January links: Video games, tanks for Ukraine, Teletubbies
![January links: Video games, tanks for Ukraine, Teletubbies](/content/images/size/w960/2023/02/DALL-E-2023-02-02-07.58.08---commander-shepard-from-mass-effect-dancing-with-teletubbies--digital-art.png)
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. 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:
![](https://nickrroberts.com/content/images/2023/02/DALL-E-2023-02-01-09.48.22---Man-thinking-about-time--digital-art.png)
On video game addiction:
![](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)
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”:
![](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)
I plan to shamelessly copy this guy's style in some future videos:
A continuation of the Scott Alexander Bay Area House Party series:
![](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)
Why big online platforms get shitty over time:
![](https://i0.wp.com/craphound.com/images/21Jan2023.jpg?w=840&ssl=1)
Funny little photos from carrying a camera around everywhere:
![](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)
Finalists for the close-up photo of the year:
![](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5aae554545776e4f59c31b2c/t/637f853d8f9fba3705116551/1669301569102/Danny-Wilson-Wormhole-banner-30%-CUPOTY.jpg?format=1500w)
The Bradley fighting vehicle in Ukraine:
![](https://www.thebulwark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1241176268-scaled.jpg)
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.”
![](https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/d4161683-2d51-489a-80c3-dbc90c9068c6_w1280_r1.77_fpx53_fpy48.jpg)
USMC pilot arrested for training Chinese pilots (via my pal SamS):
![](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)
Russia’s new military barons:
![](https://warontherocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Putin_Meeting_Soldiers.jpg)
Software defines tactics:
![](https://warontherocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/5959501-scaled-e1674416063972.jpg)
Teletubbies has a Twitter account:
![](https://nickrroberts.com/content/images/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-02-at-8.03.37-AM.png)
Text to music generator: