Merry Christmas

 Busy weekend -- wedding Saturday and then Sunday was (finally!) the Zielenski family Xmas.  Delayed by COVID positives thrice, we finally had a get together.  My cousin got a pavilion at a public park, and we were able to meet somewhat safely (social distancing was not practiced, I guess).  And....it was awesome!  We haven't been all together in a while!  We ate (too much, I feel the fatness), we exchanged presents, watched the Browns lose, caught up on gossip, and played poker.  We also decided that Xmas 2022 will probably be a summer affair as well; I mean, with COVID still a thing, it might be wise for one more year to delay and have it in the summer, where you can be outside.  I have no issue with this; better to have Xmas late than not at all.

One downside of the weekend -- aside from the fatness -- was that I was really feeling it today.  Slept past the alarm (no gym but the blood sugar was low), and I was just dragging today, especially in the afternoon.  Drank plenty of coffee, but it was not enough... got a second wind later (like now) but a lot of good that did... I guess I just can't party like I used to.  This was also a problem as I was super busy at work, especially as the day went on... I received two new high-importance projects, one after the other, which amused everyone.  But the schedule is full.

https://blog.solidsignal.com/news/fun-and-games/the-dial-comes-to-town/

This is hilarious, in many ways; from the whole needing ten minutes to tell people how to make a call to the fact that making a phone call is such a project.  Nowadays, of course, who calls anyone anymore?

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6312391225112#sp=show-clips

This is also hilarious, of a different sort.  Of course, it's not like anyone is going to Martha's Vineyard and asking the locals these questions, which is a problem in and of itself.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/cant-we-come-up-with-something-better-than-liberal-democracy-two-cheers-for-politics-isonomia-and-the-origins-of-philosophy

Interesting.  I mean, I don't necessarily think some of this is a problem -- in designing a political system, some things will simply be clunky, anachronistic, or prejudicial in some way, due to the nature of the compromises -- but I do find it fascinating that people are imaging a system where they try to minimize the issues.

https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/we-spoke-with-the-last-person-standing-in-the-floppy-disk-business/

This is pretty cool.  Hell, remember all the cool video games you played on floppies?  Oregon Trail, the Carmen Sandiego franchise, that sort of thing.  I suspect my hobby would be finding a computer that could play them and doing so at every moment of leisure.