Gambling

It seems to me that the US has a serious gambling problem.  Both the Stanley Cup final and NBA finals are going on right now, and the preponderance of sports gambling websites and apps being advertised during these games is shocking.  And the number of things you can bet on just over the duration of a single game is unbelievable.  I've noticed that even the news ticker on sports channels has started showing betting odds, and an increasingly larger amount of pre-game coverage is explicitly dedicated to gambling.  It doesn't seem like there is much regulation of this industry here, which I guess shouldn't surprise me given the current administration.  And it's not just sports, but even platforms that allow you to bet on almost anything (such as political, military or social events) seem to have massively increased their presence.  And profits.  Because ultimately, the house always wins.       

A New Angle

I've made the big decision to move my trail camera.  It is now on the edge of my driveway, pointing down towards my driveway entrance, but hopefully far back enough that it doesn't capture traffic on the road.  Why did I move it?  Mainly to see if it captures any different animal activity.  But also because one morning last week, I found some neighbors' discarded mail at the bottom of my driveway.  Some of the mail was opened, so I suspect a mail thief was opening it down there.  I hope not, but I don't have any other rational explanation.  It makes me thankful that early on when I moved here I asked my landlord to get me a locked mailbox.  Anyway, the trail camera in its new position will hopefully capture any unwelcome activity like this in the future.  It does have the unfortunate consequence of capturing all my toing and froing, in addition to that of my landlord and his family who also occasionally use the driveway.  My landlord has already knocked down the camera once when he was out in his mower cutting the grass.  So I wouldn't be surprised if it gets run over one day.  But the early indications are that I will get some good new images.

Busy

If today is any indicator, it looks like it's going to be a hellishly busy week at work.  Again.  Sigh.       

World War II with Tom Hanks

Because I'm nearly 50 and an old man now, I'm obligated to watch more of the History Channel.  And with that in mind, I just started watching the documentary series World War II with Tom Hanks.  It consists of something like 20 episodes, so I think it desperately wants to be the US equivalent of The World at War.  But it isn't.  I'm only a few episodes in, and it feels more like a history text book put onto screen.  Yes, some of the footage is terrific - but the narrative is very basic and, honestly, kind of boring.  And, so far at least, it contains nothing I really didn't already know.  And I have quickly grown tired of the various talking heads throughout the documentary - including a very somber and weird looking Tom Hanks - who don't seem to impart anything particularly interesting or new.  I expect it to get very US-centric in the second half of the series once the US officially enters the fray.  Especially because in these first couple of episodes, we are rushing through all the European action.  I'll keep on watching, but so far all this series is making me want to do is revisit The World at War again.     

Funny Little Plans

Note to self - if you're thinking about driving out to East/Central Washington, and you want to leave really early to (a) avoid the hottest temperatures and (b) avoid some serious backups due to freeway closures then don't fall asleep on the sofa and end up going to bed about 3 am the night before.  Nope it wasn't to be today.  I think maybe if I want to go out that way, I should stay the night there - otherwise it involves an awful lot of driving.    

Lies

"President Trump remains in excellent health ... He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State".

Come on now.  Everyone should know by now that you cannot trust anything that comes out of the White House nowadays, but this takes the biscuit.

First Light

Look what I got today:

Yes, the new official James Bond video game.  And the reviews have been pretty good, so I'm looking forward to playing it.  But I don't know when that will be.  I fear this type of game will quickly consume my time and challenge my poor video game skills.  So I will need to show some self-control, some self-moderation, and some patience - none of which I'm traditionally good at (case in point, how quickly I consume all the snacks I bring back with me from the UK!).