Fantasy writer Olivie Blake jokingly tells me that she doesnt know how to write a book. With eight adult fantasy novels and two YA romantic comedies under her belt including the bestselling Atlas series its a little hard to believe that. But Blake, a self-proclaimed discovery writer, insists.Every time, it gets done, and I tell myself I know how to do it, she laughs. But when Im in the middle of the process, Im like, I dont know what Im doing, and were just working through it. Ive come to this embrace of the unknown.Blake is a prolific writer for an author who claims not to know how to write. She originally self-published her adult novels under a pen name, the same one she used for her fanfiction. When The Atlas Six became a viral sensation via TikTok and other social media, she got a chance to republish that novel in 2022 with Tor. The publishing house also republished her older adult fantasy, and picked up the rest of the Atlas series. At the same time, Blake published her YA debut, My Mechanical Romance, under the name Alexene Farol Follmuth.In 2024, she published the last book of the Atlas trilogy, along with Twelfth Knight, another YA rom-com. With two new stand-alone adult fantasy books coming out in 2025 and a whole lot more planned for down the line, Blake has learned a thing or two about balancing projects, focusing on goals, and figuring out what to work on next. Since the beginning of a new year is always a time for reflection about setting new goals and considering self-improvement, Polygon reached out to Blake to ask how she stays so productive, and discuss the perks of being a New Years resolution person.This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.Polygon: Do you set professional or creative goals for yourself as the new year approaches, or do you have different strategies?Olivie Blake: Im a New Years resolution person. I like to start the year assuming I will be my least lazy self, and then inevitably be disappointed. But I feel like in the margin for error, there is still some improvement.[For my creative goals], Im trying to see myself as less of an expert and more of [] I keep trying to put myself back in the feeling of being a hobbyist. I had the most fun when I was a fanfiction writer and there were no expectations. I wasnt worried about building an audience. I just [thought], Can I do this? Or How good would it feel if I got this exactly as Ive imagined it? And it never happens that way. But I think the feeling of approaching something like its the first time is falling in love all over again.As far as professional goals, artistic careers are really hard to have a sense of measurement for. Its hard to see that youve come a distance or moved up in any way. Im at a point where Ive been pretty prolific and some of it is a mix of new [and old self-published titles]. Were at the point where I dont have any more backlist titles and everything is new.But I also would like to kind of slow things down so that Im not so fatigued by the promotional and marketing and all the industry aspects. And so to give myself more, basically more art time, less administrative time, Im hoping to pace down a little bit. I would like to write every day, which I have not done over the last couple of years as my career has taken off. That means that all the administrative tasks also need to be done. All the things that are very important to selling a book, but are less satisfying to me as an artist.Im going to try to return to maybe we write a little less every day, but we still do it every day. Instead of taking these windows where it becomes this big marketing period, the focus will always be writing, even if that means smaller amounts every day.How do you pick between projects, or focus on what you want to do next?I think of it as when youre bowling and you have the bumper guards on, thats what my editor is for me. Im like, Here are the ideas Im having. Let me bounce this off you. Which one sounds like the right thing? And to be fair, I have a very privileged career, in that I have a long-standing relationship with my editor. Shes here for my career. Its one of the ways that I always knew I wanted to be traditionally published, because I kind of need to be managed.Im the kind of creative that has a lot of ideas and wants to cross media and wants to do something new and different every time. So its helpful to have someone say, What if we did this? What if we focused on this? Or This is the strongest thing youve pitched. So to some extent, I leave that up to someone else, which is a huge relief for me, because I wouldnt say I have a very good sense for what the market is. Nobody does everyone who says they understand the market is just selling you something.The two books I have coming out in 2025 are Gifted & Talented, which is kind of incisive about the tech industry, and then Girl Dinner, which is an interrogation of what feminism is, what contemporary feminism has become. Theyre both vaguely political books. I wanted the book after that to be a little bit more of Its an LA Gothic, its more of a horror romance. Im conscious of things that I write in similar periods having similar tones, thinking about the same things and working through them. In that sense, it was good to be like, Lets take a little break. Lets look at a different aspect of existence or whatever, and then we can yell about the tech industry some more after that.How do you handle distractions, or the urge to jump to another project?Sometimes if Im feeling the need to work on something else, I will do [both] concurrently. I think in terms of artistic efficiency, there are some ideas that if you try to ignore them, theyll just slow you down. This idea is what you want to be working on, what you need to be working on that doesnt necessarily mean its the only thing youre working on, and that everything else goes away.Right now Im working on two projects at the same time that are in different phases, so if I feel like one is not quite right for the day, Ill do the other. But I am also pretty conscious at this point of what the best idea is. The one I should be working on is the one Im thinking about the most, the one that I find the most interesting.There are times when I think to keep that feeling of play or to keep that hobbyist energy of Im doing this because I love it, I will sometimes do something shorter. Its never a loss. That story will become something someday.Part of it is knowing what kind of creative you are and gaming those things, I think. So I identify the priority project. Obviously having actual deadlines is helpful for this things that actually have to get done. But also knowing that sometimes if your brain just isnt in it, or the mood is just not right, then a quick break can be helpful. Its like, Lets just do this other thing. And maybe that feeling of satisfaction will keep you going on the other projects.Part of it is knowing what kind of creative you are and gaming those things. [] That feeling of satisfaction will keep you going on the other projectsHow do you restart yourself when you get blocked or overwhelmed?Usually when Im feeling blocked, when I cant move forward in the project Im working on, its because theres a problem in the project Im working on. Something I just wrote isnt right. What it really is is kind of a feeling of I need to cut what I just wrote, but I feel like that will be such a loss that I dont want to do it.But every time without fail, if its a cant move forward feeling, its because something went wrong behind me, and I need to own that and change it and fix it. Because trying to continue forward will actually be a more inefficient use of time. But if Im feeling uninspired, which is a different feeling than blocked or overwhelmed, thats when I would go to a smaller project, something thats a little bit more bite-sized.Im bipolar, so a lot of the ways that I game my creative problems are similar to the way that I deal with my mental health. When youre really depressed, the feeling of satisfaction is even more important, but its harder to achieve. So my to-do list when Im depressed is take a shower or clean this one thing. I give myself tasks that I know I can accomplish. And so in the creative realm, its like, Why dont you just come up with an idea today? Just think of something today.That feeling of being able to cross something off helps you move forward. The feeling of I have accomplished something, that is progress or doing something thats smaller, you can still feel like I flexed that creative muscle today.How do you know when its time to let a project go?Thats a good question. Im trying to think of what projects I have let go. Theres not too many that Ive left unfinished. Usually if I leave something unfinished, its because I came up with a better version of the idea, or I want to use the characters in a different way. I have an unfinished file, but I always have the sense that Ill come back to it.I think whats hard is the feeling like Im letting this go forever, Im just dropping it and its gone. I prefer the sense that its just waiting somewhere, and I can come back to it anytime. But usually its because Im being more driven by the feeling that something else is a better idea, that something else is like, Oh, I really know how to do this, or I can really work on this thing thats specifically interesting to me.Most of the things I dont finish are short-story ideas where the tone is wrong. I tried to write this one story. It was meant to be sort of absurd. It was about a demon that was manifesting like Zillow, when theyre trying to buy your house. But for some reason, the tone just kept coming out so melancholy. The narrator was so sad. And I was like, This is not right. So Ill come back to it when I figure out how to do it. I think my brain is just working on that in the background somewhere, and however long it takes, itll come back when the time is right.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.The JBL Tour Pro 3 earbuds, now at their lowest price ever (according to price trackers) of $249.95 (down from $299.95), are IP55-rated and come in black or latte. JBL Tour Pro 3 - True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds $249.95 at Amazon $299.95 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $249.95 at Amazon $299.95 Save $50.00 These flat-stem earbuds come with six pairs of eartips (one foam), giving you plenty of options for a comfortable fit. That said, while theyre generally secure, they can reportedly slip off during more intense activities like runninga potential downside for fitness enthusiasts. They last for a respectable seven hours with ANC on, 11 hours with it off, and an additional three full charges from the case, totaling 28 to 44 hours, with ANC on and off respectively.The earbuds use Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity and support Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair, and Bluetooth multipoint pairing (with up to three devices). They also feature Auracast, a cutting-edge Bluetooth technology that broadcasts audio to an unlimited number of Bluetooth devices, as noted in this PCMag review. For high-res audio, they support LDAC, AAC, and SBC codecs, offering a wide frequency range from 20Hz to 40kHz. Each earbud houses dual driversa 10.2mm dynamic driver and a 5.1x2.8mm balanced armaturefor rich sound with deep bass and crisp highs. The active noise cancellation of the Tour Pro 3 performs well, but it falls short of the industry-leading capabilities of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds ($299), particularly in reducing high-frequency noise.The charging case of the Tour Pro 3 has a built-in touch display that allows you to control playback, adjust EQ settings, and switch ANC modes without reaching for your phone. Unique to JBL, the case also functions as a Bluetooth transmitter, enabling you to stream audio from non-Bluetooth sourceslike in-flight entertainment systemsvia the included USB cable or a 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter. For more customization, the companion app provides access to a full suite of controls, including selecting ANC modes, personalizing on-ear controls, and managing EQ settings. You can choose from six preset EQs or create your own with JBL's adjustable EQ tool. The app also lets you enable or disable spatial audio and fine-tune call settings, such as adjusting the EQ for incoming audio and optimizing microphone performance.

Celestial enthusiasts have much to look forward to in 2025, with eclipses, meteor showers, and planetary alignments lighting up (or darkening) the sky. Here are the events to add to your calendar. JanuaryThe first month of the year will bring a lesser-known meteor shower and some planetary action. Jan. 34: Quadrantid meteor shower. The Quadrantids are active from Dec. 28 to Jan. 12 but are expected to peak around 4 a.m. EST on Jan. 4. The moon will be only 47% illuminated, and the shower can produce more than 100 meteors per hour in ideal conditions. Viewing is best in the Northern Hemisphere. Jan. 13: Wolf Moon. The first full moon of 2025 has extra appeal, as it will pass close to (almost in front of) Mars. The red planet will appear to disappear behind the moon at 9:16 p.m. EST and reappear at 10:31 p.m. EST. Jan. 15: Mars at opposition. Peak Mars viewing is happening in January. When at opposition, the Red Planet's entire illuminated face is toward Earth. Look for it in the eastern sky as the sun sets toward the west. FebruaryFebruary's main event is a planetary parade, when the planets appear to be in one line in Earth's sky. The parade actually begins on Jan. 10 when the Moon joins up with Jupiter and continues through February. Saturn will drop off mid-month, but tiny Mercury will be barely visible in the parade on Feb. 28. A crescent Venus will also be visible on Feb. 19 when the planet is at its closest point to Earth. MarchMarch has a pair of eclipses: March 14: Total lunar eclipse. As the moon passes through Earth's shadow, it'll cast a deep red hue. Though the total lunar eclipse will be visible around the world, the full 65-minute totality will only happen in the Americas and Antarctica. March 26: Partial solar eclipse. Canadians and Americans along the east coast will get the best view of March's partial solar eclipse, which will cover up to 93% of the sun. If you can't travel to see it, you can watch the livestream on YouTube. AprilThe Lyrid meteor shower will be active between April 15 and April 30, with a peak on the night of April 2122. Around 1020 meteors (and possibly fireballs) are visible per hour in ideal conditions. For best viewing, look for the shower before the moon rises. MayThe Eta Aquaridsone of two showers resulting from Halley's Cometis expected to peak on the night of May 67. Viewers in the Southern Hemisphere may see up to 60 meteors per hour. Those in the Northern Hemisphere will still get a show, but a less spectacular one. JulyThe Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids are both peaking at the end of July (2930). The former may have up to 20 shooting stars per hour with best conditions in the Southern Hemispherel the latter has fewer meteors, but they are very bright. The sky should be relatively dark for good viewing. AugustThe usually spectacular Perseids will be a bit less so in 2025; the shower's peak on Aug. 1213 lands just a few days after the full moon. However, it may still be worth looking for, as it often produces nearly 100 meteors per hour. At the same time, though, you can catch the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the eastern sky (an hour before sunrise on Aug. 12). SeptemberSaturn will be at opposition on the night of Sept. 21. Just like Mars in January, this event will show Saturn at its brightest, visible to the naked eye. (There's also a second partial solar eclipse visible from New Zealand on the same day.) OctoberThe Orionids are active from Oct. 2 to Nov. 12, with a peak on the night of Oct. 2223. The moon will be only 2% full, leaving the sky dark for solid viewing. The shower produces 1020 meteors per hour. While the Draconids are peaking just one day after October's full moon (the Hunter's Moon on Oct. 6), astronomers say there's a tiny possibility of a meteor storm this year. NovemberThe moon and meteors will light up the sky in November: Nov. 5: Supermoon. The second supermoon of 2025 will be the biggest and brightest since 2019 thanks to its proximity to Earth. Nov. 1617: Leonid meteor shower. In idea conditions, the Leonids, which come from the 55P/Temple-Tuttle comet, produce 1015 meteors per hour. On peak night in 2025, the moon will be just 9% full. DecemberFinally, the brightly colored Geminids will be active from Nov. 19 to Dec. 24 with a peak predicted for Dec. 1314. Unlike 2024, the moon won't interfere with viewing. Look for them between mid-evening and 2 a.m., when it's possible to see 120 meteors per hour in the Northern Hemisphere.

When you're focusing on a task, it's easy to lose track of time and forget to attend important meetings (or unimportant ones that your boss thinks are important), especially when you're working from home and those meeting take place online. Calendar notifications can help, but they're too easy to miss, or even ignore.In Your Face is an indie Mac app that seeks to ensure you'll never miss another meeting. It fills up your entire screen with notifications for any calendar appointments you set it to highlight. The application, which uses the macOS Calendar app for appointments, lives in the menu bar. You can click the icon to see all upcoming meetings. One minute before any calendar appointment begins, your entire screen will be overlaid with a reminder its about to take place. The idea is to make your meeting reminders impossible to miss. Credit: Justin Pot If you want, you can configure the warning to show up sooner. Maybe you, like me, like to go get a glass of water before a meeting beginsfive minutes should be perfect for that. You can also set the application up to allow for travel time, if your meetings aren't virtual. Credit: Justin Pot For me, though, virtual meetings are the real use case, mostly because those are the appointments I find myself most likely to miss. You can set the application to only pop up on screen for appointments that have a video conferencing link, be it in the event's description or the location. You can also filter out events you've rejected, which I recommend, or set the application to not show reminders outside of your working hours. Finally, if you dig through the settings, you'll find that you can customize the look and color scheme for the pop-up (arguably not important, but a nice touch). In Your Face offers a free trial, which you can use to decide whether the application will be useful for you. After that, it costs $1.99 a month, $19.99 a year, or $64 as a one-time purchase. The application is also available with a Setapp subscription, meaning you can pay $9.99 per month for access to In Your Face and around 250 other Mac applications.

Its no secret that Russia has been slowly working towards eschewing as much Western technology as it can and developing its own, and its latest effort seems to be related to video games. On December 25, Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, revealed some information on a domestic video game console being developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as reported by TechSpot. The theoretical console will have an Elbrus processor and be powered by either Aurora or Alt Linux, both Russian forks of the popular Linux operating system.According to TechSpot, the Elbrus processor was developed by the Moscow Center of SPARC Technologies and primarily designed for defense, critical infrastructure and other applications. This processor isnt up to what Intel, AMD and Arm produce right now, and it certainly wont reach PS5 or Xbox levels of power. Despite the weaker chipset, Gorelkin stressed that the console isnt designed to play ports of older games, but will play domestic video game products. Presumably, this means Russia will also need its own developer community to design these games.Theres also another console called Fog Play in development, but its more of a cloud-gaming device. Users with high-end computers can rent them out to Fog Play owners, who play games on these computers through the cloud.These potential consoles are only one aspect of Russias broader technological sovereignty plans. Ever since its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions, Russia has been trying to make this a reality but digital isolation is making this difficult.The adoption of Astra Linux in government, intelligence, military and even educational computers is another Russian effort to develop its own technology. To this end, Russia is also trying to replace file and website scanner VirusTotal (owned by Google) with its own Multiscanner platform in fears of US government infiltration.Despite this progress, Russia is still heavily reliant on Chinas technology. Chinese smartphones are popular there, and Chinese electronics and dual-use technology continue to enter Russia even as the Middle Kingdom no longer exports them to the US.Russia is likely unable to achieve true technological independence, in video gaming or other crucial areas, as it relies too much on China and doesnt have the capabilities to produce PS5 or Xbox-level chips. The two Russian video game consoles serve as a good example of the challenges the country faces given its poor relations with many of the worlds superpowers. Just like the Elbrus processor isnt going to truly compete against the best consoles, Russia will likely continue to struggle for technological sovereignty.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/russia-is-trying-to-make-its-own-game-consoles-in-a-bid-for-technological-independence-151358041.html?src=rss

Terraforms Labs CEO Do Kwon spent the last day of 2024 getting extradited to the US, Reuters reports. Kwon faces charges in the US for "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto asset securities." The Terraforms co-founder has been held in Montenegro since March 2023, when he tried to board a flight with a forged passport six months after Interpol put out a "red notice" warrant for his arrest.South Korean-based Terraforms Labs wiped out $40 billion from the crypto market when its TerraUSD and Luna stable coins turned out to not be so stable and collapsed in May 2022. Kwon had already fled South Korea the month before.The US announced its charges in February 2023, with the SEC chair Gary Gensler stating, "We allege that Terraform and Do Kwon failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably for Luna and TerraUSD. We also allege that they committed fraud by repeating false and misleading statements to build trust before causing devastating losses for investors." South Korea has issued similar charges.Montenegro doesn't have extradition treaties with the US or South Korea. The request played out in court over the last year and a half, with Montenegro's Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic ordering Kwon's extradition last week. Terraform Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US last January.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/terraform-labs-co-founder-do-kwon-will-face-securities-fraud-charges-in-the-us-142734704.html?src=rss

The PlayStation Portal has sold roughly two million units.

Ahead of the international launch of the OnePlus 13 and the OnePlus 13R, we've got details on the latter handset.

Nvidia has also halves price of the hardware in bid to wide appeal.

Bitcoin was far and away the best performing asset class in 2024 thanks to new ETFs and hopes for a crypto-friendly White House.