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According to Gemini (it must, therefore, be true), “time feels like it speeds up as you age, primarily because each year becomes a smaller fraction of your life, and your brain processes fewer novel experiences, making memories less distinct and years blend together”.
I googled this today because, while writing the intro for this week’s newsletter, I claimed that there was some science behind time moving faster the older you get. Although I did caveat that with “or maybe not”. Because I haven’t really got a clue what I’m talking about.
All I do know is that I’m 46 this coming October. And that feels like 2026 marks the final leg of my journey towards a very big number. It’s the number I remember my parents turning and scarcely believing they could suddenly be so ‘old’.
Now, that’s me. I’m that old.
With that in mind, I’ve decided to make sure I’m only doing the things I love – particularly when they’re tied to paying the bills.
As a result, in 2026, you’re going to see more content from me across two areas (although, don’t worry – I won’t be leaving my Apple fanboyism out of the picture).
Console gaming
I used to play a lot of computer and video games. That’s why the first past passion I’m unearthing this year can be neatly split into two sections in this blog post.
We’ll start with the latter, because console gaming feels like it’ll be the easiest to insert into a nearly middle-aged father’s life.
Or will it?
My first console was a Sega Master System. It was the second-generation version that came with Alex Kidd in Miracle World pre-installed. As much as I would have loved a SNES or Mega Drive, it was a brilliant lesson from my parents in the value of what you can afford (and, indeed, what you probably need) at any given time. The same happened when I had to save for a considerable amount of time to buy my first PlayStation.
I had mates with the other consoles and, in between our relentless re-enactments of Premiership moments at the local park (jumpers for goalposts – the lot), we’d spend a great deal of time in someone’s bedroom playing endless bouts of Street Fighter II and marvelling at the real speech in Altered Beast.
Alas, my love for console gaming came to an abrupt end later in life when I attempted to play Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PlayStation 3. I wrote about this experience in my (late) review of the PlayStation 5, but in summary, that game felt more like watching an awfully written and teeth-itchingly badly acted movie. I just wanted to play the damn thing, and it was as though I wasn’t allowed to.
Fast-forward many years and life experiences later, and I have a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and a Nintendo Switch 2. And enough TVs and projectors to play them all on.
I’m going to do just that. Because I think a lot of people who read and watch my stuff will be at the exact same stage of life as me.
We can do this, together.
PC gaming (laptop, more specifically)
I’m going to let you in on something.
Last year, the lovely people at Razer sent me a gaming laptop. It’s called the Razer Blade 16, and it’s incredibly powerful.
It’s very thin, too. Which is impressive, because the performance it promises is rather biblical – not least because it has an Nvidia RTX 5090 wedged inside its tiny frame. I first saw that GPU in action almost exactly a year ago in Las Vegas at the CES trade show, and it blew me away. I had no idea how far laptop gaming had come and what these things were capable of.
Remember, I’m the guy who used to play PC games a long time ago. So long ago, that I can still remember how impressed I was when I saw Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the first time with all of its smooth textures and high frame rates (despite only being able to see about three feet ahead).
As you can probably guess, I haven’t played PC games for a very long time. Therefore, when Razer offered to loan me this fancy pants laptop, I almost declined, knowing that there was a high chance it might sit within its delivery packaging for an embarrassingly long time while I continued to make endless videos about the Mac mini.
Guess what happened.
In fact, the Razer Blade 16 is still in the box it arrived in several months ago. I’ve even let Razer know that they’re welcome to have it sent back (at my expense, obviously), but I’m yet to hear from them. This means that Razer has either popped me on the black list or they’re simply too busy with their market of proper gaming creators and consumers.
Regardless, the fact that I haven’t even opened the bloody thing yet is becoming more embarrassing by the day.
So, I’m going to open it. I’m going to set it up and, providing someone from Razer doesn’t steam in mid-Windows update and demand I return it, I’m going to actually have a crack at Windows gaming again. Given that this laptop is technically one of the most powerful you can currently buy, it would be rude not to.
How much further I’ll go beyond this initial foray back into a hobby I used to deeply love depends very much on how easy it is to pick up and play modern PC games. I am, therefore, tentatively excited.
The big one: music
If there’s one thing I’ve promised more than anything else over the last couple of years, it’s an extension of the music-related content we’ve published.
To date, this has extended as far as my thoughts on the iPad version of Logic Pro and a couple of questionable durability tests of the M4 Mac mini running the same app. What has been clear within the comments sections of those videos is that there’s a subsection of my audience that would love to see more music-related stuff from yours truly.
This is good news, because music has been a constant in my life. My dad is a musician, and that meant my sister and I were exposed to music – both recorded and live – from an extremely early age. I also had access to a whole range of musical gear when I should have been playing with scooters and Action Man. That led to a love affair with music production that lasted many years – until life took over. Which is a shit excuse.
This year, we’ll finally be launching a separate music-related content arm of Mark Ellis Media. The goal is to build a community of like-minded music geeks who want somewhere to learn, listen, and get away from the modern world of algorithm-driven, AI-threatened music.
This will be a slow but intentional process. We’ll be starting with short-form clips of me digging through my fast-building music library during practice DJ sessions. From there, a newsletter will arrive, followed by long-form content, live streams, and a dedicated area of the internet within which people like me can geek out about new finds, low-pass filters, and how awesome the Korg Triton was.
I cannot wait, and if you want ‘in’, you can sign up for updates here.
Final thought (for now)
I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. They never feel real, honest, or remotely achievable. And, trust me, I’ve tried.
What you’ve read above, therefore, isn’t a resolution – it’s a plan for 2026 and beyond. More importantly, it’s an excuse for me to unearth passions that I think about all the time, but which I simply haven’t given physical time to.
I’m lucky enough to have a job that affords me such time. Not taking advantage of that fact would be utterly daft.
So, here’s to 2026!
