-spring-2020]

eurovision

Icelands entry for the 2020 Eurovision contest

2020

February 2020 Culture and Media Review

Books Geostorm series (Book 1 - 3) by Bobby Akart Back in December I read Akart’s “Pandemic” series and though it was okay for the first 1 1/2 books before it became boring and in general was rather cookie cutter. Unfortunately with Geostorm there aren’t really any

vancouver

Goodbye Musette Café (for now?)

Today Musette Café had its last day here on Burrard Street. It was a road cycling inspired café, though inspired doesn’t quite do it justice. It was a form of community hub for a lot of cyclists. Origins I came across the original Musette by chance. It was tucked

video

Musical Poles

Musical Poles

yoga

Movement in January

Overview In January I did a total of 56 tracked activities and covered a distance of 338.69km according to my Garmin. I ended up burning 24,566 kCal doing this and gained more than 4km in elevation. Running I did only one run this in January. The reason for

movies

January 2020 Culture and Media Review

Books SynCorp Saga - Book 1 - The Lazarus Protocol by David Bruns & Chris Porteau It is an interesting start to (another) “the world ends, but rich people and scientists can save us” narrative. I am cautiously optimistic that it does not become too formulaic but time will tell. The

meditation

Thoughts on Meditation

Meditation StreakAt the end of 2018 I decided to make a daily 20 minute meditation my “practice” and, as of today, I have managed to meditate for 380 days straight. It is funny to look back on it now and how hard it was. I have meditated on and off

iphone

Bodega at Twilight

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49364086753/]Right time, right light, right place. iPhone XS Max, applied a Kodachrome 64 pre-set afterwards.

December 2019 Review

Books New Earth - Book 1 - ARC by Devon C. Ford An end of the world novel and a beginning of the world novel. It's the first in a series, though I haven't seen / read the other ones yet. As these go it is an interesting and entertaining read.

subaru

2020 Outback Limited XT - First Impressions

Introduction The new 2020 Outback is my third Outback and I have to say the best. I ended up with the Outback back in 2012 after deciding to get a car again and found to my dismay that pretty much nobody in Canada is selling Wagons anymore. European manufacturers were

music

Chillhop Winter Essentials 2019

Chillhop Essentials Winter 2019 by Chillhop Music [http://chillhop.bandcamp.com/album/chillhop-essentials-winter-2019]

2019

November 2019 Review

Books Rat f**ked: The True Story Behind The Secret Plan To Steal America's Democracy by David Daley This is one of these books that only interests you if you have an interest in American politics. To be fair to the book, I am not really. I am interested though

vancouver

Between the Rain

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49071033178/] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49071561481/] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49071033323/] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49071109423/] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49071559841/] [https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/49071033638/]

Audiobooks

Media Review October 2019

Books Safehold - Book 9 - At the Sign of Triumph by David Weber And it is done. In the 9th book David Weber finish the original cycle. The Church is defeated and Safehold is looking forward to a new era….. Maybe? The books pace felt a bit faster than

macos

macOS Catalina broke Audiobooks, here’s my workaround

Introduction When Appel released macOS Catalina (10.15) at the end of the September not only did they break 32-Bit applications on macOS but they also broke audiobooks on the Mac for a lot of people. So what happened? Among the things Apple is changing is that they have “retired

books

September 2019 Media Review

Books Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue by Ryan Holiday The story of how Gawker [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gawker] was taken down by Hulk Hogan a few years ago developed a new twist when it turned out that Hogan was only able to