2023 in hindsight (almost)
Hey everybody,
Just a quick note before getting started that this is my last missive of 2023. If you celebrate at this time of year, whatever you celebrate, I hope it's a wonderful season for you.
Here are some things worth sharing this week:
- As we approach the end of 2023, I think most of us start thinking about our year. For most of the year, one question has haunted me: Does my web design work matter? Does it make a difference for any of my clients? Is what I do important? That's why Dan Mall's blog post on this topic struck a chord in me, so much so that I wrote my own response.
- If you work in the web, you know we often compare making websites to making cars. Like most metaphors, the comparison is dumb. The difference is that, if you want the best car ever made, there are a ton of objective tests you can run to see if you'll achieve your goal while you're designing the car. Conversely, if you want the best website for your clients, there's no way to know if you're going to hit your goals before the website goes live. For lack of better terms, it's a total crapshoot. To get around that, we talk about A/B tests. I've been in this business ten years and have always struggled with A/B tests. No more! If you work with the web, Making Websites Win is a book that might change your life. It's changed mine.
- There was a trend this year where every nerd with a blog wrote about their "default" apps in 2023. Of course I wrote one. Developer Robb Knight has kept a master list of everybody's posts, so if this interests you, you have a lot of reading material ahead.
- December is a busy time, so we've slowed down our movie watching a bit. But we did have time to watch Confess, Fletch, a brisk, 90-minute screwball caper starring Jon Hamm that I thought was hysterical. Highly recommended if you like the comedic side of the Coen Bros.
- While we’re talking about movies, my favourites of the year (so far) are Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and They Cloned Tyrone. One under-rated gem that might have slipped by you is You Hurt My Feelings, a film about marriage and career ruts. (There are a few movies I have yet to see this year that I know I’d probably love, including Past Lives, Godzilla Minus One, Poor Things, and The Boy and the Heron).
- When I wrote about the benefits of messy desks a few weeks ago, I forgot to link CJ Chivers' article on the topic, which is one of my favourites (it includes a great photo of Eddie Van Halen in his workshop). For whatever this is worth, CJ also writes a fantastic newsletter. (His article about his readers' favourite links of 2023 is one of this year’s better wrap-ups.)
- If you like jazz and you dislike mall-flavoured Christmas music, check out the "Jazzy Christmas, Baby" playlist, which I'm keeping on rotation for the rest of the year.
- I’m not sure why Warner Bros announced this now instead of in October, but David Fincher’s Seven is getting a 4K release. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if the 1080p releases weren’t such a mess: most countries have unique 1080p releases with different colour timing. Fincher said the iTunes version was closest to his vision. I hope the 4K version is... less annoying.
- The PRS SE Silver Sky is Reverb’s best-selling electric guitar for the second year running. It’s amazing that any one guitar would sell more than Fender’s best-selling guitars. I have an SE Silver Sky, and while it’s certainly not as nice as any of my more costly guitars, I’m inspired every time I pick it up.
- My wife and I are once again discussing whether or not we want to have a baby. I think the decision-making is pretty automatic for most people — ”of course we’ll have a baby” — but we’ve been trying to be more conscious about the decision, especially in light of some issues we’ve had getting and staying pregnant. This questionnaire has been really helpful for our conversations over the years.
As always, thanks for reading! Have a merry December season, no matter what you celebrate, and a great new year. Talk to you in 2024.
Signing off,
Nathan
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