Wristwatch Roulette IV of XII: Skmei Pip-Boy

Watches. Watches never change us. #

If you’ve just joined us, welcome to my series: Wristwatch Roulette, where I furnish my forearm with two fancy finds a fortnight, from fan-favourite Ali Express, market of choice for my 2023 series Shenzhen Safari, and 2024 series Shenzhen Sojourn.

Ghoulish Behaviour #

Remember when games were good?
Ahahaha.
No.
Things keep getting better.

The possibilities of what can be accomplished are built on a mass of prior culture. Some will be standing on the shoulders of giants; while others will be standing on the shoulders of rotting corpses. Dead-ends are a part of evolution. Experimentation is vital to revitalise. We stagnate, we die. Just keep swimming.

Almost a hundred years ago now (it doesn't matter, just know that it would've started in your great-grandfather's time), Isaac Asimov wrote a whole series of books with this lament. I've read them all because I'm smart, and that's what smart people do. They read books. Write?

Asimov explored the death of empires and society through a sci-fi lens. His main character (Seldon) produced a mathematical theorem called psychohistory that could predict human behaviour, but only at galaxy/humankind scale, with the the odd dip into a finer resolution of crisis. Seldon tried to warn that the empire (thousands of settled planets), was rapidly decaying, and doomed to 10,000 years of Barbarism, unless drastic action was taken, and soon!

But I'm Smart #

A group of elite academics were granted permission to travel far, far away to store the seeds of all human knowledge (to lessen the 10,000 years of Barbarism) in a new "Foundation". What followed was several books in this universe contemplating power, warfare, commerce, religion, human nature, robots, aliens, tribes, communities, love, life, evolution of human mental and psychic powers, and cosmic super-organisms.

Violent Delinquency #

Near the end of the series, there's a courtroom scene where a delinquent youth had attacked our hero in a park, and almost nullified all his achievements (see also: cancel culture), however the power of a mentalist coerced the youth to truth.

Magical Mental Powers: Abra-ka-HA-Brah! #

Is this ancient fiction any different to our current reality? Well, yes. We don't have magical mental powers to fix all we have broken. And the amplification of all that is wrong through mass-media, immediate gratification, and in the year of writing this (pre-halloween 2024), human-designed digital dopamine traps continue to catch and not release a third generation exposed.

Is there any hope?

Yes #

Of course there is. The inter-generational comparisons have stood since time immemorial.

Humans are little more than beasts. Morality an selfish invention for everyone's benefit, like agreeing a side of the road to drive multi-ton steel death machines. Entropy and decay allows rotting for fresh growth and renewal.

When we hold on to tightly to the past, we cut the belly of our snake, on the saw that we slither over. Feel the pain and accept it. Reflect on it then move on. You can't learn any other way, where fear and anger will kill your mind.

Keep it simple. A blossom in joy is only as far away as your inner peace. And you are the only one who can stumble, trip, rip, tear, leap, float, or melt into it.

Protecting your peace is not a tower-defense game. It's picking up your toys, your life, and playing in your spaces, with people who can share this enjoyment, bringing light.

For some you are light, and others shadow. Compatibility is not universal or mathematical. You'll have to kiss some toads to find a prince/ss. And you'll have to endure pain and betrayal to keep growing into an ever more shining being, with the kind of vibes that feel good to you and compatible others. Spend quality-time fulfilling your potential TO YOURSELF and FOR YOURSELF. Light comes. Shadows that were once full of your worst nightmares fade into absurdity.

Your life consists mainly of what you tolerate. So walk towards the light, and leave the shadows, taking only the marks of the lessons where scar-tissue glistens.

I am the Light. I am Love. I am Peace. #

Remember when games were good?
Ahahahaha.
Yes.
I do.

Narrow our focus now, from the Asimovian Psycho-historic to the here and now.

Steep decay. Colin McRae Rally (Sony PlayStation, 1998) had better physics applying morse-code to a digital on/off left or right switch than games nearly thirty years on.

Later, read my review of Burnout 3 (Sony PlayStation 2, 2004), which was the absolute pinnacle of fun in a driving game, and has yet never been matched. Because we have peaked. Our societies have peaked. Humanity is doomed, and the evidence piles up, exponential sin rate. Because we are ALL beasts, wearing moral masks, some appearing more human than others.

Personal Post-apocalypse #

Everyone has their own personal apocalypse. Some call it midlife crisis. The accumulation of all our experiences, some we perceive as successes, some as failures. Embarrassments, emboldenments. Good times. Shit times.

Here or before we choose Victimhood or accountability.

Only one path leads to meaningful change and redemption.
Because our life consists of what we tolerate, and this includes our own bullshit, our own cancerous thoughts, our own self-inflicted spiralling thoughts, values, ideas, and limitations.

Who is to blame?
YOU ARE. NOBODY ELSE.

Someone hurt you? Yes? No? Were you truly unable to stop them? Beastly if so. Or did you let them? Either way, you're still alive. Stay mad or heal from what they/you have done or said. Heal by your deeds. Heal by your focus on the light.

Remember: Your life consists of what you tolerate and what you do. Leave the shadows, taking only the marks of the lessons where scar-tissue glistens. You are beautiful and true. Don't waste your life picking [at] scabs.

Where were We? #

Another peak lens of humanity was the "Fallout" metaverse. It began with a gritty, well-written 1997 video-game looking at life hundreds of years following a nuclear apocalypse, with a 1930's-1950's retro-futuristic golden-oldie chrome aesthetic.

The luckier/wealthier humans made it to vast self-sustaining underground bunkers called Vaults. The game begins with our hero being forced to leave the vault in search of a computer part called a "water chip", and has 100 days to return to the vault, lest all the dwellers inside die. The nuclear wasteland is, predictably a kind of hell on earth, with warring factions, mutated humans and animals, and a kind of zombie-like irradiated human that can live for hundreds of years called a ghoul. Some are feral, others have retained their humanity (or at least, human communication skills, with a tendency towards cannibalism.

My personal favourite was Fallout 3 (2008), which followed the same theme of the established Fallout universe. In this case, we leave the vault in search of our father. The game switched from a 2D isometric, pixel-art, turn-based affair to a first-person 3D real-time living and breathing world. Exploring was a delight. There was always something to scratch the nomadic itch so deeply woven into our biology. And wherever you would go, your trusty Pip-boy would be stuck onto your arm with you.

Pip-Boy #

The Pip-Boy is a personal computing device (not unlike the "smart" phones that spelled out the innerification and death of our social society). A glowing green-screen stores all your information, maps, inventory, objectives, and has sensory functions such as detecting radiation levels (geiger-counter), visualising enemy bearings, and includes a Pip-Boy light to illuminate dark areas.

Here's a life-like replica by The Wand Company that is no longer for sale. (https://www.thewandcompany.com/pip-boy-kit/)

Light 'em up! #

So what do we have here?
This is Wristwatch Roulette after all.
I haven't forgotten.

We have another wild Skmei wrist-watch that for me at least, is reminiscent of a Pip-Boy.

And yes, that's a very bright LED torch angled outwards with a dedicated button to activate. It also has day/date, stopwatch, dual-time mode, and a programmable countdown timer seconds and minutes, reverting to last-programmed time when complete. Switching between screens, there's a higher-pitched beep for the "home" screen. And the electro-luminescent backlight is gorgeously even and bright across the surface.

Another watch to cherish from Skmei! I am truly a Fan-Boy of this Pip-Boy (and all of their wacky watches).

Be the envy of your post-apocalytic Neighbourhood Watch #

Now it's your turn. There's no such thing as a free lunch, so you know how you can help fund my vices, friend?

Well, buy your own Skmei “Pip-Boy” through my onion affiliate link here. Definitely don't use the non-affiliate link here. You can also use my CASIO affiliate link for 20% off CASIO and G-SHOCK, and even straight-up push donations into my tip-jar (pending setup).

• Read the previous post: “Wristwatch Roulette III of XII: Synoke DS”
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