Good morning. We’re at the middle of the first week of the new year already. Time flies when you’re having fun.
Does anyone else’s brain feel flabby and slow after the holiday? It wasn’t like I over indulged or anything. I mean, maybe I ate a few more processed carbs than usual, but I kept to my exercise schedule, generally, and I don’t drink.
I can’t for the life of me figure out why I feel so out of it, other than the fact that I just wasn’t as mentally engaged as I am when I’m working. I know breaks can be good for you – recharging and all that.
But, honestly? I needed a break from the break. It’s going to take a solid week of back in the saddle for the brain to feel anything close to fit again.
A number of you reached out to express concern about and/or wonder at my screwy sleep schedule. Several people had suggestions in terms of what I might try to ameliorate the situation. (FWIW, I have tried THC and also CBD…sometimes that works, but not always).
Also, I was reminded of the research out there regarding the “myth” of needing a solid eight hours of sleep, which is definitely NOT the schedule to which I hew. In fact, it is entirely possible to break your sleep cycles into chunks and still emerge well rested.
Focusing too much on whether you’re sleeping through the night uninterrupted – and truly, if you do that, you must be some sort of superhuman without kids or dogs or a bladder – actually can be counter productive, as it makes you stressed and thus less likely to be able to relax and, well, sleep.
One of the things I do when I can’t sleep is read. It is recommended that you don’t lie on your back and stare at the ceiling fretting about why you’re not sleeping.
Distraction is good, especially when it comes in the form of a book – though perhaps choosing something on the less stimulative side might be wise. Maybe history? Or nature?
I have always been a big reader. I used to read in the shower, which drove my mother bananas. I like audio books as an alternative – like when I’m driving or running. I have also always been fascinated by alternative forms of print, including Braille – a reading and writing system for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Braille, according to the Oxford dictionary, is “a form of written language for blind people, in which characters are represented by patterns of raised dots that are felt with the fingertips.”
An overview: Braille is built on a component rectangular “cell” of six dots that are arranged in two vertical columns of three dots, and each arrangement represents a different letter or number. All told, 63 different dot combinations are used to form the alphabet, numbers, punctuation marks and abbreviations.
Braille was created by a Frenchman named Louis Braille, who lost his sight after a childhood accident that lead to an infection in his eyes. He developed the code in 1824 at the tender age of 15, and based it on the French alphabet. This system was not widely accepted until after Louis Braille’s death, but it is now used around the world and in many different languages.
There are many forms of braille. The most popular is Grade 2, which uses the alphabet as well as abbreviations and contractions. (Grade 1 is more simplistic – basically the alphabet, numbers, and punctuation).
At first, braille had to be written by hand, using a stylus. Also, since the dots are impressions punched into paper from the back side to ensure an individual can feel them with their fingers on the surface, the writing had to be done backwards (I mean, in terms of English) – from right to left instead of left to right.
In 1851 came the invention of the Perkins Brailler, a sort of typewriter commonly used to write braille. It has six keys representing each one of the six braille dots. The Perkins Brailler is still in use today, but computer technology has made things a lot easier.
I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that today is World Braille Day, commemorating the birth of Louis Braille on Jan. 4, 1809. The day was created in 2019 by the UN General Assembly and serves as the commencement event for Braille Literacy Month.
Rain, rain and more rain in the forecast, though it won’t be starting until later today. Temperatures will be in the mid-40s.
In the headlines…
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy lost his bid for the speakership on the first round of voting yesterday – and shortly thereafter, he lost a second ballot and a third.
Ballots will continue until someone gets a majority of votes, but it’s unclear how long that will take. The House can’t start regular business until a speaker is elected. The House adjourned until noon today after hitting a stalemate.
Nineteen House Republicans voted against McCarthy during the first ballot, denying the GOP nominee the gavel and forcing members to hold another vote for the top spot.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol questioning why McCarthy was already inhabiting the Speaker’s office amid an intraparty battle over the House’s top leadership position.
McCarthy vowed not to back down until he secures the post, forcing multiple votes if necessary until he wins and raising the prospect of a grueling stretch of votes that could go on for days.
New York’s 26 House members — including eight new freshmen — voted along party lines in the historic vote for the next speaker of the chamber that resulted in the first nominee in 100 years to lose the initial vote for the powerful position.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden will not “insert himself” in the Speakership elections.
House Democrats formally elevated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York to be their leader, uniting around a liberal lawyer and disciplined political tactician as the face of their opposition to the new Republican majority.
Embattled Rep.-elect George Santos cast his vote in support of McCarthy for Speaker. A jeer was heard shortly after he cast his vote, apparently from the Democratic side. It is not clear who yelled or what was shouted.
“It saddens me that after 30 years of public service rooted in hard work and service to the people of this area, I’m being succeeded by a con man,” ex-Long Island Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi wrote in the New York Times of his successor, Santos.
“I know from my experience as a mayor of my hometown, as a county executive and as a member of Congress that you cannot get things done without building trust with your colleagues,” Suozzi said. “How can Mr. Santos be trusted? How could he be effective?”
Santos admitted to stealing a man’s checkbook that was in his mother’s possession to purchase clothing and shoes in 2008, according to documents obtained by CNN.
Biden administration aides are confident that the president, by focusing on governing and working in a bipartisan manner, is delivering what the public wants — and that Republicans, as long as they’re continually bogged down by intra-party fights, are not.
Biden will welcome Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to the White House on Jan. 13, as Japan looks to bolster its defense capabilities amid North Korean missile tests and Chinese military drills that have stoked concern across the Pacific.
Biden plans to renominate former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to be ambassador to India and attempt to fill other key vacancies — one of the White House’s first moves to try to capitalize on Democrats’ expanded Senate majority.
The White House intends to renominate dozens of presidential selections who failed to win confirmation from the Senate last year after the new one convenes, including judicial nominees and high-profile picks.
Biden renominated a number of stalled picks for a slate of federal posts including nominees to head the IRA, Federal Aviation Administration, ambassador to India and a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) member, the White House said.
If they play their cards right over the next two years, Democrats may get as many judges on the federal bench as Republicans did during former President Donald Trump’s term.
The Senate’s top two Democrats say they will continue their push to fill vacancies in 2023, but activists warn that under current rules, it will be hard to keep up the pace.
A disclosure that hundreds of members of the far-right Oath Keepers militia may have worked in the Homeland Security Department demands answers from the anti-terrorism agency, Rep. Ritchie Torres said.
Companies including investment giant Vanguard Group, workplace tech company Paycom Software and others have sent directives to employees recently, urging workers to follow existing hybrid schedules or to come into the office on additional days in 2023.
Valneva’s plans to establish its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster to Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty have taken a blow, with a clinical trial of the shot eliciting “only a marginally increased neutralizing antibody response.”
Beijing has criticized recently imposed testing requirements on passengers from China and threatened countermeasures against countries involved.
The New Zealand government said it would not require travelers from China to produce a negative COVID-19 test, bucking a trend that has seen a number of nations implement such measures as cases surge in China.
New state laws aim to crack down on the historic wave of fraud that robbed New Yorkers of billions in pandemic aid and stole millions from countless people tangled in COVID-19 schemes.
Abortion pills can now be provided by retail pharmacies, the Food and Drug Administration declared. Pharmacies still must complete a certification process before filling prescriptions for mifepristone.
Under the new F.D.A. rules, patients will still need a prescription from a certified health care provider, but any pharmacy that agrees to accept those prescriptions and abide by certain other criteria can dispense the pills in its stores and by mail order.
Nearly two weeks after he was released by a Manhattan judge on a $250 million bond, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency executive, returned to New York to plead not guilty to charges he engaged in widespread fraud and other crimes.
The 30-year-old entered a plea of not guilty to two counts of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy, including conspiring to launder money and violating campaign finance laws.
Records recently made public have revealed that Bankman-Fried met with senior Biden administration officials in the White House on four occasions over the course of 2022, including a just-disclosed visit on Sept. 9.
Supporters of Hector LaSalle’s nomination are pushing for a confirmation hearing amid opposition to his elevation to chief judge in New York. Democrats say they’ll hold one, but doubt it could make much difference.
Amid mounting pushback from her fellow Democrats, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pick received some unexpected support from across the aisle as Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said that LaSalle should be given a fair shot.
The designation of the area around Penn Station as “blighted” gives Hochul authority to transform the Manhattan neighborhood and build 10 skyscrapers there. A lawsuit is challenging her claim.
New York officials are being urged by a top doctors’ organization to address burnout among physicians amid broader health care shortages across the state.
Good-government organizations praised the restoration of oversight powers for the state comptroller’s office which have been seen as a key safeguard against public corruption in New York.
Republican Lester Chang was sworn in yesterday as a member of the New York Assembly despite ongoing residency concerns that could give the Democratic supermajority the pretext they need to block him from taking the Brooklyn seat he won weeks ago.
State regulators should exercise stronger oversight of New York’s utilities after ratepayers were slammed with higher energy costs last winter, a report released by the state Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee found.
The operators awarded licenses to run any of the three New York City-area casinos will have to pay the state at least a $500 million fee for the chance at rolling the dice, according to new rules approved by a state siting board.
Hochul has struck down a bill that would have prohibited new school construction within 500 feet of highways to reduce student exposure to harmful car exhaust — delivering a win to the Adams administration, which had pushed back against it.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the migrant crisis that he says is overwhelming the Big Apple a “real embarrassment” on a national level as he claimed that there is “no more room at the inn” in the self-described sanctuary city.
There’s “no more room at the inn,” Adams said after word that Colorado plans to ship migrants to New York City and Chicago.
Adams kicked off his second year in office by airing out a litany of grievances — against the federal government, New York City newspapers and the “many people” who criticized his accomplishments in Albany in 2021.
For the second time in less than a year, a tenacious city Health Department inspector has ticketed the rat-hating mayor for failing to root out a rodent infestation at his Brooklyn rowhouse.
City Council leaders announced they will consider legislation to roll back a local law that stands in the way of Adams’ long-sought push to make a controversial Medicare plan the only cost-free health insurance option available for retired city workers.
Manhattan office leasing declined by nearly half in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, according to Colliers, striking an ominous note for the city’s office market as it enters a fourth year of the pandemic.
Mass subway shooter Frank James admitted he unleashed a wave of gunfire, smoke and horror on a Brooklyn train car in last year, wounding 10 people in a rush hour act of terrorism.
James faces a possible life sentence, but the judge said he would consider a shorter term, at which point a disagreement emerged between prosecutors and the defense as to the proper calculation of James’ estimated sentencing guidelines.
Robert Mijuca, a partner in the Brooklyn firm of Rubenstein and Rynecki, said he was escorted out of the Garden by security while he was watching a Rangers game against the Ottawa Senators with his brother-in-law on Dec. 2.
New York in the last two years has seen sharp declines in its population, losing more than 400,000 people in that time and now nearly leads the country in residents moving to other states.
A state judge last month temporarily blocked the State Liquor Authority from enforcing a new price cap on what wine and spirits wholesalers may charge for what’s known as a split-case fee.
The Golden Arches at New York Thruway service stops are gone.
GlobalFoundries informed 221 employees at its Fab 8 computer chip factory and headquarters in Malta that they will lose their jobs in a company-wide layoff program that is impacting about 800 workers worldwide.
Different Drummer’s Kitchen Co./The Cook’s Resource is moving from its longtime home at Stuyvesant Plaza in Guilderland to Crossgates.
In a wrenching year for the city, the Bills offered a beloved distraction, until the horrifying collapse of their 24-year-old safety on Monday night.
Conversations are swirling about the health and safety of football players after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field after a tackle Monday night.
Hamlin’s uncle said that doctors were working to get his nephew breathing on his own without a ventilator. The Bills said in a statement that Hamlin remained in critical condition at the intensive care unit of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
