Oddly October - 27 Random Thoughts

Let’s not waste time. Here’s some random thoughts from Wally:

1. I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve done anything remotely related to the ‘Wallcakes’ brand/persona. I mean, yes, I DID just release a Halloween episode of the Wally Wallcast, but that wasn’t easy. I wanted to release a new podcast episode, specifically with a Halloween focus, but…I’ll be honest. I’m…not happy with it. I think it’s more because it felt rushed. Maybe not to you, but to me. If you enjoyed it, awesome! But when I listened back, I honestly felt I could’ve done so much better.

2. Podcasting is usually the easiest (and most enjoyable) of any creative venture I’ve done. Sitting down and chatting is usually something that is quite natural for me, but it’s becoming much and much harder to execute, due to a lack of time. And while time isn’t the sole factor in preventing me from being able to do more, my setup in my gaming space has become extremely limiting to being able to sit down and record any sort of audio. My office/gaming space was previously in our basement. For the past year, it’s been on our main floor and that’s a much busier area of our home, making it difficult to record any audio.

3. Part of that is on me. I don’t like to record audio when I have a full house. I’m met with constant interruptions (the good kind for the most part…family, etc.) and if I’m being honest…I don’t really want my family hearing all of my recording sessions. I mean, they KNOW their dad/husband is a nerd, but I still think after all of these years, they still have no idea what I do and these little creative ventures. Even my wife, bless her heart, doesn’t quite know the extent of my nerdery. Mostly because she doesn’t care (in a supportive way) but I don’t talk about it. If I were to be voicing about video games, nerd content or anything else I do, I think she’d roll her eyes. Should I care after all these years? Absolutely not. But…I do, and I think it might be time to chat with my family about it.

4. Am I ashamed of it? No. But…there are times when my kids tell me about what other parents do, especially other fathers. A lot of them aren’t getting lost in nerd culture or nostalgia, and sometimes I think I try and hide certain elements of my personality because…well, I think most of you get it. There’s certain elements of my life that I love sharing with people and having them know about me…and there’s certain elements that I don’t think are anyone’s business. Specifically, how I spend my free time. I guess, deep down, I hide it from my family because I don’t want them telling others. Like, maybe I am ashamed of how I spend my time? It’s a constant mental battle.

5. At the end of the day, that’s why I don’t record more. My window to allow myself time to record in an empty house is extremely limited. This latest Wallcast episode felt rushed. I felt it. I hear it. And I either need to accept that, or be more comfortable recording around my family. I project, loudly, as you know. Hard to do that when everyone else is around trying to listen to something. It’s a hurdle, for sure.

6. I actually started capturing footage for a new video this month, too, by the way. I don’t do too much in the way of content creation anymore, especially when it comes to videos…but I was feeling the itch, so I outlined something small, and decided to pull out the capture equipment for a quick spell. And, funny enough, it’s the only gaming I’ve really done for the past month. 

7. The last game I finished was back in August sometime and, since then, I haven’t really picked up a game with any kind of sense of story or duration. Sure, I could’ve seen one of these more recent games to completion, but I was just trying to get some simple footage for the video. I know if I stuck with any one of them, I wouldn’t progress on getting a video out, and my goal is to have it out this month. So…it’s been a lot of small sessions here or there. Definitely nothing extended.

Link's Awakening was the last game I finished. It was a fun one, I'll give it that!

8. It’s a shame, really. I just haven’t come across anything where I really want to sink any time into, and I think that’s just because I’m over analyzing a lot of different things; the genre of game I want to play, how long a game might be, worried about whether I’m going to like it…I’m just in a complete state of indecision when it comes to gaming right now, which has led me to playing a whole lot of nothing over the past six weeks or so. Longest dry spell I’ve had in a long time.

9. At the time of this post, it’s been about three weeks since I stepped away from social media. Not permanently, but…I needed a break. I thought Bluesky would be a nice reprieve away from Twitter, and it was…until it wasn’t. I dunno…the audience I’m following on Bluesky and some of the content…even when it isn’t with evil or negative intentions, the amount of complaining and discontent I see on a daily basis is just driving me down into a depressing state.

10. Social media is/was supposed to be a nice place to engage with folks about similar interests. And it IS great for that. But the ratios feel off. Feels more and more like for every ‘nerd’ interaction I enjoy, there’s about 47 posts about some sort of crusade, drama, or other nonsense and it’s just getting harder and harder to stick around for the content I’m looking for.

11. I thought just spending less time away from the apps would help, but it didn’t. The content doesn’t change whether you’re on it every day or you’re there every other day or once a week, so…I decided that I’d just go without. I know I’m missing a lot; I have no idea what’s happening in pop culture right now, as socials kind of became my ‘go to’ for that info, but…I also don’t like I’m missing anything either, so, who knows. My plan was to stay off until the end of the year, but we’ll see. Three weeks in, and I don’t feel I’m missing anything.

12. Socials used to be a great place to promote creative content, or so I thought. Even in my dying days of Twitter, posting content may have resulted in shares and retweets, but it never resulted much in the way of views, listens or downloads. I could get 15 shares on a piece of content, but it might result in one interaction with the actual piece. I also looked back at the last five episodes I released on the Wallcast. The previous four I shared and posted on Bluesky and various Discord channels. This latest episode? Only one single person’s Discord. The result? No change in listens or sessions. That just tells me that I have a small audience who wants to listen, and no one beyond that is really interested, so socials as a way to promote content? Not for what I’m doing. Not right now, anyways.

13. I don’t mind having a small audience. Has never really bothered me for the most part. If I’m happy with the content, I post it and move on to the next, whatever or whenever that may be. I’m not complaining about having a lack of audience; just sharing for context about socials. That’s all.

14. I was hoping time away from socials would allow me to spend more time in Discords, as it was the only platform I wanted to stay engaged with. However, I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t even had time to play more in that forum, though I’m trying. I’m in a handful of Discord channels, and I’m trying to make a point of stopping into each one, each day, and leave a comment or at least say ‘hi’. But even that’s proving to be a challenge.

15. One reason I’ve spent less time in Discords? (and it’s probably not a bad thing!) My office has Discord blocked on our network. I used to have it open on my second monitor and just type away as time allowed. Now, yes…I understand I can just open the app on my phone, but…

16. I hate being on my phone. I’m a tech guy, but I hate typing and navigating things on a smaller device like a phone. Even a tablet. Especially if I want to have a conversation. I can type faster and more efficiently than I can text. My brain seems to be able to keep up with my fingers on a keyboard, but on a phone? Not the same. So, when my phone is the only option, I tend to scroll more and type less. That, combined with not having PC access during a large part of my day, means I interact less on Discord. Just the way it is, I suppose.

17. Remember when I mentioned buying the Switch 2? One of the main reasons I bought it was because we were threatened with more tariffs here (Canada), and to be fair it IS a little more expensive than it was when I bought it, but…wow. I thought my kids would be all-in on it more, and they haven’t touched it. And neither have I. Quite literally collecting dust.

18. I’ve actually played my original Switch more than my Switch 2. Why? Because…I have games downloaded on the Switch I haven’t played and when I want to play them, I’ll just play them there. It seems silly to re-download them on the Switch 2 just to play them on better hardware. Admittedly, I DID do that for Link’s Awakening, but that’s only because I knew that it struggled at times on the Switch. I knew it’d be a better experience on Switch 2, and it was. So…outside of any titles like that, I’m content to play them on original hardware.

19. Another reason I haven’t touched the Switch 2? I don’t like paying full price for games if I don’t have to, and right now, there’s not a ton of Switch 2 exclusives I feel like diving into. Sure, Donkey Kong will get added once it gets that brief discount (that Nintendo first-party gets from time to time) but until then, nah. I wouldn’t hate playing the Bravely Default upgrade…I loved the 3DS release. But, I also don’t feel like paying full pop for that upgrade. On sale? Sure. It’s definitely worth paying for a second time to enjoy on my couch on a TV. But…I’ll wait for closer to 50% off.

I can't WAIT to play this game

20. I’m content to wait for more Fire Emblem. And that’s a title I know I’ll pay full-pop for, because I’ll play it as soon as it downloads. Most games these days, I know if I don’t buy them on sale, I’ll waste money, because it’s usually months or years before I touch them. And even then, I lose money. I’ve spent far, FAR less money this year than I ever have before on video games…simply because I know that I’m losing money on buying games, even when they’re on sale. By the time I get around to playing them, they’re even CHEAPER than when I bought them. 

21. By that logic, I’d never buy a video game again since I have more games than I’ll ever play in my lifetime. But…I really want to focus on playing the ones I DO have.

22. Between spending less money on video games this year, and trying to spend less on either impulse purchases, I’ve got a LOT saved from my baseball side hustle. I usually have the money earmarked for something, but I’ve held a lot of restraint, and that’s led to having a giant pot of money just sitting there. (And yes, that’s despite having bought a Playstation Portal, Switch 2, and Steam Deck this year)

23. Buying tech to play more games hasn’t helped as much as I’d hoped, but I’m also very conscious of spending more money, knowing it’s not really changing my behaviour like I thought it might. But recognizing that, and being able to show restraint…it’s actually been great.

24. When I spend less money on games and tech, my initial thought is always, “Good for you. Why don’t you go buy some new clothes for a change and treat yourself to some new threads?” (I NEVER buy myself new clothes. I wear them out and rotate the same things over and over, even at the office, so this is why clothes becomes a second-option for money spending)

25. Thing is, I’m at a point in my life where I’m not happy with my physical appearance and buying clothes is a really negative experience. I’m not a grotesque mess, but I’m wearing a size that is way too comfortable and is definitely a size up from what I usually am. When I try on new clothes, I hate how I feel, so I tend not to buy anything. Vicious cycle.

26. Now, having said that, I DID work out for the first time in YEARS, recently. My son has two hockey practices a week and our rec facility has a track and good handful of weights and equipment. Since I’m usually the parent available to take him to practice (he needs to be there early for off-ice training) I decided I would take advantage and start exercising more, since I’m already there. I JUST started, so I’ll report back more later. Hopefully with some positive results!

27. Random: I have a hankering to play some Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo. I haven’t given that game deep attention since I was a kid. And I’ve always enjoyed it. Not sure why I never really got back to it.

That’s probably a good place to stop it for now. Time allowed me to sit down and write. Where the ability to podcast is limited (by thine own hand, as you’ve read) it should just remind me that when there’s not time to record, there’s time to write.

And maybe I’ll start doing more of that.

Until next time, friends!