Hey there, !

It's time for you to give things meaning.

I feel like I have a lot of things in my life that I buy so that I can collect them and hold on to them for a while.

Most of the time, it's so I can sell 'em for more money.

But I also love the idea of having things for a long time, having them start as just...something you bought at a store or someone gave you, and for them to become such an integral part of your life. You build layers of meaning and stories and memories of the daily objects around you and they thus become meaningful.

The things we buy and collect are usually designed to be used in some way, and I don't want to just put them away for a profit, or to collect dust, or keep safe for a rainy day or for a special occasion.

We have this really amazing ability to imbue things with meaning - the stories we tell about the objects and things around us makes your old sweater or an ugly bowl the reminder of a gift that someone got you, or the fun op shop trip you went on with a friend to play a game of 'who can find the ugliest shit'.

It extends to so many things, like...

Notebooks are a fantastic version of this - every time I traveled, I used to buy a notebook from the place I went to. I have small ones, big ones, interesting stitchings, different material covers, and types of paper as well (grid, dot, blank, lined).

Some of these up in this picture are still in the packaging!

I wanted to be a writer from when I was younger, and so I had dreams of filling these notebooks with ideas and characters and observations and just be so WORDLY about things.

But at the end of the day they're just empty vessels of paper, waiting to be filled with thoughts and notes and feelings; scrap drawings, half-formed thoughts, random lists.

It's through their use that they become special.

I love exploring my old battered notebooks (Spirax ones that I took from work, for example) and I love flipping through to just see what was in them. Old lists of to-do's, or ideas about other businesses I could create. Random tucked in pages of what a previous version of me thought would be interesting to keep.

I collect boardgames and I don't get to play them all as much as I'd like...and look!, even Gandalf wants me to play my games hehehe.

I have so many 'special' boardgames that I own that are really expensive, or old, or collector's edition...what's the point in not playing them? They're supposed to be played with! They're supposed to be used!

And so it's a good reminder to pull them out to play. Games niiiiiiight!

Other examples are like...the small scratches on a watch my dad gave me when I was 19. The wok that's built up a bluish-black patina over time that I burnt myself on the first week I was using it. The nicks and bumps on the walls or windows are just the character of the house...that just turn into cherished stories and memories, which I love.

I just sold my Ender 3 v2 which was my first 3D printer. I learnt how to level a printing bed, I printed my first Benchy on it, and I remember the many trials and tribulations in learning how to make REALLY long prints work (over 3 full calendar days at once!).

And I just...I dunno, I didn't feel too much when I sold it, but on reflection, I remember so much.

Letting go helps remind you how special they were for you, y'know?

I don't know what it would look like, but I think there should be some sort of ritual in things coming into your house, or perhaps leaving your home.

Is it to name things? Is it to bless them somehow? Put them in a Google Spreadsheet or something?

Maybe I should name things, or put googly eyes on them. Call them Greg, Basil...is Wokky a good name for a wok? Make 'em more real so I care about them more.

(What could I name my pizza oven??)

And then when they leave - whether being broken or sold or otherwise, have a remembrance or thank you for it.

Sure, it's a little lame, but it would be fun, right?

Anyway, go and find that thing you've been saving up and use it. Make a big deal out of it if you want, hell, invite me over so I can try it too - but just go use it!

Drink the aged whisky, use the fancy dish, wear the expensive watch.

You can't take it with you when you go, y'know?

Chat soon :)

(P.S. If you've got any feedback for the newsletter, just hit the reply button!)

✔️Real Life Recommendations

1. Casino - 4.5 stars - god its good. So much swearing, so much gambling, so much gangster. Rob de Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci just all doing the MOST...I think I liked this one better than Goodfellas - it has all the glitz and glam of Vegas plus the intensity and violence of the mob. Highly recommended!

2. Amiconi Restaurant - fantastic little Italian restaurant that's been around since the 50's apparently; the quality and quantity of the food is impeccable, the service is warm and nice, and the memory of it helped to quash the terrible Comics Lounge set that we went to afterwards.

🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway

1. Underrated reasons to be thankful V - yeah, sometimes you just need things like this to remind you of good things in the world.

2. Making Crash Bandicoot - if you're like me and played Crash Bandicoot OVER AND OVER again when you were young, this breakdown might be super interesting to read.

3. PokerBattle.ai — The first-ever cash poker tournament for LLMs - guess which AI you think won, and then click in!