General Update + Welcome Back
Welcome Back, and Happy New Year!
2026 is upon us (which is absolutely insane, isn’t it?), and I think I speak for a majority when I say there’s a feeling in the air - across Discord servers, Reddit subs, and social media comment sections alike - of returning. A quiet pull back toward simpler ways with tech, games, and the internet.
I feel this is far more than nostalgia talking. It’s a longing - a logical, emotional, and mental response to years of doom-scrolling, algorithm-chasing, and corporate influence and overreach. People don’t merely miss the simplicity of an MSN or IRC chatroom; they’re actively reaching out, searching for modern equivalents - and they’re finding them.
One such example is HexChat, a lightweight, but deeply customizable and powerful little IRC client that'll take you straight back to 2005.
HexChat Official Site
Going Back to Simpler Tech
It doesn’t have to be anything complicated - No flashy ceremonies or Instagram posts. Sometimes it’s as simple as realizing that the things we used to love and enjoy were never gone; we just started focusing on other things.
We’ve moved six times in five years, across multiple provinces, and in every place we’ve dragged along the PlayStation, GameCube, N64, and others. They still work. They still play their warm, iconic startup chimes. They’re ready when we are.
We’re only two weeks into this new year, and already I’ve had a good friend over. We’ve played a few rounds of Smash Bros. Melee, run some races in Mario Kart 64, and even fired up the Morph-o-Rays in Ratchet & Clank UYA.
So, What's on the Project List For This Year?
- "Welcome Back", a 'revival' of my YouTube channel starting with a series featuring simple recordings of Minecraft beta 1.7.3. No embellishments, no extras, no algorithm-matching edits. Just me, Minecraft and a mic.
Check it out --> HERE
- "Downstairs PC V2", an era-accurate rebuild of one of my family's most beloved and enjoyed entertainment systems. It's an Acer eMachines case with a later 00s board and parts, running Windows Vista Ultimate (stripped of useless bloat) and even loaded with a copy of the original system's HDD contents. We're talking everything from game saves to pictures, documents and media from 15-20 years ago. All intact and given a new home on an age-old system. We'll pick up the weird PnP controllers and play!
- Servers, hosting, web dev and more! With our move complete and a wonderful, stable place to call home, I plan to dive into all manner of nerdy projects, including dusting off some skills and ideas I haven't touched in a good long while.
Let's Hang Out & Play
Grab a controller, click into that weird folder of games that you haven't touched in 10 years, and have some fun! Feel free to share your adventures and discoveries, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment