There’s a real irony in writing an entire newsletter congratulating yourself for working on a holiday…only to learn that nobody saw it because it went directly to spam. 

Hello, by the way! Andrew, here, from the TBTL podcast. I hope this email finds you well. In fact, I hope it finds you at all!

So, apparently I included a link in last week’s newsletter that got erroneously flagged as dangerous. And because of that, the robots that run these things decided that I’m some kind of a scammer…a phisher of men, if you will. Even though you and I both know I’m actually one of the most honest, innocent lil babies you’ll ever meet. 

I don’t want to presume that you care so much about these things that you’d go out of your way to hunt down last week’s newsletter. But IF you are that kind of person, I have some good news for you: We now have an official TBTL Newsletter Archive on our website. That means you can go back and peruse to your heart’s content (assuming your heart is content with an archive that only goes back to mid-2024. We’re still working on posting the older stuff.) And, of course,  all of our Hey Dummies videos are available in perpetuity on our YouTube page.

But I really didn’t intend to use today’s  email for self promotion. I wanted to use it for two things: 1) To wish you a happy new year and 2) to tell you about another potentially dangerous website I’ve been playing around with. 

So, as far as the first thing is concerned: Happy New Year! I hope you and yours had a great holiday season. As I mentioned on today’s show, this feels like a very weird Friday, since New Years Eve fell on a Wednesday this year. Today doesn’t feel like a weekday or a weekend, really. It just feels…weird. I hope you’re enjoying it nonetheless. 

Secondly, let me tell you about this odd website I’ve been monkeying around with for the past couple of days. I  stumbled on it randomly while scrolling through Reddit. The person who shared it wrote something like, “I made a video streaming website that allows anyone to take over the stream at any moment. You can watch other people stream their content, but if you want to kick them off and take over the stream yourself, you can!” 

Now this ticks a lot of boxes for me. As a viewer, I like the idea of completely arbitrary content streaming live into my computer, never knowing what might pop-up next. I like the randomness of it. And I like the fact that it is happening in real time. 

Also, as someone who has a mini-production studio in his home -- complete with an old VCR hookup -- I like the idea of hopping-on every now and then and sharing a vintage commercial or playing an old VHS tape live.

So I spent Tuesday night playing around on the site, watching random videos and even streaming some of my own useless content. Then I learned something very interesting about the webpage: NOBODY ELSE WAS USING IT. I was essentially broadcasting to an audience of nobody. And the videos I was watching were on a loop -- they were placeholders that the web designer put up there to keep the stream active when nobody else was using it. 

That is why I feel compelled to tell you about it now. I know this type of thing isn’t for everybody. But  I also know there are plenty of other sickos like me who long for the stranger, scrappier days of the internet, where everything felt a little less varnished and predictable. 

Speaking of safety, I cannot personally vouch for this website in any way, or guarantee that you won’t end up seeing something offensive or gross, since there are no guardrails and anyone can stream anything at any time. I will say that I have been checking in on the site quite a bit for the past four days -- and I’ve even had a couple of text exchanges with the person who runs it -- and I haven’t come across anything untoward. It’s mostly a collection of old viral videos, cool animation from overseas, and old men live-streaming life advice and their opinions on fast food hamburgers. (Oh, and there are a bunch of automated bots in the chat talking nonsense to each other. You can ignore them.)

Because I ran into trouble with last week’s email, I’m not going to post a direct link to this website here. But if you have any desire to check it out (and maybe even take over the stream yourself!), you can find it at OneStreamer [dot] Live. 

And again -- buyer beware. I have no idea what could be streaming there at any moment. But it would be cool to see you guys turning on your own cameras and checking in, were you to be so inspired.

Speaking of video, we’re going to have to skip the Hey Dummies today, because it’s getting late. But we’ll be back with a fresh one next week, and Luke and I will talk to you Monday. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the new year!

— Andrew

#4629 You’re A Clean One Mr. Grinch
Monday, December 29
Hanna Brooks Olsen joins the show to talk about the Forensic Sciences Club she started in high school, why she’s been staying up until 4 in the morning, and how to get someone out of bed with Sour Patch Kids. She also presents her own list of Top Five Most Satisfying Things To Clean. 

#4630 One Tick Pony
Tuesday, December 30
Luke and Andrew finally speak up about the TV show Get Smart and its infamous “cone of silence.” They also take a look back at some of the most interesting vocabulary words they apparently used in the past year, according to listener Kristen, who’s been keeping notes. 

#4631 Intermittent Listing
Wednesday, December 31
Andrew is obsessed with a special table from his youth, and he’s unfortunately found it for sale on eBay. He also asks for Luke’s help differentiating two comedians who have little in common. And listener Ben offers a list of Top Five Experiences You Can Have In A Grocery Store.

#4632 Grays In The Grass
Thursday, January 1
Luke and Andrew kick off the new year by revisiting one of their favorite poems and the performer who made it famous. They also check-in with listener Jami, who has a list of the Top Five Low-Stake Adult Fears one might face. 

#4633 Voice Squad
Friday, January 2
From scary windstorms to nostalgic smells, from dive bar popcorn to summer salad recipes, we hear from the Tens of Listeners who left us voicemail messages in 2025. Happy New Year! 

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You can check out prior Tens of the Week in our archives.