A Year in Review and Theory Posts
Hey friends,
This is my last scheduled newsletter of the year as we run full-tilt into the holidays. I thought it'd be fun to look back some on this year and reflect on some highlights.
A Year In Review 🔭
Some Random Stats 📈
I don't think numbers always make for good metrics in measuring a life, but can show some interesting trends. So here's some numbers from my year:
- 10 projects contributed to
- 3 personal projects launched
- 8 articles written
- 50 newsletters sent
- 1 webinar delivered
- 658 Github contributions
- 1 confirmed conference speaker slot
- 1 recorded narration
- 2 published pixel art illustrations
- 4 experiments published
- 29 fiction books read
- 2 non-fiction books read
My Best Book of the Year 📖
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
An eerie short story that blends fairytale and horror. The story follows a kid who is incredibly bored — that is until a strange man flies into his window and invites him to the Holiday House, where you can have anything you want and it's Christmas every day. Barker's imagination is delightfully disturbing and wildly creative. This is a great pick for anyone who loves their horror creepy, but not terrifying. It's shorter length ensure it never overstays it's welcome.
My Best Movie of the Year 🎥
Wicked
We don't see many movies in the theater, but our family all went to see this one. I'm a sucker for musicals and this one is VERY good — we've had the soundtrack on repeat in our house. Like most musicals, it's an experience best shared so that you can sing lines at* the people you care about.
(Yes, if it's ME singing, it's AT someone, not TO someone.)
My Best Game of the Year 🎮
It's been awhile since I enjoyed a game as much as this one. I was continually entertained at all the little touches — every perspective warp and every little twist the mechanics take. It's not very long or very expensive and evokes a similar energy to that of Portal 2. I'd recommend it if you like a thinky, creatively curated experience.
Some Takeaways
A return to art. It's not reflected in these numbers, but this year was the first time in a long time I felt that creative spark about art. Not wanting to let that slip away, I'm making efforts to work it into my normal schedule.
More consistency but less cohesiveness. I've published less writing this year, but maintained a consistent habit of writing. The thoughts are THERE, I just need to let them coalesce or aim smaller. Last year I had 3 major articles that led to the creation of a webinar and now a conference talk. Producing a new talk is not the goal, but rather spending more effort on going where the freak energy leads me.
Launched my first ever game. It's such a small, silly little thing, but Run Papa Rara was incredibly fun to make. Games are a wonderfully cross-discipline effort, and those solo game devs truly are Renaissance Men and Women! While making it I dabbled into pixel art and animation, improved my understanding of code and physics engines, and was reminded just how bad at music I am 😅 (I'll probably leave that category to people who know what they're doing).
See y'all in the new year! 🥂
Interesting Web Bits 🍿
- Simon Willison's advice on dealing with time entries.
- I'm not much for chess, but Gukesh D has become the youngest chess world champion in history ♟️
- I'm not sure I'm THIS hardcore about mouseless navigation... There's also a [browser] attempting to achieve the same thing.
- With the announcement of Nightreign I'm reminded of the highly entertaining unhinged theory posts from Throne of Salt: Part 1 and Part 2.
- A thought experiment about the need for small databases.
- For the food lover in your life, why not get them a gyroscopic roasting rig. 😂
- A fun little typewriter simulation.