Adults in the Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment by Yanis Varoufakis My rating: 5 of 5 stars I wasn't really sure what to expect reading this (having read some commentary from online friends who read it as events were unfolding), but I read it anyway. I think it's a valuable read for individuals who want a glimpse into how large systems function, and how there are (potentially)

This was an interesting video produced by the Verge on IKEA's foray into the smarthome (or home-smart as they call it).  I've noticed their offerings of smart devices over the past year whenever I've visited the local IKEA showroom.  I am intrigued and want to see more from them :-) It's interesting to know that the number of articles in a physical store doesn't go up whenever they

Oh wait...I guess I forgot one. This was truly the last of my xbox 360 games that was not backwards compatible that I completed (I guess I can now put my 360 away for now...)  This game was completed on June 15, 2019 The plot from Wikipedia: Rearmed centers around two warring factions: the Federation and the Empire. It begins with the Imperial forces discovering classified documents

Wow!  I can't believe that I made it to the end of my non-backward compatible reviews on the 360!  And, my 360 is now safely wrapped up, protected from dust and water.  This mini review is for Kane Lynch: Dead Men on the xbox 360. This game was completed in March 2019 (so I hope I remember much of it) The plot from Wikipedia: The game opens with a voiceover of ex-mercenary Adam

Here's another game a finished a while ago.  This is a mini review of Batman Arkham City for the xbox 360  which I finished back in November 2018. I am always reluctant to start a new Batman game, but I am (constantly) surprised as how much I end up enjoying the game in the end. This is one of the reasons I left this game for the end (or close to it) when I was going through my remaining

Auberon: An Expanse Novella by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars An interesting, short, novella about the newly minted governor of Auberon - Auberon being the breadbasket for the Laconian empire (sort of a replacement for Ganymede). I'd love to learn more about the characters in this book, both the "mafia" and the government side. I liked the saying near the end which was

I don't often get excited about new software (or now hardware for that matter). Back in the day when I had more time I was more of a tinkerer, so new hardware, and new software, meant more exciting playtime.  These days I am much more pragmatic about my tools, which means I don't often get excited about new things.  There are some tools though that I do get excited about, especially

Another one of my "finish before putting the 360 away" games.  This game is Remember Me  and I finished the game on "script kiddie" (easy) back in January 2019. This game is not backward compatible to the xbox one (yet), but I think it would make a nice addition. The plot from wikipedia: The game begins as Nilin (Kezia Burrows), an Errorist imprisoned in the Bastille Fortress, is having

Earlier this year, before I put away my xbox 360, I decided to try out Robotech Battlecry for the original xbox - which is backward compatible with the 360, but not the one (come on Microsoft and TDK!).  I ended up trying this game but I didn't finish it. The plot from wikipedia: The game follows the exploits of ace pilot Jack Archer. After serving as a mercenary in the Global Civil War,

Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Another fast-paced installment of the series (hard to believe that there is only one more left!!!). This one jumps a bit into the future with a slightly older crew, with different responsibilities. Some of our crew die, and some make miraculous comebacks! The bringing together of former crew members reminded me a bit of Star