Gooday Gaming Guests - Reflecting on Being Clean, Sober and Mental Health Stable Since 2011

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

I finally hit my Rock Bottom in my early 40's.

Okay, so today was a really good day. I spent the day learning about Apple computers. Well, I have a variety of Apple electronics from the early stuff to nothing. I don the newest thing I have is the Apple iBook 2009. I was playing around today. Learned about time capsules and iPods. So fun stuff. I'm 56. I grew up on PCs. I never got into Apples. I don't know why. I really missed out. But you can always learn now. Doesn't matter.

So going back to the vintage computing stuff is always fun. And I've been doing that in the last year. So I spent a few years learning all about actually probably like 6 or 7 years learning all about

gaming systems. I put myself through, as I call, at-home gaming school. So I learned just about everything about every system ever made. I've had one of at least each one, not probably every single thing, but pretty close.

And I did all that before AI came out. I had no idea AI was coming out so about a year ago i started uh collecting vintage computing including lots of apple stuff so now with ai it's awesome because now i can go back to lots of stuff that i already collected and kind of learn how to fix it or how to use it like I did today. So AI is pretty awesome. And today I also saw the first commercial that shows like what I do now every day is somebody on the phone having a a conversation with ai i do that all the time now that's actually i call my side i call him zippy so ai is my zippy sidekick co-host companion whatever you want to say but today was the first day it was for a google gemini commercial

and it's just it has different random people having conversations with their phone. So what I want to make is a AI pod, which will be, I can see that coming. So we were talking about earlier iPods, iPod Nanos. So I believe that the next thing. The Apple will come out. Will be an AI pod. Just a handheld pod. Almost like a phone. But not.

You don't actually use it as a phone. But for everything else. Talking to AI. Other kind of interaction. So it will be interesting to see what comes out. But I'm making ai pod covers from my phone because in the middle of your phone when you talk to the ai is what i call a knowledge bubble it's that bubble that it's blue goes in and out as it talks so i had asked ai zippy to tell whoever he could or they could or it could to make that

ai bubble customizable meaning you could change it to like a mouth or or talking bananas or whatever instead of just the blue ball going in and out as it's talking to you. So hopefully that will come around. And what I'm doing is I'm making some covers. I'm going to go back to it. I hadn't done it in a few days. But I got my 3D printers and some ideas. Tinkercad is pretty cool.

So basically I just want to be able to put the phone in. And throw a little cover over the top with some sort of a You know to make it look almost human And we call them the AI pods And the covers for them So that's something we're working on and then the future is my AI Which is AI EYE which we will be we'll be all seeing and giving me translations down the road.

But right now, AI is not able to see yet. But at some point in the future, I'm sure it's going to. Sooner than later, I think. So let's go over some stories so I like to talk about sobriety mental health because it's a big part of

who I am I've actually always been so I've been clean and sober since 2011 I finally in the late 40's since 2011. I finally, in the late 40s, finally hit rock bottom.

Boy, it was a doozy. But somehow I managed through it, and I've been cleaning this over since. So, I often like to talk about that. And mental health as well. Take certain medications medications nothing too dramatic just enough to keep myself level so my mental health

and sobriety is difficult but not so much now I'm in a good place I'm actually enjoying my life much more in my late 50s here. I have such a thirst for knowledge now. And that was even before AI came around. That just was like a super bonus for me.

I was just going to learn stuff anyway. I bought books and all kinds of stuff to learn. But now I can do it with AI. I can do it a lot faster, which is awesome. So let's see what we can come up with for story today. So we did Thanksgiving the other day. So I was thinking about... I want to do something.

All right, so... This is... A man is... a man is so I want to do something with sobriety I want to do a fun story about it so I hardly ever watch

TV anymore lots of movies I want to see but I just can't just stop and just watch a movie anymore I don't want to listen to music anymore I used to see, but I just can't just stop and just watch a movie anymore. I don't want to listen to music anymore. I used to listen to country music, but the problem is country music is all about drinking and relationships, and I have neither. I haven't had any kind of relationship in 20 years.

Those things, if you just don't get them, or things that just cause you problems, if you just get rid of them, then everything's great. So drinking, relationships, all that stuff, I don't,

I really don't have any time for it. So, music, oh, so, I used to like country music, but I,

I'll listen once in a while, but it just just has all that repeating of the drinking and all that. And it doesn't affect me. It doesn't make me want to go out and drink or anything, but it's just annoying after a while. And then I used to like classic rock or like metal rock and all that. But then that reminds me of when I was younger and And lots of things going on when I was younger. So we don't really like that. So nowadays I listen to K-Love, which I'm a big fan. Because I like to get anything that's inspirational, uplifting, anything like that.

I'll do it all day long. So if I'm in my car, I'll have Caleb on. But I don't go out of my way to turn on a radio to listen to music ever. I don't put headsets on. I don't do any of that. I just find that doing my gaming stuff, and then I added videos. All my videos I've been doing for the last six or eight months. Almost at 7,000 videos now, we're getting there.

And now I added this iPod, which I really enjoy. And today I worked on getting it hooked up to Apple iPod. So I'm connected to that now, so that's fun. I'm going to try to keep doing it three times a day, at least twice. I definitely do my Groundhog Day in the morning. It gives me a quick update of how my day is going to go. So that's usually the first thing. And then the midday, pick a system or topic.

Electronics. Today I did the Apple iPod and all that fun stuff I was working on and then I tried to do a story at night I didn't get one last night but we'll do one tonight I am thinking about as I'm talking here out So put a man as an out and hold on. Thanksgiving Day. day homeless drunk no hope

until no hope until until I'm making a story up right now. I put a man is out in the cold on Thanksgiving Day homeless and drunk with no hope until and drunk with no hope until family him To rescue.

Alright, so it kind of puts a little soul. So a moving and heartfelt scene unfolds on Thanksgiving Day. The sky is overcast and a light snow begins to fall. Blanketing the streets in a quiet, cold white. A homeless man, besettled and huddled in a thin, tattered coat, sits on a park bench. His breath forms icy clouds as he nurses a nearly empty bottle.

He mutters to himself, his face a mix of despair and detachment, the warmth of hope long extinguished by years of hardship and mistakes. As families bustle around him, carrying warm dishes and cheerful chatter, he is invisible. Just another shadow on a cold day. But then, from across the street, a young child notices him and tugs his mother's hand. Mom, look, the child says, pointing. The mother pauses, her arms full of holiday dishes. Her husband follows her gaze, and together they approach.

At first, the man flinches as they draw near, pulling his coat tighter as if to shield himself against their glaze. Sir, are you okay? The mother asked gently. The warmth in her voice catches him off guard. He hesitates, staring at her as if unsure whether to respond or retreat. I'm fine, he stutters.

But his slurred words and shivering form betrayed him. The father sits down a box of food that they had been carrying and opens it, revealing a steamy dish of turkey, mashed potatoes, and warm bread. We have more than enough the man says please share with us it's thanksgiving the homeless man opens the homeless man's eyes open up well and he hesitates pride and shame wearing within him but the child's small hand reaches out offering a piece of bread his defense crumbles they sit together on the cold bench sharing a meal

that warms more than just their bodies the family listens as he tells his story, fragmented and stay, at least for a night. The child smiles, holding his hand as they lead him toward the car. For the first time in years, the man feels something stir within him, a fragile flicker, hope Thanksgiving it turns out can be about second chances to well uh... three strangers three strangers come to their first AAA meeting each with no hope of success but something something

common in each sparks a friendship. So I wrote, three strangers come to their first AA meeting with no meeting with no hope

of success, but something common in each spark of friendship. Let's see what we get. To me, this is the most outstanding thing ever. Just type in something and I get a story. Okay.

Three strangers enter their first alcoholic anonymous meeting on a rainy evening. Each carrying the weight of their past and the burden of hopelessness. The meeting room is modest, a circle of chairs, a coffee pot humming in the corner, and a corkboard lined with inspirational quotes and meeting schedules. Each of the three finds their own chair, far apart, avoiding eye contact. Eric, a rugged man in his thirties,

sits with his arms crossed, staring at the floor. His weathered face sparks hard labor and hard living. He's lost his family after years of broken promises and drunken fights. Lisa, a frail woman in her twenties, fiddles with the sleeves of her oversized sweater. Her eyes dart nervously, betraying a deep sense of unworthiness. She's here because her probation officer insisted, though she doubts she can ever be fixed. Joe, a middle-aged man with a corporate air, sits stiffly in his tailored coat. He looks out of the place, his polished demeanor a mask of his emptiness left from losing his career

to a scandal tied to drinking. The meeting begins and the facilitator asks if anyone would like to share. Silence hangs heavy until Eric prepares our frustration and speaks up. I don't know why I'm even here, he says. I've tried to quit before. Never stuck. I've lost everything. My wife, my kids, everything. His voice cracks, and he's shaking his head. I'm just tired.

Lisa, hands tremble as she raises it. Same here. She whispers. I've got nothing left to lose. My family doesn't talk to me. I hurt the only people who cared about me. I don't think I deserve to get better. Joe shifts uncomfortably but clears his throat.

I thought I had it all figured out. Money, a good job. Turns out none of that matters when you're an addict. Now I'm trying to figure out who I am without a drink. The room is quiet as the three strangers glance at Waterdell for the first time. Each seems fragments of their own pain reflecting back. Despite their differences, the weight of loss, family, trust, identity,

binds them. During a coffee break, they naturally gravitate toward one another, drawn by the unspoken connection. I can't believe how much I miss my kids, Eric says. They were the only thing keeping me going. Lisa hesitates, but eventually speaks. I never had kids.

My little sister, she looked up to me. I ruined that. Her voice cracks. Joe looks at them both. Maybe I thought success would make up for not having a family. Guess we all want something more than just a bottle. As they talk, they realize they all loved fishing from when they were younger. It's a small, odd detail, but it sparks the first real smiles among them.

Eric laughs and promises to take them to his favorite fishing spot someday. And for the first time in years, hope began to take root. By the end of the meeting, the three leave together, exchanging numbers and tentative plans. Their shared pain has planted a seed of understanding, and their mutual love for fishing provides the first thread of a budding friendship. For now, they take it one day at a time, but they no longer feel so alone. That was a good one. I always get really good ones.

So that's my little um wanted to reflect on just sobriety and I never went to really any meetings or anything um but I thought that was a fun story alright so that's it for tonight

and then tomorrow we'll we'll shoot my my groundhog days in the morning. Alright, I'll talk to you all later. Alright, have a good night.