Silver linings

I won't beat around the bush, 2016 was a bad year. I refuse to believe that it is just media coverage, this was a bad year. But there were a few things this year I really liked (mostly entertainment stuff for the purposes of this Post) and got me through, so I want to talk about them.

Music
The first thing is actually tied to an early unfortunate event, and that is Blackstar by David Bowie. I remember the moment I read about his death. I had "Lazarus" playing on Spotify when the Rolling Stone headline showed up on my Twitter feed. If you haven't heard the song, it is Bowie's song that kind of acknowledges mortality. That's been read into plenty, but at least I've had something to listen to from the get go.

I really can't mention 2016 without mentioning Kanye's new album. I adored The Life of Pablo by Kanye West. I've written about Kanye already and recent events have shown some interesting turns in his persona, but Pablo gave me a lot to identify with and lean on for strength. Also, just go ahead and lump his concert in there because I'll remember that little trip with Grace for years to come.

I actually saw quite a few concerts in the second half of my year. After I saw Kanye, I also got to see MC Lars, a longtime favorite of mine. He was every bit as nice as I could have hoped and the show with Mega Ran and mc chris was high octane and unique.

This year I had the habit of getting tickets to concerts as Christmas presents, the final show I went to was a Christmas show from Trans Siberian Orchestra. They make an incredible spectacle, but the highlight for me was when they had a tiger change into a dragon change into an attack helicopter. I still don't know why they did that, but that has yet to affect the degree to which I care.

Film

The next thing I loved was the new Coen Brothers movie Hail, Caesar! which really shouldn't be a surprise. It's on HBO at the moment, and that's good because it's hard to explain all the reasons I like this venture without ruining a lot of things, not by killing plot points, just really cool and odd jokes. If nothing else, the sheer amount of incredible names should speak about why I'd be so thrilled by a period movie like this.

Sandwiched between the album and the tour, I binged some serious TV and I have to say, Netflix had a good years. Bojack Horseman has been going strong for a few years, but that blend of flippant humor with serious and potent commentaries on sensitive issues (i.e. mental illness, abortion, nontraditional relationships) is something that I can't get enough of. Also, I didn't expect to like Stranger Things, but there are few things made that so perfectly fit with what I live. I know I'm not from the 80s, but I don't care. Just as I liked the setting of Hail Caesar! I adore that aesthetic that permeates so many things I love.

The other source of TV that entered my life was HBO. My family never paid for the cable subscription. We still don't. But I subscribe to HBO Now so I've gotten to enjoy what they've put out, and it has been some wonderful stuff. I enjoyed Westworld and Veep but my favorite has to be Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. I'm impressed with the sheer variety they can produce and there has yet to be a time I could not get out of a funk with those three magic letters.

Games

Before I say anything here, I must acknowledge that I've been playing a lot of older games this year. For instance, I've only recently gotten into Skyrim. Not the remastered on on consoles. The PC version. No special mods. I just finally found what makes it fun. If you want to know what has had a major emotional impact, look to Spec Ops: The Line. It incredibly subverts expectations to show what war is like. To be fair, I haven't been to war. I probably never will. But I definitely can understand the stress there. That's just the beginning of my list of older games I liked this year.

Another thing that was incredibly cheery was Stardew Valley. I love that game. I have never experienced something that so easily made me feel comfortable. When I think about the gameplay itself or the story, there's nothing all that impressive. But the loop always makes me feel productive and relaxed. When paired with the incomparable soundtrack, it's basically a digital blanket I can cuddle into.

In terms of time sinks, there has been little that could compare in my life to Sid Meier's Civilization series, and Civ VI is not an exception. I don't know if I like it as much as IV yet, and I certainly haven't spent as much time with it. But its on its way. That could easily get to be my most played game. Full stop, It's going through the roof as we speak. Twenty hours in a week, thanks to winter break. Life is sad sometimes.

Tech

I need to give a shout out to my phone here. I'm on my own phone plan now, and I adore the phone I have for it. While I don't have the brand new OnePlus 3T, that wasn't announced until a few weeks after I got mine, but I don't care. I love my OnePlus 3. In our society, our phones have gotten to be an expression of who we are. My iPhone was fine, but I think this represents who I am better. It's a smart buy when considering value. It's unique because no one else has it. That's my problem with Apple products. They all blend in. They look nice, but boring. Where my phone is concerned I want to feel unique, and it is.

Person
I can't mention Stranger Things, Westworld and trashing on Apple without thinking about the person who spurred me to watch it, my wonderful girlfriend Allie. I try to keep an air of professionalism with this silly blog and not directly address her, but she is definitely my favorite thing about 2016. I'm not an easy person to be with, but she seems to be sticking it out. She leaves for Canada soon, but I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have her. She makes me happy. I love her, and she's my favorite thing of the year.

Unlocked and Untethered: A Minory History of my Gadgets and View on Technology

For a long time I was a champion of closed systems. Growing up with a Nintendo GameCube and a GameBoy as the only computing devices in my house (we got our first actual computer when I was in the 7th grade), so systems that are locked down seemed perfectly natural to me. I had one device that did one thing really well, (I will fight to the death for GameCube vs PS2), and that made perfect sense to me.
Fast forward to when we did start to get more open systems (hand me down HP laptop, iPhone 3, etc.) and suddenly I had access to hardware and software that could do a lot of things that I didn't understand. Even with these minor gains I can remember arguing with a good friend of mine about why the core concept of PC gaming was stupid. Those were for work.
Because the family computer wasn't great, and those were dark days for both PC and mobile gaming I couldn't really get my fix there. I'd say that started to change when I got my first computer, a Dell Inspiron 13 with a whopping 1TB hard drive. With no GPU and a Core i3 I couldn't exactly burn up games (the first Assassins Creed made it overheat even on low settings), but I had a semi-open OS to mess around with, and, more importantly, easy and unimpeded internet access.
That's when I started to educate myself. Maybe I just have bad luck with iOS, but my iPhone was less than friendly to me, and so I started investigating the alternative, Android, which I prefer to this day. I shortly wanted a tablet and got a Google Nexus 7, and that blew me away. If my iPhone didn't work, the most I could do was turn it off, kill apps, and hope for the best. I never had any major problems with my Nexus, but even if I just wanted to try and goose out more performance, there were actual programs I could get, changes I could make, and I could even go alter code if I so desired. I liked it so much that I switched to an Android phone when my chance came up.
My next tech adoptions were my old friends, game consoles, specifically a 3DS and PS4. I knew I liked PC gaming pretty well by that point, or at least the idea of it, but the ability to play the games I wanted to (the big AAA games) still required better hardware than I could afford. I don't regret those purchases, but my time in college has thoroughly transformed these views.
Going into my Freshman year at Mines, I had every current console but the Xbox One, and got a phone upgrade to an iPhone 6+. Those were huge mistakes. Obviously PC and a smartphone are basically essential for being productive in the modern atmosphere, but I also got to the point I just prefer having one or two devices that do whatever I want, and you know what? My PC will do that, but I can't say the same about a console or an iPhone. I've already explained my gripes with Apple, so I won't say anything there, but let me focus on the entertainment side of my needs. What platform has every streaming and digital purchasing system available? PC. What system can provide the cheapest and largest quantity of games? PC. What else can PC do? Whatever I want. I can do my work there, I can mess around with math and science stuff, whatever.
That's why I got rid of all of my consoles but my PS4 (which I only keep because I can use it for streaming in my dorm, unlike my Chromecast (that's a room problem, not the Chromecast). Honestly, I'm considering just getting a long HDMI and occasionally getting up to hit play on my laptop. I'm back to Android because I can mess with it however I want (and because my OnePlus 3 is literally incomprehensibly good value to me). I guess this is half just a reflection about how I went from a console devotee to wanting a one-stop shop, beyond just my growing preference for game genres that function better on PC, but I don't actually expect anyone to make it this far anyway, so whatever. Go Microsoft and Google, I guess?

Far From the Tree

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, but what about tech giant Apple? While control of the company shifted through the years, there is little denying that Steve Jobs was the father of the computer trailblazer. Since Jobs passed in 2011, a lot of people have expressed concerns with the viability of the corporation. I think Cupertino has proven their ability to continue, but I have no desire to use their products.
Before anyone tries to tell me about all the advancements that iOS has made to get some of Android's nicer features in the last few years, I know, I've had an iPhone 6 Plus for a year now. It drives me insane. Everything works fine, that I can admit. Besides the sale of major security flaws in iOS to foreign powers (which were patched, in all fairness) and iPhone 6's bricking themselves in the course of one week, there hasn't been any major issues. Both of those problems only affected small crowds, and most iOS users had no concern. iOS is stable and... boring.
Android does occasionally have its own minor issues that need fixing, i.e. the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching fire, but the problems are infrequent and the ecosystem is so much more exciting. I don't understand the argument some people aim at Android that it is hard to use. All of the core functionalities are the same between each other, hell, even the same as iPhones/ Beyond that, there's a whole world of greater possibilities because of the open source nature Android is built on.
I confess that I'm not a computer scientist, or even a coder, myself, but having attended a STEM school and lived with two Computer Science majors I've learned that the near-universal opinion is that Android is easier to program for.
Not only does every manufacturer make their version of Android a little bit different, there are icon packs available from Google Play to change the look easily, and the easy ability to flash different ROMs onto your phone to do a total overhaul of how everything looks and functions. If you even want to make it look like iOS for a lot cheaper, it isn't that hard.
Whatever you want, Android has it. Want a phone that does the basics and connects to Facebook? You can have that for less than $50. Want a unique device that no one has seen before? There are literal hundreds. Want a top of the line experience? Look at Motorola, Samsung, LG, ASUS HTC, Sony, OnePlus, ZTE, or even Google's new Pixel phones. I just got the OnePlus 3 which has a top tier chipset and 6 gigabytes of RAM to the iPhone 7's 3. My phone is $400 brand new.
There are a great deal of options within Android phones to distinguish their relative quality based on what matters to you. Want the best camera? Look at Samsung. Performance for a price? Look to China. Neat features? LG has module phones. Design? That's a matter of taste and there are a lot of options, I'd personally point to Motorola. The only significant factor to distinguish between the current iPhone and the previous model has typically been an aesthtic change, and usually a reasonable one. The iPhone 7 can't even claim that.
Beyond the omission of a headphone port (I still call crap on that), it looks almost identical to the 6S. I'll give credit where credit is due: Apple makes aesthetically immaculate products. I'm a sucker for aluminum bodies in electronics, and Apple definitely popularized the idea with their iOS and Mac lines. But anyone's iPhone looks exactly like every other iPhone in the same generation. There's no personality there.
Our smartphones are the most intimate devices in our lives, and I think they should also be an expression of who we are. That's why I really like Google's marketing line "be together, not the same." The Android community is held together in a way that benefits everyone, but allows for uniqueness of both software and hardware. I could talk about how Android always has features that Apple hasn't stolen, sorry, innovated yet. That's almost worth its own post.
Let me be clear: I want Apple to thrive, and even have the Mac market grow, even though I can hardly stand to use them. The reason for that is competition will drive my preferred operating systems (Windows and Android) to incorporate new features and better performance. Multiple large competitors benefits consumers and drive innovation as a whole. I don't think Apple is doing enough to compete right now.
They continue to make mediocre phones that they sell for a premium price, and I can't invest in that. I also won't tell off anyone who does. I couldn't imagine spending near a thousand dollars for something as low spec as a MacBook or an iPhone, but it makes sense for some people. If you want one ecosystem to do literally everything you need, Apple isn't a bad place to look. Be ready to pay. Nothing is user expandable or modifiable so you need to be prepared to pay for memory, RAM and ROM alike. Be okay with your device being indistinguishable from your friends. None of those are things I can live with. I won't pay more for a product that does less. If you want to, feel free.

Sounds Good

With the rise of MP3 players and smartphones, more people are listening to music on the go than ever before. While Steve Jobs influence is beautiful to see, it’s not necessarily as beautiful to hear. If you love music, and use Apple earbuds to listen to YouTube, then you are selling yourself short.

Let me begin by explaining my background and bias on this. I initially started making an effort to get higher quality sound after a friend harassed me about it for long enough. When my JVC marshmallow earbuds broke, I splurged and bought the baseline Koss PortaPro headset (which I would recommend for out of the house use against ANY set of cans) for $39. This essentially opened the floodgate.

I noticed a difference in the sound and truly enjoyed it; however, I didn’t think enough of the different experience to really care, though. So when those broke, admittedly because of me, I went back to some marshmallows. I made a bad choice.

While it didn’t sound bad, I couldn’t tolerate it. I had become acclimated to hearing clear mid range notes, crisp high’s, and a bass range that didn’t distort the rest of the spectrum. So when I couldn’t even make the difference between instruments, I went slightly crazy. I’m not honestly someone with a devotion to music, but I have learned to appreciate music on a much higher level by becoming an audiophile.

I’m a also a cheapskate, so let’s talk about how to get the best music experience, for a price that is not unbearable. Two pieces of initial advice, first avoid boutique headphones, and second, you don’t really need the best.

Let me start with the hardware. While I do give Beats by Dre credit for making people kind of care about sound, I also despise their abuse of consumers lack of knowledge, and the trend of celebrity endorsed headphones they started. Unless you find them for an incredible sale, or image really, really matters to you (they make a fine accessory for a certain sense of style), do not buy Beats, Skullcandy, Sol Republic, or anything in that vein. One specific reason for this is sound distortion. Boutique headphones usually have a slavish devotion to bass, but at a sacrifice. While the bass will usually have plenty of punch, it can actually ruin the mids and highs, which typically weren’t great to begin with. For the price, overall sound fidelity is deplorable.

I would also caution against certain other premium headphones. For instance, Bose, Sennheiser, Klipsch, and Audio Technica all make some really, really high end headphones that will absolutely give you the best listening experience possible, but is it really worth it? Even as someone who advises better sound quality, I would also argue these have poor price vs. performance. While those $300 Bose headphones will sound good, and certainly better than Beats at the same price, is it really better enough to justify the difference? I’ll discuss this more later, but for my money I’d say no.

Here’s what I advise: get headphones with an msrp of $40-$100, look mostly to Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Koss, and possibly Sony or JVC, and look for sales. On Cyber Monday a couple years ago I purchased some Audio Technica ATH-m50’s for a rock bottom price for at home use (they have a ten foot cord), but my focus here is out of the house, but let me get back to my focus, out of the house use. Currently, I have a new pair of Koss PortaPros and a pair of Sennheiser CX 686G running earbuds for when I don’t have space for headphones; I love my headphones, and they can get small, but sometimes they just can’t get small enough.

What’s great about PortaPros is they come with a limited lifetime warranty (I lost my first warranty card), and Sennheiser has really great build quality and sound quality for the price. Being as these are for out-of-the-house use, they are also remarkably comfortable, as a bonus. As a fair warning for Koss, they do look a little weird, for anyone concerned with appearances.

Now for the music itself. I won’t go into the technical details about meanings of this, but the measurement for sound quality is kbps. The higher the number, the better. Neither songs bought on iTunes, or listening to YouTube is ideal. Sound files from iTunes run around 256 kbps, and there is a wide variance for YouTube videos, though seeing below iTunes levels is, in my opinion, standard. CD’s, a thirty year old technology, almost always runs at 320, the maximum for the MP3 format. Numerically speaking, CDs provide a much more clear and true sound, which you grow to hear over time. Above that, there are lossless files, the most popular of which is flac, but there aren’t yet any practical phones or music players capable of using the files, and they’re also big.

So let’s stick to MP3. What’s the most affordable way? I would advocate using CDs. Here me out. Basically any computer can burn CDs, and if you’re really stuck on iTunes, it even has a ripping function built in. And if you’re into classic rock, you, your parents, and even your grandparents likely even have some ready on hand.

Retailers often have the album at a price that equals, or falls below the digital sale price. If you’re okay with going used (very low risk with albums), then Amazon has a great selection. Sometimes you can get the full album for less than the price of a few songs on iTunes. If you want to keep the CD, then you have a ready made backup. If not, then you can give it to someone as an unexpected present, and who doesn’t love that?

Do you need to do this for decent music? No, not really. However, if you want a far better listening experience, then low cost options are readily available to crank the experience up a notch.