# Corrupted Desks – Memory Card #55 👋🏻 I don't feel like I've been taking full advantage of building that [[Memory Card 44 – What Came First - The Video or the Thumbnail|proverbial runway]]. I've picked a topic—conceptually titled "We Can 'Never" Go Back"—and I have a loose thumbnail concept.[^1] I haven't dug into it beyond that, because it has been a rather busy two weeks. Busy in general sure, but particularly "busy" in those wee morning hours where I usually get the creative work done. By busy, I mean I was hyper focused on beating *Metroid Prime 3: Corruption* for [[S7 - Metroid Prime|Season 7]] of my podcast [[Chapter Select]]. Don't get me wrong, I love when my "creative work" is the playing an actual video game part of things, but choosing to focus on *Prime 3* meant saying no to a lot of other personal, creative efforts. I haven't even touched *Donkey Kong Bananza* yet, even post-beating *Corruption*. I started *Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney* instead. 😅 I've been futzing about with my project management system. The kind of futzing that is a top-down rethink and analysis. These essays are a part of that. I am taking a lot of inspiration from Wanderloots and [his approach](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWhMzDKA7vJ4NDvVhlZMki0a4Dv3iYO-S&si=lrb5pRt-T0OCtHK4) with Obsidian Bases. I've thrown in Kanban boards too. It's coalescing, but I feel like I've got to *use* the system before I know if it works. You have to take it for a drive and get to know the bumps and quirks. This newsletter has loomed over me a smidge. I felt like I should have *something* to report. Well, it turns out that talking myself down from impromptu Mac mini purchasing [[Memory Card 41 – Chip Gains|four months ago]]. Stars aligned where my joby job has an upcoming gig where I should be traveling and doing quite a bit of video work and a friend was selling their M2 Pro 16'' MacBook Pro. I got the laptop this week. Yesterday was "Tear down my desk and redo the entire thing" day. ![[250731_iMac Desk.jpg]] ![[250801_MacBook Desk.jpg]] It may just look like I swapped iMac and LG monitor placement, but it is a much more in-depth reorg. I tried many things (perhaps the whole process needs a blog post), but I landed on the laptop being in the middle and using its trackpad and keyboard. It's going to take some major getting used to. I did my first work editing on it today and hoooo boy is it a step up from a base M1. I still need to figure out a viable recording method for gameplay. Using the ProRes hardware encoder in OBS generates stable 4K60 at a whopping 9GB per minute, but using the H264 or HVEC hardware encoders struggles. That doesn't make sense in my brain. We'll see what I can learn.[^2] That's where I'm at. I have a few more weeks before peeking back at the Fourth Wall and *Astro Bot* essay. Let's make the most of it. Until next time... > [!email]+ Memory Card Newsletter > This letter is one block from the newsletter **[Memory Card](https://buttondown.com/MaxFrequency)** by [Max Roberts](https://www.maxfrequency.net/about). Thoughts? Send *me* an email at [email protected]. > > Max is the writer and producer behind [Max Frequency](https://www.maxfrequency.net), a place where he cultivates and curates curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings. > > He's written a [[Chasing the Stick - The History of Naughty Dog during the PS4 Era|rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II]], celebrated the [[MFP23 - “A Passion for Smash” – Celebrating 15 Years of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Peter Spezia|15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype]], and examined how [Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic](https://youtu.be/kc2l_9Fdpek). > > **Memory Card** is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s *how* The Thing™ gets made. You can sign up below. (Look down) > > It's all powered by [Max Frequency](https://www.maxfrequency.net) and [patrons](https://www.patreon.com/maxfrequency). > > Wanna see The Thing™? [Check it out on YouTube](https://youtube.com/MaxRobertsEssays). Read it on [The Blog](https://www.maxfrequency.net). > <iframe scrolling="no" style="width:100%!important;height:220px;border:1px #ccc solid !important" src="https://buttondown.com/MaxFrequency?as_embed=true"></iframe> [^1]: I know it needs a much better title for YouTube. [^2]: My gut says it is OBS' fault.