Okay, watched final 3 hours at 2X speed. Andy's rant against those accusing him of relapse has the same energy as "I'm training hard and I'm gonna shock the world when I KO Salt Papi." There's way too much tryhard to it. I'd probably accuse him of glib dismissal if he merely denied it softly, but that is more consistent behavior to someone who is still on the path. His hyperactivity and manic commentary during his gameplay is the polar opposite of the extreme low energy existential dread 1000 yard stare that dominated his gameplay in November and December. The brag of "I can moderate, but still choose absolute abstinence, whereas you losers can't manage moderation" is the cope of early relapse, where moderation can still be managed for a certain time frame, alongside his "I at least wouldn't do it on air" implies that he's smart enough and has enough self-control (for the time being) to avoid an offscreen snort/bump/whatever while streaming, unlike his nearly career fatal boxed wine scandal when the standard was "do it to whatever degree you can manage as long as it doesn't affect your work" prior to the boxed wine scandal. Admittedly, there is no smoking gun and any series* of behaviors CAN be interpreted as circumstantial evidence of relapse, but the dots do seem to be connecting.
Regarding smoking habits, I generally use my smoke time to only smoke and be alone with my thoughts. I very rarely multitask when smoking, it would defeat the purpose of gathering my thoughts (or to socialize if I have a present flesh and blood partner in nicotine). That said, I either use my lips to hold the cigarette if I just need a few seconds to use my dominant hand or between my index/middle knuckles. I just tested it and I can operate any button activity on my phone with just my thumb. If I need to text, I do need my full dominant hand, where I usually use my lips or set the cig down completely on a (relatively) sanitized surface. I can scroll/push buttons with just my right thumb, but either use my lips, knuckles or surface if I need full use of my right hand. I've never seen a middle/ring finger smoker, although they may exist. The issue with this is your index finger has far more natural manual dexterity than your ring finger. I no longer smoke while driving, but when I did, I would use the seal where that holds the window in place as a cig holder if I needed to by jamming the butt into the rubber seals. That's a rare practice and one that others often found amusing/inventive. Nowadays, I only smoke on rest breaks if I am road tripping. I admit that I desperately miss driving and smoking, but driving used to lead to extreme chain smoking and I no longer do so. This is why I found Ashton's muscle memory habits very curious. That said, I really am overanalyzing something that is not of general interest as
@YHWH's Strongest Soldier amusingly pointed out that I should calm my autism.
