cool shit | Vinny Horgan

humans. some are cool, some not. but there is one undeniable truth, we are an extremely fascinating species, capable of doing some really insane stuff. i try to appreciate all areas of life, but i’m definitely biased towards anything that has to do with computers.

i’ve got one big problem: i don’t store anything. on my computer there is pretty much nothing, all my projects are saved on github and that’s about it. i don’t have photos, memories of any kind. i dread thinking about how many things i’ve lost in the past, cause i never made it a habit to save, store, create memories. as a perfectionist, every new idea is better than previous ones.

i recognize this idea barely makes any sense, since all generated ideas are based off previous ones. i have this thing: once something is old, it’s not good enough. i want to end this, everything i interact with is part of my journey, i want to document.

here is a list of whatever i think is cool, enjoy!

people

generic list of people who inspire me and i’m glad they exist/ed.

programmers

mike pall: a robot from space, the creator of luajit, an insane inspiration.
jonathan blow: absolute genius, game developer, philosopher, all around brilliant guy. i really enjoy his youtube videos and hot takes.
john carmack: creator of doom and quake, not much to say…
fabrice bellard: creator of ffmpeg, quickjs, tcc, qemu and many more. what can i say? a legend.
chris sawyer: created one of the best games ever in x86 assembly… anything to add?

philosophers

friedrich nietzsche: one of the greatest men to ever live, has inspired me so much i could not even try to explain it.
albert camus: some of his ideas have brought some peace in my life.

projects

any cool project goes here (mostly programming), there are… many. i’ll focus on the more niche ones.

love2d: this little game framework has been on my mind since i discovered it, just a genius piece of software. i’ve always been inspired by its minimal design and just overall “vibe”.
pico8: bought this, never made a game with it. i find it barely usable, but has it had an impact on me? absolutely. having all the tools you need to make a game in one single tiny package? i’m very intrigued…
raylib: games programming library by a great guy, have made a couple PRs, learned a lot from the code.
devilutionx: modernized diablo 1 with friends during covid? hell yeah.
crafting interpreters: great web book about programming languages.
sokol: really cool header only c libraries.

blogs

just some i like to read every now and then:

zserge: really cool projects, we share a similar “minimal” philosophy.
phoboslab: brilliant programmer, awesome projects and write-ups!
rxi: i have no idea who this guy is, but i’d like to meet him one day. from him i learnt that code is art. his code is amazingly crafted and pure. i have read most of his repositories, just amazing.
100r: this guy and i are connected in some weird way…
red blob games: amazing algorithm visualizations and explanations!
fabien sanglard: juicy retro tech writeups.

music

if you meet me, there is a high chance i’m listening to music in that precise moment. any time of the day i’ve got headphones on. i know hundreds of bands, i’ll just list the ones who’ve meant the most.

thasup: this young italian producer has meant a lot to me over the past years. he’s helped me go through some tough times.
officina della camomilla: this italian indie duo has brought me so much joy.
bob dylan: not much to say here either…
radiohead: so much passion, so real.
arctic monkeys: when you’re sad there is nothing better than them.
bob marley: nobody like him, “just a chill guy”.
coldplay: if i had to choose one band to go see a concert it would be them.
dayglow: contagious smile, quirky videos, great music.
mgmt: a couple boys with a dream.

youtube channels

i watch too much youtube, sometimes something actually interesting comes up:

exurb1a: this guy probably does drugs, but i’m so glad he does. every single one of his videos makes me question my place in the world, but in a good way.
cgp grey: genius topics, amazingly executed.
tom scott: all kinds of videos, all interesting, with a touch of british…
sisyphus55: chill music, chill voice, existential topics, hell yeah!
unsolicited advice: the best advice you’ll ever receive.
crash course: well made courses for many subjects.
computerphile: really well made computer science videos!
soft white underbelly: sometimes hard to watch, very painful and real interviews, thanks mark.
veritasium: more mainstream, still great.
luke smith: bald open source supporter, loves philosophy and rants in the woods.
javidx9: bearded wise c++ teacher.
the cherno: passionate videos about programming.
jdh: really cool (and autistic), computer videos.
ben eater: crazy good teacher, breadboard computer series is top content.
salvatore sanfilippo: the redis’ creator vlog channel.
healthy gamer gg: greate men mental health content.
low level: only this guy can create c videos which appeal to so many people.
noclip: extremely high quality documentaries about video games and the process behind them.
ahoy: this guy is an absolute artist, super interesting retro topics.
watt: hyper-passionate indie game developer, love his game.
primer: biology simulations? i’m in.
people make games: well made interviews and essays on games.
tantan: the energy this indie developer gives me is unmatched!
the 8-bit guy: i love this old man, he made me fall in love with retro tech.
thin matrix: chill indie dev, loves plants.
lgr: more tasty retro reviews, by the best host.
nakey jakey: the funniest youtuber, by far.

movies

haven’t seen too many, some are just great:

pulp fiction: i don’t know much about filmmaking, but man!
american psycho: much more than just the memes…
the wolf of wall street: stocks, drugs, margot robbie… this is perfect.
fight club: an insane exploration of the male psychology.
taxi driver: what loneliness can do to men, who create their own little world.
goodfellas: the best mafia movie?
la vita è bella: a great italian movie about world war 2
scarface: the dream of every boy, from the bottom to the top.
the social network: i despise zuckerberg, but this was great.
heat: al pacino and de niro…
la la land: i enjoyed every minute of this musical, and the ending…

shows

not a big fan of watching tv, but some things just need to be seen!

breaking bad: one of the greatest shows of all time for a reason.
the end of the f***ing world: i found this absolutely brilliant, just pure art.
dexter: insane character, so easy to emphatize with him and understand his reasoning. the feeling of loneliness and all.
the midnight gospel: an absolutely brilliant animated show, approaches the human problems in a very special way.
mr robot: crazy story, the computer scenes are also accurate!
rick and morty: love it or hate it, there is undeniable genius behind the writing of this show, exploring the vast world of human fantasies.
normal people: one of the best representations of real relationships.

i haven’t seen those, but really want to some day:

black mirror: tech dystopia? i’m in.

games

i used to love video games, but now i only like to make them. every now and then though… some gem, just pops up. i won’t list pokemon, minecraft and so on for obvious reasons.

firewatch: this game made me realize that art can be anything. not just paintings and poems, it’s about the emotions…
outer wilds: no rules, no tutorial. just explore, use your imagination. so primal yet satisfying.
a short hike: i have no idea how many times i played this game, but i’d play it just one more time.
hotline miami: pirate games, but not this one please. it just hits different, especially level 3.
hyper light drifter: amazing art, meaning. the developer has a crazy story.
papers, please: looks silly in the beginning, but then…
slay the spire: this is just fun.
disco elysium: haven’t finished it yet… just brilliant.
factorio: maybe more mainstream nowadays, but i just had too much fun with it.
the last of us: one of the few “big” games which left a mark.

these are the ones i actually played, there is more which i really admire, even just mechanically, but have not had the patience to play just yet. these include:

caves of qud: oh my god, this is a programmers dream, just have to work on my attention span…
dwarf fortress: two legendary brothers, make a legendary game, just not for me.
noita: every single pixel is physically simulated… what??
rain world: extremely advanced entity ai, what more do you want.
shenzen io: all of his games look insane, but this one in particular.