Miscellaneous things

For this page I am going to keep track of various things I am doing, in list form

A selection of current podcasts I am listening to

  • Ologies
  • Stuff You Should Know
  • The Art of Manliness podcast
  • StarTalk
  • Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
  • Truzz Levels (football podcast)

2024

Games I have beaten

  • Feb 12 - Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon - PC
  • Beaten Balatro on Switch a few times. Hard to determine a “victory” state… first win, get all decks, etc.
  • Mar 10 - A Little to the Left - PC
  • Apr 7 - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - PC Apr 30 - Islets - PC

Books I have read

  • Jan 11 - The Humbugs of the World - P.T. Barnum Reading some big collections of books so this will probably be empty for a while

2023

Games I have beaten

  • Jan 22 - Monument Valley 2 - Android
  • Jan 29 - OK Golf - Android
    • Unlocked and played all courses
  • Feb 7 - Pentiment - PC
  • Feb 24 - Sports Story - Switch
  • Mar 7 - Hexcells Infinite - PC
  • Apr 15 - The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - PC
  • Apr 30 - The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures - Switch
  • May 7 - Trombone Champ - PC
  • May 7 - Saturday Edition - Playdate
  • Jun 4 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Switch
  • Jun 10 - Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Final Bar Line - Switch
    • Basically played enough to get the credits, but I will be finishing every song eventually.
  • Jun 26 - Platonic - PC
  • Jul 10 - Boneraiser Minions - PC
    • Beat final boss first time
  • Jul 14 - The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve - Switch
  • Jul 25 - Diablo IV - PC
  • Aug 14 - Words for a Bird - Android
  • Aug 22 - Tangle Tower - PC
  • Sep 3 - Casual Birder - Playdate
  • Sep 5 - Dangeresque: The Roomisode Triungulate - PC
  • Sep 8 - Strange Horticulture - PC
  • Sep 10 - NieR: Automata - Switch
    • Got all main story endings
  • Sep 22 - Resonant Tale - Playdate
  • Sep 30 - Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Switch
    • Verdant Wind route
    • I played most of this in 2021, and just resumed where I left off after my 2+ year hiatus
  • Oct 17 - Storyteller - PC
  • Nov 23 - Super Mario RPG (remake) - Switch

Books I have read

  • Jan 8 - The Bands of Mourning: A Mistborn Novel - Brandon Sanderson
  • Jan 8 - The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
  • Jan 30 - Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man - Emmanuel Acho
  • Feb 26 - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court - Mark Twain
  • Mar 1 - Foundation - Isaac Asimov
  • Mar 5 - One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
  • Mar 13 - Mistborn: Secret History - Brandon Sanderson
  • Mar 21 - Völsunga Saga - Anonymous
  • Apr 27 - The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers
  • May 3 - Bartleby, the Scrivener - Herman Melville
  • May 6 - The Lost Metal: A Mistborn Novel - Brandon Sanderson
  • May 29 - And the Waters Turned to Blood - Rodney Barker
    • This was a book I was required to read for a college class, but I maybe only read a third of it. Nice to finally do my assignment 15 years later.
  • Jun 18 - The Crystal Shard (The Legend of Drizzt: Book 4) - R.A. Salvatore
  • Jul 22 - SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
  • Jul 31 - The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
  • Aug 13 - Candide - Voltaire
  • Aug 22 - Bluebeard, the Autobiography of Rabo Karabekian (1916–1988) - Kurt Vonnegut
  • Sep 4 - Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe
    • Collection of 22 short stories
  • Sep 21 - Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery
  • Oct 27 - John Silence: Physician Extraordinary - Algernon Blackwood
  • Nov 19 - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
  • Nov 20 - Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
  • Dec 4 - Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll
  • Dec 18 - The Light Fantastic: A Novel of Discworld - Terry Pratchett

2022

Games I have beaten

  • Jan 3 - Jazzpunk - PC
  • Jan 17 - Simulacra - PC
  • Jan 23 - Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise - Android
  • Feb 13 - Carto - PC
  • Feb 13 - Monument Valley - Android
    • Just the base game. Going to play the expansion but will not record it as a “win”
  • Mar 12 - The Solitaire Conspiracy - PC
  • Mar 18 - A Short Hike - PC
  • Mar 21 - Aperture Desk Job - PC
  • Mar 23 - Paper Mario: The Origami King - Switch
  • Apr 25 - Final Fantasy IX - PC
    • I beat this lots of times as a kid. Decided to buy and replay it after I learned there were mods for PC that let you recruit a new party member and let you pretty up the graphics.
  • May 28 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Switch
  • May 30 - Hexcells - PC
  • Jun 2 - Mom Hid My Game 2 - Switch
  • Jun 21 - The Looker - PC
  • Jun 25 - Squarecells - PC
  • Jul 1 - Please Touch the Artwork - PC
  • Jul 17 - Vampire Survivors - PC
    • Beat final boss
  • Jul 31 - Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus - PC
  • Aug 7 - Pulpergeist - Playdate
  • Aug 10 - Hexcells Plus - PC
  • Aug 12 - Chicory: A Colorful Tale - PC
  • Aug 14 - Crosscells - PC
    • I sort of cheated on two of the final end-game puzzles (out of 50 total), since my brain just wasn’t working and I wanted to move on.
  • Aug 31 - Hades - Switch
    • First clear on attempt 46
  • Oct 1 - Taiji - PC
  • Oct 1 - Borderlands 3 - Stadia
  • Nov 7 - Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County - PC
  • Dec 5 - Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Switch
  • Dec 12 - Beyond Eyes - PC

Books I have read

  • Jan 22 - The Bat - Jo Nesbø
  • Feb 13 - The Atopia Chronicles - Matthew Mather
  • Mar 21 - All Quiet of the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
    • I actually read this in college, and quite enjoyed it. Bought it a few years ago to read again because it felt like a re-read.
    • I also read the entire book today. Waiting around in jury duty will compell you to do that.
  • Apr 11 - The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy
  • May 8 - Digital Minimalism - Cal Newport
  • May 15 - A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
  • Jun 6 - The Law of Alloy: A Mistborn Novel - Brandon Sanderson
  • Jul 23 - Amazonia - James Rollins
  • Aug 9 - The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
    • A book I was assigned to read in college, but never finished it. Unfinished business complete!
  • Aug 17 - Galápagos - Kurt Vonnegut
  • Sep 6 - Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Sep 14 - Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
  • Oct 5 - Shadows of Self: A Mistborn Novel - Brandon Sanderson
  • Oct 29 - South - Sir Ernest Shackleton
  • Nov 3 - Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence - Anna Lembke
  • Nov 19 - My Man, Jeeves - P.D. Wodehouse

2021

Games I have beaten

  • Jan 2 - Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - PC
  • Feb 10 - ABZU - Switch
  • Feb 26 - Wattam - PC
  • Apr 17 - Halo: Anniversary Edition - PC
  • Apr 20 - Halo 3 - PC
  • Apr 24 - Persona 5 Strikers - Switch
  • Apr 30 - We Were Here - PC
  • Jun 18 - The Room - Android
  • Jul 3 - Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion - Switch
  • Jul 7 - Dissembler - Android
  • Aug 18 - Halo 3: ODST - PC
  • Aug 19 - Halo 2: Anniversary Edition - PC
  • Aug 23 - Contradiction - PC
    • It’s a neat full-motion video murder-mystery game
  • Sep 8 - What the Golf - PC
  • Sep 11 - Warioware: Get it Together - Switch
  • Sep 14 - Picross S - Switch
  • Sep 20 - Halo: Reach - PC
  • Sep 21 - TOEM - PC
  • Oct 7 - Halo 4 - PC
  • Nov 18 - Binding of Isaac: Repentance - Switch
    • Hit an ending with credits. Given the difficulty of the game, I was content to call that a win (though I’m still gonna go for more)
  • Nov 26 - Gnosia - Switch
  • Dec 3 - Wavetale - Stadia
  • Dec 23 - The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective Game - PC
  • Dec 27 - Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard - PC
  • Dec 31 - Tales of Arise - PC

Books I have read

  • Jan 17 - Subterranean - James Rollins
  • Feb 6 - Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
  • Mar 6 - I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Ramit Sethi
  • Mar 21 - Gulliver’s Travels - Jonathan Swift
  • Apr 6 - Robert Sheckley Megapack
    • 14 short stories and 1 novel
  • Apr 27 - Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives - Mark Miodownik
  • May 31 - Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Samin Nosrat
  • Jun 3 - The Godfather - Mario Puzo
  • Jun 20 - Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
  • Jul 11 - Homeland (The Legend of Drizzt: Book 1) - R.A. Salvatore
  • Jul 28 - Deadeye Dick - Kurt Vonnegut
  • Aug 22 - How Your House Works - Charlie Wing
  • Aug 25 - Born to Run - Christopher McDougall
  • Sep 18 - Sand - Hugh Howey
  • Oct 25 - The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth and Power - Deirdre Mask
  • Nov 17 - I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
  • Dec 4 - Dracula - Bram Stoker
  • Dec 27 - The World Atlas of Coffee - James Hoffmann

2020

Games I have beaten

  • Jan 1 - Return of the Obra Dinn - PC
  • Jan 25 - Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age - Switch
    • I beat the original Playstation 2 release in the mid-2000s, so it was nice to revisit this underrated game
  • Feb 12 - Disco Elysium - PC
  • Mar 2 - Tales of Berseria - PC
  • Mar 28 - Fire Emblem Warriors - Switch
  • Apr 30 - Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy - Switch
  • May 3 - Bury Me, My Love - Switch
  • May 20 - Katamari Damacy - PS2
    • Played on PS3
  • June 19 - Shovel Knight: King of Cards - Switch
  • June 24 - Golf Peaks - PC
  • July 27 - A Mortician’s Tale - PC
  • Aug 3 - Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition - Switch
  • Aug 12 - The Pedestrian - PC
  • Aug 22 - Cadence of Hyrule - Switch
  • Aug 30 - Stein’s Gate: Elite - Switch
    • Guess this counts as a book too, being a visual novel
  • Sept 2 - A Case of Distrust - PC
  • Sept 7 - Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - PC
  • Oct 22 - Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward - PC
  • Nov 18 - Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling - Switch
  • Nov 21 - Panzer Dragoon Remake - Stadia
  • Dec 5 - SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech - Stadia
  • Dec 16 - Cthulhu Saves Christmas - PC
  • Dec 18 - Princess Remedy in a Heap of Trouble - PC

Books I have read

  • Jan 24 - Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries - Kory Stamper
  • Mar 24 - Blue Highways - William Least Half-Moon
  • Apr 19 - The Hero of Ages: A Mistborn Novel - Brandon Sanderson
  • Apr 30 - Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything - Lydia Kana, Nate Pedersen
  • May 12 - Warcross - Marie Lu
  • May 27 - The Secret Lives of Color - Kassia St. Clair
  • June 25 - American Gods - Neil Gaiman
  • July 9 - Wildcard - Marie Lu
    • Sequel to Warcross
  • July 20 - A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Aug 2 - The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
  • Sept 12 - Theodore Rex - Edmund Morris
  • Sept 18 - Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software - Charles Petzold
  • Sept 21 - Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World - Admiral William H. McRaven
  • Oct 20 - Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
  • Nov 17 - Jailbird - Kurt Vonnegut
  • Dec 16 - Mini Habits for Weight Loss - Stephen Guise
    • A note about this. I bought this a few years ago in an attempt to develop more consistent healthy eating habits. I actually lost close to 20 lbs prior to reading this book, due to a combination of marathon training and eliminating some processed things like soda and frozen meals. But nevertheless this was a good reinforcement on strategies to keep the ship going.

2019

Games I have beaten

  • Jan 7 - Yoku’s Island Express - Switch
  • Feb 13 - GNOG - PC
  • Mar 17 - Gris - Switch
  • Mar 22 - Donut County - Switch
  • Apr 9 - Aviary Attorney - PC
  • Apr 10 - Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt - PC
  • May 27 - Mass Effect 3 - PC
  • June 13 - West of Loathing - Switch
  • July 16 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Switch
  • Aug 10 - Forager - Switch
  • Aug 23 - Deltarune: Chapter 1 - Switch
  • Oct 12 - Aggelos - Switch
  • Oct 25 - Pikuniku - Switch
  • Nov 7 - Untitled Goose Game - Switch
  • Nov 30 - Pic-a-Pix Deluxe - Switch
    • I love nonograms/picross puzzles
  • Dec 6 - Pokemon Shield - Switch
  • Dec 13 - PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids - Switch
    • Still love picross!
  • Dec 21 - The Touryst - Switch
  • Dec 31 - You Must Build a Boat - Android

Books I have read

  • Jan 21 - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Neil Degrasse Tyson
  • Feb 2 - The Snowman - Jo Nesbø
  • Feb 15 - I’m Just Here for the Food - Alton Brown
  • Mar 20 - Captain Riley II: Darkness - Fernando Gamboa
  • Apr 8 - 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
  • Apr 15 - Press Start to Translate - Clyde Mandelin
  • May 25 - Pittsylvania County, Virginia: A Brief History - Larry G. Aaron
  • May 28 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
  • June 14 - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo
  • July 5 - The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane
  • July 30 - The North Water - Ian McGuire
  • Aug 18 - The Private Life of Chairman Mao - Li Zhisui
  • Sept 2 - Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman
  • Oct 29 - Statistics Done Wrong - Alex Reinhart
  • Nov 26 - The Crusades - Thomas Ashbridge
  • Dec 7 - Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut