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You are viewing the most recent 50 entries April 5th, 201702:25 pm: ![[sticky post]](https://l-stat.livejournal.net/img/icon_sticky.png?v=11043 "[sticky post]") About the new LiveJournal Terms of Service
Every LiveJournal user will be offered to sign the new User Agreement with SUP Media. It wasn't so much "offered" as "click on agree or be unable to login". As I'm posting this, no prizes for guessing what I did. (I had noticed the recent change that disabled logging-in with https too, which is something else of concern.) Given the new TOS means having to comply with Russian laws that are rather unfriendly to LGBT, I am unhappy about this forced change. I am for people being to express who they are and being able to love who they love without being discriminated against. I've been crossposting from my Dreamwidth account for a few years now, and it's become more & more my home account. If you're on DW, feel free to link me. ETA: If you could also drop a quick comment to identify yourself, it would be appreciated. At this time, I don't know if this will be my last LJ post, or whether I'll keep crossposting to both DW & LJ. For now, I will continue reading & commenting on my friendslist posts at both locations. Current Mood:  grumpy Current Music: "Heartland" The The , dw, lgbt, lgbtq, lj, termsofservice, tos
November 12th, 202002:51 pm: "What song is 10/10 for you, yet hardly anyone has heard of it?"
From elseweb: "What song is 10/10 for you, yet hardly anyone has heard of it?" I'll kick it off with World Party's "Is it like today?" Karl Wallinger who wrote it describes it as, "a precis of Bertrand Russell's "A History of Western Philosophy" in four verses. Don't try this at home." Clever & poppy is a killer combo for me. https://youtu.be/0tyLGi2LtlU
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
October 24th, 202003:27 pm: Soon's Improper Okonomiyaki recipe
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese dish that's like a savoury pancake/omelette. It typically contains finely shredded cabbage, eggs, Japanese yam, flour. And the toppings include Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, dried bonito fish flakes, and other protein of your choice. So just like an omelette or a pancake everyone has their own recipe & you can modify it as you like with different toppings making it a very versatile dish. It's become a regular in my cooking repertoire. Though the version I make is not the proper traditional one, it is quite simple & you can easily modify it to your own tastes e.g. by adding you choice of protein. I should also add this this recipe comes with rough amounts as I always adjust as I go. INGREDIENTS: 1. Cabbage finely shredded (you want about three to four handfuls (about 4-4 cups). I like it finely shredded so it cooks faster. You might like a thicker shred if you prefer more texture to your okonomiyaki. 2. Eggs (6-8 depending on size) 3. Cornflour (for a gluten-free/low-gluten version), or you can use wheat flour. You want to add enough to turn the mix into a thick batter. The authentic version uses 4. Japanese mayonnaise 5. Okonomiyaki sauce (both the Japanese mayonnaise & the Okonomiyaki sauce is sold in Japanese food shops) 6. Teaspoon of miso paste (optional, but I like it as it adds some umami) 7. Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) METHOD: 1. Add the shredded cabbage, miso, and eggs together and stir until well mixed. 2. Add cornflour gradually while stirring slowly. You want to consistency to be of a thick batter. 3. Add a bit of oil into a frypan on low to moderate heat. 4. Spoon a ladle of the thick batter into the pan and let it cook until the bottom is brown before flipping it to brown the other side. (You don't want the pan too hot, so the Okonomiyaki is cooked through without the outsides burning) 5. Transfer the cooked Okonomiyaki to a serving dish, and decorate with the mayonnaise & Okonomiyaki sauce. 6. Lastly add the katsuobushi. The dried fish flakes will wave & curl from the heat of the Okonomiyaki. That's it. Now your Okonomiyaki is ready to eat. I've crossposted this on Twitter where I have included photos. https://twitter.com/SoonLeeNZ/status/1319824304582791168
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October 12th, 202012:52 pm: Today's mood: Kafkaesque
I am trying to sort out a new work contract. On a totally unrelated note, does HR stand for Hellish Resources?
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October 11th, 202010:58 am: Morena! Today I am unemployed*.
I suppose I should make the most of it. *A state that shouldn't last long if things go to plan. As a Research Technician, I have had a really good run of sequential contracts since the early 2000s that's allowed me to stay employed. I would have preferred a permanent position but that's not how it's worked out because of how research funding works. Research grants are given out for fixed terms of work, ranging from a few months to several years of you are lucky. Say you are a Principal Investigator (scientist) who has successfully won a research grant. Now you have to do the research you have proposed. But the thing is, if you are running a successful lab, you (the scientist) don't actually get to do the hands-on research anymore. That is left to either the PhD students or Post-Doctoral Fellows in your lab. Or the grant money allows you to hire a Research Technician. Because your time is better spent leading the lab (managing the lab, writing research proposals to get more funding for your research) rather than actual lab-based hands-on work. But given Research Grants are given out for fixed terms, you only have money to fund PhD students & Post-Doctoral Fellows for fixed terms. And the same for Research Technicians (someone like me). My contracts typically have been 1-3 years, not as short as the sort of work you might see described in the gig economy, but not permanent jobs either.
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October 10th, 202011:53 am: The Watch (Discworld)
This is nothing at all like how I pictured the Watch. But the trailer is fun. It's a million to one chance, but it might just work? https://youtu.be/ymQMJDmhu70
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October 4th, 202003:06 pm: There is a sequel to 17776!!!
Remember 17776? It was a story published at a sports-heavy website that was one of my favourite reads of (checks notes) 2017. The narrative uses multi-media to tell a SFnal story that kept me wanting more. Guess what? There is a sequel!
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
August 13th, 202003:11 pm: Auckland is back under COVID19 Level 3 restrictions
At noon Wednesday, Auckland re-entered Level 3 restrictions (and the rest of New Zealand into Level 2). This was because 4 new cases were confirmed. This might not sound like much but we had gone over 100 days with no cases except those intercepted at the border. New Zealand has been a fortress surrounded by COVID and it was inevitable that we would get cases evading the border measures. The government has acted swiftly and reintroduced restrictions on movements for the next three days while they contact trace & test people who have come into contact with the new cluster. The 4 cases were in the same household, but as of today, we have 13 more new cases, all related to the original four. We still don't know where the original four got infected (they don't work in the border control facilities which is the obvious point of entry), so for now we wait. And once again, we work from home. And after months of not needing the daily 1pm COVID19 media conferences, we started again today. The briefings are normally fronted by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern & Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield. They have been excellent, informative, forthright, sharing with the nation the latest status updates, new developments, in a transparent manner. https://covid19.govt.nz/updates-and-resources/latest-updates/covid-19-media-conference-13-august/Someone (and thank you whoever you are!) has made an IMDB entry for the 1pm daily uipdates. And the reviews are marvellous! https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12511606/reviews(When we went down to Level 1, and life was effectively back to normal, we celebrated it. We revelled in being able to travel around the country without restrictions by taking holidays. There were no limits to crowd sizes, and tens of thousands of people went to sports games. But we also got complacent: the number of people presenting themselves for testing plummeted, and many stopped using the COVID tracer app to keep a record of their movements. How little it takes for that to change.)
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
August 6th, 202006:35 pm: My first Worldcon panels
Ever. At CoNZealand last week I moderated "Death of Genre?" and was a panelist on "Good Omens at 30"They are available for CoNZealand members to watch until August 8 (NZT) which is two days away. Rewatch "Death of Genre?"Rewatch "Good Omens at 30"I was feeling nervous as I had never been on con panels before, so with "Death of Genre?" I took a straightforward approach. Unfortunately panelist Caren Gussoff Sumption had technical issues and wasn't able to join so we forged on with the other two panelists, Joshua Bilmes & Trish Matson. I welcomed everyone in Te reo Māori and in the process used a significant percentage of the Māori phrases I know. I got the panelists to introduce themselves (I prefer to hear about them in their own words, plus it's less work for a moderator), and introduced the topic with a reading of the OED definition of genre, and took it from there. I thought it went well overall and I injected myself more into the conversation to make up for the missing panelist. Having experienced my first panel, I figured the other one would be easy. After all, I was only a panelist, and it was on a topic I knew well.The "Good Omens at 30" panel was one I suggested to the programmers (what with it being the 30th anniversary of the book & the Amazon Prime 'moving pictures' version still veryt recent), and though I didn't volunteer to be on the panel, I was glad to do so when asked. The panel was moderated by Sam Blackley and the other panelists were Ira Alexandre (Lady Business!), Harun Siljak, and Maria Haskins. It wasn't a relaxing panel for me at all. A few minutes before the panel was to begin, Room Host Chris lost his connection. As luck would have it, I had been doing Room Hosting for other panels and still had the appropriate information in other browser tabs*. So I was able to take over and do double duties: Room Host & Panelist. I do not recommend it for anyone! I thought it was a really good panel, though we didn't get to many of the audience's questions as the Room Host was poor at timekeeping... But despite all that, I thought we had an excellent session, covering a good number of aspects within the topic, and there was a good amount of audience interaction in the chat as well. And despite initially getting thrown by having to be the tech person as well, I really enjoyed my time on this panel. *The obvious moral of the story is: never close your browser tabs. P.S. In both panels I tried to do introductions in Te reo Māori, so in a small (very small) way, have a little bit more New Zealand content in the panels I was involved in.
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
August 3rd, 202002:25 pm: The 2020 Hugo Award Ceremonies in a Different Trouser Leg of Time
The Hugo Awards showcase the best Science Fiction & Fantasy works of the year. The Hugo Awards Ceremony should similarly be honoring those works and their creators. It is the time to celebrate the present, with a view toward the future, but also not forgetting the past. The Hugo Awards this year was a hot mess. I was saddened this year's Hugo ceremony had its gaze firmly on the past, with the actual honouring of this year's winners an afterthought (and that's being kind). The focus was wrong. I was also saddened by the lack of New Zealand content in this year's Hugo ceremony. There was a replayed segment from the Opening Ceremony of Hugo Base artist John Flower describing Maori culture & traditions that inspired his design. There was a voiceover congratulating Hugo winners with "Ka mau te wehi" ("That's Awesome!"). That's it. New Zealand is, yes, Middle Earth (and a big draw for fans), but before Middle Earth, it was and is Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud). Worldcon was held for the first time in its history in New Zealand, but where was the New Zealand content in the Hugo Ceremony? Where was the Māoritanga? There was scarcely anything to indicate that this Hugo ceremony was taking place in Aotearoa and that was a huge missed opportunity. We didn't need George R. R. Martin bloviating about the past, especially about John W. Campbell, especially after last year. We didn't need GRRM bloviating about his own experiences at Hugo Ceremonies. It made the ceremony so long. So very long. The Hugo Awards should be about the finalists & the winners, but it became about GRRM. GRRM has responded in a File770 comment Since I expected a great many of those present to be Kiwis attending their con, I thought laying out the history of the awards was more than appropriate. Where the Hugos came from, how the trophy evolved over the decades, who has won it in the past — and who has lost it, something I tried to stress throughout, given my long history as a Hugo loser. I don't think he understands how condescendingly that comes across. Kiwi fans have been working to bring Worldcon to New Zealand for ten years. We have been fans of SFF from all around the world for decades. There is this thing called the Internet: Kiwi fans have been online for decades, the web making it possible for Kiwis to connect with fans from around the world. To suggest that we needed to be schooled about the Hugo awards (you know, the one GRRM himself says is "is the oldest and most prestigious award in SF and fantasy") is just insulting. We are fans. We have been following the Hugo Awards, watching the livestreamed ceremonies. And if we didn't know much about the Hugos, well there is this thing called Google, which allows us to bring up a huge amount of fan history with a quick search. The Hugo Ceremony has accumulated many traditions over its decades long history. It is long past due to re-examine those traditions & decide which to keep & which are past their use-by date and should be retired. And maybe start some new traditions. For example, the Astounding Award for Best New Writer (Not a Hugo) was previously the Campbell Award. There were good reasons for the namechange. There is also the tradition of this year's Astounding being presented by the previous year's winner (similar to the Oscars) along with a tiara. The tradition of the tiara is relatively young by Worldcon standards, first done in 2005, but has since become an integral part of the ceremony. Other traditions, such as having TAFF & DUFF delegates present awards are worth maintaining. There is no question that the Big Heart & First Fandom awards are worth maintaining. As for the other awards, maybe we should take a leaf from the Astounding (and the Oscars), by having the previous year's winners present awards to this year's winners. The symbolism of the past winner passing the torch to this year's winner is powerful. (Obviously if the previous year's winner is also a finalist this year, an alternate will have to be chosen. And not all past winners can attend the current Worldcon, but I'm sure the event organisers can work something out.) As for the so called "Big One", instead of bringing out Robert Silverberg every year to present the Best Novel (let him get some rest already), why not have the current Worldcon GoH present that award. After all, the Worldcon GoH is someone of stature & lifetime achievement in the field. Who better than the GoH to present the Best Novel Hugo? In a different trouser leg of time the 2020 Hugo Award Ceremony might have commenced with a welcome by Tangata Whenua ("People of the Land"). The ToastMxer might have presided over a ceremony that celebrates the best of SFF of the year. And along the way, we might all have learned a little more of New Zealand & Māori culture, SFF creators & works as we celebrate the best SFF of the year. Wouldn't that be more worthy of "the oldest and most prestigious award in SF and fantasy"? ETA: If you don't know what the fuss was about & want to watch the full Hugo Award ceremony. https://watch.thefantasy.network/the-2020-hugo-awards-livestream/If you want to see the Hugo Awards ceremony without the extended GRRM interludes, this is the one for you. https://youtu.be/7yGPBIQvs0Y
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/ Tags: hugo
May 8th, 202008:08 am: Tracking COVID19
This is an excellent article describing how COVID19 mutations are being used to track its movements around the world & to help identify links to clusters in NZ. You can visit the Nextstrain site to explore further. Nextstrain is the repository of published COVID19 genome sequences shared from around the world & they continue to publish analyses based on genetic sequences & metadata. It's a terrific resource.
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
May 1st, 202008:08 am: Mike Hosking debates Mike Hosking
Hosking is a well-known New Zealand radio broadcaster whose opinions alternate so quickly that if he were a dynamo, we could use him to power cities. His hot takes are ludicrously laughable. Unfortunately, he has a big enough audience that his opinions can cause harm.
Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
March 25th, 202008:26 pm: Worldcon 2020 goes virtual
This year was going to be the first year Worldcon would take place in Aotearoa, in Wellington. It's the World Science Fiction Society's annual convention, where among other things, where lots of Science Fiction & Fantasy authors & fans meet up, and where the Hugo Awards are given out. It's never been in New Zealand before. But instead this will be the first year Worldcon goes virtual. (It's left me feeling a bit hollow as I was really looking forward to attending, but I appreciate that the organisers are caught between a rock & a hard place. And the health of attendees & organisers must be top priority in these times. So now I look forward to helping make ConZealand a memorable experience. Kia Kaha.) https://conzealand.nz/blog/2020/03/25/conzealand-is-going-virtualPlease come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/
March 24th, 202011:07 am: COVID19 lockdown here we come
Hope everyone is staying safe & sane.
I've avoided working from home all these years, and now that I have to, have spent the morning getting the home PC set up. And we're not there yet.
In other news, it's looking like we'll run out of a week's worth of fruit by the end of tomorrow.
https://twitter.com/SoonLeeNZ/status/1242207346081685504 New Zealand advanced to Alert Level 3 yesterday and tomorrow midnight, we go to Level 4, which is a nation-wide self-isolation for at least four weeks. So I've been getting the home PC ready for working remotely. It's all a bit scary and though there have been debates on whether we are doing it too early (and damaging the economy) or too late (the virus is alreeady rampant in the community), I think the timing is about right. We have just had the first cases that cannot be traced to travellers, strongly implying that there is now community transmission in New Zealand, and we have seen what happens to countries that fail to act early & decisively. We do not want to become another Italy that's for sure. Denmark has shown what can be achieved if we act early: https://twitter.com/ChiefSciAdvisor/status/1241894811948335104And countries like Taiwan & Singapore who have been dealing with COVID19 for a lot longer have managed to keep suppressing the virus without being as extreme as China was in Wuhan. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been terrific & the clear messaging has helped a lot. The COVID19 Alert Levels were announced only three(?) days ago which feels like an age now. BUt what it did was outline what to expect at the different Alert Levels, so when we had to step up to the next level we already knew what it would involve. Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/Current Mood:  anxious March 20th, 202003:45 pm: 2020 Cancelled
http://www.theshovel.com.au/2020/03/19/2020-cancelled%EF%BB%BF/After careful consideration, we have decided it is no longer in the best interests of everyone involved to proceed with 2020.
While we recognise that a lot of hard work has gone into preparing for 2020, if we're honest it has turnd into a bit of a shitshow and we feel it is best just to call it off.
We understand that some of you were looking forward to seeing what cruel and peculiar clusterfuck of a disaster 2020 would throw up next. But on balance we believe it is probably best not to find out.
We will instead provide ticket holders with a full refund or an exchange, and start afresh with 2021 on Monday.
Our plan is to deliver a more enjoyable year, similar to say 2016, which everyone thought was the absolute worst year of all time, but in retrospect was a fucking walk in the park.
See you next year.
Management Please come comment at DW: http://soon-lee.dreamwidth.org/Tags: funny
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