SPARKY WEEKLY

⚡ JoshTheSparky Weekly Report

Week #23 | August 17–23, 2026

Another week of building.

Week #23 has been a pretty busy one.

A lot of this week has been me trying to take all the different things I have been working on and actually figure out how they fit together. I have been studying the NEC, working through Bay Path, building Brainbusters, working on the website, making YouTube content, planning JTS TV, working on the app idea, and continuing to look at the career side of everything.

At this point I am starting to realize I don't necessarily need to keep adding more and more things.

I need to make the things I already have work better together.

The three-post-a-day system is a good example. Quick Hits, Theory, and Brainbusters helped me build a ton of material and stay consistent. But a lot of the time I am taking one subject and explaining it three different ways anyway.

So eventually I want to be able to take one subject, actually teach it, ask the question, explain the Code, explain the theory, and make one really good piece out of it.

I'm not trying to do less.

I'm trying to stop making myself create three things when one really good thing could do the job.

📊 This Week in Numbers

• Study Time: Approximately 2–3 hours per day of focused study

• Questions: Continued working through electrical / NEC questions throughout the week

• Commercial Experience: 215+ commercial hours banked

• Education: Bay Path Module 5 underway

• 2023 NEC: Continued formal coursework and calculation work

• 2026 NEC: Continued Chapter 1 and 120-series load calculation study

• Brainbusters: Continued revamp and expansion of the website resources

• YouTube: Continued reuploads, playlists, new series development, and JTS TV planning

• Website: Continued work across Learn, Brainbusters, Quick Hits, Network, Community, Featured, Radio, Broadcast, Newsletter and other sections

• NECChat: Continued Question of the Week participation and discussion

• FastTrax: Continued following the education side of the trade

• Podcast: The Young Electrician conversation remains planned for September

• Career: 215+ commercial hours remain the current baseline

There was definitely a lot packed into this week.

📚 Study Progress

The study has honestly been one of the biggest parts of this week.

I have been spending a lot more time getting comfortable with the actual organization of the 2026 NEC, especially Chapter 1 and the 120-series material.

One thing I keep noticing is that the math isn't always the part that gets me.

It is figuring out what the question is actually asking me to calculate in the first place.

I'll read a problem and there can be five, six, seven different pieces of information sitting there. The hard part is figuring out which ones actually apply, which Code section controls the situation, what calculation method is being used, and what I am supposed to do with the numbers after I find them.

That's the part I really want to get better at.

The recent work has included:

• Article 100 definitions

• Chapter 1 organization

• Branch-circuit calculations

• General load calculations

• Demand factors

• Dwelling-unit calculations

• Receptacle loads

• Small-appliance branch circuits

• Laundry loads

• Dryer calculations

• Lighting loads

• Motor calculations

• Noncoincident loads

• Understanding calculated loads

• Working through the 120-series material

• Reading the actual question before jumping into the math

I have also been going back and forth between the 2023 NEC material through Bay Path and the 2026 NEC material I am studying independently.

That has actually been useful because it is making me pay more attention to the fact that the Code changes.

Something can look almost identical between editions and still have a different requirement, table, exception, or calculation.

So I am trying to get into the habit of always asking:

What edition am I looking at?

What Article am I in?

What section actually controls this?

What is the question asking me to find?

Then do the math.

I would much rather be good at finding the answer than memorize a thousand answers.

That is the skill I am going to need later anyway.

⚡ 2026 NEC Deep Dive

The 2026 NEC work has continued getting deeper.

The 120-series load calculation material has been especially useful because it forces me to slow down and actually understand what I am doing instead of just looking for a number.

Dwelling calculations, demand factors, receptacle loads, dryers, lighting, motors, noncoincident loads, and the different pieces that go into a calculated load all start connecting once you work enough of them.

I've also been continuing the broader Code work outside of the load calculations.

Grounding and bonding, box fill, service equipment, HVAC receptacles, conduit, burial requirements, outside branch circuits and feeders, voltage drop, breaker characteristics, motor calculations, and other topics are all part of the stuff I have been working through.

Some of these subjects are easier than others.

Some I can look at and immediately know where I need to go.

Other questions still make me stop and think:

"Okay... where the hell is that in the Code?"

And honestly, that is part of learning it.

I don't expect myself to know everything yet.

I want to know how to find it.

That is probably the biggest difference between memorizing the NEC and actually learning how to use it.

🎯 Question of the Week — 2026 NEC

I continued working on the Question of the Week through the FastTrax / NECChat side of things.

I also worked on a 2023 NEC Article 220 branch-circuit VA calculation question as another way to keep working the calculation material.

I like these questions because they force me to actually do the process.

You have to figure out what the problem is asking, find the right section, figure out which loads apply, do the calculation, and then explain why.

That is way more useful to me than just making a question where somebody can guess A, B, C, or D.

I'm also starting to think more about how these questions can become part of the Brainbuster system.

The question itself can be the starting point.

The explanation becomes the lesson.

The Code references become the study material.

And eventually the whole thing can live on the website instead of disappearing after a post gets buried.

🧠 Brainbusters

The Brainbuster revamp is still moving forward.

This week I kept thinking about how much more useful the Brainbusters can become if they aren't just treated as social media questions.

I want somebody to eventually be able to find a Brainbuster on the website and actually have everything they need around it.

The question.

The answer.

The explanation.

The Code sections.

Maybe a video.

Maybe a discussion.

Maybe a related lesson.

That is a much better resource than just seeing a question in your TikTok feed and then never finding it again.

The live-study format is also something I want to keep using.

The idea of studying, working through questions, explaining them live, recording the session, and then turning that into YouTube episodes is proving to be a pretty good workflow.

It gives the study more life without making me sit down afterward and invent another completely separate piece of content.

📺 JTS TV / YouTube

I also spent a lot of time this week working on the idea of JoshTheSparky TV — JTS TV.

I want the YouTube side to eventually feel more like actual programming.

Different series.

Different episodes.

Reuploads.

Brainbuster breakdowns.

Deep NEC Web Browsing.

Live study sessions.

Educational content.

And eventually a proper watch experience on the website.

One of the new series I started working on is Deep NEC Web Browsing.

The whole idea is basically showing the process of actually digging through the NEC and finding information.

Not just:

"Here's the answer."

But:

"Here's where I found it, here's what I looked at, and here's why this section matters."

That is the kind of thing I think is actually useful for someone learning the trade.

🌐 Website Development

The website keeps getting bigger.

I have continued working on Learn, Brainbusters, Tutorials, Quick Hits, Network, Community, Featured, Radio, Broadcast, Newsletter, and the other sections I have been building.

At this point, there is enough stuff on JoshTheSparky.com that I don't really want to explain every single section in one giant post.

I would rather people actually explore it.

That is kind of the point.

I want somebody to come in for one thing and then find something else they didn't know was there.

Maybe they come for a Brainbuster and end up reading a Quick Hit.

Maybe they find a tutorial.

Maybe they see the Broadcast.

Maybe they find the Radio.

Maybe they end up in the Network or Community.

That's what I want the site to become.

Not just a page with my name on it.

📱 JoshTheSparky App

The app idea also continued developing this week.

The goal is still to have the main JoshTheSparky.com site remain where it is while building out the app experience through the JoshTheSparky.online direction.

One of the biggest things I care about with the app is being able to actually update it without having to rebuild everything.

If I make a new Brainbuster, Sparky Weekly, lesson, video, journal entry, Quick Hit, or other resource, I want the content to be able to get added without turning it into a whole development project every single time.

I also want the eventual watch experience to make sense.

If someone wants to watch a JoshTheSparky video, I don't want everything to just feel like a bunch of external links.

I want there to eventually be a proper place to watch, browse, and find the content.

📡 Broadcast / Reuploads

The Broadcast side is continuing to develop too.

The more I work with live content, the more I realize how much of a waste it is if it only exists for the people who happened to be there at the time.

A live study session can become a replay.

The replay can become several YouTube videos.

Those videos can become Shorts.

The important parts can become website resources.

And the original material can stay archived.

That's the part I am trying to figure out.

Not just how to make something once.

How to make it useful more than once.

📻 Sparky Radio

The Radio side is still developing as well.

The conversation with The Young Electrician is still planned for a September release.

I like having the option to do longer conversations because not everything needs to be a 30-second video or a five-slide post.

Sometimes you just need to sit down and talk.

That is what I want Radio to be another place for.

⭐ Sparky Featured

Sparky Featured is still something I want to develop because I really like the idea of putting other people on.

There are a lot of electricians, educators, creators, companies, and people in the trade doing cool things.

If somebody is doing something worth seeing, I want to be able to give them a place on the site.

At the same time, I am thinking more about how paid placements could eventually work without making the whole thing feel fake.

If somebody pays to be featured, I want that to be clear.

I don't want to just throw random advertisements at people and call it Featured.

The basic idea is still:

They don't put me on. I put them on.

🌎 Industry Updates / Trade News

⚡ Paul Abernathy / FastTraxTube

One of the things I wanted to highlight this week is what Paul Abernathy is doing with FastTraxTube.

Paul is going to be revamping FastTraxTube, which is basically the YouTube for electrician education within the FastTrax ecosystem.

I am interested to see where he takes it.

There is already a ton of electrical education floating around online, but having a platform specifically built around electrician and trade education is a pretty cool idea.

And it fits with what I am trying to do too — giving people places to actually learn instead of having everything buried underneath whatever the algorithm wants to show them that day.

📚 Free 2026 NEC Code Prep — Unit 1

There is also a free view of Unit 1 of the 2026 NEC Code Prep available on the NECChat discussion board through the FastTraxSystem portal.

If you are studying the 2026 NEC, you can check it out here:

FastTraxSystem Portal

I think giving people a free look at the material is a good way to let them actually see what is there before deciding whether the full program is something they want.

⚡ NECChat / FastTrax

I have continued paying attention to what is happening through NECChat and FastTrax because there is a lot of good electrical education happening over there.

The Question of the Week is one piece of that.

The 2026 NEC Code Prep is another.

And now with FastTraxTube getting a revamp, there is even more potential for the video side of that education system.

I think the trade needs more places where people can actually ask questions, study, and learn without everything being reduced to a 20-second clip.

That's something I want JoshTheSparky to be part of too.

👷 Electrical Work & Career

At the end of the day, this is still about becoming an electrician.

The website, YouTube, Brainbusters, NEC study, all of it comes second to actually learning the trade.

I have 215+ commercial hours banked now and I am still looking for the next opportunity that makes sense for where I am trying to go.

The field experience matters because it gives me something to connect the Code to.

When I am reading about something in the NEC that I have actually seen or worked with, it makes a lot more sense.

And then sometimes I run into something in the field that makes me go back to the Code and ask:

"Okay, why is it done that way?"

That back-and-forth is probably one of the most useful parts of the whole process.

🎓 Bay Path

Bay Path Module 5 is underway.

The 2023 NEC work through Bay Path is continuing alongside the independent 2026 NEC study.

The calculations and math are becoming a bigger part of the work, and I am continuing to work on the stuff underneath the electrical calculations too.

I don't want to just finish the module and move on.

I want to actually know what I just studied.

That's going to matter a lot more when I eventually have to sit down for the Journeyman exam and the questions aren't necessarily going to look exactly like the examples I have already seen.

💡 Lesson of the Week

I think the biggest thing I took away this week is that you can change something without admitting that the original idea was a failure.

The three-post system worked.

It helped me stay consistent.

It helped me build a library.

It helped me figure out what I liked making and what I didn't.

Now I can look at it and say, "Okay, I think I can do this better."

That's not failure.

That's just moving on to the next version.

I think the same thing is going to happen with a lot of the stuff I am building.

Some things will work.

Some won't.

Some will change completely.

That's part of building something while you're still figuring out what it is.

⚡ Quick Hits / Updates From This Week

• Continued 2026 NEC Chapter 1 study.

• Continued 2026 NEC 120-series load calculation work.

• Continued Article 100 / definitions study.

• Continued dwelling-unit load calculations.

• Continued demand-factor, receptacle, dryer, lighting and motor calculation work.

• Continued studying noncoincident loads and calculated loads.

• Continued 2023 NEC work through Bay Path Module 5.

• Continued electrical math / calculation work.

• Continued Brainbuster revamp.

• Continued Question of the Week development.

• Continued NECChat participation.

• Continued JTS TV programming development.

• Continued YouTube reuploads and playlist organization.

• Started developing Deep NEC Web Browsing — Episode 1.

• Continued Broadcast and Watch Page planning.

• Continued Radio development.

• Continued JoshTheSparky.com website expansion.

• Continued JoshTheSparky.online app planning.

• Continued social-media promotional material.

• Continued career search and electrical experience development.

• 215+ commercial hours banked.

• Paul Abernathy announced plans to revamp FastTraxTube.

• Free Unit 1 of the 2026 NEC Code Prep is available through the NECChat / FastTraxSystem portal.

• Continued building out the relationship between JoshTheSparky, NECChat and the wider electrical education community.

🔚 Final Thought

Week #23 was another one of those weeks where I had a lot of different things going on at once.

Studying the NEC.

Working through Bay Path.

Building Brainbusters.

Working on YouTube.

Figuring out JTS TV.

Working on the website.

Thinking about the app.

Following what Paul and the FastTrax crew are doing.

Looking for work.

And trying to keep all of it moving without completely burning myself out.

I'm still figuring a lot of this out.

The website isn't finished.

The content system isn't finished.

The app isn't finished.

I'm not finished learning the NEC.

And I'm definitely not finished becoming an electrician.

But I don't think any of that needs to be finished yet.

I'm still early in this.

I'm learning as I go, changing things when I need to, and trying to make sure I don't lose sight of why I started all of this in the first place.

Learn the trade.

Get the experience.

Help people when I can.

Build something useful.

And keep moving.

Take care of yourself.

Confirm everything.

You're the electrician.

See you next week. ⚡

Josh The Sparky
@joshthesparky4
joshthesparky.com

Future Massachusetts Electrician | NEC Student | Always Learning

📖 Suggested Quote / Song of the Week

Bible Quote

Matthew 11:28–29

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me... and you will find rest for your souls.”

🎵 Song of the Week

Nas — “N.Y. State of Mind”