Rants and Raves and Games

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, today was actually a pretty good day.  Work was interesting enough that I did not fear falling asleep at my desk, the weather was pleasant, and there was time to play games at the end of it.

When it comes right down to it, the following rants are here because it was, in general, such a slow news day so to speak.  For those who don't care, please feel free to skip down to the game report that will follow my random blithering.

Rant 1 - GMO
I was in the store today and saw a box of brownie mix labeled "No GMO Ingredients".  I almost did not buy it, but it was also the only one there.  I hate this term. I have strongly opposed any effort by anyone to create GMO labeling rules.  Why?  Because they are all pointless.  The first problem is that every domesticated plant and animal on earth is genetically modified.  All of them.  You want non-gm corn, go down to central Mexico and pick yourself some native grass and see how that works for you.  Whether the modification was done in a lab, or in a field, it makes no difference.  Field based genetic selection is just as susceptible to disaster as lab modification, if not more now.  In fact, I would argue that ALL changes made to plants and animals should be done using modern genetic manipulation techniques.  Why?  Precision.  In a lab, with modern markers, you know exactly what genes you are moving around.  In the field, you throw things together and hope you get what you want after enough tries.  These people also really don't like to acknowledge the fact that genetically modified crops are directly responsible for saving more lives worldwide that any other technological development.

What they are really scared of is, of course, Monsanto, Roundup residue, and slimy business practices.  These are valid things to be concerned about.  Make laws to regulate those problems and stop trying to make the public fear something that is not a problem.

Rant 2 - Guns
The NRA just needs to shut up and go away.  So do a lot of people in the anti-gun lobby.  I differ from many of my liberal counterparts in this sense.  If you want to have a big gun, fine.  You want to have a house full of big guns?  Fine.  Automatic weapons?  Fine.  If you are going to do that then you need to have every single one registered, tagged with geo-locators, and submit to periodic inspection to prove that you are capable of using, storing, and maintaining your weapons responsibly.  I have never bought the 2nd Amendment argument that there should be no restrictions.  I have also never bought into the idea that you should not have weapons if you don't have a good practical reason to own them.  As long as you are a registered and proven responsible gun owner, "It's cool and I want one" should be reason enough.

Rant 3 - Health Care
Denying anyone health care because of lack of money should be illegal everywhere.  Forcing someone into financial hardship or bankruptcy over medical expenses should also be illegal.  Eventually the USA should have a single payor system.  That said, I recognize that wholesale dismantling of the insurance industry as it now exists would be a disaster and probable counter-productive.  What the insurance industry should be doing now is preparing for the end of business as they know it.  Start the restructure and wind down gently so the millions of people employed in the industry can transition.  Every other dying industry (tobacco and coal for example) should do the same.

Rant 4 - Politics
Donald Trump is insane.  Completely bat-shit crazy.  He is also the best friend the Democrats could have. As entertaining as the political circus is going to be for the next 10 months, I am glad I will be watching it from another country.

OK.  I am done now.  You can open your eyes again.  I will try not to do this too often.

Game Report Day 7 - Yardmaster

I have quite a few train themed games.  There are a lot of them out there.  If you are a gamer with children, boys in particular, you will end up with more than a few train games to appeal to them.  Yardmaster itself is a game that I picked up for a couple reasons.  First because I knew the theme would appeal to the kids.  Second because the game itself is beautiful.  As a player, you are the Yardmaster of a train yard.  You are sorting cargo into cars that you then attach to your train in the sorting yard to earn points.  At its heart this is a simple set collection game.  But with the addition of bonus cards, exchange rates, and a few other nuances, this is something that can keep a table full of adults as well as kids interested.  It was just the wife and I tonight, and tonight she came out the victor. (SEE?!  It does happen on occasion..)