Hey everyone! I hope your weekend is going great so far. I need to share an announcement about transaction fees that applies to using Cash App and Patreon to support me. Please be sure to read this entire post so there's no misunderstandings, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

For years, I've been paying the transaction fees for the payment processors I use to receive financial support from my fans. These fees may be small on an individual basis, which is why I've always just paid them myself so far, but over time they accumulate to become a substantial amount. While Cash App only charges one small fee per transaction, Patreon charges more because they include both platform and processing fees, as well as a currency conversion fee if someone pledges to me in a native currency other than US dollars.

My Patreon tiers have already been adjusted to include these platform and processing fees. Again, this only applies to new pledges and will not affect you if you're already pledged and remain pledged at the time of this writing.

I've also updated the tiers for viewing behind-the-scenes Extras and using Patreon to pay me for a custom video commission, ranging from a general commission to the more private ones. Those tiers now all include the platform and processing fees if you choose to use Patreon to commission me for a video.

Cash App payments for video commissions and behind-the-scenes Extra videos will now include a 2.75% fee for every transaction. Here's a handy guide that calculates it for you.

For total payments ranging from:

$10 to $35: the transaction fee is just $1

$40 to $70: the fee is $2

$75 to $100: an additional $3 will be added

$150: the fee is $5

$200: $6

For example, if you want to purchase access to one behind-the-scenes Extra using Cash App, which costs $20 for one video, you will need to send $21 altogether for it. If you want to send $50 for a general commission, the total cost will be $52. It's a small amount for everyone to pay, but it makes a world of a difference for me in the long run and ensures I can continue to put my full-time focus into providing content and making a positive impact on the lives of my many followers.

Amazon gift cards do not have transaction fees but I would prefer they only be used as a last resort because they don't go to my bank account like Cash App and Patreon payments do, which means I can't use them toward my monthly living expenses. I will still happily accept them though, and I do have items I buy from Amazon regularly like protein powder and vitamin supplements so it still helps a lot!

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand this post. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected] and I'll be happy to answer them. Thanks for your continued support and stay tuned for more!

Chrono Cross is one of my favorite video games of all time. It's the sequel to Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo (an even bigger favorite of mine) and it originally came out for PlayStation in 2000 and was remastered for Nintendo Switch and other consoles in 2022.

It's an RPG with an intricate storyline which centers around challenging fate and traveling between an alternate reality and your own in order to save the future, and the characters you interact with along the way, especially those who live in your seaside village of Arni, have very wise and intellectual dialogue to share if you take the time to speak with them.

Here are my favorite character quotes from this amazing game:

"They say the rain cleanses one's spirit. But at our age, we've had enough cleansing, heh-heh." [An elderly villager combining wisdom with humor during a rainstorm]

"Don't you know that the early bird gets the worm?" [Rise with the sun, sleep at night]

"What good is something if you didn't work your heart out for it?" [Hard work pays off and something is worth more to you if you had to work for it as opposed to just having it given to you]

"You could say that everything here represents 10 years of my life." [A fisherman reflecting on his work and lifestyle choice with pride]

"The longer you live, the more you wonder about another 'you' that might have been." [Reflecting on choosing paths in life and where they might lead]

[An aspiring young poet desires to change the world with her words but laments on how she's instead stuck working as a waitress in a rundown joint in a small, middle-of-nowhere village]

"Life on this planet was born of the sea and will eventually return to it. Even our blood is mostly sea water." [Science has theorized that life began in the sea, which is why some people choose to be buried at sea]

[A character reminisces on the carefree innocence of childhood]

"We should all live in harmony with fate." [Sharing the wisdom that you shouldn't let the challenges and changes of life affect your mental wellness and decision-making]

"Aren't memories strange?... Lying in wait until the right moment. Why, we might even remember this very moment someday!... When that time comes, I wonder what kind of people we'll be?" [Having the realization that you're creating memories with people you care about in the moment and may reflect on those good times years down the road]

"The sea never changes... in and out... it'll probably continue going on long after our lifetimes are over." [Accepting our mortality and realizing the poetic beauty of it]

"People sure change... swayed by times, an unforeseen turn of events... It's really disheartening, but there's nothing we can do about it. No one can change or defy time or fate."

"Our everyday lives are controlled by uncertainty and fear... Our spent yesterdays, and an uncertain tomorrow... How we live a meaningless today..." [This character is trying to justify spending all his time praying to a doll for peace of mind instead of taking chances in life despite everyone around him trying to talk sense into him. The doll later comes to life, tells him to snap out of it, and joins your party as an optional fighter]

"You can't just change the way you live in the blink of an eye." [This character once refused to believe you can change your life for the better despite you proving otherwise. He used to wear a shark tooth amulet that he said got him through the hard times in life, but he ends up giving it to you because his wife and daughter now get him through instead]

"Think about how terrible it would be if you left this world with no record of your very existence." [Reflecting on the importance of making a positive impact on the world during your lifetime]

"Every time I come to a decision, I always wonder what would have happened if I had decided the other way."

"I shouldn't dwell on lost loved ones."

"You're free to dream, but daily work is always the best. Nothing beats hard work and dedication!"

"The colors of the sea and sky far surpass the beauty of those gems he collects."

"What do you live for? What are you willing to die for?"

"Old customs and lores might fade away with time."

"Living bound by the past is a very painful thing."

"The one that's hiding within me is not 'another me'... it's just another 'part of me.' I am who I am... including my dark side. It isn't right to think of my other side as a separate entity whom I can criticize... Rather, I must accept who I am as a whole."

"You will find hope within despair. One who does not experience sorrow cannot appreciate joy."

If you've never played Chrono Cross or Chrono Trigger, I highly recommend them both.

Dreams have always been a fascinating aspect of existence to me. When I was a kid, I imagined my future self designing a "dream catcher" machine when I got older that would allow you to record your dreams at night while you slept so you could wake up and play them back in a video format. I wish something like this actually existed because it's often hard to remember all the details of your dreams, and mine are often random and wild.

Ever since I was really young, I liked to write down the dreams that I remember having, or at least the details that I could recall, before they became lost to me in memory over time. Here are some entries from my current "dream book" that I wanted to share. I didn't write the date down on the first few but realized it's a good idea to include it in later entries.

* Undated: I'm playing a retro Kirby video game, but with an enhanced gaming experience. When I reach a certain area in the game, which was a shiny spot where Kirby was spinning underwater, I get a rewarding feeling in my head that's like a dopamine release.

It was like a video game of the future that rewards you with pleasure for finding the right path to travel or discovering a secret area. Did my mind just predict a future version of video games?

* Undated: I'm with a dark-natured young man who's training to be a demon. He advances a level right in front of me and gains a new ability, which if I remember correctly, was wings and flight. I'm impressed and congratulate him.

* Undated: I'm inside my neighbor's house back when I lived up north. (She was an older lady who's mind was starting to go with age, and she had paid me to mow her lawn a few times until one day she tried to blame me for putting a few round holes in her yard that had already been there.)

In the dream, a male relative of hers takes a liking to me and says "let's see how she rated you." We find a piece of paper on an end table in her bedroom that has three names on it, including mine. All three people were given a "1" rating and the word "prostitute" is written after my name. The relative looks sad, and I explain to my elderly neighbor that he's sad because she rated me so low as a person and called me a rude name, but she doesn't care because she still believes I ruined her lawn.

* Undated: I'm trying to convince a woman to buy my 2019 hatchback car I own so I could either get a nicer one or a brand new one of the same model. I tell her it's a nice vehicle, why the previous owner had traded it in, and I also mentioned that I'm nearly six feet tall and fit fine in the front seat and that the back seats are spacious as well.

* Undated: I'm with my family and making a planned trip to a strange place to speak with someone renowned for some unknown but important reason (possibly something for my mother). In order to get there, we have to take this giant, elegant elevator that you have to temporarily die on in order to reach the place we need to go.

Once the elevator goes up high enough, I feel a discomforting drop in my stomach that rises up, and this is the point when my spirit temporarily leaves my body in order to enter the destination. We arrive and step off the elevator into an almost mall-like area, and a friendly man who's tall with blonde hair sees us and walks up.

The man introduces himself as David, and I nervously but cheerfully say "Hi, David." He asks if he can help us. One of us says we're looking to meet Anne. David confirms Anne by her first and last name (I couldn't remember her last name from the dream except that it was a short, two-syllable name that began with the "cay" sound).  One of us confirms that's who we're trying to find.

We walk past a library area and into a doctor's office/hospital area, and a thin, older woman receptionist asks how she can help us. One of us says we're here to see Anne. She tells us we're too late because Anne isn't seeing anyone else for the day and she's currently with someone else. Just then, the door to her office opens and the person she was seeing leaves, so the receptionist says she'll see if Anne has time to meet with us. As she walks to the door though, it opens again and Anne walks out and goes straight into a door across from it and closes it. I only manage to get a quick glimpse of her and her white outfit reminded me of Lunchlady Doris from The Simpsons.

The receptionist smiles and says Anne is taking a bathroom break and asks us to take a seat and wait. After a while, we realize Anne must have somehow slipped out without us noticing. My mother tells me to stay behind while her and the rest of my family try to find Anne, but to no avail. I catch up with them and get upset they left me there alone since I'm temporarily in a state of death which could become permanent if I don't return to that big elevator in time. Meanwhile, we can't get anyone to help us find Anne. I ask a man in the area I know by name for help but he says he can't, and I'm saddened by this final gleam of hope fading.

Just then, another receptionist opens a door, holds it open, and motions for me to go inside. She had noticed our desperation and was allowing us to see Anne even though it was after hours. I bring my mother's attention to this and we all make our way toward the room. I realize I've never seen Anne's face before and try to picture it on the way in, but the dream ends before I get to actually see it.

* 10/10/21: I'm in a timeline where aliens live among us and have taken over. They appear human but you can tell which ones are aliens because they're trying too hard to look and act human. Their currency is a small, micro SD-sized rectangular token. I find one on the ground and slide it out of its transparent protection sleeve and go to activate it by touch. A puzzle is displayed that I must solve in order to earn the currency, and it's an A, B, C or D puzzle, but it's written in their language, which I don't understand. I guess "C" (which is pronounced oddly in their language) as the answer but it's wrong, so the currency disappears and I don't get to keep it. I'm suddenly hooked and want to find more alien currency in the giant, mall-like building I'm in.

Later, I sneak into an alien doctor's office past reception and get to the back area. When asked by someone why I'm there, I tell them I need to see the doctor. An alien woman in her 40's with glasses and a deep frown enters and has me sit down. To my surprise, she presses the palms of her hands over my nose and mouth and holds them there so I can't breathe until I can't hold my breath anymore. I become aware that this had been a test to see if I was human due to the "oxygen dependency" diagnosis being attributed to me.

* 2/15/22: I'm falling asleep in a classroom with my head down, fighting to keep my eyes open. The teacher, a tall black man, is lecturing the class about a man named David Wilk that he found to be heroic because he gave up a gift or ability he had to either sacrifice for the greater good or to not allow himself to be influenced by evil. Having not read the book that was written about the man, I believe it was his sight that he had given up, but I don't know any of the answers to the questions being asked since I didn't read it.

One student has a black and blue hardcover book on his desk titled "Wacky David Wilk" which is strange to me since the teacher is very serious about how heroic he found the man to be. The teacher asks everyone to get up and write their names on the whiteboard for an exercise about the book, and I try to think of a way to not write my name in order to avoid the embarrassment of not reading it or learning anything about Wilk.

* 2/21/22: I'm outside in a large complex that resembles a real-life video game. I enter a building with an auditorium where a church service is about to start. They're serving spaghetti and meatballs, which I eat, but to my horror I realize there are somehow three screws in my pasta. They're at the bottom of the bowl and I choose to eat around them, but then I realize I just ate meatballs when I'm a vegetarian.

Later, I'm in a car and trying to suck myself off with a vacuum cleaner for some reason, and because of this I become aware that I'm dreaming while in the dream. My boss from the restaurant I was working at at the time walks by and I start jerking off in the car as he walks by since I've aware I'm dreaming and there will be no consequences. He frowns and makes a non-plussed comment and continues walking down the street as I laugh at him.

* 3/11/22 (possibly 3/12): In the dream, it's 3:30 in the morning and someone is knocking on my front door. I see through the peephole there's several people standing outside. I open the door to what sounds like a sales pitch but I tell them it's 3:30am and they need to leave. They all get angry, one guy flips me off, and suddenly I'm worried about them getting into my house.

I hear glass break and see one of them bent over a flat cinder block as if they had just thrown it at one of my windows. I'm trying to open my front door to see what's going on while keeping the screen door shut so they can't get in, and I'm now afraid of this angry mob outside my house.

I call 911 and an officer (not a dispatcher, interestingly) answers but doesn't seem to believe me when I tell him fearfully that I need help with attackers on my property. I look outside and they're now preparing to build something large, possibly a weapon or battering device, that spans across my front yard into my neighbor's. I call 911 again and this time the officer says "those are your friends" in reference to the trespassers outside. I accuse the cop of being involved with them and not being a cop at all and he goes silent, so I hang up and try to call 911 again, but by now I'm so shaken that I can't even dial the numbers right, pressing 6 instead of 9.

* 12/6/22: Someone named Monte has hacked my YouTube channel and email, changed the name of my channel to Monte [something], and kicked me out of it while I was logged in at a house with a group of businessmen. One of them, a black guy who's name may have been Earl, is the leader of the businessmen, and he calls me afterward to discuss the possibility that one of his men were responsible for the hack after I raise the suspicion.

* 12/10/23: I'm walking outside near a park when I hear a guy in the distance let out a hardcore punk yell. I ask a girl nearby who that was and she says "oh that was Madison." I walk down a hill toward the source and see a punk with a long mohawk, then I realize that everyone there is young and alternative.

I call the place "mohawk paradise" and believe I'll fit in with my own mohawk hairstyle. A girl says something to me that I don't hear so I ask her to repeat it and she does, but then she angrily yells it a third time and storms off, even though I heard her the second time and didn't ask her to repeat it again. I think of her as a rude person for it and shrug it off. Another girl walks up to me and tells me I have one long hair sticking out of my left eyebrow and I'm surprised that she noticed it.

* 12/21/23: I'm showing off to two young guys who think I'm cool. My shirt is off and I'm boxing one of them bare-fisted. He's short so he keeps ducking and bobbing back to avoid every hard punch I keep throwing at him. Eventually I bring my fist straight down on his head in a surprise pound and it flattens him in a cartoonish way.

The other guy says "you're going hard today. I don't wanna get choked out!" in reference to having to challenge me next. His friend laughs at him and says "it isn't wrestling." I tell him I'll take him on in whatever sport he wants, but then I wake up.

* 1/6/24: I'm sitting at the table with three younger guys I used to work with at a restaurant. One of them gives me a hard time about making more money than any of them by filming videos and using it to buy new shoes and other things for myself instead of ever buying things for them. I laugh and remind them I have a mortgage to pay. One of them invites me to go to a bar/club called The Peanut with them later in the day and I agree to go.

In a second part to this dream, I'm in jail and everyone in the cell is being allowed out of the building in a group. I'm shirtless and debate on putting my shirt on since everyone else was wearing theirs, but I decide against it. A detention officer asks me if I have muscles and I say, "yeah, lean ones" and flex, and he stands near me and asks in awe if I'll flex on him. I say "thanks man" and someone else who overheard it says "aww" like they were touched that the guard complimented me since I'm an inmate.

Suddenly, an inmate who was further up notices a salad cart headed our way so he runs back and tells the rest of us and everyone grabs their empty salad boxes to have them filled. The boxes are small styrofoam ones with hinged lids that restaurants give you for leftovers.

* 5/14/24: I'm riding in a car with a few other guys who are friends or acquaintances of mine even though I've never seen or met them before outside of this dream. I wake up from sleeping in the car because apparently we were on a road trip back home from somewhere, and I ask how close we are to the house. One guy smiles and says we're almost there.

We get back to the house, which is actually their house that they're paying to live at together as friends, and I'm just staying there with them for free because I don't have any money for some reason. The point of the trip was to pick up some sort of substance to party with that isn't made known to me in the dream, but I want to party with them anyway even though I didn't have any money to contribute to the cost of it.

I try not to be obnoxious and outright ask them if I can participate, so instead I kind of float around the living room they're in and make small talk off to the side in the hopes one of them will offer for me to join. They don't end up sharing with me so I walk into a bedroom where two big dogs are and begin petting one, feeling a little sorry for myself.

* 5/18/24: I'm working at a restaurant but I'm not happy being there and have stopped caring about the job. A young couple gets seated at a table and I'm told by a host that I'm supposed to take care of them but I really don't feel like it. I end up taking my shirt off and greeting the guy and girl shirtless, and they laugh and just go along with it. They start off by ordering an alcoholic drink. I've never heard of the names of the drinks they order and I can't remember what they were.

My boss from the second restaurant I worked at is the boss of this restaurant in my dream, and he walks by down a side path near the tables and sees me walking away from the table without my shirt on. He kind of nods and lets me know that I'm done taking tables for the night, though he says it impassively without suggesting he's angry. In my mind I assume he's going to fire me for this and this makes me care even less about the job.

I end up ignoring the young couple and leaving them to sit and wait for their drinks. I end up feeling bad after a while and go check on them, and I see the girl had been brought her drink by someone else, and it's a bright orange drink in a sort of decorative glass with a wide bottom. I walk over to where the bartender puts the drinks up to see if the young guy's drink is there. It is, and the liquid in the glass is a wild mixture of bright colors. The drink had been sitting there for a while and it either looked like someone had taken a drink out of it, or I took a drink out of it at that moment and decided not to care about serving the couple anymore, this time for good.

In the second part of the dream, I'm outside and a young male fan of my YouTube channel is apparently going to be meeting me. I look at his account on YouTube and see he doesn't have a big following, but I watch a few of his Shorts and the editing and production on them is incredible. He had one video that had to do with some cool visual effect on the fingers of one hand. I look over and see him playing basketball by himself on a court, and someone tells me he's waiting on me and is only shooting the ball around to pass the time until he can meet me.

For some reason, I'm eating a tiny bird's egg and it ends up getting sticky yolk on my fingers as I try to eat/drink from the inside of it. The kid hears me and turns around, and he's happy to see. I wasn't quite ready to meet him, and I remark that the egg tastes terrible, so I throw the eggshell down and apologize about having it on my hand. In the dream I wasn't really looking forward to meeting someone but it just sort of happened and I had to go along with it.

Why do we dream the things we do? It's not like I think about alien people, elevators you temporarily die on, or finding screws in my pasta before I fall asleep -- or even on a regular basis, so why do these end up being the things I dream about? It only makes it all the more fascinating to have dreams and remember them for the awesomely strange inventions they are!

A long time ago, I learned a unique way to identify people's personalities using four personal elements. This universal method works for everyone, and I'm going to explain it in detail in this blog and describe myself using the elements as an example to better teach it. After you understand this method, I invite you to identify yourself using the given elements. This can help you realize where you're strong as a person and where you may need improvement.

Personalities are too diverse to be described as just introvert or extrovert, or a "cat" or "dog" person. It's too generic to label someone so simply, or by saying you're just a happy person or a sad person -- that can change at any given time.

There are four elements that are used to describe a person's overall personality. Depending on how much you have of each element correlates with the type of person you are, and the goal is to have all four of these elements equally balanced. Too much of one element is not a good thing, nor is not having enough of one.

The four elements are Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth. First I will describe each element in detail, then I'll provide examples of what having too much or too little of each one will result in.


Wind represents intellect. People who are strong in the Wind element are intelligent and logical. They think clearly and are creative, philosophical, and analytical. They can also be metaphorical and enjoy wordplay. Psychology, brainstorming, and coming up with ideas are also strong points for Windy people. They love socializing and having "deep" conversations.

A person who has too much of the Wind element is known as an "airhead" because, as the saying goes, their head is always in the clouds. They will often find themselves distracted by their constant stream of thoughts and ideas and find difficulty focusing as a result. They may also live more in a fantasy world than reality due to an overactive imagination. They might even be difficult to converse with because they're constantly correcting your grammar and using big words to show off their high IQ.

A person who has too little of the Wind element never thinks things through. They may lack creativity, have no imagination, and speak in a simple-minded manner. Intellectual discussions will bore them. They won't have any input to offer and will often answer questions with "I don't know."

The next element, Fire, represents passion. A person who is strong in the Fire element has a lot of energy, ambition, and motivation. They're a take-charge kind of person who may also be impulsive and a risk-taker. They're experimental in the sense that they aren't afraid to try new things. They're also playful and competitive, headstrong, and they stand up for themselves.

A person who has too much Fire is known as a "hothead." They're temperamental and easily agitated. They flare up when someone angers them and may be prone to fighting or physical violence. Their fiery nature can scare people off or push them away. They may be so steadfast that they're stubborn and will never back down, admit their mistake, or apologize even if they realize they're wrong.

Someone with too little fire has no ambition. They lack the motivation to get things done or take the first step toward something they need to do. They aren't the type to compete in sports or enjoy physical horseplay. They don't take risks or have a sense of adventure. They would never be the leader of any group.

The third element is Water. Water represents emotion. An individual who is strong in the Water category is caring, empathic, kind, and altruistic. They're a good listener and the type of person you can depend on if you need someone to talk to or cheer you up. They might also be the person who goes to you when they need to vent. They're there for you, they have others' interests in minds instead of only their own, and they trust people and "let them in." As the saying goes, they wear their heart on their sleeve.

Having too much Water will make you a wishy-washy kind of person. This means you're too sensitive and dramatic. You may find yourself crying often. Crying after a good movie or emotional song is a healthy example of the Water element, but if you find yourself having mental breakdowns on a regular basis, it means you need to get control over your emotions.

If you don't have enough Water though, you may be seen as an emotionless person who keeps things bottled up inside. You put a wall up around you and don't trust people or let them into your life. It will be harder for you to make friends and have relationships. People who had a rough upbringing will often become mentally and emotionally hardened and will need to work hard to soften up. This can also happen as a result of being abandoned or betrayed by friends, family, or lovers, which can develop trust issues.

The final element is Earth. Earth represents your life's compass. Someone who has a good balance of Earth is rooted to a path of success. They know their lane in life and they stay in it. They have a good sense of direction, are career-oriented and financially stable, and they stay true to themselves. They're also great family people (think of the stay-at-home mom who covers the walls with family photos, or the person who calls their pet their "child"). They're able to stay friends with people for a long time and maintain long-lasting relationships and employment. They are also in touch in nature and respect the planet and their fellow living beings.

Too much Earth can be considered a bad thing. Someone who is too Earthy is stuck in their own ways and never open to change. They may hate society because they're aware of how humans pollute the air, kill innocent animals, cut down trees, and otherwise destroy the planet. Some will put wild animals above fellow humans because of how connected they feel to nature. These are the vegetarians who attack people who don't share their choice of diet because they believe "meat is murder," and also the climate activists who block traffic as a form of protest.

Not having enough Earth means you have no direction in life. You're like a wild leaf constantly blowing in a turbulent breeze, unable to find a place to settle down and call home. This is the person who bounces from job to job, unable to secure long term employment or find a career that works for them. They will be in and out of relationships constantly and have trouble keeping friends. They might even be homeless because they lost their way and dug themselves into a hole.


So those are the four elements and what they represent. Are you able to choose your strongest element and recognize what your weakest is? Here's a test I came up with to see if you understand the basics of Wind, Fire, Water and Earth.

Scenario 1: You read a post on social media from someone that says "An update on my music project: I now have four songs written but I still need to record them." Which element is this post strong in, and where does it show weakness?

Answer: Writing songs is an example of intellect, so this is strong in the Wind category. However, not having the motivation to put those ideas into motion and record the songs shows a lack of Fire. A good idea will never see the light of day without the passion and drive needed to make it a reality.

Scenario 2: The next social media post you read says "I've been at this job for 12 years and I'm so over it! I can't take another day of this place or my co-workers." Which personality elements come to mind with this post?

Answer: Being at a job for 12 years shows strength in the Earth element, but this emotional outburst is overflowing with Water. Remember it's not good to have too much of one element. Remaining at a job you're unhappy at may also be an example of too much Earth because it shows you're too rooted and not open to change, even when it's apparent that it's necessary for your well being.

Scenario 3: The third post you read surprises you. It says "the next time my neighbor's dog wakes me up at night, I'm going to think of a way to make my neighbor's life a living hell like he's making mine." What are your thoughts on this one?

Answer: This is certainly a fiery statement to make. Assuming they didn't try talking to their neighbor first to find a resolution, it appears this person is taking a bull-headed approach to an issue they're having. Instead of using their brain logically, they're seeking to come up with a plan of revenge to fight fire with fire instead of coming up with a solution to extinguish the flames. When you pour gasoline on a fire, it will only burn brighter and begin to consume everyone around it.

How did you do in understanding these examples? To explain this even better, I'm now going to share my elemental identity with you.


In the broadest terms, I have always considered myself to be a fiery intellectual. This means that Fire and Wind are my strongest elements. I've always been energetic, passionate, and adventurous. I'm also headstrong and competitive. At the same time, I love to use my brain. I'm always seeking knowledge and learning new things. I'm a big fan of using wordplay and I enjoy clever humor. Do you notice how the video titles on my channel and in the behind-the-scenes extras tend to rhyme or have each word begin with the same letter? This is called an alliteration and it's an example of intellect.

Having the intellect to create and the passion to put an idea into motion is what resulted in the blog you're reading right now. I created The No Deo Hero using my own inspirations and ideas and I stayed true to myself the entire time. I put my heart, soul and emotion into it, and with a good balance of Earth, I've managed to stay on the same successful path despite any obstacles that came up along the way.

With Fire and Wind being my strongest elements, I wouldn't say that Water or Earth are necessarily weak for me. I'm a single homeowner who's financially stable and I've been operating as The No Deo Hero for over 8 years now. This shows a major growth in me as a person. I used to have difficulty maintaining employment at the same place for a while -- in fact, the longest job I held was for four and a half years at a restaurant. Being able to single-handedly keep my internet presence strong and successfully live off of it shows a big improvement in Earth for me.

I'm not ashamed to admit that certain songs and movies can make me cry. A good book or video game can stir up emotion in me. I like to express my feelings, especially when someone touches my life in a positive way. I do have strengths in the Water category. However, I know my areas of improvement lie in making adjustments to my Fire and Water elements.

I can be too Fiery to a fault. Sometimes I let little things anger or annoy me that shouldn't. I get mad at video games if they become too difficult. I yell at the screen and curse the developers for coming up with something so frustrating. I get angry if I'm trying to fix something at my house and it doesn't work the way it should. I say things out loud like "why don't these tools do what they're supposed to do? Why can't people come up with a better way to do this?" If I'm in a bad mood and I hit my arm or shin on a wall, I hit the wall back with my fist as if it's going to feel the same pain that I just did. I get excited during conversations that interest me and will sometimes accidentally talk over people.

I do at least know how to say sorry and admit when I'm wrong. My intellectual logic will overpower stubbornness and lower the flames inside enough for me to think things clearly instead of blindly acting on rage. I'm still steadfast and headstrong though and won't allow myself to be disrespected or taken advantage of. Sometimes people take my friendly and occasionally goofy sense of humor for weakness, but they quickly learn I'm not to be victimized or preyed on.

I'm also aware I have trust issues with other people. I had a fairly rough childhood with alcoholism as well as physical and verbal abuse at home, and I've also been abandoned by friends I've made throughout life that I was loyal and caring toward. This has affected my interest in making new friends and caused me to focus more on continuing to thrive independently and become my own best friend. I won't always give people the benefit of the doubt and might assume that only their own best interests are on their minds. Allowing hurtful instances of the past to affect your overall trust in other people is a lapse in the Water element.


Where do you stand with your elements? How close are you to achieving a perfect balance of all four of them? A leopard never changes its spots, as they say, but there is always the possibility for improvement if you find ways to work toward it. If you're too angry all the time, try meditation or yoga. If you're prone to mental breakdowns, do what you can to eliminate stress in your life. You may need to change jobs or the people you hang around or live with. Making better use of your time is always beneficial, and controlling what you watch and listen to will also have a profound effect on you. Avoid negativity on social media or from the news, especially when it comes to politics. The path to happiness lies in unity, not division.

I hope you learned something about yourself from reading this, and you likely just learned something new about me as well. Use this elemental guide to better yourself and understand the people around you. Your elemental energy will interact with theirs in unique ways. Remember that everyone is different and the best way to live your life is to be yourself. Love yourself and take pride in who you are, but acknowledge that everyone always has room for improvement and it's never too late to start striving to be better.

I'm a 90's kid and grew up with Super Mario Bros. I was fascinated by the Mario games and the fantasy worlds they took place in. When I was in school, I would draw my own Super Mario 3 overworld maps during class and attempt to design my own levels for an imaginary sequel or expansion of the game. I used to walk around clutching any object I could find in one of my hands like Mario holding a vegetable on the cover of the USA version of Super Mario 2. One of my cousins and I were so into Super Mario World that we pretended to be Mario and Yoshi and I'd jump on his back while he walked around pretending to eat berries off of trees. I even used to run around blinking my eyes for a make-believe shining effect and pretending I had an invincibility star.

During recess in elementary school, I would sometimes pretend to be Bowser and chase girls on the sports field while acting like I was blowing flames at them. They laughed and played along, running away screaming because they were imagining themselves to be princesses who didn't want to get captured by King Koopa. One Halloween, my mother designed an awesome Bowser costume for me to wear for trick or treating. I've also always had a great imagination, and while I was in bed at night right before I'd go to sleep, I would throw the covers over my head and act out a made-up episode of the Super Mario cartoons that used to air on television while providing the voices for each character.

I'm still a Nintendo gamer to this day. The Switch is the only gaming system I own, and it's surreal to see Nintendo and the Mario series still going strong. I recently played through Super Mario Bros. Wonder and loved that game. With everything I just said though, I'm not going to make the obvious choice and say Mario, Bowser, or even Yoshi is my favorite video game character of all time.

Over the years I've been a big fan of other video game franchise characters, like Tails the fox from Sonic the Hedgehog for example, but there's one character from another video game that I've always found really cool, and that's Reptile from Mortal Kombat.

I've always enjoyed fighting games like Tekken, Primal Rage, Super Smash Bros, Clay Fighter, and more, but the original Mortal Kombat games were always the best to me. They had a combination of ninjas, elemental powers, strong warriors, and an impressive variety of characters to choose from. I remember mailing a fan letter to the two creators of the game and they were cool enough to write back and answer all my questions I had about their awesome creation.

In the first Mortal Kombat game, a mysterious character named Reptile is available to fight as a secret match if you manage to find him. This is iconic because he became the first secret character in fighting game history. He starts off as just a recolor of the other ninja characters and borrows their special moves, but he gains his own identity and appearance in the follow-up games.

As his name implies, Reptile is a lizard-like Saurian who has the ability to shapeshift into a human form; a species later known as Zaterran. He's eventually given a "real" name of Syzoth, and he possesses the ability to turn invisible and spit acid at his opponents in the Mortal Kombat games. Other characters insult him for his repulsive appearance and foul, noxious smell.

I never liked how Reptile was always portrayed as a gullible servant who did what he had to do in order to save his family and learn more about his mysterious race, so whenever I chose him as my fighter I would change his storyline in my mind to one of an outcast who serves no one but himself. My favorite games to play as Reptile are Mortal Kombat II, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Mortal Kombat X. His design in MKX is my overall favorite, and that's also the game they officially gave him his own unique voice and dialogue.

When I was in middle school, I had a dream that Reptile was real. He appeared as a small lizard just as he had in the first Mortal Kombat movie using CGI, and he was running around and causing a mixture of chaos and excitement on the school playground. Some kids were fleeing from him in fear while others were laughing and chasing him as he rushed around at blinding speed and camouflaged in the outside surroundings in order to evade capture.

I love video games, and if I had to pick one character to name as my favorite, I'm going to give that honor to Reptile because of how cool he is and how much he evolved as a character. I mean, who wouldn't want to play as a stinking, acid-spitting lizard-man who can turn invisible and use his long tongue to eat his opponents' heads? It should come as no surprise that I chose an Argonian character for my first playthrough of Skyrim because they're a race of humanoid lizards and it reminded me of Reptile.

Since my mother had made me cool Halloween costumes like Bowser, Shredder from the Ninja Turtles, and James from Team Rocket before, I tried asking her to make me a Reptile costume in his human/ninja form, but that was unfortunately the year she wasn't able to find time or energy to make them by hand anymore. So while I don't have a costumed photo of myself to share, I found a picture online of someone who managed to pull it off really well!

To follow up on the most recent live stream I filmed on March 22nd: I believe I've discovered the cause of my sudden bout of fatigue and not feeling as motivated as usual. The crawl space under the house I bought is in bad shape -- it doesn't have a vapor barrier or insulation, and even worse, there's fungal mold on some of the joists and subfloor due to plumbing leaks the previous occupants didn't bother to fix.

I filmed several remodeling vlog Shorts on my channel throughout June of 2023 showing the extent of some of the damage and neglect I inherited by purchasing this fixer-upper house.

After I moved in, I upgraded the home's entire plumbing system myself. I replaced the water pipes under the crawl space with new PEX pipes and I dug up the well pipes in the backyard and replaced them with new, correct-sized PVC pipes. I also upgraded all the cast-iron waste/drain/vent pipes with ABS and replaced every plumbing fixture (new bathtub, shower valve, bathroom vanity and sink, toilet, kitchen faucet and sink, water heater, well tee, pressure gauge, and pressure tank).

That effectively ended the water leaks and backed-up plumbing problems in the house. However, the damage that had been done to the crawl space still existed, and it still does.

The other day I had a metallic taste in my mouth. My throat and glands felt sore, I had a mild headache, and I felt pain in my chest around my lungs. When I researched these symptoms online, I found that mold inhalation was the prime suspect. A musty smell in your house is another indicator, and even though I've painted all the walls, trim, and ceilings, and cleaned the floors and furniture really well, this house still has a musty odor to it I notice every time I enter it. I learned that the mold in your crawl space can find its way up into your home through areas like gaps in my hardwood flooring. While it may seem "out of sight, out of mind" underneath your house, it actually poses a threat to you and anyone else inside.

Along with a metal taste in your mouth and body aches, other symptoms of mold exposure include dizziness, fatigue, loss of memory, lack of motivation, and depression. When I was upgrading the electric system in the house in December and January, I would feel light-headed every single time I stood up from crouching down as if I had stood up too fast. I've also been concerned about why I've been having trouble remembering how many sets I've done while working out or recalling what I had for dinner the night before. I've never had physical or cognitive issues like this before.

I didn't have any of these symptoms during the summer or autumn seasons I was here, but that's likely because I was venting the house with fresh air by opening the windows. Also, the house still had the original windows it was built with at that time and there were major air gaps around all of them, so the home was still getting some ventilation even while they were all closed. I've since had all the windows replaced with new ones and they're airtight, so during the winter when the windows were shut, there was no ventilation for the mold entering the home and I was breathing it in.

I scheduled a professional inspection and assessment for my crawl space to I can have the mold killed and the area insulated. In the meantime, I replaced the MERV 5 (basic dust/lint protection level) air filter for my heat pump with a MERV 12 filter, which is rated for mold spores, bacteria and viruses. The filter is good for 3 months so it should help protect me until I can have the mold taken care of. I've also been opening my windows during the day while it's warm outside in order to circulate fresh air through the house.

I've been wondering what's wrong with me lately and thinking it might be caused by new supplements I started taking when the answer was below me the entire time. If there were pets, babies, or people with weaker immune systems living here, they could have been hospitalized or worse from exposure to this mold, but thankfully I'm the only one living here and I live and eat really healthy, but it's still had a major effect on me that requires immediate attention.

If your body tells you something's wrong, listen to it and work diligently to find the cause of it and the solution to fix it. We only get one life to live and one body to enjoy life with, so take care of it so it'll last you as many years as naturally possible!

We all have favorite animals. My main favorites are rodents and marsupials, as you probably guessed from my rat mascot, but I also have a favorite bird I wanted to tell you about in case you never heard of it or had a chance to experience its awesomeness and beauty.

When I was a kid, my favorite birds were hawks and falcons. I actually nicknamed myself Hawk for a while during grade school because of how cool I thought the birds were. I also read the Animorphs book series during this time and was infatuated by the idea of kids being able to turn into animals, especially the boy who had the ability to become a falcon and fly wherever he wanted.

Steve Miller's song "Fly Like an Eagle" was something I was a big fan of too for this very reason. I'd be swinging on the swing set for the entirety of every recess and hearing that song play in my head as I imagined myself taking flight, my imagination soaring the entire time.

I envied those birds of prey and their limitless freedom in my youth and considered them my favorites of the avian kingdom. That is, until I encountered an anhinga.

The anhinga is also known as the darter, the snakebird, and the water turkey. It has a long, snakelike neck and sharp javelin of a beak that it uses to catch fish with. This bird eats by dipping its head into water and spearing its beak through the bodies of fish, then it tosses them into the air and devours them whole and dips its beak back in the water to rinse the blood from it.

Due to anhingas not having oil glands to make their feathers waterproof like most aquatic birds, it has to dry itself off after swimming and fishing for food, so it'll stand on a branch or grass and raise its feathers into the air and hold them up like that, allowing the sun to warm its body and dry it off so it can fully regain its flight capability.

This video I found on YouTube demonstrates an anhinga drying its feathers and fishing for food. It's the first bird shown in the first half of the video.

In 2013 while I still lived in Ohio, I went to a park with a friend who was fly-fishing and there happened to be a pair of anhingas on the grass drying their feathers. I was instantly amazed at the sight and wondered why these big birds were just standing there with their wings up. I researched it, and on that day, discovered my new favorite bird.

Anhingas look really cool when they're in flight due to their colors, and they also have a neat courtship display they perform where they peck at each others beaks and wrap their long necks together affectionately. This leads to the male bird gathering the supplies to start a nest, and the female anhinga will finish building it to prepare for her eggs.

Here's a video I found of a courtship display.

When I moved down south, I was really happy to learn that anhingas are common sights to see if you go far enough down in my new home state. I plan on making a trip to a location they're known to frequent at some point so I can see them again and relive the joy and amazement I experienced 10 years ago.

I sent my DNA in years ago to find out my ethnic origins -- that's right, I spit in a plastic bottle and mailed it back to be studied. I had to pay for the lab service, but someone should have paid me for that spit!

Anyway, I wanted to share the results so you can learn where I get my physical features from.

According to my DNA result, my origins are comprised of five main backgrounds: Scotland, Wales, Southern Italy, Ireland, and England/Northwestern Europe. Statistically, I'm 29% Scottish, 22% Welsh, 18% Italian, 13% Irish, and 11% English.

To put it simply, I'm British and Italian -- or in other words, I'm a bit of a Euromutt!

This makes sense since my great-grandparents came to the United States from Scotland, Ireland, and Italy, and one of my grandparents moved here from Wales.

It also shows 2% for Norway, 2% for Greece and Albania, 2% for Northern Italy, and 1% for Levant (specifically around the Lebanon area).

So now you know where I get my big nose, big hands and big feet from -- as well as my other renowned features. I was born in the United States and have lived here all my life, but I originate from the United Kingdom with a touch of Italy. Oi! Mama mia, mate!