Jacen's Rants
NASCAR's Playoff Format Works Perfectly (Just Not For You)
November 2, 2025
NASCAR's current playoff format has been a target of ire among fans basically since its inception. These frustrations have only gotten more intense with how the 2025 Xfinity Series championship finished. The declarations of how the system is broken or doesn't work have never been louder. The problem with that way of thinking is that the system actually works perfectly. Or, rather, whether the system works depends on what exactly you're trying to accomplish.
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Mega Evolution Prerelease Recap
September 13, 2025
We are (maybe?) entering a new era of the Pokémon TCG with the release of the Mega Evolution set, and there are some interesting cards in it. While I don't have any insight on the set as a whole yet (although I hopefully will on the long-overdue second episode of the Nerd Out Podcast if and when that finally comes out), I did participate in a prerelease event, so I can speak to what I used and what I saw.
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Jacen's IndyCar 2025 Silly Season Analysis
September 3, 2025
The IndyCar 2025 season has come to a close, leaving us with over 3 months to speculate and analyze the various driver and team changes that will take place for the 2026 season. As someone completely unqualified to do so, I'd like to provide my own analysis on the changes that have already happened and the changes that might be to come.
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Why I Haven't Calculated The Most Time-Efficient Song in Project Sekai
June 20, 2025
Back when I did my blog post discussing optimal energy use, I teased the possibility of going over a proper calculation of the most time-efficient song in the game. I never ended up doing that post because I wasn't able to find the information I wanted to do it properly. This is both an explanation and a call for help if anyone has any information that I can't find.
Read more...How was Jacen's first-ever Pokémon DLC experience? - The Teal Mask Rant
June 5, 2025
The rant I uploaded to YouTube discussing my impressions of the Pokémon Violet Team Mask DLC.
Read more...Why does Jacen hate Gen 9? - The Pokémon Violet Rant
May 31, 2025
The rant I uploaded to YouTube explaining why I dislike the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games as much as I do.
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How Good Was Classic Bandori Really? - BanG Dream! Season 1 Rewatch Reaction
May 30, 2025
Beware of "BanG Dream!" spoilers
Nostalgia can be a powerful but deceptive force. After watching Ave Mujica, I found myself yearning for the "good old days" of BanG Dream!, the musical idol franchise that captivated fans worldwide in 2017. But this begs the question: how good was classic Bandori really? Does the original anime that launched the phenomenon actually hold up nearly a decade later, or are my memories tinted by rose-colored glasses?
Only one way to find out: watch it back and chronicle my thoughts episode-by-episode, just like I did for MyGO and Ave Mujica. Join me as I revisit the origins of Poppin'Party and rediscover the "good old days" of BanG Dream! season 1, with fresh eyes and a decade of perspective.
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The 2025 Penske Rant Continued
May 21, 2025
Once again, I'd love to be writing about literally anything else, but I can't help myself. A lot has happened over the past couple of days, and I'd like to make some clarifications and additions that I didn't put into my initial post.
Read more...From Discord - The Raildex Watch Order Rant
May 20, 2025
An excerpt from Discord discussing the optimal order to watch the Raildex anime.
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The Penske Rant - 2025 Indy 500 Edition
May 19, 2025
Qualifying for the 2025 Indy 500 was incredible. We had Colton Herta's remarkable recovery after a crash during his qualifying attempt, Marcus Armstrong's own recovery in last chance qualifying after a Saturday practice crash, the climactic shootout between Dale Coyne Racing teammates Rinus VeeKay and Jacob Abel for the 33rd and final spot in the race, and Prema Racing's miraculous pole position thanks to rookie driver Robert Shwartzman.
Unfortunately, I don't get to talk about any of that.
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