It’s time to reflect on 2022. From a computing angle, my rural area FINALLY rolled out fiber internet. Social media’s demise seems to have accelerated this year. And in a gaming letdown, the Breath of the Wild sequel was delayed until next year. On the upside, 2022 was surprised with JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which released to rave reviews and later got three nominations in the annual Game Awards. As for blogging, there were vexing WordPress shenanigans.
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| Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on Unsplash |
Social
In April I pulled the plug on Twitter. When word first got out that Elon Musk was eyeing a takeover and after I felt the burn of borderline addiction — doomscrolling, constantly checking Tweets — I’d had enough. My ten year old account…deleted! And the Twitter that was is no more; Elon’s Twitter is…tumultuous.
Also in April, I logged out of Facebook; I didn’t delete my account…yet. If I stay off until next April — a whole year — then I might finally nuke my account from orbit. Meanwhile in 2022, Facebook’s earnings and market share dropped big time. Zuckerberg continues to pivot towards an unwelcome metaverse while Instagram saw negative blowback from troubling changes and more feature bloat.
Blogging
April was crazy. It was around that time I stopped staff writing at RPGamer. Then WordPress shadow dropped a radical plan/pricing upheaval that caused the WP community much consternation. After a few months of uncertainty and backpedaling, WordPress basically hit the big UNDO button on the whole thing! So…I left WP and rejoined Blogger!
Simplicity
In late summer, I employed Minimalism (anti-consumerism) to moderate my tech fascination and related personal interests (photography), avoiding Apple’s annual new iPhone adver-nouncement. With Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, I also got a fresh take on Biblical Minimalism, wanting more of less. Later I slowly and intentionally resumed my normal habits of blogging, computing, and gaming.
Computing
Interestingly, this Fall I started to change my mind about Apple’s AirPods due to their expense and lack of audio quality. Despite their great convenience, I realized other brands and types of wireless audio are more affordable and convenient enough. Then I got a new pair of wireless JBL over-ear headphones for Christmas! Now my two year old AirPods are…backup? Going forward, I’m open to more non-Apple gear; don’t want to drink too much of that kool-aid.
Gaming
This year I played JRPGs and a racing game. I began 2022 with progress in both Bravely Default II and Octopath Traveler then paused for months. Later I started Pokémon Legends: Arceus, finishing in the fall. Then I quickly beat BDII and Octopath. Finally, I started the epic Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, which I should finish in early 2023. I also enjoyed Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered on the side. Speaking of side gaming, I plan to resume Animal Crossing: New Horizons, hopefully on a Switch OLED in 2023!
Reading
I set my usual goal of reading 12 books in a year, one per month. I failed, reading only 8. But I think I read quality over quantity! Also, I upgraded my Kindle to the newest Paperwhite; love it.
Entertainment
For movies, I loved Top Gun: Maverick at the theater this summer, watching it twice on the big screen before buying the blu-ray disc set with the original. In the fall, I watched The Batman for the first time; great movie though a tad long. Also new to me this year, Tenet, which I’ll need to watch backwards to see if it makes sense.
I didn’t watch much TV this year, but the little I did was fantastic. It was Severence on Apple TV+! Can’t wait for the next season.
What did you like/dislike in 2022? What do you look forward to in 2023?
Feels like just yesterday the WordPress drama happened... April, wow! Time flew!
ReplyDeleteI'm still fond of over-ear headphones, but I have to admit, I may jump on the wireless train, since wires are so cumbersome when taking a walk. What model of JBL headphones did you get?
Yes, the WP drama lasted a while. My annual plan renews in March, as of now I plan to let it go, no longer paying for it, so my URL will switch back to a wordpress.com domain. Hope all the prior links don't break.
DeleteI got the JBL760NC over-ear wireless. My wife found them on a great holiday sale, like 60% off, but even the normal MSRP isn't bad. Of course they sound far better than the AirPods but it's not even a fair fight since they're a different class/size altogether. They fit over my ears well enough, though they'd be perfect fitting if they were say 1/16" bigger in the ear cup. Noise canceling is good at "turning off" ambient noise, the kind of constant white noise like a fan, air handler, washing machine. That's fairly impressive and helps create an isolated soundscape, like my own inner world! I'll call them "Introvert Headphones." But these are my first NC headphones ever; I have none to compare to. But I've read that the NC isn't as good as more expensive Bose or Sony ones. For the price, I think they're great. Bass is very good and, to my subjective hearing, does not overpower mids/highs. Hey wait...I'm supposed to be saving all this for an upcoming blog post review. ;)
Oh, yes, wireless is lovely with these JBLs, but I do use the supplied wire to 3.5mm jack on my Switch and MacBook. It's nice to have/a feature I wanted. So they can be wired or wireless. Battery = 35hr with NC on, 50hr when off. I haven't had them long enough to really test that yet though.
Happy New Year! Hope your 2023 will be great! :)
https://www.jbl.com/over-ear-headphones/TUNE760NC-.html?cgid=over-ear-headphones
DeleteOh, that's convenient they can do both wired and wireless. Thanks for the info!
DeleteYes! As long as the device you want to use also has a convenient 3.5mm headphone jack (grrrrr, Apple).
DeleteGreat read, I have taken a page out of your playbook and ditched Twitter last week. That was the last bit of social media that I was clinging to. I'll have more to say in an upcoming post but I really feel like I made the correct decision. Glad to hear that the social media fast is working out for you still.
ReplyDeleteI too have a goal to read one book a month. My wife read many more books than this so I hope that I can hit this goal. Here's hoping we both complete this!
As far as gaming goes, I love the Animal Crossing series. For me, I am still very addicted to Splatoon 3 and I need to finish up Pokemon Violet. As far as upcoming games, Tears of the Kingdom looms very large on the horizon.
I too watched very little TV but Severance was absolutely amazing! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!!! I haven't seen Top Gun Maverick yet but I will plan on checking it out. I have heard good things about it from several friends.
Always great to see a new post from you and I look forward to more in 2023. Happy New Year!
Good for you on deleting Twitter. I think you'll find life's better/simpler without it. Like you, my last time suck is YouTube, which I don't consider social media...
DeleteI plan to play Pokémon Violet eventually. My kids are enjoying it now and I'm focused on Xenoblade.
I need to see when Severance se2 is supposed to land! Can't wait.
Thanks for reading my Fully Rendered blog! Happy New Year!
🤔 Personally, I think you have way more freedom on Blogger than you do over on WordPress.
ReplyDeletePrise-wise, WordPress is getting crazier each year.
Hey Renard, Happy New Year! And best of blogging to you in 2023!
DeleteThanks for your encouragement about Blogger and the freedom. Yes, I plan to let my WP sub go in March, making the custom url there revert to the wordpress.com domain. Oh well. As long as Blogger exists, I plan to stick with it. Rather than move to another host, if I ever move again, I think I'll self-host. Scary but maybe for the best.