I pitted friends against each other, and the Technical Difficulties returned.

• The first free-to-air broadcast of Money, the series I made for Nebula back at the start of 2020! Five YouTubers, five games, and $10,000 on the line.
   
• The Technical Difficulties return, with a Christmas special of Two Of These People Are Lying.

• High definition, high frame rate video from 1990: a demo tape from Sony, digitised and uploaded in the highest possible quality. Skip to 3:55 for the astonishing part: it feels bizarre to see late-80s/early-90s style so clearly, when it's not a modern parody or homage. This whole channel, "Reely Interesting", uploads all sorts of archive and corporate videos, and there's a lot to dig through.
   
• Red Bull continue to sponsor athletes to do incredible things: this time, using a wingsuit to fly into — and out of — the crater of an active volcano.
   
• The title of this looks like ridiculous low-attention-span YouTube clickbait. Perhaps it technically still is. But the production quality, direction, and story of blowing up a Tesla Model S with 30kg of dynamite elevate it a bit higher.

• How to Defeat Gravity and Achieve Escape Velocity is a lovely short space-pirate sci-fi story by Julia Rios.
   
• The internet has a rat poison problem. Of course individual buyers want the post effective best control, consequences be damned. And of course individual sellers want to survive in a competitive marketplace. Regulation for the greater good in a connected world is extremely difficult.
   
• The Hierarchical Representation of UK Statistical Geographies is the sort of thing that gives data analysts nightmares.
   
• And finally: if a YouTube video fails, then video creators can move on to the next project, or even just quietly delete it. But if you're acting in a play, and you've got weeks of dire performances ahead of you... what's it like to star in a flop?

So that's a wrap on 2021, for the newsletter at least — there's a New Year episode of Two Of These People Are Lying still to come. As for 2022: well, here's hoping it's a bit brighter for everyone. Until then: happy new year, and I'll see you on the internet.

All the best,

— Tom