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August 2025 Retrospective

This is going be a really brief retrospective as even though I did quite a bit this month there really isn't much worth writing about. But first I want share this viral video that somehow found its way back into my frontal lobe 13 years after its release.

Battlefield 6 Beta

EA held two open beta weekends for Battlefield 6 this month and I got to participate in the second. Playing exclusively on the PlayStation 5 I can say unreservedly that I am excited for Battlefield 6. However, I am not sure how long it will hold my attention. The maps and modes that were in these marketing betas gave glimpses of the Battlefield of old but at its core this game played a lot like Call of Duty. Small maps with frenetic gameplay that encouraged players to basically never stop running while bunny hopping everywhere. I am not going to sit here and say that EA should not try to capture part of the Call of Duty crowd. But if they want to bring players like me to the game I need something else. Massive maps with vehicular combat and squad tactics are what is going to keep me coming back.

To give EA credit they have been very forthcoming and even made a Reddit post detailing what they learned from the betas. Things like movement, map size, and player count were mentioned so it appears that they understand work needs to be done. The only big question is will they do it in time for the launch on October 10th.

Run 100 kilometres

I ran twelve times in August for a total of 100 kilometres with an average pace of 4 minutes 58 seconds per kilometre. Far from my personal bests but glad to see that even in middle age I can stay fit and healthy.

TIL about USB Audio Class

This month I learned about USB Audio Class and how there have been four versions yet large swaths of electronic devices only support v1.0 even though it has been over a decade since successor versions have been released.

Why this finally mattered to me is I wanted to buy a microphone that I could use with both my gaming PC and PlayStation 5. I heard great things about the Shure MV7+ and was mere minutes from purchasing it when I stumbled upon this Reddit thread. Apparently the PlayStation 5 is one of those devices that has only implemented USB Audio Class 1.0 and since it is not backwards compatible you cannot use a UAC 2.0 device, such as the Shure MV7+. However, that same Reddit thread called out that the base Shure MV7 implements UAC 1.0 and is therefore compatible with the PlayStation 5. So I purchased a Shure MV7 and after using it for the Battlefield 6 beta I can wholeheartedly confirm that it works flawlessly with a PlayStation 5.

Just stop buying stuff from the US

At this point in time anyone in Canada should just stop ordering things from the United States. Customs is in such disarray that you're going to get absolutely destroyed by unforeseen duties and fees which you'll have little recourse to.

I had to send an electronic device to the US this month so the dumbass company I bought it from could change the battery. If they had just sent me a battery I could easily have replaced it myself but for whatever reason they refused to do that so I bit the bullet and paid $50 plus shipping. When it got sent back to me, even though it was marked as a repair, between duties and brokerage fees I effectively paid for a brand new version of the device.

It's funny how I am now prioritizing buying things that ship directly from China because it is guaranteed to be less of a hassle than going through the United States.

Review August Goals

September Goals

#MonthlyRetrospective