Stan Beeler 🇨🇦
@stanbeeler.bsky.social
Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern British Columbia. (English, Comparative Literature, Film & TV Studies)
We have been watching the Korean SF show Moving on Disney & it is quite engaging. I like is much more than The Squid Games (less violence). It uses the (Korean?) structure of a main plot with multiple backstory episodes interspersed, but more integrated than others. www.imdb.com/title/tt2464...
Moving (TV Series 2023) ⭐ 8.4 | Action, Adventure, Drama
1h | TV-MA
www.imdb.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
We have been watching the Korean SF show Moving on Disney & it is quite engaging. I like is much more than The Squid Games (less violence). It uses the (Korean?) structure of a main plot with multiple backstory episodes interspersed, but more integrated than others. www.imdb.com/title/tt2464...
Yesterday's run was my first with ice spikes for this winter. I use an older pair of Asics with sheet metal screws inset into the tread & they work well for most of the snow and ice conditions we get here. However, yesterday we had slush, snow, and ice so I got wet feet. (~7.5 K & slower than usual)
November 17, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Yesterday's run was my first with ice spikes for this winter. I use an older pair of Asics with sheet metal screws inset into the tread & they work well for most of the snow and ice conditions we get here. However, yesterday we had slush, snow, and ice so I got wet feet. (~7.5 K & slower than usual)
I have been listening to SRF Klassik in the mornings lately as the AI interface on Google home seems to have a problem with requests for classical music. I like the music selection on Swiss radio Classic a bit more than BBC Radio 3. www.radioswissclassic.ch/de
Home - Radio Swiss Classic
Klassik rund um die Uhr. Dezent moderiert. Ohne Werbung. Das Online Radio mit den besten Werken der Klassik aus den verschiedensten Epochen und Stilrichtungen.
www.radioswissclassic.ch
November 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM
I have been listening to SRF Klassik in the mornings lately as the AI interface on Google home seems to have a problem with requests for classical music. I like the music selection on Swiss radio Classic a bit more than BBC Radio 3. www.radioswissclassic.ch/de
This morning the dogs were reluctant to go off the deck into the strangely altered yard. Here is the view from the front of the house.
November 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM
This morning the dogs were reluctant to go off the deck into the strangely altered yard. Here is the view from the front of the house.
Retired academics:
K: I want to read about the Berlin Wall history. Buy this book.
Me: It's in English? You crossed the wall to visit relatives. What about a German POV?
K: Too hard to get German books. Shipping delay.
Me: But, your Mom might like it too.
K: She wants to forget it...
Me: Harumph...
K: I want to read about the Berlin Wall history. Buy this book.
Me: It's in English? You crossed the wall to visit relatives. What about a German POV?
K: Too hard to get German books. Shipping delay.
Me: But, your Mom might like it too.
K: She wants to forget it...
Me: Harumph...
November 15, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Retired academics:
K: I want to read about the Berlin Wall history. Buy this book.
Me: It's in English? You crossed the wall to visit relatives. What about a German POV?
K: Too hard to get German books. Shipping delay.
Me: But, your Mom might like it too.
K: She wants to forget it...
Me: Harumph...
K: I want to read about the Berlin Wall history. Buy this book.
Me: It's in English? You crossed the wall to visit relatives. What about a German POV?
K: Too hard to get German books. Shipping delay.
Me: But, your Mom might like it too.
K: She wants to forget it...
Me: Harumph...
Karin & I finished rewatching the 3 existing seasons of the Ku'damm series 56, 59 & 63 and are now anticipating the 77 version that is scheduled for Dec of this year. It has character development & the history of Germany after WW II in a balanced & engaging narrative: www.imdb.com/title/tt4863...
Ku'damm 56 (TV Mini Series 2016) ⭐ 7.6 | Drama
1h 40m
www.imdb.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Karin & I finished rewatching the 3 existing seasons of the Ku'damm series 56, 59 & 63 and are now anticipating the 77 version that is scheduled for Dec of this year. It has character development & the history of Germany after WW II in a balanced & engaging narrative: www.imdb.com/title/tt4863...
Merlin playing ball on an autumnal morning.
November 4, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Merlin playing ball on an autumnal morning.
My repair on my old iPhone has been working for a week so I did the same work on Karin's phone this morning. Here is a photo of the phone with the larger case screw used in the repair. The other two internal screws are about half this size and I am in constant fear of dropping them.
November 4, 2025 at 5:07 PM
My repair on my old iPhone has been working for a week so I did the same work on Karin's phone this morning. Here is a photo of the phone with the larger case screw used in the repair. The other two internal screws are about half this size and I am in constant fear of dropping them.
Yesterday my car would not start & I had to jumpstart it. This morning it was the same so I bought a new battery and installed it. Karin was doubtful as cars must have mechanics, not retired English profs, for repairs. It works now:I am happy to be a functional member of our technical civilization.
November 4, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Yesterday my car would not start & I had to jumpstart it. This morning it was the same so I bought a new battery and installed it. Karin was doubtful as cars must have mechanics, not retired English profs, for repairs. It works now:I am happy to be a functional member of our technical civilization.
Today's culinary experiment: Yoghurt bread rolls made with baking powder instead of yeast. They take a lot longer to bake than the various recipes I read would suggest, but I suspect that is because we are about 600 metres above sea level here.
October 31, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Today's culinary experiment: Yoghurt bread rolls made with baking powder instead of yeast. They take a lot longer to bake than the various recipes I read would suggest, but I suspect that is because we are about 600 metres above sea level here.
I have a bad left eye and I go to an eye surgeon every 6 months for monitoring. Nevertheless, I put a new battery in an old iPhone 6s today. (my cost $20 parts vs $100+ for shop repair) I am pleased that I can still work on the tiny screws/connectors although swearing is louder now than in my 30s.
October 30, 2025 at 5:20 PM
I have a bad left eye and I go to an eye surgeon every 6 months for monitoring. Nevertheless, I put a new battery in an old iPhone 6s today. (my cost $20 parts vs $100+ for shop repair) I am pleased that I can still work on the tiny screws/connectors although swearing is louder now than in my 30s.
Winter has started here in Northern British Columbia.
October 28, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Winter has started here in Northern British Columbia.
When Mopsy the Pug gets home from her walk you can just let the leash go and she will run up the lawn and sit by the door until it is opened. Our dogs love their rituals and they protest if "human" circumstances introduce a deviation in the routines.
October 22, 2025 at 3:10 AM
When Mopsy the Pug gets home from her walk you can just let the leash go and she will run up the lawn and sit by the door until it is opened. Our dogs love their rituals and they protest if "human" circumstances introduce a deviation in the routines.
It is a bad idea to have a midi keyboard hooked up to your computer if you scroll through new youtube videos on mornings when you have plans to go for a run. I found a tutorial on Brubeck's Take Five for the piano and wasted an hour on the limits of my incompetence. Afternoon run today, i guess.
October 21, 2025 at 4:44 PM
It is a bad idea to have a midi keyboard hooked up to your computer if you scroll through new youtube videos on mornings when you have plans to go for a run. I found a tutorial on Brubeck's Take Five for the piano and wasted an hour on the limits of my incompetence. Afternoon run today, i guess.
We started watching the RTÉ comedy Obituary and it has an offbeat sort of humour that I rather like. Karin thinks it is a bit morbid as the subject is a small-town reporter who writes obituaries who starts killing nasty people to increase her work. Think Dexter set in Ireland.
October 21, 2025 at 5:26 AM
We started watching the RTÉ comedy Obituary and it has an offbeat sort of humour that I rather like. Karin thinks it is a bit morbid as the subject is a small-town reporter who writes obituaries who starts killing nasty people to increase her work. Think Dexter set in Ireland.
Karin took Merlin to a scent detection event today. (He won a ribbon) It is something like training one of those dogs that sniff around airports looking for drugs and scare the crap out of those of us who know we may have forgotten a bag of dog treats in our pocket.
October 20, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Karin took Merlin to a scent detection event today. (He won a ribbon) It is something like training one of those dogs that sniff around airports looking for drugs and scare the crap out of those of us who know we may have forgotten a bag of dog treats in our pocket.
We were watching the Scottish detective show Karen Pirie last night and discovered that US TV has distorted perceived legal reality. My Karin said, "they can't use that evidence; no search warrant." I argued, perhaps Scotland is like Canada and does not have a strict "poisoned tree" law.
October 15, 2025 at 2:47 PM
We were watching the Scottish detective show Karen Pirie last night and discovered that US TV has distorted perceived legal reality. My Karin said, "they can't use that evidence; no search warrant." I argued, perhaps Scotland is like Canada and does not have a strict "poisoned tree" law.
We started watching the Netflix France series Néro the Assassin last night and it has the air of a spaghetti western, but set in 16th century France. (Dry desolate landscape dominated by a scruffy anti-hero) French dialogue but printed matter in English? Perla (the actor) is not in IMDB entry?
October 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
We started watching the Netflix France series Néro the Assassin last night and it has the air of a spaghetti western, but set in 16th century France. (Dry desolate landscape dominated by a scruffy anti-hero) French dialogue but printed matter in English? Perla (the actor) is not in IMDB entry?
Apparently Garmin & Strava are having a court battle. I have been running with Garmin watches for so long I did not even notice that they had been integrated with the Strava site. SOme of my friends use Strava, but I just use the Garmin site to preserve my stats. See below: <grin>
October 9, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Apparently Garmin & Strava are having a court battle. I have been running with Garmin watches for so long I did not even notice that they had been integrated with the Strava site. SOme of my friends use Strava, but I just use the Garmin site to preserve my stats. See below: <grin>
Latest computer recycling exploit: I have a bunch of 2.5 inch sata 500 gb hdds that were sitting on a shelf (years) after I upgraded some computers to faster ssds. I found some very cheap usb ssd caddys on Temu for about $5 each so I now have some storage / backup drives that I can give to students.
October 7, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Latest computer recycling exploit: I have a bunch of 2.5 inch sata 500 gb hdds that were sitting on a shelf (years) after I upgraded some computers to faster ssds. I found some very cheap usb ssd caddys on Temu for about $5 each so I now have some storage / backup drives that I can give to students.
I filmed Merlin and Karin for an online dog competition yesterday and today. Here is the empty arena & my camera. I am not allowed to show the actual routines until the submitted footage has been judged.
October 2, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I filmed Merlin and Karin for an online dog competition yesterday and today. Here is the empty arena & my camera. I am not allowed to show the actual routines until the submitted footage has been judged.
Latest Temu-in-Canada purchase is a set of dog sport hoops (like agility but actually a sport called hoopers according to Karin). About 1/2 the price of the same item at Home Depot so I guess we did not get charged the US China tariff.
September 29, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Latest Temu-in-Canada purchase is a set of dog sport hoops (like agility but actually a sport called hoopers according to Karin). About 1/2 the price of the same item at Home Depot so I guess we did not get charged the US China tariff.
While working on my crispy baked tofu recipe today I noticed that I have created a vegetarian visual analogue of the McNugget. Sigh.
September 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
While working on my crispy baked tofu recipe today I noticed that I have created a vegetarian visual analogue of the McNugget. Sigh.
We started watching Call my Agent: Berlin last night. It's still funny in German although some humour from the French original looks a bit odd in a German cultural context. The humour in Ten Percent (UK version) was not as noticeably different. I like adaptations of TV in various languages.
September 27, 2025 at 3:28 PM
We started watching Call my Agent: Berlin last night. It's still funny in German although some humour from the French original looks a bit odd in a German cultural context. The humour in Ten Percent (UK version) was not as noticeably different. I like adaptations of TV in various languages.
Anybody else think of the poisoned tylenol capsules murder that happened in the early 1980s? There was a lot of speculation at the time that it was an attack on their market share. That company can't seem to catch a break.
September 25, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Anybody else think of the poisoned tylenol capsules murder that happened in the early 1980s? There was a lot of speculation at the time that it was an attack on their market share. That company can't seem to catch a break.