STG's

 Dead Lies Dreaming, by Charles Stross, is another horror book in the Laundry Files series. This one goes does not concern the main characters, but mostly Imp and his gang of magically powered villains, Eve, a minion of a rich, twisted guy, and Wendy, a super-powered rent-a-cop. It does happen after the new government is in place. Mostly this is about the chasing of a powerful book, and the consequent mess. I very much liked this one, as it went a little deeper into the magic of the series, and had plenty of action. I am also happy to hear that a sequel to this should be coming out later this year.

 Build a Static Site Generator with Python is a project in PluralSight. I never used their projects before (they had another style for HTML, which I did use), and it was interesting. Basically, you fork a repo in github, tell them your github name, and they will test what you did after you push the code. This was pretty useful, but in a limited way - you mostly just do what you are told, such as adding methods to a class, and adding that exact call. So what you learn is much more limited than just telling you to do something. Unless I skipped something, there was no talking about the structure of the project either, which would have been interesting. Still, give how little experience I previously had with PyCharm, I did learn a few things.

 Core Python: Classes and Object-orientation, by Austin Bingham and Robert Smallshire, is another course in the Core Python learning path in PluralSight. It covers class attributes, methods and properties, string representation, multiple inheritance (which is implemented in quite an interesting way in Python), Class decorators, and data classes. My favorite were data classes. I didn't know about them (they are kind of recent, being added in 3.7), These seem to be popular, considering Kotlin's data classes and C# records, and this is for a reason, as they save a lot of unnecessary code. Overall, pretty interesting.

 Tesla vs Lovecraft is a twin-stick shooter, which feels a lot like Crimsonland (which I played a lot), which is easily explained by the fact that 10tons made them both. Basically you go around shooting while running from monsters. What is nice in this one is the teleport (jump short distances) and the mech (after you get 6 parts, you can shoot from a big mech for a while). Perks are pretty similar, and so are the guns. It is just themed around Tesla and Lovecraft, which I think I was very clever and works well. I particularly like that even if you die, you can still get crystals from kills, which you can use for upgrades. Overall, strongly recommended for fans of shooters.

  Core Python: Functions and Functional Programming, by Austin Bingham and Robert Smallshire, is another course in the Core Python learning path in PluralSight. This cover callables, decorates, conditional expressions, lambdas, some of the more complex argument conventions (*args, **kwargs) and map/reduce. Useful, and very short - 1 hour.

  Card Thief is a very clever card game based on concepts used in stealth games, such as guards, light sources, etc. Very interesting, and the tutorial is quite long, because there are a lot of rules. Graphics are nice, and the gameplay is fun enough. It is in Google Play Pass (Brazil), too.

Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change, by Edward D. Hess, is a book about effectively learning, heavily focused on organizations (but also potentially useful for individuals). There is a lot touch-feely stuff, as well as lots of practical, important advice, that I imagine could turn organizations around. I was already practicing a few of the suggestions around the book, such as meditation. Overall, pretty interesting. I am glad I spent the time reading this (I didn't spend extra money, as it was on O'Reilly Safari).

 Zombie Army Trilogy is pretty much Sniper Elite (by the same company, too), with zombies. However, playing it is a completely different experience, because stealth is a huge component in Sniper Elite, and basically inexistent here. So graphics, shooting, etc is ok, but I really didn't like the gameplay so far. Just go around shooting zombies and planting traps (same items as Sniper Elite). At least there are explosives laying around, which you can shoot... Also there are minor annoyances, such as when you can grab a gun it doesn't show any stats (depending on how many are there you won't even know the weapon class).

 Core Python: Organizing Larger Programs , by Austin Bingham and Robert Smallshire, is another course in the Core Python learning path in PluralSight. This cover packages, distribution, and another minor subjects in Python. Useful, and very short - 1 hour.

 Kingdom Rush is a tower defense game. I recently played Kingdom Rush: Frontiers on the PC and Android, and saw this one was free in Google Play Pass, so I decided to try it out. It is pretty good, although the other entries do have some nice extras. Still, a solid game, nice graphics, with pretty much all of the good ideas of the others.

I just finished Core Python: Getting Started , by Austin Bingham and Robert Smallshire, a course in the Core Python learning path in PluralSight. While I already knew a lot of was taught in the course, I haven't used Python in forever and most Deep Learning courses use it, so I needed a refresher. The course was clear enough, even at a regular 1.2 speed. Good narration and examples, too, and a reasonable length (4 hours, although I don't know how much it took me - I watched it at several speeds, but also took notes).

 Cyber Hook is a very abstract runner game. You run platforms to reach portals and get crystals, using a hook that doubles as a gun (at least where I got so far - from the tutorial it looks like it does more). It is interesting. But personally it seemed a little too hard.

 Brain Wave, by Poul Anderson, is a pretty old SF novel (1954) that is a what-if - what if people and animals suddenly became much smarter? It covers pretty much what you'd expect - people not handling it well and trying to go back, people really enjoying it, some losing their emotions, animals revolting, etc. Of course, tech is sometimes obviously outdated - but it doesn't get that much in the way. There is a silly looking bit about the ship being manually handled, but that is the biggest one. I guess if this was written today, there would be a whole lot more about the super intelligent terrorists. Overall, good, considering the size.

 The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag is a novella by Robert Heinlein. I'd say it is not SF (as typical for Heinlein) but horror. **SPOILERS FOLLOW** This was mentioned to me as the first story about simulation theory. It follows the story of a man who doesn't remember what he does, and then hires a detective to figure it out. Naturally, a lot of weirdness follows. The ending is adequate, and the tone of the novel is suitably creepy for an horror story. I'd say the conclusion does not fit simulation theory, but it is adjacent - they live in a world created by others, from another universe.

 Blackfish City, by Sam J. Miller, is a SF novel that takes place in a relatively near future. In the book, a lot of the world has been very, very, messed up, from many human mess-ups, but mainly global warming. The city where the story occurs is built in the sea, mostly existing because of geothermal energy. It is run by software, with mostly powerless politicians. The software was built by and for the shareholders, who actually made the city. The economical/political aspect pops up a lot. My favorite parts are the spreading disease (which has other people's memories built in) and the nanobonding, which connects certain people to animals and other people via nanobots. The ending was just somewhat satisfactory for me, though. PS: First 2021 post!