About The Squishy Lab

The Squishy Lab is a website that I've been running for about 9 years now. Programming has been one of my biggest hobbies for years, and so I think it's fitting that I've set up a website to host the things I do that concern it. I honestly don't update this site super often, but it's nice to have a place to put projects that I feel are ready to be showed off to the world.

Site History

Many years ago, I stumbled upon a pair of languages called HTML and CSS. Despite having grown up with the Internet, I'd had no idea how it worked up to that point, and learning about HTML and CSS was my first foray into creating content for the web. I'd always wanted to be able to put things on the Internet for myself, but it wasn't until then that I realized that it was a lot more accessible than I'd previously thought.

After being gifted a couple of books and resources on creating webpages, I spent many of my off-hours drafting plans for my own website. I'd get home from school and write code after dinner, and spend time dreaming and sketching ideas for what I wanted it to be like.

In 2016, I finally set up a domain and started pushing my website out onto the World Wide Web. This first version of the site was… something, alright. I'm not going to upload an archive of it up here, but let's just say it was a mix between an epilepsy warning and a Graphic Design is my Passion meme. But it was the first time that I found myself able to put my projects out there for the world to see. It was a very exciting feeling, and the site has continued to be a place for that through all its iterations.

Since putting up the first iteration of the Squishy Lab, I've overhauled it several times in 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, and most recently in 2024. I like to think that the first four versions were spent trying to find the site's design, all being written in PHP and varying wildly in terms of the frontend site design.

Since 2021, however, the site design has stuck with me enough that I haven't really changed it. Instead, the fifth and sixth revisions have been more focused on building my backend skills with Ruby on Rails, and most recently with node.js.

Even now, after all these years, The Squishy Lab continues to be first and foremost a place for my projects. Do take a look around; I hope you'll find something to enjoy.

TSL: The Greatest Hits

Though I've put out quite a few projects in my time, there are some that I think stand above the rest. Click the delightfully color-coded links below to check them out!

Probably my best and most ambitious work on the site is Bananas! Empire Edition: Remastered. For a while it was the main reason people came to The Squishy Lab, and it's still one of the only things I've published that could be considered a “game”.

Another ambitious project of mine is LoshSetter, a typesetting software for my constructed writing system, Losh. Use Markdown or XML to create documents with first-class support for Losh and text formatting, and then export them to a variety of formats!

The Double Pendulum is probably my most mesmerizing project. Play with a simulated double pendulum in real time, and change any of the parameters to your heart's content! It's an interesting look into the dynamics of systems and chaos, and it also just looks really cool.

Album Recs

Arkhē by Lemm (2012)

Probably my favorite Vocaloid album ever. Lemm defines a world that is as alive as it is desolate, as chaotic as it is orderly, as human as it is artificial. Even in this cold, glassy future, memories and feelings still remain, silent as they may seem.

Material by Casiopea (1999)

One of my favorite albums for light listening. Some tracks are more energetic, some more laid-back, but all of them exude the free-spiritedness and fun that you'd expect from a band like Casiopea. Love the vibes, and I can't think of any tracks on this album I'd consider misses.

Live at the Royal Albert Hall by Snarky Puppy (2020)

On the more high-energy side of jazz fusion, I've always enjoyed listening to Snarky Puppy, and this album has some of, in my opinion, the best versions of some of their best songs. The solos and arrangements in this album are great, as always; I hope to see them live someday…

OSTERさんのCD VOL.3 by OSTER project (2021)

One of my favorite things about OSTER project is her versatility; she's able to write so many feelings and genres, all while keeping a flair of her own. 「OSTERさんのCD VOL.3」 is a prime example, featuring works ranging in genre from big-band to waltz, from jazz to J-pop and beyond.