Ryan Matthew Pierson

A Blog of Ersatz Savvy

Being part of a fandom should be a positive experience for everyone. Unfortunately, gatekeeping can turn an otherwise friendly fandom into a toxic place very quickly.

Burnout is a common problem that many people face in their personal and professional lives. I’m no stranger to burnout, especially after 16 years of writing about technology.

I joined Twitter back when the company didn't have an E in its name. Back before, most people had never heard of it. Twitter was a news feed for the geeks and nerds of the world. It has changed quite a bit since then.

Working as a tech journalist was a career move I have zero regrets about. The pay was never fantastic, and the content was often a bit dry, but the experience of chasing down leads and telling stories about cutting-edge tech was a life experience like none other.

Time is the most limited resource we all have in our lives. Once it's gone, it's gone forever. Having ADHD, time is easily lost in jumping between projects. Often, a random thought becomes a necessary pursuit that easily consumes your entire day. It's a struggle, and one that most people with ADHD deal with every single day.

I'm watching Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and I can't help but to wonder if I'd make a better Hobbit than Human in Tolkien's Middle Earth.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to take up the hobby of 3D printing. What started as a general interest in creating things that I could enjoy has become a rewarding and challenging hobby.

My wife and I have enjoyed watching 9-1-1: Lone Star since the first episode. It's a great sibling show to the original 9-1-1. The producer's decision to set Lone Star in Austin is interesting. Not a lot of shows choose our funky city as a backdrop.

The Witcher franchise is rich in lore, creating a compelling story about a world where monsters are exterminated by mutants called Witchers. I first discovered the tales through "Witcher 3", the popular CD Projekt game that deservedly earned top honors from virtually every game critic in 2015.

The weather in Austin has been very good for the past few days. The heat of Summer is finally subsiding, and the rain that ushered in the cooler weather is long gone.