#4661 Paws, But Do Not Stop

Summary

TBTL #4661: Paws, But Do Not Stop

Hosts: Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh
Date: February 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

Luke and Andrew return for another characteristically meandering—but always endearing—episode of TBTL. This time, the duo dives into everything from bizarrely specific hotel etiquette, tipping, and nostalgia, to intense feelings about their cats, and the curious local phenomena of “Recovering Juggalos.” With signature warmth and wit, they balance absurd asides (Timothée Chalamet dinner fantasies, meme wars, and gift card regrets) with surprisingly poignant reflections on memory, aging, and the little kindnesses that make daily life better.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. Imagining Dinner with Timothée Chalamet

[00:00 – 00:43]

• Luke opens with a surreal, imagined dinner with Timothée Chalamet, poking fun at performative coolness and the concept of “disrupting” hot sauces.
• Notable quote:

  “He says he thinks he can be a disruptor in that space. And then beatboxes for a little bit.” —Luke [00:17]

2. Carb Monsters & Hotel Housekeeping Dilemmas

[00:43 – 07:28]

• Banter about the irresistible allure of buttery bread morphs into a more earnest discussion about hotel etiquette.
• Luke discovers a handwritten note from “Kenya,” his housekeeper, requesting a TripAdvisor review.
• Andrew ponders the modern landscape of tipping hotel staff, inflation, and the awkwardness of leaving too little or too much.
• Notable exchange:

  “Kenya did a phenomenal job in this... The room is spotless. It’s lovely. You know, that's one of the best feelings ever, is coming back to the hotel room, having it all straightened up.” —Luke [05:50]

3. Old Games, Escape Rooms, and Technology Nostalgia

[03:16 – 05:21, 39:46 – 42:00]

• Andrew describes discovering an old Flash game collection, comparing it to returning to a hotel room and finding a mysterious note—emphasizing the joy of small mysteries and analog surprises.
• The conversation dips into tech nostalgia, including Andrew’s “George Costanza wallet” and both hosts’ resistance to fully digitizing their everyday lives.

4. Tipping, Paul F. Tompkins, and Glittery Regrets

[07:28 – 12:11]

• A debate on proper tipping leads to stories about comedians John Hodgman and Paul F. Tompkins, including Luke’s mishap drenching Tompkins with glitter that still haunts him (via his laptop).
• Notable aside:

  “Every time ... a piece of glitter just, like, weirdly surfaces from under one of the keys on my computer, I am reminded ... That could have gone either way.” —Luke [10:14]

5. Super Bowl Commercial Talk: Liquid I.V. and Toilet Humor

[11:11 – 12:11]

• Andrew brings up the Liquid I.V. commercial, featuring singing toilets, and notes the cleverness and boundary that even he, not a toilet humor enthusiast, found amusing.

6. Olympics: Warmth, Critiques, and Nostalgia

[12:11 – 17:40]

• The hosts discuss Andrew’s partner Genevieve’s aversion to the Olympics due to its corruption and lack of personal interest, but also how the event can bring families together.
• Luke reflects on missing phases of his own life, using the Olympics as emblematic of stability and tradition.
• Notable moment:

  “Do I actually miss the Olympics? Or do I miss a time in my life where I was 15 to 20 years younger… and then had dinner with my wife at the time or girlfriend...?” —Luke [16:38]

7. Pre-stalgia, Present Living, and Regret

[17:40 – 24:34]

• Andrew introduces “pre-stalgia”—awareness that current moments will become nostalgic, leading to a reflection on self-forgiveness and being present.
• Notable quote:

  "I'm going to be looking back at these moments. So for the sake of future Andy... try to make him right." —Andrew [24:34]

8. More Housekeeper Note Analysis – The Motivations Behind Kenya’s Handwritten Review Prompt

[24:44 – 37:01]

• Luke and Andrew deconstruct the likely reasoning behind the hotel’s push for TripAdvisor reviews—wondering whether there's a contest or incentive for staff, and expressing a desire for tipping options via QR code.
• Luke expresses appreciation for personalized service and vows to further reward Kenya.
• Notable quote:

  “I would like this to redound more directly to Kenya’s bottom line.” —Luke [33:26]

9. Digital Wallets, Cashlessness, and the Relics of Analog Life

[37:01 – 42:00]

• The hosts riff on the growing power of digital wallets, and Andrew runs through the nearly comedic contents of his overstuffed wallet, embracing his “old man” status.
• Luke notes the inconsistency in how he values loyalty/rewards programs depending on whether he identifies as “the kind of person who goes here.”

10. Points, Rewards, and Office Supply Store Agonies

[42:00 – 52:18]

• Discussion of consumer loyalty programs, points, and the psychology of participating in (or rejecting) apps for establishments like Chipotle, McDonald's, and Jimmy John's.
• Andrew shares tales of frustration (and guilt) from Office Depot—highlighting customer service, scarcity of physical goods, and the evolving consumer experience.

11. Reluctant Embrace of Digital Life & Data Privacy Resignation

[52:18 – 54:46]

• Catch-all resignation towards digital tracking, cookies, and online profiles.
• Notable quote:

  “There’s nothing—I’m not preserving any part of my, you know, my identity by not giving Jimmy John's my damn phone number.” —Luke [52:38]

12. Rewards Regrets & Organizational Loyalty

[54:46 – 56:21]

• Luke vents about letting $31 in REI dividends expire.
• Andrew reframes the loss as, “Good. It’s a co-op you want to support.”

13. Final Thoughts on Hotel Review & Barriers to Generosity

[56:21 – 64:18]

• Luke goes to leave a glowing TripAdvisor review for Kenya, only to be stymied by the requisite TripAdvisor account sign-up, humorously highlighting the hurdles of digital “kindness.”
• Notable quote:

  “I want to do what I can for Kenya, but I stop short of signing in to Jimmy John’s/tripadvisor/McDonald’s app.” —Luke [63:32]

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Dazzling Donors Segment

[64:46 – 78:16]

Andrea Elkins (Humble, Texas)

• Andrea (with Mr. David and Polly Prissy Pants) endures a year of change and gratitude, continuing to support the show and invest in TBTL swag.
• Notable quote:

  “[Your] upbeat dialogue has kept us giggling through job layoffs, retirement, hobby seeking, bone chewing, and travel.” —Andrea [66:06]

Arlen Horst (Not Arlene)

• Updates on donating bikes, recovering from a collarbone break, and adopting kittens from PAWS.
• Shoutout to the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra—performing mostly pieces by living composers.

  “They are a great pair of cats providing endless fun entertainment. A high five paw to them both, to both Bingo and Bubbles.” —Arlen [71:15]

Andrew emotionally discusses his own deepening bond with Bingo and the universal pet-owner anxieties that come with it.

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Listener Email: “Recovering Juggalos”

[78:32 – 83:53]

• Listener voicemail reveals that a “Juggalos Anonymous”-type group meets in Port Townsend, complete with matching tattoos.

  "Apparently here in Port Townsend... there's a group where they refer to themselves as Ex-Juggalos... they even have matching tattoos and meet regularly." —Anonymous Listener [79:35]

• Luke reflects warmly on Juggalo culture’s embrace of outcasts and community, suggesting departures from it aren’t inherently necessary unless individuals find it negative.

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Quotes & Notable Moments

• On nostalgia and pre-stalgia:

  “My favorite drug is nostalgia. But it’s got a lot of competition... I can’t help but think that this is a very specific time in my life right now... I have a feeling if I ever smell anything that even comes close [to a house reno], I will be transported to this moment.” —Andrew [22:18]

• On side work and tipping:

  “In restaurants, they call that side work... It’s all the stuff that does not lead to a tip that nobody really wants to be doing, but you gotta do it so that... your shift goes well or so the next shift goes well.” —Luke [35:56]

• On digital identity and rewards apps:

  “There’s something about like, maybe because... I would... die before I would use them without getting my proper credit... But like if I’m at a Chipotle and they’re like, ‘Are you going to be using the Chipotle app to get your points?’ I’m like, how would you even think I’m that much of a loser?” —Luke [42:00]

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Memorable Tangents

• Luke’s obsession with “pre-shadiness” as a future strategy for convincing CBS to overlook missing receipts for business expenses. [30:45]
• The Office/Ed Helms nostalgia meme and the wistfulness about knowing when you’re living in “the good times.” [20:08]
• Andrew’s guilt about possibly being less gracious to an Office Depot employee. [51:01]
• Extended riff about what defines a “Best Buy person” and how one’s identity shapes participation in consumer loyalty programs. [42:00]

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Timestamps for Key Sections

| Topic | Start | End | |-------------------------------------------|------------|------------| | Timothée Chalamet Dinner Fantasy | 00:00 | 00:43 | | Hotel Housekeeping, Tipping & Kenya’s Note| 05:21 | 37:01 | | Digital Wallet & Analog Life | 37:01 | 42:00 | | Loyalty Points & Office Store Agony | 42:00 | 52:18 | | Cookie Acceptance & Privacy Resignation | 52:18 | 54:46 | | Expired REI Dividend Lament | 54:46 | 56:21 | | Dazzling Donors (Andrea, Arlen) | 64:46 | 78:16 | | Listener Voicemail: Recovering Juggalos | 78:32 | 83:53 |

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Tone & Language

• True to TBTL, the episode is a blend of wry self-deprecation, loving digressions, and honest reflection, peppered with comedic asides and in-jokes. Both hosts are candid in sharing not just their opinions, but their foibles—creating a space that feels both inviting and familiar.

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Recurring Themes

• The evolving etiquette of everyday kindness (tipping, reviewing, being present).
• The tension between embracing digital convenience and holding onto nostalgic practices.
• The power of community, whether in pets, niche music ensembles, or even Juggalo culture.
• Warmth and affirmation in small, unremarkable moments.

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For Listeners New and Old:
This episode embodies what makes TBTL beloved: the affection for the mundane, the security in confiding small anxieties, and the exuberant celebration of small, human connections—even with someone who leaves a Post-It on your hotel pillow.

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No mountain too tall... and good luck to all!

Transcript

[Luke Burbank]

This is what I think it'd be like to go out to dinner with Timothee Chalamet. He shows up 20 minutes late. I asked him where he was. He says he was mesmerized by a street performer. I asked him if he paid him. He says, no, that would be insulting to his craft. I asked him if he wants anything to drink. He says, probably a Japanese whiskey. Then proceeds to order a French 75. In French. I ask him how Kylie is. He says, who? Oh, my lady. So lovely. Then he asked me if I've had any innovative hot sauces lately. I say I don't understand the question. He says he thinks he can be a disruptor in that space. And then beatboxes for a little bit.

He.

He stops dead in his tracks and says, whoa, I'm having the worst deja vu of my life. The night ends abruptly when he tells me he can take any criticism. So I say, okay, I didn't really like Wonka that much. He says, I'm not understanding it as a reflection of our culture and its larger place in the Wonka universe.

[Andrew Walsh]

TBTL.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't know what it is, but as soon as you bring some carbs.

[Andrew Walsh]

Or some bread into the room, especially if they like hot out the oven.

[Luke Burbank]

And buttery, I just turn into a monster. You have never seen somebody up a piece of garlic bread until you've seen.

[Andrew Walsh]

Me up a piece of garlic bread.

[Luke Burbank]

You will lose any bit of respect.

[Andrew Walsh]

You ever had for me. I hear the words you're saying and I believe you believe it's important.

[Luke Burbank]

Laughter A sure sign of a good time. No.

[Andrew Walsh]

Definitely.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Literally no. Yeah, yeah, no, for sure.

[Andrew Walsh]

No.

[Luke Burbank]

Between your no nonsense approach and my. The regular amount of nonsense approach, we make a pretty good team. All right. Hello, good morning and welcome, everyone to a Wednesday edition of tbtl, the show that just might be too beautiful to live. My name is Luke Burbank. I am your host, still audio dropless, but undeterred and undefeated here on this Wednesday morning. Although I did just come back into the hotel room and noticed that the very nice person I'm in Los Angeles, by the way, I'll mention once again, that's why I don't have my little audio drops, because I left my special recording and playing equipment back in Portland. So we're just kind of. We're using a improvised system down here. Came back in the hotel room and noticed that they had made the room up, which is very nice. Always appreciate that. And I think there's a handwritten note from there's a post it note on the pillow that I'm only now noticing. Hold on, we have music going. Just everyone give me, give me five seconds ago. I gotta see what this post it note on my pillow is. Oh, okay. It's a phone number. No, it's not. That would be quite ludicrous. You know what, let me get somebody on the line that helped me interpret this whole note situation. By the way, we're at episode 4661 in a collector series. The guy I want to introduce you to right now is the longest running cobro of the show. Maybe best known for his depictions of the tall ships. He's Andrew Walsh and he's joining me right now. Hello, my friend.

[Andrew Walsh]

Good morning, Luke. I'm actually very in the mood for whatever this mystery note is because I was just doing something very abnormal for me. For real. This will not take us off track. We will get to this note in a second. But I found myself clicking around on this weird program I had called the Dark Web. Called the Dark Web. No, I really do have something. I think, I think I'm not gonna name him. I think one of our listeners set me up with something called Flashpoint a long, long, long time ago. Which is like some sort of a game thing on my computer that has all these flash games on it. Cause I play that game, Hex Empire. Sorry, this is getting out of control. I like that game, Hex Empire. I used to play it online. It's a flash based game. Something happened to the Internet about five years ago and the Internet said we're not gonna do flash anymore. So one of our listeners.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, I forgot about that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sent me this. This kind of game that has like hundreds if not thousands of games on it. And you download it quickly, but they're all those like old fashioned, like flash based games. And so I have this on my computer and while I was waiting for you to dial because we have kind of a strange schedule today, I was just clicking randomly on it. I never do that, Luke. I never do that. I was just like, I don't know, what's this game? And I just click on it randomly. And it ended up being coincidentally an escape room style game. It was called a game. And so you're just in this cube. Very basic graphics, but kind of beautiful with some nice piano music playing. And it's basically like you gotta just keep clicking everywhere until you uncover clues and keys and then keys unlock different things and then you find things that help you advance and you kind of. It's like Basically an escape room. Totally coincidental that I'm going to an escape room next month. More on that later, I'm sure. But you telling me that you just came into this little room and you found a mysterious note on your pillow. That's where I'm on my pillow. This is like. It's literally the type of thing that would be in one of these games I was just playing.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I've now retrieved the note, and it is a handwritten post it note, and it says, hello, my name is Kenya. Hand drawn smiley face. Yeah. And I cleaned your room today.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

If you liked my service, you can scan the code and give me a positive review. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. Now, is there also. Are you gonna scan it? Is there also a way to tip? Is this the modern way of tipping in a hotel? Which would be kind of cool, honestly.

[Luke Burbank]

Now, this is the thing. Let me just tell you. Kenya did a phenomenal job in this. This hotel room that I'm in. It is. I can tell that it wasn't just a quick, you know, let's fluff up the pillows and remake the bed. It looks like the carpet. I mean, I threw a wild rager here last night, so that's part of it. I mean, it was like. I'm kind of surprised they didn't kick me out of the hotel. But, no, I mean, it's. It's. The room is spotless. It's lovely. You know, that's one of the best feelings ever, is coming back to the hotel room, having it all straightened up. The thing is, I did also leave a cash tip before I left. So I don't know if just Kenya puts this in every room or Kenya is trying to double dip. I don't. Kenya's already got a sawbuck from me. Wait, is $5 a sawbuck?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know what a sawbuck is, but it definitely sounds like it's from the old Western days.

[Luke Burbank]

I did do you. It's $5. That's not even a good tip anymore, is it? I'm from the era where I think $5 is kind of a lot because it's not a $1. But actually, I mean, how far is $5 gonna really get you in this day and age? I mean, I've got to keep up with inflation.

[Andrew Walsh]

5 is definitely the lowest I would go, but I'm still the lowest you would go in this day and age? Yeah. Not my entire life, but in 20, 26. Yeah, I do. $5 a night, if possible. Does that seem Excellent.

[Luke Burbank]

The lowest you would go.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm not trying to be. I'm not trying to be. You know, I think that you and I are both, you know, we both try to be generous tippers. I think we're about probably on par with this stuff, I would guess. I don't know. I don't know what you're splashing around. I don't know what you're splashing around that room.

[Luke Burbank]

Honestly, to me, 5 is ideal. Where I get really stressed is when the low. The smallest thing I have is a 10 or a 20, because I think it was maybe John Hodgman who wrote in a book or wrote on the Internet. The Internet is just like a bunch of books put together, in my experience. Something like if you are reaching into your wallet when you are, you know, tipping the housekeeping folks and all you have is a 20, just put down the 20, just tip the 20. It's going to be fine, and you can afford it, and you will not regret it. And I know that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Only regret the opposite, by the way. I just want to.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly.

[Andrew Walsh]

Just to cover our bases. I don't know. I've never read this anywhere before, but in the past, you have also credited that to Paul F. Tompkins, so might be one of those guys just to.

[Luke Burbank]

Cover Paul F. Tompkins. Paul F. Tompkins is just a collection of a bunch of John Hodgman.

[Andrew Walsh]

Don't tell Paul F. Tompkins that.

[Luke Burbank]

No, he'd be. He'd be flattered that he's. He'd be insulted if a John Hodgman was just a collection of Paul F. Tompkins. In this Voltron that I've now described, Paul F. Tompkins is the. Is the full. It takes many Hodgmans to make. To make an F. Tompkins.

[Andrew Walsh]

I heard, and I don't think they were spoofing somebody referenced on the show Scott hasn't seen with Scott Aukerman, one of his dear friends, of course, and podcast partner in a lot of ways. Somebody mentioned briefly, like in passing, that Paul F. Tompkins dad was like a costume guy for the pictures or the stage. Did you know this? Because that would kind of make sense when you think about, like, how he's kind of got a nice sense of style and seems to pride himself on it.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, I know he grew up in Philadelphia, so my guess would be if his dad was working in something like that, maybe it was for, you know, the theatrical, as in. As in the stage, like you said. Maybe in Philly, maybe heading up to New York. I would be surprised to Hear that? It was out here in La La Land.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sure.

[Luke Burbank]

But that would. But that would also make sense as far as. Yeah. Like Paul F. Tompkins being quite the dapper. Quite the Dapper Dan. Also the other. When I was flying down here the other morning, I had my laptop out. I was doing some work. I was getting ready for the day Monday morning. And as I was typing away on my laptop, what do you think emerged from under one of my keys? A piece of glitter. This is glitter that is still occasionally emerging from my computer from the time that I popped not one, but two really large really glitter filled balloons over Paul F. Tompkins. Or it may have been a collection of Hodgman. It may have been three Hodgman's in a trench coat. I don't know.

[Andrew Walsh]

Sure.

[Luke Burbank]

But I. It was. He took it really well. Paul did. He was very nice about it. But every time that a piece of. And my. This laptop that I'm using happened to be on stage with me while I was doing Livewire and every time to this day a piece of glitter just like weirdly surfaces from under one of the keys on my computer, I am reminded of what a kind of basically like that. That could have gone either way. I could have seen Paul, the guy who always has very nice suits on is very put together being like how dare you drench me. Because what I mean, what I know is he's also finding glitter on himself every time he puts on one of those outfits.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, like himself maybe. I mean you just don't know what that out of himself it gets you blow your nose. What did you think by the way? I don't know. It's day three. Can we go back to super bowl commercials? What did you think of the Liquid IV commercial? Did you catch that one?

[Luke Burbank]

I did. But remind me of the beginning of it.

[Andrew Walsh]

It was a bunch of singing toilets and they were singing Take a Look at me Now. And you're like, what's going on?

[Luke Burbank]

Because if your pee is yellow, it means you're not hydrated enough.

[Andrew Walsh]

At the very end it said look at your toilet. If your pee is yellow, hydrate Liquid iv. I'm not a huge fan of the name Liquid IV as you know, because all IVs are liquid. But I thought it was a really clever ad. As somebody who usually go in for toilet humor either.

[Luke Burbank]

Right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

You know that did the. The beginning, the singing toilet thing. I thought who knows? Is this a bidet commercial? What are we doing here? But yeah, it was for Liquid iv. I thought it was. I Thought it was. It's funny that the. You would have had a higher sort of review, if you will. You. You were more down with the toilet commercial than I was. Because I'm the one on the show who. I'm the bad boy of public radio. I'm the one who's into toilets and scatological stuff and bidets. I thought Elvis Stoico. Exact. Like Elvis Stoiko. Just trying to keep it related to the Winter Olympics. Elvis Stoiko was an ice skater.

[Andrew Walsh]

I turned on the Olympics. I turned on the TV yesterday because I saw people talking about the Olympics. Now, we are not an Olympics household. I don't really care about them. Genevieve actively dislikes the Olympic organization and thinks it's rotten to the core. But I saw somebody tweeting about something about the Olympics and I'm like, oh, Genevieve got us that antenna. I can just like turn on the Olympics right now. Just like old fashioned over the air, NBC Olympics time. And I never do this, but I just turned it on and they were, they were, they were skiing and Genevieve heard it from the other room and she said, what are you doing? I'm like, oh, I just turned on the Olympics. And she said, I said, because we have an antenna now. And she said, if I had known you're gonna watch the Olympics with it, I wouldn't have gotten you that antenna. But then she kind of started watching some of the.

[Luke Burbank]

Now here's so much to talk to. First of all, I'll talk about Andrew. First of all, I've QR code into the code, the link that Kenya was talking about. So I've got some more details on what happens over at this link. But I was going to ask is Genevieve's. First of all, Genevieve is absolutely right that historically the Olympics have been. Have been an extremely corrupt organization. All kinds of, I mean, just graft and corruption and favor trading and what do we call that now? The presidency. Sure. But like, you know, they really, they really kind of were leading the charge on that a while ago. And so it's. It makes perfect sense that Genevieve would be down on the Olympics. But she also hails from Atlanta. Yeah. Where the Olympics were happening when there was that terrible explosion and where Richard Jewell was famously, now we know, accused of a crime he did not commit. Is that related to Genevieve's feelings about the Olympics or just a coincidence? She's also got an Atlanta connection.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't think it has anything to do with Atlanta. I think it just has to do with just the organization itself. I mean, she must not have an interest in the sport. I don't know when that happened. Or the sports, I should say the Games. They call it the Games, Luke. She must just not have much of an interest in it as entertainment anyway, because it was never like, oh, I would love to watch this ice dancing, but I just don't want to support it with my eyeballs. I don't think it's that she's just turned off by the whole thing, but I think the driving thing is just the intense corruption of that organization.

[Luke Burbank]

See, it really depends on where I'm at in my particular moment of life with me and the Olympics, or an Olympics. So years ago, when I didn't have this TV job and I was like, you know, married and. And, like, had a, you know, tradition, more traditional, I guess you could say, schedule and home life, etc. There were certainly a number of Olympics that I kind of got into because it's like, what else are you going to watch on the win on a cold winter's night? And you start early. Like, if you start off watching, you know, in the early parts of. You start to kind of know who the folks are. It is very, you know, they, you know, the way that NBC does it, they make it extremely digestible to you as a narrative. You know, they take this person who's really good at the biathlon or the, you know, ice skating or something, and then they tell you all this interesting stuff about their backstory. They. They tug at your heartstrings. It's like a real lay's potato chips commercial kind of situation.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, yeah, it's a real Universal Studios in Orlando situation.

[Luke Burbank]

And then. And then, listen, you have your commercials you like. I have my commercials I like. But it does. It does work on me, though, in particularly the Winter Olympics, less so the Summer Olympics, because it's actually nice out, and I am. And also the Mariners. So I'm probably doing some stuff. I'm probably going. I'm not able to get locked in. But there have been a couple of Winter Olympics where I just started watching early, and then I started to become interested in who the people were. Also, literally, it comes down to, like, I was in a relationship where we watched TV at night. You know what I mean?

[Andrew Walsh]

And that's fun. I like, I always. I don't know if envy is the right word because we have our own things, but, like, I always appreciate people who get into the Olympics and their families get in the Olympics and they know all the characters. And, like, I don't. I always that always gives me a nice warm feeling. I just never happen to get into it myself. But, like, that seems very nice.

[Luke Burbank]

I know I miss it a little bit because, again, this is. This is the thing about nostalgia. That's where it's a little bit hard to kind of, I guess, untangle what it is that I miss about it. Do I miss watching Brian Boitano? That's. I was like, 8 when Brian Boitano was skating. It's like, do I actually miss the Olympics? Do I miss watching the Winter Olympics because of the Winter Olympics? Or do I miss a time in my life where I was 15 to 20 years younger, where I had a life that felt both stable in that I went and I worked at an office somewhere, probably a radio station or something like that, and then came home and then had dinner with my wife at the time or girlfriend at the time, and. And then sat down together to watch this thing. Do I miss that? Do I just miss that kind of sense of, I guess, normalcy and predictability in my life? Whereas that's just not really what my life looks like at this exact moment of time? I'm not sure what I miss about it, but I do miss it for some reason.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know, you gotta be careful doing what I'm about to describe. But now that we are of an age where we can look back at those distinct eras of our life and in the moment, you don't realize it's an era. Right? I just saw a meme the other day, Luke. You know what memes are? It was a. It was like a gif from.

[Luke Burbank]

It's something you can kill people with.

[Andrew Walsh]

What's that? Can you what? Huh?

[Luke Burbank]

He can kill us with his memes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, right. Does he say that? Wow, that's darker than I remember. But, yeah, maybe destroy.

[Luke Burbank]

He uses a word. Maybe. Maybe not. Kill me.

[Andrew Walsh]

Just maybe. Yeah. Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

He's very. It's a. It's. He's really sees a memoir. It's a.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's a meme or it's a pretty.

[Luke Burbank]

I don't know. Why don't we listen to it? Why don't we.

[Andrew Walsh]

Looking for it here.

[Luke Burbank]

Destroy us. He can destroy us with his memes, by the way. Not. I don't mean to interrupt at all, and I'm sorry I'm distracting us or sidetracking us, but that guy, the dad who's got all the memes, got every meme in the book, he feels to me like he is the brother of the dad from those Gillette commercials. I don't like, oh, he's the.

[Andrew Walsh]

He's the. Wait, the Gillette commercials are a dad and a son, right?

[Luke Burbank]

A dad and a son. I'm saying he's that dad's brother.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I see.

[Luke Burbank]

The uncle of the sun in the Gillette. He's not exactly the dad from the Gillette commercials, but he's a lot like.

[Andrew Walsh]

Like, he's got some energy, but it's.

[Luke Burbank]

Hey, this isn't this a. This isn't how you're supposed to shave, like, kind of guy.

[Unidentified Caller]

I can have a meme war with anybody and destroy him. And I've done it. And people actually bail at the end and go, who is this guy? He's got, like, every meme ever produced on the Internet. He can knock us out with his memes.

[Luke Burbank]

And I do.

[Unidentified Caller]

I have tons of memes. I just keep memeing them to death until they just surrender to death because.

[Andrew Walsh]

They just can't do anything. You're right.

[Unidentified Caller]

They don't have the memes that I have. I have a folder on my computer just full of memes, and I can just go to that folder and open it up, and there they are. There's all my memes. And I started to, you know, alphabetize my memes so I can find them more quickly. I realized not having them alphabetized was a problem for me. You know, if you have, you know, weapons, you have to be able to get to them. You gotta know where they are, which ones are where they are. So, I mean, I alphabetize them so I can get to them quickly.

[Andrew Walsh]

So I saw a meme the other day, now that we're all on the same page with this, and it showed the guy from the office who likes to sing a lot. I'm blanking.

[Luke Burbank]

Craig Robinson.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, he's the guy who does acapella singing. We also.

[Luke Burbank]

Ed Helms.

[Andrew Walsh]

Ed Helms, yes. Thank you for bailing me out there, because I was gonna have to play the Ed Helms tape we have of him singing Tummy Boo Boo.

[Luke Burbank]

Real bad.

[Andrew Walsh]

We just get deeper and deeper at. Anyway, it was. It was like a black and white image of him from the Office, I believe. And he was saying, I wish you knew you were in the good times before they were over, or something like that. It seemed like a very, very poignant sort of thing.

[Luke Burbank]

Is the sense that his character on the Office also said that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I think it was from the Office, I think because, you know, he was. He could get wistful. Like, he's a bit of a dummy, but he was not like Without. Without emotion. I think I wasn't a huge office head, especially maybe around the Ed Helms years. But, yeah, I think that he was, like, feeling very wistful about something. He had, like, a little tear in his eye, and he's like, I wish you knew that you were in the good times before they were over, or something like that. And anyway, this isn't really about good times, but it is about this idea that there are eras of our life that we can look back on, and you don't kind of know what the signifiers or triggers are going to be in the future that will remind you of this time. It might be a song or a smell or something. But the thing is, because I'm so conscious of that now, and because, as Genevieve likes to say, my favorite drug is nostalgia. But it's got a lot of competition. I've been thinking about this home reno project that is going on right now. I don't know if you can hear the saws and the hammering or whatever, but it's way in the background. But the house has a very different smell right now because of the tearing out of a lot of drywall. And I was unfamiliar with this smell as a man who has avoided work sites his entire life. And so I don't know if this is a common smell or it's something that we're smelling that is kind of part of the bones of our house that are being exposed. And it's not a bad smell. It's like a powdery smell, sort of, which makes me think it has to do with the drywall or the Sheetrock or whatever. But all that is to say, I can't help but think that this is a very specific time in my life right now. Kind of the transition of this part of the house is probably going to go on for a couple of months. And I have a feeling if I ever smell anything that even comes close to this again, I will be transported to this moment. And I don't know if that's a bad thing or not, because you want to live in the moment. But sometimes it's nice to think, hey, you're going to look back at this moment someday. You know, have a. Have the right attitude now so that you don't.

[Luke Burbank]

You're feeling.

[Andrew Walsh]

Spoil it.

[Luke Burbank]

Pre stalgic.

[Andrew Walsh]

Spoil it. I'm priest. Look out, nostalgia. You got some competition now. I got pre stalgia.

[Luke Burbank]

It's called pre stalgia. This is actually. This is deep, dude. Because, yeah, what you're. What you're basically saying is I know that this is something I'm going to remember later. So let's make the. I mean, you're making an interesting argument for living in the present because of the fact that someday you won't be living in the present, at least for a moment. You'll smell that smell of drywall being ripped out or whatever it is, and then it'll take you back to this time. So you want to make sure that when you go back to this time, you have a good feeling.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, and not that I'm battling away any bad feelings or anything, but it's just sort of just a good reminder about how you look back at yourself. I mean, this is getting a little bit deep, but like my biggest demon in life or my biggest demons are represented by this, this feeling I have of me. Not, I was going to say rise to the moment, but that makes it sound more dramatic, as if it's a big moment. But I mean, in like small moments. You know me, Luke, I'm a bit. I'm a bit of a weird guy when it comes to some, some social interactions. I'm even thinking right now I'm not going to give any details about a friend of mine who I kind recently and I just felt like, I just didn't. I wasn't feeling it in the moment and I wasn't giving them probably what they needed in the moment. Not a big deal, but just vibes wise. And I kind of hate that about myself. I'm just like, why can't you just like kind of fake it till you make it just a little bit, you know, just like, just be the guy that you see other people being at times. Like, could you just, could you just do that? Could you do the bare, the bare minimum of making somebody feel welcome or, you know, warm or whatever? And so the demons I fight the most are always the ones of just like, why did I react that way? Why did I do that? And it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can just be a very, very small thing that literally nobody else in the world even knows about. So I'm just, you know, it's just kind of a reminder that I'm going to be looking back at these moments. So for the sake of future Andy. Yes. Try to make him right.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, you're setting up future Andy to maybe have slightly less of a wince when he returns to the moment that.

[Andrew Walsh]

You'Re currently in one of these.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, one of those sharp, sharp inhalations. I've, believe me, I've got. I have, I I have, I've got a few of those myself. And I mean, I probably have. I probably have the same number that you have, but I just. That's just not how my brain kind of reviews the information. And so it takes a. Take some real bad ones for me to have that. But I know that feeling. It's like the ones, the ones that give me that feeling could end you, Andrew, could have you.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's too powerful.

[Luke Burbank]

Have you walking into a river with rocks in your pocket.

[Andrew Walsh]

I can't take that.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, because you're doing that over just like a brief interaction. And I'm doing it over, you know, things that are. Let's just say we're noted by everybody involved and not particularly, not particularly appreciated. If we can for a moment return, please, your friend and mine. The person in charge of doing the housekeeping in this room. Kenya. Yeah, I am. So I've, I've. I scanned the QR code. So there was a little like business card that was attached to the post it note and it says, we hope your stay was a memorable one. Scan the QR code to share your experience on TripAdvisor. So I scanned the QR code and it just takes me to TripAdvisor asking me. But it's not a review of Kenya. It's just a review of the hotel, which is a hotel called the Hollywood Grand Autograph Collection. Oh, this was, I think I told you about this on the air. This is kind of my, my new go to spot when I'm down here in LA one because CBS has agreed to pay for this hotel, which is the critical. That's the, the main KPI of where I'm going to stay is a little.

[Andrew Walsh]

Close to Disneyland to me. But okay.

[Luke Burbank]

But this, the first time I stayed at this hotel, it was a Hyatt. And that was, I don't know, a year or two ago. And I liked it. I thought, oh, this is conveniently located. The hotel is actually. It's a nice hotel. I like the people that work here. And then I checked out and they didn't ever send me my little like receipt. My Little Folio, it's called. And so you know me, I'm not like Mr. On it with that stuff. And so about a week and a half later, I called the hotel and said, hey, I need to go ahead and get my, my receipt sent to me. Did I tell you the story?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, no. But I know this move. I do this a lot, especially in a business trip.

[Luke Burbank]

I called them and I said I need to send me the receipt and the folio. And they said, well, how long do you stay here? I said, about a week ago, they said, we're not the same hotel anymore. We have changed ownership. And we. We. The person you're talking to, we have none of the information from last week.

[Andrew Walsh]

Read all the records. We drove a nail through all the hard drives.

[Luke Burbank]

It was just like, 15 semi trucks that said Iron Mountain on the side of them for some reason, which, by the way, I believe is a document destruction company, which I always wonder about that. Iron Mountain. I don't know if that's. I don't know if that means what you think that means.

[Andrew Walsh]

What. What do you think it means?

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I just mean, I think what Iron Mountain does is document destruction. I think they are a company, but I don't. Is iron. I guess it's a very. It's a very. It's a very impregnable mountain.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I see.

[Luke Burbank]

I feel like should be called, like.

[Andrew Walsh]

Specific reference to something. It just doesn't know.

[Luke Burbank]

It should be called Master Shredder.

[Andrew Walsh]

Right.

[Luke Burbank]

You know what I mean?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, Iron Mountain doesn't. Tell me about what you're. Semi. What you're gonna do when you pull up, what you're gonna do is take all of the paperwork from what used to be a Hyatt. The Hyatt Thompson Hotel is what it was called. And you're gonna feed it all into a wood chipper and take it away and make it so that Luke can never get the folios. So then. So it got. Actually. It became a Bonvoy, Andrew, which, as you know, is a major upgrade in my fortune because I'm a Bonvoy boy. And. But the Bonvoy people were like, we don't know anything about what happened a week ago, and we're not asking.

[Andrew Walsh]

Wow.

[Luke Burbank]

And we don't want to know. And so then I called hi. And they said, yeah, that's not our hotel anymore. And I was like, somebody has got to have this receipt for this hotel stay. One of you two has to have this.

[Andrew Walsh]

And is there any flexibility? Like, if you just put in the concur or you reach out to somebody in HR with. Or whoever handles that kind of stuff, accounting or whatever, and just say, like, listen, this is the situation. It's all. It's all documentable. It's a different hotel now. I mean, first of all, I love the ghostly implications of this as well. It's kind of like, no, you were never here. We were never here.

[Luke Burbank]

The guy who answered the phone was Grady from the Shining.

[Andrew Walsh]

When you called, he said. Mr. Torrance, that was really. Yeah, but I mean, is there any wiggle room or are they just like.

[Luke Burbank]

Hey, can I hear your Scatman Crothers impression?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, you know, I've been working on that. Thanks. Thanks for asking. I'll do it right after my Cosby. Anyway, I want to know. So just as. So this card is just for a review, right?

[Luke Burbank]

Okay, we're back to. By the way, the end of the story is I signed some, like, power of attorney, and Hyatt eventually issued me a folio.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, they did? So you. You thought it'd be easier to navigate their byzantine systems before and. Or CBS's.

[Luke Burbank]

Yes, because here's the thing with CBS. I know, Andrew. I know there's going to be a time in the future where I'm doing something I'm definitely not supposed to be doing. And when that happens, I want to still have one of these. Like, I don't know where the receipt is. Can you let me slide in my back pocket? I don't want to waste that.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. I don't want to waste that on a legitimate thing I was doing for work where I have. And it was in per diem. In other words, in per diem means when I go on the website, the. And I'm looking at all the hotels in Los Angeles, it's. I picked one of the ones that I was actually allowed to stay at, because what I could also do is pick one I'm not allowed to stay at. And then later, they're going to be like, do you have the receipt for that? And I'm going to be like, they switched companies. I don't know anything about it. Could I get a pass on. I just want to use my get out of jail free card on a legit scam.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm playing with. With pre Nostalgia. You're playing with, like, pre Shadiness over here. I love this.

[Luke Burbank]

That's my rap name.

[Andrew Walsh]

Pre Shady. Yeah, well, the real.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm pretty shady.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yes.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm the real shady.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I've got some plans to be shady.

[Andrew Walsh]

You really skeletons, don't you?

[Luke Burbank]

It so. So I scan the QR code on this little card that Kenya has left me. And the thing of it is, it doesn't. Like I said, it doesn't take me to, like, her sort of profile, you know, where it's like, I'm not able to leave a particular review for her that says, great job. All it is, is in TripAdvisor, my general review for this Hotel, which would be also very positive. But I'm getting. I sent you a picture of this note, Andrew, because what was important is that you saw that this is handwritten. How many you and I have signed postcards. You and I have done, you know, multiple sort of editions of something, you know, that we've had to sign and send out. Like, how many of these cards, these post it notes, do we think that Kenya is handwriting? And I thought that what this was.

[Andrew Walsh]

Was a very nice handwriting, by the way. Sorry to cut you off.

[Luke Burbank]

Great handwriting. Wouldn't you think, though, when you see a post note on your bed? Well, first. First of all, first thought is, okay, I made a real impression on somebody in the lobby. How they got in the room, I don't know. But things are about to get really interesting. But then my second thought was, oh, this is from housekeeping. And it's just a nice way to kind of nudge, nudge and say, hey, if you like the service, we do work for tips. And that's where I thought, well, I did leave a tip, but maybe it just wasn't enough of a tip. Or who knows? And then I. I scan into this thing and it's. There's no tipping involved. It's just me saying on TripAdvisor, hey, this hotel's great. So is Kenya, like, handwriting 20 post it notes a day and putting it on the bed to say, hey, if you enjoyed the service here. Which, again, I cannot speak highly enough of just the specific job that Kenya did. I just think this is a lot of work for Kenya to be filling these things out by hand. Because this is not one of those. You ever get those things in the mail that look handwritten? They're always somebody wanting to refinance your mortgage or something.

[Andrew Walsh]

Like the envelope comes with, they're using a font that looks vaguely like a handwritten font. If you're not paying too much attention to it, catches your eye.

[Luke Burbank]

And then when you look at it, you give it a second look. You're like, oh, yeah, nice try. But this is not that. This is a handwritten note in very nice handwriting that I feel like this person Kenya is doing. You know, I don't know how many rooms Kenya is in charge of on a given day, but I feel like it's a lot of rooms. That means a lot of notes. And I would like this to redound more directly to Kenya's bottom line.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I'm with you on all of that. I'm also doing, you know me, I'm running to the Internet I'm Googling around here. I'm googling the name of the hotel with handwritten note. And let's see here. Here's a. We had a room with a bright, airy, mid century modern aesthetic and a floor to ceiling glass windows. We were welcomed with a handwritten welcome note and a bottle of Spanish Cava.

[Luke Burbank]

Did you get a. Whoa. No, this was. This is at this hotel I'm staying at.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, because you already said the name of the hotel, but also it's in the photo. Because here's. I had a question for you as well. You've taken a photo of this handwritten, as you mentioned, it's on a perfectly square yellow sticky note. But that sticky note, as I'm seeing it, is now stuck to the official stationary of the hotel. She did not put this on the stationary and leave it on the.

[Luke Burbank]

I put it on the stationary because I just thought it would be a better backdrop for the photo while I was.

[Andrew Walsh]

I think that because this is a nice hotel that is trying to create a kind of a bespoke experience, I think that they might encourage their employees to leave handwritten notes. Like maybe she has a whole bunch of these that she writes in the morning. Maybe she just sits down for a moment and writes it and then leaves it and then moves on to the next room.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, what's ultimately happening here is whether Kenya intended this to happen or not. I am going to tip more now and not just tomorrow. I'm going to, when I talk to the front desk, see if I can, because I don't know if I'll have the same person making up the room tomorrow. But what I will do is tonight, before I go out and have dinner with my daughter at a place, Andrew, that I feel like. Well, I don't know. I don't want to overstate this. When I was looking at the. The website for the restaurant and I was looking. I was doing a street, little street walk, street view of the restaurant. I thought this place, this place would give Andrew a bit of Ajita. It's giving me Ajita. But as I'm walking out to go to dinner, I'm going to stop by the front desk and say, can I put a couple more bucks with you all? And can we make sure they get to the person who took care of my room today? Because I thought they did a great job. So even though I don't think that's what Kenya was trying to do with this note, I think that. That they have earned an even larger tip because that's Gotta. You know, in restaurants they call that side work. It's like taking all the ketchups that have, like, a little bit of ketchup in, like, three bottles and then, like, consolidating them into one bottle. It's like rolling up napkins with the silverware in it. It's all the stuff that does not lead to a tip that nobody really wants to be doing, but you got to do it so that, you know, your shift goes well or so that the next shift goes well. It's called side work, and I feel like we're putting a lot of side work on Kenya with these notes.

[Andrew Walsh]

Do me a favor, and I won't. I might post this note as the show pick because there's no personal information in there. No, I will not post the show pic of what I'm asking, but can you send. You said that this was stuck to or at least accompanied by a card, like a business card. Now I'm curious about this business card. The business card. Does it look like it's something that is created en masse by the hotel itself?

[Luke Burbank]

I think it's created en masse by Trip Advisor.

[Andrew Walsh]

By Trip Advisor, but for this specific hotel.

[Luke Burbank]

No, it's not. No. It's literally like. It's a blank. It's like. You'll see the photo in a minute, but first, I'll just describe it for you. For the listeners, I should say, we hope your stay was the Atlanta Falcons. It says, we hope your stay was a memorable one. Scan the QR code to share your experience on TripAdvisor. Oh, you know, I'm sorry. You know what, Andrew? I am wrong. It says your experience at the Hollywood grand has been made possible by. And then Kenya writes her name in.

[Andrew Walsh]

So this is because the code is. Took you directly to this hotel on TripAdvisor, not just the main page. So that's.

[Luke Burbank]

That's a good point.

[Andrew Walsh]

Clearly, it's created for this. So, yeah, I'll bet you that there is an arrangement with TripAdvisor and the hotel. Or at least, you know, the hotel wants good reviews, and they probably encourage their employees to do this. I was. I kind of wished. I think I've been in a hotel before, and I'm sure you have. I think. Now that I think about it, I've been in a hotel where you scan a QR code. Like there's a little. Maybe a little table, tent or something on the desk, and you can tip that way. That is smart, because I do like. I do like tipping in this context. But you can't always guarantee you're gonna have cash on you.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, no. I mean, I think that definitely having a QR code to tip the housekeeping staff is, at this point, the way to go. You know how I know this, Andrew, even more vividly today than I did the other day is as we were recording this. This is the Wednesday edition of the show, but we're actually recording this kind of late on Tuesday. So I was just at the kind of live workspace of the late artist named Robert Tharian. And when I got there and I was, you know, kind of getting ready for the shoot, and I was putting my phone away and my little AirPods I had in the lift and everything, I realized I didn't have my wallet. I had left my wallet here at the hotel, in fact, sitting right next to. Right on the nightstand. And when I tell you, Andrew, because I was about 45 minutes away, maybe 30 minutes away from the hotel, so I'm staying in Hollywood. We were filming in kind of down where USC is kind of South Los Angeles. And when I realized I didn't have my wallet, I felt this immediate sense of, like, I was on a spacewalk and I came untethered from the space station. I was like, how will I even get home? I am totally sunk. And then I realized, wait, my phone is a wallet. Oh, wait, actually, yeah, that's Lyft Lives in my phone. And also my phone is a wallet. So if I wanted to go to the Tender Greens, which I did, that's down on Sunset. But that's why it was even later. I'm sorry. I needed to get me some Tender Greens. I realized, oh, all of this is with my phone. My wallet is, honestly, at this point, sort of superfluous.

[Andrew Walsh]

Like, I didn't know you had a wallet. I thought you just had, like, a phone cover that you put a few credit cards in. And your id, I don't like those.

[Luke Burbank]

Those are so bulky.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, I always thought that was your move. I don't know why I thought I've.

[Luke Burbank]

Had something like that back in the day. But then it just made my overall phone experience so much worse. But, like, as soon as, like, Washington State, and maybe they already are, as soon as Washington State is on the list of states that will let you officially enter your driver's license, you know, into your phone so that it's a valid thing and you can show it anywhere because it's a valid Washington State id. Once that happens, I actually will not have any reason that I need to bring my physical wallet around anymore.

[Andrew Walsh]

I have so much stuff in my wallet. I have like a George Costanza wallet. And I know it's not necessarily necessary, but I can't part with it. Like, I have insurance cards in there. And I actually did have to show my insurance card at the doctor the other day. But I mean, I guess I could be more like, you know, I could have more forethought, like, I'm going to the doctor, these are the documents I need or. Or what have you. But like, look at this. Do I have it on me? It's just like, I'm just such an old man. I just.

[Luke Burbank]

I wasn't. Don't you use the app for your health care? I mean, I'm all about that kp.org life.

[Andrew Walsh]

I should. I mean, do you want. I mean, first of all, I got.

[Luke Burbank]

A whole car insurance is in my phone.

[Andrew Walsh]

I have a whole bunch of credit cards which I could, I guess, transfer them all to my phone in some way or another. I do use my phone primarily for buying things. Now I got my credit card on there, but then in my wallet itself, I've got TBTB2 beautiful to biz credit card. I have a TBTB debit card. I shouldn't be carrying both of those around. It's asking for trouble. I've got my own personal debit card that I never use. I have a credit card credit card that is attached to my personal account, not our joint account in case I see something I want to get Genevieve. I have our joint account credit card. I have an HSA card and I have my special pop up kitchen debit card for buying supplies for my volunteer gig. Those are all cards that are. Those are just the payment cards, let alone the gift cards. I have in here my library card, which I definitely need in here.

[Luke Burbank]

Do you really have gift cards?

[Andrew Walsh]

I have a silver platters rewards card. I had a gift card in here. I think I just. Oh yeah. I have a shoe gift card from Genevieve's mom that still has some money on it here from sw. You know.

[Luke Burbank]

Me, you never know when you're gonna need a design a designer shoe warehouse.

[Andrew Walsh]

True story, though. That's actually. Honestly, that would be one of the last ones I take out of the wallet because it's true. I used to keep them in my drawer at home because I was doing all my shopping online. But I find myself. What did I just mention? Silver platters up there in. Is it Linwood, where there's also a dsw. I find myself in Linwood sometimes and I Think if only I had that DSW card, I could come. I could walk into that store and walk out with a fresh pair of Skechers right now.

[Luke Burbank]

What is funny to me about whether it's, you know, will you be ordering, using the app or are you in our rewards club is. Or do we have. Do you have a phone number with us? Is like, for some reason there are the things, of course I talk about a lot. Alaska Airlines, Marriott, Avis. There are the ones that like, the companies I interact with, where it would. I would. In a million years, I would die before I would use them without getting my proper credit, without building up my credit. But like, if I'm at a Chipotle and they're like, are you going to be using the Chipotle app to get your points? I'm like, how would you even think I'm that much of a loser?

[Andrew Walsh]

You mean?

[Luke Burbank]

And it makes no sense. It's there something about like, maybe because, I mean, I actually think Chipotle is, you know, a perfectly fine place and not a particularly unhealthy place. But like, it's funny when there are just certain things that when I'm, I'm trying to think. Well, I don't think of this with Best Buy necessarily, but like, when I was buying this microphone I'm talking to at Best Buy, they were like, do you have a number with us? And I was like, of course I don't have a number with you. I look like a person who's like, got a Best Buy account. Like, no. By the way, why would that.

[Andrew Walsh]

What about a grocery. At the grocery store, do you punch?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, yeah, big time. And you know what? That one is totally my mood. Like, what sort of. What is going to be for me in this moment? The best way to experience this Safeway discount, is it going to be put the number in first and see each little thing as it goes down, or is it going to be to do it to Tetris it at the end of the entire order, punch in that number and watch that. That number drop by a lot. And you know, just depends on the day for me. But I very much use the. It's. It's. I very much use anything where they're going to actively give me a discount in the moment. It's more like the thing of, like, if I keep using my Chipotle card, I'll get a free burrito after enough Chipotle's. There's something. I think what it feels to me is pointless because I don't go to Chipotle that much. So when somebody asked me about the or like I, you know, anytime you go through, I know you don't go through drive thrus, but if you ever go through a McDonald's drive thru, now there's a pre recorded voice. I think they make the shift leader pre record a message. Welcome to McDonald's. Will you be using the mobile app?

[Andrew Walsh]

I've heard that before. Yeah. When we did our Whopper challenge or whatever, I went through the drive thru not to brag. I was a big.

[Luke Burbank]

And then you say no. I say no. And then a totally different voice goes, Hi, welcome to McDonald's. What can I get you?

[Andrew Walsh]

I didn't notice.

[Luke Burbank]

Not even the same person. But it's not like a professional. It's also not like clearly like someone they hired who's like a professional voiceover actor. It's just a different person who works for the McDonald Drive Thru. I literally think it's like you log in and whoever's the first person on the mic has to record the welcome to the woodland McDonald's. We'll be using the mobile app to order and that, that this really speaks to my feelings around going through the McDonald's drive thru, which again is sometimes a little sweet treat for old lb. Get on those cookies, maybe get some french fries. I am like, do I seem like a person who uses the McDonald's now? I should. Because even if I go through there once every four months, it adds up. Or even if I go to Chipotle once every two months, it adds up. Like the same principle that applies to for me wanting to get every single bon voy point that I can. It should apply to everything in my life. Or how about Jimmy John's is a great example. Every time I go into Jimmy John's, which is more frequent than any of the things I've cited so far, Jimmy John's probably once every three weeks for me. Every time I go into a Jimmy John's they ask me if I'm in the rewards club and I say no. Like it's an insane question.

[Andrew Walsh]

I am always the path of least resistance on these things because I like, I have friends and folks who listen to the show who I know like love gamifying not the Jimmy John's but the jersey Mike's. Right? We have, we have some hardcore Jersey Mike's, friends of ours, fans who are friends of ours. And I know that they there are like, you can pick soup or you can pick. I think throughout the football season you could make predictions on game outcomes. And earn points that way. And certain days are double points. So we'll get text messages that say, don't forget, today is Jersey Mike's Double Points day. If you wanted to order through the app or whatever, which is like, I used to not even use that at all. I used to not order online. I would just go there and just like I did when I was a kid, I would say, I wanna number 13, please make it Mike's way. And I never even ordered online. But then once you start ordering online, you're automatically kind of creating an account for yourself, and you're like, oh, I see how points are building up. But then I just never think to go back and use them. But when I say path of least resistance, I'm at not even Office Max the other day, Luke. I'm at the Office Minimum, the Office Depot. Like, do you remember, do you recall that there's both an Office Max and an Office Depot? I think I always say them interchangeably. But, no, there's something called the Office Depot, which seems even more antiquated to me for some reason.

[Luke Burbank]

There is an Office Depot probably 150 steps from me right now, and I had to use it to try to wrap Addie's Christmas present last time I was here. And let me tell you, it was lacking. It was lacking.

[Andrew Walsh]

Super expensive, right? It's amazing. I guess they're only staying in business because, like, most people are buying their office supplies probably on Amazon for, like, you know, half the price, and probably gets it to you faster than actually waiting in line at Office Depot. So Office Depots are these huge pieces of real estate that have kind of a lot of empty shelves and a sadness about them. But you can buy one pen for $30, and it's a Bic pen, and it's only one color. You know me, I'm into my multicolor pens phase. But it's just amazing. Like, literally a pack of, like, five envelopes that are, like eight and a half by 11. Or is that what, eight and a half by 11 envelopes or whatever. It'll literally cost $30. Luke. I'm not joking. I'm like, how are they selling these envelopes at such a markup? And it must be because the only way they can stay in business is by, like, catching flies like me. Okay? All of this is to say, I go in there the other day because want to buy my four. I'm driving back from the post office, and then I'm passing Office Depot on my right on Aurora, and I think, oh, I want Some of those four color pens from my youth, in case I see the crack of the bag. Exactly.

[Luke Burbank]

The crowd, baseball game, baseball games.

[Andrew Walsh]

And I just go. And it was weird just to walk in this giant store and then just walk out with like a three pack of these pens which was like, I think $15 or something.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh my God.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm telling you, man, everything is so marked up there. But then the guy who is very nice as he's like. And by the way, I'm also harboring some guilt because the last time I went in there, I was looking for a very specific hard drive and I'd been all over town. I had. This is just like, I don't know, three weeks after Christmas or two weeks after Christmas. And I had gone to every box store imaginable. I'm calling all over town, nobody's got the hard drive that I need. You cannot just go to a store and buy anything anymore. You have to buy it on Amazon. And I kind of in this downward spiral. And so when I went into Office Depot a few weeks ago and I saw on the shelf they had one of those stand ins for the expensive product, like a piece of plastic that you take to the front and you say, this is the hard drive that I want. I've been all over town, all over town. I'm tired, I'm hangry, as they say in the Snickers commercial. I finally find what I'm looking for. I take it up to the front and the guy goes in the back and he's like, I'm sorry, we don't have this, this. I'm like, then why do you have a million of them on your shelf? Like remove them from your shelf.

[Luke Burbank]

That should be illegal. You should get it for free at that point. Because in this nightmare hellscape of retail commerce that we now live in, where so many places are just empty shelves and then some representation, some theft proof representation of the thing. If you see the theft proof representation, they better have that thing in the back in triplicate.

[Andrew Walsh]

Like, why do you have a bunch of them on the shelf if you have none in the back? And so at that point, I was at the end of my rope and I told him he can go, no, just joking. I wasn't outwardly rude to him, but I was just like, I was going to buy, I think a pen or maybe a pad of paper or something and this hard drive, which was the main purchase. And when he told me he didn't have any, and then he said, I have these other kind, I'M like, are they even Solid State bro? And he was like, no, I didn't call him a bro. But I think he just saw my mood really sink because I was. Went in there very down. Then I had this moment of optimism. And so I've always. For the past several weeks, I felt bad about my last interaction at Office Depot, feeling I was maybe a little bit less gracious than I could have been to the poor employee who works there who is not in charge of stocking these things, I'm sure. So then I go in the other day, and there's a very nice young man who's charging me, you know, ringing me up for this simple purchase of pens. And he's like, are you in the system? And I'm like, no, I'm not in the system. He's like, well, would you like to be? And Luke. I couldn't say no. I don't know why.

[Luke Burbank]

Like, was it the same guy?

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know. I literally don't know.

[Luke Burbank]

He had a red polo shirt on, a name tag.

[Andrew Walsh]

He was. They were both white guys and, you know, probably around the same age of somewhere in their 20s. And it might have been the same guy. I'm talking in plural. I really don't know. But I think it was maybe the lingering guilt of the last time I was in there, but also. Oh, just like a rivulet of water. I'm just going to go. If they say I'm going to put you in the system, I say, okay. And I let them do it. And if they don't say it, I'm like, no, I'm not in there. And then you just move on with your day. Then I'm just going to move on with my day. I'm a lot, I think, like you in that way.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, I may just start saying yes because. Yes to the dress. Because the thing is, first of all, I've already. I'm at the point, Andrew, where I just accept all cookies.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm just. I can't. I fought. I fought the good fight, and I lost. And now I just can't. I'm so compromised. I'm so. I'm. My cookies have been. My cookies have been all over town.

[Andrew Walsh]

Your cookies have been tossed, my friend.

[Luke Burbank]

They have been tossed and then retossed, sir. And it's just like I'm. And it's sad, too, because, you know, it's like every day we hear more news about the surveillance state and ring cameras and.

[Andrew Walsh]

And.

[Luke Burbank]

And just, you know, all the different ways that. That. That We've, as they say, and I think I even quoted on the show the other week, if it's free, you are the product. But I'm just So. In other words, there's nothing. I'm not. I'm not preserving any part of my, you know, my identity by not giving Jimmy John's my damn phone number.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's just.

[Luke Burbank]

It has to do with my. Every time I'm in a Jimmy John's, I think, well, this might be the last time I'm ever at a Jimmy John's. This was a mistake. I was very hungry.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And I wanted to come here, but I don't even. I don't eat sandwiches. I'm not a Jimmy. I get the. And you guys don't even do the thinny chips anymore. What the hell? So it's because. Whereas if I'm somewhere, like, I'm like, I'm going to stay in a lot more Marriott hotels, I'm going to fly on a lot more Alaska Airlines planes. It's my perception of if this, if this defines me or doesn't define.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, interesting. And I feel like living.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah. Being Jimmy. Being at a Jimmy John's doesn't define me, or at least I don't want it to. So I feel like I can't engage with the product. Now. Just the last thing I'll say on this before we thank some dazzling donors is I. I'm so mad. I don't even want to talk about this because I'm so mad at myself. But about six months ago, I got something in the mail from REI that said, you have some of your. You have. You have $31 in REI dividend, and you've got to spend it before, like, January 15th or something. Not January 1st, which seems like that would have been the cutoff date, but sometime in January. And I kept saying to myself, this is a free. Because, you know, that's like, you buy stuff from rei, and then over time, it adds up. And I was like, 31 free dollars. That'll get me a pair of mittens. That'll get me some kind of a something, some impulse buy from the front part of the REI as you're snaking your way out to the register. And it's just 31 free REI bucks just waiting for me. And then I even Googled, can I use REI dividends online? And guess what the Internet said? Absolutely, you can. You go to rei.com and you buy something there for $31. And this is how. Tell you how lazy I was. Tell you how lazy I was. I didn't get it together to go to rei.com and spend 31 free dollars until the other day I went on there, went into my account, guess how much I have in dividend? $0 and $0.00. And this has, along with those, what I thought were diet root beers that I was drinking. These are the two things that have been bedeviling me. I can't let it go that I just squandered those $31 just due to my, like, inaction.

[Andrew Walsh]

Can I help you get over this?

[Luke Burbank]

Please do.

[Andrew Walsh]

REI is a good organization. It's a co op. I don't, you know, I don't play in that outdoor space, so I don't have any. I don't have any Dougs on this flight. But when I do that with an organization like that, like, if it was dsw, like some sort of just nameless organization, I somehow. These are gift cards so they don't expire. But if I somehow left money on the table, that would kind of bum me out. But with rei, you just think, you know what? Good. Like, I know that they've had some financial troubles over the past few years. I'm glad they're still around. And if this money goes towards their bottom line, it's an organization that I want to have a strong future. I feel okay about it.

[Luke Burbank]

That is. Andrew, you've done me a great kindness. What I do, sir, I mean that seriously. You're right. By the way. I have a friend, and I'm not our mutual friend, who I think we have a mutual friend who used to work there or work with them, but I've got another who was in my Wilco cover band who is like, I think in line to be the next CEO of rei, like, is like in the top three people that work there. And I love this person. He's one of my very favorite people on planet Earth. And I'm sure there are so many other wonderful people that work at rei, so. And I know there's been labor issues and so don't come at us about every single thing that REI and or Sally Jewel has done in history, people. The point is, I'm with you. If it was a, if it was a card, if it was an Amazon card, I would feel worse about it than REI card. If it, if it gets them one more little foothold for that rock climbing apparatus that they have going on in South Lake Union or whatever that neighborhood is. Dexter, God bless.

[Andrew Walsh]

You know what? Luke and I want to. We need to end this segment, but I need to do a little bit more research on this card that was left, this review card on the TripAdvisor story. So, yeah, I just. You sent me a photo of the card, and I was able to scan that QR code myself. I wanted to see what your experience.

[Luke Burbank]

Are you seeing something that I'm not seeing?

[Andrew Walsh]

No, no, I'm not. But I'm developing a theory. I'm developing a theory because, you know, it's kind of an open polling situation as far as, like, you know, well, how would you rate your experiences? One through five, it looks like. But other than that, it's kind of like, you know, write a little review, share your experience. I think that Kenya wants you to mention her in the review. And here's why. I think that. Because when Genevieve and I were in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, we were having some drinks and snacks at, like, a sports bar. I'm trying to remember. It was like, Mike's on top or something. Or it had something to do with Mike, and it had something to do with hats. I can't remember the name of it. Anyway, and we had some really. It was like, a huge sports bar. I'll bet you've been in there before. Like a zillion screens. Like, walls and walls and walls of screens. But it was the playoff time, so there's only really one sporting event that anybody cared about. And it was whatever play it was. The 49ers Eagles game. Was that a thing? There was something along the lines of that. And in every single television was playing. It was a sight to behold. But anyway, we had a very hardworking, nice staff who were attending to Genevieve and I who were sitting at the rail. Yeah. And I don't know why I'm talking like that. And anyway, afterwards, one of the servers gave Genevieve something very similar to this and said, hey, we have a little contest going on amongst us servers, and if you could give us a good review and mention that it was Tina and Greg or whoever who served you today. I wonder if there's a little internal competition. And also the fact that she lets you know her name is Kenya. Maybe the expectation here is that you should even maybe mention Kenya in your review. That's.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm already working on it.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

I'm already. The title of my review is Incredible Service, exclamation point. Because, by the way, I keep saying it, there is incredible service here. They are so, so nice. And it's very clear. I've talked about this with, like, the sphere in Las Vegas, which had the greatest Customer service of any place like that I'd ever been to. And what you can tell when every single person that you interact with who's a worker does the same kind of thing. They like, like check in on you. They're making eye contact, they're, they're, they look like they want to be there. Whether or not they do, that's clearly a training matter. That's clearly something where this company has said, we are going to excel in the customer service department. When we hire people, we're going to say, hey, one of the things about working here is like, this is how it works. And I can tell with this hotel that it's exactly the same thing. I have not encountered one employee who has not been very clearly trained in how to just give absolutely excellent customer service. That's a big deal. So, yeah, no, I mean, I'm appreciative of it. And so my review is going to be called Incredible Service. And it's going to talk about how helpful everybody is here, and specifically Kenya. I'm going to mention Kenya. Now, should I let the AI help me write it? Because there is one of those little. Also, by the way, it's not. You know what, Andrew? This is the only thing worse than AI trying to help you write a review of Kenya on TripAdvisor is not even AI. Do you know what happens when you click on. They have the little. A little. Kind of a. Like two little sparkles. I mean, you're looking at this thing too, right? If you look at the. Write your review and then you see how it says, like, help me write it.

[Andrew Walsh]

I. I'm not on my phone anymore, unfortunately.

[Luke Burbank]

But I'm asking you.

[Andrew Walsh]

I know, I know there's sparkles that you're talking about.

[Luke Burbank]

Isn't it weird that we now just instinctively read those sparkles to mean AI is involved? I mean, part of it's because on a Google, I think when you Google something, that's next to the AI overview. But it's insane how quickly I've been trained to see those two little kind of a shimmer, a couple little sparkles and think, well, the robots will take it from here. But that's not even what this is. I clicked on it. It just says, how did the staff come across during your stay? I'm gonna say, great. And then that's it. I guess that's what you've got for me. It's just asking me, how did the staff come across during your stay? And then I'm supposed to write, great. It's not Writing for me, it's just, I guess, asking me a question that I can then answer. Like it's a. It's a writing prompt. It's like, here's a question for you. If you answer this question, you will have written the review. I have gone from detesting AI to being really mad that this is not good.

[Andrew Walsh]

Actual AI helping me on this is not actually AI.

[Luke Burbank]

That's not even how AI works.

[Andrew Walsh]

We don't have. I don't even have time to get into an anti AI rant right now. I'll save that. I'll save that boring shit for another day. But I don't like it. I don't like logging into a new Google account and all the AI stuff has turned on all the Gmail. I guess I'm just doing the rant because I have a whole bunch of different Gmail accounts, including my main one, which is open and in front of me at all times. But then I've got, you know, I don't have to list them all. Various podcasts, the public ones for podcasts, like the one for my volunteer gig or whatever. And actually that is the one I was logged into the other day. The person who usually responds to emails for Ravenna Pop Up Kitchen is out for a while on sabbatical or something, so asked me if I could be the person who checks emails for the organization. I'm like, sure, that's fine. So I log in for the first time in a long time and I realize all this AI shit has just been left on because people don't care as much as I do. And I think one of my TBTL accounts was the same thing. And what I notice is they have this thing where they have an entire email composed as a response to emails that you get. And first of all, I don't like that. I like writing. I just can't imagine just sending off an entire email that you just scanned that the computer said, this is how you should respond to somebody. But the problem also, is it wrong, Luke? Like, it was like somebody had sent something like, hey, is this the thing you're looking for? Or I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was a question about that. And the AI was like, hey, we have an answer ready to go. Just send. But the answer was yes, I've been looking all over for this. Thank you. I can't believe you found it. Or, you know, it wasn't. My example is somewhat bastardized there, but it was essentially that it's kind of like you can't Have AI respond to emails. When it's a yes or no question, you're just guessing at the answer.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly. I'm sorry if I sound distracted. I was writing my review. Best hotel in la. Very friendly front desk. And Kenya with housekeeping. Does an exceptional job. Would recommend staying here.

[Andrew Walsh]

Don't put kissy lips emojis there.

[Luke Burbank]

Too late.

[Andrew Walsh]

Don't wait.

[Luke Burbank]

I got to give it, I'm giving it an excellent. When did, when was I there? I have a, I have a bad feeling. Andrew. Something's about to happen. I'm going to hit continue on this. In other words, I'm going to, I'm going to tell TripAdvisor that, that I'm okay with this being the post. And then it's going to. TripAdvisor is going to try to make me join. Sign in to continue leaving your review.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh my God. They're getting. You're grabbing your information Mania.

[Luke Burbank]

I, I want to do what I can for Kenya, but I stopped short of signing in to Jimmy John's/tripadvisor.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm with you, Dot.

[Luke Burbank]

McDonald's app. And I knew that was going to happen. It's too. You're never going to get like, you're never going to just be leaving a review and then you don't have to at some point log into the place you're leaving the review.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess that sort of makes sense. I guess. Like Yelp. I have a Yelp account. If I'm going to leave a Yelp review, I guess I'm signing it. But there is something.

[Luke Burbank]

A verified Yelp complainer.

[Andrew Walsh]

Exactly. But if you're, There is something galling about like leave us a review, but then in order to do so, you have to hand over your information. You know, I, I, I'm just after my little AI rant though. I, I don't, I, I just need to back away from all this because I just sound like an old crusty man who does not want to interact with modern life.

[Luke Burbank]

The important thing is that Kenya is going to have to just settle for good old fashioned cold hard cash instead of Internet plaudits because it's too much for me to do. But I will, I will stop by the front desk and give them the notice and more importantly, the money. That Kenya is really awesome. Should we thank some dazzling donors? We was hoping for some razzle dazzle. Razzle dazzle. That's right, man. Razzle dazzle. On your mark. On your mark.

[Andrew Walsh]

Get set, get set now. Ready? Ready, Go.

[Luke Burbank]

Everybody razzle Dazzle. There's that dazzling music that tells you. Tells us it's time to thank some dazzling donors. Of course, TBTL is a 100% listener supported podcasting. This only exists because of the generosity of folks who listen and like it and then voluntarily donate money so that we can do this five days a week, 52 weeks a year. And it's thanks to a dazzling donor, Andrea Elkins, our friend out there in Humble, Texas.

[Andrew Walsh]

Absolutely, Andrea. Thank you once again for the. Do you say cozy or koozie, Luke? Koozie.

[Luke Burbank]

The thing that you're putting around. A can of beer or soda.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, koozie. Because Andrea gave me one in the green room before. It was at the 4,000th episode, maybe I remember, but I thought she was just letting me borrow it. So then when I gave it back to her, I think I insulted her, because then she later on gave it to Genesis, even said, andrew gave it back to me. And I've been carrying that around, and I feel bad about it.

[Luke Burbank]

Was it from Humble, Texas? Did it have something to do with something from Andrea's life?

[Andrew Walsh]

I can't remember what was on it, so now I feel even worse.

[Luke Burbank]

Mm. Well, as well you should. I'm just gonna read this message, and we're gonna just pretend like none of that even happened.

[Andrew Walsh]

Andrea says, hey, thanks for making it awkward, Andrew.

[Luke Burbank]

Howdy, Goobers. Another year of dazzling details has come and gone with a lot of change is experienced in our household between myself, Mr. David, and Polly Prissy Pants. As usual, your upbeat dialogue has kept us giggling through job layoffs, retirement, hobby seeking, bone chewing, and travel.

[Andrew Walsh]

Is David still chewing on those bones?

[Luke Burbank]

That's what I need some clarification on who's doing what and who had what happen to them. Was Paulie Prissy Pants laid off?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah.

[Luke Burbank]

And how are they taking it?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, I am sorry to hear about that layoff. I don't know the details on that, but hope you all are doing okay.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, seriously. We wouldn't be ourselves without your constant companionship. With continued appreciation and prosperous blessing wished for your future. We love the TBTL store and continue to seek opportunities to invest in swag. Oh, boy. Andrea, you just lit a fire under John Scaro.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, listen, you can hear him rushing to the computer as we speak.

[Luke Burbank]

That's right.

[Andrew Walsh]

You can hear him rushing.

[Luke Burbank]

We have a conversation once every four months. We have a conversation where John's like, you know, we have a merch store, y'. All, we should do more stuff. And Andrew and I go, that sounds like A lot of work. He's like, but I do all of the work.

[Andrew Walsh]

We're like, I know, but still, we're, we're from the 90s. That just smacks of effort, as Bart Simpson once said.

[Luke Burbank]

Let's see, we've, we've assembled quite the TBTL altar with this last year's musical accompaniments. And we can't wait to see what the future brings. Sending you love, love and Polly Dog kisses, your devoted 10, Andrea. Well, Andrea, thank you so much. You've been an incredible supporter of the show and such a, just, just an awesome person to know. And also to Mr. David and to Polly Prissy Pants. Although I don't think I've actually met Polly Prissy Pants.

[Andrew Walsh]

I have, you know.

[Luke Burbank]

Yeah, but in the, you know, I, in the spirit of me loving all dogs, I'm assuming that I also would love Polly Prissy Pants. Anyway, Andrea, thank you so much for, for your support of tbtl. It really does mean the world to us. Maestro, on your mark. On your mark.

[Andrew Walsh]

Get set now. Ready, ready, go, everybody.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, look who it is. It's our pal Arlen Horst. Arlen, not Arlene is what Arlen is saying. I am, I'm hoping that that's not in response to an actual mistake that we made on the show because I've been, we've been seeing Arlen's name for years and years and years and I feel like I've always known that it's Arlen. So Arlen, if I called you Arlene, I am truly sorry.

[Andrew Walsh]

Well, let me say this. First of all, hi Arlen. We've met at the QFC before. I don't know if you recall that. But also Arlen signs all of his emails by saying Arlen, not Arlene. Arlene. And I received a voicemail on the voicemail line from him the other day and it started. Hi, this is Arlen, not Arlene. So I'm thinking that he, after maybe a lifetime of other branding, making the mistake, maybe he's just leaned into that. I'm really hoping, as you are, that it's not a TBTL specific phenomenon.

[Luke Burbank]

Gotcha. Arlen, not Arlene. Thank you. Arlen says another year of excellent COBRA ing. Guys, this year I will not repeat 2025 when I broke my collarbone in a bike crash as I donated my bike to a worthy nonprofit to benefit low income community members. I guess that's one way to get like to eliminate bike crashes from your life, Andrew, is to donate your bike, your bike to a worthy cause. Yeah, Yeah, I don't know how our friend Lee is going to feel about that, Arlen, but okay. Along with several other bikes belonging to some of my neighbors, with their permission, of course.

[Andrew Walsh]

So like Arla just happens into neighbors garages taking their bikes and donating them to good causes.

[Luke Burbank]

This is Arlen's origin story. Arlen goes ass over teakettle on a bike, sustains a collarbone injury, is like no more biking for me and also no more biking for anyone, anybody that I love, but for people I don't know, more biking for them. I'm collecting up all of these bikes.

[Andrew Walsh]

He's collecting bikes from people he loves and giving them to people that he does not care for as much. No, that's not true.

[Luke Burbank]

Exactly.

[Andrew Walsh]

To a good cause. I don't to want to. Don't want to cross that message.

[Luke Burbank]

No, but thanks, Arlen, for doing that. I'm sure folks are very happy to get those bikes. Hope your shoulder, I should say collarbone, is healing up. Arlen says my first shout out is for paws, the progressive animal welfare society from where my wife and I adopted two sister kittens in October. They are a great pair of cats providing endless fun entertainment. A high five paw to them both. To both. Bingo and Bubbles. Wow. You know, tell you what, Andrew, I have been. Because I've been in Portland a lot lately. I've been spending a lot of time with Bubbles and it's, it's. It's been kind of intense because it's making me really miss her. Like when I don't see her a lot, it's easy for me to just forget that I once. I once purchased a Bengal cat in a PetSmart parking lot in Gresham.

[Andrew Walsh]

You didn't purchase. It was a rehoming fee, of course, Luke.

[Luke Burbank]

Excuse me. With a rehoming fee.

[Andrew Walsh]

I wanted to talk to you about this on the show today, but I think too much time. I think we're going too long in the show. We don't have to get into it now. But I was going to start the show by telling you how Bingo crazy I truly have become. Because today was a bit of a hard day because Bingo, our cat, had to go in for a procedure. Everything is fine, but they always encourage.

[Luke Burbank]

Us to get a penis reduction. He had what every cat would dream of.

[Andrew Walsh]

That's absolutely right. No, for all of our cats. They've always recommended having somewhat regular, like dental cleanings, but you gotta put a cat to sleep for that. And we've never really done that for other cats. But then I don't know, we kind of had some regrets about that. And so Bingo. Who's only about 3 years old right now, we're like, well, took him into the dentist and they said, well, you should. Or to the vet. And they said, you should probably get the dental procedure, get them cleaned or whatever. And I'm like, okay. And I just have never worried about a cat the way I. Because I think I grew up in the country and cats were sort of like. They kind of came and went and while they were, cats were good eating pets that I had and I love. Don't you dare say that about Fred.

[Luke Burbank]

How far down the country did you grow up?

[Andrew Walsh]

But I do know that, like, when we moved, we left Fred behind. My childhood cat and kitten. We left him behind because he was a barn cat. And that was just kind of like how we did in the country, you know, and now.

[Luke Burbank]

And Fred probably had as good a life as he was going to have either way out there mousing and doing his thing, right?

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, we couldn't have. We couldn't have removed him from his home. And we were moving homes and it's just the way it was. But anyway, now here I am, I'm knocking on the door, 50 years old and I don't know who I am anymore because Luke, I have been so nervous about his procedure because they have to put them under. They have to put them under anesthetic, which is a hard word for me to say. And that can be a little. They do it, I'm sure, hundreds of times a day, but I just get a little nervous about that. And Genevieve had to take him in at 7 o' clock this morning. I mean, we're just talking. I'm not talking about losing a cat. I'm talking about a cat that just went into the vet for a day. But this morning I came downstairs, I automatically was waiting for him to jump off my back and jump up on the windows. We have all these routines built in to our morning alone. I mean, mornings especially. And then you come around a corner, you're expecting to see him there and he's not there. And again, I want to remind you, I'm not talking about Professor Bananas. When she passed away, I was having these feelings a lot, which makes sense because I was in mourning and we were used to her presence. He was just at the vet. But I can't tell you how many times my heart sank today because my little, little buddy wasn't around. And it makes me, really makes me worried about the future if I ever do have to Live in a bingo less world, to be honest with you.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, you're going before he is.

[Andrew Walsh]

Have you seen my lifestyle? I'm doing everything possible.

[Luke Burbank]

I know, and it's working.

[Andrew Walsh]

I'm riding all of Arlen's bikes at.

[Luke Burbank]

Once, like some sort of Russian circus. Like lying across six bicycles. Yeah, I. I don't have a story that's nearly as cute and heartfelt because my story is one of. I've abandoned my child. I've abandoned my child. But it, it is weird because, you know, I was. I was pretty obsessed with Bubbles when I got her. And then. And then when I was. When I thought it was going to be. Well, she'll just be at my, My house up at the Madrona Hill studio most of the time. But they, but then just for now, she's going to be with Becca because it makes more sense because there's a bunch of. It's a construction zone and all this, you know. And also within the first five minutes of having Bubbles there, she did somehow find her way into the floor. I don't know if you remember that epic photo where it was like I was really. I had to tear out an entire wall and just wait for her to decide to saunter out.

[Andrew Walsh]

But.

[Luke Burbank]

So it was like, this feels dicey. So then it's like she's at Becca's. And then it's like, like six months goes by and a year goes by and now Becca is bonded with her and now it's like that's where she lives. And I get these, you know, get these updates throughout the day of what Bubbles is doing and stuff. And then I start spending more time at Becca's place. And now I'm like, you know, having. Coming out in the morning and sitting down on the couch and having coffee and then Bubbles is coming over and like lying down for scratches and stuff and just being, you know, also very annoying. I mean, she's a very annoying cat, but it's like I feel myself like rebonding with her and then I'm like, like, no wonder I'm lonely at my house. It's like it's, you know, it's. It's me. And that's pretty much it. It's me and these deer that I stare at through the window and have a parasocial relationship with, like, I would die.

[Andrew Walsh]

And a baseball signed by Jorge Polanco.

[Luke Burbank]

And, oh, I got to get that back out. By the way. It's almost Polanco's, by the way, for the Nets. Well, you know what I mean, I'm rooting for him back.

[Andrew Walsh]

No, me too. Yeah, and I'm glad he got his bag. That wasn't affordable for the Mariners. All of this is to say, though, what a shout out to paws, the progressive animal welfare society, because you and I are clearly cat crazy and folks can be, too.

[Luke Burbank]

Arlen also says my second shout out is for the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra this spring. We're featuring music composed especially for mandolins, with all but one written by living composers. You can find us on YouTube. I remember the last time that we read a dazzling donor message from Arlen. I think we went and we were checking out some videos of the. Of the mandolin orchestra. It's incredible. I am actually a big fan of the mandolin. That is to say, I really like it in songs and music. I kind of like bluegrass more than I remember until I'm hearing it. It. And then I'm like, I. They're also. Mandolins are a fascinating instrument to me because they're like kind of the size of a violin, but they kind of play like a guitar and. Am I hearing, man?

[Andrew Walsh]

You are, yeah. I'm just getting it going underneath. You don't. Sorry to distract you guys.

[Luke Burbank]

Is this the mandolin orchestra or is this just some random mandolin?

[Andrew Walsh]

This is the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra performing. You're going to know this song.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, is this Neil Young?

[Andrew Walsh]

It's a little Fleetwood Mac. The chain.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, oh. Never break the chain.

[Andrew Walsh]

It's just. Yeah, it's just warming up. You would have gotten there eventually.

[Luke Burbank]

What's the. What's the. The Crosby Still Nash song? Is that the one about Kent State that I'm confusing it with? It sounded a little bit. No, what's the. Yeah, yeah, I think I was confusing it with Ohio.

[Andrew Walsh]

Okay. Yeah. But anyway, yeah, this is cool. They got a lot of stuff up on YouTube, too.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, so go check them out online. And Arlen, thank you very, very much for supporting the show. Arlen, not Arlene checking in with some tbtl. Dazzling donor support.

[Andrew Walsh]

Here I go once again with the email every week. I hope that it's from a female. Oh, man.

[Unidentified Caller]

It's not from a female.

[Luke Burbank]

All right, do you've got an email. Do you have an email or VMAIL that you would like to favor us all with?

[Andrew Walsh]

I do. I have a voicemail here. I don't think this person left their name or if so, I didn't jot it down. And apologies, but we were mentioning on the show recently how way, way, way back in the day when TB Tale was a radio show. And before I had anything to do with it, Juggalos were in the news a lot and you started to develop a relation. I should say you developed a reputation as a radio show for often being the source of breaking Juggalo news. I feel like we've, as Fleet Fleetwood Mac would say, I believe we've broken that chain. We aren't really the go to.

[Luke Burbank]

They said we would never break the chain.

[Andrew Walsh]

Actually did. But I will say, as we were referencing that the other day, it inspired this voicemail, which I did find to be pretty interesting. Ahoy hoy. That was a bad. I just got to acknowledge terrible transition. I forgot I was playing all the sound on my end. I want to go back and fix that. I know I can't. So let me just acknowledge that that was a bad transition. Okay, Take it away.

[Anonymous Listener]

Anonymous Ahoy hoy. Been listening to your Juggalo talk a lot. Just remembered that I was told on Monday by a friend that apparently here in Port Townsend, the Bay City, there is a group where they refer to themselves as. I forget if it was Ex Juggalos. Recovering Juggalos. Lapsed Juggalos. Anyway, long story longer. Here in Port Townsend there is a Juggalos Anonymous type group. They even have matching tattoos and they meet regularly. Thought you would like to know that. Have a great day. No mountain too tall.

[Andrew Walsh]

So that's interesting. So these are people who are gathering to reject that lifestyle or because otherwise you could just hang out at the. What do they call their events? The happenings.

[Luke Burbank]

The gathering of the Jugglers.

[Andrew Walsh]

Gathering of the Juggalos. Yeah. Not the happenings. That's more of a 60s kind of mod culture kind of thing. So apparently these are folks who. Who still feel the need to belong but are rejecting the Juggalo lifestyle, which. The Juggalo lifestyle. Honest question here, Luke.

[Anonymous Listener]

Not.

[Andrew Walsh]

I mean, more faygo based than like booze and drugs based, right?

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, I think it's a big tent. But what I would say is, like, I don't. I mean, you know, I've watched some. I've watched some. Some videos made at the Gathering of the Juggalos. I think that people get into all kinds of shenanigans. But my general sense of the Juggalo world is. And I'm sure there are some exceptions, but like my sense of the people that become Juggalos or who really embrace that lifestyle or like go to the gathering and stuff, it's a lot of people that really enjoy the feeling of belonging to something and the thing they belong to isn't Something I would be particularly into. But I don't see it as a pernicious thing at all, you know, to like this music and to want to go to this thing now, by the way, the way, are there probably issues that happen at the gathering of the Juggalos? Sure. Are there people who are into the music who have probably done bad things? Yes. But I actually think of. I feel very warmly towards people that. That make being a Juggalo a big part of their personality. Because I see a person usually who just, yeah, was interested in. In finding a group of people that were like minded and in feeling included in something which is something that I think we all want. So the idea that there would be the rejection of the Juggalo, like, lifestyle which involves then belonging to another group is kind of interesting. I mean, I'm happy that these people are still in a group, but it's not like, it's like I could see a group that was like, we are ex members of Jonestown.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah, right.

[Luke Burbank]

You know, we are ex members of ICE or as I like to call them now, the Gravy Seal. I did not make that up. But I do think that's the sweetest nickname of all time. Like, I understand being like, we are a group of people that have left something that is very obviously and to almost everyone involved, a negative. To me, it's just the Juggalos. The whole. That whole scene is not for me, but I'm happy for the people that it's. That it's working for that. It's giving them a sense of identity and a sense of friendship.

[Andrew Walsh]

Honestly, it was the Workaholics episode about the Juggalos that really warmed my heart to them, because I did. It wasn't a world I gave much thought to, but they were really. I mean, I don't know if they had their PR people working. It would be pretty amazing if the Insane Clown Posse had, like, if shaggy.

[Luke Burbank]

2 dope and violent j had deployed their best comms person.

[Andrew Walsh]

But, like, what a love letter to Juggalo culture. It was like, it both parodied it, but it also just made it seem like a bunch of people who were just, like, looking out for each other.

[Luke Burbank]

Well, and the kind of main two stars, if I remember. It's that one Australian actress who I feel like was the first. It was my first awareness of her, Rebel Wilson. It was the first time I'd ever seen Rebel Wilson in something. And then she kind of turned into a whole comedy phenomenon and then she. I don't know if she does comedy anymore. I think she maybe went. I think she actually went to law school in Australia before she ever did acting. But then it was like the first sighting of Rebel Wilson I had was as a jugglette, a very funny jugglette in Workaholics.

[Andrew Walsh]

If I knew that, I had forgotten that connection. But, yeah, anyway. All right, well, thank you. Thanks for the message.

[Luke Burbank]

Who's that listener in Port Townsend? I thought I knew every listener in Port Townsend.

[Andrew Walsh]

I don't know. They didn't leave their name.

[Luke Burbank]

Show yourself. Call us back with more Port Townsend content and. And let us know who you are so I can shout you out. All right.

[Andrew Walsh]

All right. Well, that's.

[Luke Burbank]

Hey, thank you, everyone that's gonna do it for today's episode. I still. I. Andrew, on tomorrow's show, can I please talk to you about the artist Robert Therian? And the reason is because I was just in. Well, I was in his house. He built this big warehouse in Los Angeles that he worked in part of it and then lived in this very kind of very austere other part of it. But he had a room where he kept all of his cassette tapes and DVDs and CDs. And I was almost 90% sure that I had walked into the media room of your long lost brother. The Andrew Ness in this room was palpable. And I really feel like I need to tell you about it.

[Andrew Walsh]

All right. Sounds good.

[Luke Burbank]

Looking forward to it. Good.

[Andrew Walsh]

All right.

[Luke Burbank]

Oh, he's also. He's the scale guy, too. That's what I'm saying. He's the scale guy.

[Andrew Walsh]

Yeah. I was looking at some of his work since you mentioned him. I was looking at those giant folding chairs and stuff that he makes.

[Luke Burbank]

They work.

[Andrew Walsh]

Oh, my God. That's amazing.

[Luke Burbank]

They. Absolutely. They are functional. That. That table works exactly like the folding card table. We all.

[Andrew Walsh]

Only. It takes up with a bunch of.

[Luke Burbank]

It takes two forklifts to. I. I now know this. It takes two forklifts to lift it. But all of the mechanisms are totally working. And that's in all of these things he does that are. But he also does a lot of stuff that's not just something that's. That's. That's huge. He does stuff that's small. He does stuff that's in between. Anyway, I just want to tell you about his media, his. His file management, because it really was giving me some strong Andrew vibes. So maybe we'll do that on tomorrow's show, among other things. So please do join us for that. In the meantime, everybody have a great Wednesday. Take care of yourselves. And please remember, no mountain too tall.

[Andrew Walsh]

And good luck to all.

[Luke Burbank]

Power out.