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Nostalgia loop (Hermes / Crusty)

Field Value
Status Habit stopped (2026-08-22) — stack not torn down; almost maintenance-mode in mind
Type Hermes scheduled job on projects/crusty (dedicated machine)
Delivery Telegram only
Updated 2026-08-22

Attention (2026-08-22)

Darcy stopped daily nostalgia loops as a habit. Hermes/Crusty is almost maintenance-mode in his mind. This page does not claim teardown: the job design, Telegram path, and like/dislike loop stay documented. Next exploration is projects/where-am-i (learn Beads; interactive-movie feel).

Description

Morning nostalgia pickup on Hermes / Crusty: one curated YouTube clip from the 1970s–early/mid-1980s, delivered in Telegram so Darcy can watch in the Telegram in-app browser (~ 5–7 minutes, no bounce out to YouTube, no ad interrupt in that flow).

Catalog mix (era-locked; later tuned for variety):

Lane Detail
Intro themes (primary) TV intro / theme clips — keep serving these
Show clip after liked intro If Darcy likes a show’s intro, allow at most one clip from that show, then continue intro themes
Period media Pre-MTV music videos, TV performances, ads, trailers, adjacent era media
Occasional widen (2026-07-19) Cartoons; Solid Gold footage that is not live-band performance

Watch surface by platform (noted 2026-07-23, while the loop was still running):

Platform Behavior
iPhone In-app Telegram browser works — no YouTube app bounce
Android In-app video render was flaky; often a secondary link opened the YouTube app

2026-07-22: multi-user PoC started with one friend (separate Telegram conversations, isolation in place), then parked with the 2026-08-22 habit stop.

Interaction:

Action Detail
Scheduled ~6:30 AM daily (one pick) — habit stopped 2026-08-22; schedule may still exist
On demand Ask Hermes via Telegram → generate another
Feedback Like / dislike on each send (steers future picks)

Early signal (personal): ~19–20 sends so far — liked nearly all (one lukewarm). Quality was strong enough to keep running until the habit stopped.

Why it matters

  • Proved a low-friction daily delight loop on the same Hermes stack as email digest / Aye Robot / Darwin robot / idea generation — not just ops or posting.
  • Telegram as watch surface (in-app browser) is part of the product feel, not just a notification channel.
  • Multi-user Hermes conversations remain a possible later experiment, not the current focus.

Hermes daily job context (Crusty machine)

Automation on the dedicated laptop (high level — no private paths/keys in this wiki). 2026-08-22: treated as almost maintenance-mode in mind — not a teardown.

Job Role
Email summary Morning Gmail digest
Aye Robot (“iRobot”) Comic pipeline → Telegram → optional gated X; approval habit stopped
Darwin robot Daily use-case robot video lane (creative / Operator practice)
Idea generation Recurring brainstorm surface
Nostalgia loop This page — era media pickup → Telegram

Canonical agent page: projects/crusty.

Next — parked vs current

Was next (2026-07-16): multi-user PoC — friends in their own Telegram conversations. Did start (2026-07-22): one friend, separate chats, isolation in place.

Now (2026-08-22): attention is projects/where-am-i (Beads). Multi-user nostalgia stays a possible later experiment, not the current build.

Counterpoint / risk

Risk Note
Taste drift Early likes may not hold; keep dislike path honest if the job runs again
YouTube / Telegram dependency iPhone in-app path worked; Android in-app render was flaky → YouTube app (2026-07-23)
Show-clip creep Cap at one clip after a liked intro if the job runs again
Multi-user blast radius Friends on the same Hermes instance need clear chat isolation and no leak of Darcy’s other jobs
Scope creep PoC ≠ product — don’t build AaaS packaging until friends actually use it
False teardown Do not document this as uninstalled / deleted