Larry Nocella

Author: Larry Nocella

  • Micro-Upskill Your Brain with a Word Game!

    Micro-Upskill Your Brain with a Word Game!

    Want to get smarter and have fun doing it?

    I like the idea of small, fun, good habits. You barely notice the time spent and before you know it, you’ve improved. But if I’m going to grab your attention, I need to call this idea something cute, something the marketing folks would love. Make it sound exciting, new, thrilling, even.

    Let’s go with “Micro-Upskilling.”

    Do simple videogames really improve your brain? I don’t know for sure. I’ve seen plenty of apps and sites make that claim.

    My skepticism kicks in: Are these things genuinely improving my IQ as they promise, or are they just really simple, low-tech games? In other words, is there a scientific basis for this? Or is it just another way to increase engagement and keep you on the site/app?

    Shucks, I don’t know. I just wanted to make something fun.

    Using my current vibe-coding tool of choice, Replit, I developed a word game that helps you micro-upskill your vocabulary. It’s called 8 Letters, 30 Seconds, 1 Guess.

    If you work on a computer, you likely spend time opening browser tabs. After installing this app, each time you open a new tab in your browser, you get a new 8 letter word to guess. The game is like paper and pencil game Hangman or TV show Wheel of Fortune. But the words in 8 Letters, 30 Seconds, 1 Guess are more difficult. After the 30 seconds, if you choose, with a single click you learn more about the word.

    You can add the extension to your browser (Chrome or Edge) or you can just play it on its site. It’s free, no ads, no sign up, no data saved. Thanks for playing. Hope your micro-upskilling is TE-RIF-C!

    8 Letters 30 Seconds 1 Guess

    Chrome Store | MS Edge Store | Just Play No Install

  • Mock Fascist Liars! Wear Your ANTIFA Badge Proudly!

    Mock Fascist Liars! Wear Your ANTIFA Badge Proudly!

    As I write this (2025 Mid-October), an idiotic dictatorship is attempting to ruin the USA. They are pushing the lie that there is an organized force called “ANTIFA” attempting to harm citizens.

    There is no such organized group. Antifa is not a noun, it’s slang for the adjective anti-fascist. It describes a group’s goals. If anyone sincerely believes in the ideals of the USA, they are antifa – anti-fascist. Because with anti-fascist implies a related set of beliefs including anti-dictator, and pro-equal-rights-for-all.

    Despite being called “strongmen” wannabe dictators are crybabies. They hate being mocked and when you don’t take them seriously. Another anti-fascist tactic is visibility. When you’re visible in defiance and in support for bullied minorities, other citizens will see they are not alone. Those who agree with you will feel emboldened to also stand up and be counted.

    With those two things in mind (visibility and mockery) I created an app that mocks wannabe dictators and provides visibility. It allows users to put a frame around their social media profile photo, declaring oneself as an “Antifa Operative.” See sample nearby.

    Mock the current USA fascist regime by openly declaring your fictional membership in the fictional group ANTIFA.

    If interested, you can use the app I made here: https://antifa-frame-larrynocella.replit.app/. It’s free to use, there are no ads, and it doesn’t save your data.

    When I shared this app, and some people had some criticisms. I respectfully disagree, but in fairness, let’s discuss.

    Some said they didn’t feel safe labeling themselves as Antifa. They raised the concern that the bad guys are watching social media. The wannabe dictators are using tech for their nefarious tracking. Self-identifying as a group they call terrorist (true or not) is foolish. You’re doing their tracking work for them.

    That’s a fair concern. It’s not un-warranted. But I feel it’s “obeying in advance” which is exactly what historians say we should NOT do when fighting dictators. I realize this sort of tactical sarcasm is easy for me as a straight, white male. If I have privilege, I’ll use it for good.

    The implication in this concern is that they will act in a logical way. But the people running the USA at the moment are not logical or even competent. They won’t grab people who self-label as Antifa, they will grab who they want.

    The other concern was that we should use a different label. They say the bad guys have claimed Antifa as a negative. I disagree. I say we take it back. Proudly say you are Antifa, and they will have to admit they’re “fa” (fascist.)

    In the end, use the app or don’t. It’s cool. I’ve been in enough movements to see infighting cause real damage. We’re never going to agree with everyone on everything. You do you, I’ll do me. As long as we’re opposed to the same bad guys, and aren’t severely damaging the movement, it’s all good.

    Infighting is the doom of movements. I refuse to infight over this small logo! We’ve all got bigger things to do.

    Wherever and however you want to resist, make sure you do! Rock on, operatives!

  • Crimes and Good Times at the Local Big Box

    Crimes and Good Times at the Local Big Box

    When Skateboarding is in Fact, a Crime

    My wife Heather and I were in the local big box hardware store, looking for plants. As usual when browsing, we drifted and separated. 

    I ended up next to a stack of these round, rolling platform caddy things. You can put a planter on them and your plant becomes mobile. Just the thing if you need to shift your plant on a deck or are towing your crops behind a vehicle. 

    Plastic caddies with wheels. Or… were they actually skateboards?

    They say that creativity is looking at the same thing as everyone else and seeing something different. They say that intelligence is being seeing more than one use for a simple tool.

    I’m inserting these “they say” notes to bias your view on what happened next. 

    I placed one of the caddies on the floor and tested my booted foot on it. If it held, I imagined using one for each foot and skating around the warehouse.

    Radically bodacious! 

    I put the slightest bit of my weight on the caddie and it shattered, exploded even. Plastic shards went flying. Loudly. 

    Now I’m not the trimmest fellow, but I don’t think my weight was the problem. Those darn things just weren’t made to hold anything over twenty American pounds. And your honor, if I may continue my defense, nowhere on the caddy label was there a warning, “Do not use this as a skateboard.” 

    Anyhoo, I’m now standing over a fractured plastic caddy. There was no one around. I did what any honest person would do and put the broken pieces back on the shelf, walked away, intending to exit the store, never speaking of the incident again.

    But my conscience took over. Or I considered that those giant warehouse places have cameras everywhere.

    If I just walked out after breaking an item, the store might have it on video. I could end up on the news, go viral as “The Caddy Killer” and who knows what else. It was just the kind of silly minor infraction that would lure a righteous internet mob into my life.

    Blame my irresistible nobility or the fear of getting caught. I returned to the scene of the incident and collected the pieces. I would pay for the darn thing. “You broke it you bought it” is an unwritten rule of capitalism, as is “screw your workers.”

    On the way to the check out, I passed an employee and asked his opinion.

    “Hey, so um, I broke this thing because I tried to use it as a skateboard. Should I pay for it?” 

    I was hoping the employee would release me from the guilt. I imagined him taking it from me and saying, “This happens all the time. I’ll chuck it out back with the others.”

    The employee shrugged, “Well, I guess so,” he said. It was very non-committal. How dare he avoid responsibility?

    I went and bought the busted thing and even rounded up for the charity, because that’s the kind of person I am. I went to the car, put the pieces in, and went off to find Heather. 

    In the garden area, while passing behind a row of tall plants, I heard three employees chatting. One laughed as he shared a tale, “… and then he said, ‘I tried to use it as a skateboard!’ should I pay for it?”

    I sprang from my hiding place. “Are you talking about me?”

    They all turned, the gossiping employee shocked, surely afraid that I was going to flip out. And at just that moment, Heather showed up. The five of us (three employees, me, and Heather) all discussed the tale of the failed skateboard.

    And everyone had a good laugh. 

    The lesson here is, don’t use plastic plant caddies as skateboards. Or maybe it’s that sometimes skateboarding is a crime when you do it right. Or wrong.

    Well, hopefully there’s something less specific to my tale and more global to learn. I can’t leave you with nothing. There must be a lesson here somewhere. This can’t be all just sound and fury signifying nothing… can it?

    Let’s go with this: Make your own mistakes, clean up the mess you make, and make sure you have fun. And if you round up your bill for some charity, definitely tell everyone.

  • Vibe-Coding Your Daily Dose of Awe

    Vibe-Coding Your Daily Dose of Awe

    I once read that a key piece to being happy is to experience the emotion of awe. I wondered, “How can I experience awe every day and boost my chances at being happy every day?”

    Most of us feel awe when we look at the night sky and the stars. How could I deliver that every day all the time on demand?

    After some brainstorming, I discovered NASA provides this service. They offer the APOD – the Astronomy Photo of the Day. All I had to do was present an interface to make it easy to view the photos and browse them.

    Here it is: https://nasaphotos.larrynocella.com/

    I used the software development vibe-coding tool Replit. You can use the photo explorer tor free, no ads, no login. Just enjoy and share.

    Don’t thank me, well, actually yes, you can thank me, as I’m a USA taxpayer and a teeny tiny bit of my money has funded NASA. But more than me, please thank NASA.

    Most of all, though, I hope this little app makes you happy.

    Artwork by CoPilot AI and Larry Nocella. Bonus points for anyone who noticed the cool graphic that accompanies this page is a retro design based on the Atari 2600 game system cartridge box art.

  • Riddle of the Falling Tree -SOLVED!

    Riddle of the Falling Tree -SOLVED!

    It’s a popular riddle: If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?

    The answer is obvious! The answer is No. The tree crashes to the ground completely silent. If you are not personally there to witness an event, obviously — quite obviously — it doesn’t happen.

    This is why when you meet a young child, they will be the same age, even if you meet them years later. That four-year-old distant relative who wants to be a fireman? When you see him again ten years later, take notice that he’s still four. He only ages in your presence.

    Haven’t you ever wondered why all trees outside of your perception stay the same height and size?

    If you travel to a nation you have never been to before, take notice how they are still using stone age tech. Once you are present to witness them, they will breathe a sigh of relief, mobbing you like a messiah. I bet you always wondered why they begged you to stay. “We want to progress beyond smoke signals now and use cellphones. Finally! Stay! Oh, please stay.”

    Further, did you know that if you simply close your eyes, everyone stops moving? They start again only when you open your eyes. This is also a good way to silence people you don’t want to hear from. Our world is amazing.

    If you’re not there with your high-vis vest, hard hat and checklist, then nothing is going to happen. When you sleep, absolutely nothing happens. The universe is like a lazy worker. It doesn’t do anything unless the boss is present. Otherwise, it’s frozen still.

    If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? Why is this even a question? Of course it doesn’t make a sound. You are the center of the universe and nothing happens without you. Riddle solved.

    Now go take a selfie.

    Image generated by Google Gemini AI and tweaked with some photo editing fun.

    If you liked this clever smart-assery and simply must have more fun like it, then get your sexy self over to LarryNocella.com or better yet, try out the latest book: One Odd Cat, available on Amazon (affiliate link.)

  • Are You Psy-Curious? Let’s Try Talk Therapy. 

    Are You Psy-Curious? Let’s Try Talk Therapy. 

    What kind of a complete stranger could you cry in front of? That was what I wondered when I decided to try talk therapy. I wasn’t planning on crying, but I was going all in, and who knows where that leads? 

    We accept checkups and tune-ups as sensible for our body and our machines, but we tend to think our mind can run itself for its whole lifetime without a single review. We think our mind is under our control, but I think after a few millennia, the evidence is in. Our minds are not fully under our control, and humans can occasionally be a bit, what’s the term? Nuts. We humans can be a bit nuts. 

    Fortunately, mental health awareness has improved over my lifetime. Nowadays I can’t listen to a single serial killer profile podcast without having to skip several ads reminding me to care for my mental health. 

    How to Choose a Therapist 

    I had no idea how to do any of this. Being a standard issue guy in many ways, I imagined my therapist as a femme fatale. Tight skirt, tight white blouse, stockings. Her hair would be in a bun, just begging to cascade down her back for instant sexy-mode activation. 

    I needed some maturity here. A pal advised she had switched therapists a few times before finding a match. Really? I was so new to this, I didn’t know that was an option. Of course, I had to stay “in network” for my insurance. Still, knowing I could change took the pressure off of finding a fit the first go. It all felt a little what I imagine the dating scene is like. You have to talk to a lot of frogs to find your prince. 

    I just wanted someone who would listen. I chose a woman. As an aspiring alpha male, I didn’t want to expose weakness to other males. Call me silly, call me childish, call me whatever you want. I plead guilty. But it’s me and my session, so what I say goes.

    King. Captain. Don.

    I don’t lack trusted people to talk to. I’ve not experienced the standard horrors of abuse, PTSD, etc. Sure, I complain, but catch me in a rare honest moment and I’ll admit I’m blessed.

    Therapy isn’t just for when you need help. The same way having good health isn’t just for when you’re sick. Or exercise isn’t just for when you’re weak. You should maintain, develop good habits, and chase out bad ones. Whether it’s nutrition, physicality, or mentality, you have to get your reps in to be at your best. 

    I like the idea of having an advisor, a coach, someone completely out of the emotional atmosphere of your life. Being American, my worldview is informed by entertainment (reference my imaginary dominatrix therapist from earlier). I see myself as the Don, the king, the captain, leaning to the side, as my advisor whispers intel and wisdom in my ear. 

    The Outside View 

    The first session was a get-to-know-you. The therapist made sure I wasn’t having suicidal thoughts or battling any mental emergencies that would require immediate action. Once past that, we began. What did I want to get out of this?

    I simply started talking. I spoke about things that bothered me, things new and old. Even very old.. It felt great to get an outside viewpoint. Your loved ones’ perspective is distorted by the same emotional atmosphere you live in. They too, are exhausted by it all, they too need to talk and be heard. But what if you AND your partner are both exhausted from listening? What if you BOTH need to talk? That can be overcome with patience, but a therapist makes it easier. That outside perspective, coupled with professional training, is a powerful resource.

    When two people are drowning, we don’t ask one drowning person to assist the other. We dispatch a lifeguard out of the scene and rested, preferably with a rock-hard body. What I mean is, it’s best to send someone out of the chaos to help. Someone trained and skilled in navigating rough waters. 

    Taking a Shower For Your Soul

    I have ended up liking the sessions and continue them regularly. Sometimes the talks are deep. Sometimes they’re brief and amount to a check-in. After the sesh, even if the tone was sad, frustrated, or angry, I feel refreshed. Therapy is like taking a shower for your soul. 

    It’s like having a friend without the pressures and obligations of friendship. We talk about anything on my mind. In this way, I’m able to respond rather than let ruminating corrode my inside. 

    I want to say therapy is not for everyone, because I’m not everyone. But like I said at the start, do you really think your mind can run itself at its best your whole lifetime without any outside review? I don’t want to preach, so I’ll say I do think everyone should at least try therapy. See if it works for you.  

    You’re not giving up anything. You’re still the star player of your life. No matter what your coach says, you still perform the action. But it’s helpful to have someone, sometimes applauding you, sometimes giving constructive feedback, but always wants you to succeed.

    Graphic by CHAT GPT AI with this prompt: Please make a strange but attractive square graphic to accompany a blog about a person attending talk therapy and working on their mind represented with swirling colors.

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