5.24 // A Whimsical Q&A

Ever pondered whether you'd choose to go completely bald or let your hair grow wild forever? Join me for a lively ride as I wrap up Series 5 of Infinite Prattle with an unscripted Q&A extravaganza. The episode is packed with whimsical musings, including a cherished memory from the 2006 Download Festival where showers were a distant dream, and my duel of ideal weekends that toggles between action-packed adventures and serene home retreats. As I reflect on the spontaneous journey of starting this podcast, there's a hint of excitement for future upgrades, from better gear to the possibility of adding video content.

I'll confess to my celebrity crush on Alyson Hannigan and share my guilty pleasure of Irish and English breakfast indulgences, not to mention a bizarre dream featuring trains and llamas. Amidst the humor, there's admiration for Ray Mears' survival skills trumping Bear Grylls, along with reflections on harmless fibs and childhood dreams of being a zoologist or a rock star. This segment offers an amusing peek into my world of quirks and aspirations, promising a chuckle or two along the way.

As the season draws to a close, there's a heartfelt look back at reconnecting with loved ones, unforgettable gig excitement, and light-hearted debates on wealth versus looks. Nostalgia hits as we recall beloved childhood cartoons like Thundercats and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while aspirations for better health and a longing to visit Japan surface. Despite the antics, there's a profound reminder of finding happiness without wealth, and an invitation for listeners to share their stories for future guest stops, ensuring the prattle continues well into the next season.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Question and Answer With Stephen
• 6:32 Celebrity Crush, Unhealthy Habits, and Superpowers
• 14:56 Personal Reflections and Future Goals
• 24:55 Stay Connected With Steven Speak

Transcript

Stephen: 0:00

Hello, welcome to Infinite Prattle. On today's episode, I'm going to be reading out basically some questions that I found on the internet. Yeah, maybe a bit of a cough out. It isn't, though, because you're going to find stuff about me. It's going to be fun. Stay with me.

Stephen: 0:18

Hello and welcome to Infinite Prattle, unscrupted, unedited prattle, on everything Hosted by me, stephen, listen like, share, subscribe and enjoy the show.

Stephen: 0:39

Hello, how are you? Thank you very much for joining me again On this last episode of Series 5, I can't believe we've done 5 seasons, slash seasons, series, whatever you want to call them. Yeah, 5.24 is today. 24 episodes is kind of going to be the standard that I'm aiming for going forward. I know we've varied a little bit over the years Not too far away, not too far but 24s is the new one. I'm thinking I don't know why. I don't know why I was going to go for 22, but now I'm not so cool story bro. Anyway, today's episode, it's the last episode of the season and I was going to do a review of some episodes and stuff which I might do in the next season, episodes and stuff which I might do. I, in the next season, I might go back and review some of my early, early madness and and, uh, pick out some of my favorite episodes and uh, and maybe pick out some of the worst episodes and redo them. Um, who knows, I, I don't. Um, I'm gonna try and do a bit more planning in the off season. Uh, I'm gonna try and get stuff ready for video recording. I'm actually, despite the fact that my room's in absolute state. I've actually ordered some more equipment today for set-up, lighting and my camera and stuff. So I'm trying, people, I'm trying, anyway.

Stephen: 1:56

So I said today's going to be like a question and answer session. So I literally just Googled questions, just literally googled questions and asked people, put my teeth back in. So, yeah, I'm just going to. I've only read a couple of the first questions. So it says it's on a website called podlycom and it says 20 questions to ask a guy. I'm a guy. So I've read the first couple and I thought, yeah, they seem alright. So I don't know what all of them say. And if I get through them all, then I'm a guy. So I've had the first couple and I thought, yeah, they seem all right. So I don't know what all of them say. And if I get through them all, then there's questions to. There's like questions to ask your friends and question. There's one that just says good questions to ask. So why skip to that good questions to ask, if I get through all 20 in 20 odd minutes or so? So, yeah, so let's's jump into that. Um, yes, my name's steven, by the way, as you heard from the intro. Uh, and this is infinite pratel. So if you've not joined me before then. Thank you, go back and listen to some other episodes, um, and yeah, we'll just jump into this, shall we? Uh? So 20 questions to ask a guy.

Stephen: 3:00

So the first one is would would rather? I think I'm interested would you? Would you rather go bald, uh, than never cut your hair again? Uh, that's a really easy one. No, I would not want to go bald. I probably will go bald at some point in the future. My hair's quite long at the moment. Um, when I say quite long, it's, it's probably about three or four inches longer than my, like past my shoulders, um, but no, I do not want to go bald, although I sense that in my future, as my dad's bald and it seems to run at my dad's side of the family, so I'm hoping the genes have come from my mum's side, because they seem to keep their hair into their, um, twilight years, let's say, um.

Stephen: 3:40

Next question how long have you ever gone without taking a shower? I would say it's probably when I went to a festival once. I think it was like 2004,. 2005, it'd be 2005, I think. Yeah, 2005 Download Festival, and I went for pretty much nearly a week to the Download Festival and there wasn't really good facilities. They were charging a fortune to shower and I didn't really shower probably six, maybe seven days.

Stephen: 4:12

Um, I did wash. I wasn't a completely filthy bastard. I did wash, uh, you know, like hand sanitizer, wash my face and hands, cleaning my teeth, and I use like fresh wipes and stuff that I took with me and and a flannel. So I had like a stand-up wash but not a proper shower, and I tell like fresh wipes and stuff that I took with me and and a flannel. So I had like a stand-up wash but not a proper shower. And I tell you more. I'll tell you what. When I came back, was it 2005? Actually, it was 2006, I think it was actually, because it was really really hot and, uh, I remember the football was on, they were showing on the tv and I went with some friends. 2005, I went alone, um, because I have no friends, uh, so it was 2006 download, and when I got back, it was very dusty, very dry, like weak, and I thought I'd got a suntan. It turns out it was just filth, which is disgusting, isn't it? So there you go. So probably about a week.

Stephen: 4:57

Uh, what is your ideal weekend plan? You see, this is a difficult one. It depends what what mood I'm in, because I am either like wanting to do loads and loads and loads and loads of things, or I just want to sit surrounded by my stuff, just maybe tinkering, or maybe, if I'm really really really in the doldrums, just sit and binge watch something that is familiar to me and makes me feel happy, and then I can suddenly switch and go mad again, um. So I would say my ideal weekend plan would be probably wake up, um, have a shower, get dressed and and I'd like to think I would want to be active. So I would say, like, go somewhere, maybe have a nice little breakfast, a nice coffee, um, and then go visiting somewhere. Maybe a bit nice little breakfast, a nice coffee, and then go visiting somewhere, maybe on a bit of a road trip.

Stephen: 5:49

We like to go to National Trust places which are like heritage places in Britain. So maybe go to one of them, maybe see a friend take the dog out as well, if the dog can come with us. Bring the dog and then come home and chill out and do something insular from that so a lot of outside activity. And then come home and chill out and do something like insular from that. So a lot of outside activity and then come home and do something insular like wrap up warm, watch a film or even do some tinkering writing or something. So yeah, I can't like pretty much stay on one thing for too long. I have an attention span of a, of a magpie looking at shiny things. So yeah, so probably a bit of a mixture, a bit of going out a bit of a coffee out, maybe a cake. Um, that's what we do when we go to ireland so yeah a bit vague, I know, I'm sorry.

Stephen: 6:32

Uh, who is your secret celebrity crush? Um, I don't think it's a secret, but allison hannigan. Um, I have a thing for who played willow in buffy, the vampireire Slayer? And I think she hosts that Fool Us program with Penn and Teller, or she used to, at least, anyway, the American one. So, yeah, alison Hannigan. Oh, she was in how I Met your Mother as well, wasn't she? She played, I want to say Lucy, but her name isn't Lucy in that show. Oh, that's gonna annoy me. Anyway, comment in the description, if you can, if you know the answer, that penny, no, penny is the girl from big bang theory. Lily, lily got there himself. Got there, lily, there you go. That's not even important anyway.

Stephen: 7:25

Um, what was, uh, what's your most unhealthy habit? My most unhealthy habit? Uh, my most unhealthy habit? Probably having too many cooked breakfasts, I would say, and too many coffees. Probably too many lattes and too many cooked breakfasts. Milk does not. I love a latte, but the milk does not do any good. I love coffee in general, as I'm sure you're aware by now, and but, yeah, probably, probably, probably. I love fried things. Um, probably comes from my irish, irish heritage and english heritage as well. Um, but fried stuff tastes so good.

Stephen: 8:01

If I, if I lived in america, I think I'd have been dead by 40, which is only last year. But you know, you know, I'm saying not all the year before. Technically I turned 42 years ago nearly. Oh god, what that's. That's terrible. Uh, what was the dream that you last remember? Um, I had a really vague dream last night, so it's kind of like not worth speaking about, but the other night I had a dream that, um, I was on a train. I work with trains, so I dream of trains frequently, annoyingly. I was on a train and I was trying to. I don't know why there was like it was. I was like on a train going through a llama farm and this is just coming back to me now uh, and there was llamas coming to the windows of the trains. I was trying to talk to the llamas to convince them to board the train, but only if they had a ticket. And that's the only bit of the dream I remember. I know Sarah was in it as well and she was, I think, helping me or probably hindering me, I feel. I feel like she would be saying don't get the llamas on the train, but anyway, I was trying to get llamas on a train. What does that even mean?

Stephen: 9:08

How long would you survive by yourself in the nature? In the nature I think AI have written these questions In the nature, I don't know. I feel like I'd be okay. I feel like I've got some life skills.

Stephen: 9:26

I used to love watching like what's he called Ray Mears. Ray Mears, who's a British kind of survivalist, came around long before Bear Grylls. I'm not too keen on Bear Grylls, I know that's an unpopular, you know, kind of feeling to have. But you know, ray Mears for me is the original, very, very simple guy. You know, simple shelters, like simple shelters, like just, you know, just to survive, and then from that basic surviving, then you can build yourself a whole encampment and it's literally his. His kind of ethos was if you've got a sharp knife, you're pretty much sorted. Um, so yeah, I think I'd survive, okay, I think. I think I think I'd survive well over a week and I think what? Then there's like a threshold, isn't it? I think if you can survive to a point, you'd be okay. Water's always the thing, isn't it? Water's the thing that kills people. Like finding stuff to eat in general isn't too bad, like you can kill animals and such thing. But, um, heat and heat and water, I think I can make a fire. I feel like I could don't speak to my wife about making cabin fires, though in a log burner Not very good at that, I think in the wild I'd be fine, obviously.

Stephen: 10:39

What was the last lie that you told someone? Hmm, I don't even know. I don't like to lie very often because I'm really bad at it and I can't keep the lie. So I probably tell white lies to the point of, um, oh, that was a funny joke or something. Or laughing along at a joke when I didn't really think it was too funny, just to make someone feel better. Um, I don't really lie and I generally can't think of the last lie I told to someone like no, I'm not saying I don't lie. I think I think they're just little white lies and they're just harmless. I think there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a gray area, lying isn't there, and some are okay and some are like actual lies. So yeah, I don't. I don't know. That's a terrible answer, but I don't know.

Stephen: 11:33

What did you want to be when you were a child? Oh, my god, what list here. So when I was really really young, I really wanted to be a zoologist, really was into nature, and part I think part me would still like that to be true. Working with animals and studying animals and trekking the rainforest and probably surviving in the rainforest too, um, yeah, but I also want to go in the army really badly and I've done an episode on that. But, yeah, um, and I've also. I've also wanted to be an actor and and rock star and basically creator writer. So there's quite a few different things, but I'm trying to. You know, I'm getting on the rock star bandwagon now and I've done one gig, woohoo. And yeah, I think that the whole writing thing. I went for a hair cut yesterday the first time in a while and a beard trim and I went and took my laptop well, my iPad and to a cafe and had a, had a brew beforehand and was a cafe wanker writing part of my book. So trying to make the effort to to get that over the line, okay.

Stephen: 12:40

Next one what kind of superpower would you wish to have? Um, just be Wolverine, let's face it. Just be Wolverine. Maybe have Wolverine with the ability to go invisible and fly. I think I talked about this on a previous episode. I think that's what I decided Wolverine that could fly and turn invisible. Now, the invisible thing isn't what you think. It's not a perverted thing, it's just so that people don't talk to you Because, as sociable as I am, I can be a right grumpy bastard too, swearing a lot in this episode sorry, it does say adults, it does say adults.

Stephen: 13:15

That's why I marked all my episodes as adults, because I can't help but swear. And funnily enough, there was an interesting fact the other day saying that people that swear a lot in general conversation normally have a higher IQ. And people that have messy work spaces see my desk at work and the current situation I'm sat in normally have an higher IQ. So maybe my IQ test that I did in college was actually correct and I am somewhat intelligent, or maybe I'm just a sloppy bastard, I don't know.

Stephen: 13:46

Have you ever bought something just to impress someone? Um, I considered buying something to impress people, and that was a car. I nearly bought a convertible car about 10 or 15 years ago. A couple years after I passed my driving test, there was a lovely little convertible. What are they called now? It was a Honda convertible. Is it C2, s2000, honda S2000, kind of a hairdresser's car really, as we say in the UK. But I really liked it and I took it out for a spin and it was a lovely little car and it we say in the uk. But I realized it and I took it out for a spin and it was a lovely little car and it was in mint condition. But at the time I didn't have a driveway or anywhere to keep it or garage or anything and it was a bit of a shame. I thought I can't, I could have, I could have bought it, I had the money to buy it but, um, just didn't have anywhere to store it. Uh, I didn't actually go through that. So have I ever bought anything to just impress people in general? No, probably not. I think I probably buy clothes to make people laugh, like I like to buy t-shirts that would make fellow geeks go. Oh yes, I understand what that t-shirt makes Means, makes Means. I know what I mean. So maybe that counts.

Stephen: 14:56

I don't know what's your favourite memory from the last year. Um, what's my favorite memory? Um, I really, really this is gonna sound really soppy I Sarah's in hospital a few times last year and I think one of my favorite memories is, you know, when she comes home from hospital and the dog sees her and I get that warm feeling that she's home, or when I go to visit her in hospital and her face lights up and she's so happy to see me. But, unless Sofianza would be probably the gig that we had, the practice leading up to it and actually doing the gig. It was a really cool event and Sarah wasn't there unfortunately, so we have to get another gig soon so she can come. Uh, would you date someone older than you? Uh, I never have dated anyone older than me and I'm now married, so I I wouldn't have the opportunity to do that. Um, so no, I, I, I would have. I, I I've hit on girls when I, when I was younger. I, when I was about 23, 24, I actually hit on like a 40 year old.

Stephen: 16:04

Uh so it didn't really bother me, um, but yeah, not anymore because I'm married. So what is your best personality trait? Um, I don't know what class is a personality trait, but I I feel like maybe it does. I don't know, but I feel like I can just get on with people like I mean, generally, if you're in our bed, like I can't hold that back. If I feel like you're in our bed and you're generally being in our bed, I have to tell you, um, unless it's going to be detriment to the situation you're in, then I have, I will try and find someone with the strength, but I think it's just the ability to talk to anyone all walks of life, about anything. Really, I feel like I have that ability to put people at ease and just have people open up to me and chat to me.

Stephen: 16:49

Yeah, would you be rich but unattractive? Or poor but ridiculously handsome? I suppose rich but unattractive, or poor but ridiculously handsome? I suppose rich but unattractive because if you've minted you can have plastic surgery. Is that shallow? I mean, I'm not the most attractive guy. I think I'm okay, you know, probably quite average looking, I would say, with some maybe minor distinctive features. Poor but ridiculously handsome. I suppose there's two ways you can be rich but unattractive and have plastic surgery to make yourself handsome. Or you can be poor but ridiculously handsome and make loads of money because you could be. If you're ridiculously handsome, everyone would think you're handsome, and then you could be a really, really, really famous model and get the money that way. So I suppose there's like the quick fix of being rich but then having to fix the unattractiveness or being poor with a slow route to the money, maybe poor actually. Maybe I'd go for the poor and do it myself, earn it all myself and have to go through the pain of operations.

Stephen: 18:04

What's your childhood favorite cartoon? Oh, christ, uh, I used to love thundercats. Thundercats is the one that comes to memory. Uh, thundercats and teenage mutant ninja turtles. Um, yeah, I'll go for them too. I can't really distinguish between them because they're so different. But yeah, if it was teenage mutant ninja turtles, go on, that's the one I go for. I do love the turtles. I'm actually wearing a teenage mutant ninja turtle t-shirt right now. Um, who do you think is the best superhero? Uh, wolverine and spider-man. I'm torn between the two. Uh, but wolverine, let's go with wolverine, not that popular choice, isn't it, isn't it? But he's fucking cool. He heals. He's got a fucking metal skeleton. He's got claws that come out of his hands. He's a badass. He's called the Wolverine, which are mental creatures. What would change in your life at the moment? What would you change in your life at the moment? What would I change in my life at the moment? Not a lot, really, I think. What would you change in your life at the moment?

Stephen: 18:57

What would I change in my life at the moment?

Stephen: 18:58

Not a lot really. I think I'm quite lucky. Maybe if I could click my fingers and get everything organised in this room, that might help. But yeah, I don't think anything. Everyone always says, oh, I need more money and such like that. So that would be nice to win a little bit of money or come into a bit of money, but, yeah, pretty much my life's good.

Stephen: 19:20

Probably the only thing I would say is, maybe, if I could, if it was more like a wish, is to have Sarah a little bit more healthy so she could get over this little bump she's going through at the moment and get her back on an even keel, and for us to both be a bit more healthy. Actually, maybe, maybe, just, you know, because we both need to be go on a diet. Really, I think, uh, me more than her, um, but, yeah, yeah, maybe her health and my weight loss. There you go. Which country would you like to visit in the future? Japan, japan, japan. Didn't even need to finish reading that question. Japan always had a fascination with the place, people, the culture, the stuff they're into, the technology, everything, um, yeah, um, yeah, japan.

Stephen: 20:09

And the last question in this section, I might answer a couple of bonus ones from the other section. Can someone be happy without money? Uh, yes, millions of people are happy without money and excessive money. There's tribes that live in jungles that haven't even got a currency. So, yes, they can. I think I answered that in the previous one. Um, as well, for myself, like I, um, I'm quite happy. You know, fair enough. I, I have money, I suppose. Um, I'm quite comfortable, right, yeah, I uh, yeah, that's all I'm gonna say. Okay. So good, 20 questions do ask. Okay. So the first one I'm gonna skip because it's about game of thrones and I've not really seen it. So I know sacrilege, I know seen the first series and that's it, so I'm gonna skip that.

Stephen: 21:05

What is the best way to know if someone is a true friend? That's quite a tough one, isn't it? What it was is what have you, you kind of want in your life at the time, isn't it what is important to you? For me, someone that's a true friend is someone that you know has been through stuff with you. We've got a connection. You know a little bit about me. You don't have to know all my inner, darker secrets, but there's a connection there and that you know that if you ever needed help, I would be there, and I know that if I've needed help I would be there, and I know that if I needed help, that you'd be there. And I think that's when it's a true friend that you know. You might not speak for several months or a year, but when you make that connection again, it just goes back to how it was and you can depend on them, and you know you'd be able to depend on them if the chips were down.

Stephen: 21:58

What would you change about your past? I think there's only one thing in my past that I kind of maybe semi-regret, and it was when I started working. I had the opportunity to buy a house in Northern Ireland for like a ridiculously cheap amount of money, but at the time, at my age, it seemed like a lot of money for a house, but I didn't. I didn't want to go through the hassle of it, but in hindsight would have been a fantastic investment. Um, yeah, that's probably the only thing that I kind of partly regret, but I always think that things happen for a reason. The money I spent not buying a house at that age I did loads of other things with.

Stephen: 22:34

So you know, life experience versus security money wise later on in life. I think the first one's more important. You gotta get out there and and, and you know, just live life, okay. So last question before I finish. Some of them are terrible. I am scanning these. I'm not answering these in order. I'm going to scan these a little bit because some of these are just stupid. What do you want to achieve in the next 10 years?

Stephen: 23:16

What do you?

Stephen: 23:17

want. That's actually quite good. That's a good one to end on. So I'd really like I don't know if I can think 10 years in advance I'd like I'd hope within the next 10 years, that my my podcast still going and is marginally more successful than it is, and I might have actually started videos by then. Um, and that you know, me and Sarah have a, have a kid and the mortgage is paid off and hopefully I might have a promotional two at work and potentially we're living in Northern Ireland, because that's the end game. We'd like to live in Northern Ireland and I hope that everyone around me is still happy, successful and healthy, because health is a big thing. I hope that everyone I know is still here with me.

Stephen: 24:00

I don't want to end on a solemn note, but that did go downhill quickly. But you know that's I think that's what's important to me. So there you go, there you go. So what was that about? 23 questions, I think, in total, in the end, with a few because of the few bonus ones. So there you go. There's a few questions to end the series on about me and, um, random questions on podlycom. I don't know, I just googled. It was the first thing that came up with questions. Anyway, thank you very much for listening.

Stephen: 24:28

This season it's been an absolute pleasure, as always. I will keep posting on social media as often as I can. Again, I need to do more, I know, I know. I know I'm going to go away, do some revamps, look at some stuff, look at the schedule and I will be back for Season 5 in a couple of months' time. Season 6, should I say this is Season 5. Be back for Season 6 in a couple of months' time. And if you want to reach out in the meantime, if you think you've got a story to tell and you want to be a guest on the show, then by all means go to stevenspeakcom and fill out a form. Contact me. We can get stuff going. Tell your friends, family, get them to give me a listen and, yes, until the next season. Take care of yourselves and remember, keep on prattling.

Stephen: 25:18

You've been listening to Infinite Drattle. Thanks for listening. If you liked this episode, go back and listen to some others, and please continue to listen. Your support is much appreciated. Please like, share, comment and subscribe, and I'll speak to you all again soon. Take care.