Author: Kris

  • Download & Transfer your books

    Starting February 26, 2025, the "Download & Transfer via USB" option will no longer be available. You can still send Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled devices by selecting the "Deliver or Remove from Device" option.

    As of Feb. 26, Amazon is removing the ability to download and transfer your purchased Kindle ebooks. This sucks. This means you lose the ability to back them up, or to move them to your devices over wired connections. If also means Amazon can one day decide to remove the books entirely, because you never really owned them to begin with.

    I suggest you log into your account NOW and download each of your purchased ebooks. Of course they make it as difficult as possible, so you have to click on each one individually and download it to your computer. (I had 77 of them. I’m sure there are people with loads more.)

    And then if you were so inclined, you might also install something like Calibre, an open source ebook collection manager. And if you were further inclined, you could also install some useful plugins that would give you further flexibility in how you read your purchased content.

  • Nope.

    Guardian Media Group today announced a strategic partnership with Open AI, a leader in artificial intelligence and deployment, that will bring the Guardian’s high quality journalism to ChatGPT’s global users…

    Yeah, no. Subscription cancelled, and I told them why.

  • Questacon!

    Questacon!

    We got our science on, at Questacon.

    Lego planets

    Rodd built a Martian landing strip at the Lego Curiosity exhibit.

    Building a Mars landing strip

    Martian landing strip

    We also contributed sections to the mosaic.

    Lego mosaic sections

    Lego mosaic

    There was only one school group visiting, so once they passed through, we mostly had the place to ourselves.

    Karate kick

    Mr Snook through a Fresnel lens

    The Moon

    This is going to be the cover of our first album. (Can you tell which one of us always runs 5 degrees hotter than the other?)

    Infrared selfie

    And oh yeah, I got up the courage to do the 6m free fall that I chickened out on when we visited fifteen years ago.

    I’m so proud of myself! Even though I look like a flattened Oompa-Loompa at the end. 😂

    After the free fall

    I definitely earned some beer at Bentspoke!

    Beers at Bentspoke

  • Akiba

    Akiba

    Thanks to everyone who recommended dinner at Akiba! It was very good. 😊

    kingfish sashimi, coconut, nam jim, coriander

    kimchi & oyster pancake, kewpie mayo, sriracha

    pork belly bun, char sui, asian slaw prawn AND chicken dumplings, black vinegar dressing

    Prawn fried rice, beef short rib, Asian greens

  • Brutalism

    Brutalism

    We went to see The Brutalist last night, which felt appropriate.

    National Gallery, Canberra

    High Court of Australia, Canberra

    Henry Moore Reclining Figure, Canberra

    National Library, Canberra

  • National Museum of Australia

    Muttaburrasaurus!

    Muttaburrasaurus

    “They’re called MINERALS, Marie!”

    The Snook with rocks

    Inexplicable post-modern architecture!

    Garden of Dreams at the National Museum of Australia

    A restored paddlewheel steamer, cared for and exhibited by some friendly older guys

    The Enterprise paddwheel steamer

  • Happy Valentine’s Day

    Happy Valentine’s Day

    I took my Valentine out for fancy cocktails and then to see Postmodern Jukebox in Canberra. ❤️ (Effie Passero blew the roof off every time she opened her mouth. Her voice is astonishing.)

    Negronis

    Postmodern Jukebox

  • Early train from Central

    Early train from Central

    It appears the 7:12 to Canberra hasn’t been affected by the industrial action. We’ve passed a LOT of commuters on platforms though that are clearly in for a Bad Day…

  • Tragedy in Munich

    Rodd saw the news but didn’t want to tell me, knowing I’d be upset. I probably rode my bike down that street a dozen times. This is terrible. 😢

  • Controversial quilts

    Controversial quilts

    “The American Quilter’s Society refused to show two artworks in an exhibition centered around the color red after claiming they could be controversial… One quilt could be interpreted as depicting female anatomy, while the other references abortion access.” (Link courtesy of InarticulateQuilter.)

    What absolute cowards. I actually went to that exhibition when it toured Australia at the Sydney Quilt Show last July. I saw the “Your Mother. Your Daughter. Your Sister. Your Grandmother. You.” quilt and felt it was both beautiful and powerful… but also, without the sign giving it context, it’s just a quilt made of red squares. I also saw quilts inspired by the Covid pandemic, school shootings, and climate change, and many of them were way more overt than this one.

    Although to be fair, I don’t remember seeing the “Origin” work. Feels like I’d remember that. 😜

    A quilt referencing the Covid pandemic with red flowers over a litany of excuses for not masking

    An abstract quilt with bold splotches of colour referencing a school shooting

    A small woven artwork referencing climate change, showing rising temperatures and raindrop beads