In Summary: * Most likely tonight's Peach Bowl Game, with the IU Hoosiers playing the Oregon Ducks, will last well past my regular bedtime. However, I'm gonna try to stay awake long enough to hear the whole thing. We'll see how that works out.

Prayers, etc.: * I have a daily prayer regimen I try to follow throughout the day from early morning, as soon as I roll out of bed, until head hits pillow at night.

Health Metrics: * bw= 222.56 lbs. * bp= 137/81 (67)

Exercise: * kegel pelvic floor exercises, half squats, calf raises, wall push-ups

Diet: * 06:15 – 1 peanut butter sandwich, 1 fresh banana * 07:30 – fried bananas * 08:05 – fresh pineapple chunks * 14:00 – home made stew (liver, chicken, vegetables) and white rice

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 05:00 – listen to local news talk radio * 06:00 – bank accounts activity monitored * 06:30 – read, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, nap * 15:00 – listening to “The Jack Riccardi Show” on local news talk radio * 17:00 – now listening to “The Joe Pags Show” on local news talk radio * 18:00 – tuning in to a local ESPN radio station for pregame coverage and the call of tonight's Peach Bowl Game. GO HOOSIERS!

Chess: * 15:30 – moved in all pending CC games

There is a kind of faith that shouts, and there is a kind of faith that simply stands. 1 John 5 is not written for the shouting kind. It is written for the standing kind. It speaks to the believer who has learned that storms do not always arrive with thunder, that doubt often enters through the side door, and that the deepest battles are not fought with arguments but with endurance. This chapter does not try to impress you with theological fireworks. It offers you something far rarer and far more powerful: a quiet, settled certainty that God is who He says He is and that your life is anchored in Him.

John is writing to people who are tired. Not just physically tired but spiritually worn. They have heard too many voices, too many competing versions of Jesus, too many spiritual experts telling them that they need more knowledge, more secret insight, more mystical experiences before they can be sure of anything. John does not give them a new ladder to climb. He gives them solid ground to stand on. He reminds them that faith is not a puzzle to solve. It is a relationship to trust.

He opens with a sentence that feels deceptively simple: whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. There is nothing complicated about that statement, and yet it is radical. It does not say whoever understands all doctrine. It does not say whoever never doubts. It does not say whoever performs religiously well. It says whoever believes. To believe, in John’s language, is not to merely agree with a fact. It is to entrust yourself. It is to lean the weight of your life onto the truth of who Jesus is.

Being born of God is not a reward for theological achievement. It is the natural result of surrender. You do not become God’s child by mastering information. You become God’s child by trusting His Son. That truth is as scandalous today as it was then because humans love systems that let us earn worth. John removes that possibility. If you belong to God, it is because you trusted Jesus, not because you outperformed someone else.

Then John links love for God to love for others. He does not treat love as a soft emotional add-on. He treats it as the proof of spiritual reality. When you love the Father, you love His children. You cannot separate the two. You cannot say you adore God while despising people. That contradiction exposes something broken in the heart. Real faith always flows outward. It moves toward people. It expresses itself in patience, compassion, and a willingness to stay engaged even when it would be easier to withdraw.

John then says something that sounds almost impossible: His commandments are not burdensome. Anyone who has tried to live a faithful life knows how heavy obedience can feel. We struggle with habits. We wrestle with temptation. We disappoint ourselves. How can John say God’s commands are not heavy? The answer is that he is not talking about them in isolation. He is talking about them in the context of new life. A bird does not find flying heavy because flying is what it was made to do. A believer who has been born of God is no longer living against their design. Obedience becomes an expression of who you are, not a punishment for who you are not.

This is why John says that everyone born of God overcomes the world. That sentence has been misused by people who think it means success, dominance, or winning cultural battles. John means something much deeper. The world, in his language, is the system of values that tells you to define yourself by achievement, power, approval, or pleasure. To overcome the world is to no longer be owned by those lies. It is to live from a different center.

The victory that overcomes the world is not wealth or influence. It is faith. Faith is what frees you from needing to be everything. Faith is what allows you to rest in who God is. Faith is what keeps you standing when circumstances try to define you. When you trust Jesus, you are no longer trapped inside the world’s scoreboard. You are playing a different game entirely.

John then speaks of Jesus coming by water and blood. This is one of those lines that can sound strange until you understand what he is addressing. There were people claiming that Jesus was spiritual but not truly human, that the Christ only appeared at His baptism and left before the cross. John shuts that down. Jesus did not arrive by water alone. He came by water and blood. He was baptized into His mission, and He died in real flesh. The same Jesus who was declared God’s Son in the Jordan was the same Jesus who bled on the cross. There is no division. There is no illusion. Salvation is grounded in a real, embodied sacrifice.

John then calls on witnesses. The Spirit, the water, and the blood testify together. God Himself testifies about His Son. This matters because faith is not blind. It is not built on imagination. It is rooted in testimony. God has spoken. History has recorded. The Spirit has confirmed. Christianity does not rest on wishful thinking. It rests on divine declaration.

Then John makes one of the most personal statements in the entire letter. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. This means that faith is not just something you argue for. It is something you experience. There is an inner knowing that grows in the believer, not because they are smarter, but because they are connected. The Spirit does something inside you that no debate can replace. You begin to recognize God’s voice. You begin to sense His presence. You begin to trust His character even when you do not understand His plans.

John does not shy away from the seriousness of rejecting this testimony. To reject God’s witness about His Son is to call God a liar. That is not harsh language. It is honest language. If God has spoken, neutrality is not an option. To ignore what He says is to deny who He is. That does not mean people who struggle with doubt are condemned. It means people who willfully dismiss God’s revelation are stepping outside the truth.

Then John gives one of the clearest summaries of the gospel in all of Scripture: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Eternal life is not just a future promise. It is a present reality. It begins the moment you trust Jesus. It is a different quality of life, not just a longer one. It is a life that is connected to God, infused with His Spirit, and anchored in His love.

Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son does not have life. That is not meant to sound exclusive in a cruel way. It is simply stating where life comes from. You cannot have sunlight without the sun. You cannot have life without the source of life. Jesus is not one option among many. He is the well from which all true life flows.

John then tells you why he has written these things. So that you may know that you have eternal life. He does not want you guessing. He does not want you living in anxiety about your standing with God. He wants you to know. Faith is not meant to be fragile. It is meant to be secure. God does not want His children walking around wondering if they belong. He wants them resting in the certainty that they do.

This leads John into one of the most beautiful teachings on prayer in the New Testament. He says that if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us. And if He hears us, we know we have what we asked. That does not mean every desire will be granted. It means every prayer aligned with God’s heart is received. Prayer is not about bending God to your will. It is about bringing your will into alignment with His.

When you pray from that place, something shifts. You stop trying to use God. You start trusting God. You stop demanding outcomes. You start seeking His presence. That is where peace lives. That is where confidence grows.

John then touches on something delicate: praying for a brother who sins. He distinguishes between sin that leads to death and sin that does not. Scholars have debated what exactly this means, but the heart of the passage is clear. John is reminding believers that we are responsible for one another. We do not abandon people when they stumble. We pray. We intercede. We ask God to bring life and restoration.

Christian community is not about pretending we are perfect. It is about refusing to give up on each other. When someone is caught in sin, the response is not gossip or judgment. It is prayer. It is love. It is a commitment to keep standing with them until grace does its work.

John closes the chapter by reminding us that we are from God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. That is not meant to make you afraid. It is meant to make you clear-eyed. There is a spiritual battle happening. Not everything that feels normal is healthy. Not every voice that sounds reasonable is true. You belong to God, and that makes you different.

He says the Son of God has come and given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true. That is one of the most beautiful gifts of salvation. God does not just rescue you. He reveals Himself to you. You begin to know Him, not as an idea, but as a living, faithful presence.

John ends with a simple command that feels almost out of place: keep yourselves from idols. After all this talk about faith, love, prayer, and eternal life, he brings it back to this. An idol is anything that tries to take God’s place in your heart. It can be money. It can be success. It can be approval. It can even be religion. Anything that promises to give you what only God can give will eventually disappoint you.

John is not telling you to live in fear of idols. He is telling you to guard the sacred space of your trust. You were made to belong to God. You were made to find life in His Son. Do not trade that for something smaller.

1 John 5 is not loud, but it is strong. It does not demand your attention. It earns your trust. It invites you into a faith that is steady, resilient, and rooted in the unshakable truth of who Jesus is. It reminds you that you do not have to conquer the world to overcome it. You simply have to belong to the One who already has.

Now we will continue this reflection, moving deeper into how this quiet certainty reshapes everyday life, prayer, confidence, and the way you walk through a noisy and uncertain world.

There is something profoundly different about the way 1 John 5 ends compared to how most people expect a spiritual letter to end. It does not explode into celebration. It does not crescendo into poetry. It closes with a warning that feels gentle but is actually one of the strongest guardrails in all of Scripture. After laying out faith, assurance, prayer, identity, and victory, John simply says to keep yourselves from idols. That one line reveals the entire heart of the chapter. Everything John has said up to this point exists to protect something precious. Faith is not just a belief. It is a bond. It is a relationship. And relationships only survive when they are protected.

When John tells believers to keep themselves from idols, he is not talking about little statues on a shelf. He is talking about anything that tries to replace God as the source of security, meaning, identity, or hope. Idols are not always evil. Many of them look helpful. They look like solutions. They look like safety. They look like success. But they all have one thing in common. They promise what only God can actually provide.

1 John 5 is about knowing. Knowing you are God’s child. Knowing you have eternal life. Knowing God hears your prayers. Knowing Jesus is the Son of God. Knowing the truth. Idols thrive on uncertainty. They gain power when people feel insecure. When you do not know who you are, you will cling to whatever tells you that you matter. When you do not know you are loved, you will chase whatever makes you feel seen. When you do not know you are secure, you will grab whatever gives you control. John is not giving you theology to impress you. He is giving you truth to anchor you.

The world is loud. It constantly tells you that you are behind, that you are missing out, that you are not enough. It creates a thousand small fears that drive people toward a thousand small gods. But the believer who knows who they are is not easily shaken. The believer who knows God hears them does not panic when things do not go their way. The believer who knows eternal life has already begun does not need to extract everything from this moment.

This is what it means to overcome the world. It is not about having a perfect life. It is about having a settled heart. When your identity is rooted in Christ, the chaos around you loses its power to define you. When your worth comes from God, praise and criticism lose their grip. When your hope is anchored in eternity, temporary setbacks no longer feel like the end of the story.

John’s teaching on prayer in this chapter is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Christian life. People often hear that God answers prayer and assume it means God is obligated to grant their requests. That is not what John is saying. He is saying that God hears prayers that are aligned with His will. That means prayer is not a transaction. It is a conversation. It is not about forcing God to do what you want. It is about discovering what God is already doing and stepping into it.

When you pray this way, something extraordinary happens. You stop feeling like you are begging a distant God. You start experiencing a faithful Father. You begin to trust His timing. You begin to see His wisdom. You begin to recognize that some of the things you once demanded would have actually harmed you. And in that realization, your faith matures.

John’s words about praying for those who sin also reveal something deeply important about Christian community. Faith was never meant to be lived alone. You are not just responsible for your own walk with God. You are part of a family. When someone stumbles, the response is not to distance yourself. It is to pray. It is to hope. It is to believe that grace is still at work even when someone is struggling.

That kind of love requires humility. It requires patience. It requires remembering that every believer is a work in progress. The same God who is transforming you is transforming them. Prayer becomes the bridge between where someone is and where God is leading them.

John’s reminder that the whole world lies under the influence of the evil one can sound alarming if it is misunderstood. He is not saying that everything is dark. He is saying that there is a spiritual current flowing through the world that does not lead toward God. That current tries to pull people away from truth, away from love, and away from dependence on Christ. But believers are not powerless against it. They belong to God. They have been given understanding. They have been given the Spirit. They have been given life.

Understanding is one of the great gifts of salvation. God does not just save you from sin. He saves you from confusion. He teaches you who He is. He shows you what is real. He opens your eyes to things you never saw before. Over time, you begin to recognize lies more quickly. You begin to sense when something is pulling you away from peace. You begin to notice when something is trying to replace God in your heart.

This is why John ends with that simple command about idols. It is not a random add-on. It is the natural conclusion of everything he has said. If you know who Jesus is, if you know you have eternal life, if you know God hears you, then protect that knowing. Do not let anything slowly erode it. Do not let anything quietly take God’s place.

There is a deep gentleness in this chapter. John is not shouting at you. He is sitting beside you, reminding you of what is true. He is pointing you back to the simplicity of faith. You do not have to have everything figured out. You do not have to be fearless. You do not have to be flawless. You simply have to trust the One who has already overcome the world.

That is what makes 1 John 5 so powerful. It does not promise you an easy life. It promises you a secure one. It does not promise you the absence of trouble. It promises you the presence of God. And in the end, that is what faith has always been about.

Your life is not held together by your consistency. It is held together by Christ’s faithfulness. Your hope is not sustained by your strength. It is sustained by God’s promise. You are not walking through this world alone. You are walking in a story that God Himself is writing, and it ends in life.

That is the quiet certainty that overcomes the world.

Your friend, Douglas Vandergraph

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Hold me close when the weather clouds my heart Under the waves blotting out the sun Until the flowers bloom again – like the city Spreads its petals and scent, even then Hold me close

When I am a child, fear and anxious thought Is written in the lines of my brows Hold me close when I tremble and call out A high pitched voice and a yearning for comfort

Be with me when we taste the wine of life I am at my gleeful and proudest and strongest Remind me what it is like to be seen, to be true Be with me, hold me close

We were fully met without being held, fully undressed without being claimed.

Water is second only to air in the need for man's existence. Neither ever end, just always change. There are experiences in life that do not ask to be kept, moments and people who change us and who themselves are changed in state. They never go away and are essential to our existence.

They arrive and awake us from life's slumber. That sleep we did not know we were even experiencing. Not the restful sleep of peace and nod, but an ignorance to what life can truly be. Lest the waking melt the world, it insists on restraint — not because waking is wrong, but because the power of the conversion, the state change is so powerful, like a collapsing star it risks consuming everything in its gravity well.. The mistake is thinking that only what can be held or continued counts as real. As though duration were the measure of truth. As if owning made a moment valid.

It does not.

Sometimes the most honest form of love is recognition without possession. Seeing another person clearly — not as fantasy, not as rescue, not as an answer to loneliness — but as a whole, complex, bounded human being. And allowing that recognition to exist without trying to turn it into a future, or a promise, or a rupture.

There is no blame in that kind of seeing.

There is thrill. There is excitement and ecstasy. Wonder. Joy. And, conversely, lament when we realize that our slumber and ignorance came with some blisses that can never be reclaimed. Once awake, we cannot return to the land of nod. Even if we wanted to.

Falling in love is not a moral failure. It is not a plan. It is not a demand. It is something that happens when two inner lives briefly align closely enough to recognize one another. That alignment leaves marks — not scars, but understanding.

A widening of the map.

What matters is what we do after we recognize what’s there. When we stir and realize we have the power to do as we wish. Knowledge is power. And it is easy to become drunk with it. The power to lay lives to waste, or to ascend to unknown heights.

Not every love is meant to be consummated through physical possession. Some are consummated through truth — through the courage to let someone in so utterly, completely that what is discovered could heal or kill. Real love will allow another person be exactly who they are, in the life they are actually living, without asking them to abandon it for us.

This is so much easier said than done. The want that comes with this kind of release is equal in pull and power.

True love is complicated and powerful. It is the kind of love does not erase boundaries. It respects them.

There is a particular kind of love that makes art, not wreckage. 
A love that sharpens perception, deepens language, softens the way we see the world — without burning down the structures that hold real lives together. This is not a lesser love. It is a disciplined one. A love that understands the difference between expression and destruction.

Creation and devastation use the same fire. The difference is where it is contained. Duty and loyalty are often misunderstood as the enemies of passion. As though choosing them were a kind of death. But in truth, they are what refine passion — what prevent it from turning corrosive or hollow. They are not the absence of desire; they are its steward.

There is honor in choosing not to take everything we want.

There is integrity in recognizing that some things are precious precisely because they are not consumed.

Loyalty does not negate longing. 
It gives it context.

And sometimes, the ultimate reward — whatever form it takes — is made sweeter not by immediacy, but by restraint. By knowing that we were capable of more than impulse. That we could hold something beautiful without demanding it become ours.

There is mercy — real mercy — in releasing one another from the burden of “what might have been.”

No one is at fault for recognizing another soul.

No one is required to destroy their life to prove that recognition was sincere. Some connections exist to remind us that we are capable of depth, tenderness, and truth — and then they let us go back to our lives carrying that knowledge quietly, like a secret competence.

A proof of life.


A proof of love.

That is not failure.

That is a form of completion. Two nakednesses and a merging of soul without body.

I am awake. I do not know what tomorrow brings. But today, I am alive. The ground beneath me is real. Ancient. I am young and foolish. One day, I too will be ancient, maybe then I will understand all this I wrote.

For now, all I can do in my ignorance is trust that is must be true.

It must.

Et ça continue de mal en pis…

Il y a quelque chose de profondément pourri au royaume de X et l'odeur devient de plus en plus insupportable. La dernière manœuvre d'Elon Musk concernant son intelligence artificielle, Grok, ne relève pas de la modération de contenu ni de la protection des utilisateurs. C'est un aveu de cynisme absolu, une démonstration éclatante que pour le milliardaire, la moralité s'arrête là où le profit commence. Face au scandale mondial provoqué par son IA générant des images pornographiques non consenties, y compris de mineures, la réponse de l’intéressé est stupéfiante de cupidité. Il ne supprime pas le problème, il le met derrière un mur payant.

Le contexte est pourtant glaçant. Depuis fin décembre, Grok est devenu l'outil de prédilection des prédateurs numériques. Il suffisait de demander à l'IA de “déshabiller” une personne sur une photo pour que l'algorithme s'exécute docilement, plaçant des femmes et des enfants dans des positions sexualisées, en bikini ou en sous-vêtements. Face à cette horreur, qui a suscité l'ire des régulateurs de l'Union Européenne, du Royaume-Uni, de l'Italie et de l'Inde, une entreprise responsable aurait immédiatement désactivé la fonctionnalité pour la corriger. Mais xAI a choisi une voie bien plus sombre. Désormais, si vous voulez générer ces images, il faudra passer à la caisse.

Comme l'a si justement souligné un porte-parole du premier ministre britannique Keir Starmer, cette décision ne fait que transformer une fonctionnalité permettant la création d'images illégales en un service premium. C'est une commodification de l'abus, purement et simplement. Le harcèlement est toléré, tant qu'il rapporte de l'argent à la plateforme. Jake Auchincloss, représentant démocrate américain, a résumé la situation avec une véhémence nécessaire en affirmant que Musk ne résout rien, mais fait de l'abus numérique des femmes un produit de luxe.

Le plus grotesque dans cette affaire réside dans l'incompétence technique doublée d'hypocrisie. Si l'accès est restreint sur X, les utilisateurs non-abonnés peuvent toujours utiliser Grok via son application autonome ou son site web pour commettre les mêmes méfaits. La barrière est illusoire, le danger reste intact. Lorsque la presse demande des comptes, xAI se contente d'envoyer des réponses automatiques vides de sens, refusant d'assumer la responsabilité de la boîte de Pandore qu'ils ont ouverte.

Elon Musk, dans sa tour d'ivoire, a fini par tweeter le 3 janvier que quiconque utiliserait son chatbot pour créer du contenu illégal en subirait les conséquences. C'est l'archétype du pompier pyromane qui vous tend une boîte d'allumettes en vous interdisant de brûler la maison. Se cacher derrière des conditions d'utilisation ou des lois existantes comme le “Take It Down Act” est une lâcheté monumentale quand on fournit soi-même l'arme du crime. En refusant de brider techniquement son IA pour empêcher ces dérives, et en choisissant plutôt de restreindre l'outil aux abonnés payants (dont les informations bancaires sont certes enregistrées, mais qui peuvent agir sous pseudonyme) il prouve une fois de plus que la sécurité des femmes et des enfants n'est qu'une variable d'ajustement dans sa quête effrénée de revenus. Ce n'est pas de la négligence, c'est de la complicité tarifée.

My Friday night plans are set!

I will be cheering on the Indiana Hoosiers Football Team as they play the Oregon Ducks in the Peach Bowl Game.

The radio back here in my room will be tuned in to The Flagship Station for IU Sports by 6:30 PM Central Time, an hour before game time, to catch pregame coverage from my favorite broadcasters. And I'll stay with this station for the radio call of the game.

Back in December, after the Christmas lights show at my county fair, my family and I made a late night stop at a recently opened Yemeni cafe several blocks away from our home. I bought a hot pistachio latte for myself, a strawberry refresher for my wife, and a chocolate croissant for all of us to share. Everything was delicious, but pricey (about $21 before tip).

Moka & Co. has more traditional Yemeni coffee choices and plenty of desserts like baklava and more savory items like samosas. As far as cafe corporate chains go, Moka & Co. is clean and the food and drink items are better than Starbucks and some Peet’s Coffee locations. I know there’s another smaller Yemeni cafe chain a few more miles away from our house and I plan on trying it in the near future.

So if Moka & Co. is in your neighborhood, give it a try. And yes, I do recommend the pistachio latte.

I need to make a quick stop.

#coffee #Yemeni #mokaandco

I went off the rails a little for the holiday. I managed to finish a surprise project but everything else fell by the wayside.

The typewriter

I've been working on setting up a low powered computer with Alpine Linux. You know how people are always saying Linux is so easy now that anyone can do it? Don't do that with Alpine Linux. It was originally intended for running on high security, niche devices. It's probably most commonly used in Docker images. Most people who interact with it probably don't put it on an actual computer.

Why did I want to? I've been using Linux since 2000. Possibly a little earlier. The first time I used it, I did it on an aging computer that I couldn't afford to upgrade. That describes most of the computers I've used it on, actually. The challenge in most of those cases was stripping something pretty full spec down to the point where it ran pretty tolerably.

In this case, I wanted to do it on purpose. On finding out about Alpine, I realized I had the perfect opportunity. The regular install's ISO takes up less than 400 MiB of space. Everything you want, you're adding to that count. Putting Xfce on it along with some other packages I needed have taken me to about 2 GiB. I'd like to set it up so it doesn't load Xfce by default but, right now, I'm most focused on making it a writing computer.

And technically it is. I'm typing this on it right now. The network connection is off. I'm typing this using the micro text editor from a virtual terminal.

When I get it back to a network, I'll run a Unison profile I created. It will copy this and any other local changes up to the network.

Some of my scripts aren't working ... yet but the Typewriter lives.

Update since I wrote the previous section

Turning off Xfce on boot turned out to be much easier than my experience with LXQt. I disabled automatic startup for the display manager using the rc-update del command used in Alpine for removing services from run groups.

When I do want to load the GUI, I type startx and it comes up.

For micro to be a good prose writing tool, I had to put this in .config/micro/settings.json:

{
	"softwrap": true,
	"wordwrap": true
}

To make Unison work the way I wanted, I created the profile using the GUI on my main Linux computer and adjusted it until it worked the way I wanted. I did a replace all on paths that were specific to my main Linux computer.

I've also adapted some of my writing related scripts for use on Alpine.

Outcomes

Due in part to Typewriter, I wrote almost 13K words in the last week. Typewriter has only been really operational for three writing days and, in those writing days, I wrote 10.5K words. That's an average of 3.3K words per day.

For me, those are pretty good numbers. If those are sustainable, I could write about 23K in a week.

Next week's goals

This is going to be a little sparse for a while.

1. Figure out my next project
2. Get some words written
3. Record at least one video

The current projects are resuming The Novel, starting work on Fallen Heaven, or writing book 3 of Vay Ideal.

I'm leaning toward working on a novel because I think a published Novel will probably drive some purchases of the Vay Ideal books. Adding additional Vay Ideal books while I'm not really having sales on Vay Ideal yet is probably not a useful thing at the moment.

With my improved word count from Typewriter, I did a bit of work on both Book 3 and The Novel.

#ProgressUpdate #VayIdeal

Siempre es buen momento para ir cerrando el año anterior porque aún queda gente con las luces de navidad encendidas. En diciembre pasó una cosa poco frecuente y es que tenga apuntados más juegos con partidas en físico que en BGA, que últimamente sólo tengo abiertas un par de partidas a juegos más complejos que ya conozco, en lugar de novedades, así que este mes hay poco que rascar por ahí.

Al que más he jugado ha sido Carnival of Sins porque normalmente, tras la primera partida, la gente se pica y quiere, puede que con poco éxito, usar la carta de Ira de mejor manera (en un par de ocasiones eso me dio la victoria, incentivando un poco la risa de malvado, siempre en pos del juego). Seguimos con la campaña de My City, avanzando lentamente, y hemos empezado una a Dorfromantik Sakura, que pinta bien aunque aún nos quede una partida al Dorfromantik original. Probé Leviathan Wilds en solitario, y parece que es lo suficientemente sencillo de reglas como para que le dé más partidas, aunque creo que a más de un jugador, la interacción lo debe hacer más interesante.

En BGA, que he jugado el resto de novedades aparte de Dorfromantik, sólo puedo opinar sobre Popcorn, porque Arabella y Wandering Towers creo que no capté lo suficiente como para ello. Popcorn es un juego estratégico sobre llevar un cine y ganar dinero llevando a espectadores a ver las películas que debes ir renovando, a la par que mejoras las butacas de tu cine para ir aumentando el número de efectos que se van desencadenando. Tiene algunos aspectos que siempre se valoran como positivos en este tipo de juegos, como que haya una fase del turno que es simultánea, de manera que el juego no se hace largo, pero que tampoco están implementadas de manera que represente una novedad demasiado interesante.

Nuevos juegos probados

• Arabella
• Dorfromantik: Sakura
• Leviathan Wilds
• Miams
• Popcorn
• Wandering Towers

Tags: #boardgames #juegosdemesa

Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: Happy New Year, Ankara Reimagined: Blending African Prints with Power Dressing — The Accra Corporate Board Room Girl Edition, Dressing etiquette, Snowman, and Gold Coast Restaurant and Cocktail bar upgrades

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Happy New Year to all of you, may health be with you. I haven't made too many reflections on 2025, but what sticks out is that the economy is at a standstill, if you are in business and wanted things to grow then you could say it was a lost year. We're trying to grab some of the culprits, but even if we do it is not positive thinking. Pray 2026 gives a more positive vibe.

Ankara Reimagined: Blending African Prints with Power Dressing — The Accra Corporate Board Room Girl Edition. Where culture meets confidence in the boardroom. There’s something undeniably powerful about a woman who walks into a room wearing colour — not just any colour, but Ankara, that bold, unapologetic symphony of pattern and pride. For the Accra corporate girl, African prints aren’t just fashion — they’re identity, heritage, and a statement that says, “I can be powerful and vibrant at the same time.” Gone are the days when corporate wear meant dull greys and strict suits. Today’s Accra professional knows how to weave her roots into her rhythm, one print at a time. The New Corporate Power Look: Modern power dressing is no longer just about shoulder pads and monochrome suits — it’s about expression. In Accra, where creativity meets commerce, the corporate wardrobe has evolved. Imagine a fitted Ankara blazer layered over crisp white pants. Or a pencil skirt in a muted kente print paired with a silk blouse. It’s structure meets story — and it commands attention without saying a word. The key? Balance. Let one piece shine. If your Ankara skirt is vibrant, pair it with solid tones — think camel, cream, or navy. You want to say, “I’m bold, but I’m in control.” Print Meets Professionalism: Wearing prints at work doesn’t mean dressing for a festival. It’s about tailoring and tone. Choose Ankara pieces with cleaner patterns and softer palettes for a refined, office-ready finish. Earth tones, navy blues, and pastels make prints feel elegant and powerful — not overpowering. A structured Ankara jacket, for instance, instantly elevates a plain shift dress. Or try a high-waisted wax print trouser with a tucked-in chiffon blouse for that “I came to close deals and turn heads” energy. To be continued.... Dressing etiquette. I agree that walking into a night club dressed in a T-shirt and shorts and flipflops is not the way to go, but some seem not to know and must be told. And will be rejected at the door. But I wear flipflops till I get there and then change into my full 4 inches, no platform. And keep the flipflops rolled in my handbag. A bit of a worrying development is the searching at the door for weapons, makes you wonder what sort of people come there. And I wouldn't even know how to use a gun. So I happily stepped forward at SOHO, Marina mall (Airport City, Airport By-pass Rd, Accra), to be searched, first with something around me that made biiiiii, and then hands on check of my handbag. REJECTED. Flipflops in the handbag, whilst it strongly said no flip flops allowed. My mother taught me never to argue with fools because the passers-by wouldn't know who of the 2 is the fool, so I agreed to leave my handbag at the check point. And now I was allowed in, I had passed. You get into the club through a lift which opens directly into the club, which has limited lightening and a few king size machos to keep you out of the walkways. I haven't really seen where to get out in case of a fire when that lift would not work, pray all lights will go on and escape staircases clearly indicated in case of too much smoke. No flipflops and T shirts agreed, but some of the ladies were dressed such that I wondered if I was in a brothel, but maybe these days it is decent? Have to go back one of these days to make a proper evaluation but as for now it will not be my favourite haunt for 2026.

Snowman, Oxford Street, near the Osu Presbyterian Church, Accra. This is a creamery selling sort of milkshakes/ice creams with several branches spread over Accra. Snow Man is also a Japanese idol boy band founded in 2020 and with more than 20 million copies sold, Japanese style of creating entertainment. And then of course there is the original snowman, every child's dream, but I am told it is hard work. And there is the mysterious Abominable Snowman purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. Many dubious articles have been offered in an attempt to prove the existence of this Yeti, including disputed video recordings, photographs, and plaster casts of large footprints. The Yeti, as it is called is often described as being a large, ape-like creature that is covered with brown, grey, or white hair, and it is sometimes depicted as having large, sharp teeth. But we just came for ice cream and had a strawberry delight and a “make your shake”, at 105 GHS each, which turned out to be very cold and creamy milk shake but quite nice.

Gold Coast Restaurant and Cocktail bar upgrades. 32 Fifth Avenue Extension opposite Afrikiko, Cantonments, Accra. Renovations were going on for months, one at a time, but it seems they've now come to the end and opened for the Xmas. Neat dining tables with plate mats and napkins, and a new price list that has to pay for all this, vodka at 100 GHC a shot and a virgin Mojito at 170. Popular is Tilapia à la Abidjan, 185. Yam fries go for 55 GHS, kebabs are at 20 GHC. You can find your way here but need to study before you order. And they have regular live music which makes things worthwhile. Service is prompt.

Lydia...

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I’m kinda broken about fascism. The tiny town I live in is indifferent, most folks thinking the big cities deserve what’s happening to them; most folks here are just ignorant. So, there’s not a lot of community within walking distance to be in community with over issues like this.

Ironically, if the supply chains all come crashing down tomorrow, I feel more secure with these people than half the leftists I’ve known.

But I couldn’t be at a vigil last night, I didn’t have a place to put that sadness and heartbreak and anger and fear, so I painted instead.

Getting somewhat better at gel plates – I think I need to reevaluate the paper I’m using. My mixed media sketchbook might not be the best option here.

Slædepatruljen

Reading the clocks and boulders For trips upon the chloe and land Third highest and under known A space to see the view Of Navy ships and current wonder From a place to know of wisdom here Thousands belted to there believe A prophet for the heavens And to unto this place called Danish A sovereign reel and we are proud For prodding first and orchestration Unruly to the fairness day Riding snow and proper here The forest of a plain in man Sore, sore, but truly on In fortune with a witness Currents lit and duly proper A place to here find out With to and there beyond the bog A sea is truly home The bay and the beautiful Expectants reap Four bowls for dog and man With Lytton space and married plan No hotel but time A fresh day on and pulsing chair The year is getting younger But far but better and mercy day A salience in ray The noon and valour can For piercing shine a sure And sun on skin with little hound a space to bow and round- The verdant was of this small world To froth in ocean be Fortune there and is for us Trains and car and bus A view in rod to see the seek Here asore but imbued in clear Fittings fjord and land To forest glen of over course The story’s longest night We’ll overturn- then intern our sun Repeat upon that hill Of southern north and wilding here The limerence and chill

JOURNAL 9 janvier 2026

À 20:30, on était dans le métro, séisme intensité 3, mais ça a bien remué. Les pauvres voyageurs se sont réveillés. Annonce du conducteur : on était arrêtés en plein tunnel. C'est jamais rassurant, on se regarde, on vérifie les portables, épicentre pas loin de tôkyô cette fois. Au bout de dix minutes le métro est reparti. La vie quotidienne dans ce pays tremblant, on ne s'ennuie jamais longtemps.

Ce soir kotastu, moi un bouquin et mon dictionnaire Larousse acheté d'occasion à Paris. Je l'aime avec ses illustrations gravées, certes il est pas très actuel (édition 1920 ) mais pour lire le français de l'époque c'est parfait justement. Pendant ce temps ma princesse entre deux sourires par dessus l'écran de son laptop tape nerveusement sur le clavier. chicachicachica Elle en a au moins pour une heure m'a-t-elle dit. On est pas couchées.

Début janvier, le moment est venu de mon rendez-vous annuel avec un nouveau roman de Philippe Besson, un auteur que je lis fidèlement depuis ses premiers romans au début des années 2000, même si mon enthousiasme pour ses textes a faibli depuis cette époque. Cette année, il s’agit de Une pension en Italie, toujours publié chez Julliard.

Milieu des années 60, en Toscane. Un été caniculaire. Une famille française en villégiature. Un événement inattendu. Des vies qui basculent irrémédiablement. Un secret qui s'impose aussitôt. Un écrivain, héritier de cette histoire, en quête de la vérité.

Philippe Besson revient cette année avec un récit autour d'un secret de famille qui concerne son grand-père paternel, autour d'un séjour de vacances en Italie au milieu des années 1960. Quand on connait Philippe Besson et son œuvre, le secret en question est assez aisé à devenir, et il ne fait d'ailleurs pas durer le suspense très longtemps. L'enjeu, ce n'est pas le secret lui-même, mais le déroulement des événements, leurs conséquences sur la famille, et la suite de l’histoire, pour les uns et les autres.

On retrouve le style caractéristique de Philippe Besson, avec ses tics de langage, ses effets de style maladroits, ses tentatives d'écrire du beau sans en avoir l'air. J'y ai longtemps été sensible, je le suis moins désormais.

Le récit lui-même est sans surprise, parfois un peu plat. Pourtant, la dernière partie m'a saisi au cœur, alors que je ne m'y attendais plus. J'ai refermé le livre en me disant qu'il reste dans l'écriture de Philippe Besson quelques traces de ce que j'avais tant aimé il y a plus de vingt ans, ou bien qu'il reste quelques traces de celui que j'étais alors, plus jeune, plus naïf sans doute.

Day 19 since the winter solstice. On this dark day, get to know your Soul for we are feeling like a bully shoved us to the ground and took our lunch money. Personal power and healthy interdependence lie in prioritizing spiritual growth so that we can stay open to each other even in moments of great emotional intensity.

Key emotions: startled, free, open-hearted, ecstatic, inspired.

This week I didn't actually highlight any new articles I've been reading, nor did I finish any of the four (?) books I'm reading at the moment. I am however, very busy with bunch of different projects, one of which I'd like to share.

Gas fermentation with an open-source bioreactor

Back in 2022 I wrote about open sourcing precision fermentation. While precision fermentation is about modifying microbes like yeast and bacteria to create products such as dairy proteins (whey, casein), fats or insulin, gas fermentation refers to using gases (e.g. carbon dioxide and hydrogen) as the main inputs to growing the microbes.

What makes gas fermentation interesting? You don't need traditional feedstocks (e.g. sugars from corn) and can basically grow stuff from thin air! In reality you need to get the carbon dioxide and hydrogen from somewhere, and green hydrogen is made using electricity. So if I'm growing protein using this method, I'd call it electro-protein.

At LabCrafter, we've been working with AMYBO on building an add-on kit for the Pioreactor open-source bioreactor to perform gas fermentation, which we're calling the electroPioreactor. AMYBO, Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh recently received some grant funding from the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing (CARMA) Hub to build an affordable aseptic version of the electroPioreactor, and we're helping them by supplying the hardware! It's still early days, but you can follow along on GitHub.

In more personal news, it's been snowing in Swansea this week! Even on the beach, for the first time in around 13 years I think.

Again, please get in touch in the comments if you have any questions or feedback!