The latest YouTube Rewind is the second-most downvoted video in the platform's history, on its way to being the most. I heard an interesting vlog on the subject and about the state of YouTube's constant attempt to pander to advertisers, at the expense of creators. I comment on that and also on YouTube's continuing issue of promoting what's already popular and what they can maybe do about both.

The Toronto Police Service recently started publicly posted names of people who were charged with (but not convicted of) impaired driving and Ottawa is considering doing the same. I have some real issues with this from a justice perspective and I talk about why.

Just a warning up front that this episode deals with some medical things and while not graphic or anything, if you're squeamish about that stuff, you might want to avoid it.

I got a vasectomy this week. I don't have any kids, have never really wanted them and this week, decided to make sure I can't have any, biologically at least. I wanted to talk about what made me reach this decision in the unusual context of being a nearly 40 year old, single male and why I think it was the right one for me.

NOTE: Make sure to listen to the end as some more information came to light since the initial recording and there's an addendum that talks about it.

Mere days ago, I talked about the launch of the new Epic Games Store and how it could finally be the competition needed to put some heat on Steam's defacto monopoly in PC digital games distribution. Well, the launch hasn't gone so well and many PC gamers are already turning their backs on this burgeoning platform. I talk about the reasons for this, the ones I agree with, the ones I don't and how Epic could maybe turn this around.

I decided to take this experiment a bit further and do a collaboration episode with my good buddy InfiniKnight. We chat about The Game Awards and what we thought of the awards themselves, as well as the flurry of announcements that came out and give our quick impressions.

Even though our impressions were relatively quick, there was so much to talk about that I had to split this into two episodes and they're both pretty lengthy. The normal, shorter format will resume after these two episodes.

I decided to take this experiment a bit further and do a collaboration episode with my good buddy InfiniKnight. We chat about The Game Awards and what we thought of the awards themselves, as well as the flurry of announcements that came out and give our quick impressions.

Even though our impressions were relatively quick, there was so much to talk about that I had to split this into two episodes and they're both pretty lengthy. The normal, shorter format will resume after these two episodes.

Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with ADHD and have been managing depression and anxiety for most of my life. In attempting to treat the ADHD, I was running into some major roadblocks. However, after talking with a friend, I discovered that caffeine, also known as the lifeblood of IT, could have been playing a major role. I talk about my experience giving up caffeine and the major difference it seems to be making in my journey to normalize this disorder.

The written blog post I reference on my ADHD diagnosis: https://geekbravado.com/2018/06/15/so-i-found-out-some-interesting-brain-stuff-this-week/

Shadow of the Tomb Raider came out only a short time ago but has already been deeply discounted multiple times and seems to be somewhat of a flop. As a far of the previous two "new" Tomb Raider games, I was also pretty disappointed by it and in this episode, I talk about why. WARNING: Minor spoilers.

The War Stories campaign in the latest Battlefield game has been shown to be taking some creative liberties with the historical record, seemingly in order to push a modern progressive ideaology. I talk about this revelation, why I think it matters in the context of the campaign specifically and why I won't be streaming the campaign any more.

SidAlpha video I reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrec_bj21gk

SidAlpha's source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAlAITCBprI

Epic Games surprised everyone by announcing that they're getting into the digital distribution game, with a new service that will give away free games throughout 2019 and offers a much better revenue split with game developers than the industry standard.

I talk about how this new competition to Steam's defacto monopoly could be a good thing but why we should also be vigilant of Epic's intentions.