Slade Watkins

  • Capitalizing on this moment + other interesting links

    //

    ** The Bulletin ** – November 18, 2023

    Hello everyone!

    This is coming a little later than I anticipated—but I promise it’s for good reason! I can’t talk about it yet, but it’s for good reason. After two weeks of being on time, I just had to make this week different, huh?

    Well, this week I worked on a lot of stuff relating to various projects that needed loose ends tied up, because I won’t have time to do so next week (given the Thanksgiving Holiday, I’m taking some much needed time off wherein I don’t work at all!) I turned the last big three of the big projects in, though there’s one still in flux that I need to work on with Repflez (Oman). Eventually.

    Last night, I spent a lot of time on voice chat with the rverse testers, just hanging out and getting to know our latest team member—TraceEntertains—who is an absolutely lovely guy. He’s a really cool addition to the team and I look forward to whatever we get up to together, inside (& outside) of rverse!

    In other news, I became Chandler from Friends at the mall today w/ my best friend, which was both hilarious and definitely concerned many around us. Whoops. (Rest in peace, Matthew Perry, you will always be loved, and missed dearly!)

    Alright, enough intro. Without further ado… here’s this week’s Bulletin!

    Some of the more notable stuff from the world of Kakariko Herald, my news publication focused on Nintendo, which I write with Tyson (better known on the internet as Tigstahh):

    • From Tyson and I, we bring you a complete redesign of Kakariko Herald! Welcome to the era of KH6, a faster—and more frequent—chapter for Kakariko Herald. Let’s do this!

    • Digital Foundry did their deep dive—and Sonic Superstars runs at 720p60 on the Switch, making its other console siblings look like way better of a buy. (We really need Switch 2’s spec bump bad.) Although if you consider the Switch is fully portable, I suppose it might be the better buy. It’s truly up to you on this one. I’m not sure I’d personally recommend it unless you want it to be accessible on a battery-efficient handheld like the Switch, though.

    • Pokémon Concierge is an animated, stop-motion miniseries coming to Netflix this December, and the trailer just recently released. The miniseries takes place “on a southern island” and features the hotel concierge named Haru. Episodes stream starting December 28th, 2023, just after Christmas.

    • Pokémon GO is making changes to its Pokémon Trainer Club login method, and most interestingly—they specifically note to add a secondary login method to your game account just in case one of the methods provided becomes unavailable in the future. That to me spells “they may remove PTC logins in the future” so I’d recommend you do as they recommend!

    • AAAAAND finally, Nintendo held their Indie World Showcase recently and announced a boat load of new games coming from third-party indie developers and game studios. We’ve got the list directly from them of everything that was announced!

    Upcoming events

    Just a reminder that my mom (the absolutely talented woman behind Theodessa Designs) is going to be at this year’s annual Holiday Market*, taking place in The Armory in Hoosick Falls, NY, on November 25th, 2023 from 10am-3pm. That’s next weekend! If you happen to be in the area, swing over to The Armory for a few minutes and check it out! (You might even see yours truly there, so definitely come on out!)

    *Barring any major disasters, of course. We’ll keep you posted.

    (And once again, another reminder that I’m still working on getting my mom’s website at TheodessaDesigns.com up and running. There’s a lot that goes into making sure this runs smoothly!)

    May be an image of macrame and text

    This week’s soundtrack

    I’m kind of a Spotify addict, so I happen to listen to a lot of music. Here’s what I’m currently listening to—usually on repeat. Here’s what I’ve got for you, for the week of November 18, 2023…

    Thanks to Songlink for making all these streaming platform-agnostic!

    Things I found across the net

    Welcome back to the world wide web of random things I bookmarked and then decided to dump somewhere.

    • Never thought I’d see the day: Apple has FINALLY announced that they will be introducing RCS support on iPhone next year (2024). They’re apparently keeping the bubbles green (which is really stupid, by the way), but hey, at least they’re finally adding it so we can stop relying on technology from the 90s to communicate with each other. We probably have the EU’s new Digital Markets Act to thank for this move. My guess for when we’ll see this is in a later iOS 17 beta (like 17.4 or something), or in iOS 18—the latter of which is slated for a reveal in June at WWDC 2024. The timeline Apple gave was fairly vague, but knowing them I assume they’ll drag their feet with this sort of thing (per usual).

    • iOS 17.2 seemingly brings foundation for sideloading apps on iOS: Apple is required to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) by allowing sideloading on its platform next year, and it could do so using a new API that was just introduced with the iOS 17.2 betas. While Apple has confirmed the new ““ API is intended as a solution for MDM providers, it can still be used for other things, as 9to5Mac’s Filipe Espósito suggests.

    • First GTA 6 trailer is imminent: The long-awaited sequel to GTA 6 is finally getting a trailer next month, as Rockstar Games confirms in a Thread posted to their Twitter account commemorating their 25th anniversary. It’s rumored that the game will cost the company over $2 billion total to develop. Pocket change, really!

    • Somebody’s doing a “demake” of Portal for the Nintendo 64: Yep, really, GitHub user “lambertjamesd” is demaking the ever popular/cult classic Valve title for the old Nintendo console from the mid/late 90s. (For those who don’t know, “demaking” means someone is remaking a game for an older platform.) I can’t believe how good it looks (for an N64 “title,” of course) and I immediately starred it when I saw it! I gotta try this out when I get a chance…

    • A blast from the past: Imagine the PS5 used sounds taken from the PS2 era instead… imagine Sony never updated their sounds and kept using the same, nostalgia-fueling music we know and love. Well, one creator on YouTube made a video that showcases just that, and now I wish we had proper themes on PS5, too. We had them on PS3 and PS4, but not PS5. It’s quite sad. (Come on, Sony!)

    • In open source project recommendations: Last week, I started offering some software recommendations that are all free and open source. Here are some more, since folks seemed to enjoy that!

      • For Windows 10 and later, use this handy tool known as “MSEdgeRedirect” to make anything that would normally open Edge open in your default browser (such as Firefox) instead. It’s a dumb thing, but it keeps Edge from shoving itself in your face from time-to-time.

      • For Linux users with Pipewire, use venmic (a Vencord plugin) to get screen-share audio to work as it does on Windows and Mac using the aforementioned (relatively new) audio subsystem!

      • For Android Lollipop and later, this one’s fairly simple—it’s a sample app that uses the Pokédex from the Pokémon series to demonstrate Android development with a bunch of different methodologies!

      • For Vista (extended kernel), 7, and 8.1 users, I’d like to recommend to folks using older versions of Windows — Supermium, an up-to-date fork of Chromium that keeps support alive for the aforementioned unsupported browsers. I’m hoping a Firefox fork will come to these folks eventually, since Chrome isn’t… amazing. But hey—usable browser, and it’s compatible with browser extensions and Google Account sync, too, if you’re into that!

    https://instagram.com/p/CzkbZP2gz6H/

    This week, I leave you with two photos!

    • One is a shot of my two-year old cat Beauregard laying on pieces of paper instead of literally anywhere else…

    • The other photo is one I took of the fall sun hitting the trees and train car as it went down. I went out and about with my mom and siblings last weekend and just had to snap a pic. (Before anyone asks: taken on Google Pixel 6 in North Bennington, Vermont—with all settings set to Auto!)

    Alright, that’s it (for reals), I’ll see you all next week!

    Speeding down the highway with a clear shot to freedom,
    Slade

    P.S. I hid a few easter eggs in here hinting at something that’s in the pipeline… try to see if you can catch them!

  • I'm lurking in the shadows…

    //

    ** The Bulletin ** – November 11, 2023

    Hello everyone, it’s Slade again,

    It ‘twas but another slow(ish) week here in the world of Slade. I got to hang out with my aunt & her mother-in-law, brainstormed some ideas for what the Bennington Bike Hub could do during the winter (and beyond), continued writing my book with the goal of turning it in on or before December 31st, and did the usual email writing. OH, and I also switched back to Android and Wear OS (sorry, iMessage users; also there’s a post about this in the pipeline, no date yet though!) and spent this past week detoxing from social media.

    Somehow, I have ultimately put myself in a better mindset. It’s nice to have a clear head. It’s going to help with all the stuff I’m about to get up to for the next year or so! (If you know what’s getting planned, feel special, I haven’t told many people about it.) I think I’m going to continue using social media very minimally for the next little bit! A little mental break never hurt anyone.

    In terms of The Bulletin, I have quite a bit for you this week, actually. There’s some cool stuff I want to shout out and call attention to, so let’s just hop right into it!

    Upcoming events

    Alright, everyone, I can’t believe it… but it’s time for the upcoming events section to make a return! What’s going on this time? Well, my mom (the absolutely talented woman behind Theodessa Designs) is going to be at this year’s annual Holiday Market, taking place in The Armory in Hoosick Falls, NY, on November 25th, 2023 from 10am-3pm. If you happen to be in the area, you should stop by and say hi! There’s a small chance you may see yours truly, too!

    (And yes, I’m still working on getting my mom’s website at TheodessaDesigns.com up and running. There’s a lot that goes into making sure this runs smoothly!)

    This week’s soundtrack

    I’m kind of a Spotify addict, so I happen to listen to a lot of music. Here’s what I’m currently listening to—usually on repeat. Here’s what I’ve got for you, for the week of November 11, 2023…

    Thanks to Songlink for making all these streaming platform-agnostic!

    Things I found across the net

    Listen… I had to fill the void of social media SOMEHOW. Sometimes you just go on too many deep dives because you’re a night owl and function better at 2am than 2pm. It happens. …Right???

    • My friend launches his political blog: My friend announced his political blog The Noise with Max yesterday. He didn’t ask me to, but I wanted to shout it out here (and not just on Twitter) because he worked so incredibly hard on this, and I am extremely proud of him. I am even more grateful and honored to be his friend. He’s one of the most amazing people I know and I truly don’t know how I even deserve to have a friend like him in my life. Seriously. You definitely need to check out — and subscribe to — his blog, folks, because mark my words: he’s going to absolutely knock this thing out of the park!!

    • Fly high, thing that never got used: Qualcomm Snapdragon Satellite is dead now, as no Android phones ended up adopting the technology. Google has actually been prepping satellite support in Android for some time, so this may be an really short-sighted move. That, or Qualcomm could build the technology into its chips directly, I suppose. (Just to note here: Google’s Pixel lineup uses the company’s own “Tensor” chips.)

    • SAG-AFTRA strike ends, after reaching tentative agreement: SAG-AFTRA has announced that they have reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP over their 2023 TV/Theatrical contract. In a blog post, the organization stated clearly that no FULL details of the contract would be revealed until it was reviewed by the National Board, but noted in another post that they “have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers.” I’m hoping that means good things!

    • US Cellular still looking to sell, is attracting interest: US Cellular, the carrier that used to be up there with the likes of Sprint (later acquired by T-Mobile) with very little in terms of coverage footprint (most of which is handled by roaming on AT&T’s network, actually) is getting some buying interest from the Big Three networks. Having been watching service providers for this long, I personally believe AT&T or Verizon have the best chances of absorbing the company. T-Mobile has had too many security leaks and other issues to be considered trustworthy, and it would be used against them heavily when the antitrust lawsuit from the FTC inevitably comes.

    • Valve’s tweaking some things: From Liam Dawe at GamingOnLinux, it seems Valve is doing some tweaking to the way things look in Big Picture Mode (and Steam Deck, by extension). They’re fairly minor tweaks altogether, but you will notice them, and Liam rounds them up and explains them all if you’re interested!

    • Open-source software and other stuff I found: I’m a big fan of using (and contributing back to) open-source software and documentation whenever I can, so I tend to find some hidden gems. I’ve decided to share just three really cool ones with you—as I think they could be helpful to others who have run into similar needs (or just want to try something new).

      • For macOS, we have CameraController. My friend’s dad actually shared this with me and I meant to add it to last week’s Bulletin, but didn’t end up having time due to not getting back to the hotel prior to the newsletter getting sent. It does what it says on the tin, it lets you control ANY camera attached to your Mac, including your built-in webcam, with precision. Change the framerate, the focus mode, mirror the preview, etc. It even works with my technically incompatible (Windows-only) Razer Kiyo Pro webcam, too! Every Mac should have this, honestly.

      • For basically every platform, osu! is open-source with its next (and “final”) iteration! I think it’s really sweet that peppy decided to open things up, and that the osu! community is coming together to really make the game shine even brighter. How awesome!

      • For Discord, InstaFix is a fun little tool, inspired by DangeredWolf’s FixTwitter, that fixes the embeds for Instagram on the aforementioned platform. It’s definitely worth using. Just replace instagram.com with ddinstagram.com when sharing a link, and you’re off to the races!

    Strike Funds & Other Ways to Help

    First off, a huge round of applause to SAG-AFTRA, WGA members and non-members alike for holding the line and getting things DONE! You are an inspiration to all of us, and are proof that strength in numbers works, even in today’s landscape!

    That said… UAW and UNITE Here Local 11 are still on strike. Instead of scabbing or crossing a picket line, please give to people in need if you are able! I’ve compiled a list below of funds I’ve independently verified are legitimate. Thank you!

    [Also, if you know of a fund that I should add to this list, please send me an email!]

    One day longer, one day stronger.

    Some quick housekeeping

    The Journal is moving to Substack next year

    I just wanted to let folks know that The Journal, my flagship blog that has been available at SladeWatkins.com since inception, will be moving fully to this Substack account in January 2024. I’m envisioning this account as more of a hub for everything I do that has to do with writing (besides my book, obviously) so I think this is the right move to make that vision a reality.

    It’ll be a separate section, just like Bulletin and my Writing work are today, so you’ll be auto-subscribed to it once it rolls. You can always tune your settings on Substack if there are things you want in your inbox, or would prefer just to read on the web. And of course, everything new from me will get put in that week’s Bulletin as well.

    Additionally, I’m still working on a potential paid tier for this. I won’t be doing multiple tiers or anything, just a simple monthly/yearly thing that has some extra benefits added to it over time. I don’t think that will take off, but my ultimate goal is that it could help keep the work I’m doing as a freelancer and volunteer going. That, and any funds from that will go into my “big project” fund for that thing I keep alluding to. (Again, if you know about it, you’re probably involved somehow, haha.)

    I’m stepping down as Group President of Wallymer next year, too

    Announced in a blog post to Wallymer.com earlier this week, I am sad to announce that I will no longer be Group President prior to the end of my term in May 2024, in order to have more energy and bandwidth to put into that big project that’s picking up steam. I will remain an integral part to the team, and will continue to lead Kakariko Herald, but I will not be leading Wallymer at-large going forward. I’m very excited for what’s to come, and I hope you’ll stay in touch with me here or at SladeWatkins.com. (NOTE: I haven’t announced a leave date, or my successor, just yet.)

    Alright, everyone, that’s it from me for this week. Whew! What a big one! This is probably one of the longer ones I’ve had to put together. I’m just glad it didn’t take super long!!

    Next week’s Bulletin may include even more content, depending on how things go. Although my fingers would certainly appreciate not having to write like this, even switching to my more comfortable writing keyboard, they still hurt.

    "I did not sign up for this gay shit"

    Anywho, I’ll see y’all next week.

    Currently losing it over men,
    Slade

  • A week of much-needed rest…

    // ,

    ** The Bulletin ** – November 4, 2023

    Hey y’all!

    It’s me. I haven’t worked on anything at all this week—I decided to take the time to rest and recover from my trip, but mostly the last plane ride. I didn’t realize how much I needed not only the time with my friends, but all the R&R I got while I was on it and after, too—both physically and mentally. We talked about it briefly in the Bulletin last week, but I learned a lot about myself, and there’s a lot I need to do in order to keep getting better. Part of that includes focusing on my future, what I want to do, and where I want to be. So that’s what I really put my time into this week, and I will continue to do so over the coming months and 2024 as well.

    Well, everyone, this week’s Bulletin is rather… boring. But, like, not a bad boring. It’s a nice boring, as all it means is that I don’t need to think too hard trying to put this together! Makes life easier.

    The Bulletin is now on Substack

    You’ve probably noticed already, but The Bulletin has moved to my Substack account instead. If you’re getting this in your email inbox, you’re all set and don’t need to do anything — you’ve been added to the free tier and will continue to receive The Bulletin as you always have. However, you’ve also unlocked a new additional benefit: access to a handful of new stories, writing pieces, and more each month—on top of this weekly email. How cool is that?

    Paid subscriptions will come eventually, but I’m not rushing it. I’m happy where I’m at with this right now, so long as it gives me a space away from social media to just be. I’m not really into the whole idea of locking everything I make behind a paywall unless it has some sort of benefit (like my longer writing pieces I’ve never shared but am particularly proud of, for example!), so we’ll see what happens…

    • For the Soapbox this week, I got up and talked about how I misunderstood Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. It’s funny, my friend Kolin actually convinced me to give it another shot while I visiting in DC… so I did. Now I’m hooked on Pokémon again. Gotta caTCH ‘EM ALLLLLL…!!!

    This week’s soundtrack

    I’m kind of a Spotify addict, so I happen to listen to a lot of music. Here’s what I’m currently listening to—usually on repeat. Here’s what I’ve got for you, for the week of November 4, 2023…

    If you have any suggestions for Christmas music I can add to my playlist, please let me know! My mom and I (ESPECIALLY my mom) love this time of year—so we’d love to have a good variety of stuff to listen to. You can email me at [email protected] or send me a Tweet or something! 🙂

    Thanks to Songlink for making all these streaming platform-agnostic!

    Things I found across the net

    “THIS JUST IN: An unhinged maniac from the middle of nowhere found a bunch of things on the Internet and is now going to subject you to all of them. Our apologies.”

    • People have wondered, what exactly can you connect to the iPhone with USB-C? Well, 9to5Mac’s Benjamin Lovejoy wrote up this lovely article that explores just that!

    • Via 9to5Google, Gboard is going to be getting a Live Text-like feature very soon. Here’s all the info on it!

    • Here’s everything Apple announced during its Halloween-themed ‘Scary Fast’ event, thanks to Juli Clover at MacRumors. (Most notable is a refreshed 24” iMac and the introduction of the M3 family of chips!)

      • Apple has officially discontinued the Touch Bar, leaving the 2022 13” MacBook Pro as the last computer to be released by Apple with one. Leave me alone—I’m sad and I really love my Touch Bar.

    • There’s a new 3D Sonic game coming out on Apple Arcade that I desperately want to play. The trailer for it looks awesome and is very well done. (I’ll admit that I’m a little sad it’s going to be Apple exclusive, though.)

    • In boo, you stink! news: HBO is taking away 4K from grandfathered subscriptions, which seems like it should be illegal? I’m not a lawyer, I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that it’s a really scummy move… Boo, HBO!

    • I am very thrilled to see that Toontown Rewritten is still chugging along after all these years. They didn’t sponsor this, but they’re easily the best fan recreation of the old Toontown Online game that Disney shut down all those years ago. If you fancy a bit of nostalgia, it’s more than worth your time! And it’s free! (I’m totally going to get back into it at some point…)

    • In I need to start playing Pikmin Bloom again news, the game has turned two years old, and there’s a celebration event going on RIGHT NOW until November 26th, 2023 (so, Thanksgiving, basically). Here are the details from Nintendo!

    • In a move sure to cause confusion, Russell T. Davies is rebranding the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as “Season 1” … why? Let’s not, Russell, this show is already confusing enough.

    • And finally, in really cool news, here’s the sign for the Nintendo Museum that is slated to open in Japan next year!

    Strike Funds

    SAG-AFTRA is still on strike—UAW recently went on strike—which means a lot of people are out- of work. Instead of scabbing or crossing a picket line, please give to people in need if you are able! I’ve compiled a list below of funds I’ve independently verified are legitimate. Thank you!

    [Also, if you know of a fund that I should add to this list, please send me an email!]

    One day longer, one day stronger.

    In conclusion, it was a slow week—just the way I like it. I didn’t want crazy, and I didn’t get crazy. What a blessing!

    See you next week, everyone.

    Your local tortoise,
    Slade

  • I'm home, y'all! What a wonderful week away.

    // ,

    ** The Bulletin **
    October 29, 2023

    Evenin’ everyone,

    I’m back home (in fact, my actual place of usual dwelling) from a wonderful week-long trip visiting my (now close) friends Max and Kolin in Washington, DC. This was my first time seeing them in-person—and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Their kindness, love, and compassion are unmatched. They’re even better friends. It’s rare to find people like them in this world which is something I’m so grateful for. If you’re reading this, guys: thank you for this wonderful week—here’s to many more years of our friendship!

    And who knows… maybe I’ll be living a little closer to y’all sometime in the not-too-distant future! The tides are starting to turn on that!

    (for the rest of you, we’ll talk about that another time—when it’s right and things are a little clearer. It’s still very early days and I don’t want to talk about it in detail publicly quite yet. But that’s your little tease.)

    As of writing you this email, I’ve pretty much avoided posting pictures from vacation—primarily because the onslaught of Facebook notifications I would’ve received probably would have made me want to throw my phone out the window. I also wanted to actually enjoy the trip without blasting it on socials and show my parents a few shots from the trip first before saying anything.

    I’ve found comfort in mostly keeping this trip to myself, Max and Kolin, plus my family (of course). There’s something to be said about barely looking at Twitter for a week, not watching tons of arguments go down on Facebook, not getting overwhelmed by the amount of people my age expecting their first or second child whenever I open Instagram. I’m going to try and continue this practice in my every day life as well.

    Unlike Max, I’m not a big social media guy. Obviously I’m on social media (it’s how I met Max, actually, Kolin’s the only one I met in-person first) but I use it more for leisure and casually posting about random stuff. I’m not a serious user, although many years ago, I used to be. It’s not my style anymore, because I find it really easy to get addicted to, and it makes me feel horrible after a while.

    Anyways… I digress.

    I have an announcement regarding the Bulletin’s future. At some point in the near future, we will be migrating from MailChimp to Substack. Why? I’d like something I can share out easily with people who aren’t subscribed as these Bulletins come out. (There are a myriad of other reasons, but thanks to Max & Kolin for the inspiration.) It’s still early days, so I have nothing to announce, but Substack is waaaaaay more powerful in terms of what you can do with it (including starting paid subscriptions, etc.), so I’d prefer to move.

    Most importantly, no action is required on your part when the transition happens, you will simply start getting emails sent from me via Substack instead. The list will get migrated just fine. I’m going to try and move it this week, but I’m not going to make any fanfare about the move. These two paragraphs are the fanfare. After that, all new subscription links for this old Mailchimp list will redirect to Substack, no problem.

    Speaking of the Bulletin: we have a couple new sections! Which means… it’s time to dive into this week’s goodies. Let’s go!

    Introducing Buried Alive & Buried Alive (Blue Edition)

    I’m elated to announce Buried Alive and Buried Alive (Blue Edition) — this is the book I’ve been pouring my heart and soul into for a while now, but have been dreaming up for around 8 years now. Seeing it finally come to life is wild.

    The Standard Edition will be available from SladeWatkins.com starting June 7, 2024.

    The Blue Edition contains three additional bonus chapters primarily from the 5th and 6th grade years. It will be available from SladeWatkins.com starting June 7, 2024, and will leave sale on December 6, 2024.

    Learn more here

    This week’s soundtrack

    I’m kind of a Spotify addict, so I happen to listen to a lot of music. Here’s what I’m currently listening to—usually on repeat. (And no, I’m not sorry for the holiday music that’s starting to appear.)

    And thanks to Songlink for making all these streaming platform-agnostic!

    Check out stats.fm/sladewatkins!

    Things I found across the net

    It’s spooky season, but only a handful of these are spooky. Big oops on my part, huh? Maybe next year I’ll be back into the Halloween festivities with friends or something… I dunno. Only time will tell!

    Strike Funds

    SAG-AFTRA is still on strike—UAW recently went on strike—which means a lot of people are out- of work. Instead of scabbing or crossing a picket line, please give to people in need if you are able! I’ve compiled a list below of funds I’ve independently verified are legitimate. Thank you!

    [Also, if you know of a fund that I should add to this list, please send me an email!]

    One day longer, one day stronger.

    That’s it from me for the week. That was a lot to put together on very little sleep (thanks, flights messing up my ears!) So… I’ll see you next weekend for something (hopefully) a little easier to put together.

    Exhausted, but so damn grateful for the amazing friends I have in my life:

    Slade

  • So, I got on a plane…

    // ,

    ** The Bulletin ** October 23, 2023

    Hi everyone,

    Originally, I had planned to get on a train and head down towards my destination—but Mother Nature had other plans. A landslide kind of… er, derailed everything. So, instead of doing something I was at least somewhat comfortable with, I quickly shifted my plans to become a plane ride. That was something I had never done before. I was so frigging nervous, but I needed to get to where I was going one way or another, and I wasn’t about to let my anxiety stop me.

    Going through TSA kind of sucked as a first timer, but the folks at Albany International explained everything to me and it went just fine. From Albany to Detroit to DC, I was able to navigate the airports by myself fairly easily (somehow) and even ran into some folks who had to book a flight from Albany to DC because of the same landslide!! Isn’t that wild? Small world.

    As everyone on this email list knows: I’ve been very secretive about where I planned to travel (when talking about it publicly), because quite frankly, I don’t like to talk about those sorts of things until they happen. It’s more of a privacy thing—and I’m also not the kind of guy to spam feeds with vacation updates. I dunno, it feels weird to me.

    Now that I’m where I intended to go… I’m excited to announce (for the second time) that my destination was Washington, D.C.! Why am I here of all places? Well, I’m actually here visiting my friends Max and his partner Kolin! We’re going to be spending our free time together over the next few days, and it’s going to be a blast! This is the first trip I’ve ever done by myself, so I arrived anxious and overwhelmed — but all in all, the sudden shift to the plane went well, and now that it’s Monday I’m finally getting adjusted to everything. Today’s the first day where I woke up and wasn’t anxious about where I was or anything. Progress!

    It took around six and a half hours or so, not including layovers, (which is shorter than I expected) and I arrived exhausted mentally and physically. Good news is, I didn’t literally pass out on the floor like I did when we got to North Carolina, though granted, that was an overnight trip where I didn’t sleep at all… This one was so much tamer. (I don’t think I’ll do an overnight car ride again unless I can take sleeping pills or something. That was bad.)

    Okay, now that I’ve rewritten basically this entire email, and had a few days to recuperate… let’s chat. I’ve included a bunch of fun links and stuff for you in the interesting links section AND there’s a new Journal segment that just got its first entry!

    New from The Journal

    Things I found across the net

    Anyone up for a mountain of links? No…? Too bad!

    • The company Analogue has announced that they’re releasing what is essentially a Nintendo 64 capable of putting its video out in 4K! And this just in: I want it. It’s launching next year and they’re promising 100% compatibility with the system’s library. I’m excited!

    • Microsoft has a problem — well, we know that, but I’m referring to this particular big one. It’s going to make a billion PCs, with no upgrade path to Windows 11, vulnerable when Windows 10 reaches “end of life” in October 2025. This includes but isn’t limited to PCs in schools, healthcare institutions, and more, some of which only released just a couple years ago. The company needs to reverse course, otherwise it’s going to cause an environmental disaster. (And don’t let them fool you, they can absolutely afford it.)

    • Also in sad news (for Microsoft), leaked data suggests Windows 11’s adoption is terrible. It sucks, and has system requirements that are astronomically (and unreasonably) high, so this isn’t that much of a shocker!

    • You ever wonder where the puppets from the classic stop-motion Rudolph Christmas special went off to? YouTube creator LSuperSonicQ tells the fascinating story in this video. It’s a great video, so definitely give it a watch!

    • The folks behind the Minecraft Wiki recently announced they’ve moved from Fandom to minecraft.wiki. Please update your bookmarks and muscle memory to use that address instead!

    • For the three people that use WinRAR instead of 7-Zip… it has a nasty security vulnerability. Update it ASAP.

    • In news from the Disney empire, the company is allegedly going forward with live action remakes of its popular releases such as Frozen, Tangled, and The Princess and The Frog. I’m not so sure I’d personally watch them, being a bigger fan of the company’s animated efforts (Elemental made me SOB!), but I see the vision and some will absolutely enjoy the adaptations.

    • And finally, here’s the roundup of everything announced at Minecraft Live 2023, courtesy of Liam from GamingOnLinux!

    Strike Funds

    SAG-AFTRA is still on strike—UAW recently went on strike—which means a lot of people are out of work. Instead of scabbing or crossing a picket line, please give to people in need if you are able! I’ve compiled a list below of funds I’ve independently verified are legitimate. Thank you!

    [Also, if you know of a fund that I should add to this list, please send me an email!]

    One day longer, one day stronger.

    Alright, that about does it for this week’s Bulletin, thanks as always for reading. My mom doesn’t have any additional events going on until November, so it feels weird signing off a newsletter without mentioning it. As for me… well, I’m not going to be responding to many emails, and instead I’ll be spending the next few days with Max and Kolin! I’ve been looking forward to this for months—I’m excited to keep exploring a new area, and hang out with some really kind, and outright amazing, people!

    I hope y’all have a wonderful week! My word of advice for everyone this week is to maybe not almost fall standing up nor take a header on the bathroom counter at like 3 in the morning.

    Yours in anxious adventuring and not knowing how his legs and feet work,

    Slade

    Visit SladeWatkins.com

  • That's… a name. Plus, a chaotic week ahead.

    // ,

    ** The Bulletin ** October 14, 2023

    Good evening folks,

    It’s time for another edition of The Bulletin—and this one’s the last big one for a while! A week from when I send this, I’ll be getting on a train and heading of somewhere I’ve never been before. The destination is still a secret—but perhaps you’ll find out more about it next week. (I’m not super confident I can get that Bulletin out on time, but I will try!)

    This week was rather slow, even with the impending travel and related responsibilities looming over my head. Thank you to everyone who came out to the 2023 Harvest Fest hosted by the Better Bennington Corporation, despite the hiccups. My mom did well and all things considered, we had a blast!

    Last night, I hung out with a few folks on Discord and we ended up playing Among Us. I got to experience playing it through Parallels Desktop (Windows 11) on an M2 MacBook Pro, and it was… fine. Parallels is a fairly new piece of software to me so there’s a lot I don’t know, and none of the settings are configured properly for games. It’ll be some trial and error to get things in a usable state.

    I also made a minor update to my website—it now uses the same font that I use for my emails to all of you. It’s not a huge change, of course, but it does offer some consistency when going from one thing I create to the next. I’m planning a website redesign that will incorporate the look of the Bulletin, so stay tuned for that. I might even share a sneak peek of that soon, as it’s coming along quite nicely. I don’t think that will be “ready for primetime,” so-to-speak, until after the Thanksgiving holiday here in the States, though.

    Oh, and in events news: My mom — the amazing person behind Theodessa Designs — will be at the Fall Quilt Show & Fundraiser (taking place at First Baptist Church, 80 Main Street in Hoosick Falls, NY) from 10am-2:30pm. This is a smaller show than the last few my mom has done, so keep this in mind. Also important to note is that this is the last show that my mom’s doing for the next month or so, so definitely go if you’ve never seen my mom’s work!

    Unfortunately, due to my aforementioned upcoming travel—I will not be able to be present at this particular show, so you won’t see me there. But, I hope you’ll come on down and at least say hi to my mom!

    With all of that out of the way—we have a full Bulletin to get through. So, let’s do this.

    Android 14 update…

    When I published my Journal entry last week, I promised an update to the folks here on the Bulletin mailing list. So, did Android 14 fix the issues with my Pixel 6? I have to unfortunately report the answer is “kind of.” While there were some noticeable improvements, some things were still very broken and the Android operating system clearly needs some TLC in order to improve the service.

    It’s entirely possible that it’s related to Verizon, but the fact of the matter is that my iPhone 12 has no problems whatsoever on the Verizon network besides the lack of towers in my area. So, I’m stumped.

    In the meantime, my bubbles are blue again, and all of my friends and loved ones with iPhones are celebrating. Yippee!! Blue!!

    Read the original blog post here

    Things I found across the net

    Babe, wake up, the unhinged maniac is back with a bunch of random links.

    • My best friend found this and let me experience it—but an Australian journalist named her son Methamphetamine Rules for some odd reason. I feel bad for that kid. You’ll have to experience this for yourself to understand why I completely lost it.

    • Looks like iPhones on iOS 17.0.3 are randomly shutting off for a few hours every night. Apple hasn’t said anything, but it’s becoming reported en masse now—so I suspect a fix is likely incoming soon.

    • As reported by Liam at GamingOnLinux: Valve’s latest title, Counter-Strike 2, has dropped support for macOS altogether. The company is citing advancements in technology as the reason for focusing solely on Windows and Linux versions of its game. (Apple requires developers to use their proprietary Metal API, whereas most prefer to use DirectX or Vulkan instead.) This begs the question whether or not Steam will be next, as their storefront still isn’t native on Apple silicon. Only time will tell… and that could be a long time, considering it’s Valve we’re talking about.

    • WTEN channel 10 is celebrating its 70th year in operation here in the Capital District… Congrats to the whole News10 ABC team on this amazing milestone!

    • Microsoft has FINALLY closed its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King after 20 (give or take) months of fighting with the US’s FTC and UK’s CMA. And unfortunately, Bobby Kotick is still CEO despite the fact that he’s reportedly responsible for the toxic workplace environment at ABK, and also that he was in Epstein’s “little black book.” That probably won’t be a forever thing, though…

    • It’s clear that Elon Musk has ruined Twitter, but he has ruined it so bad that people are falling for scams involving various company’s “official” support accounts… In reality, they simply paid for Twitter Blue and it makes any account instantly believable… The latest example of a company to fall victim to a fake is JetBlue—but as included Eli Lilly and Nintendo of America in the past. What’s funny is that Elon Musk claims this service reduces scams, but that’s clearly not the case. (BTW: If I use the company’s new names for its services, I would get this newsletter unintentionally banned from the platform I use. Instead, I’d implore you to never use the new name because Elon Musk is a moron.)

    • Stephen and Mallory Georg (plus all of their friends) are raising money for their local hospital, McLeod’s Children’s Hospital, in Florence, South Carolina. It’s their 12th annual charity stream on Twitch, and I just wanted to pass it along in case anyone felt compelled to donate and help them get to their goal of $100,000 USD! There’s more info here. (In total, they’ve raised over $430,000 USD for the hospital, which is absolutely amazing!) If you do donate, be sure to pick a game from the North American GameCube, Wii, or Wii U libraries (personally, I’d love to see them play Barnyard!) or specify the Roulette which can cause a bit of chaos for them, too. This is always a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward too it.

    • Here’s Tom Scott dying after doing a non-nicotine vape for a bit in a video. I promise, this is an edit, and Tom is very much alive.

    • And finally—there was a solar eclipse today, and NASA did a 4K livestream on YouTube with absolutely stunning visual quality on the whole thing. Give it a watch! Such a cool experience. And don’t worry, East Coasters, there’s another one coming up in 2024!

    Strike Funds

    SAG-AFTRA is still on strike—UAW recently went on strike—which means a lot of people are out of work. Instead of scabbing or crossing a picket line, please give to people in need if you are able! I’ve compiled a list below of funds I’ve independently verified are legitimate. Thank you!

    [Also, if you know of a fund that I should add to this list, please send me an email!]

    One day longer, one day stronger.

    And that’s all from me in tonight’s Bulletin. Thanks as always for reading my ranty little emails, and I’ll see you next week with a Probably Late Release™. Unless by some miracle I’m actually able to write something beforehand. Who knows. Life be crazy.

    Yours in tomfoolery,

    Slade

    Visit SladeWatkins.com

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  • On the escalation of violence in the Middle East…

    //

    ** The Bulletin ** October 7, 2023

    Hi everyone,

    I wish I was writing you under lighter circumstances, but unfortunately, as I was preparing this week’s newsletter—militants from Gaza have begun attacking Israel, a tragedy that has killed at least 200 innocent Israeli citizens and over 230 Palestinian citizens. Over 2,000 more are wounded (combined). I am heartbroken that it came this far, and I strongly condemn these attacks on innocent people, including children. None of this is fair, or right, and I am hoping and praying for everyone in the Middle East and around the world that is affected by this escalation of violence. Finally, I call on our world leaders and members of the U.N. to advocate for and work towards peace in the region and across the world.

    (You can read this statement at SladeWatkins.com as well.)

    —

    I had a whole blurb here but it doesn’t feel right to talk about all this stuff right now. I’ll save it for next week’s Bulletin. For now, I’ll leave you with details on the next craft show, plus the new blog post and strike funds.

    Next Saturday, October 14th, 2023: my mom — the brilliant mind behind Theodessa Designs — will be at the 2023 Harvest Fest in Downtown Bennington, Vermont (the festival is going to be on Main Street and School Street this year.) Please come on down! The event will be free and open to the public, and you can find more information on Facebook or at BetterBennington.com. (I will also be there helping my mom, so please come say hi!)

    New from the Journal

    Strike Funds

    SAG-AFTRA is still on strike—UAW just went on strike—which means a lot of people are out of work. Instead of scabbing or crossing a picket line, please give to people in need if you are able! I’ve compiled a list below of funds I’ve independently verified are legitimate. Thank you!

    [Also, if you know of a fund that I should add to this list, please send me an email!]

    • GoFundMe for Sean Mason — ineligible for the Entertainment Community Fund due to affiliation with IATSE Local B-192 (which is classified as a “Theme Park” union); donations will help with rent, keeping a roof over his head for the holidays.

    • SAG-AFTRA Foundation — Helps SAG-AFTRA members urgently in need of financial and other assistance.

    • Entertainment Community Fund — the fund previously mentioned, which helps folks in the broader entertainment sector stay afloat while work stops.

    • UNITE Here Local 11 Strike Mutual Aid Fund — For members in Los Angeles who need assistance as the union works out deals with their hotels.

    One day longer, one day stronger.

    Sorry it’s so short this week, but I promise I’ll make it up to you next time around. Let’s hope and pray for peace. And be kind to each other. Please.

    Peace and love,

    —Slade

    Visit SladeWatkins.com

    sladewatkins.com • update your preferences • unsubscribe
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