Well, we made it. 2022 is done, and it was one hell of a ride. Time for the first Power Up Day of 2023! I managed a successful Power Up Month yet again thanks to a blend of posts at 100% HP rewards and remembering to power up 1 HP on days I didn't post anything. Speaking of posting, I think I did OK despite taking about a week off for Christmas. I wrote about:
- Sourdough Pizza and Sober Carpenter: An Amateurish Review Times 2!
- A CDC tweet that made me just go, "What?"
- I Learned How To Play Backgammon
- Cooking a Crock Pot Roast Without a Recipe
- A Hawaiian Sasquatch was drawn digitally
- I built a LEGO tractor
- I complained about books
- Canada wants to kill people
- It's Meme Time!
- Magic: The Gathering Unboxing
- I made a Marty Robbins meme based on the AK Guy
- Guinness Extra Stout vs. Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught
- Freewrite: An Unexpected Visitor
- Freewrite: Fred's Folly
- I tried to come to grips with Ukraine Math
- Making the Smallest Christmas Tree Ever?
- I complained about library patrons
As for the year in review, along with my November restrospective, here are the links reviewing posts from October, September, August, July, June, and May. I dropped the ball for March & April, but more on that in a moment. First, I did write a review of my activity in February and January. Thanks to a screenshot way back then, it looks like I've managed to grow my Hive Power by about 7,000. While we all wish Crypto were going gangbusters again, I'm more than content with that regardless of the price.
As for the missing months, why not fill in the gap? I'll switch to regular chronology instead of the reverse method used above because I can.
MARCH
- Commentary on Biden's 2022 State of the Union Address
- Please Don't Chew On My Sleeve
- Mediterranean Herbs and Seasoned Pork Chops
- Ukrainian Uncertainty
- Cheese Substitute Review and Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Dissatisfaction With the World
- 24-Hour Survival Kits and Irregular Warfare
- The Overdue Shouty Old Man
- Bayern Dragon's Breath: An Amateurish Beer Review
- Coconut and Basil Crock Pot Chicken
- Library Patrons I Like
- New 2022 Quarter
- Porky Poo Parody!
- I Rued (& Roux-ed) the Day
- Coors Light: An Amateurish Beer Review
- Candid Crabby Cat
- DIY Survival Kit Ration Packs
- Conspiracy Theories and Propaganda
- Streaming Video on a Raspberry Pi
- Commander Deck Brew: Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
- Cooking Compilation
- Compass Shootout: Budget Orienteering
APRIL
- How To Make Your Own Seed Tape
- First Amendment Blues
- Hardtack: D.I.Y. Survival and Camping Rations
- Inflation Explained
- Commander Deck Brew: Alesha, Revised
- Remarks About President Biden's New Crimes
- BDC CONTEST—Several Favorite Books From Childhood
- A History Lesson?
- Talking To A Brick Wall
- Commander Deck Brew: Alesha, Tiny Leader?
- Keeping Calm-ish and Carrying On (Plus Tasty Polynesian Pork!)
- Dungeons 3, Tutorial 1 Video Capture Test
- Commander Deck Brew: Narset, Enlightened Master
- A Survival Kit for Insurgent Warfare?
- Winging It In The Kitchen (It didn't go so well)
- Trauma Pak First Aid Kit Review
And there's an entire year's worth of posts. What a year it was. It seemed to fly by, and yet that content also feels like almost a lifetime ago. 2020 was the year of COVID, HIVE splitting from Steemit, protests, and elections. 2021 saw continuing COVID and partisan tension, and some chaos in my personal life. 2022, though, was war in Ukraine, COVID policies becoming more and more nonsensical, social media censorship hitting new highs, a real-life supervillain buying Twitter, cryptocurrency bear markets, inflation hitting home, mid-term elections, and so much more. It's felt like a non-stop onslaught, and I'm not even in the war zone.
Especially in the months where I wasn't really in the retrospective routine yet, I was posting a lot to encourage people to be better prepared. We have no idea what 2023 will be, so let me reiterate: build an emergency kit. Store some food. Examine your home and mitigate risks from fire, flood, and other disasters. Make plans for both sheltering in place and evacuation. Start learning to cook at home if you don't do so already. Get out of debt. Save. Invest in practical independence where you can. Everything is always uncertain, but the last three years have made it obvious how unstable life can be, so please be prepared.
But notice also that I try not to dwell on this misery. A lot of my complaint posts are a bit tongue-in-cheek, and I also focus on hobbies and games. No matter how bad it gets, we can find joy and contentment in simple things every day, too. And while I haven't written much on the topic, I have also been pursuing personal enrichment through study. School is imposed upon us during our youth, but education is a life-long opportunity. Dig into philosophy, language, science, music, or whatever else grabs your interest. Reignite that spark of curiosity.
I don't really do the whole "New Year's Resolution" thing. My screen resolution is 1080p, and that'll stay the same. That's all you get. But I have already been weaning myself off of social media. I'm sick of what Web2 became. Web3 is where I plan to be most often. Let the markets sort themselves out. I'm here on HIVE for the long haul.
