Carl Pullein has a great tip about buying the best computer you can afford, something I’ve also learned after so many years patting myself on the back for finding “bargains”. An entry-level phone on a great deal is still an entry-level phone. A budget laptop with 50% off is still a budget laptop. The phone will slow down, making even viewing your emails and sending messages laborious. And that laptop will soon be taking five minutes to boot up, so that hitting your daily writing target becomes a frustrating experience.
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One of my favourite alternatives to the traditional new year’s resolution is #my3words, popularised by Chris Brogan who’s been doing them since 2006. The concept is simple. Come up with three words that will help guide your choices and actions throughout the year. Of course, the finesse in this approach comes from how you go about deciding on those words. Chris has several tips of his own, including: Don’t make it a phrase Make the words actionable Avoid “fancy” words Choose 3 words ONLY Some time ago I did #my3words and found it to be very useful.
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Notion seems like such a good tool. The idea of it has always been appealing to me, and it’s no surprise it’s taken off. But… I’m struggling to find a fit for it in my life. I could move all my files over to it, but other than everything being in one place, what would I be gaining? Simplenote seems better for keeping basic notes (in Notion I could lay them out more attractively, but so what?
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I’ve recently been playing Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 on the Switch. It’s a great nostalgia hit, and a fun way to pass the time. As I got deeper into the game I wanted to Google the finer details of it. Stuff like the best ways to manage queue times, what the optimal price for a ride is, and park design inspiration. I relied on Google all the time when I played Minecraft.
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A long time long ago I played an amazing game called Baldur’s Gate. Ever since then, I’ve always had an itch to play something similar, and that itch was finally scratched when I recently bought Divinity: Original Sin 2. After playing The Last Of Us and Days Gone I needed something different, and this was very different. First things first, if you’re going to get this game, beware the long loading times on console (I played it on PS4).
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This is a good article about how frustrating the modern web is. So many websites nowadays are riddled with ads, requests to disable ad-blockers, newsletter sign-up forms (typically with some “free gift” for doing so) and the latest scourge of the modern web, the cookie opt-in. I appreciate that there are certain legal reasons for why websites now ask your approval to use cookies, but some of these pop-ups are frankly ridiculous.
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In my review for The Last Of Us Part II I concluded it with a snotty comment about the latest game I was playing, Days Gone. Well, let’s just that that comment hasn’t aged well… When I saw those early trailers for Days Gone I was, like many people, really enthusiastic about it. But then came the bug reports and the average reviews. I turned my attention to other games. Giving it another look in 2021, I noticed a lot of comments all saying the same thing; it’s an amazing game… once you get past those first few hours.
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As previously mentioned, 2020 was a weird gaming year because I spent much of it playing Modern Warfare and Minecraft. So, before I (eventually) get a PS5 I want to spend some time catching up on a few games I’ve missed. 2021 will be the year of the single-player game! The first game of 2021 is The Last Of Us Part II. I’ve recently completed it, so here’s some thoughts. Usual warnings about spoilers!
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Creating something is more often about hacking together a half-finished, half-decent deliverable and tweaking it until it runs. Then you can think about turning that half-decent into something great. I recently came across that observation on a blog, and it struck a chord because I’ve inadvertently been doing that for the last few months with my new Etsy shop. When I started it back in September I didn’t know what to expect, whether I would even get a sale out of it.
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So, time for a little 2020 review. This should be a laugh. I won’t babble on about Covid too much because what else is there to say at this point? The first lockdown feels an age ago and my observations at the time seem even more optimistic now. People just want things to get back to normal, warts and all. As someone who’s basically been working as usual since that initial lockdown, the real challenge has been trying not to get annoyed with how flexible people can be when it comes to what they consider “essential” travel, or how so many get offended that a global pandemic dare get in the way of their ability to buy those first-world luxuries.
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