Brigham Skarda

I just wanted to address a seldom mentioned nuance in the comparison of the Go and C++ programming languages. Pretty much every website or forum you go to will mention that C++ is usually at least 50% faster than go. What they don't mention is the amount of extra effort that went into optimizing the C++ code over the Go code. Recent experiences have shown me that the final level of optimization that makes C++ actually faster than Go are just not worth it to a normal developer. Background To perhaps give just a little more backing to my humble opinion I thought I would briefly mention my history with Go, and especially C++ (being that an inexperienced C++ user can very easily write bad code). C++ was the first programming language I ever learned years ago. I still remember following Bucky's C++ tutorials on Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAE85DE8440AA6B83 ). Thus, it has always had a soft spot in my heart. Several years later it was the first language I was tau...

Every once in a while I go down a rabbit hole and think a whole lot more about a topic than I really should. It often has no true effect on my life other than how I see and understand the world. But even so I think it is important to think about these things from time to time. This article will present my thoughts on the importance of ownership, how we got to where we are today, and how I was able to come to terms with the current state of things. Ownership Just so it’s clear what I am talking about, ownership means that when you purchase, or otherwise obtain something, it is yours. You may do with it as you please, and no outside entity can take it from you. This is the way that things have generally been for most of human history. (There are of course many exceptions). But in our day specifically, ownership as a concept is arguably being eroded faster than any other time in history. Some have even said that we are entering a state known as techno-feudalism. Just as medieval...

Sea of Stars is a good game that is often overrated, and that can leave a bad feeling in your mouth. That pretty much sums up my feelings for it. It has beautiful art, music, and an engaging combat system. But its story is simple, and my parts of the game lack depth. Let’s get into it, and fear not, the first part of this review is spoiler free. The Artwork This is easily the defining feature of this game. Sabotage Studios answered the question “what if we adapted the pixel art of the SNES era for modern displays?” And they did it  perfectly . Bright, vibrant colors come together in every scene to instill a sense of artistic bliss. © Sabotage Studio If you are searching for a game that simply looks amazing, this is the one for you. I liked the artwork of the bosses. Every boss battle was a spectacle. I cannot praise the artwork of this game enough. The only thing I can do is just share some of my favorite screenshots. © Sabotage Studio © Sabotage Studio © Sabotage Studio The Combat...

Things have been pretty slow in my fishing life lately. Since moving up to Ogden I haven't been able to go to any of my normal spots. And if there's one thing I know about fishing, finding "the spot" is like 80% of the battle. I've gone to Pineview Reservoir a few times. The first time I caught a whole bunch, but nothing since. Today I went to Lost Creek Reservoir, and it was some of the best shore fishing I've ever experienced. The Location Lost Creek is unique in that it is several miles from any major highways, so there just isn't as much traffic. Being just over an hour away from Ogden means there are fewer people there as well. The Fishing It was a little slow getting started, but once I found out where the fish were I was catching them every 5 minutes for a good hour. In total I caught 11 fish. They were mostly cutthroat and rainbow trout about 13 inches long. But there were two notable exceptions. First,  the one that got away . It was the biggest f...

Well, I went on a small motorcycle ride last week through trappers’ loop (which was a beautiful, though short road through the mountains) thinking it was going to be the last ride of the season. And then this weekend came, and the weather was still quite nice. So, I decided to go out to Stansbury Island on the Great Salt Lake. To be honest, I noticed it on the map and because I had never been there, I wanted to see it. So, I dawned my coat at 8 am and started the drive out there. It was admittedly a little cold for comfort that early in the morning, but it warmed up later in the day. On the way there I actually got lost. Just before Grantsville I saw signs for Stansbury Park and I figured that was where I wanted to go. It was not, but it led to a little adventure of its own. Stansbury Park Stansbury Park turned out to just be a nice city park. The coolest thing there was probably their observatory. I couldn’t go inside, but it seems like they have a pretty good stargazing club. Other t...

Just wanted to give a life update since a lot has changed in the past couple months. The biggest change is my new employment situation. I'm now working as a software engineer for Borsight in Ogden, Utah. And it has been an amazing opportunity for me. It's really the best job I could have hoped for out of college. I feel fairly compensated, and I'm in an active development roll. Of course, having a real job also means that I haven't had as much time to develop my chess library or do game reviews anymore. I do intend to keep doing both of those in the future though. I've been playing mostly Sea of Stars, and Deep Rock Galactic lately. (I got to salty playing Heroes of the Storm, so I'm taking a little break from that). I haven't spent too much time in Ogden before, so it's been fun exploring a new city. The Union Pacific train station is a must see. And I've been fishing at Pineview reservoir a couple times. I also drove the motorcycle up to Rexburg Id...

Final Fantasy VII is an amazing game. I just finished playing all the way through it for the first time. And I have a lot of thoughts on it. But above all else I enjoyed playing the game and I would recommend it to others. Also, the first section of this post is spoiler free. Let's get right into it. A Landmark Game for the Genre This was one of the first RPGs of its kind made in 3D. The opening cutscene is my favorite in the series. It introduces us to a bold new world, the likes of which Final Fantasy hadn't seen before. The dramatic zoom out to see the whole city was awesome, and the game's logo flashing across the screen in sync with the music was chill inducing. 3D also brought another level of immersion into the games. The characters are now able to be much more expressive. The nuance of their movements is now an important part of the story telling. Battles are much cooler as well as the participants actually jump across the screen to hit each other. Square Enix truly...