The Reality Check: Why Temping is My Path Forward

I often talk about the future of Swagnilla Ice, but I want to be real with you all about the present. For a long time, I tried to do things the traditional way. I applied for the steady, permanent roles, but the job market has a way of being cold.

Despite my efforts, the traditional 9-to-5 world hasn’t been biting. And even when I did have that stability, it proved to be an illusion. My longest run at a job was six years before I was given the boot.

That experience changed how I look at employment and why I’ve embraced temp work while we build this community together.

The Illusion of Permanent Work
Getting let go after six years teaches you a hard lesson: no matter how much time you put in, you are often just a line on a spreadsheet. When that permanent safety net disappears, you realize that the only thing you truly own is what you build for yourself. That is exactly what I am doing here with this blog and my video series.

Turning Rejection into Fuel
It’s frustrating to put yourself out there and not get the call back. But instead of letting that stall me, I’m using temping as a tool. It’s a way to keep Harmani Investments happy and the rent paid without tied-down loyalty to companies that haven’t shown that same loyalty to me in the past.

Why the Membership Matters
This is why I’m so focused on our membership tiers. Whether you are a Peasant, a Knight, or a Duke, you are helping me build a career that can’t be taken away by a corporate boot. Until Swagnilla Ice is fully supported by the community, temping is how I bridge the gap. It keeps me agile, it keeps the bills paid, and most importantly, it keeps me from being at the mercy of a hiring manager who doesn’t see the value in what I do.

By supporting me here at Swagnilla Ice with a membership, you are helping me to secure the future and produce more awesome content like this blog post.

An Improved Look for a New Year on Swagnilla Ice

Greetings everyone!

We’re really into 2026 now and small but important changes have come to Swagnilla Ice over the last few weeks. The biggest one of course is the change in theme and a bit of change of layout. Instead of using Twenty Fourteen and it’s magazine style layout, I have switched to Twenty Eleven, which is more of a blog theme that is customizable to feel more ‘royal’ and majestic. From the custom purple background to the dark colours and chess image in the header, it’s the perfect blog theme for someone who’s focused on a Medieval but Modern style in his gaming and video making.

To complement this royal aesthetic, I have also engineered a new badge system for our comment sections. Members who have joined the Knight or Duke tiers will now see their titles displayed in vibrant colors next to their names. These colors are inspired by our Discord hierarchy to keep things consistent across the entire Swagnilla Ice experience. Additionally, the first one hundred paid members will receive a special gold Founder badge as a permanent mark of their early support for my creative endeavours.

The Founder badge does not appear automatically, but I must give it out myself after you become a paid member. Peasants will not be given this badge or any other badge in the comments as they are reserved for our paid members and staff only (including myself). The badges for myself and the staff are not membership badges but are official marks of their employment with Swagnilla Ice after they are hired. This ensures that when you see a badge in the comments, you know exactly who is a dedicated supporter and who is helping me run the kingdom.

These badges are marks of honour and respect, they have been earned fairly through support or being hired as someone valuable to my team. I expect that everyone will follow the rules of what’s acceptable in the comments when posting.

I have put a lot of work into engineering this new home for Swagnilla Ice to ensure it is a high-quality, private space for us to grow. Whether you remain a Peasant or rise to the rank of Knight or Duke, I am glad to have you here as part of this journey.

Check the header for all the important links, keep an eye on your inbox for post notifications, and I will see you in the comments after you become a member. Let’s make 2026 the best year for Swagnilla Ice yet.

Creative Engineering E53: The Supporters Hall

In this episode, Swag builds the Supporters Hall, where paid members’ signs and blocks will go. Don’t remember how this system of rewards in my public Minecraft worlds works? Check out Signs, Blocks, and You – The Update here or search for the post on Swagnilla Ice where your paid membership can get you into this hall and begin your journey of support!

The Power Up Notes – December 2025

Welcome back to the final Power Up Notes of 2025! It has been a massive year for Linux, and we are closing out December with some record-breaking news and updates that show how far the platform has come. In today’s episode, we explore the latest Steam hardware survey results, a major new Long Term Support kernel, and the tools I use to put these videos together.

In this episode:

  • Game Notes: Linux usage on Steam hits a record 3.2%. We discuss why I stick with open-source NVIDIA drivers for my dual-monitor setup despite recent “driver chaos” on other distros.
  • Kernel Notes: A deep dive into Linux Kernel 6.18 (LTS) and what the Linux Mint 22.3 “Zena” beta means for your system’s stability.
  • Editorial: Why independent, family-friendly content matters and how you can support the channel.
  • Spotlight: A look at Lightworks on Linux Mint. I share how I use the free version for an efficient dual-screen workflow—editing on one side while researching on the other during processing.

News Theme by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Support the Journey: If you enjoy this family-friendly look at tech and gaming, consider supporting me. Your support helps me keep this research independent and accessible for viewers of all ages.

Don’t expect a Minecraft video…

Aside

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you are expecting a Minecraft video to be published on my YouTube channel tomorrow, please discard that idea. Due to how long an episode takes to create and how much work outside my home I am currently doing to pay my bills, I do not have the time nor the energy to record one. I’m so tired that I’m not even working on my private work in the evenings, like I do when I don’t get steady work.

If you really wish to see episodes at a more steady pace, consider supporting me. If I had a steady income to pay my bills and buy groceries, I could focus more on creating content and less on the need to earn money to pay bills every month.

From Stickers to Sweaters: Fresh Merch for Every Fan!

Searching for the perfect gift for a fan of my video content or podcast? Want to support my latest project? Great news—my new merch has officially launched in my Fourthwall store!

Before, supporting me meant sporting a sticker, mug, or sweater with my avatar. Now, you can show your love for my podcast, A Few Moments with God, or Project Green Light with brand-new stickers, mugs, and apparel featuring each logo! Each collection is custom-designed, so grab your favorites—or collect them all!

One of the newest merch on my Fourthwall store!

Want to support me on a regular basis? Choose from two membership tiers—one of which unlocks a 10% discount in the shop when you spend over $100 in a single transaction (before shipping)! Plus, stay up to date with my latest videos or support me with a one-time donation.

Whether you’re grabbing a sticker, a sweater, or joining as a member, your support means the world to me. Every purchase and contribution fuels my projects and helps me keep creating content you love. Check out the shop, find your favorites, and thank you for being a part of this journey!

An Open Letter to Everyone

Dear reader,

To those who have supported me, and to those who may soon do the same, welcome to my blog and future community website. In the previous two posts here, I showed off the possibilities of what I can do with support from all of you. In this letter, I’d like to explain the challenges I face without support and how you can prevent that from happening.

In the first of those two posts, I showed how I would transform this simple blog into a full community website which would be a one-stop for all your family-friendly content needs. In the other post, I explained how with your support, I would add jobs to my community by hiring the right people to ensure that I could sustain that growth in the long-run. The vision in both posts depends entirely on the backing of a committed community.

Let me now explain the challenges I am facing without support. The biggest challenge I face is my rent. This alone costs me nine hundred dollars every month, and without a steady income, it’s not easy keeping a roof over my head. Without a steady place to call home, I won’t be able to produce any more of my family-friendly content that you enjoy. I also have other bills that need paying each month, and in total without groceries, I need around twelve hundred fifty dollars each month. This is why community backing is so important—it can help keep my work alive and ensure I can continue creating the content you love.

I know that not everyone can support me financially, and that’s completely okay. But there are other ways you can make a meaningful impact. Even small gestures—like sharing my work with others or engaging with my content—help more than you might realize. The YouTube algorithm isn’t easy, but with your likes, subscribes, shares, and comments, you can help ensure my content reaches the people who want to view it! Sharing these posts on my blog also will help get the word out to those who are interested in reading about topics I write on from my perspective. Sharing my podcast will help my fellow Catholics and other Christians learn about it and consider listening to an episode, and maybe even subscribing to me on Spotify. None of these actions cost a dime—just a moment of your time, and they can make a huge difference.

For those who are able and willing to support financially, here’s how you can help. For one-time support, you can send a tip through PayPal or LiberaPay using these links. You can also choose to buy my merch at my Fourthwall store, or purchase a service you are interested in from my Ko-fi page. For recurring support, both Fourthwall and Ko-fi have memberships that you can choose, with Ko-fi having two tiers to choose from. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference, and I’m grateful for your support in whatever way feels right for you.

At the end of the day, every bit of support—whether it’s sharing my work, engaging with my content, or contributing financially—helps bring my vision to life. Your encouragement, kindness, and belief in what I’m building mean the world to me. No matter how you choose to help, know that I deeply appreciate it. With your support, we can create something truly special together.

Your family-friendly content creator,

Swagnilla Ice (Nathan Pinno)

Creative Engineering E18: Automated Stone Bricks & Supporter Stats!

In this episode, Swag first automates stone bricks and explains how the detector from Refined Storage works with the clutch to control production. He then builds a display board to show the number of subscribers, Twitch follows, and total supporters using the Create mod. Tune in to see all the fun and derps this episode has in store for you!

First Hires First: Prioritizing Roles for Growth

Ladies and gentlemen, people of all ages, I invite you to read this post today as I explain how and when I plan to expand from a one-person operation to a dedicated team. My goal is to continue providing the family-friendly, Christian content you expect while ensuring that the quality only gets better.

The way I plan to expand is simple: For every multiple of two thousand five hundred Canadian dollars (C$2,500) in monthly income, I will hire a new full-time team member. For the first milestone (reaching C$2,500 in income per month), I will be hiring myself to do this content creation gig full-time.

As I get closer to that milestone, I will be focusing more and more on content creation and less on working outside of my home. Right now, most of my time is spent working outside to pay my bills and creating content around my job, but as I get more support, that will change.

At the C$5,000 milestone, I will hire a graphics designer to help me out. Their job will be to design all the images—from new art for merchandise and creator cards to thumbnails for YouTube videos. If it needs an image, that person will be responsible for creating it and then getting my approval of the final design.

At the C$7,500 milestone, I will hire an editor to join the team. This person will be responsible for turning my raw recordings and raw Twitch VOD content into final videos for release on my YouTube channel. Their duties will also include moderating my Twitch channel and Discord server to ensure a family-friendly atmosphere is maintained.

Starting at the C$10,000 milestone, I will begin to hire a group of people aimed at putting together bigger projects, such as the dream video project I outlined a few weeks ago. The first among them will be researchers to help me write my podcast episodes and non-gaming YouTube video scripts. From there, I will continue to hire as my business needs and as I can afford them.

In conclusion, planning to expand my team is not just about growing my business, but also about enhancing the quality and diversity of the content I provide. Every milestone represents a step towards a more dynamic and creative future, one that allows me to focus on what I love most: creating meaningful, family-friendly, and Christian content for you all. 

While I don’t know if I’ll be a perfect boss, I have learned in my life so far what I don’t want to be as a boss, and I am committed to fostering a positive and supportive work environment. Your support is what makes this journey possible, and I am incredibly grateful for it. Stay tuned for more updates and thank you for being a part of this exciting adventure!