LIFESTYLE Newsletter Vol. 3 No. 6
Nick's LIFESTYLE Newsletter
I would feel the same hearing that my branch was being closed
THIS IS AN INTRODUCTION
Hello again everyone. It's been a few weeks. A humid few weeks. A time where relaxed vigilance is playing out exactly like anyone with a brain thought it would. A few reader favorite columns return and a NEW DEBUT.
- Well, at least we are not dealing with this too. Give it time.
- My favorite type of information is chronologically structured non-fiction. Some of my favorite books about musicians are ones that literally list the day-by-day recording sessions, who was involved and what was done. This is the same, but in the worst way possible. Lest We Forget the Horrors: A Catalog of Trump’s Worst Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes. The Complete Listing (So Far): Atrocities 1-759
- FAKE NEWS: Post office evacuated and workers treated for durian exposure
THIS IS THE END OF THE INTRODUCTION.
3 THINGS THIS WEEK:
ITEM THE FIRST:
THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT THIS YEAR. You read this newsletter, you should know 2 things about me:
- I write a LIFESTYLE newsletter.
- I HATE gifts
There are few things that society makes me feel more like an asshole about than my hatred of gifts. I find it odd that people want to feed my psychological discomfort and verbal requests to make themselves feel better. YOU DID NOT KNOW YOUR GIFT WAS MORE THAN AN OBJECT, IT ALSO RUINED MY DAY. So, thanks, but no thanks bud. That being said there are a few exceptions to it, mostly around someone taking time to do something personal. Because of that I appreciate that most people understand that NO MEANS NO and don't ruin my day. However, my wife nailed it this year.
I was reading a manga a few weeks ago and saw this amazing panel and immediately texted Melonie:
AND GUESS WHO NOW HAS A T-SHIRT THAT SAYS "COTTON." 👉 THIS GUY. 👈
ITEM THE SECOND:
LIVING IN THE FUTURE. After years of wanting and waiting for the tech to get to a level where I don't have to fuck around with it all the time, we finally got a 3d printer! As soon as I saw the Prusa Mini was announced and only $350, I messaged Melonie and we agreed to buy it. I've been close to buying the Prusa mk3, but the $800 price tag and 10 hour assembly time was a bit much. The Mini is way cheaper, uses some newer tech and took maybe an hour to put together. We've had a lot of fun printing things both practical and fun.
We've had to learn about different types of plastic filaments and a few settings, but for the most part it has been plug and play. We had 1 issue that required us to do some minor disassembly, but it was easy enough for a dumdum like me. We've printed about 4.3kg of plastic and made tons of things, mostly board game accessories so far, but are working towards some models.
FRIEND OF THE LIFESTYLE TAMI took some of our board game prints and DID AN AMAZING PAINT JOB to make Talisman even more tolerable. There is a huge community of websites where people upload things and with OpenSCAD people upload designs (like a card box) and you put in the size you need and it generates it for you. LIKE FUCKING MAGIC.
Anyway, if you need something printed or are thinking of JOINING THE FUTURE, I am here for you.
ITEM THE THIRD:
WELL WE ARE ALL FUCKED, PART 5. We've covered deepfake technology in earlier issues, here and here and here. IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER. Here is my latest find, with audio deepfake of Jay-Z rapping the “To Be, Or Not To Be” soliloquy from Hamlet. This is pretty incredible as it matches not only his speech, but his cadence. WE ARE ALL DOOMED.
NEW COLUMN: 日本語 HOLE (Nihongo hole - "Japanese Language Hole")
This is my new occasional column where I write about the weird things I learn about Japanese language as I am learning it. I will never cease to find weird things that I love and fear about Japan. The Star Trek group got to see my love of JAPANESE MOVING COMPANIES recently. And it will be educational, so you can read this at work or something.
3 words today:
親分 - (oyabun - "Boss"). 1st kanji - Parent. 2nd kanji - Part or half. Yep, your boss is a partial parent.
酒好き - (sakezuki - "Alcoholic") 1st kanji - Alcohol, 2nd kanji + kana - Like. If you like alcohol, you are an alocholic.
感謝 - (kanshya - "Gratitude or thanks") 1st kanji - feeling (as in how happiness or sadness is a feeling), 2nd kanji - apology. It is the most Japanese thing ever to apologize for feeling gratitude.
GRATITUDES:
NO APOLOGIES FOR THIS ONE BUDDY. Just wanted to say thanks for all the positive feedback for the unsolicited advice column last issue. See how cool it is when we come together and build something?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (please mark "ok to print"):
Thanks for the homework! I have many guiding principles for my life that, when followed, usually mean a smoother life and a happier me. The homework caused me to sit down, review those principles, and be very honest with myself about if they are still working in my life and if I am doing my best at upholding them. It was a great chance to check in with myself, something I realized through doing this homework that I should be doing much more often.
Glad you enjoyed it! I think it is important to be honest with ourselves and check in. Thankfully since EVERYTHING IS CANCELLED we finally have the time to do that. Add this time to your calendar if it helps. I look forward to the day I can go to a cafe or somewhere by myself and can work on my goals and ambitions.
I loved all of the unsolicited advice! I feel like this is something to read every day, and am tempted to cover my walls with these reminders on how to live the best life I can. Thanks to everyone who sent in contributions!
I don't think I've encountered so much love for unsolicited advice in my life. I think we collectively did something good here and I look forward to revisiting it in 5 years, because I know my advice would have been different a few years ago.
FAVORITE THING TO GO IN MY EYEHOLES THIS WEEK:
After several months with his therapist, Reid begins to question whether or not they are any closer to diagnosing his unique habits and quirks. The therapist, a handsome bigfoot named Dr. Pibbler, believes Reid is on the autism spectrum, but he’s hesitant to officially make this diagnosis because of the ramifications in Reid’s health coverage. Still, the two decide that Reid should see how it feels to accept this identity for himself.
Obviously, this one resonated a lot with me. I have always wanted a bigfoot therapist that could help me with my Go Fish addiction. Actually, I think the things that hit most was this description of trying to communicate: "That's the way I've always been. It's hard for me to see any situation as a whole. I feel like I'm always looking at a mass of moving parts, trying to break every tiny piece of experience down and understand it in a methodical way. It's beautiful but it's also difficult to interact with people because they expect me to communicate the whole machine and I'm too distracted by the cogs." I think that is a pretty accurate description of my head and why I sometimes stammer as I try to re-conceptualize things for others and try to fit my speech into a way that will be accepted. Of course, the rest of the story is also pretty applicable and made me feel a bit more accepted and loved. As most Tinglers do.
As a bonus, it comes with another favorite - Not Pounded by my Soul-Crushing Job Because I Quit. Both of these Tinglers are non-sexual and include no poundings.
WE ALL HAVE OUR TRUTHS.
WE MAY NOT WELCOMED BY SOCIETY FOR THEM.
BUT I REALLY HATE GIFTS.
THAT IS ALL.