2022 In Review

What a year it's been!

2022 In pyamsoft apps

2 New Android applications were created this year. Trickle, an automatic power-saving application that uses Android's Low-Power mode automatically, was released on the first week of January 2022. TetherFi, a no-root WiFi tethering hotspot application, was released in May of 2022. Both of these applications are currently supported, run on the latest Android 13, and are available today for your device!

Sadly, I also had to retire some Android applications this year, as there is only so much free time in a day. 2 old Android applications were retired this year. FridgeFriend, a light touch food inventory application, and SplatTrak, a map rotation tracker for Splatoon 2 (3) were both retired this year. They do not support the latest Android 13, and there is sadly no guarantee they will continue to work on new devices. I hope you got the chance to enjoy them while they were around.

On the desktop front, pyamsoft continues to maintain a handful of Linux applications. pstate-frequency is still live and working (though as frequency stepping in the kernel gets more robust it becomes more and more hands off). bubblewrap-wrap gained support for pipewire audio, and is generally less-needed as more applications continue to get official Flatpak versions. bubblewrap-wrap will continue to exist though as there will be many applications that benefit from it's lighter sandboxing and home isolation, while also not being self-isolated enough to be a full Flatpak. dockerize is a new script that was created from a grouping of dotfiles, and helps to set up simple docker containers without docker-compose, that uses extremely strict sandbox security by default, and also dynamically allocates a new container user to run the container as, instead of running the container as the host machine user. It exists as a lighter, script alternative to docker-compose, though it is generally intended for simple setups instead of full service containerized environments. I generally use it on my desktop machines to isolate instances of game servers, adblocking DNS, and media servers. git-ssh was updated to include support for ProxyCommands and still sees active use on all of my personal and work machines.

Two JavaScript Discord bots that I wrote initially in late 2021 got updated in 2022 to use Typescript and run completely self-serving inside of Docker. mousewatch is a simple Discord bot (not on the Bot Marketplace) that checks the Anaheim Disneyland Resort Magic Key Calendar periodically, and pings you when a spot opens up on a given day. stonk-bot is a simple Yahoo Finance bot which gets you company quotes quickly.

Overall, 2022 was a productive and interesting year for me on the side of code and creation. I am excited to see what new creations and advances 2023 brings for me in the world of product and application development.

2022 In Gaming

Personally, I think this year was a bit rough for gaming. At the start of the year I was generally glued on the Nintendo Switch, though as the year went on I moved off the Switch and more towards the PS4 and Steam gaming on Linux. I think the big winner of the year for me as far as new gaming advancements is Heroic which kept me connected to the Epic Games store and all of it's various freebies throughout the year. The easy integration with Wine is almost as seamless as Valve's Proton project is, and its always good to keep healthy competitors in the ecosystem. I may have a larger gaming focused posting later on, but suffice to say the games that kept my interest this year are largely the games that did last year too: Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Tetris Effect, Bloons TD6, Slay the Spire, Mario Tennis. Some newcomers to my generally rotating catalog were: OpenRCT2, Trombone Champ, and Orcs Must Die 3. Mario Kart 8 made a resurgence given the release of it's Booster Course pack, and I see myself continuing to pick it up in 2023. I've started playing Orcs Must Die 3 on Steam and its a fun co-op time. I look forward to Disney Speedstorm, whenever it ends up releasing in 2023.

You may notice that many of these games did not release in 2022. I think that summarizes my general thoughts on new releases in 2022. There were some releases I did pick up that I think are enjoyable however.

Elden Ring was a smash hit in February, and though I am awful at it and have fallen off of it since it released (because I am just not good enough), I do not deny that I had a ton of fun with it for the couple of months that I was able to keep up. Modern Warfare II released, and it is fun, but extremely buggy and I generally find myself lacking a reason to keep coming back to it. I have yet to play God of War, but its on my radar - and I've heard only good about it. I enjoyed Cult of the Lamb on Nintendo Switch when it released, and beat it within a week, but it was a buggy slow mess and I have not touched it at all since the first completion. 

So many Nintendo Switch games were disappointing this year. Nintendo Switch Sports was a huge disappointment, even if I only really purchased it to bowl - it was still a sorry excuse for a follow up to Wii Sports. Lego Skywalker Saga was a good game and a solid Star Wars entry, but as with many games this year, once you take a small break, you fall off forever and never come back. Same with Disney Dreamlight Valley. Same with Splatoon 3. Same with Pokemon (both Arceus and Violet). The best games that came to the system this year, aside from Kirby, were remakes. Persona 5, 13 Sentinels, Skyrim (again, again (again)), Stanley Parable, Nier Automata. The Switch this year was rough. The console is showing it's age. Or maybe I am.

2022 In Health

Not the best, not the worst. Mentally I feel still motivated to do new things and see new places. I'm generally comfortable where I am. Physically I don't find myself any unhealthier after the holidays than before - which I suppose is a win in my book. I've fallen into a bit of a rut and have found that forcing myself outside to break up the monotony of being at home in a single room apartment helps. The market continues to tank, but honestly I've learned to ignore it. There is other wealth in life besides money, and as the year ends I generally find myself rich in these other measures. I am still very active in trading though, as I continue to find it intellectually stimulating and very enjoyable.

Happy Holidays from pyamsoft, and here's to a Happy New Year!

Stay tuned!

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