Holiday Candies

 Starting with Halloween and extending past New Year's, the 3 months from late October until January is by far the time of the year when the most candy is consumed in our house. We live in a neighborhood where Halloween is a big deal. Subsequently, our girls get a ton of candy.  We limit how much they eat each day, and thus their Halloween supply lasts until Christmas (or beyond).  Thanksgiving is slow in terms of candy, but Christmas supplies ample amounts of candy in terms of stocking stuffers and Aunt Pamela. The kid's candy overflow commonly ends up in my (and Sarah's) mouth. Otherwise we rarely have candy in the house. This isn't the concern I have, however. The candy that is sold during the holidays is commonly packaged in special holiday attire. Here's where the problem starts.

I have found that with a lot of candy, when the size of the candy changes, so does the taste, often times for the worse.  The best candies have a ratio of chocolate to chocolate/nugget/caramel or whatever that is perfect.  I'm sure it follows the Fibonacci sequence. Most holiday candies are larger in stature, and as soon as that candy ratio is changed, it alters the taste. Considering this season is the peak of candy consumption, I wish the candy sold during this time remained in its regular packaging and size.

Christmas Toys

 Christmas 2020 has come and gone.  In this modern era of electronics, the toys my kids got for Christmas amazes me.  They got some Barbies and Legos, both classic toy staples.  But they also got some simpler toys that they enjoy. I'm talking a magic eight ball, a slinky, and a whoopee cushion. These are toys that were classic when I was a kid and probably existed when my parents were kids. Additionally, they got a couple of card games they love too.  No video games, no tablets, nothing electronic except for a couple of animatronic dolls.  For whatever reason, the simplicity of their toys, and the fact that they truly enjoy them, makes me happy. It goes to show you that kids are kids, and even though technology changes, they still like the simple things as well.

Uncle Eddie Ruined Christmas Vacation

 

Full disclosure: I didn't make this discovery on my own, Sarah pointed it out to me. She makes a great point, although ruined is maybe a strong word. Here is how uncle Eddie, who for all intents and purposes, is a likable and memorable character, changes the tone of the movie for the worse.

In the first half of the movie, or pre-Eddie, Clark plays the role of the family man buffoon. He is the funny goofball who creates most of the comedy, and his attitude towards Christmas is what drives the plot forward.

In the second half of the movie, or post-Eddie, the whole tone of the movie is different. This is because Clark transforms from the enjoyable fool to a serious character once Eddie arrives. Although Eddie's character is funny at times, he's basically just an idiot. The changing of Clark's character and replacement of the comedy source from Clark to Eddie essentially takes away the best part of the movie.  Clark somewhat redeems himself with his huge rant at the end of the movie, but overall the second half of the movie just isn't as good as the first half because of Eddie's arrival. Eddie's character is good, but having his character drive the comedy at the expense of Clark's character was a mistake.

The Mandalorian: Season 2

 

The first couple of episodes of the second season of The Mandalorian frustrated me.  The deal he made with the sheriff to help him out in order to get his armor confused me when he could've just beat that guy's ass and taken it. Same goes for the transportation of the frog lady - I didn't understand the purpose of that episode either. Otherwise, this season of The Mandalorian was absolutely awesome.

The highlight for me was the appearance of Ahsoka Tano, who is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters.  Although she only appeared in one episode, she looked bad ass and it was revealed that she was still chasing Grand Admiral Thrawn (and presumably Ezra Bridger too). I never thought I'd see their paths cross, so when it was rumored that live-action Ahsoka would appear this season, I became excited.  

Mando came across a who's who of Star Wars celebrities this season.  Most exciting of all is Disney's announcement of multiple spin-off Star Wars shows to further explore the universe. So many were announced that I honestly don't know how I'll have time to watch them all.  It's a good problem to have, I suppose. 

The Mandalorian for me is a show where the sum is greater than its parts. After I watched the first season, I realized that I didn't know much about Star Wars beyond episodes IV-VI. This year I went on an all-out Star Wars blitz, watching episodes I-II and VII-IX, as well as the animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels. I'm glad I did, because otherwise I would have no idea who Ahsoka, Bo-Katan, or many of the other characters introduced this season was. The show has introduced me to a whole other part of the Star Wars universe that previously I was ignorant about. 

The Grand Tour

 

I first created this post way back in December of 2016 and am just now getting around to writing about this show. The Top Gear guys had just transitioned from the BBC to Amazon with essentially the same show but with a different title and slightly different format.  After a few seasons, the show has decreased its cadence from regular seasons with weekly episodes to periodically releasing extended "special" episodes where the trio travels from point A to point B with a specific goal to accomplish.  I am fine with this decision. Let me explain why.

Top Gear is the best car show in television history, in my opinion. To clarify, Top Gear hosted by May, Clarkson, and Hammond is the best car show in television history.  I don't know television/movie terms, but the cinematography or at least the way the show looked was brilliant. The content was more entertaining than informative, providing goofy challenges with only a bit of insight, mostly for cars that people can't afford. The reviews and challenges were so entertaining that they appealed to both car fans and non-car fans alike, which is what makes the show brilliant. What makes this all work so well is the three aforementioned hosts.  Since they left, the show itself has not changed, but the show just isn't quite as good. Clarkson, May, and Hammond have a certain chemistry between them that cannot be replaced.

The Grand Tour was never quite as good as Top Gear, even with the same hosts.  It was good, but something felt a bit off. They announced last year that they were discontinuing the series but would continue to periodically release "special" episodes, which are essentially extended episodes with one theme. I am fine with this. The extended episodes were the best part of the show anyway. We watched the most recent episode, A Massive Hunt, a few days ago and there were parts where I was literally laughing out loud.

We Need More Video Game Demos

 Just a short post to say that I wish more games had demos available. Hyrule Warriors is not my type of game, but when Age of Calamity came out, I was interested because of the Breath of the Wild tie-ins. I was happy the game had a demo so that I could try it out. The demo confirmed that it wasn't my type of game, but the gameplay was fun and so I decided to keep it on my wishlist incase it goes on sale. I came across another game that peaked my interest: Immortals Fenyx Rising, which is a game based on characters from Greek mythology and clearly inspired by Breath of the Wild.  I was disappointed to find that there was no demo available for this game.  The idea got me interested in game demos in general, so I perused the demo list on both the Switch and PS4 and found that while there were a lot of demos available, most of them were for smaller, lesser known games.  I suppose this makes sense for those developers to allow people to experience their games, but I wish more of the bigger name games would have demos. 

Cyberpunk 2077

 I can only think of one other time when I discussed a game I never played, and it was a similar situation in that it was a game I was interested in but had a terrible launch.  

Cyberpunk 2077 has been in development for years, and it appeared on my radar a year or so ago as a game I was interested in.  The Blade Runner theme of Night City looked awesome.  I'm not a huge first-person-shooter, though, so I wasn't sure what I'd think of the gameplay. It turns out it doesn't matter at the moment because the game launch has been an absolute disaster.

The game launched a week or so ago and initial reviews on the PC were good.  The game looks beautiful on PC and set Steam records for reviews and downloads.  Oddly, there were no console reviews available and sites even mentioned how this was odd.  Then came the anecdotal reports of how bad the game played on console.  Then the reviews. Even the PC version is buggy, but the Playstation version is riddled with bugs and frame rate drops into the teens that apparently the game isn't even playable.  I almost didn't write this post, but decided to once the Playstation store decided to pull the game and give refunds for those who purchased the game and were unsatisfied. This is an unprecedented move.  I have never heard of video game purchases being refunded, especially opened physical discs, but that is now happening with this game because it is so bad.  And for this to happen to a game with so much hype, and such a big budget, is amazing. 

I want a PS5, but have been waiting for them to become available and for a game that I want to play on the system. I thought Cyberpunk 2077 may have been that game, but was surprised to find out a PS5 version isn't going to come out until 2021.  I thought about purchasing the PS4 version to play on the PS5, but at this point I'll just wait.

Sul, Sul: The Sims 4, DLC, and Chasing Off Boys

 

This situation appeared way sooner than I expected.  The classic scenario of dad chasing boy who is chasing his daughter.  My girls are only in grade school.  This time the story is occurring virtually, which is so 2020.  Let me explain.

I've always enjoyed The Sims games.  They are the ultimate putzing around game, with no clear goal but there is always a carrot dangling.  I played Sims 1 and 2 when they were released, but skipped 3 and thus haven't played the series in many years.  I came across an Origin sale for the Sims 4 for $5 and I couldn't pass it up.  Between myself playing and my girls playing, we have logged over 40 hours and counting, which is pretty good for a $5 game.

One of my biggest complaints of the original games was the cumbersome requirements for friendships to advance in your career.  Eventually the requirement to have and maintain friendships would always become so cumbersome to manage in addition to all of your other activities that I would get stuck in a middle of the road career.  Oftentimes I would give up and start using cheats for Simoleons to advance my lifestyle.  This was fun but always felt a little cheap.  The Sims 4 fixes this issue by making the Sims much more social naturally and removing the requirements for maintaining friendships to advance your career (at least in the two career paths I've explored: chef and tech guru). I've been able to advance my main character's career to the end of the path and since have retired, gaining a nice pension.  My wife's career path is advancing nicely too.  This allows me to maintain a nice household without using cheats which is more satisfying.

The character's naturally occurring social skills is where we circle back around to the introductory paragraph.  The city features public gathering spaces - the gym and the juice bar are particularly popular hangouts in the neighborhood - for Sims to mingle.  Simply having your character in those spaces will encourage them to be social without button clicks.  The characters also have cell phones to communicate with other sims, who will call you unprompted.  Keeping this in mind, sometimes my girls will play this game for their weekly video game time.  Along the way one of their characters went on a date with Giancarlo, the main trainer at the gym.  As I was watching her play, I noticed there were now romantic options to interact with the character, including a "kiss hand" option.  She's pretty into the idea of hanging out with Giancarlo, so I'm concerned that the "kiss hand" option will progress to "woohoo with Giancarlo" and so now I have to figure out how to prevent this from happening.  I don't want to have to explain what that means at this point in her life.  I don't know if there is an anti-woohoo option or if I'm going to have to play her game and sabotage her relationship while she's asleep. More to come on this in the near future.

A quick comment on downloadable content.  Despite paying $5 for the game, I have spent an additional $40 on downloadable content for the game.  In the era of online games, DLC has become commonplace.  I think there is some controversy to this as it can be seen as a money-grab. I'm OK with it, however.  I think it is a great way to expand on games that you enjoy. In my entire gaming history, I have not purchased many DLC packages, but the few times that I have they tend to give the game a little boost of extra playability. For the Sims 4, I purchased the seasons pack and the Star Wars pack which both add extra playability and fun to the game.

Picture: Sims mainstay character Bella Goth, fitness guru and government spy, as well as town hottie.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

 

After finishing the animated series Rebels, the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the next chapter in the Star Wars cannon to view.  I was excited to see the film for the first time as I've heard nothing but good things about the movie.  I was not disappointed.

The story takes place just a few days prior to the events of A New Hope and explains how the Rebels acquired the plans to the Death Star in order to defeat the massive weapon.  Interesting to me was the role that Saw Guerra played in helping the Rebels with their mission.  Saw has been an anti-Empire figure since the Clone Wars, but is a bit of an extremist and his actions usually don't align with the greater Rebel cause.  This remains the case in Rogue One, but his character plays an important role in connecting the Rebels to the Death Star's weakness.

Visually speaking, this movie looks amazing.  I particularly liked the screens that introduced the planets, which had the planet name and a short description on screen.  It is a different approach from the typical screen swipe that is seen in other Star Wars films and gave the universe a greater sense of size, in my opinion.  

The movie was well received by critics, with the biggest criticism being the lack of character development and dialogue.  In retrospect this is true, but I never really noticed while watching. The story told in this movie is good by itself, but generally is swallowed by the larger story that is the Star Wars universe.  Therefore, the Rebels are the protagonist and the Empire is the antagonist.  I don't feel like a lot of character development or dialogue is needed.  We already knew that the Empire won the Clone Wars and that somehow Leia acquired the plans to the Death Star, which kicked off the events of the original trilogy.  Exactly how she had those plans to upload into R2 was a mystery until Rogue One, and the film did an excellent job of telling the story.  How badass was the final scene where Vader was chasing after the plans before they were passed onto Leia? 

Long Way Up

 

After watching Long Way Round many years ago (and maybe, maybe Long Way Down?), I was excited to watch Ewan and Charlie's latest adventure on Long Way Up.  Other than remember enjoying Long Way Round, I don't remember many of the specifics beyond how difficult Siberia was to traverse.   After seeing that their new trip was announced for Apple TV+, I was excited to watch their newest adventure and it was quite entertaining.

The two of them and their crew (many of which have returned from their previous adventures) journey from the southern tip of Argentina all the way to Los Angeles.  Throwing a curve ball into this adventure, the guys decided to ride electric motorcycles on this trip, which was a great idea and threw extra logistical challenges into the trip.  What was really neat was that they were riding Harley Davidson prototype electric motorcycles and the crew drove Rivian prototype trucks that are just now starting to appear in the headlines as coming to market.  Initially the motorcycles struggled with holding charge in the cold weather and they struggled finding locations to charge the bikes. But as they traveled more north and the temperatures warmed, the logistical challenges of using electric vehicles eased.

Per usual, they saw some fantastic sites and mingled with the locals.  They traveled through some dangerous areas in Columbia and Mexico.  At times I felt like they rushed through certain areas, mostly in central America and Mexico.  It felt like the series could be 2-3 episodes longer, but overall it was an entertaining show. When watching a show like this, part of me thinks it would be really cool to have a similar adventure to see the world and travel. But honestly, I would probably make it to the first tough time on the trip and bow out.  I give them props for sticking through with the plan.  Long Way Round and Down are available on Apple TV+ and we decided to watch both of them.  We're almost finished with Long Way Round and I'd say it is probably better just because it felt like more of an adventure.  But Long Way Up is definitely worth the watch.  

Super Mario 3D All-Stars: Sunshine

 

I never had a GameCube and thus never played Super Mario Sunshine. When 3D All-Stars was announced and this game was included, I was excited to play through Sunshine for the first time.  Unfortunately, I found the gameplay to be a bit cumbersome and decided to move on to the next game in 3D All-Stars, Galaxy.

Full disclosure: I only played about an hour of this game. 

I found the beach environment to be fun, and in typical Mario fashion, the music was fantastic.  The world was much more interactive and felt more alive compared to many of the stages in Super Mario 64, which I thought were sterile at times. That's where my likes end, however.  

The camera is still a problem in this game in my opinion.  While improved over Mario 64's camera, it is still challenging to see what you need to see.  For instance, in the first stage Bianco Hills, there's a group of towers with tightropes between them that you have to reach.  The camera can pan out to expand your view, but focuses on Mario, making it difficult to see where you need to go to reach the tower tops. This leaves you to wonder around until you figure out where you need to go.  I find this quite frustrating. It would be much easier to look forward in first-person mode, something that Mario 64 can do.  Maybe I'm missing something with the views?

The camera is a minor issue. The major issue is the gameplay.  I applaud the game makers for adding a new aspect to Mario gameplay with the water canon.  However, I found using the canon somewhat cumbersome and quite frankly not fun.  I would be willing to put up with it had the canon been just a part of the gameplay, but since it was the main focus of play I wasn't willing to continue with the game. 

Between the camera views and not knowing how to effectively use the water canon, I found myself flipping between YouTube to watch a video to figure out what to do and the game, making the whole experience more like a chore than fun.  I might circle back to the game. In the meantime, onward to Super Mario Galaxy.  I'm really looking forward to playing this game again because I remember it being fantastic. I'm looking forward to seeing if the re-play is as good as I remember the game being.  

Star Wars: Rebels

 

Rebels sits in between the Clone Wars (prequels) and the original trilogy.  Admittedly, following Anakin & Ahsoka would be a difficult task for any master-padawan combo.  After the first few episodes, I almost gave up on this series.  I just wasn't into the Kanan-Ezra duo.  Especially Ezra, who, when compared to Ahsoka, seemed like a complete amateur.  But obviously a lot happened between the ending of the Clone Wars and the beginning of A New Hope.  I knew Ahsoka and Darth Maul made appearances in Rebels.  And Because of both The Mandalorian and the Clone Wars, I knew Dave Filoni could tell a great story, so I decided to stick with the series.  I am glad that I did.  While it wasn't as good as the Clone Wars, and left a lot of questions unanswered, the series improved as it progressed, and the odd collection of characters grew on me as I got to know them better.

At this point in the Star Wars timeline, the Empire is in complete control of the galaxy.  Rebels focuses on a group of people called the Ghost Crew who are trying to challenge the Empire's authority and protect their home planet of Lothal.  We are introduced to some great Empire antagonists, including Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Inquisitors. Additionally, Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul, who are two of my favorite Star Wars characters, make appearances as well.  Beyond small appearances from Obi Wan and Leia, the storyline of Rebels primarily focuses on the Ghost Crew and their adventures protecting Lothal from the Empire.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of additional tie-ins to the original trilogy of movies, which is fine.  

The best part of the show is watching Ezra progress from a clueless street thief to a worthy padawan.  Specifically, watching his connection with the force grow is what I found most interesting.  I always thought of the force as a way to move objects without touching them.  I've learned that it is much more than that.  As an example, Ezra connects to the force through his interaction with animals, a theme that is explored countless times.  While exploring a Jedi temple on Lothal, Ezra is able to use the force for time travel and communication with other force users.

As the show progresses, clearly there is an enlarging movement of people who are fed up with the Empire.  The Ghost Crew goes from working in isolation to being joined by other groups of rebels, and familiar faces do appear from time to time.  But this show is all about the Ghost Crew and their protection of Lothal.  During the show's epilogue, it is explained that Captain Rex and Hera Syndulla both fought in the battle of Endor, so their characters continue to live in the Star Wars cannon.  Additionally, Mandalorian Sabine Wren and Ahsoka are shown leaving together in search of Ezra.  It is rumored that both Sabine and Ahsoka will be featured in the Mandalorian series this season.  More to come on that story.

Overall the show was good and worthwhile to watch. It didn't have quite the star power or importance to the Star Wars universe that the Clone Wars had, but it introduced us to a unique group of characters that are likely to appear in other Star Wars stories.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars: Super Mario 64

 

Super Mario 64 is one of the best and most memorable video games from my generation.  When I learned that they were releasing a Switch version of the game I jumped at the chance to play it again.  I still have my Wii hooked up and thus have played the game relatively recently, but only the early portions.  Everything that made the game great (and not so great) remained true on my replay of this classic.

To begin, I'm much more into completing games (as much as possible, that is) now than I was when I was a kid.  When I was a kid, I wanted to get through the game as quickly as possible in order to move onto the next game.  As an adult, if it is a game environment that I really enjoy, I will try to get as much out of that game as I can.  I'm pretty sure when I played this game originally, I got the bare minimum 70 stars, went to defeat Bowser, and moved onto another game (probably Goldeneye or Ocarina of Time).  This time around, my goal was to get all 120 stars.

The concept of this game is great. Peach's castle has been taken over by Bowser, and in order to save the castle and all of your friends, you collect stars from various stages.  Not only do you get to explore 15 courses, but accessing the courses by exploring the castle is a great touch.  It was a great design at the time of its release and remains pretty fantastic.  In my opinion, it is the best part of this game, followed by the game's music in a close second place.  

Some of the stages are memorable and are pretty cool.  I particularly like the snow and water stages on this game.  Tick, Tock, Clock is a cool one too.  A lot of the courses aren't too memorable, however, and the sand and lava courses are a bit of a pain.  The graphics are polished on this Switch release but the terrible camera angles and semi-frustrating controls remain.  These are leftover from the first generation of 3D console games as a lot of games from that generation have not held up well to the test of time.  These are frustrating at times, but the game overall remains quite enjoyable.  

For whatever reason, the final battle against Bowser is a memorable one.  It isn't overly interesting and in the grand scheme of final video game boss battles is relatively easy.  But out of all the video game boss battles I've had, I do remember this one which is saying something.  The music during the battle is fantastic as well.

I finished the game with 100 stars.  I was able to get all 6 stars from the 15 courses, as well as 10 castle special stars.  I was ready to move onto another game.  I still need to get the 7th 100 coin star from all 15 courses, plus 5 additional special stars.  I may return to the game at some point to collect the remaining stars, but for now I've seen enough of Peach's castle.  It was a great stroll down memory lane, and while I've played the first 6-7 stages of the game several times, this is only the second time I've beaten the game and seen the later stages.  Onto the next game in this collection, which is Sunshine.  I never owned a GameCube and thus have never played this game before.  It looks...interesting.

Audi Sport and Goldilocks

This is all Sarah's fault.  I had caught the new car fever and was casually looking at 3-5 cars on the internet to potentially replace my TSX.  When we went to COTA last year for the Indycar race, Sarah bought me tickets to the on-track Audi Experience where we got to ride around the track with a professional driver in an Audi R8.  I thought the car (which was completely stock) and experience were amazing, and began looking at Audi cars seriously for the first time.  That's when I learned about Audi Sport and the Sportback design.

I've always wanted a Corvette.  They are bad ass vehicles for the price, and I think the styling of the car has improved with time.  However, logistically I have a hard time wrapping my mind around owning one.  It would be difficult to have a 'Vette as a daily driver, especially when living in an area where it snows.  So owning a 'Vette would mean that most likely you'd need two cars which means two payments, two insurance policies, two... you get the point.  It would be about like owning a boat.  It would be a lot of fun but likely more costly than makes sense.  If I ever buy one it will likely be when I'm a bit older and have a bit more time, which is likely when that mid-life crisis begins.

This is where the concept of the sports sedan comes into play, and again, this is Sarah's fault as well because she introduced me to this logic.  The rationale is why buy two cars, a daily driver and a sports car, when you can get a sports sedan that is both practical for daily use and fun to drive? While some car manufactures offer sportier versions of their cars, often times it doesn't amount to much more than aggressive styling and additional badges.  The German manufactures, however, have figured out the sport sedan concept.  All of the German manufactures have sports lines that offer serious upgrades in power and performance. BMW has the M line, Mercedes has the AMG line, and Audi has the Audi Sport S/RS line.

Audi offers most of their vehicles in 3 different versions: The normal A version (or Q if it's an SUV), the sportier S version, and the mega-sporty RS version.  For instance, they offer an A5, an S5 (which is what I bought), and an RS5.  All three cars are more or less the same.  However, the A5 has a 4-cylinder engine making 250 horsepower, the S5 has a single turbo V6 making 350 horsepower, and the RS5 has a twin-turbo V6 making 450 horsepower.  As you can see, when you get into the S and RS versions of these cars, there are some serious power and performance upgrades.  My previous car had a 4-cylinder producing 200 horsepower.  One of the things I wanted with my new car was a bit more power, so I decided to go with the S5.  While not a Corvette replacement, it allows me to have one car that is both comfortable and fun to drive.  When comparing the S5 to the A5 and RS5, Car & Driver called it the Goldilocks version of the car (or Dad Spec) as it had just the right amount of comfort and performance.  I couldn't agree more.  It is comfortable to drive to and from work and to run errands, and yet can be quite quick when you want it to be.  

After driving the car for 6 months, I think spending a bit more to get into the S or RS class (or M or whatever brand you go with) is a great compromise for not getting a dedicated sports car.  To me, it makes so much more sense to do this and have one car that you can enjoy driving every day and not collect dust in the garage.  I will let you know if I change my attitude towards this situation once my mid-life crisis starts.

MLB.TV

Way back in 2015 I wrote about my struggles with streaming TV.  As previously discussed, so much has changed in that arena in the past 5 years.  I wanted to take a brief moment to mention MLB.TV, which has also changed a lot since we used last in 2015.  With the switch from Dish Network to YouTube TV, we no longer had access to MLB Extra Innings and so we had to start using MLB.TV.  The experience this time around was much better.

With Extra Innings, we had a guide of games with no additional information.  When using MLB.TV, it shows us all games, the score of the game, the inning, etc. to help monitor close games for viewing.  If something exciting is about to happen, like a no-hitter, we receive a notification to switch games.  You can watch two games simultaneously.  You have easy access to standings within the app.  We experienced minimal-to-no buffering issues.  The overall experience was great.  Not only better than our 2015 experience, but better than our Extra Innings experience with Dish.  The only small complaint is that sometimes it takes a bit of time to load the game from the game selection screen, but honestly that could be an Apple TV issue.  It didn't do it at the beginning of the season, but became an issue as the season ended.  Overall a great app and great experience for watching baseball. I would recommend it over Extra Innings, even if your carrier has Extra Innings.  I think it's cheaper too.

iOS 14 & Apple Watch Series 6

 

I've been using iPhone since the 4S (before that I had a Samsung Windows phone, can you imagine?).  In that time I've had a 4S, a 6S, and now an X.  I'm not going to spend time discussing the iPhone, as everyone is familiar.  I will say, however, it is amazing to watch how the iOS software has advanced through the years.  Seeing video or screenshots of how the iOS looked in the past makes it look archaic compared to today's version.  Case in point: iOS 14.  Ever since I've owned an iPhone I made it a goal to only have one screen of apps.  I would have a folder that contained any additional apps that wouldn't fit on my home screen.  With iOS 14, that problem is solved with the app drawer.  Plus, I can now put widgets on my home screen which allows me to see additional information about that is going on that day without getting into the app.  While this takes up more screen space, I still only have one page of apps because I can push lesser used apps to the app drawer.  While it's my understanding that Android devices have been able to do this for years, I don't really care about that.  This iOS update has changed how I use my phone, and for the better.

Moving onto the Apple Watch.  I bought my first Apple Watch in 2017.  I had a gift card to the Apple store and didn't need a computer or tablet at the time.  Series 3 had just come out but I wasn't sure if I would even like the watch so I decided to get the Series 1.  Turns out I really like the watch and how it integrates with the iPhone.  It is especially useful while at work.  At this point, however, the Series 1 was starting to feel a bit dated and I don't think Apple is supporting it anymore so I decided to update to the recently released Series 6.  From an app perspective, I don't see a lot of major changes between the two watches.  From a hardware perspective, however, the Series 6 is a big step-up from the Series 1.  It is amazing how a few millimeters in size can make such a big difference.  The Series 6 screen feels markedly bigger than the Series 1.  It is also more responsive with swipes and button clicks and significantly faster.  The EKG and O2 sensors are amazing as well.  It's just amazing to see how the hardware and to a lesser extent, the software advances with this device in a relatively short amount of time.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: A Moon Shaped Pool

 

Their most recent album, A Moon Shaped Pool came out in 2016, a full 5 years after A King Of Limbs.  I have two songs from this album in my top 20: Decks Dark and Identikit.  Decks Dark is just an incredible song and is a perfect example of Radiohead's style.  It is eerie, mellow, and somehow simple and complex at the same time.  Identikit is a fantastically weird song.  I have Present Tense, The Numbers, Desert Island Disk, and Burn The Witch on my honorable mentions list. I like True Love Waits as well, but the album version is a bit much for me.  The live version is better in my opinion.  

RIP 3DS

 

I purchased my 3DS in 2018, a full 7 years after the system's initial release in 2011.  I was in-between games on the Switch and PS4, and Nintendo had just released a Hyrule edition of the system with A Link Between Worlds included for under $200.  A Link Between Worlds got good reviews and it was a Zelda game that I had never played before.  Additionally, the 3DS shop had access to numerous other Zelda titles that I had never played before, mostly on prior hand held systems.  I decided to buy the old system for these reasons and am glad that I did so.  I dominated the system's old Zelda and Mario games for a solid 18 months.

What a quirky system.  By 2018 the system felt quite dated.  It did not have HD graphics.  It had two screens and most of the time I wasn't sure what to do with the second screen.  The clamshell design felt dated.  It wasn't exactly fast at loading or saving.  I could go on and on.  But it had an extensive gaming library, was easy to pick up and play, and was just fun.  As with many other Zelda fans, I love the music in Zelda games.  The fact that I could pay $1.99 and get a Twilight Princess background that plays music from the game was great.  Every time I opened the system and heard the music, it made me smile.  

I didn't get the opportunity to play many 3DS original games except for A Link Between Worlds and Animal Crossing, but having access to many of the older Zelda and Mario games from 2000-2010 that I had not previously played was a treat.  I was able to get through all of my games on my wishlist except for Oracle of Ages, which I will likely try to pick-up soon before the store closes.  

What a great system.  It is rather old and with the Switch being portable it's not a surprise at all that they are moving on and retiring the 3DS.  I hesitated to buy it since it was so old in 2018 but am glad that I did.  It was rather quite enjoyable to play. 

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: The King Of Limbs

 

The King Of Limbs is a bit of an odd-ball album in my opinion, even for Radiohead standards.  The album came out in 2011, which for me was a time of intense business as I was right in the middle of medical residency.   It's also quite short - 8 songs lasting 37 minutes.  To me, this album was a bit of a disappointment following In Rainbows.  I liked it, but not as much as their previous albums.  As with many Radiohead albums, however, it has grown with me over time.  Two of the 8 songs from this album made my list of top Radiohead songs: Codex and Separator.  Codex is a perfect example of how powerful their music can be, even though it is a simple song.  Separator perfectly demonstrates the complexity of their music, with the complicated percussion and gradual addition of instruments as the song progresses.  They are easily two of my favorite Radiohead songs.  Little By Little, Lotus Flower, and Give Up The Ghost made my honorable mention list.  Over half the songs on the album made my top or honorable songs list.  Not bad for an album that at the time I did not appreciate.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: In Rainbows

 

In Rainbows is my favorite Radiohead album.  It released in 2007 right after I graduated college and likely in the peak of my Radiohead fandom.  The tour that accompanied this album was the first time I saw Radiohead live. By this point in my Radiohead journey I had become a big enough fan that I was looking forward to new albums and not just discovering their old stuff. When I heard this album for the first time I immediately loved it.  This is somewhat unique in that often times it takes a few listens before I fall in love with their music.  It's complex enough that I don't think I can fully grasp the songs until I hear them a few times.  This album was different.  Its songs grabbed me like Vader choking one of his fellow Empire comrades - it is that good.

I do want to take a brief moment to discuss how the album was sold.  By the time this album was released the peak of the MP3 era had passed.  However, illegal MP3 downloads still existed and people were used to paying nothing for music at that point.  Kudos for Radiohead for releasing this album as a digital download where you could name your own price, even if it was nothing.  I think I paid $10 for my digital download.

This album featured more songs on my top 20 list than any of the other albums.  No surprise based on the aforementioned praise.  We start the list with Bodysnatchers, which has one of my all time favorite Radiohead guitar hooks.  Every time I hear this song I think of Thom rocking out and bobbling his head.  Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is next.  Unique mix of upbeat drums in the background with mellow guitar and vocals that slowly crescendo in volume as the song progresses. All I Need with that amazing bells part that starts mid-way and the piano part that starts towards the end of the song. Reckoner with the great samba drum and percussion in the background.  Jigsaw Falling Into Place, which honestly is a song that has grown on me over the years after seeing live performances.  Honorable mention includes 15 Step, Videotape, and House Of Cards. Truly one of my favorite modern albums and favorite Radiohead albums.  If I needed to introduce someone to Radiohead, this is the album I would tell them to listen to.

September 18th

 

September 18 is going to be a good day.  It was just announced that the rumored Super Mario Bros. remake for the Switch will be releasing that day.  I'm already looking forward to visiting Peach's castle in Mario 64 again and Mario Galaxy has some of the best music of any video game.  I never had a Gamecube and so Mario Sunshine will be a brand new game for me.

Sarah and I watched the original Long Way Round and found their journey to be quite interesting, so looking forward to seeing these two travel from South America up to Los Angeles on Apple TV+.  Also, since being more engaged with Star Wars I have become somewhat of a Ewan McGregor fan so should be a good show.

The Most Awful Song In The History Of Radio

 I was sitting in the car with my family last weekend after swim class and the UB40 song Red Red Wine came on the radio and I decided at that moment that I cannot stand that song.  It's awful.  According to Wikipedia, when it was released in 1983 it only had moderate success in the States.  I can understand hearing the song on the radio when it first came out, but why in the world is it still being played on radio today? It was released nearly 40 years ago!  If it were a good song, then I'd be glad to listen to a 40 year old song.  But this song sucks. It would be like hearing Imagine Dragons on the radio 40 years from now.  

In the process of spending 30 seconds researching this song, I discovered that it is a remake of a Neil Diamond song.  I did not know that.  I listened to the original.  It is awful as well.

F1: 2020 and Physical Video Game Discs

 

Ever since the days of the Sega Genesis, I never understood why sports games released a new version on a yearly basis.  I'm sure the answer is sales, but from my perspective if a game was good I could get a solid two years of gameplay out of the game and pretty easily skip the next release.  Generally next year's game only had small updates, and it always made sense to me to wait until the game series had a big update to purchase the newest version.  This thought process seems to be especially true in the era of connected consoles.

I'm bringing this up because this is the thought process I've used for the F1 games since the beginning.  I typically buy a new game every other year, skipping a year in between.  Most of the time I am still enjoying the old game after two years, but by that time there have been enough new features added to the new one that I feel that it is worth the price for the upgrade.  This is what happened this year as I transitioned from F1 2018 to F1 2020.

I want to spend a few minutes talking about the game.  The game is fantastic and if you're a fan of the series you will like this game.  It's the best game of the series, which is great as this series never seems to take a misstep.  It is always moving forward.  The biggest update is team mode, where you get to create a new F1 team and participate as an owner/driver.  Think franchise mode in Madden.  It's an interesting addition and one that adds a lot of depth to the game. On-track, the game is much better about how it handles safety cars and virtual safety cars, and the weather transitions are the best in the series.  If I have to nit-pick, the on-screen graphics, while pretty, serve a TV audience and are somewhat difficult to view while driving the car.  That's a minor complaint.  Overall this game is quite good.

I waited a week or so after the game was released to buy it, but it never came available on Amazon which is a bit odd.  Probably something related to corona.  I finally got inpatient and decided to download it from the Playstation store.  I have been reluctant to do this in the past for several reasons.  My experience downloading Gran Turismo 6 for the PS3 was not good.  It took around 24 hours and I had to restart the download a couple of times. Also, games are huge these days and consoles have somewhat limited HD space.  But there is also an element of ownership that I've had a hard time letting go.  I still enjoy owning the disc or cartridge.  I let go of this with CDs several years ago and F1 2020 is the game where I've decided to let go of this for games as well.

Since my bad experience with downloading Gran Turismo 6, I have faster internet, a new router, and better hardware in the PS4.  I have since downloaded a few games on Steam and Origin without trouble, and had no trouble downloading F1 2020.  It took 4-5 hours, but I just let it run overnight so that wasn't a big deal.  The big advantage of downloading the game is that you can turn on the system and are ready to play.  You don't have to swap discs or cartridges, which happens all of the time at my house as my kids use my PS4 as a DVD player.  Plus, I'm running out of space to store all of my cases.  I have read that this has become the dominant way to purchase games, and I'm on board.  I've likely purchased my last physical video game.

About That Beard Oil...

I grew a beard over 10 years ago and have kept the look since.  It is one of the best decisions I've ever made.  It allows me to be a bit lazy with grooming while having an up-to-date style (at least I think men's facial hair is in style).  One of the best parts of having a beard is that they are low maintenance in terms of decreased shaving.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I quit shaving my beard altogether.  Subsequently, my beard became the longest I've ever had it.  Usually, I shave my neck and stray cheek hairs daily.  But the beard itself I would only trim once every 1-2 weeks.  During the pandemic, I went a few months in-between shaves.  This is where the beard oil came into the mix.  As the length increased, the beard became harder to keep under control.  It was scratchy and had hairs pointing in every direction and generally was looking a bit like a mess.  Think mountain man.  Someone recommended I use beard oil to smooth the beard and make it softer, so I did.  It definitely helps.  But as my beard continued to grow, the amount of work needed to keep it manageable grew as well.  This realization coincided with lesser pandemic restrictions, meaning I actually had to go out into public periodically.  Public appearances plus increased maintenance effort led me to trim my beard again.  I still keep it longer than I used to.  Previously I trimmed at the 5 mm level on my razor.  Now I trim at the 10 mm level.  And I still use beard oil, just not every day.  I think I've found a good happy medium between keeping it a bit longer while also keeping it presentable.  

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: Hail To The Thief

 

Despite coming out 3 years after Kid A (which was my introduction to Radiohead), it wasn't until 2003s Hail To The Thief that I really started paying attention to the band.  It was all about timing.  When this album came out I was transitioning to my sophomore year in college and had access to nearly unlimited music thanks to the MP3 file sharing boom.  This album is more closely related to The Bends and OK Computer in terms of its sound and is a more approachable album because of it.  As time has passed, I certainly have come to appreciate Amnesiac and Kid A more and think they are better albums.  Even as I write this post, however, I realize more and more that I undervalue Hail To The Thief and what it did to get me into Radiohead.  It's a solid album.

For the purposes of this list, I have two songs from Hail To The Thief in my top 20.  Go To Sleep and There, There.  Go To Sleep has a terrific acoustic sound that reeks of rock and roll without sounding unplugged, and Yorke's lyrics are just eerie and fantastic.  "We don't want the loonies taking over" he says, "over my dead body." Just fantastic stuff there.

There, There being on this list was likely influenced by recent concert viewings.  They commonly play this song live.  But the opening timpani drums are so unique to rock, and the song has this odd combination of being rock but a bit mellow at the same time, a difficult feat to pull off.

I had several other songs from this album on my honorable mention list, including one of my favorites Myxomatosis.  This has been one of my favorite rock out songs from Radiohead but just didn't feel like it stacked up against their other songs in terms of quality to make my top 20.  Great song, though, and I probably could've been convinced to add it to the list.  Sit down. Stand up, 2+2=5, Scatterbrain, and Where I End and You Begin round up my honorable mentions.  

I Exercise Now

I played some sports in high school but haven't really exercised since.  Quite honestly I'm not a huge fan of exercising.  Have never really enjoyed it.  I hit my peak physical shape while in high school.  Fast forward 20 years to the current, and I haven't really exercised since.  Because of a decent diet and better genes, I haven't gained much weight.  However, I am not fit at all.  Think skinny fat or dad bod.

A couple of years ago Sarah bought a basic treadmill and I began jogging on it a few times per week.  She then upgraded to a NordicTrack with a screen.  This allows you to follow a trainer through a series of workouts and the treadmill automatically adjusts the speed and elevation for you.  This has been a game changer for me.

One night I was sitting on the couch and thinking about how I do nothing after I get home from work except sit around.  On most weekends, I am pretty sedentary.  I was thinking something had to change.  This thought is what got me started with running.

I hate running.  I have never enjoyed it.  However, this is the first time I've interacted with a trainer and it has made a huge difference.  For the first time in my running experience I am not just running to run.  I have a goal.  The trainers have taught me so much about running, from RPE levels (rate of perceived exertion) to intervals to recovery runs, etc.  Smart devices now allow for easy calculation of heart rate, distance, etc.  The most important thing I've learned is to be consistent.  You don't have to train for a marathon or break a leg so to speak, just be consistent in your training.  Often times, a light to moderate 30 minute jog is just as beneficial as a work-your-butt-off run where you collapse at the end.  

When I started this, I wanted to become less sedentary, increase my fitness a bit, and reduce stress and improve sleep.  I think I've accomplished all of that.  I went from jogging a couple of times per week to consistently running, following training programs, 5-6 days per week.  My fitness isn't quite where I want it but I am close.  I am tackling runs now I never would have when I first started.  My next challenge will be to come up with a new goal to accomplish with my runs.  

I did want to take a moment to talk about Tommy Rivers Puzey.  Of all the trainers I follow, he is the most interesting. He has a background in geology and a degree in physical therapy, and is one of those guys who just has a lot of random experiences in life that gives him different perspectives than most.  Kind of hard to explain, you just have to follow him.  He has taught me the most about the best approach to running and training out of all the trainers on iFit.  Unfortunately, he is currently battling a rare cancer so Sarah and I have him in our thoughts as he goes through treatment.  We're really hoping he can pull through and get back on the road again!

Solo: A Star Wars Story

After finishing the Clone Wars, I am in the transition period between the prequels and the original Star Wars trilogy.  Luckily between the two non-Skywalker movies Solo and Rogue One, and David Filoni's Rebels, there is plenty of content.  First up on the timeline is Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Solo is a solid movie.  It explains the back story of how Han meets Chewy and acquires the Millennium  Falcon.  It also explains the story behind the often mentioned Kessel Run.  All of this is good Star Wars fun and good back story for one of Star Wars most famous characters.  Additionally, the fantastic Emilia Clarke stars in the movie, and her presence tends to improve any show or movie.  Although much like all of the characters from Saved By The Bell, I cannot see her without thinking about her most famous character, the mother of dragons.  All the better, I suppose, as that character is bad ass.

As I was watching the movie I kept thinking about how I wasn't familiar with any of the characters appearing in the Clone Wars.  Turns out I was right.  Although the Pyke syndicate is featured in several episodes of the Clone Wars, most of the other characters were based only in this movie and did not have a part in the Clone Wars stories.  That is, until the very end when Darth Maul makes an appearance.  If you've only seen the movies, this likely came as a surprise as Obi Wan appeared to have killed him by chopping him in half.  But those of us who have watched the Clone Wars know Maul is alive and well, last seen fleeing Mandalore in attempts to organize a crime and trade syndicate to compete against the Empire.  More to come on Maul I am sure in Rebels.

Moneyball

I'm a huge baseball fan and I love numbers and stats so this story immediately appealed to me.  I read the book several years ago after I finished residency and transitioned into regular practice and I was quite slow.  The book was very good and opened my eyes on how to interpret baseball stats.  As I watch baseball in current times, no question the thought processes mentioned in this book are in play with modern stats mentioned every game such as OPS, WAR, etc. Bottom line, traditional stats like hitting percentage are overrated and stats that reflect how often a player gets on base are more relevant.  Makes sense, especially considering scoring relies on getting on base and how you get on base is irrelevant.   

From a pure story perspective, casting the A's as underdogs with a low budget against the AL giant Yankees is an easy sell and makes sense. Their success with their limitations and the approach they used is worth the praise and I think should be celebrated.

In terms of a movie, I thought the movie was OK.  Enjoyable, but I can't see it appealing to non baseball fans, and if you really want to get the inside story, reading the book would be much better.  This is the case for many movies, but I think for Moneyball it is especially true.  If you are not a baseball fan, I'd say bypass.  If you are a baseball fan, it's OK to watch, but you'd be much more satisfied reading the book.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: Amnesiac

Kid A will always hold a special place in my heart as the album that introduced me to Radiohead.  However, in terms of Radiohead's two techno albums Kid A and Amnesiac, I tend to like Amnesiac a bit more.  There are some amazing songs on this album.  Only two made my top 20: Pyramid Song and You And Whose Army?.  The driving piano beat heard in Pyramid Song is amazing.  It's tough to pinpoint the exact rhythm, but apparently it is in 4/4 time.  You And Whose Army? is a classic example of Radiohead songs starting slow and quiet and gradually crescendoing throughout the song until the end of the song is completely different than the beginning.  They do this in a lot of their songs and is a fantastic sound.

Honorable mentions here make-up essentially the rest of the album.  Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box, Knives Out (Apparently the movie is names after this song. Who knew?), Dollars & Cents (I really like the live version of this song, the album version too me isn't quite as good.), and I Might Be Wrong.  Truly a fantastic album, and maybe my second favorite Radiohead album.  To me it is a little underrated and kinda flies under the radar, but is quite good.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: Kid A

Kid A was my introduction to Radiohead.  I was in high school when this album came out.  I remember the first few times I listened to this album that I thought some of the songs were wonderfully awesome and some were wonderfully weird. So weird, in fact, I wasn't exactly sure what to make of the band.  But the album was memorable and made an impression and I kept coming back to it.  As I progressed from high school to college and music became more readily available (this was during the MP3 boom), I eventually discovered The Bends and OK Computer and the rest is history as they say.  Radiohead has been my favorite band since.

In terms of the songs on the album being in my top 20, I actually only have two songs on the list.  The National Anthem and Optimistic.  I think Idioteque and Everything In It's Right Place are good songs as well.  However, in the era of Radiohead's more techno music (Kid A and Amnesiac), I think the music here isn't quite as good as it is elsewhere so they were left off the list.  For what it's worth, I think Kid A has my favorite cover art of any of Radiohead's albums. 

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: OK Computer

Much like The Bends, I discovered OK Computer much after the fact.  The album came out while I was in junior high, but I first discovered the album while in college.  Point being I was maybe a little late to the Radiohead party.  Regardless, obviously a great album with a lot of great songs to choose from.  Maybe their most well known album too.  

My top songs are Karma Police, Let Down, and Climbing Up The Walls.  Karma Police's awesome piano with the "this is what you get when you mess with us" is fantastic.  Let Down is maybe a bit nostalgic for me, but one of my favorite songs none the less.  Climbing Up The Walls was for sure influenced by my recent concert viewing as they like to play that song during their shows, but a cool song.  Honorable mentions include Airbag, the opening song to the album and one of my favorites when I was first being introduced to the album.  The well known and great song Paranoid Android as well.  I like this song but didn't include it because to me it kind of drags on a bit.  And finally Lucky, which I initially had on the list but swapped it out at the last moment for Let Down.  Great album.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

After watching Episodes 1-8, I decided to watch the animated series The Clone Wars.  I thought Episodes 2 and 3 were decent, and I enjoyed the Clone Wars stories, especially the back stories between Anakin and Obi Wan.  Because of this I decided to watch the animated series The Clone Wars.

The episodes sometimes tell individual storylines, but often times story lines span over 2-4 episodes.  Occasionally the stories told are not very entertaining or seem to have little relevance to the overall Star Wars story.  However, this was infrequent.  Some of the memorable story lines include explanations of how light sabres are created, how Yoda and other Jedi can speak to the dead, the discovery of the brain implants that allow Order 66 to happen, and the battle of Mandalore and describing what happened to Darth Maul.  The series got better as the seasons progressed, both in story telling and graphics.  

Overall I really enjoyed this series and am glad I took the time to watch all 7 seasons.  After watching I feel like I understand the Star Wars stories significantly better and am much more knowledgeable about the Star Wars universe, for whatever that is worth.  Oh, and the series introduced me to the fan favorite Padawan character Ahsoka.   Apparently she will appear in the next season of the Mandalorian, which I'm excited about.  

Up next for me in the Star Wars universe is Solo: A Star Wars Story.  I've heard it was decent.  Then Star Wars: Rebels, which I was on the fence about watching but have read that includes some stories on Ahsoka, Anakin, and Darth Maul so I plan to watch it as well.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: The Bends

Despite being quite familiar with other rock albums from the time, Radiohead's 1995 album The Bends was never on my radar.  It wasn't until I discovered Radiohead with their 2000 album Kid A that I retroactively discover The Bends.  It's a solid rock album overall.  

Fake Plastic Trees and Street Spirit (Fade Out) are the highlights for me on this album.  They play these songs often on the concerts they released during the pandemic, so it is possible that may have influenced my decision.  Because I only had 20 songs to choose from, these two beat out a number of other sold offerings from the album, including High and Dry, Sulk, and Black Star.  In my earlier days, Planet Telex was also a favorite of mine.  Overall a solid rock album and quite a bit better than Pablo Honey.  I'm surprised it never gained much traction in the States.  The worse part of the album is the cover art.  I'm not sure what is going on there.  Is it a mannequin with EKG leads attached, or Matrix ports? Who knows?

YouTube TV Price Hike

YouTube TV increasing their price was inevitable.  It offers a TV-like experience at streaming prices.  It was too good to be true.  In a deal that added Viacom channels like MTV and VH1 (channels I couldn't care less about) the price went up to $65 per month.  What frustrates me the most is that this deal is so typical of traditional TV carriers.  They make deals with content providers, but in order to get one or two channels that everyone wants, the content provider forces additional channels that no one wants and it increases the cost.  I really hope at some point we get where we can choose channels a la carte.  The way things are structured now that really isn't an option except for more premium channels.  Once again, sports are what keep me tied to a more traditional TV service.  If not for sports, I'd probably have Netflix, HBO Plus, and Disney Plus and call it a day.

While frustrating, I'm complaining mostly about the principal of what is going on versus the actual cost increase.  While $65 a month is an expensive streaming service, to be real YouTube TV is basically like having cable and is still significantly cheaper.  Our satellite bill ranged from $110-$180 and really didn't offer anything additional that YouTube TV doesn't offer.  Overall I've enjoyed my streaming experience and am not looking to switch back, despite the cost increase.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs: Pablo Honey

Pablo Honey is Radiohead's first studio album and my least favorite album of theirs.  No surprise then that I did not have any songs from this album on my top 20 list.  I did, however, have several songs from this album on my honorable mention list.  After listening to the album again, I remembered that there are several good songs on this album.  None great, however.  While this album is not nearly as good as their subsequent albums in my opinion, it is a decent early 90s rock/grunge album.  Interestingly, probably their most famous song "Creep" is from this album.  While Creep is well known and still gets more radio play than any of their other songs, I think it is just OK and is no where near as good as many of their other songs.  Songs like "You", "Stop Whispering", "Anyone Can Play Guitar", "Ripcord", and "Blow Out" are highlights for me.

Radiohead's Top 20 Songs

Every Thursday since the COVID-19 pandemic started, Radiohead has been releasing new concerts to watch on YouTube.  The concerts take place at various times throughout the band's career, meaning featured songs vary from concert to concert.  This has been a great time to re-listen to many of the bands older and sometimes less popular songs.  However, as the weeks have gone on, a recurring discussion has occurred between Sarah and I: Which songs would we place on our best-of list for Radiohead.  There are some songs that are clear favorites, but others are a little less obvious.  We quickly determined that a podium or Mount Rushmore of Radiohead songs wouldn't be big enough. We initially discussed top 10 songs but settled on top 20.  I'm excited to announce that after weeks of discussion, both of us have completed our list of Radiohead's top 20 songs.  I plan to release my list over a series of posts featured on each album.  The list only contains studio albums, no live content or soundtrack songs allowed.

It's no secret that Radiohead is my favorite band of my generation, maybe of all time.  Their music style has evolved quite a bit over time and picking my top 20 songs was harder than I thought.  My original list had 53 songs, then I got it down to 26 before settling on 20.  I had to sacrifice songs that I like  and determine if I wanted to keep more well known, popular songs on the list vs songs that are lesser known but I think are musically better songs.  My guess is that if I had to make this list 10 times, there would be 8-10 that consistently make the list and the other 10-12 might be a bit more of a toss-up.  Up next is my list of top 20.  Can't wait to see Sarah's list as well.

I Use Beard Oil Now

Towards the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to quit shaving my beard.  Similar to the playoff beard concept, I decided I was going to let it go until the pandemic ended.  At this point it is noticeably bushier.  I have done very mild trimming here and there, but for the most part have let it grow.  Along with the bushiness, comes roughness and stray hairs and everything else that comes with a growing beard.  A friend recommended I start using beard oil.  He said it would soften the beard and help eliminate stray hairs so I decided to give it a try.  It works pretty well, making the beard at least a bit softer and reducing most of the stray hairs.  The best part though is the smell. The type Sarah picked up for me smells like a pine forest, which really hits home the attempted lumberjack look.  This especially hits home for me when I have to wear a mask at work, which traps the aroma close to my face all day long.  I hope the stuff isn't toxic.  It's probably not, right? I would recommend some oil if your beard is a bit longer.

The Rise Of Skywalker

I watched Episode IX The Rise Of Skywalker last weekend.  Meh is my opinion of the movie.  I like that the emperor was featured heavily in the plot.  I find any scene featuring Palpatine to be intriguing.  However, a lot of the cameos from Star Wars characters from the past felt forced and unnecessary.  Also, for whatever reason I cannot get into Adam Driver's Kylo Ren character.  He just seems like a frustrated teen.  The way his character went out in this movie was weak too.  The movie was just OK.  I didn't feel like it added much to the Skywalker saga.

Project Cars 2

All of the E-racing during COVID-19 got me interested in Project Cars 2 again.  I bought the game when it was released in 2017 but never played it much.  I thought the cars handled like dump trucks which frustrated me to the point of abandoning the game.  After renewed interest surfaced, I am glad I gave the game a second chance.  It really is quite remarkable. 

The cars do handle a bit like dump trucks.  I don't think the game does a great job of portraying the sensation of speed, making it feel like you are not going as fast as you actually are.  Additionally, most of the cars lean towards understeer, so making turns can be a bit difficult.  This is what originally turned me off about the game.  But with a bit of practice and getting used to the physics model, I got better and the game became playable.  I actually think the physics model they use is likely more realistic than games that are a bit easier to pick up and play, like Gran Turismo.

The career mode is quite exceptional and where the game shines.  It offers several career paths, from open wheel leading to IndyCar, to LMP and endurance races, to GT races.  It's both fun and rewarding to start in a lower league, such as Porsche Cayman Cup or Super Trofeo, and advance to GT3 Championship and Pirelli World Challenge.  You can also do manufacturer challenges which is a nice touch.  I'm currently an Audi factory driver after I successfully completed the 3 Audi challenges.

PC 2 is probably the best racing game of its kind on consoles.  It does take a bit of time to get used to the handling of the cars, but once you do the game is really quite enjoyable.  I'm glad I gave it a second chance.