A big change for me this month has been upgrading my mobile phone. For a tech nerd, I’m remarkably disinterested in most smartphone features, using mine purely for calls, texts, casual photos and videos, and a small number of core apps. And running it all on a low level Pay As You Go sim from GiffGaff.
Without a long commute to my home office in the mornings, I’d rather play games on PC or console. And I’ve been moving towards DLSRs and pocket digital cameras to finally learn photography. Having had a Motorola Moto G4 for about 6 or 7 years, an upgrade was finally required by both a failing battery and the requirement for a newer OS by some essential applications (mainly related to health monitoring).
So my new phone is a Moto G53 ordered through GiffGaff, and aside from the shock of missing apparently 49 phone models, the transfer process was painless and accomplished in under an hour, with my number, apps, and even alarm settings all migrated across wirelessly. The G4 is worthless as a trade-in apparently, so I’ll try and think of any uses it could still serve before I consign it to a responsible recycling service. And the G53 seems OK so far, with fairly little bloatware, and anything uncessary already uninstalled.
Books
Having said that Exhalation was one of my books of the year last month, just a few days later Project Hail Mary joined it. Chosen from my wishlist by my son for Christmas, it’s got a great mix of hard science, funny moments, and some interesting moments which I don’t want to spoil for anyone. Essentially it’s just a great science fiction novel from the author of The Martian, and I found myself racing through it.
I also finally got around to reading Band of Brothers many years after watching the fantastic television series. And if you’re interested in World War 2 history and the exploits of Easy Company, then it’s obviously essential reading, and provides a bit more depth behind the events shown in the TV production.
TV and Film
Reading Band of Brothers at the same time as watching Masters of the Air has been interesting, comparing and constrasting what life was like for American infantry and airmen. I wonder how many differences between the two television series has been down to years between limiting the direct involvement of those who served in both groups.
Continuing the theme, my son is now old enough to watch and appreciate war films, and he’s also studying the period, so we’ve sat and watched Enemy at the Gates, and Saving Private Ryan, which is one of those films seemingly absent from most streaming TV services. But it’s easily found in charity shops for a £1 or so.
I try to remind him that any film is a dramatisation which which have factual and historial inaccuracies for various reasons, whether intentional or not. And we’ve had some very interesting conversations discussing which bits were left out or altered for dramatic effect, and what they do manage to convey. It’s interesting drawing comparisons between first-person accounts, books, films and video games. For example, reading about the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, watching them in Saving Private Ryan, and playing as the American forces in Hell Let Loose.
With my partner, we finally got around to watching the stylish and much discussed Saltburn. And I also finally got around to watching Ingrid Goes West from 2017 with Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen. Which was an enjoyable film looking at social media obsessions, but could have probably gone deeper and further.
Music
It’s been a quiet month for new discoveries, but I have continued to delve deeper into bands that I never really paid enough attention to in the past. Last time it was Ghost and Alter Bridge, and this month I’ve decided on Opeth. The Swedish metal band has been around since 1990, and I know friends are big fans, but for some reason I’ve never gone beyond a passing familiarity with them.
Games
The latest season of Apex Legends has drawn me back into grinding through the season pass, especially as there are some 5th Anniversary rewards to earn. And for less action and more frustration, there’s the grind of taking Dover Athletic from the Vanarama South to the Champions League in Football Manager 2024 (So far I’ve got them into League Two with back to back promotions).
But after taking a conscious break from sim racing to relax after the pressure of competing in organised leagues, it’s time to return as Automobilista 2 has made lots of improvements to their AI and vintage racing experience, iRacing is introducing new cars and rain to their service, and there are lots of other things I want to finally try out. One of my favourite gaming experiences recently has been to jump into the low-powered vintage Formula Junior cars in AMS 2 on classic circuit layouts, especially since adding a manual Thrustmaster TH8S shifter to my set up (which is one of the cheapest and best upgrades I’ve made for immersion and enjoyment).
Along with already finishing 5 of the 18 books I’ve set myself as a reading target for 2024, future plans involve some trips inspired by a variety of history programs have featured places I know around East Anglia and my childhood home in Kent. And it gives me another justification to finally invest in some camera gear.
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