Od 1. září 2022 nebude možné provozovat kotle na tuhá paliva, které nevyhovují přísnějším emisním normám. Včasnou výměnou kotle můžete ušetřit. Nejenže snížíte náklady za topení, ale stihnete navíc využít státní dotaci na jeho pořízení. Víte, jak na to? Otestujte své znalosti.

Kvůli koronavirové pandemii lze očekávat silnou recesi. Česká národní banka proto v březnu dvakrát snížila základní úrokovou sazbu z 2,25 procenta na jedno procento. Některé banky na to už zareagovaly razantním snižováním úrokových sazeb na spořicích účtech, což zamíchalo žebříčkem nejlepších spořicích účtů. Ve spolupráci s Finparádou jsme zmapovali aktuální trend a sestavili nový žebříček.

Podřízení na něj spoléhají v časech dobrých i zlých. A když přijdou opravdové těžkosti, záleží často jen na jeho schopnostech, jak moc se podnik otřese, nebo zda padne úplně.

Firmy i finanční trhy mají za sebou první letošní kvartál. Bilance obou není z důvodu preventivních vládních opatření proti šíření nákazy covid-19 nikterak růžová. To potvrzuje i Partners index podílových akciových fondů.

Splácíte hypotéku, u níž se blíží zlomové datum fixace? Jak na to, když chcete brzy půjčku doplatit nebo ji refinancovat? A lze před doplacením využít odkladu splátek?

Nová zákon „Lex voucher“ stanovil pravidla pro vypořádání cestovních kanceláří s klienty. Na problematické situace, které mohou být s koupeným zájezdem spojeny, jsme se zeptali advokáta Ondřeje Vokála.

Česká rodinná firma SSI Group vznikla v době, kdy jsme ještě neznali mobilní telefony a podnikatelské prostředí 90. let bylo poměrně divoké. Přesto se ji Václavu Vodrážkovi společně se synem Janem a dalšími členy rodiny dařilo každý rok posouvat o něco dál. Letos tak na trhu významná bezpečnostní agentura oslaví 30 let svého působení na trhu.

Books on pre-order:

• Network Effect by Martha Wells (5 May)
• He's Come Undone: A Romance Anthology with stories by Emma Barry, Olivia Dade, Adriana Herrera, Ruby Lang & Cat Sebastian (12 May)
• Two Rogues Make a Right (Seducing the Sedgwicks) by Cat Sebastian (23 Jun)
• The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho (23 Jun)
• Rogue Myths (Gatekeeper 1) by Layla Lawlor (1 Jul)
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal (14 Jul) (ebook order cancelled by publisher, sob)
• Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor (18 Aug)
• Better Than People by Roan Parrish (25 Aug)
• Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (6 Oct)
• How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole (1 Dec - was 26 May)

Books acquired in April

• and read:
  1. Above Rubies (Clorinda Cathcart's Circle 7) by L.A. Hall
  2. Torches: Acquaintance Old and New (Clorinda Cathcart's Circle 8) by L.A. Hall [1]
• and unread:
  1. Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang [1]
  2. The Switch by Beth O'Leary [1]
  3. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells [2]
  4. The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells [2]
  5. The Siren Sea by Martha Wells [2]
  6. FIYAH #9 (Winter 2019) edited by Troy L. Wiggins + DaVaun Sanders [5]
  7. FIYAH #10 - HAIR (Spring 2019) edited by Troy L. Wiggins + DaVaun Sanders [5]
  8. FIYAH #11 (Summer 2019) edited by Troy L. Wiggins + DaVaun Sanders [5]
  9. FIYAH #12 - CHAINS (Autumn 2019) edited by Troy L. Wiggins + DaVaun Sanders [5]
  10. Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet #38 (July 2018) edited by Gavin J. Grant & Kelly Link
  11. Uncanny Magazine Issue Thirty-Four(May/June 2020) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Chimedum Ohaegbu, and Elsa Sjunneson
  12. Uncanny Magazine Issue Thirty-Three (March/April 2020) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Chimedum Ohaegbu, and Elsa Sjunneson
  13. Uncanny Magazine Issue Thirty-One (November/December 2019) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Chimedum Ohaegbu, and Michi Trota [5]
  14. Uncanny Magazine Issue Thirty (September/October 2019): Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! edited by Nicolette Barischoff, Lisa M. Bradley, and Katharine Duckett [5]
  15. Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-Nine (July/August 2019) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, and Michi Trota [5]
  16. Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-Eight (May/June 2019) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, and Michi Trota [5]
  17. Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-Seven (March/April 2019) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, and Michi Trota [5]
  18. Uncanny Magazine Issue Twenty-Six (January/February 2019) edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, and Michi Trota [5]
• and previously read:
  1. Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
  2. Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer
  3. Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
  4. An Infamous Army by Georgette Heyer
  5. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
  6. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

Technically, I was subscribed to and therefore paying for the issues of Uncanny Magazine all of last year, but it doesn't count as acquired until I actually download and put on the ereader. (totally a rational and thought-out argument and not at all because I don't want to faff with editing them into the relevant to-read pile posts ...)

[1] Pre-order
[2] Audiobook
[5] Hugo finalist

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The finalists are:

• Cora Buhlert
• James Davis Nicoll
• Alasdair Stuart
  • 2019 post of all eligible work
  • writer's selection from eligible work
• Bogi Takács
• Paul Weimer:
  • 2019 posts at nerds of a feather
  • writing at Skiffy and Fanty Show
  • writing at tor.com
• Adam Whitehead

Another category in which everything is free to read online. Some of the fan writers already helpfully have their Hugo packets prepared and easily found on their respective sites too, which is pretty impressive. My starting point is that I sometimes read James Davis Nicoll's reviews and I've read some of Bogi Takács's work, but I haven't routinely read any of these finalists.

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Turmeric is a root related to ginger. It's a little hot and spicy, which makes it delicious. It's active ingredient, curcumin, is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that could improve all sorts of things from arthritis to diabetes. Buy the fresh root and use peeled and grated, or buy the dried powder which is available at most groceries. I found mine at my local farmer's market.

Like most foods, it works synergistically. The absorption of curcumin is greatly enhanced by black pepper and it boosts the absorption of omega-3s, so I've added some pepper and flax oil. If you don't have flax oil on hand, substitute olive oil or just omit. 

This delicious and super healthy turmeric dressing can be used over any salad, as I've done here, but is also delicious on just about anything else from mixed veggies to rice bowls. It also works as a great vegetable dip.

ingredients

dressing

• 3 tablespoons tahini ($.30)
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice ($.60)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave (can substitute stevia or omit) ($.10)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar ($.10)
• 1 tablespoon flax oil ($.20)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon cilantro flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

salad

• 1 head romaine or other lettuce ($1.80)
• 2 tomatoes ($1.00)
• 1 cucumber ($.50)
• 1 small onion, sliced ($.20)

Tumeric is famously anti-inflammatory and can be enjoyed many different ways, including juiced raw. But today, I wanted to pass on this super easy tea (psst, it's not raw!).

I've been drinking it almost every morning for a couple months now and it's still delicious to me, which is a good thing. Turmeric has so many beneficial qualities ... let us count the ways (scroll below for the tea how-to).

1. Anti-inflammatory.
Turmeric, the brightly colored spice that gives curry it's intense color, contains beneficial compounds that have positive health benefits. The main compounds are the curcuminoids and the most important of these is curcumin. One of the most beneficial things curcumin can do is lessen inflammation, which is implicated in most Western diseases.

To be fair, inflammatory responses are a good thing. We wouldn't be able to wage a defense against bacteria and viruses, or injuries, for example, without a strong inflammatory response. However, too much of a good thing can cause problems. Chronic inflammation has been implicated in many diseases that plague us today, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and obesity. Curcumin can reduce inflammation as effectively as some anti-inflammatory medications, but without the side effects. One of the ways it does this is by inhibiting (NF)-kB.  
 
2. Antioxidant
Oxidation is a chemical reaction that produces free radicals. Free radicals have unpaired electrons. These lonely little fragments damage cells and wreak havoc and destruction wherever they go. Antioxidants, like curcumin, terminate the chain reactions that lead to unpaired electrons and, therefore, free radicals and the damage they cause. Seriously, it's the radicals, man.
 
3. Heart Health
Almost 50% of Americans will die prematurely from heart disease. Heart disease and chronic inflammation are so closely linked that inflammation is thought to be an atherogenic response (atherogenic means it causes atherosclerosis, aka, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, and is also peripheral artery disease). It's even thought possible that the slight benefit sometimes derived from statins could be due to their anti-inflammatory properties. Reducing inflammation is a vital key to reducing heart disease.Curcumin is a potent COX-2 inhibitor, that

4. Cancer
Curcumin is being investigated as prevention and treatment for cancers such as that of the colon and pancreas. Chronic inflammation and free radicals promote cancer. Reducing those conditions can be preventive and curcumin works well at both. 
  
5. Arthritis
 Inflammation is an important mechanism in arthritis. Curcumin acts as a COX-2 inhibitor in the same way pharmaceutical drugs such as Celebrex do, but without the dangerous side effects. The tea below, as well as curcumin supplements can ease the pain of arthritis and rejuvenate mobility.

7. Alzheimer's 
India has a low incidence of Alzheimer's, possibly linked to higher intake of curcumin. Because inflammation plays such a big part in most disease, including Alzheimer's, it can be protective and preventative.

8. Brain Function
Alzheimer's is not the only thing that can go awry in brain function, and again, inflammation is implicated. In this case, it's known as neuroinflammation, or inflammation specifically in the brain and reducing that can help overall brain function. 
   
9. Depression
Depression and anxiety are often linked to brain inflammation (this is why going gluten free can help mood, as well). It seems to offer some improvement and relief to those who have depression.

10. Gall Bladder Function 
Curcumin causes the gall bladder to contract, which stimulates bile formation and gall bladder emptying and a freely flowing gallbladder is a happy, healthy one (unless you have a stone blocking the exit, which can cause a painful gallbladder attack).

11. Pepper
I can't talk about turmeric and curcumin without also mentioning black pepper. The Piperine in black pepper increases the absorption of curcumin by 2000% (that's 20x). So, add a little bit of black pepper to whatever you make with turmeric for the greatest benefit. It tastes good, too.

*Do not use turmeric or curcumin if you are using blood thinners such as Warfarin or if you have existing gall bladder disease.




 This tea (and this salad dressing, too) are delicious ways to get a healthy dose of turmeric.


ingredients

• 1 orange, peeled and chopped ($.70)
• 1 teaspoon powdered tumeric ($.10)
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds($10)
• a few black peppercorns, or pinch of black pepper
• stevia or sweetener, if desired ($.10)

directions

1. Place the orange, turmeric, and caraway seeds in a large saucepan with four cups water. 
2. Bring to a boil over high heat and continue to boil for about five minutes. This will reduce any bitterness in the turmeric.
3. Add the peppercorns or pinch of pepper and steep for a minute or two. 
4. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into mugs and and the sweetener of your choice, if desired. 

Nobody had any recs for Nigeria, so we poked around a bunch of internet best of lists and came up with Lionheart, (2018, dir Genevieve Nnaji), which turned out to be a great choice.

Lionheart is about a young business woman, Adaeze, who has to overcome sexism and save her father's struggling transport business. The director, Nnaji, also plays the title role and does a brilliant job. What I particularly loved about this film was that it undermined my genre expectations of feel-good feminist films. Adaeze doesn't have to outsmart and triumph over the sexist men, she has to learn to collaborate with people different from herself. And the company doesn't win by beating its rivals but by conducting a merger that at the start seemed unthinkable, requiring cooperation between her Igbo, Christian family and some Hausa (I think?) Muslims.

In particular, the eccentric uncle who is inexplicably appointed as acting MD when everybody knows it should have been Adaeze turns out to have some key strengths. He is in fact only annoying, and not a jerk. His people skills and intuition perfectly complement Adaeze's business acumen. (And how nice to have a female lead be the excessively competent and rational one!)

Adaeze does experience some sexism, particularly creepy men who expect sexual favours in return for investment in the business. But most of the antagonists are just nasty in a gender neutral way, like they want to sell the business to a conniving rival for quick money.

Anyway that was a really sweet date-night movie and I do feel our film project is back on track

Any recs for Bangladeshi films? We are most excited about 21^st century films not primarily about violence or depressing real-world history.

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Continued from Day Four. (From the beginning.) On Friday we packed all of our stuff back up and headed out.  We were barely out of the resort when: This tire is flat. Apparently all that gravel out to Horne Lake Caves the day before also included a small screw.  We limped around the corner to … Continue reading Summer Horrification — Day Five — Englishman River and Rathtrevor

Well, nothing major to report this month, except at least we have some content: The conference I first showed my Reverse Emulation project at in 2018 (Deconstruct) finally posted the video of my talk, which was called "Improper Hierarchy." The talk is of course similar to the living room CRT video I put on youtube, but it might be interesting even if you've already seen that (watching it a year later, there are at least some funny ad-libbed parts IMO!). The video production is very high quality (in general the conference was very well run and the speaker experience in particular I heartily endorse) but also quite serious-seeming, so I like how it comes across as some bizarro-world TED talk.

This month I've made some progress on another video, which maybe I can wrap up this weekend. Nothing too grandeur, though. Sometimes hard to keep that under control!

Also: I played through Minit, which was a really excellent and creative little game (can finish it in an evening) that I super recommend. I just started The Messenger which definitely has some charms and surprises; I need to finish it before I can decide between "good" and "great" but I think I can at least recommend it if you like exploration-style platformers.

OK! I did manage to finish the video I described in the last few posts. It's this:

30 Weird Chess Algorithms: Elo World

I felt pretty down on this video as I was finishing it, I think mostly in the same way that one does about their dissertation, just because of the slog. I started it just thinking, I'll make a quick fun video about all those chess topics, but then once I had set out to fill in the entire tournament table, this sort of dictated the flow of the video even if I wanted to just get it over with. So it was way longer than I was planning, at 42 minutes, and my stress about this just led to more tedium as I would micro-optimize in editing to shorten it. RIP some mediocre jokes. But it turns out there are plenty of people on the internet who enjoy long-form nerdy content like this, and it was well-received, which is encouraging. (But now I am perplexed that it seems to be more popular than NaN Gates and Flip-FLOPS, which IMO is far more intetersting/original. I guess the real lesson is just make what you feel like making, and post it!) The 50+ hours programming, drawing, recording and editing did have the desired effect of getting chess out of my system for now, at least.

Since last post I played Gato Roboto which is a straightforward and easy but still very charming "Metroidvania." Now I'm working my way through Deux Ex: Mankind Divided, which (aside from the crashing) is a a very solid sequel to Human Revolution. Although none of these games is likely to capture the magic of the original (one of my all-time faves), they do definitely have the property that you can play them in ways that the developer didn't explicitly set out for you, and as you know I get a big kick out of that.

Aside from the video games, I've picked back up a 10 year-old project that I never finished because it was a little bit outside my skillset. But having gotten significantly better at electronics and CNC, it is seeming pretty doable now. Stay tuned!

We started going to a personal trainer at the end of the summer, and it’s been really good–building strength, getting healthier. But the one thing that she badgered me about was bread. “You have to stop eating bread! Gluten is terrible for you. It’s what’s making your knees hurt. It’s causing inflammation in your finger […]

It may be tempting at the start of a new project to create the first database tables manually, or write SQL scripts that you run manually, especially when you first have to spend a significant amount of time on sifting through all the migration libraries and then some more to get it working properly.

Going through this process did slow me down at the start of the project but I was determined to use a migration tool because hunting inexplicable bugs that only happen in production just to find out there is a definition mismatch between the production and development databases is not fun. Using such a tool also motivates you to write both the setup and teardown steps for each table while the current design is still fresh in your mind.

At first I considered a standalone migration tool because I expect them to be very good at that single task. However, learning the idiosyncrasies of a new tool and trying to make it fit seamlessly into my development workflow seemed like more trouble than it is worth.

I decided to stick with a Common Lisp library and found the following seven that work with PostgreSQL and/or Postmodern:

• Postmodern-passenger-pigeon
• database-migrations
• cl-migrations
• Mito
• Crane
• Orizuru-orm
• cl-mgr

I quickly discounted Crane and Mito because they are ORM (Object Relational Mapper) libraries which are way more complex than a dedicated migration library. Development on Crane have stalled some time ago and I don't feel it is mature enough for frictionless use yet. Mito declares itself as being in Alpha state; also not mature enough yet.

I only stumbled onto cl-mgr and Orizuru-orm long after making my decision so I did not investigate them seriously. Orizuru-orm is in any case an ORM which I would have discounted because it is too complex for my needs. CL-mgr looks simple, which is a good thing. It is based on cl-dbi which makes it a good candidate if you foresee switching databases but even if I discovered it sooner I would have discounted it for the same reason as CL-migrations.

CL-migrations looks very promising. It is a simple library focusing only on migrations. It uses clsql to interface with the database which bothered me because I already committed to using Postmodern and I try to avoid adding a lot of unused code to my projects. The positive side is that it interfaces to many different databases so it is a good candidate if you are not committed to using Postmodern. It is also a stable code base with no outstanding bug reports.

The two projects I focused on was Postmodern-passenger-pigeon and Database-migrations because they both use Postmodern for a database interface.

Postmodern-passenger-pigeon was in active development at the time and it seemed safer to use than Database-migrations because it can do dry runs, which is a very nice feature when you are upgrading your production database and face the possibility of losing data when things go awry. Unfortunately I could not get it working within a reasonable amount of time.

I finally settled on Database-migrations. It is a small code base, focused on one task, it is mature and it uses Postmodern so it does not pull in a whole new database interface into my project. There are however some less positive issues.

The first issue is a hindrance during development. Every time the migrations ASDF system (or the file containing it, as ASDF prefers that all systems be defined in a single file) is recompiled it adds all the defined migrations to the migrations list. Though each one will only be applied once to the DB it is still bothersome. One can then clear the list with (setf database-migrations::*migrations* nil) but then only newly modified migration files will be added. The solution then is to touch the .asd file after clearing the migrations list.

The second negative point is quite dangerous. The downgrade function takes a target version as parameter, with a default target of 0. This means that if you execute downgrade without specifying a target version you delete your whole database.

I am currently using Database-migrations and it works well for me. If for some reason I need to switch I will use cl-migrations.

Using Database-migrations

To address the danger of unintentionally deleting my database I created a wrapper function that does both upgrade and downgrade, and it requires a target version number.

Another practical issue I discovered is that upgrades and downgrades happen in the same order as they are defined in the migration file. If you create two tables in a single file where table 2 depends on table 1 then you can not revert / downgrade because Database-migrations will attempt to delete table 1 before table 2. The solution here is to use the def-queries-migration macro (instead of def-query-migration) which defines multiple queries simultaneously . If you get overwhelmed by a single definition that defines multiple tables the other option is to stick with one migration definition per file.

New projects:

• anypool — General-purpose pooling library — BSD 2-Clause
• avl-tree — An implementation of the AVL tree data structure. — MIT
• cl-aubio — Aubio bindings for Common Lisp — GPLv3
• cl-interval — Intervals, interval trees — NewBSD, LLGPL
• cl-liballegro — Allegro 5 game programming library bindings for Common Lisp — Allegro 5 - http://alleg.sourceforge.net/license.html
• cl-mime-from-string — A one function library to return a mime-type based on the file extension found at the end of a string. ie abc.txt -> text/plain. The common types implemented are from https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Basics_of_HTTP/MIME_types/Common_types — MIT
• cl-telegram-bot — Telegram Bot API, based on sovietspaceship's work but mostly rewritten. — MIT
• dns-client — A client for the DNS protocol. — zlib
• feeder — RSS, Atom and general feed parsing and generating — zlib
• perceptual-hashes — Perceptual hash algorithms for images — 2-clause BSD
• portable-condition-system — A portable condition system for Common Lisp — CC0
• ten — Template System for Common Lisp — MIT
• trivial-custom-debugger — Allows arbitrary functions to become the standard Lisp debugger — MIT
• trivial-with-current-source-form — Helps macro writers produce better errors for macro users — GPLv3
• vom-json — A json-formatted logger for vom — MIT
• vp-trees — Perceptual hash algorithms for images — 2-clause BSD

Updated projects: 3b-bmfont, 3bgl-shader, 3bmd, 3bz, a-cl-logger, alexandria, april, async-process, bdef, bp, ccldoc, chunga, cl+ssl, cl-ana, cl-capstone, cl-cffi-gtk, cl-collider, cl-containers, cl-environments, cl-gamepad, cl-gserver, cl-inotify, cl-markless, cl-pack, cl-patterns, cl-python, cl-rdkafka, cl-shlex, cl-sparql, cl-str, cl-tui, cl-utils, cl-webkit, clinenoise, clip, closer-mop, concrete-syntax-tree, croatoan, cserial-port, dartscltools, defenum, deploy, dexador, diff-match-patch, dissect, djula, doubly-linked-list, easy-routes, eclector, escalator, fast-generic-functions, fast-io, flexi-streams, flexichain, float-features, fset, fucc, functional-trees, fxml, gendl, graph, gtirb, hu.dwim.computed-class, hu.dwim.def, hu.dwim.perec, hu.dwim.presentation, hu.dwim.quasi-quote, hu.dwim.walker, hu.dwim.web-server, hunchentoot-multi-acceptor, ironclad, keystone, lispqr, literate-lisp, maiden, maxpc, mcclim, mmap, modularize, mutility, nodgui, numcl, numpy-file-format, origin, osicat, overlord, parachute, patchwork, petalisp, petri, phoe-toolbox, plump, policy-cond, polisher, postmodern, pzmq, qtools, quilc, qvm, roan, rpcq, s-graphviz, s-http-client, s-http-server, s-sysdeps, s-utils, sanity-clause, scalpl, sealable-metaobjects, sel, select-file, serapeum, sketch, skippy-renderer, snappy, softdrink, spinneret, staple, stumpwm, sucle, swank-client, swank-crew, tooter, trace-db, trivial-features, trivial-file-size, vgplot, woo.

Removed projects: cl-password-store, fomus, rfc3339-timestamp, rpc4cl.

All the removed projects are removed because they no longer build. For the first two (cl-password-store and fomus), I was unable to get a response from the authors. The other two (rfc3339-timestamp, rpc4cl) the author was responsive, but has abandoned the projects.

To get this update, use (ql:update-dist "quicklisp"). Enjoy!

A number of people support Quicklisp with a monthly contribution through PayPal. I recently set up a Quicklisp Patreon page as an alternative - if you are interested in supporting Quicklisp, feel free to check it out.

It's a new month, and that usually means I'm supposed to write a monthly update on the progress with Kandria. Thinking about that though made me feel very depressed because I realised that I hadn't really done anything at all for the game, all of April.

I can blame however much I want of that on the quarantine and university stress, or whatever else, but it won't change the fact that there has not been much progress on any front. While I have been slacking a lot, it's not like I haven't been working at all - plenty of time has gone into Courier, after all.

When I had this realisation yesterday, I tried my best to push myself to work on the game any way I could, but I failed to find anything that I could actually convince myself to do. That isn't to say that there aren't things to do; god forbid there's a tonne of things! Tuning combat, drawing animations, writing the UI, fixing dialogue, starting on enemy AI, optimising performance - just to name a few. And yet, despite the breadth and depth of things to do, there was absolutely nothing that looked appealing to me.

This kind of feeling is nothing new to me. It's a creative block, and happens more often that I'd like to admit. It's also why I often don't like to start long running projects, because I'm afraid of a creative block that would ruin it. The worst part about the creative block is that there's no remedy for it. You just get stuck in a rut, and it sucks a whole lot for a completely unpredictable amount of time. Often what I end up doing, whether consciously so or not, is switching to another project and just working on that.

So far that project has been Courier, but that's at its end and I'm also starting to feel burnt out on it, too. I don't have any other projects queued up that I'd like to tackle, or new ideas on what to do at the moment, so I'm just... stuck.

I suppose the right thing to do in this situation is to take it easy and not fret too much over it, since that's often one of the many factors causing the block. I've never been good at actually doing that, though. Maybe I should try to take a break from programming in general? I don't know.

You may be wondering why I'm writing this all to begin with. Well, partly I feel like I promised to do monthly and weekly updates, and I really hate to break that promise without notice. Another part is that I just feel like I owe you the discretion to tell you what's going on with me. I'm very thankful for the email replies and general responses I've gotten for Kandria so far, I really am! Because of that genuine interest, I feel all the more pressured not to disappoint. Since I have nothing to show though, I thought the only proper course of action is to just be open and direct about it. So I'll just say it again: aside from updating the public demo, no progress has been made at all.

Maybe it would help me to have a more open discussion about this topic in general, instead of just it being me telling you that I'm in a bad place. So please, let me know: have you been in similar situations before? What helped you deal with them? Is there something in Kandria I could try to focus on that you, personally, would like to see?

You can reach me at shinmera@tymoon.eu.

I have finally obtained the first batch of the printed "Programming Algorithms" books and will shortly be sending them to the 13 people who asked for a hardcopy.

Here is a short video showing the book "in action":

If you also want to get a copy, here's how you do it:

1. Send the money to my PayPal account: $30 if you want normal shipping or $35 if you want a tracking number. (The details on shipping are below).
2. Shoot me an email to vseloved@gmail.com with your postal address.
3. Once I see the donation, I'll go to the post office and send you the book.
4. Optionaly step: if you want it to be signed, please, indicate it in your letter.

Shipping details: As I said originally, the price of the dead-tree version will be $20+shipping. I'll ship via the Ukrainian national post. You can do the fee calculation online here (book weight is 0.58 kg, size is 23 x 17 x 2 cm): https://calc.ukrposhta.ua/international-calculator. Alas, the interface is only in Ukrainian. According to the examples I've tried, the cost will be approximately $10-15. To make it easier, I've just settled on $10 shipping without a tracking number of $15 if you want a tracking number. Regardless of your country. I don't know how long it will take - probably depends on the location (I'll try to inquire when sending).

The book was already downloaded more than 1170 times (I'm not putting the exact number here as it's constantly growing little by little). I wish I knew how many people have, actually, read it in full or in part. I've also received some error corrections (special thanks goes to Serge Kruk), several small reviews and letters of encouragement. Those were very valuable and I hope to see more :)

Greetings from the far away city of Lima, Peru!
I loved this part: "Only losers don't comment their code, and comments will be used extensively"
Thank you so much for putting this comprehensive collection of highly important data structures, i'm already recommending this to two of my developers, which I hope i'll induce into my Lisp addiction.
--Flavio Egoavil

And here's another one:

Massively impressive book you've written! I've been a Lisp programmer for a long time and truly appreciate the work put in here. Making Lisp accessible for more people in relation to practical algorithms is very hard to do. But you truly made it. You'll definitely end up in the gallery of great and modern Lisp contributions like "Land of Lisp" and "Let Over Lambda". Totally agree with your path to focus on practical algorithmic thinking with Lisp and not messing it up with macros, oop and other advanced concepts.
--Lars Hård

Thanks guys, it's really appreciated!

If you feel the same or you've liked the book in some respect and have found it useful, please, continue to share news about it: that definitely helps attract more readers. And my main goal is to make it as widely read as possible...

I went to Florida a few weeks back which will be the last time I get on a plane this year unless something wacky happens. Thinking more about carbon footprint stuff even though I am doing solidly well in that regard because I have no kids. It was a good time, pictures are here. I […]

A convocation of the Lover Triad of United States Grand Lodge will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, August 14-16 2020. Registration for the convocation is now open. See this site for more information.

Out of an abundance of caution regarding the developing COVID-19 situation, U.S. Grand Lodge has decided to cancel its scheduled national gatherings this spring, specifically Advanced Initiator Training, Kaaba Colloquium, and the Electoral College meeting. The Electoral College meeting will be held online according to standard Electoral College procedures. For more information regarding COVID-19, please …

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Event cancellations at local bodies due to COVID-19 will reduce revenue, but not rent and other fixed expenses. Many local bodies already operate on extremely tight margins and struggle to pay their bills even during normal times. All members are encouraged to continue to financially support their local bodies, even if there are no events …

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The Grand Master Sabazius has announced a hold on all U.S. O.T.O. gatherings until further notice. More information is available here.

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