> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://nickrroberts.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # January links: Video games, tanks for Ukraine, Teletubbies - URL: https://nickrroberts.com/january-links/ - Published: 2023-02-02T15:06:01.000Z - Updated: 2023-03-03T18:46:42.000Z - Description: Interesting stuff from January, 2023 - Author: Nick Roberts - Tags: Link Roundup, #nick-2, #Import 2024-11-11 16:59 Good morning from Idaho! Between bouts of home furnishing in our new place in the Tetons, things in my life have been very video game-themed this month: I finished *God of War* on PC (excellent), tried *Elden Ring* (after a couple hours, I figured out that I just didn't want to invest the time required for the difficulty), and played through *Mass Effect* (little writeup on that [here](https://nickrroberts.com/notes-on-mass-effect-1/). I didn't love that one either!). I wrote a piece below on how I justify to myself time spent on games like these. Also along these lines, we've been watching *The* *Last of Us* on HBO, which has been a weekly delight. The show is based on a video game, which illustrates just how cinematic and powerful the stories have become in recent PC/Xbox/Playstation titles. The third episode with Nick Offerman absolutely blew us away. Can't recommend it enough. ## From the last month (or first few days of this one) From me: Rationalizing my leisure time. I'd read it in conjunction with the link below this one: [On rationalizing my leisure timeJumping through hoops to tie everything I do to some larger purpose![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/99/a099d561-fde0-440d-8161-92921d516932/content/images/size/w256h256/2021/11/android-chrome-192x192.png)Nick RobertsNick Roberts![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/99/a099d561-fde0-440d-8161-92921d516932/content/images/2023/02/DALL-E-2023-02-01-09.48.22---Man-thinking-about-time--digital-art.png)](https://nickrroberts.com/on-rationalizing-my-leisure-time/) On video game addiction: [Video! Game! Addiction!A guide for navigating a world of infinite entertainment![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F86612ed7-3e8e-4903-bda3-b0765de8a21b%2Fapple-touch-icon-1024x1024.png)The Intrinsic PerspectiveErik Hoel![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_limit,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb945eeac-d858-479e-975a-c1ea85bb24c2_1240x886.jpeg)](https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/when-video-game-addiction-strikes) Not to go too far down the "Hoel" hole, but I would now also describe mine and Fiona's new lifestyle as “high-tech pastoral”: [Remote work is the best thing to happen to families in decadesYet commentators and politicians keep missing it![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F86612ed7-3e8e-4903-bda3-b0765de8a21b%2Fapple-touch-icon-1024x1024.png)The Intrinsic PerspectiveErik Hoel![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_limit,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbd7e8608-9644-4400-84c6-b7c2bd6d369b_1181x843.jpeg)](https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/remote-work-is-the-best-thing-to) I plan to shamelessly copy this guy's style in some future videos: A continuation of the Scott Alexander Bay Area House Party series: [Even More Bay Area House Party...![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c00a032-defa-44b7-9ab7-b7cc6d88db75%2Fapple-touch-icon-1024x1024.png)Astral Codex TenScott Alexander![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1200,h_600,c_limit,f_jpg,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe26aab22-f34d-44c3-a923-c207fff6bd2e_512x512.png)](https://open.substack.com/pub/astralcodexten/p/even-more-bay-area-house-party?r=binh0&utm%5Fcampaign=post&utm%5Fmedium=email) Why big online platforms get shitty over time: [Pluralistic: Tiktok’s enshittification (21 Jan 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow![](https://i0.wp.com/pluralistic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/cropped-guillotine-French-Revolution.jpg?fit=192%2C192&ssl=1)Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow No trackers, no ads. Black type, white background. Privacy policy: we don't collect or retain any data at all ever period.Cory Doctorow![](https://i0.wp.com/craphound.com/images/21Jan2023.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)](https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/?ref=nickrroberts.com#hey-guys) Funny little photos from carrying a camera around everywhere: [A lighter side of life – picture essayAdvertising art director turned photographer Alan Burles on the influence of French-American photographer Elliott Erwitt and the beauty of getting ‘lost in wonder, love and praise’![](https://static.guim.co.uk/images/favicon-32x32.ico)The GuardianAlan Burles![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7b987080aeaa7fa07e1d463fc60ce7c35a70267b/0_106_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=5922c401d36c85e27343b9c32b5753db)](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/dec/26/a-lighter-side-of-life-picture-essay?ref=nickrroberts.com) Finalists for the close-up photo of the year: [The Top 100 — Close-up Photographer of the YearThe best 100 close-up, macro photography and photomicrography pictures of 2022\. View the winners of Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY 04).![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5aae554545776e4f59c31b2c/1522327502670-44QTI5TOTX28OA4HVL4Y/favicon.ico?format=100w)Close-up Photographer of the Year![](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5aae554545776e4f59c31b2c/t/637f853d8f9fba3705116551/1669301569102/Danny-Wilson-Wormhole-banner-30%-CUPOTY.jpg?format=1500w)](https://www.cupoty.com/winners-04?ref=nickrroberts.com) The Bradley fighting vehicle in Ukraine: [What Bradley Fighting Vehicles Will Mean for UkraineThe Bradley has the speed, range, and firepower to help Ukraine retake its territory.![](https://www.thebulwark.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/cropped-amp-icon-1-270x270.png)The BulwarkMark Hertling![](https://www.thebulwark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1241176268-scaled.jpg)](https://www.thebulwark.com/what-bradley-fighting-vehicles-will-mean-for-ukraine/?ref=nickrroberts.com) And, finally, tanks for Ukraine: “'Scholzing' means “communicating good intentions, only to use/find/invent any reason imaginable to delay these and/or prevent them from happening.” [The Last Taboo: Germany’s Leopard Tanks Are a Game Changer with Significant RisksWith the delivery of Leopard battle tanks from Germany, the Ukraine war is entering into a new and dangerous phase. Olaf Scholz must now clean up the political damage he has caused, hold his country together and find a path with his international partners to end the conflict.![](https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/public/spon/images/icons/touch-icon180.png)DER SPIEGEL![](https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/d4161683-2d51-489a-80c3-dbc90c9068c6_w1280_r1.77_fpx53_fpy48.jpg)](https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-last-taboo-germany-s-leopard-tanks-are-a-game-changer-with-significant-risks-a-6da8d3eb-4402-4fec-8159-9e16c8d0f27e?ref=nickrroberts.com) USMC pilot arrested for training Chinese pilots *(via my pal SamS)*: [Former US Marine Corps pilot Major Daniel Edmund Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 on charges that he was training Chinese fighter pilots in violation of multiple arms control laws.Posted in r/Spycraft101 by u/Spycraft101 • 235 points and 11 comments![](https://www.redditstatic.com/desktop2x/img/favicon/android-icon-192x192.png)redditSpycraft101![](https://preview.redd.it/qzqleb0c58ca1.jpg?overlay-align=bottom,left&crop=600:314.136125654,smart&overlay-height=15p&overlay=%2Fwatermark%2Ft5_2u6fvr.png%3Fs%3D515ab7f16113ac97033ac07f3ee782ee5bb98909&width=600&height=314.136125654&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=0e45419fbf6f19137fbc33dd34abecb33c9e89a8)](https://old.reddit.com/r/Spycraft101/comments/10cmc8v/former%5Fus%5Fmarine%5Fcorps%5Fpilot%5Fmajor%5Fdaniel%5Fedmund/?ref=nickrroberts.com) Russia’s new military barons: [Public Politics in the Wartime Russian Dictatorship - War on the RocksWill President Vladimir Putin’s regime implode? Unfortunately, the media’s fixation with this question — understandable as it might be — has prevented us![](https://warontherocks.com/favicon.ico)War on the RocksJulian G. Waller![](https://warontherocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Putin_Meeting_Soldiers.jpg)](https://warontherocks.com/2023/01/public-politics-in-the-wartime-russian-dictatorship/?%5F%5Fs=d5o09djx55ojj3ueh6po&ref=nickrroberts.com) Software defines tactics: [Software Defines Tactics - War on the RocksThe book “The Bomber Mafia” revolves around the efforts of military officers to develop effective tactics for a bomber force, emphasizing the feedback![](https://warontherocks.com/favicon.ico)War on the RocksJason Weiss![](https://warontherocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/5959501-scaled-e1674416063972.jpg)](https://warontherocks.com/2023/01/software-defines-tactics/?%5F%5Fs=d5o09djx55ojj3ueh6po&ref=nickrroberts.com) Teletubbies has a Twitter account: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/99/a099d561-fde0-440d-8161-92921d516932/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-02-at-8.03.37-AM.png)](https://twitter.com/teletubbieshq/status/1584637028456894466?s=46&t=1uVanySgxIrgITIHpMhXtQ&ref=nickrroberts.com) Text to music generator: [MusicLM![](https://t0.gstatic.com/faviconV2?client=SOCIAL&type=FAVICON&fallback_opts=TYPE,SIZE,URL&url=https://github.io/seanet/musiclm/examples/&size=128)](https://google-research.github.io/seanet/musiclm/examples/?ref=nickrroberts.com)