Monthly Digest - November 2020

Hey folks, welcome back to our monthly digest! As always, feel free to skip ahead to your preferred content by using the quick links provided above to jump to your the section.

Article of the month

I really couldn’t have said it better. This isn’t exclusive to new developers, but really anyone working with a team or encountering any codebase.

Code isn’t everything, but it is an important work output. Whenever you touch it, you should strive to leave it in a better place that it was before you did so.

Of course, whenever I encounter anything related to programming like this, I always feel like this isn’t exclusive to software engineers as well, but when we really get the idea behind it, we could virtually apply it to anything in our life and improve ourselves. This is also one of it.

Honorable article mentions

• [CSS-Tricks] Lots of Ways to Use Math.random() in JavaScript

An amazing and well-written article showcasing the different uses from a simple Math.random() API. From animations to computer-generated music, and even generative art. Go check it out!

• [HFET] Google’s ReCAPTCHA Privacy Nightmare

You’re forced to agree to Google’s Privacy Policy on sites that uses ReCAPTCHA. Yes, by clicking on those “I’m not a robot” checkboxes, it also means you agree to their terms. Read more on the article for a thorough explanation and alternatives.

• [Reddit] Why Your Mate Think Anime is Gore …

A well researched and written essay of why Anime has such bad reputation in certain places. Included with all the sources, if you know anyone who thinks about Anime this way, you could ask them to try have an open-mind and read this essay. Even if you don’t, you should at least know the history if you’re in the Anime community.

Bonus: [Reddit] Google’s long search URL explained

Not really an article, but a really informative reply explaining what and why Google’s search URL is so long.

Content of the month

Probably the best Isekai Drama that will ever exist (ahem prove me wrong). It’s truly sad that this might not ever get a second season. Yes, sorry to spoil the fun early but you deserve to know this before you get too attached to Grimgar like myself. Feel free to explore why that’s the case here, but either way, this is a truly good show to watch and follow.

Honorable content mentions

This month is also quite slow but there’s still some interesting shows I finished just in time before December starts. Here’s some of my recommendations.

• [Alchemauss] Daily Lives of High School Boys

A contestant to last month’s content, Nichijou. Their absurd humour rivals each other and really just a fun show to watch that will certainly make you laugh. It’s comedy is just direct and plain funny without having to think too hard like Nichijou.

• [Alchemauss] KONOSUBA Movie: Legend of Crimson

One of the best animated movie (not like there’s a lot of movies to begin with), especially if you follow KonoSuba from the first season and enjoyed it as much as the second season. Totally recommended for you who have watched the show, but totally not recommended if you haven’t. Watch the show first before you watch this! Trust me on this.

• [Alchemauss] Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

Not as sad or touching as I imagined, perhaps my expectations were a bit high because of the barrage of recommendations for this movie. But, either way this is still a good movie with a unique story.

Music of the month

Another awesome release from Stonebank (a.k.a. StoneDank because the releases are always Dank). Not to mention the genre is Drum and Bass (DnB), one of my favorites in the EDM scope.

There’s also a lot of amazing mixes released this month, be sure to check them out in the new YouTube Music playlist down below.

Honorable music mentions | Spotify / YouTube

Awesome song with amazing vocals by Micah Martin. With psyched up Mob as the background, it gives off such vibes that gets you all pumped up.

I think this meme from the community describes everyone who knew about Tristam well. It was such a great feeling when I first saw it, and it’s also a great release.

Another worthy mention to MUZZ and Danyka Nadeau latest release, Somewhere Else. Such a great song and animations, it’s shocking how far Monstercat releases has improved over the time.

Video of the month

This is one of those videos everyone must watch no matter what their background is. Everyone can and will get sick someday, and you need to understand why and how it happens. This video explains it perfectly in around 5 minutes.

Honorable video mentions | YouTube

Why hexagons are the best shapes that are proven multiple times by nature over thousands of years. Now, after you’ve watched this video and someone asks you what your favorite shape is, you can confidently say that it’s ‘hexagon’.

A must-watch for you science geek out there! Horseshoe crab is one of those ancient animals that you might only hear on fairy tales and legends. But, they’re actually real (lol) and their blood is like magic potions for us humans.

The biggest lies about good posture, debunked by calisthenics experts! Everyone, especially those who spend most of your time sitting, whether that’s in front of a computer, or in front of your TV, or really anything else that allows you to stay statically for a long time.

Headlines of the month

Kick Google Play Outside Your Smartphone With AuroraStore

Built to truly be an alternative to Google Play Store (and not something like F-Droid). This is perfect for you who wanted to start your privacy-focused journey. AuroraStore is easy to install and includes both apps and games, just like Play Store does.

Source(s): [FOSS Post]

PSA: Your Public Domain Is Part of Your Infrastructure and Not Just Your Homepage

The post itself describes it well in a form of rant. Generally, don’t do anything with your domain without consulting your IT, don’t even give keys or access to others, especially telling “web guys” to cancel “that old homepage”.

Source(s): [Reddit]

Your Phone Number May Be Readily Available to Anyone if You Play Genshin Impact

The forgot password feature can be used to show your phone number to anyone, if you linked a mobile number to your account. Email would be partially censored, but not the phone number. This seems to be fixed now, but we don’t know how many phone numbers were exposed publicly.

Source(s): [Reddit/Privacy | Reddit/Thread]

Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage on June 1st, 2021

The time has finally come for Google to kill one of it’s products again, this time it’s their unlimited photos service. With almost everyone I knew using Google Photos to back up all of the photos since the beginning of time, most people have now found a way to download and archive all of it using tools across the internet. It was a good run, I personally didn’t use it because I don’t like my photos compressed, so I still keep it there but with the original option checked, so everything counts towards my quota.

Source(s): [Reddit | The Verge | Google Blog]

YouTube will run ads on smaller creators’ videos without paying them

It’s forced, even on channels that opt out of showing advertisements on their videos. Nothing more to add to the title. Read the sources for more information.

Source(s): [Reddit | Engadget | Forbes]

Flappy bird in 341 bytes of URI formatted HTML and JavaScript

One madman created an entirely playable Flappy Bird in 341 bytes of HTML and JavaScript encoded as URI. As of writing this, the community has tried to reduce it even more and it stands at less than 200 bytes, 195 bytes to be exact.

Source(s): [Reddit | GitHub]

Sword Art Online Progressive will be a Movie instead

SAO Progressive goes all the way back to the start and it follows Asuna’s journey on Aincrad. But, unlike most fans expected (including myself), this story will be made as a movie instead of a new series/show as a whole season. Either way, I’m still looking forward to this since Aincrad arc felt super rushed, there’s a lot of room for the story to be shown, so having a chance to experience it again is always nice.

Source(s): [ComicBook]

That’s it for our recap of November 2020, folks! Stay safe, have a great December and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it 👋