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Sponsor The Blog!
With valid page views averaging about 24,000 a month, this is a great opportunity to get noticed by potential customers! Considering sponsoring the blog today so I can continue providing both in-depth and surface level coverage of tech, games, and more to everyone, along with my own commentary.
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I’ll (hopefully) be testing T-Mobile Starlink
The confirmation email from T-Mobile Folks, I’m excited to announce that I will hopefully be testing T-Mobile Starlink when the beta period begins and they admit new people. I am in the process of configuring a secondary device that’s on T-Mobile’s supported devices list. I likely won’t be able to speak too much on it, but I did want to at least let you know I was on the list. I’ll link to the webpage above where you can sign up for the beta as well, if you’re interested.
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Google May Add Time Zone Notifications to Android 16
Interesting find from Mishaal Rahman, writing for Android Authority:
While I was digging through Android 16 Beta 1, I found some strings for a new “time zone change” feature that is supposed to show up under Settings > System > Date & time. The description says that the feature will let you “receive a notification when your time zone is automatically updated.”
Mishaal’s piece goes into more depth on this, but I wanted to offer my thoughts. This is a great move. I could see this being useful for our annual “spring forward, fall back” time changes here in the United States, as well. I know a few people personally who tend not to pay attention to those changes, so this could be used as a way to inform them that the reason they may be tired in March is because the clocks happened to spring forward!
Highly recommend reading the whole piece if you’re interested in the technical information, along with screenshots!
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2025 .com Design Refresh
Things finally got a new coat of paint around here. I really felt like it was time, with the move to WPEngine as a hosting provider, and several years of technical debt being cleared from this site. After two months of work, I’m slamming my restart button. The past is in the past. Welcome to my slightly more modern era.
For a quick overview of what’s new, see the image below. Otherwise, keep reading for the artist’s statement!
Background
In 2022, I launched a brand-new version of SladeWatkins.com (going to call it “.com” for the sake of not having to type the whole thing constantly through this) that was built on WordPress and hosted by Namecheap. Recently, I announced my decision to leave Namecheap. I wanted to shed the bloat of hosting providers I work with, and Namecheap was ultimately the first to go of a multi-month’s long audit (as contract renewals come up, etc.)
I knew I needed to do something, but I already had a plan.
Recently, I was approached by numerous parties asking me to design and develop their websites. It has been some time since I’ve taken on freelance work in this category, but my skills weren’t out of date by any means. So, I reached out to WPEngine with an application for their Agency Partner Program — and I was accepted. I’m so grateful to the team in charge of reviewing those applications for giving this nobody from a small Upstate NY town a chance.
Side note: You probably caught it, but I’m taking on web design work again! If you think I’d be a good fit to develop/design your website, please send me a message with the details! Working on a special webpage for it, promise!
With that, let’s talk Vision.
The Vision
I envision my website as a hub for my work, art, life, and the things that make me happy. Bringing the blog and vault into the main website was a give-in for me. I want this to be my home on the internet.
The Result
What you see now is the next chapter. I’ve shed the bloat of the past look and feel. I’ve slightly recolored my brand colors (Salmony and Lights Out), and adopted a more modern-era design. I’ve replaced Noto Sans with a brand new font–Overused Grotesk–which is both professional and playful. And finally, I’ve reorganized the site’s navigation bar, providing quicker access to each section of the site.
This new look took around 20 hours to perfect, and I’m proud of where we landed. There will be some tweaks as I analyze usage and make sure everything is working as intended, but I’m ultimately proud of what I made. I hope you love it as much as I do!
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Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show with Kendrick Lamar and SZA
Just wanted to link to an excellent halftime show from Kendrick Lamar and SZA. Samuel L. Jackson (“Uncle Sam”) acted as the de facto emcee for their performance. It was an excellent show, which featured this message I presume was directed towards us (the audience) and the current President of the United States (who was in attendance tonight):
“The revolution’s about to be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.”
-Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar last performed at the Super Bowl three years ago (Super Bowl LVI), alongside fellow headliners Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent.