Haha - yep, exactly! I started the first video like, “Meh, I’ll give it two minutes.” And ended like, “I need to watch ALL the things!”

He’s my lowkey hero.

I highly recommend checking out this video regardless of what model you get:

https://youtu.be/jHP942Livy0

God I miss the OG ThinkGeek so much.

Crickets taste like cornnuts to me.

Otherwise just get trained in first aid, trip them, and carry around a bunch of bandaids and rubbing alcohol. The Florence Nightingale syndrome is sure to kick in as you tend to their wounds.

Use “social props.” I’m not sure if that’s a real term, but like the colored-hair guy said, it’s about creating an easy conversation starter and giving people “permission” to approach you. An interesting hat, reading a book where people can see the cover / title, a pet or a friend’s pet, doing a hobby like painting (you don’t have to be good at it), comic books, musical instrument, D&D manual, playing dominos…whatever! If someone wants to chat, just give them a small natural conversation starter and frequently look up from it, take breaks, smile; so they know it’s ok to interrupt you. If someone shows interest by a prolonged or repeated glance, just smile and say, “Hey are you into ‘whatever’ too?”

Check out Mango. I was able to get a free subscription through my library.

Cray!

Probably a very niche answer, but Korbel winery in California has gone above and beyond to help me out on several occasions, and real people actually answer the phone when you call customer service. I don’t know anything about their owner or politics, but I’ve had nothing but outstanding experiences with them.

I was looking as photos of cassowaries, as one does, and thought they looked like an animal no one wants to cuddle, so I’m trying to dispel that myth.

(J/k…don’t try to cuddle them…unless you want a talon to the gut. In that case, do.)

I don’t need a timer though.

I have brief mode on, she doesn’t give a shit. I need “say the absolute minimum number of words” mode.

Now they can hear me scream “shut the fuck up Alexa!!!” every time she says “…by the way…” when I just want to know what time it is.

…and now I have Careless Whispers stuck in my head. You’re welcome.

But wait, isn’t this some sort of official government communication channel now? Sure there must be uptime agreements and penalties for such a thing, right? Right?!?

I have the Ladurée macaron cookbook and I look at it frequently, and then go buy a lesser version of the cookie and pretend I’m happy.

They don’t know what Reddit is in the least. Using email can occasionally be a challenge. They’re hippy artist types. Mostly they only know Facebook so they can sell their art. It’s a different life.

Fair. I’ve been trying to explain Lemmy and the Fediverse to my non-tech friends and it has been…entertaining.

I’m not a millennial, but I do kinda sorta work in IT, so half guilty as charged. Back to practicing my consummate Vs now.