2025
2025 was worse than 2024. Even so, some stuff deserves to be highlighted.
Music
- Qobuz — Switching from Spotify to something with less AI slop has made a huge difference
- HEALTH The CONFLICT DLC — is the perfect companion to the RAT WARS. Probably my album of the year
- Sundazer — German shoegaze/grunge that sounds like MTV culture filtered through metal. Great for loud headphone sessions
- Draugveil — Romantic black metal that went viral for its album cover—corpse paint and armor in a field of roses. The AI accusations made it even funnier. The music is actually good
- Pudsey Clough Radio — Field recordings and ambient experiments curated by oppen. Perfect background for focus work
Recovery
- Not traveling internationaly — Not traveling overseas for the first year in nearly ten years. It's been nice, but I miss it more than I expected
- Doing things locally — Sending more time at home, in the office, or traveling locally has greatly improved my health and well-being
- Not buying new stuff — Leaning into a no-buy mindset—less clutter, more breathing room
Projects
- December Adventure —Eli’s chill take on Advent of Code. Do a little coding each day—no pressure, no competition.
- MORK BOG collab on DARK FORT Demake — In 2025 I had the pleasure to work with the Mork Bog team in a web/mobile demake of the solitaire version of their original game, DARK FORT. It was very fun.
- Dungeon Synth Generator — Based on the work I did in pure C for Ode to Jerdhel, I took it one step further and made a Javascript Random Music Generator, using only Oscillators.
Books
- Kōtarō Isaka — In 2025, I devoured all books I could find by Isaka. Amazing thrillers in a crazy universe.
Misc
- Hidden Sushi Joint in São Paulo — I found a hidden Sushi Joint in São Paulo called Kinki-Zushi that had the best sushi I ever had outside Japan. Pricey but worth it.
- RPGs to play with your mind — Games like Diedream and LMNL. Solo RPGs you play in your head while falling asleep. No dice, no journal, just your brain and your fingers.