What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

I'm wanting to automate a thing on my android phone.

I would like to activate and deactivate alarms based on calendar events (by keywords in their name or description).

Have you ever wondered where all the background music comes from in commercials, documentaries, training films, or TV shows? It is a genre of music called Library music, but also referred to as "production music" or "stock music".

For example, some American football fans might recognize this tune: Heavy Action by Johnny Pearson

Or maybe Tomfoolery by David Snell

I have some standout favorites myself such as Plucking the Strings by David Snell and really the whole Bruton BRN11 Prestige album has great tracks.

What I love about library music is how direct it is where every track tells you exactly what feeling or mood it’s meant to capture, so finding the right piece for a moment becomes straightforward. It’s music created for utility that is commissioned, catalogued, and sold to fit commercial needs. That makes it oddly fascinating to me. Out of the thousands of albums, some pieces slip into our collective memory while others fade into obscurity or as a one-time background sound. I feel the people making this stuff were clearly talented, but they worked in a strange niche where their art was never meant to be more than an enhancement to a visual effect. Digging into it feels like uncovering a forgotten corner of pop culture.

If you want to search more example of library music, I think the go-to's are any of the Bruton or KPM libraries, but there are many more out there.

KPM Playlist
Bruton Playlist

Hi All,
It's been coincidentally EXACTLY 1 year since my previous post about Gametje. I've been busy creating some new games and re-designing all the main pages with the help of a UI/UX designer. I have posted a few updates in the weekly What programming/technical projects have you been working on? threads but I thought this milestone deserved its own post. I published the new site earlier this week and also migrated to a new backend server. Here's a refresher of what it is for those that may have missed my previous post a year ago. I also recently started working on it full-time last month after not really working on it much from January-June this year. You can read more in my recent blog post.

What is it?

It's a set of online games that can be played in person with a central screen (like a TV) or remotely via video chat. It's also available directly in Discord as an embedded activity. It is playable in 9 languages and doesn’t require any downloads. Most games revolve around creativity in some form. None of the games require fast reflexes and can be played by just about anyone.

Where can I try it?

https://gametje.com and directly on Discord

You can use the "quick play" option to launch directly into the game as a guest.

What's different from last year?

There are 2 new games (Sync Think and Hide & Peek) and the main pages have been redesigned. I also implemented a game room concept which allows you to bounce between games without having to recreate it each time. I also integrated with Discord, which means you can play directly in their interface and also use Discord as an Identity Provider when logging in. The games themselves need a bit more polish (especially the two new ones) but overall they should work.

What am I looking for?

I'm trying to gather some feedback about the games and the overall concept. Are the games fun? Is this something you'd try with your family? What could be improved? Is the site clear about what you can/should do? Should I add some gameplay videos to give you a quicker feel for the games?

I'm also open to game ideas, I have a few in the backlog already but need to focus more on the business side at the moment. Any advice on the games/marketing etc would be highly appreciated.

Side note: I'm probably going to rename the whole site soon since the name Gametje doesn't exactly roll off the tongue and has caused some debate with Dutch speakers. The branding for the new name isn't quite ready. I am considering calling it GameBuffet as my avatars are all food related and its more of a "all you can play" offering for any games added to the platform.

Thanks for reading.

One question you can ask yourself before you invest in a company: why do I think the value will increase and provide a good return on my investment?

One reason is because the company is poised to grow at a rate above the overall market. These are called growth stocks.

Another reason is because the company is valued lower than it should be right now based upon a fundamental analysis of its fair market value. These are called value stocks.

Growth

With a growth stock, the current price may already be high due to strong demand, because people think the stock will be worth much more in the future. That is the risk you are taking, because if the stock does not outperform the overall market, you are now behind.

Having a good knowledge of the market in which a growth stock company operates is very helpful. There may be market disruptions (AI anyone?) that lead to outsized expected growth. Look at Nvidia’s 5 year chart. Tell me when everybody figured out Nvidia’s chips were amazing for AI processing.

Or Amazon during the pandemic. Look at this chart and tell me when everybody figured out that if you can’t go to the store to buy things, you are going to need to order it online.

These companies were sitting in a market that, for whatever reason, had amazing growth potential. The companies were able to use their core strengths to jump ahead of the overall economy in terms of value creation speed.

Value

As mentioned, value stocks are those that, after lots of research into the company and market itself, you think the price of the stock should be higher than it is right now. And you expect that stock price to rise as everybody else realizes all the amazing things you already realized.

The stock could have been beaten down by some newsworthy event, which caused everybody to panic sell. These stocks are trading nowhere near their high marks. However, if you think the stock will get back up to that high water mark, you may have found a good value stock.

Now, determining which stocks that have suddenly dropped in value are actually value stocks takes research. You don’t want to “catch a falling knife” by the blade and end up bloody. You want to be able to catch the handle! Does the company have enough cash to weather any storm? Are creditors piling up? Is the photograph printing market shrinking incredibly fast and the company is not making the right decisions? Back to that fundamental analysis of the company itself - if you look at the financials and are impressed with the leadership's team ability to navigate that quick drop in stock value, then you found a winner!

Warren Buffet seems to think United Health is a value stock. As you can see, the stock is about half of its initial value. Buffet is in this for the long term and is hoping that his research is correct in terms of UnitedHealth potentially doubling back up to its previous value faster than the market as a whole would double. Either that, or he hopes his clout is enough to make it a value stock in that more people will invest just because he did.

Holy cow done

That about wraps up the difference between these two types of stocks. Many stocks are a blend of the two, also. But seeing the extremes helps with understanding this way to differentiate stocks. Yes, there are more specifics that I didn't fully get into. And yes I am trying to be as approachable as possible with the topic. Hopefully this helped you!

Can you find an example of a potential value stock out in the world currently? How about a potential growth stock?

A little background:
I’m an Irish man who lived in Scotland for a long time and developed a penchant for good Scottish whisky.

I’ve since moved back to Ireland and am on a quest to find good Irish whiskey.

I’ve been looking for double distilled, single pot (or single malt) and have found a couple of nice ones, though this is somewhat counter to the Irish market which favours triple distilled and has (imo) a narrower taste profile, especially when compared to scotch.

Currently drinking: Shortcross rye and barley

Its really pleasant and quite different to the traditional Jameson/bush. There’s a bit of depth to it, some spice from the rye and a lovely classic malty finish.

Any other whisky enjoyers out there ?