Fahim Farook
Posts
1616Following
138Followers
881I'm currently working on my second novel which is complete, but is in the edit stage. I wrote my first novel over 20 years ago but then didn't write much till now.
I post about #Coding, #Flutter, #Writing, #Movies and #TV. I'll also talk about #Technology, #Gadgets, #MachineLearning, #DeepLearning and a few other things as the fancy strikes ...
Lived in: 🇱🇰🇸🇦🇺🇸🇳🇿🇸🇬🇲🇾🇦🇪🇫🇷🇪🇸🇵🇹🇶🇦🇨🇦
Fahim Farook
f
What with the storm and flooding in Sri Lanka and other stuff going on, I haven't had time to do a reading update. But maybe time to do one now to close out November?
After DNFing "Just One Damned Thing After Another", I started on "Clean Sweep". This one I liked 🙂
The story was engaging, and the writing was clean. It wasn't the kind of writing that made me want to write like that, but the story was good. And I finished the book in 4 days, which is a record for me ... Or I wasn't busy 😛
I'll be returning to this series!
Then I read "Dungeon Crawler Carl".
I knew Matt Dinniman a long time ago (before DCC) and he's a great guy. The book was interesting.
What interests me mostly about a book is the plot. Figuring out what will happen before it happens.
Couldn't do that much here 😛
For one thing, you know what will happen ultimately based on the premise - you know that Carl will make it to the end of the dungeon 🙂
For another, the plot points are like mini-stories. Each section of a level takes a chapter or two and is done. There are very few overarching plot elements which act as hooks. The main attraction is to keep reading to see what happens next.
But the plot twists as he progressed were entertaining and creative. So I kept reading, and reading, and reading.
Again, not quite the kind of thing I'd want to write myself, but definitely something that will keep me reading!
I'll be coming back to this series. Both Ilona Andrews and Matt make me want to come back and finish the whole series. But there are so many books ....
#Reading #Books #MiniReviews
A screenshot from a reading app…
After DNFing "Just One Damned Thing After Another", I started on "Clean Sweep". This one I liked 🙂
The story was engaging, and the writing was clean. It wasn't the kind of writing that made me want to write like that, but the story was good. And I finished the book in 4 days, which is a record for me ... Or I wasn't busy 😛
I'll be returning to this series!
Then I read "Dungeon Crawler Carl".
I knew Matt Dinniman a long time ago (before DCC) and he's a great guy. The book was interesting.
What interests me mostly about a book is the plot. Figuring out what will happen before it happens.
Couldn't do that much here 😛
For one thing, you know what will happen ultimately based on the premise - you know that Carl will make it to the end of the dungeon 🙂
For another, the plot points are like mini-stories. Each section of a level takes a chapter or two and is done. There are very few overarching plot elements which act as hooks. The main attraction is to keep reading to see what happens next.
But the plot twists as he progressed were entertaining and creative. So I kept reading, and reading, and reading.
Again, not quite the kind of thing I'd want to write myself, but definitely something that will keep me reading!
I'll be coming back to this series. Both Ilona Andrews and Matt make me want to come back and finish the whole series. But there are so many books ....
#Reading #Books #MiniReviews
A screenshot from a reading app…
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Fahim Farook
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"Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30742355) was a fun movie! Didn't expect too much from it but as is usual is the case when I don't expect much from Varun Dhawan, he surprises you 😛
Another great Bollywood romance!
#Movies #Hindi #Bollywood
Another great Bollywood romance!
#Movies #Hindi #Bollywood
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Fahim Farook
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I have a lot of notes scattered across multiple apps - OneNote, Affine, Apple Notes, Obsidian etc. So I decided to combine all of them in one place 🙂
Getting everything into Obsidian was easy enough since Obsidian has a bunch of useful importers. So that was done, but then I needed to be able to sync the notes across the local network to other machines and with my wife.
Sure, Obsidian has their sync functionality but that's a paid subscription. Then there is at least one open-source sync solution but it seemed a bit heavy for my needs. So, as one does when one is a developer, I decided to write my own 😛
I wanted something which only syncs over the local network, is easy to deploy and install and is light-weight. I think have all those boxes ticked. It's a tiny Go server for the server-side and an Obsidian plugin for handling the client side.
And in case anybody is interested in using it (or testing it, or contributing to it), I decided to make it open-source. You can find it on GitHub here:
https://github.com/FahimF/GoSync
#Obsidian #Sync #Go #OpenSource
Getting everything into Obsidian was easy enough since Obsidian has a bunch of useful importers. So that was done, but then I needed to be able to sync the notes across the local network to other machines and with my wife.
Sure, Obsidian has their sync functionality but that's a paid subscription. Then there is at least one open-source sync solution but it seemed a bit heavy for my needs. So, as one does when one is a developer, I decided to write my own 😛
I wanted something which only syncs over the local network, is easy to deploy and install and is light-weight. I think have all those boxes ticked. It's a tiny Go server for the server-side and an Obsidian plugin for handling the client side.
And in case anybody is interested in using it (or testing it, or contributing to it), I decided to make it open-source. You can find it on GitHub here:
https://github.com/FahimF/GoSync
#Obsidian #Sync #Go #OpenSource
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Fahim Farook
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So the wife and I did our cartoons for this week based on a Facebook video ... or at least, my/our reaction to it 😛
https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-05/
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by different peopl…
https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-05/
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by different peopl…
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Fahim Farook
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I don't think I've ever DNFed a book before. But this week I DNFed two.
So, overall progress has been three books this week but I'm not happy about it since I DNFed two and started the third yesterday.
I'll discuss why I DNFed each one (broadly - no spoilers).
"A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" - this one just felt so slow, and a very abbreviated world-view. Action was sparse and when I finally ended up reading about climbing up a poop-tube (you'll know if you read the book 😛) for two whole chapters, I gave up.
"Just One Damned Thing After Another" felt much better at first, except that the main character was supposed to be smart but they keep not seeing the obvious.
They do say that they aren't smart sometimes, but if everybody else says they are, then are they all stupid?
Then there was the sex 😛 The first 8 chapters read like a Victorian romance - glances and sighs. But then it suddenly becomes a bodice-ripper in around chapter 9 or 10.
I could not recover after that and gave up soon after. It just felt so disjointed after that.
#Reading #Books #Thoughts
A screenshot from a reader app …
So, overall progress has been three books this week but I'm not happy about it since I DNFed two and started the third yesterday.
I'll discuss why I DNFed each one (broadly - no spoilers).
"A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" - this one just felt so slow, and a very abbreviated world-view. Action was sparse and when I finally ended up reading about climbing up a poop-tube (you'll know if you read the book 😛) for two whole chapters, I gave up.
"Just One Damned Thing After Another" felt much better at first, except that the main character was supposed to be smart but they keep not seeing the obvious.
They do say that they aren't smart sometimes, but if everybody else says they are, then are they all stupid?
Then there was the sex 😛 The first 8 chapters read like a Victorian romance - glances and sighs. But then it suddenly becomes a bodice-ripper in around chapter 9 or 10.
I could not recover after that and gave up soon after. It just felt so disjointed after that.
#Reading #Books #Thoughts
A screenshot from a reader app …
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Fahim Farook
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Another double-cartoon from the wife and I 🙂
https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-04/
Any resemblance to real people is purely unintentional 😛
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by two different p…
https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-04/
Any resemblance to real people is purely unintentional 😛
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by two different p…
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Fahim Farook
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Recently, I've been reading different authors instead of sticking to a single author. I'm trying to find an author whose writing I really enjoy without nitpicking. So far, not a lot of success 😛
James Butcher's first book looked promising, but the second not so much...
The second telegraphed what was coming so much that I kind of knew where we'd end by as soon as the first "big" plot twist started 🙂
That's actually when I decided to read different authors and figure out one whose writing I really liked enough to keep reading them.
I read a collection of golden age science fiction stories as a palette cleanser for a couple of days. It was good but not compelling.
So back to fantasy I went since most of my TBR pile is fantasy 🙂
Next one was Ben Aaronovitch and "The Rivers of London".
Better, but the book felt a bit disjointed. It was almost as if Aaronovitch wrote parts of it at different times. Sometimes the characters seemed to forget basic things that they knew earlier and so on. And the timeline seemed to shift a bit.
I'll come back to the series later.
Now reading "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" by T. Kingfisher.
I'd heard a lot of praise for T. Kingfisher and so my expectations were high. Maybe too high?
She writes like I think I would 🙂 But the story is in fits and starts. There's action and then lulls...
I'm only halfway through, but it feels as if it could have benefitted from a bit more action. I'm going to finish before I make up my mind, but so far, I think I'll probably move on to the next author since the writing, at least in this one, is not what I was looking for.
The last bit of writing where I really felt energized was P. Djèlí Clark's "The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" — now that was a great and wonderful ride 🙂
I'm looking to have that kind of magic. Am I asking for too much?
#Reading #Books
A calendar view showing reading…
James Butcher's first book looked promising, but the second not so much...
The second telegraphed what was coming so much that I kind of knew where we'd end by as soon as the first "big" plot twist started 🙂
That's actually when I decided to read different authors and figure out one whose writing I really liked enough to keep reading them.
I read a collection of golden age science fiction stories as a palette cleanser for a couple of days. It was good but not compelling.
So back to fantasy I went since most of my TBR pile is fantasy 🙂
Next one was Ben Aaronovitch and "The Rivers of London".
Better, but the book felt a bit disjointed. It was almost as if Aaronovitch wrote parts of it at different times. Sometimes the characters seemed to forget basic things that they knew earlier and so on. And the timeline seemed to shift a bit.
I'll come back to the series later.
Now reading "A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking" by T. Kingfisher.
I'd heard a lot of praise for T. Kingfisher and so my expectations were high. Maybe too high?
She writes like I think I would 🙂 But the story is in fits and starts. There's action and then lulls...
I'm only halfway through, but it feels as if it could have benefitted from a bit more action. I'm going to finish before I make up my mind, but so far, I think I'll probably move on to the next author since the writing, at least in this one, is not what I was looking for.
The last bit of writing where I really felt energized was P. Djèlí Clark's "The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" — now that was a great and wonderful ride 🙂
I'm looking to have that kind of magic. Am I asking for too much?
#Reading #Books
A calendar view showing reading…
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Fahim Farook
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We (the wife and I) did two more cartoons - this time about that ever popular Sri Lankan food, hoppers!
https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-03/
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by two different p…
https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-03/
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by two different p…
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Fahim Farook
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And the wife and I managed to get another cartoon done today 🙂 I'm not sure if I can sustain this pace though. I guess we'll see?
The story behind today's cartoon is here: https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-02/
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by two different p…
The story behind today's cartoon is here: https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts-02/
#Cartoon #Drawing #Art
Two cartoons by two different p…
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Fahim Farook
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The wife and I are drawing a cartoon a day (hopefully) to improve our drawing skills.
The full story is here: https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts/
Here's our first day's efforts ...
#drawing #cartoons #art
Two cartoons drawn by different…
The full story is here: https://write.farook.org/idle-thoughts/
Here's our first day's efforts ...
#drawing #cartoons #art
Two cartoons drawn by different…
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Fahim Farook
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Used to read all the time.
Didn't read at all for about 10 -15 years. Would try, but generally give up after a day or two.
Back to reading now and it feels good to be able to consistently finish books 🙂
Part of it might be the new EPUB reader I've been coding — I finally have an app which does everything I want instead of having to find workarounds for things that don't work quite right 😛
#Reading
Screenshot from an app showing …
Didn't read at all for about 10 -15 years. Would try, but generally give up after a day or two.
Back to reading now and it feels good to be able to consistently finish books 🙂
Part of it might be the new EPUB reader I've been coding — I finally have an app which does everything I want instead of having to find workarounds for things that don't work quite right 😛
#Reading
Screenshot from an app showing …
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Fahim Farook
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I can't believe I'm already at 10 poems on paintings by @MichaelWhelan 🙂 The topic for this week's poem is close to my heart — how we treat this planet we all briefly inhabit.
https://write.farook.org/10-fragility/
The original artwork is here: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/erosion/
Fragility
by Fahim Farook
Seeking the light in a world of twilight,
As the storm gathers, destruction the highlight.
No escape, no succour, no other being within sight,
No one to turn to with the will to aid, or the might.
A ragged landscape worn away,
Trying to keep annihilation at bay,
No trees, no life, no children at play,
Not a world where one would want to stay.
It might seem like an idle thought,
No such world exists, with danger fraught.
You dismiss the mere existence of the thought
And go on with life, doing what you ought.
But give just a thought to the possibility,
That this imagined world could be reality,
If we do not realize nature's fragility,
The world imagined won't stay an improbability.
#Writing #Art #Poetry
https://write.farook.org/10-fragility/
The original artwork is here: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/erosion/
Fragility
by Fahim Farook
Seeking the light in a world of twilight,
As the storm gathers, destruction the highlight.
No escape, no succour, no other being within sight,
No one to turn to with the will to aid, or the might.
A ragged landscape worn away,
Trying to keep annihilation at bay,
No trees, no life, no children at play,
Not a world where one would want to stay.
It might seem like an idle thought,
No such world exists, with danger fraught.
You dismiss the mere existence of the thought
And go on with life, doing what you ought.
But give just a thought to the possibility,
That this imagined world could be reality,
If we do not realize nature's fragility,
The world imagined won't stay an improbability.
#Writing #Art #Poetry
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Fahim Farook
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Had a Chromecast that I had not used in 4 - 5 years. Would not connect to Internet no matter how I tried.
The cause?
Automatic time update was turned off and it was stuck in 2021.
Huh? Why would that stop Internet connectivity? The weird issues that plague tech ...
#Tech #Chromecast
The cause?
Automatic time update was turned off and it was stuck in 2021.
Huh? Why would that stop Internet connectivity? The weird issues that plague tech ...
#Tech #Chromecast
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Fahim Farook
f
It's my 9th poem on a painting by Michael Whelan I can't believe that I'm close to 10 poems already 🙂 This artwork might be more familiar, at least to some?
https://write.farook.org/new-worlds/
The original artwork is here: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/2061-odyssey-three/
New Worlds
by Fahim Farook
Step into my world,
Said the portal as it whirled,
Beckoning me on,
To worlds not yet born.
A world where cruelty is gone,
Where kindliness and charity shone,
Or one where people treated each other,
As they would their sister or brother.
Another where lies were outlawed,
People stood together for truth, unbowed.
Vanity and preening were banished,
Humility was practiced by the accomplished.
A world where equality was the law,
None over others did gleefully crow,
There was no us vs. them,
A world like no other, it was a gem.
These worlds are mere fancy right now,
That portal is a dream, of this I vow,
Till we change our thinking, our being,
It will remain a dream, near, yet so fleeting.
#Writing #Art #Poetry
https://write.farook.org/new-worlds/
The original artwork is here: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/2061-odyssey-three/
New Worlds
by Fahim Farook
Step into my world,
Said the portal as it whirled,
Beckoning me on,
To worlds not yet born.
A world where cruelty is gone,
Where kindliness and charity shone,
Or one where people treated each other,
As they would their sister or brother.
Another where lies were outlawed,
People stood together for truth, unbowed.
Vanity and preening were banished,
Humility was practiced by the accomplished.
A world where equality was the law,
None over others did gleefully crow,
There was no us vs. them,
A world like no other, it was a gem.
These worlds are mere fancy right now,
That portal is a dream, of this I vow,
Till we change our thinking, our being,
It will remain a dream, near, yet so fleeting.
#Writing #Art #Poetry
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Fahim Farook
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Another, if not great, but at least watchable Hindi romance!
"Param Sundari" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33996113) was fun. And the beautiful Kerala countryside was just amazing to see.
Please say Hindi romances are back! We need them 🙂
#Movies #Hindi #Bollywood #Romance
"Param Sundari" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33996113) was fun. And the beautiful Kerala countryside was just amazing to see.
Please say Hindi romances are back! We need them 🙂
#Movies #Hindi #Bollywood #Romance
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Fahim Farook
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"Little Hearts" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37962245) is a fun movie with lots of laugh out loud moments ... at least for me. Didn't expect a lot from it going in but enjoyed it thoroughly!
#Movies #Telugu #Tollywood #Comedy #Romance
#Movies #Telugu #Tollywood #Comedy #Romance
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Fahim Farook
f
A poem on a painting by @MichaelWhelan that he did for an album cover. I've not seen it before but I had the beginning of the poem as soon as I saw the painting.
https://write.farook.org/darkness/
The original artwork is here: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/arise/
Darkness
by Fahim Farook
I have no mouth, and yet I must scream,
I have no brain, but I surely must dream,
My eyes have fallen out, but I must see,
My whole being is lost, and yet I must be.
Life is sometimes a nightmare,
You wake up in the darkness and you stare,
Shadows can be spiders, or monstrous foes,
Waiting to swallow you whole, with fanged jaws.
But the terrors of your mind's eye,
Are but nought to those that get by,
Terrors unthought, lurking unseen,
Giving you rushes of adrenaline.
Banishing these fears and finding joy,
With light's flame, darkness destroy,
Be the light that shines bright,
Encouraging others in their own fight.
#Writing #Art #Poetry
https://write.farook.org/darkness/
The original artwork is here: https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/arise/
Darkness
by Fahim Farook
I have no mouth, and yet I must scream,
I have no brain, but I surely must dream,
My eyes have fallen out, but I must see,
My whole being is lost, and yet I must be.
Life is sometimes a nightmare,
You wake up in the darkness and you stare,
Shadows can be spiders, or monstrous foes,
Waiting to swallow you whole, with fanged jaws.
But the terrors of your mind's eye,
Are but nought to those that get by,
Terrors unthought, lurking unseen,
Giving you rushes of adrenaline.
Banishing these fears and finding joy,
With light's flame, darkness destroy,
Be the light that shines bright,
Encouraging others in their own fight.
#Writing #Art #Poetry
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Fahim Farook
f
I'm not sure whether to recommend "Dhadak 2" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13451410) or not. I liked the beginning but the the whole killing people over caste bit comes in and that might be a bit too much for some. I probably would have given up on the movie at this point if I didn't know that it had a happy ending. So might/or might not be for you.
And no, this is not a sequel 🙂 If you are used to the Hollywood sequels, this is not really a sequel. Indian movies sometimes do a "2" (and possibly even "3") when the themes are similar, but not the same characters. Or it might be a character who is named the same, but is not the same one from the previous movie. Confused? I'm sure a lot of people are 😛
#Movies #Hindi #Bollywood
And no, this is not a sequel 🙂 If you are used to the Hollywood sequels, this is not really a sequel. Indian movies sometimes do a "2" (and possibly even "3") when the themes are similar, but not the same characters. Or it might be a character who is named the same, but is not the same one from the previous movie. Confused? I'm sure a lot of people are 😛
#Movies #Hindi #Bollywood
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Fahim Farook
f
I've written another post about cover art but this time going into music albums as well and talking of Boris Vallejo, Luis Royo, Richard Corben, @MichaelWhelan, Julie Bell, and Josh Kirby.
https://write.farook.org/covering-art//
#Writing #Reading #Art #Books
https://write.farook.org/covering-art//
#Writing #Reading #Art #Books
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