I've caught up with all my lectures this week - ones I'd recorded this winter but hadn't yet taken the time to view, and I'm almost caught up with my diary - from three months behind down to just one, and I've caught up on some much overdue email correspondence... unsubscribed from the daily Morning Brew newsletter too. No time for media, be it main or alternative stream. I'm working on being. Working on emceeing. Working on the green.

Also working at the gym (pronounce that like gee-eam).

Really zoning in on the fitness regime. And I wrote about my newly attained gym card recently. I worked out Thursday, and planned to do so Friday but was still feeling pretty pooped, planned to do so Saturday but was still pretty sore, then actually did so today and holy shit do I feel tired now! Had planned on simple cardio but the machine I'd planned on using was busy - and remained so for about half an hour - so I ran from device to device otherwise and was out of juice entirely when time finally came for the planned cardio session, but I did that too, with but half a banana for breakfast before this, first thing in the morning. A one hour work-out without pause then... is that normal?

I'm listening to a David Goggin's podcast right now so I can't complain, but it's taken me the full day to finally get control over my arms again, and on the lunch walk I started getting light-headed and wobbly. Feels like I might be overdoing this a bit. I should probably start nice and slow and ease my way into this new BUT THEN AGAIN!!!!

I'm getting in shape anyway, even if I probably won't be able to train for at least another two days after this. Slow but steady; intense when it counts...

On the blog I've updated the stats page with a few more categories/corrections, and added the 'most viewed posts' bit here too - previously in sidebar only.

Messed around with WP functions trying to get some 'oldest posts' and 'most popular post per year' statistics there too, but it seems those are more difficult than they should be. Something for a later time! A public visitor count's in the works too - a plugin I currently use should be developing such front-end functionality soon.

I've also managed to upgrade PHP versions! Whoop. Not all that way, but to reasonably updated tiers at least. Had to remove just a couple bits of code for that to work, attempted rewriting them first but realized I didn't really need 'em after all. But I need to get better at PHP. There may be other bits that aren't as non-essential. Seems like a common problem though: NG Logs is currently dealing with a similar issue.

In regard to NG the one and only @GRUB-LORD (who now goes by simply grubbb) put out a pretty slick hoverboard blade animation with one of my old audio loops this week. Much obliged! And with all the recent exercise I think I'm finally starting to get into the right headspace (and physical form - vocal capabilities have felt a little strained recently) to get to composing this one title track that's been on the backburner all too long as well...

Things are shaping up in life! I'm going and growing. Will I transcend what's known through this hole in the ozone? To the throne in the Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte? Blow up slow like Yo Gotti? I don't know, but like David Goggin's says you get peace when friend is foe. Now time to sleep and end this toll and I shall creep till I can leap and maybe reap some fender flubber till I'm 1337 just like no other. Many roads, many shows to see to know how flows a dope emcee and breath till undercovers seeth and boil asunder and I'll be a God of thunder and smite feeble minds with wonder like Ken Block with lots of rubber let us rock though not so shuttered we get seasick. Open blinds: see the sights and feel it.

It's a Sunday! One day. Just like a steal it's: a rest.

Worked out hard and now I feel no stress.

Last week.

...and what a weekend it's been!

Been out in the wild with good buddy Bear for a day, my sister's been over for a day, and before that I've been troubleshooting and following up on the development of that same payment provider integration that took most of the week before, and the weekend before? Last weekend?

Östersund.

To visit my big bro and co, and spend the final day catching up on favorite movies with my nephew, who was self-isolating with a recent bout of whatever-virus-is-going-around-these-days - who happens to also work with film, so we share that cinematic interest.

It was a good trip, albeit hectic before and after, and my brother's girl lost a big dental filling in the midst of game night. Still finished the game though. Saw Avatar 2 at the movies (go in with low expectations and it'll surely surpass them!) and spent so much time walking there too that I slept for roughly ten hours the second night. But it is vacation - that's what you're supposed to do at such times no? Rest up. Have fun. Relax a bit.

Twas a good trip.

On the blog I've updated all sidebars, the post archive, the poetry, gallery, design and music sections, added another ten quotes and random tidbits of text to the sidebar wisdoms, added a link to my new Bandlab page with the recent remix, added the music section sidebar to all music posts, added excerpt support for all category templates (if posts have an excerpt they should now show that instead of the full post on category, search and archive pages), fixed up the 'old' category layout (I'm hoping to use that more - it's meant to be a way to archive old versions of pages and texts as I update them - I forget to), added one more random footer line (heya @Biter) and fixed the randomizer script there which apparently hasn't been working properly since 2010! -_-' It's showed a fraction of included lines.

Same with the one on my personal site. Fixed copyright dates and links on all of my other/smaller sites too.

Also polished up template files a bit overall, removed unused code, updated the sitemap a bit, moved and merged some directories and updated some pages a little...

So far I feel like I'm keeping up pretty well with my visions for the year!
Of fixing up the site a bit, posting daily reviews and long-term hopefully sorting out some more deep-rooted compatibility issues. I've been fiddling around with jQuery versions so far, more on that some other week.

In life otherwise? There's a potentially pretty big freelance gig in the works I've been pretty excited about the past week. Negations are underway, so *fingers crossed*. If all goes well maybe my side hustle/secondary income resolution may be off to an unexpectedly good start too!

Here are a few more duplicate reviews, and elaboration posts on those two WP-related issues I was having last last week.

Feels good to be alive right now. Life's going pretty well. Been looking at a local gym too; getting ready to step up my work-out routines for the new year new #metoo...

Also RIP Gangsta Boo! Iconic Memphis Three 6 Mafia rapper now deceased. Just 43 y/o...

It seems the New Year is off to a pretty bad start in regard to unexpected icons passing, but let us not fret on those who've left! Let us not sully their legacy by wallowing or slowing our steps! Let us take great speed and haste if only we've crept - and go till there's nothing left! Let's go. Let go?
All set.

2023 finna pay all debt.

...and what a weekend it's been! Been out in the wild with good buddy Andreas for a couple days, and just minutes before he arrived we were troubleshooting a new payment module at work, two days + one early morning overtime and... it's not done yet. TBC tomorrow morning. But I jumped off just in time to go greet my good friend and go walk like crazy in a new windy winter wonterland that just melted away. Lasted his stay.

Oddly enough I think I managed to properly disconnect from work for this one weekend though, despite inconclusive end, we had some fun times.

Not like old times, but new times aren't bad either!

On the blog I've tweaked up the smiley set a bit. Switched up the order and added in a couple new ones for variety - may change further further on.

There is a bundle that you don't get in that comment bar though! If you ever feel like using some of the alternative ones you may be able to guess the shortcodes by the icon names...

That's roughly 30% of 'em. Maybe you'll stumble upon some others in time. ;) Been a while since the last change here so it seems a good time.

Some have multiple alternative shortcodes for ease of use too.

I totally messed up the emoticon selection script when I was working with this and kept getting a critical error when trying to fix it though. Eventually I went back to the source and remade it from scratch, and realized that if you try to change the version number on a plugin directly via a plugin file... maybe that causes an error?

Maybe some built-in firewall causes some error then? Maybe WP has built-in plugin-tampering prevention protection these days? Not sure why it kept causing the critical error but whatever the reason it seems to have been the version number for the plugin.

Moral of the story: Don't change version numbers if you don't need to.

I've also adjusted search results to just show posts - for now - since some pages clog up results. Might find a better solution for this later on.

And since I'm going with daily reviews this year I've taken those off the main blog to keep down clutter, you'll find the link on the menu above.

Or here @S3C.

Posted some new duplicate reviews too, and here's a remix on one of my acapellas courtesy of CmD! Check him out here.

That's all y'all. See you in a bit. Östersund Sunday coming up next...

...in my sock drawer? No.

...in my box of nuts and bolts? No.

...in my wasabi paste or frozen surimi? No.

...in my YT video binges, backup obsessions and WWP?

Lately, yes! A lot of WWP. And Alien Shooter now. But more on that later.

I think the fuel for this recent lack of focus has been mainly the sensation of emptiness that comes post wholesome Inktober, when one month of constantly amounting challenge and purpose has passed and time is... once more supposedly plentiful? In theory. It doesn't feel plentiful. My car shizzle's been eating up a fair chunk of time too but apart from that...

I've just been way too distracted by YouTube videos the past week.

I found myself watching more and more again, in what seems to be an endless attempt to get through EVERYTHING. Everything that's ever been uploaded, from all of my favorite content creators, along with random suggestions I pick up along the way.

I have a steady stream of videos in the background, that I for the sake of efficiency only play while I do other things. Yet sometimes you want to see a certain face, or a certain item they're speaking about, or event - like the process of chopping up red onions the Michelin Way, or how horrible the bathroom stalls really are at the visual level at truck stops in China. I do have audio-only videos as well, but even then sometimes you need to switch videos, or pause, or you get distracted anyway.

Background noise is a distraction after all.

Yet, despite this, Inktober is over, and I managed every day! I managed my daily verses, I managed my halflings - as I call them - my daily bonus verses, and I managed my doodles. Uploaded the full batch on Halloween - you can find those on NG there - and here here.

All the audio's uploaded here too now. Lyrics could use a bit better formatting occasionally, but that's a project for... later. Whenever time's enough. Whenever I catch up.

Have some VA lines I've fallen behind on and hope to catch up with real soon, but the daily verses aren't over either! Not until the end of November. They're simpler now, but I'm doing Inkember beyond Inktober. For November before it's over.

Still have last year's Inkember recordings left unposted, gathering dust on my hard drive, not yet edited and ready... maybe I'll get to those soon. Maybe I'll get to the most recent ones first though. And individual tracks, maybe there'll be time for that... mayhaps.

But my time's like crack. It moves too fast. I had a blast but: the time is past. At a pace. One which I cannot control trolley. Keep on appreciate until it's aft...

I got on a cruise last Thursday, with a laptop on my lap, and had some cryotherapy after that. Shall catch up with a wrap-up on that some day without mishaps.

Celebrated my sister's birthday last Sunday too, and also then had a blast. Then towed my car to the repair shop... where the uncertainty and fear stops.

The engine's shot. It's done. White smoke bellows; cylinders hammer... like they all forgot their manners.

There's water in the oil, the oil it leaks, it leaks all over. But as they tow it to the junkyard I somehow keep my composure...

Honestly it just feels freeing that it's over. All amounting problems. All the costs they sober. I lost a bit of moolah, but will save and regain. A car is but a car; this life is but a game... and any longer this car might've driven me insane.

But it was good to know ya. We battled those odds. Time to save for another... valiant SAAB. 9-3. I'm free.

...so I'm off! To the North with the wasps! To the great and the off grid to live and feel off lid! And get some sun and run.

See y'all in a month and some.

Also, recent updates.

Sixty overdue movie reviews, there you go! And here are six old ones.

There are more on queue, but I figured I'd make an attempt to get through at least some of them before summer comes running, and maybe this is about what I can manage. And it really is running now! Quick. Sometimes I don't feel like I can keep up at all. Time is ticking down towards my great withdrawal, it doesn't feel like a week, more like it's just tomorrow...

Monsters, the some-might-say promo track for this great game, that debuts in just two days now, is now up on CDB too. Streaming links soon? Maybe? I thought about posting it on SC as well but maybe later.

Otherwise I've been celebrating Midsummer with crêpes and waffles, and a cousin's 29th birthday with a nice lunch under a white but still stiflingly warm cloth canvas at the Bro-Bålsta golf club nearby.

And trying to get stuff done in my by day close to 30°C computer room. Fighting the heat, I won't bow to defeat, but I've had kind of shallow dreams and woken kinda weak...

I have another series I'm playing a role in btw, albeit a minor (role that is - the series is great) and almost only inspirational one. Line of Work. There's more to come, and I'm a character innit! Also don't miss this.

Also might not have mentioned Space Force before, a catchy little shooter to which I contributed some captions.

But it's gone, because the creator decided to just delete their entire game catalog. At whim. Along with two other notable titles I'd been credited on.

I just don't get why people do this.

Why they feel bad about their old work to the point they clear all traces of it. That they don't grow with it. Don't learn from it. That they don't feel like the game's no longer theirs at whatever time they publish it, but rather a contribution to the world; for others to appreciate and cherish.

Beauty's in the eye of the beholder after all.

And who doesn't second-guess themselves? Man up. Stand for what you believe in! Stand for what you make! Stand for who you are!

Don't throw your accomplishments to the wind at the whim of self-scrutiny and weakness. It doesn't benefit you; it doesn't befit you; it doesn't make anyone happier.

That's how I feel. But it's not my business is it.

Just know I would never do anything like that with this site. It's been going strong for soon twenty years, and will be for another night.

Alright, I gotta get some more stuff done...