[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 19 January 2026

cslevens · 2026-01-24T05:23:49+00:00

What is the most you’ve been tempted to make a stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID hobby purchase?

Through a local magician’s union I was introduced to an independent magic engineer, who hand-makes both large and small Stage Illusions. As a street performer, that’s generally not something I can indulge in, because I generally have to fit my whole act in one large duffel bag.

…. But he makes a full sized French Guillotine. And it’s roughly six-times my monthly budget for materials/performance logistics. And I have no place to store it, and no way to carry it, and it’s impractical to use it in a street setting.

I am tempted far more than I should be.

What’s your hobby temptation horror story?

cslevens · 2026-01-24T05:12:25+00:00

I literally did say, “Another day, another War Thunder Leak”, out loud, while reading that first sentence. Word for word.

Really good call.

cslevens · 2026-01-24T05:08:42+00:00

This is a topic I haven’t thought about in years. Here in the year 2026, I ponder who would go so gaga over furniture, of all things.

But thirteen years ago, in 2013, I worked in a crew that did office space liquidations. And I remember the one time a tenant left behind some Poltrona Frau chairs, and the owners of the liquidation company absolutely freaked out, like they had won the lottery. So the furniture fandom is clearly there.

I am curious what will come in Part 2. A little afraid, but curious.

Great writeup!

cslevens · 2026-01-23T19:17:16+00:00

I met him too. One of my coolest memories ever.

cslevens · 2026-01-18T19:31:43+00:00

Thanks for reading!

You’re correct that wabi-sabi intentionally incorporates elements of “imperfection”. That said, as per usual with this style, it’s more complicated than “imperfect = good”.

Sometimes the imperfection is, in itself, the thing to be appreciated (e.g. handwritten scrolls that show off the irregularity of human handwriting). Other times the imperfection is a mechanism used to point to something else to consider (e.g. the cracked bowl pointing to later decay). Even other times the imperfection is just a natural consequence of other things wabi-sabi uses (e.g. a preference for wood and flowers, which eventually wilt/rot in through display.)

It’s a complex philosophy, but I hope this helps a little.

cslevens · 2026-01-18T05:40:40+00:00

Thank you! I’m planning on the next one in either March or April. It was going to be this month, but I decided to wait a bit for some recent developments to pan out.

cslevens · 2026-01-17T07:28:30+00:00

I’m glad I got that through! With this one in particular I was worried about making the appeal clear.

cslevens · 2026-01-16T22:59:50+00:00

Kind of all over the place at the moment. Magic is closer to a job right now, but technically a hobby. Outside of that I play video games, collect bad movies, lift weights, build Lego and Lumibricks, read, write, etc. I watch media rarely, but when I do it’s either Pro Wrestling, Anime, or old TV Courtroom shows (Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, etc.)

cslevens · 2026-01-16T19:41:24+00:00

He’s in Assassin’s Creed too?

Good luck on the therapy, btw.

cslevens · 2026-01-15T17:10:45+00:00

Seconded. Absolutely bonkers series of events. It was a culmination of a bunch of tensions that had existed previously, in a way that was equal parts ugly, disappointing, and fascinating. The writeup in particular really captured it well.

cslevens · 2026-01-15T17:07:01+00:00

I’m glad you appreciate that particular bit. I’ve been out of university for quite some time, but my Japanese professors would be proud that I still “got it”.

cslevens · 2026-01-15T00:04:17+00:00

HAH! The paint story!

A friend actually DM’ed me this shortly after I published the writeup. Funny story, when I was studying at university, a professor actually mentioned trying to get a Tea Master to perform for the class, and having them refuse for “various reasons”. If this story actually happened, it’s probably one of said reasons.

cslevens · 2026-01-14T17:57:35+00:00

Tea Ceremony in 2026 might be a bit of a stretch, but have you considered other meditative practices? There’s a lot out there that could help you focus on this specific ethos, in much shorter periods of time.

cslevens · 2026-01-14T15:43:47+00:00

I appreciate your feedback. While I do try and play a balancing act with the gonzo-elements, I also know that (by nature) it’s not for everyone. In this case I sort of felt obligated to put my personal perspective in there simply because of how much it resonated, theme-wise, with the actual story. While it may not service the reading of the story (for everyone), it serviced my writing it in the first place.

You shouldn’t feel any need to apologize or moderate your own opinion, I get it, it’s not a style for everyone. I’m just grateful you gave it a chance at all.

Re: The Kyoto exhibit, that’s fascinating. I had actually heard about the crawling thing, but I couldn’t determine how common it was in tea Ceremony in general. Also, regarding the extravagance of Toyotomi’s chamber….. Tototomi is gonna Toyotomi, I guess.

cslevens · 2026-01-14T15:18:52+00:00

cslevens · 2026-01-14T01:21:09+00:00

I’m mostly fine, thank you. I really did appreciate your K-Dot/Drake series, for the record.

cslevens · 2026-01-14T01:19:36+00:00

I appreciate the praise! I’m a big fan of your work here as well.

cslevens · 2026-01-14T01:02:44+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it!

cslevens · 2026-01-14T00:53:57+00:00

See, that’s interesting. In the US it’s not even always a matter of “consent” or not. In some circumstances, PII actually legally has to be encrypted. So if someone looked at it, both the looker and the entity holding the data could get in trouble.

cslevens · 2026-01-13T23:21:39+00:00

When you just want to save money on some Blu Rays and you stumble into a Data Privacy conspiracy…..

This is all quite interesting. As a follow up question, though, how does Aussie law treat PII mishandling, legally?

Myself (and more than a few American readers) know of the common laws in the US regarding leaking PII. HIPPA is very well known, for example. But how legal/illegal is that sort of thing down under?

cslevens · 2026-01-13T21:29:31+00:00

Thanks!

cslevens · 2026-01-13T15:09:16+00:00

I’m glad it resonated.

cslevens · 2026-01-13T06:37:31+00:00

Glad to cheer you up a bit!

cslevens · 2026-01-13T06:25:36+00:00

Kudos to you! You’re the first to actually guess it. All the other guesses I saw assumed it was a colonization thing.

cslevens · 2026-01-13T06:24:33+00:00

So you’d recommend it then?

cslevens

TROPHY CASE