Whoa, did anyone else forget today was Tuesday? I almost forgot to put this together in time!

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Columbus Day is one of those federal holidays that feel more like a free day off from work than an actual holiday to get worked up about. Besides, giving Columbus his own day feels a little dirty considering all the terrible things that were done by him of in his name.

In light of having a free day and attempting to think about Christopher Columbus as little as possible, Beth and I went out on the town and hiked through a forest preserve. 70+ degree weather in mid-October is a little distressing, but it worked today.

On to the goodies!

New games

• Minecraft: Story Mode: Episode 1 — The Order of the Stone (all)
• The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition (PS4)
• Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U) - FRIDAY

Links of note

The Jolt - Shawn Blanc (from June, but still great)

It sounds so “bold” — to quit my job on the cusp of starting a family — but it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. And once I made the choice to quit my job and to start writing my website as my new full-time gig, everything else fell into place.

Do not underestimate the power of decisiveness and action.

What’s worse than paid app updates? - Dan Edwards

So next time you feel the urge to complain about a paid upgrade, consider the people behind it and support them, and if you don’t want to, don’t. But there’s no need to call them greedy assholes, becuase they’re not.

To end this post, I’ll leave you with this:

“When people hope it’s going to be a free update, basically they are hoping Tapbots dies as a company and we go find separate day jobs.” – Mark Jardine, Designer of Tweetbot

The Australian Government Started Tracking Your Online Moves Last Night - Vice

Last night at midnight data retention laws became active across Australia. This step is regarded either as a necessary to combat terrorism, or an incredibly invasive nationwide breach of privacy, depending on who you listen to.

The law requires your telco and internet provider to retain that ubiquitous buzzword—metadata—which is a record of your activity online or over the phone, for up to two years. Leading up to the enactment of the law the Government came under fire for not being able to describe what metadata is.

The Microsoft Surface Book - No#

Surface Book is a great name and clearly explains exactly what this device is. Microsoft advertises it on its site as "The Ultimate Laptop." However, Microsoft also unveiled the Surface Pro 4 today, which they call "The tablet that can replace your laptop." Specs-wise the Surface Book is the more powerful machine, but Surface Pro sounds like it's actually the more powerful one. Couple that with the Surface Pro being a laptop replacement, and Surface Book being "The Ultimate Laptop," it seems like Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot. Confusing.

An Illustrated History of Mac OS X

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Seriously, go check this one out.

Hello, I’m Gay - Kane Cheshire

While pottering about thinking about my own experience, it dawned on me; although I “officially” came out when I was 13 (if there is such a thing), I’ve never stopped coming out since.

Coming out is made to sound like a one-time, rip-the-plaster-off experience. Often painful, but better to do quickly, right? In reality, that is hardly the case. Sure, I may now find it easier to tell new people I’m gay, but each time I do, I’m still coming out to them all over again.

Swag of the week

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The Design Deck has an unoriginal name, but these cards are too cool to knock for that. This deck promises to help you learn graphic design while playing cards. While I don’t know how much you’ll actually learn, the cards do look really nice and are definitely the pack I’ll be looking at first when it comes time to buy my next deck of cards.

The Design Deck is $16.90.