Newsletter #2020-02
Published 28 Feb 2020 by Nicholas
I'm still deciding whether I want to make this newsletter monthly, or to push it out whenever a sufficient amount of content accumulates. For now I think I'm happy publishing every 3-4 weeks, once I get several articles and videos.
Articles
Go Memory Ballast: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Heap
What do you do when garbage collection cycles affect your service's performance? Find out how Twitch navigated this issue to help them deal with sudden traffic spikes in a smooth manner.
Trying to sneak in a sketchy .so over the weekend
Do try to be cognizant of the impact your work/changes can have for the rest of the company.
Promiscuous Cookies and Their Impending Death via the SameSite Policy
Give yourself a safety check if you're serving web traffic, Chrome 80 dropped earlier this month and it can be trouble if you serve cookies without a SameSite attribute.
Test Flakiness – Methods for identifying and dealing with flaky tests
My infatuation with CI continues, and I liked this writeup from Jason about flaky tests at Spotify. Be sure to check the slides as well!
Videos
The Mystery of the Mole Playing Rough
Video games often have interesting workarounds for unforeseen problems that arise during development.
In the case of Earthbound, how do you let a player walk around the desert to talk with NPCs, without being afflicted by sunstroke? Meet the Mole Playing Rough!
How Brooklyn Nine-Nine Perfected Casual Queer Representation
B99 continues to a fantastic show, and the way it delivers nuanced queer representation is worth digging into.
The Absurd Genius of Gravity Falls
I've always had a place in my heart for Gravity Falls, and how it managed to go from sweethearted moments to mystery and to surprisingly deep at times.
Spoiler alert for this video if you haven't experienced the rollercoaster ride that is Gravity Falls.
Games
The Pedestrian
We're barely into 2020 and I think we've already got one of the best puzzlers of the year. You navigate levels by arranging and connecting tiles, you'll need a sharp mind once the difficulty picks up!
Vinny from Vinesauce has been streaming this recently, and it's been enjoyable to watch.
Music
The Pedestrian: Original Soundtrack (2020) - Logan Hayes
Along with the aforementioned game, Logan Hayes has put together a fitting soundtrack.
I like the Rush Hour tune, it feels reminiscent of the Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island.
The Slow Rush - Tame Impala
After 5 years away, it's good to have Kevin Parker back! I've been really enjoying this for the past few weeks since it's launched.
Favourite track is definitely “One More Year”, the vocal effects are hypnotising.