just works “almost” is pretty funny but i know what you mean. i wasn’t having much trouble with it testing it with a virtual machine. the nice thing is a lot of the applications i use on windows are already free software that im realizing are a lot of the go to’s for people running linux, so really a lot should “just work”

i’m about to take my first peek into linux on mint. i’m not completely put off learning some new things but being able to do that in a desktop that is familar makes everything a lot easier to pick up on. who knows, if it all goes smoothly maybe next week i’ll be running arch (i won’t)

svetlana was a character that i had mixed feelings about. i think the book did a good job of establishing the mounting dread of the situation rockhopper was in leading to their landing on janus, so i felt like i could empathize with her and her team’s sentiments to a point. but as it goes on and on and she remains the most petty person, especially with so much at stake, it was really over zealous. especially when she had parry as a voice of reason just to ignore. it doesn’t help that in every given opportunity bella is always more fair and measured in every action. no competition at all for who’s taking the gold in holding a grudge. i have to say though i couldn’t help but laugh when there was so much effort gathering and informing everyone to absolutely, under no circumstances, even utter as little as a single word to the musk dogs, followed by direct video feed of svetlana going to go make contact with the musk dogs, comedy.

as for the fountain heads i really enjoyed their earnestness. their complete lack of nefarious intentions was a fun play on expectations, like you said, and mckinley is just one of my favorite dudes.

i think the concept of the structure and the idea of this timeless, universal zoo was really cool and interesting, much more than i was anticipating from the concept at first. the way the time gets played with is something i really loved in the story. connecting bella’s final broadcast as the benefactor sparking the greatest civilization in human history, ultimately tying back to garrison, the lock of hair, and the cube as, in a way, his final parting gift, thrown through all of time and space for her, really hit me when it all got brought together towards the end. it really added an important piece of humanity and sentimentality to the unimaginably vast journey bella and the crew goes on.

i’m glad you enjoyed it. i actually haven’t read any other reynolds but i did look a bit into house of suns when i was going through his catalogue before ultimately choosing to read pushing ice, i guess i’ll have to give it a read.

very minor spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read

i read pushing ice with my book club recently. was also not expecting things to go where they went but i really enjoyed the direction. it makes for a very fleshed out ‘sailors marooned on a deserted island’ kind of story that doesn’t waste the possibilities it’s genre and setting allow it. janus as a setting just has a lot of great mysteries and the way the crew interact and survive on the planet is explored very thoroughly. the isolation of how hopelessly far they are from home and only getting further struck me when i was reading. you can understand the different factions and how things might have been different if only a few things changed in the beginning.

and as far as sci-fi goes, it’s version of it is a favorite of mine. the blue-collar worker in space is something i’ve always liked, and it gets depicted very well in this book. would love to hear what you think once you’ve finished it.

i’ve only been on the platform for a few days but i’ve noticed a decent uptick in content and unique posts. probably still a lot of bots but with a decent surge of users and people getting a handle on the platform there’s been a good bit of activity.

yeah it’s important that people post and comment. lurking is only good once there’s a critical mass of content and engagement to sustain that kind of passive browsing. i hope new users will understand it’s early days on this platform and content has to come from somewhere!