Happy Birthday to Me – The Renegade Coder

Today is my birthday, and I'm celebrating by sharing the usual annual post. In the past, I've covered topics like anime, programming languages, and music, but this year I want to do something a bit more silly. In 2023 for my 29th birthday, I'm sharing the 29 things I'd only say if I were kidnapped. Let's get to it! 29 Sweet Little Lies Each year for my birthday, I like to put together one of these list posts. Given that I'm 29 this year, I figured it's time to retire the long format and shift to a literal list. That should save me a ton of time and make the post itself more enjoyable. At the end, I'll commentate on some of my favorite items in the list. At any rate, here are the 29 things I'd only say if I were kidnapped (and yes, this is proper grammar. I checked.): Mami is best girl Football is my favorite sport I love to use C++ Country music is the best genre of music I wish I could grade more assignments I always look back fondly on my digital logic labs course Naruto is the best Shonen If I could travel anywhere, it would be Utah Schools should really give more exams I really hope the flyers win the cup soon Digimon is better than Pokémon If only it would snow more I really love the sound of someone chewing food Genji is my favorite hero in Overwatch Maybe Thanos was right My diet should really include more sugar and alcohol I love doing the same walk every day Engineering is the best job in the world I really wish health insurance costed more We need more billionaires like Elon Musk Driving is so awesome; I wish we had even more roads (preferable of the toll variety) It's too bad everyone cares about code readability Fossil fuels are incredibly based If possible, I would love to receive even more scam calls Andrew Tate really is the Top G Smurfing is a valid way to play competitive video games The average dude could definitely beat a pig in a fight Every game lobby should be like old-school Modern Warfare lobby I'm a morning person; please talk to me right when I get up And that's it! I had a lot of fun with this one as I thought about all the things I'd never say. And as someone doing ethnographic research, it's kind of cool to define myself by the things I don't like. Anyway, in the next section, I'll highlight some of my favorites. Then, I'll call it a day! Discussing Favorites When I look over the list above, just about everything is tied to some key memory. For instance, #6 alludes to a course I took in undergrad that changed the trajectory of my career. In fact, a few of these items played an important role in who I am today, such as #17, #18, and #21. That said, I think one of my favorites is #27, which stems from a recurring argument with a couple of my friends. If you ever get the chance to debate which animals you could beat up, don't! That conversation is about as toxic as a game of Monopoly. That said, I have some really funny memories debating the possibility of beating a pig in hand-to-hand combat. You already know my take on it. Another one of my favorites is #6, which brings me back to a time when I was working on hardware. The class was so brutal that I ended up becoming a software guy. Though, the single most important event in that trajectory had to be the time I spent a day writing code to spin a motor only to find out the motor was dead. Never again will I waste my time like that. Outside of those two, most of these just get at my interests and personality. For instance, I am absolutely not a morning person. Likewise, I can't stand billionaires, repetitive activities, or smurfs. Oh and for the record, Chizuru is best girl. At any rate, I think I'm going to call it on this post. The short list was a nice change of pace! Now, I don't have to worry about the topic like 3 months in advance. That said, if you liked the old style, here are a few you can browse: The 28 Best Programming Languages of All Time 27 Best Anime Backed by Science 26 Songs That Made Me Who I Am Today Otherwise, take care, and I hope I see you again for my 30th!