Friday Night Lights

 Good day today -- work, gym (no cardio, sigh), and, best of all, I was able to watch J! in the living room, as the cable was finally fixed!  The official diagnosis was that the box blew -- could be anything -- so they replaced it and that was that.  I was told not to change channels to quickly, which amused me, given what I am capable of.  But, doctor's orders, if you will!

I would not say I got a lot of sleep last night, but seven hours each of the past two nights leads me to believe that maybe, just maybe, I should try to do it again tonight... cumulatively, it does add up, and Lord knows -- given my ability to sleep through alarms -- I just might need it.  To be sure, there is reading to be done, and I am also doing some of the pile of Games magazine issues, which proves, as always, that no man can serve two masters.  I am going to try and finish book two tonight.  It is The World in a Grain, which is a look at the modern uses of sand -- building material, base of glass, etc., -- and how we don't have enough of it (even on beaches).  Quite interesting, even if a little vignette-y, but a quick read, always nice.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/playing-risk-made-cold-war-kids-masters-of-an-unruly-globe-11673015444?mod=hp_listc_pos2

I thought this was funny and somewhat true... also humorous; I bet I played Risk -- and certainly other games (like Axis & Allies) by myself -- more than anything.  Most of this was due to the fact that I was raised an only child, but also...well, sometimes you want to "try" a particular strategy or tactic.  Sometimes just because, or sometimes "why didn't they think of that?"  Hell, it could even work in Risk, despite the dice.  I can see why people have game nights now...they were fun, and the stuff you did while you gamed was just as entertaining.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-05/ron-desantis-s-war-on-woke-culture-could-pave-his-way-to-presidency?leadSource=uverify%20wall

Long but good read; also, I can only imagine the vomitface that Bloomberg staffers had while cranking out this one.  Anyways, one thought that came to me while reading this was that one of the reasons why GOPers seem to like him because he does stuff... Trump, let's face it, had a lot of bluster.  DeSantis (to be sure, it's a red state, if you will, in terms of the apparatus of power) picks a target, goes after it, and....boom!  Policy!  Don't Say Gay; the Disney bill; an insurance fix... all of these things required political capital and some level of cojones but once they were pulled off... people loved him for it.  I watched his speech at his inauguration, and for all the victory speech bravura it had, it also reminded people that all of these things were despite everyone telling him the sky would fall.  And it did not.  Not everyone can pull it off, but it seems to be working there, so why not elsewhere?