Yes. Yes, she is.

When Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson announced, last year, that they had chosen a drummer to join them for a few more Rush shows, I was at once squealingly excited and deeply fearful. I mean, I knew intellectually that there is no way the guys would agree to go out with a less than fantastic drummer, but the emotions do not play by the same rules as reason. Well, I found a few videos and a few expert opinions, and that allayed much of my worry. And then a few months ago we go the video from the Juno awards and that was very promising. But there were a few lingering, irrational concerns. Was she good enough?

Well, I'm back from the opening show.¹

There is a lot that could be said about things like song selection (we go La Villa Strangiato and YYZ!), and the tributes to Neil (sniffling back tears), and how incredible Time Stand Still sounds with Aimee Mann harmonizing on stage, and on and on but I'll let others cover that.

The answer is unambiguous.

All the delicacy and subtlety on display in the videos I've seen of her earlier work was there, but when Neil's drum parts demand The Beast she's got that too.² The crowd's reaction to the first big fill in Tom Sawyer was emphatic, and Geddy's reaction to that was something to witness.

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¹ Thanks to Mrs. NoSwampCoolers for deciding that this was going to happen while tickets were still available.

² And while she looks completely different from Neil, in the hard parts her face carried the same grim determination. But when the drum chart was merely fast and demanding joy and satisfaction would break through.

Loving and Hating the Same Book

I bought a book in an airport not so long ago. As usual with airport news-stands the pickings were somewhat slim and I opted for something I might not have chosen from a broader menu. This is a rather long book that is claimed by the self-designated and self-concious literary establishment, though it is arguably science fiction as well.

It kept me harmlessly engaged for the rest of that rather long travel day, but after we returned home I got distracted by other reading. I hate to leave stories unfinished, however, so I've returned to it, and I'm experiencing the same mixed emotions I had on the plane.

Considered in the small, I'm blown away. Sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph the writing rolls on carrying me along wih it. Each element is put together with skill and craftmanship. Mere middling examples plucked from the text as good as the best I've ever written. Word selecion is precise, cadence is smooth, mood and ambiance permiate the language. Details dropped in like grace notes place the action in time and place or evoke he personallity of characters. Damn it's good.

But in the large, I'm somehow ... bored. Every time I turn a page I am disappointed that I haven't reached the end of the chapter. I struggle to hang on to any semblance of plot arc.¹ I despair over how little of the book is behind me. I long for a couple paragraphs of clarity instead of literary stylings.

The book in question is Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. It's widely considered a masterpiece despite being a little dense. If I do manage to slog through to the end I may have some more thoughts, but for now I just note my paradoxical love and hate for the writing.

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¹ Well, to judge from descriptions of the work online, this is a particular offender in this regard; having more characters, more seprate threads, and just more events than is typical even for "literary" fiction.

Having it both ways

My better half and I decided we needed to buy a cardio machine. The only issue was what kind to get. We've both used treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and rowers of various kinds in the past (and I've used climbers), but the selection of a single best kind of machine is no easy task. To make matter worse we have slightly different needs and goals. It comes down to my wanting a rower and her wanting a bike.

The good news is that hybrid machines exist. They have always been rare and in the past they've been pretty expensive, but when I started looking around I found that prices are way down. There are two models you can actually get for less than US\$800, when the last time I look for these things they mostly ran \$1500-2000.

On the other hand the market for bike/rower hybrids isn't a big one and these seem to have driven the higher priced options right out of the market. Unfortunately they are (to judge by specs and reviews) not as nice; adequate but in no way luxurious. I would have spent more to get a nicer machine if the option was open, but given what was actually shipping we got a Avari A150-335 Conversion II.

Assembly was not hugely difficult, but the instructions don't quite match the product actually delivered.¹ I haven't had time to really put it through it's paces, but it does all thie things it says on the tin.

The belt drive is a little noisier and not quite as smooth as some higher-end rowers I've used in the past, but it's tolerable. The magnetic reistance means it is very quiet once you get all the bits in the right place. The range of resistance seems OK (though the fact that there are only eight settings is one of the things lost from earlier, more expensive options). The rail folds up fairly easily, though you need to make sure the seat is locked in place at least a little way from the console or it gets in the way.

The one oddball complaint I have at this point is the range of rowing motion in the front is somewhat limited: I have short legs and long arms and my reach on the recovery stroke is coming right to the cradle that holds the handle when you're not rowing. I don't think this is a show-stopper, but it came as a surprise.

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¹ This has been happening to me more and more frequently in the last few years. I get the feeling that the products are under continous development and accumulate a steady stream of small changes to reduce costs and or improve function, but the documentation doesn't always keep pace. Some manufacturers admit the changes up front with models name/numbers like Widget-Xtra-Special-5000/a15 where that last bit changes every few months. Others keep selling the "same" model so that you can only tell what you really have from the serial number. Sigh.

Audio goodness

I have a gamebox¹ and like to play games where the sounds carries information. So I need stereo, and I need enough volume to hear what is going on in the game soundscape.

But ...

• These games can be pretty noisy and other people in the house don't want or need to be disturbed by my entertainment
• The household also includes a toddler and a couple of people with moderate to severe health issues. I need to be able to hear when I have to stop playing right now and go take care of something important.

So getting a good pair of over the ear headphones and shutting the doors (the go-to solutions for hearing your game) are not really good ideas.

Now, a couple of years ago I spotted a solution: a wearable speaker. But at the time my finances were rather tight and before they recoverered I had forgotten. Then one popped up on woot: a JBL Soundgear.

The experience of using this thing for gaming is immersive. The sound is rich and seems to emenate naturally from all around you. It's hard to believe that everyone around you isn't hearing the same thing, but if you hand the device to a friend to try out you hear essentially nothing while they're wearing it. Of course you still hear local environmental noises which isn't ideal if you are listening for a telltale footfall in-game, but I chose this route because I need to be connected to my real-world environment.

These things might not be for everyone, but I'm pleased.

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¹ My gamebox is a PlayStation 4. Alas, Sony cheaped out on the bluetooth audio support (in an effort either to save a few cents per unit or to squeeze a few more bucks out of the consumer by controling the supply of compatible devices. You'd find it very easy to convince me of the latter. So I also bought a Avantree DG80 USB to bluetooth audio device. Works like a charm.