Today is my 25th wedding anniversary. My wife hasn't discovered Bluesky yet, so I can basically say anything. Well, I will say that she's awesome and I'm a lucky guy!
Max Hoberman
@maxhoberman.com
Video game designer, founder and CEO, photographer, writer, vegetarian home chef.
Here's another fun Halo 2 fact I was discussing with one of my devs. Did you know we planned to support Clan challenges in game? You would choose an opponent, propose a day and time, then configure a custom game. That info would get sent to your opponent as a message with game details attached.
Halo in the news got us talking about Halo 2 development again at work. I was reminiscing about how I spent months modeling the interplay between matchmaking and rankings—what a complex web to do population modeling on! It's remarkable it all turned out so well (with a little post-launch tuning).
I’ve spent the last decade applying my game and UX design background to a new project: a high-fidelity, plant-based restoration of Persian cuisine. No fake meats. Just a strict protocol to fix standard cookbook chaos. The beta site is live: verdanttablecookbook.com
The Verdant Table
Classic & Regional Plant-Based Persian Cooking
verdanttablecookbook.com
I used to post Halo 2 and 3 development artifacts on Twitter. I’ve shared most of what I felt was appropriate over the years, but I'm still unearthing things. Take this email from early 2005, navigating the transition to Halo 3 and the nascent Xbox 360. It's remarkable how many features we shipped.
What's going on in Iran is absolutely heartbreaking. I know my Persian community needs every ounce of support, but words don't seem sufficient – so I made them Ash-e Reshteh.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to remember the six million lives lost to hatred. We must not only remember; we must also resolve to end antisemitism and all forms of hate and invidious discrimination. "Never Again" must be a lived reality, not just a phrase.
The ICE stories in this Reddit thread should shake every American, regardless of party, to their core. We no longer have a Constitution. This is fascism, pure and simple.
From the AskReddit community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the AskReddit community
reddit.com
My friend wrote a book, so I thought I'd pick up a copy and see what I could learn from him.
This turkey vulture flew right over my head and landed on top of our power pole. It then proceeded to survey its surroundings, without seeming to mind me walking up for a photo opp.
Two dudes discussing the inexorable march of progress towards our dystopian destiny. (Aka Matt Soell helping with edits on my unpublished book.)
I wish I'd had a real camera, but I did enjoy a much needed break—hiking in the Northern Japan Alps.
I asked Gemini to write a Dr. Suess-style poem based on Trump's blathering here, and I enjoyed the result... www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
Trump on strike of Iranian nuclear site: ‘I may do it. I may not do it.’
The president said he recently spoke with Iranian leaders who floated a visit to the White House amid ongoing conflict.
politico.com
No matter your station in life, there is astoundingly little separating you from those men in that cage behind Kristi Noem. No charges, no attorneys, no hearings, no trial. Just conjecture and brute force could be enough to justify completely dehumanizing you, too.
I wrote about the importance of "prebunking," in light of rumors that Elon Musk may have purchased $40 million in Super Bowl ads to spread misinformation about the "fraud" and "corruption" in this vital agency. I hope you will read and share asharangappa.substack.com/p/prebunking...
Prebunking Elon Musk's Super Bowl Propaganda
Perception is reality.
asharangappa.substack.com
For anyone else preferring to ignore the US news for a few days to insulate themselves from the madness, here's a bird making a hole to hide in, and a squirrel hiding in someone's else's hole, both from my yard this weekend.
More adventures in focus, with a Cooper's Hawk. This is from a couple of years back.
I did a double take when I saw my employee's sweatshirt yesterday.
An old photo, but one that I'm fond of. Getting the focus right on this was a trick!
This yellow-rumped warbler has been hanging around our yard lately.
This old Queen butterfly photo I took came up on my TV's screensaver, and I really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen. This is my favorite type of butterfly.
In their an attempt to propagate, the trees in our yard have produced a prodigious proportion of pecans, pelting our roof and peppering our yard. I think this guy is fed up with them too.
