overkill.wtf — Everything

Book title: The Courage to be Happy Author: Ichiro Kishimi Rating: 3.5/5 What a weird book. It is written as a dialogue between a "philosopher" and a "youth" (who's a bit of a dick). I read The Courage To Be Disliked a while ago, and remember that book more fondly, but in essence both books are about Alfred Adler"s worldviews. But I just resonated less with this one. Also, there is apparently a third one?? (Then again, I read this stuff for fun, and not to gain any value out of it.) Where to…

I just posted a completely new version of my /uses page, which lists all the stuff I currently use, be it my different Gaming PCs, my laptop, my handhelds, my cameras, my EDC, and more. overkill.wtf Everything I Use Everything I use for computers, writing, gaming, audio, photography, self-hosting, health, and everyday carry. I rewrote the whole thing (mostly), so go and check it out!

The very first journal entry I can find is from February 2016. Back then and for the next 9 years or so, I used Day One. In between, I tried some other systems, be it keeping plain text files on whatever computer I owned at the time or writing in paper journals with dedicated prompts. I kept returning to Day One, but always romanticized the paper journals kept by famous authors. Today I filled my first blank notebook (with yesterday's entry). It spans from June 2025 to July 2026. I didn't write…

I ended up not buying Austrian Audio's The Composer headphones after all. 2500€ is just too much cash all at once, and I can't currently justify the purchase. But that doesn't mean I didn't buy anything. In fact, I did end up splurging, but instead of paying 2500€ for one product, I spent half of that and got three (technically four) products. This website is called overkill, after all (I love writing that!). I bought: The HEDDphone D1 over-ear headphones (and a Capra strap) The CrinEar…

Nearly eight months in, I still absolutely love the FiiO M21. I carry it with me on a near-daily basis, and except when I'm sitting at my desk at home or in my car, it's the only way I listen to music nowadays. Whether I'm commuting, sitting on the couch at home, or in the office, I use the FiiO with my current IEMs of choice (more about them in a future update). A few things have changed since I originally wrote that review: I originally wrote that Android 13 bothered me on paper, but I…

Book title: All Systems Red Author: Martha Wells Rating: 4/5 If this were a one-off, I'd be a little disappointed, but knowing there are around a hundred more books in the series has me excited. Fun read. I hope the series stays as lighthearted as this first book and doesn't turn into some super serious sci-fi saga.

There's this meme about asking men how often they think about the Roman Empire. Despite being half Italian, my answer would be "not that often." Greek mythology,1 however? Far more than I'd like to admit. All that to say: yesterday we watched Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. The tl;dr version: it's great. 9/10. Also, wow, that soundtrack... I'm listening to it while typing this. The longer version: over the years, I've read several versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Different translations,…

Microsoft is bringing original Xbox games to PC theverge.com Microsoft is expanding its Xbox backward compatibility efforts today by bringing original Xbox games to PC. An early preview release will see four classic Xbox games available on PC today, as part of a bigger effort to bring more Xbox console games to PC in the future. An Xbox emulator for PC by... Xbox. Didn't see that one coming. Of course, you either need to buy the games or sign up for Game Pass. Oh, and you need Windows 11.…

I cannot stop thinking about these damn headphones. Austrian Audio The Composer | Premium Reference Headphones by Austrian Audio Rediscover your music with The Composer by Austrian Audio. Premium open-back reference headphones offering unmatched clarity and comfort for discerning listeners.

Book title: Compulsory Author: Martha Wells Rating: 4/5 Is it fair to count this as a book with only 8 pages? (It has an ISBN number, so the answer is yes!) I know nothing about the series except it has a TV show on Apple TV.

I went to a hi-fi store in Luxembourg called "L'Audiophile" today. (If you are ever in the country, they are extremely friendly, helpful and super knowledgeable. I feel they have a bias toward speakers, but they still have a good selection of head-fi products.) My original goal was to test a whole bunch of headphones with different sound signatures. While I recently got into hi-fi (see here and here), my focus was primarily on DAPs and IEMs. But I thought it was time to update my home gear and…

Book title: Livesuit Author: James S. A. Corey Rating: /5

Because I really like making Manuel suffer, I updated the /playing page too. I copied over most of what I built for the /reading page to keep the two pages consistent. Filling this "database" will be a bit trickier, though, especially for games that aren't played through Steam. For Steam games, I hook into the Steam API, so most of the backend data is populated automatically. Everything else I have to enter by hand. Even so, it's still a big improvement over the previous version, where…

To Manuel's dismay1, who originally coded this website, I updated the /reading page with Codex. I wanted to play around with the new GPT-5.6 models and went ham with Sol. They're better than their predecessors, but I still believe coding is one of the few genuinely useful applications for LLMs. As for the new features on the /reading page: Automatic daily syncing from Readwise and Audiobookshelf, the two services I use for reading and listening to books. New books and audiobooks automatically…

Book title: I Cheerfully Refuse Author: Leif Enger Rating: 3.5/5 Slow plot. It took me a while to read this. Not a lot happens, and there is barely any world building. The characters shine, however. Especially Rainy and Lark. I definitely need something faster paced now. Where to buy I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger: Bookshop

Book title: Dungeon Crawler Carl Author: Matt Dinniman Rating: /5 Where to buy Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman: Bookshop

EmuDeck for Android Just Got a New Launcher and a Ton of Upgrades retrohandhelds.gg Pivoting back to the Android side of things, a few of the more important changes in EmuDeck aren’t actually user-facing. Instead, the developer has implemented the necessary fixes to the various CloudSync-compatible forks, such as RetroArch, Dolphin, and Cemu. Good update. I tested this before it went live, and it slowly brings the Android version closer to the Linux and Windows versions. The update also…

I am done building my new home-brewed "Steam Machine" (the tower on the right of the TV). I still need to add Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas, but they haven't shipped yet. That's an easy fix. In the meantime, I am using an ASUS BT500 Bluetooth dongle and connected the device via Ethernet. The only reason I care about this in the first place is to connect my AirPods while gaming. I'm also still waiting for my FLIRC TV receiver, which will get here tomorrow. I will write more in the coming days,…

Fuck you, Polygon, for spoiling the latest six-hour episode of Critical Role less than 24 hours after its release. Kicked you out of my RSS reader, what a dick move!

You can now preorder the dbrand Companion Cube for Steam Machine. dbrand.com dbrand has officially released the Companion Cube for Valve's upcoming (very soon!) Steam Machine. It is basically a protective enclosure for the Steam Machine in the design of arguably Valve's most beloved inanimate object from the Portal series. I have no clue how dbrand can continuously steal designs like these and not get sued? The cube has vents for what dbrand calls uninhibited airflow, because apparently there…

Book title: The Ballad of Black Tom Author: Victor LaValle Rating: 3.5/5 My first Lovecraftian story, and quite a decent one. It took me a while to understand what the plot was trying to do, and since I had never read a “Cthulhu & friends” story before, some things didn’t ring a bell. But then it became fun. My biggest criticism is that it might have been a bit too short. A couple more chapters wouldn’t have hurt. Where to buy The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle: Bookshop

Game title: Forza Horizon 6 Plaform: pc Rating: 4.5/5 I am not the biggest racing game fan. That's my dad, with the racing sim gear he explicitly built to play Gran Turismo. In general, I am not a car buff. I drive an EV, and I see cars more as tech on wheels than objects of desire. Still, for the past couple of weeks, I have spent many evenings racing around Japan in Forza Horizon 6. Or, rather: driving around. Forza Horizon 6 is a racing game, and I do occasionally remember that I am supposed…

Book title: Everyone in this Bank is a Thief Author: Benjamin Stevenson Rating: 4/5 I love this series. It's a bit silly, but in the best way. Although I'd be a shitty detective, I never manage to solve the cases in advance. Also, I can never eat pistachios again... Where to buy Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson: Bookshop

A couple of weeks ago, I shared how I am planning to transform a Bazzite PC into a multimedia console. The goal was to use it both as a Steam-based gaming console and as an Apple TV replacement. With the Steam Machine rumored to be coming pretty soon, I started working on this new living room PC. The goal is to build something that would make me not regret skipping the Steam Machine, which — honestly — I doubt is for me. I want a device that needs to compete (but not necessarily outperform) my…

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Since switching over from iOS to Android (see here, here, and here), my first-gen Apple Watch Ultra is lying in a drawer. Even when I was still using an iPhone, I stopped wearing it the moment I bought a proper analogue watch. Except for when I exercised. A few weeks into this Android lifestyle, I started wondering if I want a smartwatch or fitness tracker to pair with this phone. I can't use my Apple Watch because Apple is a pain in the ass and doesn't use proper standards. I also stopped…

I added a new feature to this website: Now Playing. (It is still missing a proper RSS feed, coming soon!) Since I am a lazy fuck, I will probably not fill back in all the games I played this year. But going forward, you can track my gaming sessions and my thoughts on games. I might even start writing proper reviews?

Just finished playing through the campaign of 007 First Light. Absolutely fantastic game. This would be my pick for the Game of the Year so far. The story, the character, the game design, the gameplay. Everything fits! Can't wait for some sort of DLC.

Book title: The Fountain Author: Casey Scieszka Rating: 3.5/5 Where to buy The Fountain by Casey Scieszka: Bookshop

In a recent piece, David Pierce shared this: The Pixel 10 Pro solidified a feeling I’d been having through all of my tests: Android is a better operating system than iOS. Gemini is a useful and usable voice assistant, neither of which you can say about Siri. Android is excellent at sorting and triaging notifications, which meant far fewer buzzes in my pocket. I also got far fewer spam and robocalls during my testing, which was an unexpected but nice change — I actually started answering calls…