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Growing up, I remember games being handed out as shareware and/or demos. You'd get a game, be able to play a few levels, see if it's for you, and if it is, buy the full version. A popular example of this was the eternal classic, Doom. Demos and trials are still around today, but I don't see them quite as much. Now some game developers might have even more of a reason not to even consider demos, or to even show off the game.

I keep hearing people talking about John Steinbeck's East of Eden. I keep hearing lots of praise about it, and I keep thinking about reading it earlier this year and having to at times force myself to finish it.

There's been a lot of news surrounding the company Flock and its cameras. The company is mostly known for its automated license plate reading cameras.

July was a mostly quiet month that started with a massive heat wave that happened to occur as my central AC crapped the bed.

As I have mentioned many times prior, I do not use generative AI for anything in my personal life. I don't use it to help write posts or code for this site or any of my little side projects. I have many reasons for staying away from AI and LLMs. Some of them I might be able to get over for some tasks, but the one that I don't know if I'll ever be able to get over is its effect on the environment.

Since around mid-March, I've started a new morning routine for myself. I've been journaling every morning in an attempt to calm my mind before the start of the day. I get up, walk Tess, pour myself a cup of coffee and put my thoughts to paper.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a sports fan. My two biggest sports are baseball and hockey. I grew up playing baseball, and have been playing ice hockey for the last 13 years. They're sports I love and follow. The one thing I haven't been all that great with is watching them.

Ever since Trump re-entered the White House in January 2025, one of his biggest targets has been the trans community. He and the GOP have been going after them, trying to strip away their rights and their dignity. In some ways it feels like they've become the right's punching bags which is upsetting in so many ways. But then I see articles like this one, and it brings me joy to see a group of women essentially snubbing their noses at them, and continuing on.

My wife and I recently did a re-watch (for me) of the HBO series Band of Brothers. It tells the story of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne in World War II. It's based on true stories and real people and I can't say enough good things about it. It was a fantastic miniseries that I would highly recommend to anyone.

I love music. It's not uncommon for me to have headphones on while working listening to whatever catches my ear. Something that's caught my ear lately has been alternate versions of albums and songs I love.

One of my favorite authors is Cory Doctorow. Both his blog and his books are phenomenal. I often wonder what it would be like to always have topics to write about in depth. He has a new long-form article out it seems every day and I heard on a recent podcast episode with Trevor Noah that he wrote 9 books during the COVID-19 pandemic. I know I'll never be as prolific a writer, but I wish I could come up with more interesting things to write about.