Mine’s around somewhere, too. I didn’t do a lot of gaming on it, but it was a very solid media streaming box for the time.

I enjoyed my Ouya back in the day.

My current setup has 6, but that’s across 3 PCs and a devkit.

I find 2 per PC is my useful limit. Which means my current 5 isn’t quite enough. Monitor arms are always a challenge at that scale, though.

My family was religious enough that they made it super clear that Santa was fake. Us kids still got little gifts “from Santa,” but they were of the stocking-stuffer variety. All other gifts were from specific people. As a kid I liked getting stuff, but the more important thing about the holiday was spending time with family, and them showing their love. Gifts was one way to show, but spending time, preparing meals, and just being present without worrying about other life issues also did it. It is the thought that counts, but you have to show that you’re thinking about them. Honestly, your kids might appreciate not having to pretend they still believe in Santa. As other people have said here, don’t catch your kids in the crossfire. If there’s something they’re really looking forward to, get it for them, but label it “from Dad” or Mom and Dad if you’re feeling generous. If they don’t have their hopes on something, a trip or experience might be good. Not sure what experience fits both a 6 year old and a 12, but I assume you know your kids better than I do. As for the rest of your family, they can stick it. They don’t seem interested in participating in the holiday, so don’t include them.

Aleve (naproxin sodium) is the only OTC painkiller that reliably works for me. So first I take one, and if that doesn’t work after an hour or so, I take another and a nap.

Even if I accept your framing that a vote for Kamala is a vote for genocide in Gaza, literally any other action is a vote for that genocide, plus one in Ukraine, plus one in the US. We know this because that’s what Trump has said. We know this because that’s what he tried to do the last time. And we will have this problem until Trumpism is soundly defeated. You want a real left choice sometime in your lifetime? We need to vote Dem hard enough to make it clear that Republicans can’t win. We’re not there yet.

The worst thing about standups is that about once a month I catch a problem early because of what someone says. The tradeoff doesn’t feel worth it time-wise. But it keeps me from skipping them.

Panzer Dragoon main theme