December 30, 2025 • 18 mins
Want to hear something weird about the best tech we used in 2025?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hey Taken, Hey Ray, do you want to hear something
weird about my favorite bits of tech that shaped my year?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I would love nothing more than that, right, please, and
thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
So I'm going to start with the game, and the
game that I have spent the most time in this year.
I thought it was going to be Bulatro at one point.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Same Actually mine still is Bulato on every single platform.
I've even gotten into the E range, which is I
can't remember what it means like when you've gone to eternity.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Essentially amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
So for anyone listening who's not familiar, Bilato is effectively
a roguelike poker game that you can play on every
platform anywhere.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I also Taro in there too a little bit.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
It's got a lot of good elements in it. If
you know the basics of poker, you can very easily
pick it up.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
It is highly addictive.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
You could also play it offline, which is fantastic, so
I've ended up playing it in remote parts of Australia
when I've got time.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
To kill It's.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, I highly recommend, But that is not the game
that I spent the most time playing this year.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Wait, I will just quickly say, because you brought up blatro,
so I can't help it say this is a quick
little pitch.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Number one.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I played it on a lot of planes for that
exact reason being offline number two. You know, if you
like poker, what if that? But you can have like
five King of diamonds, yes, and then upgrade them?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
What if that?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
It's like poker on steroids.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
So if you like big number, go up. And there's
haptics like making your little lizardbrego BurrH. You'll love balachro anyway.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Number go up, Brango brew that is bilatro.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, I actually, you know, I should have just made
that my thing. But that's a little extra little taste
for you guys.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
The game I've actually spent the most time playing this
year is Tiny.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Books, Tiny Bookshop.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Okay, you got me onto this game only a few
weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Actually that I got on the.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Train and I spent a full weekend playing this and
it's some extra days and it's delightful.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So I played this when the demo was released earlier
this year, earlier this year, maybe last year, and I
just spent so long throughout the year whenever I was stressed,
whetherever I needed something to calm me down, just checking
to see if the full game had been released, because
the demo was so gorgeous, and then it was and
I haven't been able to stop playing.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
And so this is like the video.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Game equivalent of a cozy blanket and a cup of
tea and a seaside breeze. It is delightful for anyone
who's not familiar with tidy bookshop. You have a tiny bookshop.
It's a cozy, narrative management game.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
I would say, yeah, I agree, because you've got it's
like a little caravan, so you can go to different
locations and you set up your bookshelves and there's definitely
management to it because different locations, different genres will do
better at that location.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah, you are running your little mobile second hand bookshop
in the small coastal town of books and Bury by
the Sea, and every day you choose what location that
your little tiny bookshop trailer will show up at. So
if you're at the beach, they really love, you know,
fantasy novels and kids' books do well there. You know,
(03:19):
if you go to the waterfront, you know they love
the travel books. And you can purchase little decorations for
your trailer that will give you bonuses for selling certain
types of books. But my favorite, my favorite part of
it is that all the books are real books.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yes, all the books are real books. And on top
of that, and this is where I have fun flexing.
It's like, my favorite element of the game is like
when you're selling during the day, people come in and
they'll like, just buy stuff, right, But occasionally a little
event thing will pop up where someone needs your help
with a recommendation and it's working out, and someone will
be harder than others. They'll be like, I like this
sort of thing. I just read this and like that,
(03:57):
and you've got to then go through your bookshelf and
work out what would be the best possible recommendation. And
if you're a big reader, it's so much fun because
it like inherently it's a lot easier And I got
so much enjoyment.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
From that because all the books are in genres, so
you've got you've got dramas, you've got classics, you've got
fact books, you've got thrillers, you've got you know, your
crime books. So you will have someone come up and say, oh,
I'm after a classic. Who done it? And you're like, well,
I've got an Agatha Christie or Home. It's so good
and there's so many Stephen King books I.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Thought of you immediately will so many Stephen Kings.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And what I love too is that sometimes you might
have less of a certain genre in that area because
you know it doesn't usually track, but someone will want
Let's see, someone wants a crime book.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
You're like, shit, I didn't pack a lot of crime books.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
However, something like an Agatha Christie might count as a
classic and exactly have it and it's so fun.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So you can stock your shelves with a lot of
classics and it covers a lot of genres if you're
running low.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
I found that pretty early.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Yes, it's very very good.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I also, I really do genuinely love the things that
you can decorate the bookshelf with. There's like a grimoire,
there's candelabras and ivy and lanterns, and when it comes
around to different seasons throughout the year, you can decorate
your little tiny bookshop seasonally to match different festivals that
(05:22):
are being held in the town. And all the relationships
that you built with the townsfolk and you know, doing
your little errands for them and helping them out. It's
just an incredibly wholesome, community focused game that rewards anyone
who has spent their life reading way too many books.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yes, it's so beautiful, and I love that there's also
little mysteries that you can solve, and you've got a
little board that if you have that, you have your
cork board up and sometimes if there was like a
weapon or whatever it happens to be.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
That'll give you bonuses to the crime genre.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
And I love also, and this is the min maxo
in my brain, that there are some decorations that will
be for example, plants that will stack against each other,
and so the more plants that you have, if you
then have this other certain item that gives you bonuses
for how many plants you have.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
It's amazing. This it scratches my brain in so many ways.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
And when you give someone a good recommendation, you just
you run on the inspiration of that for a period
of time and you sell way more books than you
otherwise would. The only problem I have with this game,
the one singular problem is that sometimes the characters are
after a recommendation. You recommend them something you know, I know,
(06:39):
you know, we'll scratch their itch.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
They're asking for something with a little bit of romance
in it.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You recommend them I don't know, Little Women, and they're like, oh,
this isn't romantic.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
And it's like, excuse.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You clearly did not grow up with the Christian Bale
version of that.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
You know what, I would argue, I know what you're saying.
I think that's definitely happened to me where I recommend
something and it was actually straight up wrong. There was
a couple it was a bug I think, like I'm
just I know that it was wrong. But the Little
Women one, I will have to say, I don't think
that's a romance book.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
You don't think Little Women's a romance.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And also Louisa may Alcott, the author, was actually forced
to put in a romance for Joe by the publisher
so she would have her and just a fit at
the time a romantic interest that it was that. Also,
I'm sorry Teddy slash Lourie. He never loved her. He
wanted to be in that family. They would have killed
each other. And then he wanted to be in the
(07:35):
family so bad that he goes for the younger sister.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
That is not a romance. He wanted to be her
or to possess her.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
That's not love. I'm sorry, Taken.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I internalized from a very early age and as a teenager,
what kind of dirt bag man constitutes romantic interests?
Speaker 4 (07:49):
You know this?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Okay, yes, I understand.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
But the other examples I have from this is Troy
Dyer Ethan Hawk's character in Reality Bites, which we rewatched for.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
He's awful.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
Yeah, writer in both of these instants.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Correct, Yes, it's the writer makes terrible romantic choices cinematic
universe of my youth.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, except she did.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Tell Christian it's really funny about this. This is such
a tangent. I didn't realize this is Little Women podcast Now.
I'm actually from a young age from loving that movie
and hating Christian Belle's character so much that I've had
a lifelong hatred for him as an actor, even when
I know.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
He's really good. I'm like, no, if you lurry Teddy,
he's a ship.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Taken taken anyway Bookshop. I think after a year with
the Whoop, learning how to optimize my life basically.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
There's another episode about that. So look at yes.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Tiny Bookshop reminded me once again that tech doesn't need
to be about optimization. Sometimes I just need to chill out?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Was it not with those bookshels? Did you not optimize?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Look? I organized my bookshelps very specifically.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
You knew that I would when you said that, dare
you there are ways that you can play the game.
It's playing a game taken, Yeah, it's playing a game.
And also if you read all of those books, you
know them better for the recommendations, So that's you do.
Definitely something that's on my list. All the books on
those shelves that I haven't read it.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I was obsessed with feeling so smart. Also, I would
say there's also like newer books that I didn't expect
to be on there. I'm like, that's cool, Like that's cool,
that's there.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Aubrey Gordon's book is on there. I was like, oh, hello, okay,
no good.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I wrote down recommendations too.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
I'm like, oh, I've been meaning to read that old
that actually sounds right because they'll give you the little blurb.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
I'm like, yeah, sounds amazing, actually sounds really lovely. So yeah,
Tiny Bookshop one hundred percent my game of the Year.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, honey, well, I would say it's up there.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
For me.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
My top three is like blat true, just but that
this is a multi year long obsession, probably a toxic relationship.
Tiny Bookshop and also similar to you when it was
in early access. I've been playing just an aggressive amount
of Haities two and then that did drop properly this year,
and I've been loving that as well.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yes, he's great, that's fair.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I haven't played it yet, probably if I had at
my edge out Tiny Bookshop, but I'm really feeling Tiny
Bookshop right now.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I might even play some more after we do this.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I've got Steam running in the background while we're recording this,
like I'm playing.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
It right now.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Well, do you want to hear about one of the
gadgets I've been playing with most of the year.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Yes, tell me about one of your gadgets of the year.
I actually just realized it's completely related. This is really funny.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's the Kindlescribe like the latest.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
So we're still on reading. We're still on reading.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Okay, Okay, So I've been thinking about upgrading my I
think it's probably twelve years old Kobo that no longer
lets me download pds, so sell me on the kindlescribe.
Why is it one of your highlights from this year?
Speaker 4 (10:59):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I think it will depend on what you're after with
a kindle, because I don't know if this is actually
necessarily what you want, but it might be.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
So.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
What I've really liked about it is that, as the
name suggests, is that you can write on it, and
it's got an upgraded pen from the cream generations, and
the whole thing with this one is it's meant to
feel like writing on paper, and it's as close too,
I think for like a digital one. Having used lots
of you know, Apple pens and previous generations of the
Kindle and other sorts of things where you could write
(11:27):
with like a digital writing, this is definitely the best.
It feels delightful. It's got a built in like little eraser.
You just have to like press and it'll like swap
to the eraser or the rubber as it were. It
has a notebook in there, so you can actually just
use it to write notes if you have.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I'm going to ask because I use my iPads a
note as a notebook.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
So I feel like i'd prefer to use a Kindle
for that.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Except it's quite a bit bigger.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
I know we've always been big fans of the iPad
Mini in particular, but this is quite big, like it
is like notepad size.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
So that's where I think it might have lost you.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Well, this is what I'm using at the moment, like
I'm using the more full sized iPad at the moment.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
As any fine, then it's maybe slightly beg to I'd
have to measure them out because it is quite big.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
But yes, you can write notes. And what I love
about that.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Is there some instances for work or just ef I'm
just jotting down ideas or writing where I do want
to be able to write, but I do then want
to have the digital copies of that transferred into text.
It does that and can do it into ped I
love that like that. It's so convenient and somehow even
understands my truly like doctor handwriting.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So that's been really good.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
But in addition to that, if you are a hipster
at Uni from say two thousand and four that wants
to write in the margins for some girl that you're
trying to impress, you can do that in the actual
books that are on your kindle as well, I do still.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Do that, even though I've never been a hipster at UNI.
But it's because I do do a lot of panels
that Writers festivalus. So when I am researching, when I'm
reading the books, I will write down my.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Thoughts as it's there.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
That way I can easily flip back to it when
I'm writing out my final questions.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
So this feels good, Yeah, totally.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
I mean I make fun of like toxic dudes from
my UNI days that would do that. I've just written
in this for you so you can learn something. But
I absolutely do the same thing. I like write notes
in books as well.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's all about intention take and now we're doing it
to impress you. We're doing it because we really are.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Like that, Yeah, exactly. So it's been really good for
that reason, I really enjoyed it. There's like different pens
that you can use that you can select with the
different sizes of things like that. I would say though,
when it comes to purely reading, what I have always
always loved Kindles for for years is the fact that
I can have a lot of books in one place
and it's really light and accessible for when my brain
(13:44):
wants like different options of what I want to read.
I love a physical book. I will never not love
physical books.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
But sometimes I just want those extra options or don't have.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
The handbag space.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Whatever it is, This is probably for me personally a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Too big for what I want to be using Forten
every day for enjoyment.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
The screen real estate. It's fantastic and I think they'll
be super useful.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
But other kindles you can size up and down the
font anyway, so I would still go back to something
like the oast is all, you know, one of the
other small ones personally for my every day. So again,
it really just depends what you're after, fair enough, Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So my last thing that I want to talk to
you about, okay, is the gadget that I thought would
improve me as a person, but I was wrong about it.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Okay, I'm intrigued.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Please.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I decided that twenty twenty five was going to be
the year of me learning how to solve a Rubik's cube. Okay, yes, yeah,
So in order to achieve this goal, I purchased the
Rubik's Pulse.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
What is that? Wait?
Speaker 4 (14:48):
I thought of you.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Ruby's cube is just like a little five dollar thing.
What there are levels of cubes.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Look, you think Rubik's cube.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
You think the normal one with the stickers you can
peel off and cheat with you. You know that that's
what you think I intended.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
No, this is like a modernized, electrified version that gamifies
and speeds up your solving ability, it says. So it's
got led lights on each face that flash different colors,
and it's got timed puzzle modes, and it does hardened
memory games where the cube lights up in a sequence,
and it's got all these like speed training modes. The
(15:23):
tracker quickly you rotate the faces, so it detects your
rotation speed, your accuracy, how long you spent hesitating. It
makes noises at you to count down and alert. It's
got success tones, it's got failure tones.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
There's this challenge mode.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
It's just like some of it's like, here's the scramble,
solve me before the light hits red.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Like it's I understand this is great for some people.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
I thought it was going to be great for me.
Yeah no, my brain absolutely rejected this. I learn about myself.
I do not solve puzzle well while lights are flashing
in my face and times are yelling at me, and
the cube is beeping like it's diffusing a bomb, and
the pressure is ramping up and the colors are turning red.
I was just panicking and losing track and fumbling and
(16:11):
sweating and muttering to myself. And it turned my fun
little logical puzzles solving exercise into probably what could be
best described as a sensory overload carnival ride.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
See, I would absolutely hate this. I'm always I've been
always someone that.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Has like steered clear of like Ruby's cubes, any kind
of like a lot of puzzle games. I'm really just
not very good like some yes, but weirdly some no.
And I just get frustrated and I just get really
down on myself because it is naturally not good at them,
even in the video game space like the old school
like mist and Riven, Yes, terrible at them. There was
like The Witness that game was really huge, maybe like
(16:51):
seven or eight years ago. Like I tried it and
I just got angry and I feel like a little
cube that's mocking me, flashing lines and as little noises.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I would just probably chuck it out a window.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
The reason that this has made it onto my list
of Tech of the Year, however, it does exactly what
it promises, one hundred percent delivers. It does what it
says it will do. It is very good at what
it does. This is great tech for someone. Yeah, it's
just that that's someone is not me.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah, like it sounds like it would be good if
you even kids or whatever that I have solved a
Ruby's Cube or then whatever reason that you're in it.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
I'm actually shocked that.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Whoever makes Ruby's Cube found a way to modernize it
them honestly, exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
They decided to innovate.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
They innovated in a way that didn't include AI somehow,
sure in the year of twenty twenty five, and they've
made a product that I think a lot of people
will really enjoy. And I'm just going to get myself
in an old school Rubik's Cube and take my time
in a more relaxed environment to learn.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Is that thing already out of your house? Are you
going to donate it? Did you throw it off a cliff?
Speaker 4 (18:03):
What happened? No?
Speaker 1 (18:04):
No, it's sitting on my dining table mocking here, and
I still look at it and think I'm going to
give you another go, And then every time I turn
it on, I go ah, I don't like, so feel.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Free to give it a go when you're visiting.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Oh absolutely not. And that's it for this episode of
Weird Tech.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
If you have any weird tech that you would like
us to cover, or if some of you your tech
is being.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Weird we want to hear about it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
You can hit us up on all social media platforms
at weird Tech Media. We're a Weird Tech Media production
and a proud member of the iHeartRadio Network. This episode
was edited by the podcast Butler. Please remember to subscribe
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next episode, and until next time, stay weird
Hey Taken, Hey Ray, do you want to hear something
weird about my favorite bits of tech that shaped my year?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I would love nothing more than that, right, please, and
thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
So I'm going to start with the game, and the
game that I have spent the most time in this year.
I thought it was going to be Bulatro at one point.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Same Actually mine still is Bulato on every single platform.
I've even gotten into the E range, which is I
can't remember what it means like when you've gone to eternity.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Essentially amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
So for anyone listening who's not familiar, Bilato is effectively
a roguelike poker game that you can play on every
platform anywhere.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I also Taro in there too a little bit.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
It's got a lot of good elements in it. If
you know the basics of poker, you can very easily
pick it up.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
It is highly addictive.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
You could also play it offline, which is fantastic, so
I've ended up playing it in remote parts of Australia
when I've got time.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
To kill It's.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Yeah, I highly recommend, But that is not the game
that I spent the most time playing this year.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Wait, I will just quickly say, because you brought up blatro,
so I can't help it say this is a quick
little pitch.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Number one.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I played it on a lot of planes for that
exact reason being offline number two. You know, if you
like poker, what if that? But you can have like
five King of diamonds, yes, and then upgrade them?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
What if that?
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Right?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
It's like poker on steroids.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
So if you like big number, go up. And there's
haptics like making your little lizardbrego BurrH. You'll love balachro anyway.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Number go up, Brango brew that is bilatro.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, I actually, you know, I should have just made
that my thing. But that's a little extra little taste
for you guys.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
The game I've actually spent the most time playing this
year is Tiny.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Books, Tiny Bookshop.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Okay, you got me onto this game only a few
weeks ago.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Actually that I got on the.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Train and I spent a full weekend playing this and
it's some extra days and it's delightful.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So I played this when the demo was released earlier
this year, earlier this year, maybe last year, and I
just spent so long throughout the year whenever I was stressed,
whetherever I needed something to calm me down, just checking
to see if the full game had been released, because
the demo was so gorgeous, and then it was and
I haven't been able to stop playing.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
And so this is like the video.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Game equivalent of a cozy blanket and a cup of
tea and a seaside breeze. It is delightful for anyone
who's not familiar with tidy bookshop. You have a tiny bookshop.
It's a cozy, narrative management game.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
I would say, yeah, I agree, because you've got it's
like a little caravan, so you can go to different
locations and you set up your bookshelves and there's definitely
management to it because different locations, different genres will do
better at that location.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah, you are running your little mobile second hand bookshop
in the small coastal town of books and Bury by
the Sea, and every day you choose what location that
your little tiny bookshop trailer will show up at. So
if you're at the beach, they really love, you know,
fantasy novels and kids' books do well there. You know,
(03:19):
if you go to the waterfront, you know they love
the travel books. And you can purchase little decorations for
your trailer that will give you bonuses for selling certain
types of books. But my favorite, my favorite part of
it is that all the books are real books.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Yes, all the books are real books. And on top
of that, and this is where I have fun flexing.
It's like, my favorite element of the game is like
when you're selling during the day, people come in and
they'll like, just buy stuff, right, But occasionally a little
event thing will pop up where someone needs your help
with a recommendation and it's working out, and someone will
be harder than others. They'll be like, I like this
sort of thing. I just read this and like that,
(03:57):
and you've got to then go through your bookshelf and
work out what would be the best possible recommendation. And
if you're a big reader, it's so much fun because
it like inherently it's a lot easier And I got
so much enjoyment.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
From that because all the books are in genres, so
you've got you've got dramas, you've got classics, you've got
fact books, you've got thrillers, you've got you know, your
crime books. So you will have someone come up and say, oh,
I'm after a classic. Who done it? And you're like, well,
I've got an Agatha Christie or Home. It's so good
and there's so many Stephen King books I.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Thought of you immediately will so many Stephen Kings.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And what I love too is that sometimes you might
have less of a certain genre in that area because
you know it doesn't usually track, but someone will want
Let's see, someone wants a crime book.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
You're like, shit, I didn't pack a lot of crime books.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
However, something like an Agatha Christie might count as a
classic and exactly have it and it's so fun.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So you can stock your shelves with a lot of
classics and it covers a lot of genres if you're
running low.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
I found that pretty early.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Yes, it's very very good.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I also, I really do genuinely love the things that
you can decorate the bookshelf with. There's like a grimoire,
there's candelabras and ivy and lanterns, and when it comes
around to different seasons throughout the year, you can decorate
your little tiny bookshop seasonally to match different festivals that
(05:22):
are being held in the town. And all the relationships
that you built with the townsfolk and you know, doing
your little errands for them and helping them out. It's
just an incredibly wholesome, community focused game that rewards anyone
who has spent their life reading way too many books.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Yes, it's so beautiful, and I love that there's also
little mysteries that you can solve, and you've got a
little board that if you have that, you have your
cork board up and sometimes if there was like a
weapon or whatever it happens to be.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
That'll give you bonuses to the crime genre.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
And I love also, and this is the min maxo
in my brain, that there are some decorations that will
be for example, plants that will stack against each other,
and so the more plants that you have, if you
then have this other certain item that gives you bonuses
for how many plants you have.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
It's amazing. This it scratches my brain in so many ways.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
And when you give someone a good recommendation, you just
you run on the inspiration of that for a period
of time and you sell way more books than you
otherwise would. The only problem I have with this game,
the one singular problem is that sometimes the characters are
after a recommendation. You recommend them something you know, I know,
(06:39):
you know, we'll scratch their itch.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
They're asking for something with a little bit of romance
in it.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You recommend them I don't know, Little Women, and they're like, oh,
this isn't romantic.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
And it's like, excuse.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You clearly did not grow up with the Christian Bale
version of that.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
You know what, I would argue, I know what you're saying.
I think that's definitely happened to me where I recommend
something and it was actually straight up wrong. There was
a couple it was a bug I think, like I'm
just I know that it was wrong. But the Little
Women one, I will have to say, I don't think
that's a romance book.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
You don't think Little Women's a romance.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And also Louisa may Alcott, the author, was actually forced
to put in a romance for Joe by the publisher
so she would have her and just a fit at
the time a romantic interest that it was that. Also,
I'm sorry Teddy slash Lourie. He never loved her. He
wanted to be in that family. They would have killed
each other. And then he wanted to be in the
(07:35):
family so bad that he goes for the younger sister.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
That is not a romance. He wanted to be her
or to possess her.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
That's not love. I'm sorry, Taken.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I internalized from a very early age and as a teenager,
what kind of dirt bag man constitutes romantic interests?
Speaker 4 (07:49):
You know this?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Okay, yes, I understand.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
But the other examples I have from this is Troy
Dyer Ethan Hawk's character in Reality Bites, which we rewatched for.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
He's awful.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
Yeah, writer in both of these instants.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Correct, Yes, it's the writer makes terrible romantic choices cinematic
universe of my youth.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, except she did.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Tell Christian it's really funny about this. This is such
a tangent. I didn't realize this is Little Women podcast Now.
I'm actually from a young age from loving that movie
and hating Christian Belle's character so much that I've had
a lifelong hatred for him as an actor, even when
I know.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
He's really good. I'm like, no, if you lurry Teddy,
he's a ship.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Taken taken anyway Bookshop. I think after a year with
the Whoop, learning how to optimize my life basically.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
There's another episode about that. So look at yes.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Tiny Bookshop reminded me once again that tech doesn't need
to be about optimization. Sometimes I just need to chill out?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Was it not with those bookshels? Did you not optimize?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Look? I organized my bookshelps very specifically.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
You knew that I would when you said that, dare
you there are ways that you can play the game.
It's playing a game taken, Yeah, it's playing a game.
And also if you read all of those books, you
know them better for the recommendations, So that's you do.
Definitely something that's on my list. All the books on
those shelves that I haven't read it.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
I was obsessed with feeling so smart. Also, I would
say there's also like newer books that I didn't expect
to be on there. I'm like, that's cool, Like that's cool,
that's there.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Aubrey Gordon's book is on there. I was like, oh, hello, okay,
no good.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I wrote down recommendations too.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
I'm like, oh, I've been meaning to read that old
that actually sounds right because they'll give you the little blurb.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
I'm like, yeah, sounds amazing, actually sounds really lovely. So yeah,
Tiny Bookshop one hundred percent my game of the Year.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, honey, well, I would say it's up there.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
For me.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
My top three is like blat true, just but that
this is a multi year long obsession, probably a toxic relationship.
Tiny Bookshop and also similar to you when it was
in early access. I've been playing just an aggressive amount
of Haities two and then that did drop properly this year,
and I've been loving that as well.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yes, he's great, that's fair.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
I haven't played it yet, probably if I had at
my edge out Tiny Bookshop, but I'm really feeling Tiny
Bookshop right now.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
I might even play some more after we do this.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
I've got Steam running in the background while we're recording this,
like I'm playing.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
It right now.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Well, do you want to hear about one of the
gadgets I've been playing with most of the year.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Yes, tell me about one of your gadgets of the year.
I actually just realized it's completely related. This is really funny.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
It's the Kindlescribe like the latest.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
So we're still on reading. We're still on reading.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Okay, Okay, So I've been thinking about upgrading my I
think it's probably twelve years old Kobo that no longer
lets me download pds, so sell me on the kindlescribe.
Why is it one of your highlights from this year?
Speaker 4 (10:59):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
I think it will depend on what you're after with
a kindle, because I don't know if this is actually
necessarily what you want, but it might be.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
So.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
What I've really liked about it is that, as the
name suggests, is that you can write on it, and
it's got an upgraded pen from the cream generations, and
the whole thing with this one is it's meant to
feel like writing on paper, and it's as close too,
I think for like a digital one. Having used lots
of you know, Apple pens and previous generations of the
Kindle and other sorts of things where you could write
(11:27):
with like a digital writing, this is definitely the best.
It feels delightful. It's got a built in like little eraser.
You just have to like press and it'll like swap
to the eraser or the rubber as it were. It
has a notebook in there, so you can actually just
use it to write notes if you have.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I'm going to ask because I use my iPads a
note as a notebook.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
So I feel like i'd prefer to use a Kindle
for that.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Except it's quite a bit bigger.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
I know we've always been big fans of the iPad
Mini in particular, but this is quite big, like it
is like notepad size.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
So that's where I think it might have lost you.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Well, this is what I'm using at the moment, like
I'm using the more full sized iPad at the moment.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
As any fine, then it's maybe slightly beg to I'd
have to measure them out because it is quite big.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
But yes, you can write notes. And what I love
about that.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
Is there some instances for work or just ef I'm
just jotting down ideas or writing where I do want
to be able to write, but I do then want
to have the digital copies of that transferred into text.
It does that and can do it into ped I
love that like that. It's so convenient and somehow even
understands my truly like doctor handwriting.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So that's been really good.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
But in addition to that, if you are a hipster
at Uni from say two thousand and four that wants
to write in the margins for some girl that you're
trying to impress, you can do that in the actual
books that are on your kindle as well, I do still.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Do that, even though I've never been a hipster at UNI.
But it's because I do do a lot of panels
that Writers festivalus. So when I am researching, when I'm
reading the books, I will write down my.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Thoughts as it's there.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
That way I can easily flip back to it when
I'm writing out my final questions.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
So this feels good, Yeah, totally.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
I mean I make fun of like toxic dudes from
my UNI days that would do that. I've just written
in this for you so you can learn something. But
I absolutely do the same thing. I like write notes
in books as well.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's all about intention take and now we're doing it
to impress you. We're doing it because we really are.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Like that, Yeah, exactly. So it's been really good for
that reason, I really enjoyed it. There's like different pens
that you can use that you can select with the
different sizes of things like that. I would say though,
when it comes to purely reading, what I have always
always loved Kindles for for years is the fact that
I can have a lot of books in one place
and it's really light and accessible for when my brain
(13:44):
wants like different options of what I want to read.
I love a physical book. I will never not love
physical books.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
But sometimes I just want those extra options or don't have.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
The handbag space.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Whatever it is, This is probably for me personally a
little bit.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Too big for what I want to be using Forten
every day for enjoyment.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
The screen real estate. It's fantastic and I think they'll
be super useful.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
But other kindles you can size up and down the
font anyway, so I would still go back to something
like the oast is all, you know, one of the
other small ones personally for my every day. So again,
it really just depends what you're after, fair enough, Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So my last thing that I want to talk to
you about, okay, is the gadget that I thought would
improve me as a person, but I was wrong about it.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Okay, I'm intrigued.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Please.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I decided that twenty twenty five was going to be
the year of me learning how to solve a Rubik's cube. Okay, yes, yeah,
So in order to achieve this goal, I purchased the
Rubik's Pulse.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
What is that? Wait?
Speaker 4 (14:48):
I thought of you.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Ruby's cube is just like a little five dollar thing.
What there are levels of cubes.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Look, you think Rubik's cube.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
You think the normal one with the stickers you can
peel off and cheat with you. You know that that's
what you think I intended.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
No, this is like a modernized, electrified version that gamifies
and speeds up your solving ability, it says. So it's
got led lights on each face that flash different colors,
and it's got timed puzzle modes, and it does hardened
memory games where the cube lights up in a sequence,
and it's got all these like speed training modes. The
(15:23):
tracker quickly you rotate the faces, so it detects your
rotation speed, your accuracy, how long you spent hesitating. It
makes noises at you to count down and alert. It's
got success tones, it's got failure tones.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
There's this challenge mode.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
It's just like some of it's like, here's the scramble,
solve me before the light hits red.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Like it's I understand this is great for some people.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
I thought it was going to be great for me.
Yeah no, my brain absolutely rejected this. I learn about myself.
I do not solve puzzle well while lights are flashing
in my face and times are yelling at me, and
the cube is beeping like it's diffusing a bomb, and
the pressure is ramping up and the colors are turning red.
I was just panicking and losing track and fumbling and
(16:11):
sweating and muttering to myself. And it turned my fun
little logical puzzles solving exercise into probably what could be
best described as a sensory overload carnival ride.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
See, I would absolutely hate this. I'm always I've been
always someone that.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Has like steered clear of like Ruby's cubes, any kind
of like a lot of puzzle games. I'm really just
not very good like some yes, but weirdly some no.
And I just get frustrated and I just get really
down on myself because it is naturally not good at them,
even in the video game space like the old school
like mist and Riven, Yes, terrible at them. There was
like The Witness that game was really huge, maybe like
(16:51):
seven or eight years ago. Like I tried it and
I just got angry and I feel like a little
cube that's mocking me, flashing lines and as little noises.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I would just probably chuck it out a window.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
The reason that this has made it onto my list
of Tech of the Year, however, it does exactly what
it promises, one hundred percent delivers. It does what it
says it will do. It is very good at what
it does. This is great tech for someone. Yeah, it's
just that that's someone is not me.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah, like it sounds like it would be good if
you even kids or whatever that I have solved a
Ruby's Cube or then whatever reason that you're in it.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
I'm actually shocked that.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Whoever makes Ruby's Cube found a way to modernize it
them honestly, exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
They decided to innovate.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
They innovated in a way that didn't include AI somehow,
sure in the year of twenty twenty five, and they've
made a product that I think a lot of people
will really enjoy. And I'm just going to get myself
in an old school Rubik's Cube and take my time
in a more relaxed environment to learn.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Is that thing already out of your house? Are you
going to donate it? Did you throw it off a cliff?
Speaker 4 (18:03):
What happened? No?
Speaker 1 (18:04):
No, it's sitting on my dining table mocking here, and
I still look at it and think I'm going to
give you another go, And then every time I turn
it on, I go ah, I don't like, so feel.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Free to give it a go when you're visiting.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Oh absolutely not. And that's it for this episode of
Weird Tech.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
If you have any weird tech that you would like
us to cover, or if some of you your tech
is being.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Weird we want to hear about it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
You can hit us up on all social media platforms
at weird Tech Media. We're a Weird Tech Media production
and a proud member of the iHeartRadio Network. This episode
was edited by the podcast Butler. Please remember to subscribe
on your favorite podcast platforms so you don't miss the
next episode, and until next time, stay weird
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