This is a work of fiction that doesn’t quite fit into what many consider Science Fiction to be today. I was intrigued by this, and after the first few pages, even more so. There’s no real explanations of how much of the science works, there’s no fancy gadgets or takes on what the future would look like for mankind. That’s perfectly fine! And there is a bunch of science in here, it just gets outshined by other elements when compared to other works in the genre.
The story has a rather simple protagonist, who finds himself taken by, basically, a mad scientist and his partner in some sort of spaceship, and they all end up flying through space to an unknown planet, full of life and strange creatures.
The beginning is rather strange, but it hooked me nonetheless, I was never quite sure of what was next. There really wasn’t a clear route to take other than to try and survive once they land on the planet’s surface.
C. S. Lewis, more commonly known for his work in The Chronicles of Narnia, writes about the intricacies and differences of this planet’s biomes and creatures, and the way they all interact with each other.
From this, we get to know some of the way of life and the worldview of the planet’s inhabitants, as well as the differences with Humanity’s behaviour. The clash between science and logic, with a more spiritual and inter-connected one, where there’s no being worth more than the other, no need to fight, or to be afraid of each other.
It was a glad surprise that only took me longer to read because of the amount of work that I’ve had lately. I really need to get back into reading before bed, but for that I may have to start collecting physical book or get an e-ink reader because my phone is too distracting at home.
Anyway, this book was great, and quite an interesting continuation after the ideas Childhood’s End showed about alien life and humanity itself.
This is day 17 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>I don’t need to say much about this game, it really made me realize how incredible gaming can be, and how far we’ve gotten. I can’t really play many 3D games without feeling like something is missing now. I can live with it though, but its not the same. Yes there are games that improve on certain areas and that have taken inspiration from this masterpiece, but few things are as complete as it is. To be fair its not like I’ve played many modern titles at all. I only have so much free time and my laptop is not that powerful anyway to run them.
Regardless, this game is great and even though I have not progressed that much despite having more than 50 hours of gameplay already. The music, the gameplay, the world map, everything is so polished and well designed, I am always wondering what will I find next, since I’ve tried to avoid guides as much as possible. I still have a lot of juice to squeeze out of it before I start with Tears of The Kingdom!
Metroid is one of my favorite series, having played through Samus Returns, Fusion and Zero Mission, as well as done a few hours of AM2R and Super Metroid. Dread manages to come out on top thanks to its incredibly well done gameplay mechanics and the amount of polish that was put into every little detail of it. Samus feels incredible to control and the boss fights were absolutely awesome, very hard yet fair. Every single one of my movements felt totally in my control, so much so that this is the first game I 100% complete! Since everything felt approachable to me, as long as I had the will to try. Not to mention the abilities that help you discover secrets and new paths.
The story was also quite good and the progression was great, I didn’t feel like there was a lot of backtracking and even if there was, the fluidity made it all a breeze and there were teleporters to fast travel too. Maybe the only thing that was weaker than the rest of the franchise was the music, it was very much ambience and atmosphere, but it did not stand out as much as the themes in previous titles. Whatever the case, I just loved this game, so good.
I mean, this is Monster Hunter, what else can I do? The game feels incredible and while I always thought the flashiness would throw me off, it ends up fading in the background and I get into the zone like few games can do to me. Hunting and grinding away is just great, not gonna lie. I actually have not progressed that much in the story and my rank is quite low, but I have had a lot of fun playing with friends and going for hunts together thanks to its local and online multiplayer options.
Its just Monster Hunter, I don’t know what else to say, its fun.
This was a game that I discovered thanks to Into The Aether, and I actually wrote a review of it too where you can see more of my thoughts on it. This game is short and quite thought provoking, there are many things you can do on it and many things you will miss on your first playthrough, I hope to replay it at some point before the sequel comes out (or once it does!).
I kind of wanted to mention that I completed quite a few older games this year too, that were absolutely great! Such as Ys Seven and Jeanne D’Arc, but they were not the highlight in 2023 for me. They were quite the journey though, so I wanted to still mention them.
I wrote a little more about some of the games mentioned here in a previous blogpost in case you wanted to read more of my thoughts on gaming.
I don’t know what else to say, sorry for finishing this list so late! Here are some more runner ups!
This is day 8 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>What if aliens invaded the planet, but they actually helped us build a utopia? Why?
Compared to the previous two books I read, that also deal with Humanity making contact with alien life. Childhood’s End takes place in Earth itself, in a time where humans are barely getting started in the space race, and right when they’re about to take their first steps, they realize they already lost—they are not alone.
These aliens, known as the Overlords, do not come to cause havoc, but they seem to want to help us. They end war, they end animal cruelty, they end racism, divisions and countries. They intend to help humanity achieve a united planet, a World State, a seemingly perfect society, a Utopia.
How this is done, and the events that develop in the novel, are something that I think you should simply read, it flies by, really quickly. The ideas displayed here are really, really interesting. For a book published in 1953, maybe the most aged thing—that is quite charming still—is how TV and radio are the main way information is delivered to people.
The commentary on humanity, consummerism, religion, racism, art, transportation, education, work, politics, and many other topics regarding Earth and how it lives its life under the guidance of the Overlords, is simply super interesting. I had never read a novel by Clarke, but I can see why he remains relevant to this day.
The ideas on display, about humanity, about alien life, about space—and beyond. They are just incredible. The novel was full of moments where I could not believe what I was reading, every time I turned my page there was something happening that only raised the mystery behind the Overlord’s true form, their true motives, the consequences of humanity living in a constant state of peace. The novel is not the longest I’ve read by any means, but its content is really thought-provoking and it just makes you question the things we take for granted even today.
I would dare say it is the most quotable book I’ve read in ages, the statements, the events, those last few chapters. I wasn’t worried about the stakes at hand, I could not even comprehend, I could not even grasp what happened, I could not even get mad. I could only read.
I am so glad I went into this blind. Simply a great book.
It is a bitter thought, but you must face it. The planets you may one day possess. But the stars are not for Man.
—Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood’s End.
This is day 7 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>Compared to what I wrote last time and in 2021, a lot of things of more substance happened, so there were a little too many things to keep track of, which makes me glad I wrote most of what happened in this website.
Note: I accidentally published this in an incomplete state at some point and I didn’t even realize, sorry for the duplicate RSS entry. On to the rest of the post!
These events are more or less in chronological order, but not necessarily, since some may happen during a span of time.
In January I started the last semester where I was actively taking new courses and going to University, it was quite a weird time where most of my classmates where either done with studies or taking completely different courses to me. Pretty much everyone was unknown to me which wasn’t as great of a time as I had hoped. After that I started my internship which made it even weirder the few times I showed up because I had to do a presentation or something similar. It was not the best of time to be at University after the pandemic, but it was the closest I would get to the old days either way.
This year of 2024 I’ve already beat 2 games and its just Januray. Last year I also managed to beat some games that had been in the limbo for many years. Jeanne D’Arc and Ys Seven were two games that I wouldn’t have expected to complete after starting them like 4 years ago, but low and behold, it finally happened, and I had a great time with both of them! Very different games but still really fun, if you like Tactics RPGs or Action RPGs, you are in for a treat, great games for the PSP.
Another game I completed later in the year was Metroid Dread, it is actually the first game I have ever fully completed, my playthrough took 12 hours or so, which sounds about right, it was simply a fantastic, really enjoyable game. I am glad to have played it to completion. All these games are fully recommended.
I didn’t write about this, but its something that happened almost as quickly as the year started, it was a sudden realization the night my father got that phone call and went outside, I immediatly knew there was something wrong. He came in and simply said “Let’s pray, my mother passed away”. We traveled by the next day, and we met the rest of the family on a house, that no longer had any owner. Despite everything, it was nice to be able to see my cousins and family once again and we had a good time to bond together a bit more. When everyone said their final good bye, our family’s turned arrived, and I couldn’t hold it any longer, we cried together.
After everything was done, things were back to normal pretty much, I still haven’t gone back to that house were an aunt now lives, I don’t know what I would feel but, I think I’ll be alright. Still, I miss my grandma.
My internship was something that I really took for granted “of course I’ll do them! duh!” and then I never looked into actually finding where to do so. I ended up working in the recruitment department of quite a big company in my city. The pay was great, and the opportunities were also on the horizon, but the actual work experience was not related to my field at all. Regardless I managed to stay there and do my job well enough, and it ended up paying off, so I can’t complain much at all. And I definitely gained some experience dealing with the human side of things, since I usually prefer to stick with machines…
The first console I’ve ever paid for, a truly fantastic device that has brought me a lot of joy and new games to finally experience, Breath of The Wild, Metroid Dread, Monster Hunter Rise, tons of indie games and titles still to try, I am really happy I got it.
I have had the change to play with a ton of friends, getting the Online subscription and adding friends and stuff. Getting 3rd party controllers, playing wherever and whenever I may want, getting digital and physical games of all kinds. And the beautiful screen of the OLED screen was such a joy too! Steam Deck at some point maybe? but this is plenty enough for me.
I did not read as many jobs as in 2022, but this year I read 3 of the longest books in my life.
One was Xenos, from the Eisenhorn trilogy, which was quite a nice sci-fi space thriller set in the Warhammer 40K Universe (the shortest of the three), then I also read the Mote In God’s Eye, which is a fantastic first contact story, and of course, Project Hail Mary. These three books are in the podium of the longest stuff I read, which was quite a great challenge and a way to prove to myself I may be ready to take on some long high fantasy story at some point.
Getting the job in the way that I did was not something I expected at all, everything seemed to be against me, or at least that’s how it looked in my head. Regardless, everything turned out alright and now I enjoy a job, in a company where I still have room to learn and grow further more. I still need to ask more questions and be more proactive but I really don’t want to mess it up either, I have a good workmate who helps me a lot but I also need to improve by myself and not just take things for granted, it is quite a journey, and I got a long way to go!
As Winter came upon us, I had a job, I had a family, and I had a ton of reasons to celebrate! I actually felt really good about the fact that this year I was able to give my family a ton of stuff. Thanks to living with them and making use of free transportation, I actually get to save quite a bit of my salary, and I was able to get good gifts for everyone in the house. I am aware that material things aren’t nearly as important as the meaning act itself and the meaning behind it. So yeah, giving stuff feels good, and I should keep doing it while it doesn’t really hurt me in any way.
I was seriously really really happy about the time I got to enjoy just a few days of vacation time after getting my job, it somehow felt longer than it was, and we watched a lot of movies together, I played videogames left and right (and bought videogames left and right), and had a great time with family and friends. We didn’t visit other family members or went outside our home, but it was quite a chill time and I am very happy about it.
After taking a break in 2022, I decided to try to do the challenge again, and I managed to succeed! I started in January 1st and ended in December 31st, quite a perfect finale in my opinion.
There are always other things that happen in a year, I don’t think I can remember them all but still, here’s a quick list
And many more things. And now I do have some time to finally write my blogpost on my favorite movies and games of the year, so you can wait for that next!
This is day of #100DaysToOffload
]]>The game is about Ori, quite a weird fellow that falls from the sky and lands on a beautiful forest, under the care of Nabu, another creature that lived there. However, a terrible fate fell upon the Nibel Forest, when its light was stolen by a mysteryous Owl. Because of this, Ori has to find the Elements of Light to give life back to the Spirit Tree, and restore the Forest to its former glory.
As I mentioned, the gameplay itself is a Metroidvania with a focus on platforming and exploration. You start out rather weak and little by little, gather more life and energy that helps you get stronger, as well as a great set of abilities that allow you to traverse the map in different ways, and get to more and more areas of it.
Personally, other than Hollow Knight and Aria of Sorrow—which I’ve played for 8 or so hours combined and I am yet to complete either—my experience in this genre consists of just the 2D Metroid series. I have to admit the movement and physics featured in this game are very different to those games, but they still feel really, really good and rather satisfying. I found the game design to be really good, there some great platforming sections that represented a interesting challenge. Thankfully saving progress was extremely quick and a necessary mechanic that was available at almost any point of the adventure, so progress wasn’t lost for significant amounts—unless you actively avoided doing so.
The Elements of Light are found in different parts of the map, each of them featuring different abilities and traversal styles that really test your platforming skills, they are huge puzzles that are quite complicated at first, but once you get it, you go through everything like a knife cutting butter—and you look great while doing so.
The animations of both the enemies, environment and the player itself are simply fantastic. The game looks simply stunning, and it runs incredibly well on the Nintendo Switch, where I played both in handheld and docked mode, without any trouble.
I really can’t emphazise enough how great the abilities in this game are, but the best one no doubt, is the bash, basically, this is everything in one. A dash, an attack, a parry, a time freeze. This ability is so insane you will keep using it during the whole game once you unlock it. Maybe the only caveat is that after you get it there is an escape sequence that ups the difficulty of the game to new levels, and you will die, a lot.
What else can I say? the art is great, the music is absolutely superb, the story and the characters develop quite while, and with just a few words, I just really loved this game. If you can handle the early combat and the difficulty curve after the first dungeon, you are in for one of the best Metroidvania adventures I’ve ever played.
This is day 5 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Compared to my previous two books, Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, felt quite fast and quick, but that doesn’t mean the story doesn’t develop just as well as the books I read last year, not at all!
The state of the world is not a good one, Humanity hasn’t really conquered the stars and flourished just yet, other than a few stations. Earth has been at war with the buggers, some insectoid alien race that had come in contact with the planet twice already. The first time it was just exploration, and Humanity managed to hold out. The second time, was colonization, and we almost lost. Thankfully, the genius strategist Mazer Rackham managed to stop them and became the hero of the story. We lived happily ever after.
But decades have passed since then, and a third invasion is on the horizon.
Now, kids are being monitored from birth, and those who show promise are drafted to become part of the army at a really young age, with the hopes of finding the next genius, who will command the fleet and protect the planet from the buggers.
Ender ends up drafted, and since he shows the most promise, he’s put into tremendous pressure by his superiors, making him go through quite a ton of hardships. Learning the tactics and strategy, by a series of games that put him and his army to the test. Zero G battles, Simulations, Games—as some might say.
The story really played with my feelings and morals quite a bit, no matter how cool and epic battles and victories were, things were just, wrong all the time, and yet, what else could be done? It really makes me think and feel uncomfortable, and it somehow remained hopeful, even if just a little.
The writing was great, the pacing felt alright, I couldn’t stay away from the book for long. It was a really intricate story where the protagonist has to sacrifice everything for the greater good—if there is any greater good at all. And the characters, the characters were amazing. Ender is such a complex character and the people that sorround him are really interesting too. The kids at school, his family, his superiors. Some of them only served for the story, sure, but they did so quite well.
Tragically, I had already watched the movie adaptation, and had an idea of the main plot and the finale. I was a little dissapointed by the fact that such a movie—which is pretty average—spoiled it for me. But I was still rather surprised by the twists and turns, as well as the points in the story that differ between the book and the film, or that aren’t even in it.
I am glad I gave it a read, highly recommended.
This is day 3 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>Honestly though, I never really managed to go past the first 5 or 6 puzzles, be it because I forgot or I was into other things back then, or I simply lost interest—it is not the best game to play at school.
Around September of last year, I decided to finally redeem myself, and I acquired the digital version of the game on the Nintendo eShop. Once again, I completed the first 4 or 5 chapters—as the game calls them—and I left it as that. It wasn’t until the last day of the year, that I dedicated some more time to it, and until now, January 3rd, when I finally completed it.
This was a fun game! The atmosphere was pretty great all around, and the graphics have not aged one bit. It is a game that still looks amazing today. The animations and the physics are really well done honestly. The music was rather minimal, mostly ambient sounds. However, there were time were it just rised up in a fantastic way, merging with the sounds of the environment around the player, quite awesome!
The puzzles featured in this game are also pretty good, although I don’t have a ton of reference to compare it to, I have to say I had to do a couple attempts on many, and even 12 or so in a few of the chapters. Regardless, I always had that feeling of Eureka! when I finally got the method.
I watched a documentary on about the development of the game and the many challenges that came with it, and it really gave me a ton of appreciation for this little gem.
I have to say, I can’t wait to give a try to the sequel too! Although I may play some other games first just to mix it up some more. But hey, my backlog has shrunken, right?
This is day 2 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>Regardless, I decided to get this game in October this year, a couple months after getting my Nintendo Switch, for some reason, I did not mention anything about it in my monthly summaries of October or November, which is quite a weird thing for me.
To fix this wrong, I decided I may as well write a review about the game while its still fresh in my memory. I literally finished it yesterday, and here are some of my thoughts on it.
Citizen Sleeper is a game featuring TTRPG mechanics, combined with a great story, a fantastic sci-fi setting and a unique set of characters.
You are a Sleeper—a vessel of a person’s brain scan, property of a capitalist corporation in a dystopian future—who just escaped into a lawless station known as The Eye where everyone’s just trying to survive day to day.
The gameplay consists of moving around different locations in the station, making choices, and taking chances. You need energy, you need food, you need money, and you got nothing. Depending on your condition, you can have up to 5 dices per cycle—the station’s equivalent to a day. Each die has a set value that determines the chance of success of the actions you make every day. You meet people who may become friends and help you stay and survive here, as well as people looking for you, tracking you down to give you back to the corporation that you belong to.
The game has different drives, or missions, that will get unlocked as you play and talk to people. There are events and story bits where you have to wait multiple cycles to see what happens next, or where you have a deadline to fulfill a goal. But because of the dice limit, you can only do so much every day, and you can never experience or live through everything—no matter how much you would want that.
In a way this reminds me a lot of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. There’s people who need help, there’s bad things that you need to stop, but you don’t have enough time to do it all. In Majora’s Mask you can go back in time and at least complete all the side quests and know that you did what you can. But there is no time travel hrere—life’s not going to wait for you to be ready.
The amount of dice you get lowers when your body starts to decay, and the only way to stop this is by using stabilizers. This planned obsolescence is made for you to depend on the corporation that owns you, but in a lawless place there’s ways to get around that. However, it is yet another action to take into consideration when you are low on dice rolls.
The art and music of this game are very well done, the sci-fi aesthetic of the overworld is just incredible and quite minimalistic, and the detail of the characters themselves is remarkable, they all look unique, kind of like Star Wars with a mix of cyberpunk, futuristic but retro, messy, and old. When it comes to music, I will say that it provides a sense of ambiance that sounds like, well, space. It hits hard when it matters, but it mostly remains out of the way, kind of like Breath of the Wild, but with synthesizers.
The game is short enough to play multiple times, I think I might do that, but I will probably wait at least half a year before I try it again, I think the game says a lot about current society and the way we live. I don’t know what else to say honestly. I just feel a little emotional because of the way it ended. I feel like I could have done more, but at the same time everything is alright, that’s how life is sometimes.
This is day 95 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>I will list the books chronologically, I don’t know why but I feel wrong trying to pick one over the other when it comes to literature, all of them are quite good on their own way.
I’ll just share whatever I remember about each of them, it might not be much, but it will do for a blogpost right?
What can I say about this book? I started reading it last year and finished it as soon as 2023 got started. It was a pretty unique way to set the tone for the year, not going to lie. It’s a book that will stay with you for a while. The audiobook version I listened to while also reading, gave it a gravitas that made it resonate even more. I don’t hate my job or the internships I’ve done or anything like that, but being a part of society, feeling like just another cog in a giant machine made me chuckle a little bit.
I read this book because I got quite hyped on the Warhammer 40.000 universe and its lore. I didn’t mention it in my episode about my favorite podcasts of the year, but I listened to like 27 hours of lore I found in Sir Khan’s podcast. The book itself works as a bit of an entryway to the world of Warhammer 40K and it entertained me quite well. It is not that special though, and there were many things I didn’t really understand much, but it did its job well.
This is a collection of short stories about different topics and things, Ellison doesn’t like to define a genre for his writings, so I will not either. Its mostly science fiction though. Every story comes with a preface by the author narrating some extra details in a short manner, that helped to get me into his headspace and read the stuff with a different view. Honestly that was a bit annoying and slightly spoiler-ish, but it didn’t take much away because reading actual content and the prose of every paragraph was a total joy. Each writing was unique in its own way and it brought a lot of unique ideas to the table. I liked it so much I refused to read the last story for a while for some reason, I didn’t want it to end. But there are more books out there!
I continued with my obsession with Warhammer 40K and decided to give the Eisenhorn series a try. This is the first one of the bunch, and it does a great job building up the WH universe further more. This series follows Eisenhorn, an inquisitor that is in charge of finding heretics, aliens and demons and get rid of them, for the sake of the Imperium. This entry follows a seemingly small conspiracy that branchs out into a series of events that puts the protagonist in the middle of quite a big plot against the Imperium. It feels like a detective story in space, with quite a lot of action and twists. It was a bit slow at the start but it got really good later on and I couldn’t stop reading until the end.
Even though I had enjoyed and wanted to follow up with the series, life got in the way and I didn’t feel like going back for a while. Instead, I decided to go for something I hadn’t tried before, which is a proper modern classic of science fiction. This is known as one of the best and most unique First Contact stories of the bunch. Honestly, this was a joy to read, it really felt like watching some old Star Trek episode, the tone and the characters were quite charming and the uniqueness of the aliens, their social structure and their world were so interesting and immersing. This is the second longest book I’ve read, but I didn’t even feel the length at all.
Finally, we arrive at the end. This is the last book I completed this year as of December 13, 2023. I wrote my review of this book recently, so I won’t say much else about it. It was my first introduction into modern hard sci-fi, and it had numbers and weird terms that I kinda grasped with my engineering mind but still flew over my head many times. Despite this, the writing style and the characters kept me hooked on to the events that were unfolding one after the other. There are no breaks in this story and there’s always something going to challenge the protagonist or to reveal new details about the past and the present. Just a great book honestly.
There’s a few books I started and didn’t keep up with this year. Such as Neuromancer by William Gibson. I started it last year but I couldn’t get used to the writing style. I might give it another go since I was liking what I was understanding from it.
Another one I abandoned was First and Only by Dan Abnett, this is also from the Warhammer 40K Universe, this time focused on the actual regular human army that has to deal with demons, xenos and interdimensional horrors somehow. It was quite nice but Eisenhorn took over, I should get back to it.
I started The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and never got around to finishing it since 2022 so, yeah, one day.
My latest book is Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card. I am really liking it, currently I’m 30% of the way and I might complete it before the year is over. So far, it’s up there already as a favorite of mine and I can’t believe I didn’t read it sooner.
Another little one I can read through quite quickly is Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, a true classic. I will finish it soon enough. Honestly, it is so good I want to read it to my future children, so fun and carefree and whimsical. Loving it.
For now, this is day 88 of 100DaysToOffload. See you later!
]]>Sadly, Anilist, which I use to keep track of the manga I read, doesn’t have any sort of yearly recap, so I had to do gather the data by hand and just choose what I liked the most.
This is manga that I completed this year, I will select my favorite 5 ones and call it a day.
This is a classic that I found by randomly scrolling on a MyAnimeList stacks about the survival genre and such, I found this one there. At first the simple name and the kinda ugly cover gave didn’t catch my attention that much, but the reviews were praising it a lot and I gave it a chance, and I am so glad I did. The story follows a boy who finds himself alone in a Japan (and a world) ridden by catastrophe and disaster. 90% of land is now underseas and resources are scarse. The kid has to find a way to survive against the odds, but despite the challenges, the enemies and the people he finds along the way, his hope to reunite with his family keeps him going. Be aware that this one is more about enjoying the journey, rather than the destination though. That’s all I will say. Still, go check it out! This is a longer one, around 119 chapters plus an extra volume.
This is actually a manhwa (Korean comic) that I started at some point in May and that recently finished, its about a weak but smart guy who decides to fight back against the bullies that control high school. The story is honestly quite good, the action is kinda too much sometimes, however, the characters are all really different and relatable, both the protagonists and the villains are quite well developed and they all have reasons to be there. If you enjoy action, great art, a good plot and relatable characters, you should give it a go. It has 268 chapters, but they will fly away in no time.
Korean artists really outdid themselves, this is the second one of those. The Horizon comes from the same artist as The Boxer, and it is a short but deep story about the horrors of war and the hope that remains despite it all. You follow a couple of kids who lost everything and don’t have anywhere to go, but forward. I don’t want to say much more. discretion is advised. Just read it. It doesn’t go for more than 21 chapters.
Located in the United States after the Civil War, this follows the story of two brothers, a broken young man who was trained to kill, and a kid who still has hope in Humanity and moving forward. The times are rough and the streets are always dangerous. The past comes back to haunt this family and quite a journey develops from there. This manga is also quite gruesome at times, so discretion is advised. Despite it all, the story wraps up beautifully, and despite the terrible things that happen, these brothers are willing to face it. Great art and story and quite a short one too. 49 chapters long.
Most of the manga mentioned in this list is quite dark, post-apocalyptic and such, so I picked this one to balance it out, since it has a bunch of wholesome moments. Its all about a guy who goes unnoticed on his daily school life, until one girl greets him and starts to pick on him (in a good way), making him come out of his comfort zone and having fun moments with her and his classmates, who become friends soon enough. He still helplessly fades into the background in front of their eyes somehow, but at least now they look for him. It got around 158 chapters of pure charm.
In case you are wondering, here is the rest of the manga I finished this year:
I think this is my favorite discovery of the year. A story following an elf mage whose lifespan will go beyond the rest of his party after saving the world. Decades later, after the heroes are now history, she embarks on an journey of discovery, and we get to read her adventures. If you were to read one manga from everything mentioned here I believe this would be my pick, it has elements of all kinds, a fun slice of life, with some melancholy mixed there, it can get dark and gritty, it will have really wholesome moments, beautiful artwork, fantastic action moments and just a refreshing take on the fantasy genre, which doesn’t have a lot of stuff outside the isekais or super serious dark stuff.
This is my second pick, this manga is beautiful, the coziest of the bunch. A great slice of life about a robot lady named Alpha who owns a cafe and lives her life in a world that already went through the calamities of climate change. The population is low and the buildings and infrastructure of old is crumbling, but she remains living a quiet existence along everybody else, cherising the small moments of life. I haven’t finished this simply because it is too beautiful to end. I only read a chapter every once in a while, and I just find joy in them every time.
This is a bit of a funny rom-com manga where the protagonist just skip the dating and go straight to marriage. It starts out in a really weird way, leaving us with a lot of questions, and it takes its time. It will break the fourth wall, throw random references to other mangas and even talk about itself in this fun but eerie manner. This manga takes its time to acknowledge serious things hidden behind the jokes and funsies. Don’t get me wrong, the mystery is not really that big of a deal, but I appreciate the uniqueness it brings to the table. Just give it a read honestly. Its super fun and wholesome and its nice to not deal with the annoying tropes of couples that take 200 chapters to kiss.
Speaking of couples that take 200 chapters to kiss… I’m joking, but they do take their time. This is a manhua (Chinese comic) featuring a guy who ends up finding a girl from one thousand years ago. He decides to help her and teach her how to live in the 21st century. When I started reading this I was immediately hooked by how funny it is, as well as the great colored art that these webtoons bring. This is a fairly modern series that’s still running too, so it will have references and such that I can understand, and some others that are just part of chinese culture, which I don’t get but I still appreciate. Honestly, this is just a fun rom-com, but I am mad because they still don’t get married, because she doesn’t have a chinese id, but that’s part of the plot too!
None of the currently reading mangas I’ve mentioned have the mystery and uniqueness of Heavenly Delusion. This manga recently got an anime adaptation, but I still haven’t checked it out. It features multiple characters in different locations, each with a different purpose and drive, but somehow interconnected. There are monsters, there are powerful sci-fi guns, there’s a classroom full of kids with weird features in a seemingly perfect environment, there’s a post-apocalyptic world where nobody remembers what it used to be. Mystery upon mystery and the questions just keep coming, and somehow, it doesn’t get tiresome or boring at all. Discretion is advised on this one.
Here’s some other manga that I’m reading but I’ve already talked too much about them or they simply didn’t impact me that much this year:
This is day 87 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>I decided to write a couple different lists instead of what I did last year where I just shared 5 podcasts and called it a day.
These are just the stats I got from AntennaPod, they recently launched AntennaPodEcho, their response to Spotify Wrapped, and I really liked it. Here are the podcasts I listened to the most for a variety of reasons. Neither of them are bad at all, so you might enjoy them!
Time played: 52 hours.
This show is some of the funniest stuff I listen to regularly, hosted by 3 YouTubers (CDawg, the Anime Man and Garnt) living in Japan, they usually just talk about a variety of topics including, but not limited to: Japanese culture, videogames, traveling, random life stories, anime and manga, among other things.
Time played: 62 hours
This podcast is hosted by two strangers from the internet, AndyTheAndroid and MashTheNewton, they just talk about one game per episode and have little sections for questions, current news and what they’ve been playing. They also talk about what was going on at the time of the game’s release, which is always amusing. I do think their discussions about the games themselves don’t last as long or don’t go as deep as I would like, but it’s still a fun show for me while I do chores and prepare to sleep.
Time played: 85 hours
This is the show I put the most attention to, because it is episodic and has a plot that keeps going every episode. This is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast and the second season features the grandsons of the first season’s protagonists. I think they went a little too dark for my taste this time around, during a certain period, but they recently went back to being more light-hearted and I’m enjoying it a lot again. This show doesn’t fail to make me laugh like crazy; it makes me somewhat annoyed, since I feel like I get stared at during the bus trips to work because of it. Regardless, great hosts and great moments to be had on this one.
Time played: 88 hours
This show features some more prominent figures in the gaming world, Brendon Bigley and Stephen Hilgar (yeah, I didn’t actually know who they were at first either). They will talk about the games they’ve been playing recently and will always bring up a ton of gems and talk about them in ways I would never expect. My favorite episodes are those focused on a single game though. They recently did Majora’s Mask, but they’ve talked about Chrono Trigger, Ocarina of Time and many others, and they will go deep into all of them, talking about theories, memories and what the games made them feel. They yearly episodes where they make their GOTY list is also of epic proportions, lasting over 5 hours and such
Time played: 130 hours
This podcast is great, it’s a fictional radio show from a town where everything just happens and it’s just part of everyday life. From non-existing Angels, to parallel dimensions and conspiracies of all kinds, as well as the fantastic Weather forecast of every episode. Just go blind and start from wherever you feel like doing so, the audio is absolutely great and the host’s voice is simply superb. I listen to it before going to sleep (I use a 20 minutes sleep timer) and it does the job very well.
Here are some podcasts I really enjoyed, but they might have been a little too short, or maybe I just didn’t listen to enough episodes, or I listened to a whole season, but it wasn’t enough to show up at the top. Regardless, they’re good!
This is a history podcast that talks about the different revolutions in the world. Every season is an entire series focusing on a single Revolution and the events leading to them. It really gets down to the details but it was a great way to learn about past in a very entertaing manner for me, I highly recommend it.
A really weirdly narrated story that is just too interesting to miss. I haven’t finished it yet but its format is quite unique and interesting to listen to. Three narrators and a very strange world. Just give it a listen honestly.
Real life stories about bizarre, spooky and weird events of life, the presentation is just amazing. I only listened to one episode but I feel like as soon as I start more I’m gonna get hooked. Maybe soon I’ll start this one. I just have a huge backlog right now, and not enough time.
I listened to a couple “series” of this podcast, it’s all about finding the scene that makes the movie what it is. Not a movie review podcasts, but something else, and it’s great. The hosts really know what they’re talking about and I just enjoy their voices a lot too.
Time travel science fiction drama. A scientist from the 21st century ends up stuck in the 1940s, World War 2 is still a thing, and a fantastic story develops from there. Great characters and a remarkable use of the time travel trope, feels really grounded and the format is great, as the story is shown in recorded tapes, not always in the right order, and it makes the story a lot more engaging. Don’t miss out on this one, please.
This is my favorite true-crime podcast, pretty well researched. There are many true crime podcasts out there but since I like to listen to them while sleeping, I find the usage of random sounds or stuff like phone recordings to annoy me a lot. This podcast hosted by Nina Innsted is quite light on SFX and her voice is very soothing for me, so I love it.
Of course, there’s a plethora of other shows I listened to quite often too but they’re just clearly there so I don’t want to say much about them. Heres a short list:
There are other niche podcasts that I also like but I gotta go sleep.
This is day 86 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>After reading The Mote in God’s Eye, I realized that Garrit Franke, a fellow Fosstodon member, finished reading this book, so I decided to give it a try too.
I have to admit that at first I was a little bit hesitant about this book, because it is a written in first person, and it also starts out with ammnesia and also flashbacks. But after that I got used to the writing style pretty quickly and started to really get into the main story and the mystery behind everything happening around our protagonist.
The story follows a lone astronaut that finds himself facing impossible odds every step of the way. The way the plot is revealed and how it moves forward every chapter is great. The scientific elements are pretty accurate and that was something I found really interesting. It reminded me a lot of Jules Verne’s novels that usually felt like something that could be possible to do.
In this case of course the protagonist uses his scientific knowledge (as well as his memory slowly coming back) to figure out how handle his mission, which is pretty much to save the planet from certain demise.
I liked the setting and the characters that show up, there’s quite a bit of science tidbits I learned through this, and the moments of action and uncertainty are quite great. I could not stop reading many times because I just wanted to know what in the world would our protagonist do even just to stay alive to live another day.
I didn’t feel like the book was as long as it was, honestly. It was definitely worth it. I do think that it feels a little like a movie waiting to happen, the prose wasn’t as interesting and the plot ended up kind of predictable, and there’s a very wholesome twist at the end which is nice. Just a very fun read.
This is day 84 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>Thankfully, a few months ago, it was finally possible! Since July of this year I’ve been the proud owner of a Nintendo Switch OLED, Tears of the Kingdom edition! Yes, pretty much a single game (and a very decent salary from my internship) gave me the push I needed to own my very first console acquired with my own money.
Additionally, I have a lot of good friends who own Nintendo Switch game cards, and its been a lot of fun, because I get to borrow their single player games and enjoy them without much worries, since they already played them I am also free to take my time with them.
The system itself is great, I bought a transparent case for it that makes the joycons easier to hold in handheld mode, since ergonomics were one of the complaints people have with the console and I could feel the pain during the first few days too. I eventually got a 3rd party controller that made the experience lot more comfortable as well.
After a while its been all fantastic. Besides the games I’ve borrowed. I also bought my own games in physical format, and I even acquired some digital games.
All the games I’ve played look absolutely awesome in the OLED screen, and I was surprised at how nicely they all play. Yes, there are some hiccups here and there in some areas in some games. The hardware was already outdated when it came out, but the optimizations done by Nintendo and some notable developers are commendable. Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak runs buttery smooth and it looks absolutely wonderful, for example.
When it comes to indie games, the story is even better. There are so many great games, and they run perfectly, since they’re not as demanding as Triple A titles. Also they are pretty much discounted all the time in the eShop. This is a minefield for me, I’ve already bought like 5 games that I have barely played. So I decided to at least wait until Christmas to see if discounts are even better then.
I am not a fan of digital media, I know I just said there are some great deals on the Nitendo eShop, but I still feel uneasy about it, where will my library go, the money I spent, in 6 or 8 years? Its one of the caveats that worry me quite a bit.
Especially because there are more and more rumors regarding a “Nitendo Switch 2” that may make my console obsolete. If the Switch was easy to crack I would not care at all, I am very much into modding, rooting and doing whatever to devices I own. However, there are still many risks that I don’t know if I’m willing to take.
For now, I just want to enjoy what I have. I am still playing a ton and having a great time. Honestly my purchase was worth it purely because of the 40 hours I’ve played on Breath of the Wild so far.
If my PSP has lasted me for 13 years, I don’t see why I can’t do the same with my Switch! Now that I think about it, if a next-gen console comes out, Switch games may get cheaper! There are so many of them out there, and stores will want to make space for the new titles, so maybe it won’t be as bad as I fear. I remain hopeful.
This is post 67 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>I found the starting paragraphs simply great. The book is about a futuristic human civilization that expanded to the stars and makes first contact with intelligent alien life.
The book starts with a chronology of events that immediately made for some great world building. The setting in this is quite interesting, the current Empire of Humanity is military, religious and barely holding up, and somehow, it remains hopeful, and not as bad as it may seem.
It features a nice cast of characters, from different upbringings and personalities: military, scientists, anthropologists, politicians. Everything goes, and the clash between opinions are very intersting. The history of the aliens, the way the look at us and think of us, was also quite well done.
It was a fairly long book, it is the longest book I’ve ever read, but it remained delightful all the way through. The pages just kept flying, the writing was just captivating to me.
It is not the most action packed or the most intense book overall, but it has its moments of great suspense and thrill. I found it quite realistic and the plot developed really well, and the way the conflict resolves, while a bit rushed, makes complete sense. There is also a little bit of corny romance and humor which I wasn’t expecting, but I found myself having a blast with it all.
I read it on my phone and I also found an audiobook on YouTube, which I ripped and spliced in chapters and added to AntennaPod as a local folder. Sometimes I read while listening, which made things a bit slow but also easier to understand.
If I could read it for the first time again, I would, its that good to me.
This is day 64 of #100DaysToOffload. Inspired by Kev’s book reviews. Funnily enough, Garrit finished a book too!.
]]>Jeanne D’Arc is another game where I got to the final boss (probably) and I think I just went underleveled, the thing is, the game is a tactics game, which means, each playthrough is super long and it takes a while to finish a match. Thankfully, leveling up is not actually that difficult, I just have to get the time and willingness to do so.
So, as you might expect, I was stuck in the exact place I was back then. However, for some reason, I decided to grind and finally finish this. I took a look at some guides for some crafting recipes (one of the features of the game). I leveled up, and then, by what seems like divine intervention, I stumbled upon the game being featured on one of the latest episodes of Into The Aether, even if just for a minute or two, since it was a chat about the PSP in general (I was thrilled!). That was the final straw, I was definitely going to finish it.
Jeanne D’Arc is a very fantastical take on the historical character. I have absolutely no idea of what the real story is but I am sure that an antropomorphic Lion doesn’t join Jeanne’s ranks at any point in time.
Regardless, the game stays fun and at some point you are able to craft new skills by combining them, which gives you access to a ton of new moves and gives use to some of the loot that gets a bit repetitive after a while.
The game is a tactical RPG, following a similar style to Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre. So you take turns in a battlefield grid where you control a set of characters with different skills and abilities.
Jeanne and a few other characters are armed with divine bracelets that allows them to transform (anime style) and get a sick armor, better stats and special moves for a couple of turns, so you have to wait for the right time to use them.
The story itself is rather good in my opinion, and it sticks to the historical aspect decently well, with some elements like magic, demonic enemies and stuff added in the mix. The second half of the story goes a little more light on its accuracy though, but it doesn’t mean its bad at all.
Once Jeanne’s hometown gets invaded by demons sent by England’s monarchy, she receives a special bracelet from a fallen knight and obtains the ability to transform into a sick armor, enhance her powers and fight against evil. She decides its her destiny to save France and finish the war along her friends Lianne and Roger, and so the adventure begins.
The fantasy approach takes over a bit more in the second half, and it loses a bit of the complexity of warfare, since all demons are objectively evil and must be defeated. Some scenes are just characters talking via text boxes, but there are a ton of high quality anime scenes, which are well done and dubbed too. They always caught my eye when they showed up.
The game has a chibi style for most of the gameplay, but as I mentioned, the anime scenes are absolutely amazing and look pretty freaking awesome.
When doing special skills and moves I have to admit they weren’t really that cool animation wise. However, the audio effects were nice and it was always satisfying to see the numbers go down and the screen shake after a critical hit, or the little move the characters did when evading a dangerous attack.
Some of the most powerful attacks actually managed to lag my PSP, but I believe that’s because I was playing the game from a CSO file, which is more compressed than regular ISO files.
The music is great, the only problem is that there’s not enough of it in the game itself, there’s a lot, but they don’t pan it out and some of the good music is only during dialogue scenes, which are only like 5% of what you do in this game.
The music during gameplay fits pretty well and it gets me in the mood for battle, but it gets a bit repetitive. I can see myself listening to the rest of the sountrack while doing other things, which is good! It doesn’t reach the heights of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and The Legend of Zelda, but pretty decent nonetheless…
I think my favorite songs would be The City of Paris, Elf, and the Victory Theme which was pretty good too!
Anyways, I don’t think I need to explain more about the game, you like Fire Emblem? You will like this game. To me the story was not the main focus, I have to admit. After all I took my time with this one. I am just happy I got to finish a game after so long.
The game is also really replayable, I can always limit myself to a certain amount of characters, and after the story is done there is a ton of post-game content some more stages with stronger enemies that I still have to try out, someday.
During my final battle, I actually hit the start button by mistake and I had not picked the characters I wanted, but I was already a couple stages into the final boss, so I decided to just deal with it and I actually managed to win! I felt pretty cool with that too.
I am looking forward to whatever game I finish next though.
This is day 43 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>Most of the crazy going on over on Mastodon as of now is the talk about Ivory and IceCubes, which are a couple of Mastodon clients for Apple devices that are quite awesome and good. I wanted to see if there were some shiny new stuff for Android too.
There are apps like Megalodon and Moshidon, which are forks of the official Mastodon app, they are not bad at all though. But I wanted to find some other clients that were built from the ground up, just to see if there was anything new.
To my knowledge, there are only two clients that have support for Material You and are also not based on the official app. Kaiteki, which is quite a promising new client that even has support for Misskey; and Meowstodon, an even newer client that only supports Mastodon as of now.
Honestly, both are still quite bare, but I’ve always loved being a beta and alpha tester for apps on Android. Right now Kaiteki feels a bit more mature but also too convoluted, it has a hamburger menu, and a ton of buttons at the top AND the bottom. This probably makes sense since its also works a desktop app, but I prefer my navigation to be reachable with my thumb, or with a gesture, which are usually broken due to Android’s navigation gesture being incompatible with sidebars after such a long time, hence my use of navigation buttons in 2023, they still rule!
Regardless, Meowstodon doesn’t have that problem, even if it still chooses to put my profile button at the top, I’ll give it a pass for now.
I have to say the spacing between posts is kind of crazy in both apps. I used to care a lot about the amount of text in my screen. Over time this was less of an issue, but still, as the image above shows, I can barely read 3 posts at a glance anywhere but on Tusky. I know Material You has some spacing guidelines and all, but a compact layout like the one Infinity for Reddit has would be quite ideal, especially being able to turn media into smaller thumbnails.
Kaiteki actually has quite a few layouts available, but its clear they are mostly intended for desktop usage, they are not ideal on mobile use as of now and their behavior is kinda wonky.
I can’t really judge much at this moment though, since there is quite a bit of active develpment going on and I expect these apps to change a lot in the following months. Meowstodon doesn’t even have a way to view profiles just yet. I can’t wait for whats coming up.
This is day 26 of #100DaysToOffload
]]><blank>
of 2022”, and since I am listening to a podcast right now, I decided to start out with them! I will get around to Books, Movies and the like later, if I consumed enough content for it to be worth it.
Some people don’t see with good eyes at the Linus Tech Tips channel and Linus as a person. And honestly, I kind of get it. But ever since I started listening to the WAN show I can’t help but respect the man as a tech enthusiast, entrepeneur and even as a father, he sticks to his opinions and speaks his mind quite openly. But what I enjoy the most is listening to Luke and his thoughts, which are usually more inline with mine. The dynamic between these two is just awesome. Sometimes they barely talk about Tech News, but that’s fine by me, since they ramble about their life experiences, answer Merch Messages (Their own implementation of Youtube’s Superchats) and give some leaks of upcoming episodes and products from their store (some people think the whole show is a bunch of ads, I don’t mind if it is). The show’s awesome and I enjoy having it in the background or while doing chores.
Website Link | RSS Feed |
In terms of length, this is the longest podcast I’ve listened to. As the name implies, it is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast, its humor is a bit too adult for my taste sometimes, but I just could not stop listening at the story of four dads trying to get their sons back from an alternate realm full of fantasy elements and fun characters to meet. The show has a second season which I have not started just yet, but eventually I’ll get to it.
Website Link | RSS Feed |
This is a serious one, a true crime story that only recently found some sense of closure. Its the story of the disappearance of Kristin Smart, and how incredibly convoluted the investigation of the case went. Even if there really seems to be a single suspect. Its a really interesting series, which you may want to give a listen to if you are into true crime. The host is Chris Lambert, and he did such a wonderful job, approaching with victims and witnesses in a very respectful manner and professionalism. Full of twists and turns, I am glad I got to know this story that finally reached its end, even if its not a truly happy one.
Website Link | RSS Feed |
The most chill gaming podcast there is and also they are on Mastodon!. Brendon and Stephen talk about games they liked, and only games they liked. Finding any negativity in this podcast is pretty much incredible, there is criticism and there are complaints, but they come from the wish from the hosts for the games and developers to succeed and keep improving. They’re one of the ways I keep myself updated on current gaming trends and also I get to, from time to time, discover old gems that spark my interest.
Website Link | RSS Feed |
This is my favorite podcast to listen when I just want to listen to random rambles with no order and no reason. Garnt, Joey and Connor are the hosts. They are an anime podcasts that very rarely talks about anime, and they just generally talk about whatever is on their minds. Its full of bad hot takes, life stories and random thoughts. Its awesome, because sometimes I will be paying absolutely no attention and I don’t feel guilty, sometimes weird bits of wisdom and meaningful thoughts will show up, I will have an existential crisis about random things or I will be cringing to an incredibly bad take. It goes from how oranges are the worst citrus fruit, wondering if you can survive a tsunami by getting into a pool, their experiences learning how to drive, tips for travelling to Japan and many other things.
Website Link | RSS Feed |
There are a ton of other podcasts I didn’t mention here. Such as The Magnus Archives, or the ton of Linux related podcasts, I quite enjoy them, I just didn’t find them as important for me. TMA was great, but its more of a 2021 podcast for me, even if I enjoyed a ton of the episodes I listened to in 2022. Regardless, I’ll write some more during the following days…
This is day 21 of #100DaysToOffload
]]>I wrote about this before, I managed to do a project for my University’s Science Fair, it was a really cool project, even if it took quite a bit of my time I am happy I got that experience.
Two semesters ago, my average went slightly below what I wanted it to be. This meant that I would have to give my all to the next semester, including the science fair and many other classes and projects, I managed to make my average go above my goal.
Oh yeah, I got a laptop and I installed Linux on it. Its been quite awesome, even if its fingerprint sensor refuses to work on my Linux partition. It is quite a great improvement compared to my old one, I just can’t complain, even if its not top of the line or anything like that.
Its crazy how I saw some posts of people sharing how they read 20, 30, 50 or even more books. I feel like I could have done that, but I am fairly content knowing I am capable even if I don’t have the discipline just yet. This year I will try to get at least 15 books read.
I did quite a few blogs about this topic. This has been quite liberating, even if a little bit troublesome sometimes. You can just go through the tag and check some of the posts!
Ever since I got my Raspberry Pi I had the intention to try using it to serve some web services, so I am quite happy it has gone fine so far.
So, I just realized I did not talk about Manga itself other than during the Monthly Summaries every month, but I enjoyed it a lot, and I have been meaning to write some more posts about why I like this medium. I think I will share some recommendations and thoughts on this soon enough.
I read a bit of everything, from romantic comedies, to coming of age adventures, sports, warfare, horror, among other genres. Most of it was quite great, some of those stories even changed the way I see things quite deeply.
I started to track my media consumption, as well as my device usage in February, it was something inspired by many people before me. I have managed to get a bit of a grasp of how I use my time in quite a different way.
It was kinda fun to see how my usage habits changed each month, ActivityWatch is such a great tool.
Somehow I was a key player on starting a bit of a trend about Casio and watch collecting in general, my instance admin Kev got quite invested on this, getting a few watches and even spinning Mastodon server focused on Watch Collecting.
I only had once Casio watch and was kinda OK using my Mi Band 7, which I got this year too. However I ended up getting 2 new Casio models, and I have to admit I am quite happy with my purchase even today.
To end this post I share some other things that happened this year. Until later!
This is day 2 of my second run of #100DaysToOffload.
]]>The decision of getting new earbuds was made from the start, since the pair I already had fell pretty hard on the floor, and one of the beans broke a little. It still worked, and it sounded fine, but the other side which was still physically intact got volume issues, and it was not as strong as the other.
My previous pair were the Haylou GT1 Pro, which costed me around $25 USD. They’ve served me well. But, I mean, they’re 25 bucks, you can’t expect much from them (nor from this “review”).
I lived with wired earphones until late 2018. The quality of them was mixed, some were the ones that came with the phone (remember those times?), others were iPod style clones, and most were budget Sony earphones that costed me around $8, and were pretty good for the price.
Back to a few days ago. When we got to Walmart and I ran to the tech section, I saw some of the cool Samsung, Pixel and Apple products which were $150 or so, I immediately looked for something cheaper than that. Below I saw some more affordable options. JBL, Soundcore, Onn and others I didn’t know at all. I was not convinced by any of them. I saw some that advertised ANC and other features that I was kinda interested in, but I knew enough to know that even if those features “worked”, they would not compare to the real deal.
I was losing hope, until I noticed in the top right corner of the bottom section, hidden from the view of most, there was Sony, a brand I recognized, although the model, not so much (We all know Sony sucks at naming their products).
I decided to go for them. There was free internet in the store, so I looked up a couple reviews and decided to get them, without really getting to know a lot, since at that moment my parents were ready to checkout and go somewhere else.
I got the Sony WF-C500, and I have been trying them for 4 days or so, while doing work, walking and sleeping.
They are incredibly comfortable. Sony’s designers have a made a great work, this model is really similar to their top of the line earbuds such as the ones Kev bought. They fit nicely in my ears and I did not wake up with my ears in pain, as I used to do so before.
The controls are physical buttons. Some reviews may say that you can feel them pressing against your head, which could be uncomfortable, but its perfectly fine for me, it feels more like haptic feedback, its not bothersome.
The one downside is that I cannot turn my head while sleeping, since I could make a button press by mistake, I can place my hand in between my head and my pillow to create some space and avoid false positives. I’ve been sleeping face up more often lately, so this is not really a big issue.
I was surprised at the English voice indications. I got used to Haylou’s sounds effects, but the voice here is quite soothing.
There is no ANC nor Transparency mode. But I can’t miss what I’ve never had, so its a no problem.
Sony has quite a decent app that comes with a great equalizer and some modes available, and they really improve the sound a lot. Its the first time in my life that I’ve been able to notice the equalization actually do something noticeable to improve the music coming to my ears.
The battery life is pretty great. In my first night I forgot to setup a sleep timer for my music. I woke up to the sound and they still were at more than 50%. I may have woken up quite early, but still.
The case only holds an extra full charge, giving around 20 hours total. Its a bit less than what the GT1 Pro had, but the case is a lot more portable, and the earbuds battery life is superior.
There is a bit of white noise when nothing’s playing in my right ear, it is what it is, I can’t notice it when music’s playing, so its not a big deal.
Also, the case has a semi-transparent lid, which looks pretty cool in my humble opinion, it lets the LED indicators shine through it, which is nice.
Overall it was a really satisfying purchase that fits my needs quite perfectly.
]]>PolyCal is a calendar widget that does exactly what I want, its just a compact list of events, with the important information laid out in a really minimal way. It does not have a lot of settings, but you can adjust the date format and some other things.
It integrates well with Simple Calendar and most others, since it requires Calendar access and all that. You can even select only certain calendars to show up, which adds a nice bit of privacy.
Just look at that title! if that wasn’t enough to try it out, I don’t know what will. This is a great collection of retro games that can be played solo and even online with your friends. It’s also made with Godot, an open source game engine that I’ve used in the past. it has a great aesthetic and the controls are great, so if you find yourself bored you should give it a go.
This is quite a recent discovery for me. The app just does what it says, you can add a URL from some web radio and play it no problem, what I like about it is that you don’t even have to know the URL of anything, it comes with quite a big list of stations you can just add and forget. I personally found some nice Lo-fi and Videogame music stations that I didn’t even know I needed in my life.
There are no subscriptions and no need to get a local music collection, just choose a station that fits your mood and be free.
This is a really nice Gemini client (remember when that was all the rage?). It works great for the few sites I follow with it. I really enjoy using it, even if its not so common when it happens. I started a Gemini capsule along this website back then, but it has been a second class citizen and it barely functions properly, but you can visit it if you feel like it
If you are a reader like me you are probably aware of Goodreads, a website that lets you keep track of books you read. If you are a Fediverse advocate like me, you probably know about Bookwyrm, the alternative to it.
Openreads is, sadly, not a Bookwyrm client, but it allows you to keep track of the books you’ve read locally on your device. It also has a great UI and smoothness. It would be great if it could sync with Bookwyrm, skipping on the social aspect, like how Tachiyomi syncs progress with MAL or Anilist.
So yeah I just wanted to share some apps that I thought deserved a bit more recognition, they are not in any particular order but this is the end of the post so it doesn’t really matter what I say now.
Anyways, let me know if you would like me to do this again with some other apps or maybe some Linux programs too. Until later.
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