My Favorite Cars in GTA V

Mar 25, 2026

In the wee hours of yesterday morning, I finally completed the main storyline of GTA V on my Xbox Series S. I still have plenty of side quests to do, but all of the core missions are done. It's a bittersweet feeling. It was an incredible game, and its magic stems from its awesome array of vehicles. So, here are my top eight picks for my most beloved cars in the game:

• Dinka Blista Compact: This thing is super fun. I think the Honda CRX is super neat, and its quirky design and nimble steering make it a delightful little nugget. It has some good customizations available for it, too.

• Karin Futo: What a goofy car! This is like the weird cousin of the Blista Compact. I enjoy modding it and tormenting it. I think it also looks nice.

• Dewbauchee Massacro: Talk about a beautiful car. While the last two cars rely heavily on goofy charm, this one is just AWESOME to drive. When I want to go fast, this is the one I gravitate toward.

• Karin Asterope: I am a big fan of the Camry, especially the current generation (2025). The Asterope is clearly based on the Camry, at least by my estimation. It's reasonably performant and handles well. That's about all I have to say.

• Obey Tailgater: Michael chose well. This thing is lovely. I decked mine out in a wretched gold finish. It looks pretty awful but it's sure BLINGY. It's a cool car, simple as that.

• Bravado Buffalo S: Franklin also has a baller ride. I painted this one midnight purple and maxed it all out. This thing is lowered all the way, baby. I'm a big fan of the Charger, and this is clearly based on it. It's delightful!

• Karin Dilettante: This Prius of a car is likely my favorite in the whole game. I fucking love this thing. It's so wretched. Mod it a bit, though, and you're off to the races. Kind of... It's still not very fast. I just love it. The fact that it's a hybrid with a V8 under the hood is amazing and reflective of Rockstar's witty sense of humor.

• Declasse Asea: Odd pick, I know. But hear me out... Take it to Los Santos Customs and it's pretty competent! It's just a Chevy Aveo, and I love it for that. Subcompact sedans are so silly and neat. I dig it.

That's about it! Thank you for reading, dear reader. Hopefully, my inconsequential opinions retained your interest, and I'll catch you guys in the next one. Byeeee!!!

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The Life and Times of John

Feb 25, 2026

Hi, friends. I'm just putting out a quick life update for today. I do not have a ton of interesting things to write about off the top of my head, but I have been plenty busy. Here's what's new:

• First, I have been working a LOT of hours. I'm a college student, and I'm hanging around 25-30 hours of work each week. I work most days, and I love it! The position I have is a basic one, but I'm happy with the pay and love my coworkers. It's a good time, and I love getting paid… So very much.
• When I'm not at work, I've been enjoying Grand Theft Auto IV. I recently beat Alan Wake and the DLC, so GTA has become my new Xbox 360 game of choice. Not gonna lie, I totally drove around and willingly got in police chases last night for several hours. It was so much fun. I also love figuring out what the cars are based on. Good stuff.
• Next, the Zorin OS 2015 MacBook Air from my previous post is still going strong! It turns out that it was missing the webcam driver, but a random thread helped me install it. Aside from that, it has worked flawlessly and has been a note-taking juggernaut. Not too shabby!
• School has been less great. I'm rather bored with it. I yearn for summer break when I can work more hours and not have to worry about schoolwork. This has honestly been the biggest buzzkill in my life recently.
• On the bright side, I was able to do some car maintenance recently, so the Corolla's still going strong. I'm about to hit 46,000 miles on the odometer. 1.5 years and 29,000 miles later, I've had no mechanical issues since buying it used. These E210 Corollas are beasts. I just wish my LE trim had blind spot monitors. Oh well. I'm very glad that's my biggest complaint with it!

So, that's where I'm at. I'm ready for summer for a myriad of reasons, but I'm chugging along and working hard for now. Sadly, this means fewer blog posts and projects, but stay tuned!

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Linux Saved My MacBook Air

Feb 13, 2026

Several months ago, I got an 11-inch 2015 MacBook Air. Mine is the model with the Core i5, 128 gig SSD, and 8 gigs of RAM. The hardware is still pretty nice. Yeah, the screen's kind of bad and low-res. Admittedly, the lack of newer ports is a frustration. The speakers suck. It's definitely a decade-old laptop.

However, this laptop is still amazing in a few ways. For one, it's super compact and light. It's delightful how portable it is. I can throw it in a bag and forget about it. MagSafe 2 works great, and the two type A ports are handy for sure. The keyboard is solid, as it's not the infamous Butterfly keyboard. The touchpad is small but fine. Finally, it's still quite snappy! The reapplied thermal paste and SSD definitely help with this, but the biggest improvement came from switching operating systems.

Look, I love macOS. It's great on my MacBook Pro. Sadly, Monterey is the latest official release that this MacBook can run, which is a little old. Initially, I tried to install Sonoma via OpenCore Patcher, but it didn't work well. The graphics driver had a lot of issues, and bear in mind that Sonoma isn't even the latest version. It was really rough.

Linux was the obvious answer. First, I tried elementaryOS, but it struggled to recognize the EFI partition no matter what I tried. It simply didn't work, and I didn't have the patience to keep dealing with it.

Next was Ubuntu Budgie. I thought it looked good and would work nicely. Not so. Turns out that it hates the Broadcom wifi chip in this thing. The driver did not work well. Also, I had to screw around in the terminal to get it to suspend when I closed the MacBook's lid. Notice a pattern here? I do. Hardware compatibility issues were popping up at every turn.

Finally, I landed on the latest release of Zorin OS. I preferred the UI to plain Ubuntu. Once I got it installed, I was pleasantly surprised. Things just worked! No driver issues were apparent. Shutting the lid shut it off. Best of all, it was super quick! Even after installing my usual apps, it had no problem juggling Chrome tabs and doing the light work that I use this ultra-portable laptop for.

Linux is frustrating. Things don't just work. I understand why some people don't want to mess with it. But the reward was worth it. Zorin OS makes this little MacBook not just usable, but fun to use. Its shortcomings are easily eclipsed by its performance and excellent portability. It's perfect for small lecture hall desks.

For under $100, and with a little patience, a Linux-powered 2015 MacBook Air 11” is an incredible value. I can't wait to keep using it over the coming years.

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Clicks Communicator: My Thoughts

Feb 2, 2026

Recently, a product announcement piqued my interest. Behold, the Clicks Communicator! To put it simply, this is a modern, Android-powered, BlackBerry-like keyboard phone. And I want so badly to be excited for it.

Theoretically, it has everything I need: Full access to the Play Store, Android Auto, modern specs, long-term update support, and 5G connectivity.

What rubs me the wrong way is how it's been announced. I think it's odd to be taking early bird preorders without even showing a working demo of the product. Even if a refund would be issued if things feel through, a competent phone is a very hard product to make. Not having a working prototype to show us and relying on 3D models does not inspire confidence.

It's for this reason that I have not preordered. Even though early birds get a sizable discount, I don't want to gamble on a product that might have a lot of issues and I haven't even seen yet. To its credit, Clicks has released multiple keyboard accessories already, but those are a lot less involved than making a proper modern(ish) phone.

If it works well, though, then I'm all in. My iPhone 15 Pro has some great things about it, like iMessage, Mac integration, and all the perks of a flagship smartphone. The problem is that it feels like a burden to me. I don't believe that buying a product is the right way to fix your relationship with technology at all, but I do think a phone less tailored to doom scrolling could be nice.

There are a lot of unknowns, and this first-generation product could really suck... Assuming it sees the light of day. I have no doubts about the talent or expertise of the Clicks team. Hell, I've been watching Mr. Mobile religiously since 2018. It's just that there are a lot of hurdles, and I'd rather pay the premium than gamble on it.

I guess by the standards of my Risk Management Insurance class, that makes me risk-averse. But I will take the leap of faith if the Communicator makes it to production and works well enough. Even if it has some flaws, I'm still all in. I love physical keyboards and the idea of owning something unique. That said, only time will tell. Fingers crossed.

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Games I've Played Recently

Jan 31, 2026

The Xbox 360 was my childhood, and I've recently gotten back into playing it. Here are the games I've been enjoying and my thoughts on them:

• Portal 1/2: I played through both Portals on the 360, and it was a blast. I seriously think that Portal 2 is one of the best games ever made. The characters are delightful (Wheatley, my beloved) and exploring the different phases of Aperture is super cool. It's a must play for the system.
• Minecraft: This one is pretty basic. I still think console edition is awesome, though. I don't care for Bedrock.
• Terraria: I've had fun with Terraria. I haven't killed any bosses or anything yet, but mining has been fun. Great game and a cozy play.
• Mirror's Edge: What an underrated game. The visuals are beautiful, as is the music. It pissed me off on many occasions, but finishing it was so rewarding. Faith's parkour mechanics are very unforgiving, but that works in the game's favor. This game deserves a lot more love.
• Bejeweled 2: Best Bejeweled soundtrack and a lot of fun puzzles.
• Battle Block Theater: Quirky platformer with fun multiplayer. Good stuff.
• Alan Wake: I just started this one! The story is intriguing and the flashlight mechanic is really unique. I've been having a great time with it thus far.

The 360 has so many great games, so it should keep me entertained for many more years. The new Xboxes may be technically superior, but the 360 is timeless and way more interesting to me. I adore it! And seriously, these games are great. Try them out!

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What's Good?

Jan 30, 2026

Welcome to the blog! These will be bite-sized posts about anything that interests me. Think of it like a microblog. Making this 90s-inspired website has been on my bucket list, and it's incredible to see it finally materializing. This will be the start of something great. So, buckle up, because this blog is about to get crazy. Woohoo!

If you're interested, the code for this site is open source!

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