These days Persson pays less attention to the heckling on Twitter and more to the insults hurled his way by close friends on a WhatsApp group they\u2019ve crudely titled Farts. The unleashed Persson has regressed toward adolescence. At the temporary office for Rubberbrain, jokes about male genitalia and laughter bounce off the ceiling and elicit annoyed floor banging from the upstairs neighbor.
Persson ignores the foot-thumped berating much like he\u2019s done with the armchair trolls. He says he\u2019s taken fondly to the mute button on Twitter, which allows him to tune out unkind people without notifying them that they\u2019ve been blocked. Occasionally, though, his curiosity will get the best of him, and he\u2019ll reply. Lately he\u2019s been responding to his haters with a moving image from the movie Zombieland of Woody Harrelson wiping tears away with a wad of money. \u201cI\u2019m aware that tweeting the image is a little douchey,\u201d\u009d he shrugs. He\u2019s equally gauche with people he likes, broadcasting his vacations via chartered jet on Snapchat. As for girls, \u201cI tried to use Tinder, it didn\u2019t work. In Sweden it\u2019s horrible; there\u2019s only like four people.\u201d\u009d Hence the $180,000 nightclub bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a little bit making up for lost time when I was just programming through my twenties,\u201d\u009d he says. \u201cPartying is not a sane way to spend money, but it\u2019s fun. When we were young we did not have a lot of money at all, so I thought, if I ever get rich I\u2019m not going to become one of those boring rich people that doesn\u2019t spend money.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Right now he\u2019s spending on the permanent office for his new company\u201d\u201ca teenage boy\u2019s fantasy that will include a full-service bar, a DJ booth (he\u2019s learning how to spin) and secret rooms hidden by bookshelves\u201d\u201cdespite the fact that Rubberbrain is nothing more than a name waiting for an idea.<\/p>\n
Little inspiration seems imminent.<\/p>\n