#taggitytagtag

Behold! Every single one of my hand-drawn Magic Cards!

Do they all look great? Not really! Did they save me a lot of money? You bet! And they were a lot of fun to make, too!

Ok so you've got A, B, C, D, E....

That missing spot at the very bottom? That's our Team F.

So that means the other letters imply the existence of...

All human beings exist in their own little ruts and are experts in whatever it is they do all day.

Try going somewhere you've never been before and doing something you've never tried before.

Odds are, the people you meet there (the people who go there every day and do that thing every day since they were born) will come up with all sorts of humorous insults and make it absolutely clear that you are not welcome.

Not necessarily because you aren't familiar to them, but because you don't have any "Common Sense."

"Common Sense" is a word used to describe any knowledge that a person has that they assume everyone is simply born with. For years I've worked in a hospital where I process paperwork all day. To me and my coworkers, it feels like common sense that you shouldn't roll up finished paperwork in a tube with a rubber band. All day long I have to listen to my coworkers lament how all these supposedly intelligent doctors and nurses completely lack "Common Sense."

That's why I have a special place in my heart for the "Fanatics" of the world. A "Fanatic" is someone who loves what they do so much, that they truly believe that everyone in the world would love it, too. If only they gave it a chance. Games, Hiking, Movies, Religion, whatever.

A fanatic simply stumbles across something that they love so much, that they completely attribute that feeling/experience to the object of their affection. They don't see love as having anything to do with their-self, personally; all humans are just born capable of feeling the same kinda way about D&D or Jesus or whatever.

Sure, I'll agree that it's a bit of a bummer, dude, when one opponent decides you're the most deserving of a little consecutive spanking. This cheeky nerd has opted to put all their eggs (Doom Blades) in one basket (my face) and that's just how it be. Like most games, it's a play-fight. Sometimes they apologize and I just smile and wave it away. If I think I'll get a laugh out of 'em, I'll put my hands on my head and play the part. "Oh noooo! My caaaaaards!!"

ho-ho-ho tee-hee-hee. Bit of a ruckus over at that table, eh?

....

However.

WHEN YOU SCARE THE HOES SO THOROUGHLY THAT EV-ER-Y-ONE AT THE TABLE DECIDES YOU'RE THE PROBLEM.

I LIVE FOR THAT SHIT, MAN.

When my deck is popping the fuck off and my weak opponents [Pitiful] realize that they may only hope to defeat me [Awesome] by loudly declaring a truce and pointing each and every one of their little cardboard knives at me.

That's just so more fun than winning, honestly. I may die soon after, but then I get to sit on the sidelines, shuffling my cards, and enjoy the power fantasy of a Season 1 Anime-Villain-Turned-Ally.

If you're holding your breath for the AI bubble to pop, you might wanna check on your 401k if you've got one.

Chances are you're at least partially invested in the S&P500, which has historically been a real safe bet! But nowadays....

Well it's doing very well at the moment.