Distinct Lack of Replicants

Knock knock.  

Who's there?  

The new year!  

No thanks, the last one was awful and we've all learned our lessons.    

 Isn't December just delightful? After a year of avoiding various family and friends, you suddenly find yourself partying with them and deciding they're really not so bad. It also got me thinking how bummed Jesus must've been, being born on Christmas and all. Only one set of presents for Christmas AND his birthday! Utterly unfair.   

   Here it comes then, chickens. 2018. Blade Runner was set in 2019. Just let that sink in. No replicant robots, but we do have fidgets spinners and photo filters that make you look a bit like a dog. So that seems a fair compromise.      

  Made any ridiculous new years resolutions? I certainly have. It's time to jack in smoking. 10 years of this nonsense. I'm done. After a small attack of the horrors a few months ago, it hit me that if I actually contract something smoking-related from all this crap, I'll have only myself to blame. So that's it. I'm out for good. No question about it. If you're a slave to it too, I can certainly recommend vaping. Or huffing paint.      

  Nah, just joking. Vaping is an awful substitute.      

  Seriously though, it's amazing just how absurdly addictive it is – smoking, I mean. I'm not sure there's an analogue outside the world of drugs. It's a bit like feeling hungry, but for something that doesn't really bring much relief, or make you feel even particularly better than a few minutes ago. And it fucking kills you. Everyone bangs on about that Alan Carr book, How to Stop Smoking. So if you're in a pinch, I'm quite certain that might help.  

Have you watched the new season of Black Mirror? You should. It's great. I binged it in a day, drinking Bowmore whisky and petting the dog. Without me spoiling anything, Charlie Brooker really digs this whole torturing mind-copies of people thing, huh. It got me thinking quite a bit about the ethics of making mind-copies in the first place. It might make a fun video. Let's see.    

Exciting news: the audiobook of The Bridge to Lucy Dunne should be out by the end of January, all being well. The other books will follow shortly. If I'm allowed to, I'll just send it to you lot for free. Plus, I notice Amazon have just implemented a print on demand service that I think I might totally take advantage of for getting physical books out there. So that's jolly uplifting, for me anyway.     

 I finally tried VR a few days ago, after years of excitement. And it was even better than I imagined. In this case it was the Oculus Rift, but the HTC Vive and the Playstation version are no doubt similar. It blew me away and scared me in equal measure; blew me away given how utterly, utterly immersive it is; scared me given how utterly, utterly immersive it is. Two other friends were in the room at the time, and after about a minute, I'd completely forgotten they were there. Another minute and my brain couldn't fathom that I was bumping into the desk in front of me.     

 There's a sort of showcase level that comes with Oculus, and one of the scenes puts you on top of a skyscraper, looking down. It scared the absolute shit out of me, took all my mental effort to remember that this was a simulation. So I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on one of these things. Currently my PC runs on steam power and manages about 3 calculations per year, so it isn't a terribly realistic plan, but I'll give it the upgrade it so desperately craves soon. I'll be sure to stream that shit when I do.     

 Nonetheless, I've upgraded a bunch of my graphics software thanks to you lot. Hopefully I can progress beyond high school editing now. We'll see. In any case, it's been another year, and I'm still doing this stuff, entirely thanks to your kindness. My gratitude, as always, is enormous. I've got plans to start putting out Patreon wallpapers after videos, and maybe even streaming the editing process if that's something you'd be into.  Plus, the second part of Logic Beach is already underway - as well as another novel.  

 So yes, chickens: Try VR. Stop smoking. Have a lovely new year. Hope you're all doing all right, and I even more sincerely hope you go to some wild parties this evening.     

 Keep being ace, and I'll see you in 2018. With our fidget spinners. And doggy filters. And distinct lack of replicants.    

All the best, and many tortoise wishes to you, 

Ex.