Recommendations
This webpage is an ongoing list of interesting, worthwhile things
I've found which are not already well known.
Index
Baba is You (2019)
- Baba is You is a collection of very difficult logic
puzzles, which are solved by the player manipulating
the laws that govern the enviroment and objects therein.
- Philosopher
C. Thi Nguyen has argued Baba is You is an excellent example of
how games can be art even when they aren't cinematic and don't have a
story—that just pure logic and puzzle solving can become a form
of art.
Genesis Noir (2021)
- In Genesis Noir you assume role of a god who assumes the appearance
of a jazz loving film noir style detective. He travels through space and
time altering the development of the universe, organic life and humanity.
- This game really delivers in exploring themes in cosmology, philosophy
and religion. The visuals, sound and animation are beautiful. This game
is really art in traditional sense.
- Since it's primarily art (to be experienced and analyzed), the game
itself and the puzzles are pretty straightforward.
Grandia (1999)
- Grandia is a 1999 Japanese role playing game for the original
Playstation. I played it as a kid shortly after it was released and it
was one of my favorite games (although I never beat it). I replayed the
game and finally beat it 20 years later in late 2021 / early 2022.
Although clearly designed for kids, this is a great game that held up
very well 20 years later.
- Aesthetically, the game starts off in a Victorian steampunk 'old
world', and ends in a fantasy infused frontier continent (early America
mixed with Lord of the Rings). The game tells the story of a young
'adventurer' in the old world, who sneaks away from home to board a
steamship to the 'new world' in in search of adventure. He finds
friends and adventure and gets mixed up in a supernatural conspiracy
along the way.
- Turned-based Japanese RPGs aren't as popular as they used to be in
the 90s and early 00s, and they could be tedious even back in the day.
However, Grandia really had a rich combat engine where time (how long
things take) and space (where characters are on the field) matter. I
love how the combat engine allows players to create and deploy
different strategies for different types/configurations of
enemies.
-
There's an HD Remaster of Grandia that's available on PC and Nintendo
Switch. At risk of sounding obsessive, I'd try to stick to playing the
original on something like RetroArch since the original art wasn't
designed to be high definition, and when artists and AI try to make
sharper it often looks weird and blurry. RetroArch offers tube TV
shaders that emulate the scanlines and distortions found in American
(NTSC) TVs common in 1999. By projecting the original image onto a
emulated CRT display, it can enlarge the screen while keeping the art
looking the way it's intended to. Compare the original game with
RetroArch's shaders to the HD Remaster below, and click to compare at
higher resolutions.
- According to the games clock it took me 99 hours and 35 minutes to
finish, including the difficult hidden dungeons. Most people can beat
the game in about 50 hours if they aren't doing the hidden content and
spending extra time leveling. Despite it's length it didn't feel
tedious; there's a lot of story and exploration and it really gives
the player the feeling of being on an adventure.
Novels of Neal Stephenson
- A short review of Stephenson novels I have read:
- Snow Crash
- The Diamond Age
- Cryptonomicon
Stardew Valley Expanded (2019, ongoing)
-
When I was in high school, I was obsessed with a Japanese
farming/life simulation game called Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
(1999 on the Playstation. It was sort of obscure at the time but I
put hundred of hours on it.
-
In 2016, an American developer single-handedly wrote his own game in the
tradition of Harvest Moon. Through deep understanding and appreciation
of the original, he really improved upon it. While Harvest Moon games
in the 90s were boutique games, Stardew Valley sold over 20 million
copies -- it was a minor cultural phenomenon by the time COVID happened
(the perfect quarantine game).
-
Part of what makes Stardew better than Harvest Moon is how much more
content it has, and in 2019 a fan made addition to the game added a ton
of more content: 27 new NPCs, 50 locations, 260 character events, 27
fish, reimagined vanilla areas, two farm maps, a reimagined world map
reflecting all changes, new music, questlines, objects, crops, festivals
and more.
-
I like Stardew Valley Expanded because it shows how a truly great idea
can take almost 30 years, and many different people to become fully
realized. It's also likely that the environment wasn't right for Harvest
Moon to flourish in the 1990s. Since the 90s, digital distribution
systems like Steam became widespread and quirky indie games became
mainstream, and these may have been necessary for Stardew Valley to
achieve its massive sales numbers.
Stray (2022)
- Stray is a 2022 independent game where you play as a cat. It got
internet famous before its release due to its subject matter.
- And it delivers on the cat experience. You get to meow, rub up
against things, scratch--and more. The cat you play as moves and
animates with great feline realism. However, the game is much more than
just that...
- It's also a post apocalyptic science fiction game. Your job is to
explore and learn about the humanless world the game is set in. The
game takes place throughout a city populated entirely by
robots--designed by humans who embody human characteristics. While
exploring you find out what happened to humans, exactly how far in the
future you're living in, why the surreal landscape is the way it is, and
what lead to the apparent human extinction.
- Like many, I came for the cat game, but stayed for the beautiful,
surrealistic Sci-Fi world. This game is a work of art I think will be
played and enjoyed for decades to come.
Podcasts and other audio
It's a Thing
- Podcast hosted by Tom Merritt and Molly Wood about recent trends
in popular culture and technology.
- I love finding out about what new things people are doing. Often
new things people are into are cool and become things I have get into.
At the very least, knowing what people are up to gives you sense for
which direction the winds of culture are blowing.
- Tom and Molly are great hosts who I've been listening to since they
hosted CNET's Buzz Out Loud from 2005 t0 2010. For context, iTunes
added podcasts in June of 2005 (podcasts had several proto-forms
birth of the contemporary podcast) and Buzz Out Load launched in
March 2005.
- A small sampling of "things" I've learned about ahead of the curve
thanks to this podcast:
- This podcast is a great respite from news and politics.
Chinese Whispers
- Podcast hosted by Cindy Yu about life in China, economic conditions,
chinese national politics, global politics, culture and history. Her
podcasts typically consists of her interviewing one or more experts
(usually established professors and journalists) about the areas of
their expertise.
- In my opinion, what makes this podcast special is that I perceive
it to be relatively ideologically neutral. I'm interested in China,
but looking for information you find there's a creepy tendency for
media to be really pro China or
really against it. Cindy Yu
defends China and tries to present things from a Chinese point of view,
while owning up' when things are problematic and invites guests on who
are often critical.
- Hosted by The Spectator, which this podcast seems editorially I
independent from and I don't endorse (it's a British magazine, which,
if you're an American, you might understand as being cross between The
New York Post and The New Yorker).
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (BBC Radio 4, 1978)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG) is a
legendary comedy science fiction franchise which is often referenced in
programming and computer science (for example, when arbitrary variables
are assigned as '42', Yahoo's old service Babel fish, and the chat
software Trillian).
- I used to believe Douglas Adam's 1979 HHGTTG novel was the original
work the franchise was based on. However, a 1978 BBC Radio 4 radio
drama, which also written by Douglas Adams, actually predates it by a
year and a half.
- The HHGTTG 2 original radio drama seasons (1978 and 1980) are
brilliant, and play as well today as I imagine they did when they came
out. They're laugh out loud funny, a little bit profound, clever,
delightful and I couldn't recommend them enough. They are available for
free on Archive.org (if you know how to get and play MP3s on your phone)
or you can buy them on Audible.
-
The original 1978, 1979, 1980s BBC Radio 4 episodes of HHGTTG
-
A famously difficult 1984 HHGTTG text-based computer game, written
by Douglas Adam
Upper Middle Brow
- A book club podcast where two friends read stuff (emphasis on sci-fi)
and analyze it.
- I've listened to their episodes on several Neal Stephenson novels
(Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and
Cryptonomicon) and on William Gibson's
Neuromancer.
- What makes this podcast worthwhile: 1. The hosts
genuinely have good chemistry—making it a pleasure to listen to
and; 2. They are both sci-fi curious and somewhat literary, they
want something thought provoking even it might be a little
trashy—so they are picking out great novels to cover.
- Their discussion of the novel tends to be pretty socratic—they
figure out their takes while talking it out. Their opinions are
aren't too definative and won't overshadow your own private takes.
Often when I am a little unclear or confused by part of a novel
I'm happy to hear I'm not alone after listening to their podcast
on it.
- The books I've read are very much for the tech community (e.g.
tech bros) and these podcasters are sort of Librarian-Core /
GradSchool-Core. Stephenson often takes shots at the culture
surrounding academia; the podcast hosts pick up on that and
take it personally—a funny dynamic. However, despite being
offended from time to time, the hosts don't let it discourage them
from engaging with—and enjoying—the content.
Products and Services
Sony MDR7506 Headphones
- These are fairly cheap ($100) wired 'studio' headphones that I've
been using since
2012.
- These headphones crispy and accurately reproduce sound the way it's
intended to be heard. If I'm watching a Netflix show with these
headphones, I feel confident what I'm hearing is pretty close to what
the audio engineer was hearing when the sound was being mastered.
- I've gone through 3 of these in 10 years, so these things are cheap
and produce high quality sound, but they aren't that tough.
Shokz OpenMove Headphones
- $80 bluetooth 'bone conduction' headphones
- If you hike, walk, exercise or use a laptop in a room with other
people, 'bone conduction' headphones will make your life better,
because they don't cover your ears
at all. With totally uncovered
ears you can stay connected with your surroundings when hiking, walking
or just using headphones with other people around.
- Sound quality is passible, but not great compared to earbuds or
over-ear headphones in the same price range. These won't be anyone's
main headphones, but they are unbeatable if you want to listen to a
podcast on a walk (and hear bikes coming up behind you) or practice
Spanish on your phone while in a room with others (and not ignore them).
- I prefer this cheaper $80 dollar model to more expensive models
because I use them everywhere and there's a good chance they'll be lost
or broken. They also have a reputation for beingn more durable than the
expensive models. Lastly, the sound quality is decent enough for
speech and most music and there's really no need to have audiophile
quality sound if you are hiking or walking in Manhattan
Sweet Maria's Green Coffee
- Sweet
Maria's buys coffee from farms and sells it directly to
hobbyists for home roasting. Roasting coffee at home is tricky
but satisfying, and gets you fresher high quality coffee at
often almost half the price of similar high end coffee.
- What really love about Sweet Maria's is how much detail they
provide you about every coffee and every farm. Even high-end
coffee roasters will rarely include information about a
coffee's cultivar (breed), farm (often with pictures of the
farm owners), and processing method (dry, wet, honey etc).
Software
cool-retro-term
- Whenever I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the
terminal in Linux, I choose cool-retro-term (CRT) as my
terminal emulator. It acts like RetroArch CRT Shaders—adding
flicker, glow, curvature, scanlines, and visible pixels to your
terminal.
- You would think adding old-timey glitches and artifacts to your
terminal would be a short lived novelty, but I have been using
cool-retro-term regularly for years. In fact, I usually update my
website using cool-retro-term.
- You can get cool-retro-term here
Photomatix
- Photography software that can create neat effects by combining raw
digital pictures taken at different exposures (known as HDR).
- I've used this software to create photos like the second below from
the first.
Shot 5.11.2008, Canon Rebel XTi
- Photomatix was first released in 2003; I've been using it since
2008.
- I'm a bit stuck in my ways, but Aurora HDR is another competing
piece of software that might actually be better.
- Trey Ratcliff, whose moniker is StuckInCustoms, has
an influential
travel blog where he uses a lot of HDR. He helped popularize the
style and apparently had some roll in developing the Aurora HDR
software. I think I learned how to use Photomatix with one of his
tutorials (long before Aurora HDR existed)
RetroArch
- This software emulates the experience of playing old games on a
computer. As as a nostalgic aging guy, I often want to play games that
were popular with when I was a kid. Not long ago I played several of
these games (Grandia [1997], Final Fantasy VII [1997], Final Fantasy IX
[2000], and Final Fantasy X [2001]) and found that playing the most
recent PC conversions didn't feel like authentic representation of the
experience.
- I think part of the problem is these games' art isn't intended to be
shown on a 4k screen with perfect color. In some games, like Grandia and
FFIX the art was upscaled to look better than the original, but in my
mind that is like colorizing a classic black and white film.
- A solution that RetroArch (and many other modern emulators) offer
is shaders, which use algorithms to emulate the imperfections you get
from an CRT display. This isn't an option with most stand alone modern
adaption of these games. See before and after pictures applying my
favorite CRT shader, the koko-aio NTSC shader, found within the Bezel
directory in RetroArch. Click for full size images.
- Without buying an antique TV, I would say the most authentic way to
experience most old games is by running shaders with RetroArch on a
laptop with a modern TV and gamepad.
Walking and Hiking
Birch Meadow Preserve
Stamford, Fairfield County, CT
- A fairly small, generally empty nature preserve hidden deep in a
residential neighborhood in North Stamford. Since it's small you'll find
yourself going in circles a few times, but really appreciate the solitude
that this spot has to offer.
- There's a very old looking stone gazebo overlooking the water a few
hundred feet from the entrance (pictured above). I've had a picnic here
before, and, I must say, with the view of the water and the seclusion of
the area, it's a lovely spot for a picnic.
Marsh Sanctuary
Mount Kisco, Westchester County, NY
- I've been visiting this spot since 2011 when I need a peaceful place
to reflect.
- I always sense that this place has a very peaceful aura. This may be
partially because you won't see too many people around, except for maybe
a teacher and some kids in around the Field parking lot.
- My favorite walk is parking off Route 172 (Brookside Parking), taking
the red trail to the Field Parking Lot, then ascending to the hilltop by
the water tower (41.190960, -73.713379) on an unmapped trail. It's less
than a mile both ways but it's a beautiful mix of scenery (woods, swamp,
pond, field, hilltop, vista) and not bad exercise since its got a lot of
hills.
- Also check out the adjacent Leonard Park, with a great free disc
golf, a pagoda by pond, free tennis and outdoor seating for picnics.
Yorktown Parking: North County Rail Trail
Yorktown, Yorktown Heights, NY
Shot 6.5.2023, 2:30pm, Canon 5D
- North County Rail Trail is a beautiful 22 mile long trail. The above
link is to a great parking area for the trail, where either direction
you go you end up in a pretty picturesque area. If you head slightly
downhill you cross a fantastic railroad bridge (pictured above) and if you
head slightly uphill, after a few miles you will be in the beautiful downt
own of Yorktown. There are many lovely places to eat there.
- This is once of the most scenic places to ride a bike I've found with
in an hour of Stamford.
Last updated 12.31.2025