Last week was a pretty good week for BTTR with a couple of good milestones achieved.

Over 500 pageviews in the week, an obvious record for me given the site is so new. Also managed to achieve my first $100 in revenue.

There is still a really long way to go, but it’s good to hit some milestones to help you stay inspired.

Last week’s highlights

• These are Australia’s best robot vacuum cleaners
• The list of best phones in Australia got an update for February. I expect big changes next month as the Galaxy S23 Ultra starts appearing in more best guides.
• Similarly, the best Android phones got an update. No real movements though.
• I looked into the best earphones in Australia and was somewhat surprised that they were all true wireless.
• If you’ve been looking for a 2-in-1 laptop, then these are some of the best in Australia
• I also reviewed the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Plus. Side note - my house has rarely been cleaner.

Deal alert

• Spend $100 on Lego, get a $10 Amazon gift card. Given I spend five times that (at least) for the kids at Christmas, it’s a good chance to get in early and get a little something for myself

Played The Hobbit: An unexpected party with the whole family today. It obviously took longer with 4 players, but it was just as enjoyable.

Won #TheHobbitAnUnexpectedParty on 2023-02-12 with 4 players, winning score: 23 #bgstats 🎲

Oh my god this was terrible. No redeeming qualities.

The sequel was fun, and I enjoyed the focus on Elastigirl rather than Mr Incredible. But it just wasn’t as good as the original.

Yesterday I went to see Apple PR to tell them all about the new website. When I arrived, I was asked to sign in on a gorgeous 24-inch iMac. They have a custom screen with two big boxes so you can sign in as a guest or as a courier, and I walked over and obnoxiously tapped on the box that said … read more

Ed Zitron captured the perfect analogy about company obsession with growth today.

As my friend Kasey put it in a recent conversation, growth is a fire. If you build a nice, sustainable fire, it’ll keep you warm, cook food and sustain life. And if the only thing you care about is how big your fire is, then it’ll set fire to everything around it, and the more you throw into it, the more it’ll burn. Eventually, you’ll have nothing left, but if you desperately desire that fire, you will constantly have to find new things to burn at any cost.

Yesterday I officially unveiled my new work site, and shortly afterwards was interviewed by Phil at Influencing about it.

Not sure how easy it is to access, but it was a fun little interview.

(And also maybe check out BTTR)

I’ve started trying to begin my day with the daily puzzles in Good Sudoku on Apple Arcade. I find that the simple logic and structure helps my brain focus a bit.

It’s better towards the end of the work week when the puzzles are a little challenging, but not impossible.

I updated LinkedIn today so it must make it official.

I’ve launched a new product review site for Australians. It’s still really early days, so there’s still a long way to go.

But I’m quite happy with it so far.

BTTR

(Feedback welcome)

There’s nothing quite like a Zelda game. I’m playing Skyward Sword on the Switch, and even though the controls are janky as all hell, its level design is flawless and the pacing is perfect.

Well, my Sunday afternoon took a turn. Getting ready to cook a nice roast pork on the barbecue when a layer of residual grease stuck under the drip tray of the barbecue caught on fire. At first I thought it would just burn itself out. Then we got a fire blanket. Then we called the fire brigade. … read more

It’s been a few years since I’ve watched this one, but it definitely still holds up. Such a great film.

Third day back at school at the boy slept through his alarm. Lucky we have redundancies…

…

Me.

Now that the kids are back at school, I’ve been more focused on trying to work.

And now that I’m more focused on trying to work, I’m less focused on writing stuff here.

I need to consciously remember to write here.

Another year’s school books covered in Contact. I would pay a significant premium to get pre plastic-covered stationery each year.

Finished the last of the _Pirates of the Caribbean _films tonight. It was fine.

By this stage in a franchise, you kind of give up trying to understand the why of things.

What a great family day.

We took the kids bowling. It has been a long time since any of us has been bowling. We were all pretty terrible, but it didn’t matter. We had fun.

We had Yum Cha for lunch and burgers for dinner. We played air hockey and pool and ate Churros for dessert.

It was just a really nice, fun day.

Looking forward to the kids going back to school next week, though.

This was a lot more fun than I expected. Loved the 4th wall breaking — not just the spoken scenes, but especially the looks to camera. I loved the patriarchy-smashing plot and thought Milly Bobby Brown was spectacular. Definitely worth a watch.

I spent today playing the Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Beginner Game TTRPG.

Firstly, I’m shocked that this was the first time I have ever played a game like this. I think that made it harder than it might have been otherwise. But it was still heaps of fun. Will definitely need to play some more. 🎲

Mostly mindless, enjoyable romp. But I’m pretty sure the mermaid ate the missionary guy.

That makes the most sense after he angrily decided to name her like a pet halfway through.