Community Hangout

Sebastian

Dear Solus People,

I was thinking the other day that while it is true that there already is a Off-topic Solus matrix channel for people to hang out and chat, there is no such place specifically dedicated to this in our Forum.
And since matrix is not for everyone and I also observe that people have tendancy to go off-topic and chat here (which I like a lot. I like our community and I like to see people chat and exchange) I just thought I start an experiment and create a thread dedicated to this here.
This thread might die within 5 days or live for many years. Future will tell.

Please avoid highly controversial topics that have a strong tendency to lead to heated discussions such as politics, religion.....

No place for hate, racism, sexism or discrimination or offensive language of any kind.

Have fun!

hsmaan

Sebastian Thanks for starting this, Sebastian! It's great to have a designated space for off-topic chats within the forum. I agree, it's nice to see the community come together and exchange ideas beyond Solus-related topics. Let's keep it light, respectful, and enjoyable for everyone. Looking forward to seeing where this experiment takes us!

davidjharder

I started reading the Kim Stanley Robinson Mars books, really like them so far.

WetGeek

davidjharder I started reading the Kim Stanley Robinson Mars books, really like them so far.

Yes! Red Mars, Blue Mars, and Green Mars. Highly recommended. I read them years ago, and considered them some of the best science fiction I'd ever read. Mostly because they were more science than fiction. They should really be read in order, as they describe a sequence that wouldn't make as much sense otherwise.

tannji

davidjharder I see only good things for you! LOL... That trilogy is NOT the End All, Be All, (close tho) but its a great place to start. Robinson also has the Science in the Capital series, Three California series, and numerous stand-alone novels and short stories. I really like the contents of his head, and if he isnt political, then he is certainly adjacent and readable. I would be interested to know who ends up being your favorite charactor once you finish the trilogy!

Sebastian

I started reading the Community Hangout posts. Really like them so far 🙂

Sebastian

So, now it's 9 pm, rain just stopped and I'll just do some running now.

davidjharder

I'll talk the ears off anyone who mentions running. What kind of running do you like?

Sebastian

davidjharder What kind of running do you like?

I like running Solus. Well, you know, I do run very rarely. Wanna start to do it more frequently though. I kind of have the feeling that running might be the right thing for me. It's one if my favorite movie scenes when Forrest Gump just starts running and keeps running for days and days and days. Often though, I just feel too low on energy to actually just go out and so some sports. Maybe I need to adjust my nutrition.
I have the suspicion that I might rather be a long distance runner than a sprinter.
Do you run marathon?

tannji

davidjharder Running on Mars! lol, sorry = )

Staudey

WetGeek I prefer the "One Mars, Two Mars, Red Mars, Blue Mars" reading order

WetGeek

WetGeek I read them years ago

Out of curiosity, I checked with Barnes & Noble, and found out that they're still available as Nook books (besides as print books, I'm sure). Since I do all my book reading using the Nook app on my tablets, I decided to read them again. The first time I read them, it was as paperbacks, before I even knew anything about ebooks.

It surprised me that, although Red Mars cost a typical $3.95 (for an ebook), Blue Mars was $12.95 (!), and Green Mars $5.95. Still, just about $25 for all three, which I still consider a bargain.

WetGeek

Staudey I prefer the "One Mars, Two Mars, Red Mars, Blue Mars" reading order

Interesting. I had never heard of One Mars and Two Mars, and was curious to know if those were written by Kim Stanley, too. I couldn't find them with a web search, but it was interesting to read about the Mars One project.

Sebastian

WetGeek It surprised me that, although Red Mars cost a typical $3.95 (for an ebook), Blue Mars was $12.95 (!), and Green Mars $5.95. Still, just about $25 for all three, which I still consider a bargain.

Now you got me intrigued and I wanna read those Mars books. I read a lot online, but books not that much lately. I am just about to cancel my kindle unlimited subscription. Would have been much cheaper to buy the 3 books I STARTED to read than pay like 11 € per month. And off course, most books I wanna read aren't included in unlimited anyways. Same for the Mars trilogy. All 3 cost about 18 € as e-book for me. I really would like to know why they charge 2,99 for the first, 4,49 for the second and 9,99 for the third.

Staudey

WetGeek

I see now. So, NOT by Kim Stanley Robinson, then.

SethStorm666

At last the weather is summer-ish in Denmark. It has been a cold Spring up to now. Now I can have my windows open all the time without freezing. 🙂

WetGeek

SethStorm666 At last the weather is summer-ish in Denmark.

The weather is still wet-ish here in the US Pacific Northwest, after a rather dry-ish winter. The snowpack in the mountains is nowhere near as deep as it should be, and local governments are talking about a coming draught. Fortunately, that's mostly what comes of it - talk. But indoors, it's been very pleasant. There's been no need to turn on the air conditioner so far.

It's been said that we don't have weather here, instead we have climate. And our climate is the origin of "WetGeek." He's a software engineer from a place where it's been said to rain all the time. That's an exaggeration, of course. It just rains during fall, winter, and spring, not all the time.

BuzzPCSOS

Here in the UK we are enjoying mild but wet weather for the next few weeks. Our two greyhounds will both be wearing their coats to keep them warm and dry when they are out for their daily walk as the breed doesn't have enough body fat to help them deal with the cold. As they prefer grass to pavement we will be breaking out the wellies and heading out to some green space for daily exercise.
Our dogs love their walks and pay us back with love and devotion when they are not sleeping (which is quite a lot).

davidjharder

Sebastian Yeah, I do more long distance running. Trying to be super fast over 5km never feels very fun to me.

The only way to get better at running is to run 🙂, never too late to start.

WetGeek

Sebastian I really would like to know why they charge 2,99 for the first, 4,49 for the second and 9,99 for the third.

I wish I could answer that, too. Maybe because the first gets you wanting more, and by the time you finish the second, there's just one more in the series, so there's strong temptation to buy it regardless of the cost.

We're obviously in two different markets, so it's likely that our costs for things like ebooks will be different. But I thought I'd mention that the Nook app is free, and it's a great library manager and ebook reader. If you have a Barnes and Noble store available to you, you might find that Nook books are a reasonable alternative to Kindle books. And it's possible that more books that you want are available from there. It's worth a look.

Sebastian

Yesterday we had like 26 degrees celsius and 9 hour sunshine here in the very western part of Germany, near the Netherlands. And now we are down to 13 and not so much sunshine for the next 10 days or so 🙁

Sebastian

WetGeek If you have a Barnes and Noble store available to you, you might find that Nook books are a reasonable alternative to Kindle books. And it's possible that more books that you want are available from there. It's worth a look.

Yay. I found a german Web-Shop where I could buy the complete Mars trilogy in english as epub for 9,42€.
Am able to read it on my kindle now 🎉

WetGeek

Sebastian I could buy the complete Mars trilogy in english as epub for 9,42€.

Wow! Congratulations - that's quite a bargain. I'm going to start on it as soon as I finish my current mystery novel. I'm at chapter 29 now, so surely it can't be much longer. 🙂 I originally read that trilogy so many decades ago that it will be like reading it for the first time again.