A new format I’m experimenting with is a compilation of updates on projects outside of this blog. Expect posts like this one to arrive once each month.

Not much has been done in September; instead I’ll cover what’s been happening over the summer as a whole.

Career

This category consists of materials that aid my ability to professionally network.

It’s official: I’m no longer a mobile developer. My headline on LinkedIn changed from “Web + iOS Developer” to “Full Stack Engineer”. I thank Apple for saving my career by launching the iPhone and the App Store last decade, but I pivoted to web development years ago and never looked back. You can now stop sending me iOS engineering opportunities, thank you very much.

Annual Saga

On Spotify I started selecting songs for the 26th Year mixtape. I’m envisioning the Twenty-Sixth Annual Saga, taking place from 2020 to 2021, will have themes of triumph and hopefulness amid the COVID-19 pandemic, political unrest, and general uncertainty.

My other playlists are also available for listening on Spotify.

To learn more about Annual Saga, visit annualsaga.com.

Elsewhere in the Universe

I’m focused on queuing up posts for this blog, so I haven’t had much time to work on anything else. To make up for the sparse content I’ll share things I found over the summer that were worth highlighting.

FOCA

Former Makr UI/UX designer Jeffrey Betts does photography as a hobby, and he runs a stock photo site called FOCA as a side hustle. Jeff recently launched an app for creating social media images using his assets. The tool, developed using Svelte and Routify, can be found here: https://app.focaeditor.com/graphic/templates/

Learn more about FOCA at focastock.com.

Dom Smith and BLM

Mets first baseman Dom Smith had a comeback year in the pandemic-shortened MLB season after being outshined by NL Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso in 2019. Smith, an African-American, was put on the spotlight in a period when racial injustice became a primary concern this year.

SNY, the official broadcaster of the New York Mets, aired a conversation he had with reporter Steve Gelbs after the death of George Floyd. (Warning: curse words are censored out, but they let the N-word pass the language filter. Why, FCC?)

During the season Dom Smith had an emotional press conference after hearing news of the events in Kenosha, Wisconsin mid-August. This sparked a league-wide sit-out that cancelled all MLB games the following night.

One Podcast Replaces Another in My Monday Morning Block

The Cracked Podcast was cancelled this June, one event in a chain of corporate restructuring moves. Former Cracked editor-in-chief Alex Schmidt has this to say:

The Cracked Podcast was a key influence in my life, with specific episodes changing my outlook on productivity, pop culture, and the world as a whole. Maybe I’ll elaborate in a later post.

In its place is the gaming podcast How Did This Get Played?, another Earwolf production. At first I was skeptical as Earwolf’s L.A. comedian aesthetic is hit-or-miss with me, but this one ended up being a hit. It’s earned the privilege to occupy the space Cracked left.

Summer Games Done Quick 2020

In a recent episode of How Did This Get Played cohost Nick Wiger mentioned this year’s Summer Games Done Quick, a live charity event where gamers complete a game in record time. Due to COVID-19, SGDQ was held remotely.

One highlight was the speedrun of Quest 64 by Bingchang. Although this game picked up a bad rap, Quest 64 was one my favorite games on the N64. I loved learning what exploits players found over the years to tear this game apart.

Personal Finance Stalwarts

I’ve been feeding less on personal finance and investing media on YouTube, after throwing myself into the deep end around this time of the year in 2018. I’ll admit I unsubscribed from some channels when they showed their true colors in this heightened political climate. But mostly it was because there is a lot of redundancy on FinTube and my time can be spent elsewhere. Yes, I already know what compound interest and dollar-cost averaging are. No, I don’t think you should’ve bought Delta and Carnival stock during the crash. And I’m on most of the modern investing platforms so I don’t need to watch twenty more videos on a service I already have an account for.

Here are a couple of creators who survived the cut:

Simply Investing

Kanwal Sarai is the founder of the investing site Simply Investing. The SI investment strategy selects companies that pay dividends, grades them on their fundamentals, and buys their stock at a discount. Simply Investing makes money through its online course and its newsletter, meaning it has no incentive to pad its channel with fluff. Kanwal does a great job keeping his presentations concise and to the point.

Visit Simply Investing’s website and YouTube channel.

MissBeHelpful

Yanely Espinal a.k.a. MissBeHelpful is a self-taught finance guru who interviews other influencers on her podcast. Enjoy a special edition of her show where she chatted with her own boyfriend on poker, entrepreneurship, and early Internet communities. Honestly, this was the first time I heard Sconex namedropped since 2005.

Visit MissBeHelpful’s website and YouTube channel.

Dr. Stone Abridged?

Lastly, YouTube channel Team Four Star uploaded their video “Dr. Stoned”, a satirical video on anime dubbing and media execs. It’s a must watch if you’re a fan of Rick and Morty - they got Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s sense of humor nailed down perfectly. (Warning: this ain’t Cartoon Network so expect to hear a couple of curse words strewn throughout)