I struggle with nostalgia. Like, a lot. Our past helps form who we are but getting stuck there can be a bummer. However, that being said, I do end up getting pulled in to revisit some old topics from my youth, just like anyone else.
One such example is The Gaming Historian, a YouTube channel filled with mini-documentaries about all things retro videogames. Most of the topics are focused on the golden era of NES and Sega but they dip their toe in other subjects as well.
I tell myself that it's okay to indulge here because these are things that I wasn't aware of at the time of their release. The business of videogames is a fascinating history and I was all too young to be aware of it. Furthermore, the creative minds behind some of the lesser known games were doing interesting work and their back story adds an interesting context to today's creative endeavors.
I'm certainly over rationalizing here. Here's the TLDR of it all. This channel has a lot of interesting information and I suggest starting with a topic on the relatively "obscure" History of StarTropics as a means of seeing if this is for you.
I had no idea that the iOS version of Google Chrome had its own subset of "chrome flags" that could be enabled for additional settings and upcoming beta features but it definitely does.
This Verge piece provides some handy insight on enabling the Material Design refresh that's coming up in a future version of the app. It's nice to be able to see it before it's the default and, frankly, moving the navigation to the bottom is an excellent change. There are a few things I miss but it's still in Beta, so I reserve total judgment until its out in the world.
The debut You Drive album (that collaborative record between Makeup and Vanity Set and Jasmin Kaset) comes out this Friday, August 3rd. I'm spending the week packing all the pre-orders and trying my best to spread the word about the record because, frankly, it is stellar.
I generally record the WOTT Music podcast on Sunday afternoons after compiling the playlist and taking some notes, then release it on Monday mornings. However, this time, I just went for it and started recording the show without much prep ahead of time. I knew what songs would be played but I wasn't entirely sure what to say about any of them. As such, the results are pretty entertaining. Not bad, but certainly off the cuff.
Fortunately, no amount of ill prepared hosting can make for a bad podcast of local Nashville music. There's just too much great stuff coming out of the city. It turned out great. I love everything on the show but feel particularly compelled by this song from Z, this album from Zook and this single from Dialup Ghost. I mean, listen to the show but then deep dive on those.
This weekend I sat for a tattoo I've been planning for almost 4 years. Honestly, I don't really know what to say. I still can't believe this beautiful piece of work is permanently on my body. https://t.co/y4IsjQQL0o
The smell of the air after a storm is caused by Geosmin: A chemical released by dead soil bacteria.
Humans are hyper sensitive to it, capable of detecting at a concentration of 5 parts per trillion.
It's theorised in our evolutionary past this helped us seek out water.☔️⛈️
I'm picking up a foster kitten this weekend and expect many cute things in my future. If you're in the marketing for a swell cat, get at me and we'll make it happen.
Miami Sound Machine - Conga - I found myself listening to a rather dark cover of this song and it inspired me to just bathe in the glory of the original. Jump ahead a full minute to get to the goods.
Live at Denny's - this video of a punk bands thrashing performance at Denny's may be from 2013 but it's a delightfully new treat for me.
Party Vortex - likely the best thing at this festival.
I just recently learned of the Year 2038 Problem, a software bug (similar to the infamous Y2K bug) in which many computers can't handle the date properly past a certain range. At its core, it's simply a limitation of 32-bit system architecture and the format in which timestamps are stored. In a nutshell:
The latest time that can be represented in Unix's signed 32-bit integer time format is 03:14:07 UTC on Tuesday, 19 January 2038. Times beyond that will wrap around and be stored internally as a negative number, which these systems will interpret as having occurred on 13 December 1901 rather than 19 January 2038.
So, there we go! There are a number of possible solutions and we've, seemingly, got plenty of time to get there but it's still interesting that it exists.
Vaguely related, there's a time crisis in Japan as well, that comes much sooner than 2038.
This Tom Scott video on How the 90's VHS Look Works is more than just an exploration of what effects are being applied, it's a deeper dive into how those effects were made - directly from the source of Harry Frank and the team at Red Giant that made the most popular plugin. It's great to see how they used actual VHS decks to manipulate the imagery and calculate the impact the format would have on the source.
Aside from that absolutely gorgeous structure - Monument to the Battle of the Sutjeska - there's a lot to unpack in the postwar decisions to create a welcoming, socialist environment in Yugoslavia but it's always good to start with the basics. Watch this video for a good overview of the thinking behind the enormous project and many great images from initial inception and construction.
