Hurricane Matthew knocked out our power for nearly a day. Hungry and with few options for food, we try our best to make some ramen.
Trying to Make Ramen Without Power (Hurricane Matthew) | Video Log #5
PlayStation VR, iPhone 7 Plus, and Doggies | Video Log #4
Take a walk with three doggies and me as I talk about PlayStation VR, my new iPhone 7 Plus, T-Mobile, Microsoft support, Hurricane Matthew, and more in my fourth video log.
2015: The 42 Movies I Watched
Every year, NeoGAF has a 50 books and 50 movies challenge, in which you have to read 50 new books and watch 50 new movies before the start of the next year. There is also a game equivalent, in which you have to beat 52 new video games. These challenges provide that extra motivation to do/finish the things you already wanted to anyway and can lead you to checking out stuff you otherwise may not have (this is especially true with books).
I got pretty close to completing the challenge, but ended up eight movies short. Microsoft had an awesome sale near the end of the year where you could rent new releases for only ten cents, which helped me get a lot closer than I otherwise would have.
My ratings are done on a 5-star scale (no halfsies).
★ - Hated it
★★ - Disliked it
★★★ - Liked/enjoyed/didn't actively dislike it
★★★★ - Really liked it
★★★★★ - Loved it
I'm not very critical of most of the media I consume, so it's not often I give something less than three stars.
Here are the 42 movies I watched in 2015:
22 Jump Street - ★★★
This is the End - ★★★
Peter Pan Live! - ★★★★
Rocky - ★★★★
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - ★★★
Horns - ★★★
Wreck-It Ralph - ★★★★★
Mad Max - ★★★
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior - ★★★★
Mad Mad Beyond Thunderdome - ★★★
Mad Max: Fury Road - ★★★★★
Avengers: Age of Ultron - ★★★★
Timer - ★★★
Rocky II - ★★★★★
Kung Fury - ★★★★
Nightcrawler - ★★★★
Inside Out - ★★★★★
Spirited Away - ★★★★
Rocky III - ★★★★★
Wet Hot American Summer - ★★★★
Rocky IV - ★★★
7 Days in Hell - ★★★★★
Obvious Child - ★★★★★
Song of the Sea - ★★★★★
It Follows - ★★★★
Beasts of No Nation - ★★★★★
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 - ★★★
Ex Machina - ★★★★★
Pitch Perfect 2 - ★★★
Trainwreck - ★★★★★
Spy - ★★★★★
Jurassic World - ★★★★
Terminator Genisys - ★★★
The Age of Adaline - ★★★★
Cinderella (2015) - ★★★★
Pixels - ★★★
San Andreas - ★★★★★
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - ★★★
Magic Mike XXL - ★★★★★
Tomorrowland - ★★★★
Top Five - ★★★★★
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - ★★★★★
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - ★★★★★
The Snowman - ★★★
Completing the movie challenge in 2016 is almost a sure thing, as I've already seen 40 so far. Then maybe I'll spend more time reading books!
2015: The 4 Books I Read
Every year, NeoGAF has a 50 books and 50 movies challenge, in which you have to read 50 new books and watch 50 new movies before the start of the next year. There is also a game equivalent, in which you have to beat 52 new video games. These challenges provide that extra motivation to do/finish the things you already wanted to anyway and can lead you to checking out stuff you otherwise may not have (this is especially true with books).
As you can tell by the title of this post, I failed the book challenge by a large margin, but I still wanted to share my list.
My ratings are done on a 5-star scale (no halfsies).
★ - Hated it
★★ - Disliked it
★★★ - Liked/enjoyed/didn't actively dislike it
★★★★ - Really liked it
★★★★★ - Loved it
I'm not very critical of most of the media I consume, so it's not often I give something less than three stars.
Here are the four books I read in 2015:
Sphere by Michael Crichton - ★★★★
Former Baseball Player Sucks At Crowdfunding: A Time Travel Adventure by Dan Ryckert - ★★★★
Anxiety as an Ally: How I Turned a Worried Mind into My Best Friend by Dan Ryckert - ★★★★★
Curtain Call: How An Unscripted Goodbye Changed The Course Of Pro Wrestling by Dan Ryckert - ★★★★
That's right. 3 out of 4 books I read last year were by Dan Ryckert. We'll see if I complete the challenge this year (doubtful).
Zicac Men's Vintage Canvas Multifunction Travel Satchel - Amazon Review
★★★☆☆
I like the look of it and it holds a surprising amount of stuff (and everything that I need to take with me when I go out), but one of the clasps that holds the strap broke after two months of casual use. I've wrapped a bunch of masking tape around it so I can resume wearing the purse without it falling off, but it does detract from its appearance.
Edit: And not long after writing this review, the second clasp broke, as well. Dropped the rating from 4 stars to 3.
The Brookhaven Experiment: Bridge (Campaign Level #7 Playthrough)
While there's not many ways for monsters to approach me on the Bridge, level 7 of The Brookhaven Experiment's campaign, there sure are a lot of them to kill. A couple of good jump scares in this one.
TrumPiñata: Beating Donald Trump with a Baseball Bat
Beat up a piñata-sized version of the 2016 Republican presidential nominee with a baseball bat in this virtual reality game for the HTC Vive, out now on Steam for 99 cents.
NVIDIA VR Funhouse
NVIDIA's virtual reality tech demonstration is here, showing off PhysX, HairWorks, and more in a seven mini-game collection that includes activities ranging from Whack-A-Mole to skeet shooting. I play through them all on the High setting using a single GTX 980 Ti.
Trials on Tatooine: A Star Wars Virtual Reality Experience
Watch me defend the Millennium Falcon with my new lightsaber in Trials on Tatooine, a Star Wars virtual reality experience by ILMxLAB.
The Brookhaven Experiment: Reservoir (Campaign Level #6 Playthrough)
It turns out that water does very little to deter the enemies of The Brookhaven Experiment. Here is my playthrough of the campaign's sixth level, Reservoir, in virtual reality on the HTC Vive.