Books

I do not love atomic bombs. But I do love The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes!

Much more than just a book about the Manhattan project, it is the definitive books on the details the discovery of the parts of the atom and quantum theory. It was recommended to me as the must read book for every nuclear engineer, and I agree whole heartedly.

The Half-Life series is, as seen by its inclusion on this list, one of my favorites of all time, with its first entry being the best of them all (though Half-Life Alyx gives it a run for its money). Like many Valve games, its setting acts as the most important character - and Black Mesa is quite the character. A mysterious research facility is just the perfect place to explore, to peace together the various experiments that have been going on in the shadows (or really, under bright florescent lights). However much I love the following games, City 17 does not hold a candle in my eyes to the beauty that is the tunnels and chambers of Black Mesa. This is further helped by the GoldSrc engine - I have a special place in my heart for this era of graphics, and the GoldSrc engine just is a dream to play in.

The reason HLA comes so close to beating out the orginal Half-Life at the top of the rankings comes back to what I consider my most important aspect of (these types of) games - explorability. Because of its VR medium, Half-Life Alyx takes place in smaller areas (when compared to games like HL2) that are jam packed with things to look at. Instead of, as I discuss in the Postal 2 section, large areas dotted with empty or blocked off strucures, we are given small areas teeming with things to explore, giving a much better experience and making HLA one of my favorite games.

I know what your probably thinking, wow this guy really likes games set in scientific labs made by Valve. Sue me! Portal was my first love in gaming, first bought on a whim for $1 during a steam sale (alongside Portal 2 for $2) , and the franchise I made a part of myself to cope with the uncomfortanle and lonely transition to middle school. Unlike HL2, I like Portal 2 as much or even more as its predecessor, and have played and loved all its mods as well (my personal favorite is Portal Stories: Mel, but Portal Revolution is objectively better).

The first non-valve game! If you've been keeping track, each of these games can explain part of how I ended up, with the first two Valve games leading me to be and engineer (trying to) work in government labs, and now Fallout being why I'm a nuclear engineer. I was first introduced to Fallout through Fallout 4, a game which I still love today (I'm especially partial to the Far Harbor expansion). But the real charm of the series in my eye is New Vegas - not an original take, I know, but its popular because its good! Its 2000s charm, the character of the mojave, and the different factions you can interact with make it just perfect.

I feel kinda ashamed to have have this as one of my top games. This game has aged terribly, from its gameplay to its social views. But its my platonic ideal of a video game. The small but wonderfully varied maps give both a destinct sense of place, but also mean you can explore everywhere - instead of a seemingly open world that, upon further inspection, is made up of boarded up houses you have no hope of exploring, Postal 2 gives you a small area that feels giant with what you can actually explore. With a wonderfully confusing map, I find myself lost more than not, which while annoying at times gives me a childlike sense of wonder about my surroundings. The visuals and gameplay are just beautifully crude, its political message about the gluttony of America still stands, and I never found myself bored. The only way I can explain it is that Postal 2 gives me the same feeling I had as a kid playing in a McDonalds play-place, where around every bend is something new to explore, be it gross and crusty and crude, but with boundless fun in the prospect of playing and exploring. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

I would like to add the aspect of my personality this game influenced was my love for jokes about the 2000 election.

The album that got me into punk, and still stands as one of my favorites if not my favorite in the genre. Likely the main reason I'm sober. Ian MacKaye remains one of my favorite musicians.

Other albums to look at in punk include:
Mommy Long Legs - Life Rips
Le Tigre - Self Titled
Dazey and the Scouts - Maggot

Likely to be the album I correlate with the first years of college. Its most popular song, Scott Pilgrim vs My GPA, is kinda having in the spotlight at the end of TikTok, pissing a lot of people off. The more people listening the better I say!

Other Midwest Emo I love:
Marietta & Modern Baseball - Couples Therapy
McCafferty - Beachboy

I LOVE DAFT PUNK. One of the first bands I really could say I was a fan of. Human After All is my favorite of the albums, despite people not really liking it much as their other albums.

Other albums like this one:
Just listen to all the Daft Punk albums, they are generational

Jazz is so great. Something I noticed when going away for college is that colleges really love Snoopy (at least in the year of our lord 2024), which I found surprising as I though he was just a Minnesota thing since Charles Schulz was from here. Turns out he's everywhere! Anyway, the music of the peanuts is so good, but my fav has got to be the Christmas album. Instantly puts me in a good mood.

Other Jazz albums:
Idk listen to the rest of Vince Guaraldis stuff

Whenever I find myself in a social situation where people are sharing music, I always try and get them to play Irgendwie Irgendwo Irgendwann. It's one of my favorite songs ever, and definitively my favorite music video - please go watch it. People don't seem to enjoy it like I do. That song is not even on this album, but this is still my favorite Nena album, with hits like 99 Luftballons & Nur geträumt (my second favorite Nena song).

Can't Buy A Thrill - Steely Dan
Deliver - The Mamas and the Papas
Weezer - Blue Album
All the singles by Joost

ax-man

I love this place so much. I've been going here since I was a kid - some of my earliest halloween costumes were from here - and whenever I am back in town I have to visit. It really is a symbol of home.

When I was freshly 18, I got a tattoo of the Ax-Man exterior on my right thigh. I still quite like it, however, due to me wearing jeans almost exclusively (see my outfit) I dont get the opportunity to show it off enough.