I don’t know how many of you are video gamers or are retrophiles like myself, but we have lost a wonderful member of our community today.  That man is Luke Morse.  Luke has been putting up several videos a day on his YouTube channel for everyone to enjoy for over six months.  However, we not only watched for the sheer fact that we enjoyed his content, but because Luke is such a great guy and we wanted to share in his passion for this stuff.  However, Luke has now posted his final video.  In this video, a normally exuberant Luke has teared down most of his game room, looks completely disheveled, and wants to completely turn back time so that he never made this channel.  Why is this?   Luke was so lost in his hobby that he lost his wife and son.

Watch the video for yourself:

I have already sent my deepest condolences to Luke, and I suggest everyone take a lesson from what happened to Luke.  However, another YouTuber, alecjahn, has posted a video response to Luke’s situation.  This video is what has prompted the title of this post.  In this video, alecjahn has basically said that all of his possessions are meaningless because they tear down walls that should be built.

Watch alecjahn’s response to Luke’s final video:

I definitely agree with this sentiment, however, I differ on a much more fundamental level.  In Luke’s case, and potentially alecjahn’s case as well, I don’t know, the possessions were meaningless.  They ruined relationships with a wife and a son, and turned what was once a hobby and a collection into a pile of junk.  When these cherished possessions turn into a nuisance, then by all means sell them.

However, the answer isn’t to get rid of the things you love, as alecjahn suggests.  Rather, having these hobbies and collections are part of who you are; they’re what makes you unique.  (And it gives you something to do on the weekends.)  What you need to do is find someone/people that can enjoy your hobbies with you.  If you simply sell your possessions, that’s not going to fix relationships.  That is just going to make you unhappy.  But if it’s making everyone around you unhappy, then they’re possessions not worth having.

Essentially, the best solution is a happy middleground.  If you can put yourself in a position where your hobby brings together the people you love around you instead of alienating them, then everyone will be satisfied.  For example, Luke doesn’t need to sell his things (unless it will repair his marriage).  Rather, spend quality time playing Sonic with his son, and play Wii Fit with his wife instead of making two to three videos per day in solitude.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have your alone time/space; everyone needs to be alone from time to time.  But just don’t let it consume your life and marriage as Luke has done.  This also doesn’t just apply to video games.  It can apply to anything: movies, music, shopping, sports, etc.  Any kind of hobby should allow you to bring those you love together.

I hope you can take something from these words, and especially Luke’s situation.  Again, Luke, my heart goes out to you while you’re in this pain.  Stay strong, and like I’ve said before, women may come and go, but your son is forever.

Image Courtesy: DerkT

The other day after work, I walked to my truck to drive home and reached into my pocket to pull out my iPod as had been my routine for years.  Unfortunately, I found that, as in every commuter’s worst nightmares, my iPod would not turn on.  Had this been five years ago, I probably would have just worried about it once I got home and listened to the radio for my commute home.  However, this thought never entered my mind.  Instead, I proceeded to fiddle with every iPod troubleshooting method I could think of in the parking lot in a desperate attempt to bring my trusty musical friend back to life.  After twenty minutes, I found that I was not going to be able to fix it without a computer.  I had my laptop with me, but no sync cable.  Even still, I refused to listen to the radio.  I began to ponder what alternatives I still had.   I could listen to a stream on my phone, but I didn’t have my HTC USB to 3.5mm headphone jack converter, either.  I could listen to something on my laptop, but I didn’t have any media on it, as it was just a netbook.

The point of this was that in the time it took me to troubleshoot my iPod and think of alternatives, I could have been home already.  But, I was completely dependent on my technology, and listening to old media was unacceptable to me.  I think we as a society (or at least myself) have become too dependent on our technology.  We have come to the point where we can’t even do simple tasks like driving home or watching television without our iPods, TiVo, or Hulu.  Don’t get me wrong, I absoloutely love the new on-demand revolution, but when it gets to the point that sitting through a few commercials (which actually pays for the content in the first place) become intolerable, then the content industry should start becoming very worried.  And what’s even worse for them, I think that day has come.

Via Bash.org
Photo Courtesy: chalkie_colour_circles

If you’re a regular reader/subscriber to the world-renowned Dr. Docktorson Media website, you might be quietly asking yourself, “holy $#!@#, Batman! What the hell happened to the website?!” Well, we here at DDM had a minor mishap in upgrading our Drupal installation (read: Doc royally screwed up the MySQL tables and ground them up into an irreparable pulp and drank it with his morning OJ… well noonish OJ.) So, after much deliberation, and the fact that this is not the first time Drupal has decided to take a shit on a website that I run, I decided to switch to WordPress. Mainly for two reasons: A, because Drupal hates me, and 2, because I just plain like WP a whole lot better. (Any Paul Reiser fans get the reference, there?) Now, considering I haven’t completely decided what I’m going to do with this, I may just go into why I like it better, depending on how bored I become, or if there is an impending apocalypse. Just in case, I’m going to go make a fallout shelter out of a piece of gum, an Apple Lisa, and Carol Channing in true MacGyver fashion.

Photo Courtesy: Beige Alert