The Blog
Curated: Monitors
At the start of April, a couple of weeks into the grasp of COVID-19, I wrote a post for some home office essentials in order to make your new work from home reality a bit more comfortable. While I provided some insight into why a monitor is good for both your posture and productivity, I kind of left it at that in order to keep things simple and accessible. However, there’s more to an additional display beyond visual real estate, and depending on your situation and use case, we can start looking into specialized features. So, while I know it’s been a while, here’s my second entry into the Curated series.
I’m going to break this down into 4 personas: the digital content creator, the gamer, the content consumer, & the office worker. As with everything, there are nuances and your own preferences to keep in mind, but from a high level, these are what I believe to be the demographics for consumer electronics. I’ll include my personal overall choice at the end, and will point out any alternatives for different budgets.
Sunday Jams: April Releases
I’m not enough of a music nerd to tell you why certain music is good, not good, just ok, at least not from the deep origins perspective. I mean, I know what I like, and I do have opinions, sometimes strong ones (that might go against the grain but, not contrarian). Sometimes that might get me some flack, but music is inherently subjective. That said, I’m not ignorant either, I’m self proclaimed not the biggest Beatles fan but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize or understand the impact that they’ve had in the development of pretty much all mainstream music. However, I do subscribe to the notion that nothing is really “new” and just different takes on a familiar flavor we’ve seen before.
That said, I’ve decided to try my hand at a monthly curated new music playlist and rundown of songs and albums that caught my attention in the previous month. This playlist will be rotating, so I’ll include the song titles at the end because this Spotify playlist will be re-used.
Naughty Dog Leaks & Game Studio Reputations
I’m going to start this off as a gamer and say: leaks suck. They’re particularly devastating for story driven games like The Last of Us Part 2. I can’t imagine how crushing that must feel to everyone that has worked on a project for so long, only to have parts of it revealed outside of the intended scope of a full game delivered to the hands of players. It’s also just not cool to all the fans looking forward to a fresh experience. There’s no win here. Even if you’re on the camp that believes that “oh this will save me from buying the game”, it’s about the journey, not the destination, remember? That doesn’t make a leak any less disappointing.
Why Distractions Matter
I’m a stickler for pain, apparently, because through all of this I still check Twitter daily. I mean, I don’t have a Facebook so, like, let me live. There are no shortage of opinions out there right now. Some strong ones. To be honest, you’re allowed to have your opinions regardless of what others think of it. That’s the whole point of an opinion in the first place, something I’m inclined to say we forget at times. Oddly enough, a gathering of similar opinions leads to community, and those communities are the basis of a lot of the things we as humans build upon. They’re called social networks, for crying out loud. OK, so what the hell is the point being made here, you ask?
Quarantine Creations
Tough times seem to be incubators for innovation. That’s not to say that everyone HAS to be doing something productive with their down time, although I do believe there are subsets of people that find a way to thrive or turn this into art. And I’m not talking about pandemic themed creations specifically, I don’t believe those will stand out and if they find a way to ride this wave, it’ll be short lived. No, I’m talking about digging into a creative space to further develop a creation.
It's Time to Start Washing Your Phone. And Wallet. And Keys.
It’s time we clean the other daily items we carry on us on top of washing our hands.
Animal Crossing New Horizons. So. Many. Eggs.
For Nintendo Switch players new and old alike, Animal Crossing New Horizons could not have come at a better time. We’re all sitting at home, social distancing to our best ability, and pimping out our new islands. We got 2 whole weeks to track down March fish and bugs and stuff. Gotta get the grind in.
Flip the calendar to April 1st. You log in, and are greeted by the wonderful sight of Cherry Blossoms in game (side note: I was supposed to be in Japan for actual cherry blossom season so this hit a little close but was a fun thing to encounter anyways). Pink petals graciously traverse the air, inducing a sense of joy and calm and new life.
Then on the edge of your screen, you see him. Prancing in place, his gaze following you no matter what direction you move in. Zipper T. Bunny.
Top 5 Home Office Tech Essentials
With so many people in the workforce currently working remotely, it’s probably a good time to evaluate your home office setup. Even if you don’t currently have a dedicated home office room itself, it’s probably a good idea to invest in some basics, as I imagine the future of the work force looks even more and more remote. The dreaded “future-proof” phrase gets tossed around too frequently, but as technology continues to advance and career paths evolve, you don’t want to get caught unprepared with some necessities that will make a transition much smoother.
Disconnecting & Staying Connected
OK, I think all bets are off on directly addressing the pandemic and the situation across the world, here in the States, and for me specifically, here in Chicago. I won’t be addressing anything medical or news related, but I’ll be focusing on something I believe many are realizing. The importance of connections.
Shelter-at-Home Playlists
I’ve been resisting posting content or information directly related to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Coverage is 24/7 on the news, social media, celebrities, day to day conversations. I’m not a medical nor economic professional, but I believe it’s important to keep both a realistic, yet grounded perspective as much as possible. Just like most people in the world, I am currently stuck at home, stepping out for a jog/walk (keeping distance from other people), and for supplies when necessary. That’s pretty much it. Does it suck? Yes, it does. This isn’t fun for me, and I allow myself to be frustrated, but with the intention of getting out of my system and taking things day by day.