MDK 2 - Probably my most played game from this disc. I loved MDK1 on the PSX, and although MDK2 is quite different stylistically (this was developed by Ubisoft instead of Shiny I think) it was still a really fun game. You got to play a level as all three characters. Me and my best friend at the time always loved the Doctor level, where you got a toaster gun and could plaster the walls with toast.

It was BioWare that did MDK2, actually! (Kind of surprising considering they're usually know for RPGs like Baldur's Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age...)

I wonder if shareware compilation CDs count as demo disks too? Much like those demo disks, they were packed with a lot of limited versions of games. I discovered a lot of DOS and Windows 95 shareware titles, actually! Some are well known (i.e. Raptor: Call of the Shadows), others lesser known (Interpose, anyone?). Either way, I had quite a lot of fun with them!

Besides this, I remember my GameCube coming with a Legend of Zelda compilation disk containing the NES and N64 titles, as well as a demo of The Wind Waker that I found myself playing quite a bit...

I have one of those cheap stick MP3 that was popular in the mid-2000s or so. Sadly, it's only 256 MB, and the music collection I randomly found on one of my computers is MUCH bigger (doesn't help that I expanded it with even MORE music, so now it's around 35 GB!). One day, I'd love to find a much more substantial MP3 player. My holy grail is a Toshiba Gigabeat S, considering that not only was it influential to the Zune's development, it's also interesting in the software side as it uses Microsoft's Portable Media Center OS. (And you can stuff Rockbox in it too, as a bonus!) I'd also love a first-gen Zune (especially since one featured in the second Guardians of the Galaxy film) and maybe a fifth-gen iPod Classic. And maybe a Zen Portable Media Center or iRiver device? (Might be going a bit too far into that rabbit hole...)

Even though our phones can serve as MP3 players, there's something about having a standalone device dedicated to playing music. Fewer distractions is one factor I can think of. And no Internet connection needed...

I've actually been in a few discussions about this, admittedly. I've seen Steel/Dragon tossed around once, and that's admittedly my personal typing. I love technology, so the "steel" part is fitting, and the "dragon" part works thanks to the fact that not only do I love dragons, my sona pilots a dragon-shaped mecha...

Over at my local arcade, we have this rhythm game called Pump it Up. Basically, imagine a Korean version of Dance Dance Revolution with the arrows being all diagonal and with a center note. The music selection mostly consists of Korean and world music, classical remixes (this is where Beethoven Virus came from!), and rock. The version we have (Fiesta 2) is much older than the current one (XX, with a possible new installment coming next year), but it's still quite fun!

I notice that a lot of the stuff I draw falls into one of two categories: futuristic anthro animals with very elaborate outfits (one of which is my avatar here!) or mechanical animals. Typically, a lot of blues are used, but there's a few exceptions.

So, here's a list of the audio equipment I have and use! (Updated on 2/22/23 to add a couple I missed the first time)

* Koss Porta Pro X: My main. I always loved the lightweight form-factor Koss had for their headphones, and it's a little disappointing no one else does this. Especially since Koss's stuff tends to be fragile. (To explain: I've gone through another Porta Pro, two KPH30is, and a KSC75x.) My hopes are that this one WILL last me a long time...
* CCA CA4: Current wired portable earphones. They've got some really good sound, but they're rusting like heck.
* JLab Epic Air (1st gen): Current wireless. Mostly used for voice calls, admittedly.
* JLab Studio (wired): While build quality is much better than the Porta Pro Xes, the sound quality isn't. Still good for playing with EQs on!
* Some cheap Monoprice one I only really use when using a certain computer. Almost the inverse of the JLab Studio in that while build quality is terrible, sound quality is surprisingly good!

My hopes are to find a good "classic-style" earbud (not IEM) to serve as my next wired portable audio listening device. I personally prefer more "open" sounding stuff since I can hear my surroundings.

Speaking of batteries, I'd go for cameras that use AA-batteries instead of the more powerful proprietary battery types. Because those will degrade and make the old camera therefore unusable. And wheather those special batteries can be found in the future is doubtable. You can get AA-batteries at every kiosk on the other hand.

Agreed! This is always the one bit that concerns me about a lot of newer electronics; will it be possible to find a battery for them in the future? 

Anyways, there's a camera we've had in our family for a LONG time, and that is the Sony DSC-S700! Dating from 2007, it's rather basic. But hey, it works rather well, and even in the days of smartphone cameras, still has its uses!



My hopes are to eventually experiment with other old digital cameras, and maybe even film. On the digital side, I found some old mini CD-RWs that would work well for a CD Mavica. And my workplace has an abandoned Canon Powershot A20 I could maybe play with for fun. Who knows, I might even try a Micro 4/3 camera too! 

Mostly Discord, admittedly. There's a few Discord servers I frequent that I've made friends in! I also have Escargot/MSN and XMPP accounts, and I need to use those more...

I'm definitely on the "wired-preferred" camp. It usually tends to be a lot faster and more reliable than most wireless technologies. Especially on the audio side, where there's zero lag between the source and the audio device. (In fact, I bought a audio dongle for my phone because the lag I got with my wireless earbuds was annoying me.) And no batteries need to be changed or charged. That being said, wireless does have its uses, especially when it comes to phone calls. When using my wireless earbuds for phone calls, it does allow for better freedom of movement. I feel like this is the only case I've seen where I will go wireless, though; anything else, I'll probably stuck with wired stuff.

The first two Paper Mario games! (Specifically, the N64 original and The Thousand Year Door.) Both games have a rather unique look that still holds up. Also, I kind of want to see the worlds of both expanded a bit too.

I admit, despite Star Wars being one of the biggest sci-fi franchises out there, I never really got into it. I'm not sure why, admittedly. Is it because the few things I did see was the sequel trilogy? (I also saw Rogue One and a couple of episodes of The Mandalorian too.) Is it because I'm scared of what's known as the "fandom menace"? Or do I like other sci-fi franchises better? Either way, I was never really big into Star Wars for some reason.

Similarly, I never really got into Game of Thrones, despite it being huge. I didn't have HBO, and I don't really delve into "serious" fantasy much, admittedly.

My most current console is a Nintendo 3DS, so I'm really behind on the consoles. Especially since there was a brief time where I was too busy to game. Eventually, though, a friend gave me their old gaming PC, so nowadays, I'm doing most of my gaming on said PC. Admittedly, with how complex consoles are getting, if I ever buy one, I might only do it for specific cases (basically, any Nintendo console exclusive, some PlayStation exclusives that don't have PC releases, or any single-player game that has a physical release since there's not many physical PC releases anymore.) The market for what I call "consolized PCs" like the Atari VCS or Steam Deck, admittedly, is pretty interesting; besides being built for gaming and having a near-infinite game library, you can also utilize them for other things too!

I was born in the mid 90s! I admit, I MIGHT be one of the first "kids who were too young for the Internet", having first gotten on in 2000 or so. As such, I was able to witness the days of personal websites like you'd see on GeoCities, as well as discover random webpages (and the occasional forum) via the Yahoo directory, as well as playing random Flash games on sites like Shockwave.com, NotDoppler, Neopets, and kids channel websites. I one time even made a very simple webpage via the GeoCities page editor. I kind of miss these days, admittedly, which is why I'm in the retro web revival communities!

As of this writing, I currently use a Samsung Galaxy S21+ (the Snapdragon version). My intent with this is for me to use it for a LONG time, maybe 5-6 years or so? Admittedly, I've been using apps that aren't web browsing, messaging, or maps less and less, so maybe I might buy a more basic phone in the future once my S21+ breaks. But even then, I think my favorite thing I've done with it is run a QEMU port on it (called Limbo) to run Windows 95! (Unfortunately, said W95 install may have broken itself somehow. I might go more ambitious and try to run Windows 98 or even XP next time!)

(I admit, I regret not waiting for the Z Flip 3, which came out a few months after the S21s did. Sure, it had a worse camera, but it looked and felt different! Also, there's the satisfaction of opening and closing the phone...)

And speaking of older phones, my first one was an LG 500G from Tracfone. It had a QWERTY keyboard, which I kind of miss, admittedly...

For me, there's one game I seem to replay a LOT, and that's the original Paper Mario for the N64. Not sure why, admittedly. Maybe it's because it's the first RPG videogame I've played in my life, and I was fascinated by it? Or the sidequests you can partake in (i.e. finding Star Bits, doing Chuck Quizmo's quizzes, Koopa Koot's favors, etc.) Or the unique visual style? Either way, this was a game I went back to a lot as a kid. And who knows, maybe I'll get back into it again one day...