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www lodibet.com MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler will not play in the final two games of Miami’s ongoing road trip while recovering from illness, the team said Friday. That means Butler will not play Saturday at Atlanta or Sunday at Houston. The earliest he could play again is Wednesday at home against New Orleans. Butler hasn’t played since the first quarter of Miami’s Dec. 20 game against Oklahoma City, when he twisted an ankle, left the game and then was ruled out because of illness. Miami has played three games since without Butler, two because of the illness and then Thursday’s win in Orlando with him back in Miami conditioning for a return. He is not with the team on the road trip. The Heat said Thursday that they are not going to trade Butler, that announcement coming after ESPN, citing sources, said the six-time All-Star would prefer to be moved before the trade deadline on Feb. 6. Butler has not publicly expressed any desire to be traded. He is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists this season. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

ROME (AP) — Robert Lewandowski joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players in Champions League history with 100 or more goals. But Erling Haaland is on a faster pace than anyone by boosting his total to 46 goals at age 24 on Tuesday. Still, Haaland's brace wasn't enough for Manchester City in a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord that extended the Premier League champion's winless streak to six matches. Lewandowski’s early penalty kick started Barcelona off to a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Brest to move into second place in the new single-league format. The Poland striker added goal No. 101 in second-half stoppage time. Ronaldo leads the all-time scoring list with 140 goals and Messi is next with 129. But neither Ronaldo nor Messi play in the Champions League anymore following moves to Saudi Arabia and the United States, respectively. The 36-year-old Lewandowski required 125 matches to reach the century mark, two more than Messi (123) and 12 fewer than Ronaldo (137). Barcelona also got a second-half score from Dani Olmo. The top eight finishers in the standings advance directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into a knockout playoffs round in February, while the bottom 12 teams are eliminated. Haaland has 46 goals in 44 games Haaland converted a first-half penalty to eclipse Messi as the youngest player to reach 45 goals then scored City's third after the break to raise his total to 46 goals in 44 games. Ilkay Gundogan had City's second. But then Feyenoord struck back with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Gimenez and David Hancko. Inter leads standings and hasn't conceded a goal Inter Milan beat Leipzig 1-0 with an own goal to move atop the standings with 13 points, one more than Barcelona and Liverpool, which faces Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Serie A champion is the only club that hasn't conceded a goal. Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 — the same score from the 2020 final between the two teams. PSG ended with 10 men and remained in the elimination zone. The French powerhouse has struggled in Europe after Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid. Atalanta moved within two points of the lead with a 6-1 win at Young Boys. Also, Arsenal won 5-1 at Sporting Lisbon; and Bayer Leverkusen routed Salzburg 5-0. AC Milan follows up win over Real Madrid with another victory AC Milan followed up its win at Real Madrid with a 3-2 victory at last-place Slovan Bratislava in an early match. Christian Pulisic put the seven-time champion ahead midway through the first half by finishing off a counterattack. Then Rafael Leao restored the Rossoneri’s advantage after Tigran Barseghyan had equalized for Bratislava and Tammy Abraham quickly added another. Nino Marcelli scored with a long-range strike in the 88th for Bratislava, which ended with 10 men. Bratislava has lost all five of its matches. Alvarez and Griezmann lead Atletico to 6-0 rout Argentina World Cup winner Julian Alvarez scored twice and Atletico Madrid routed Sparta Prague 6-0 in the other early game. Alvarez scored with a free kick 15 minutes in and Marcos Llorente added a long-range strike before the break. Alvarez finished off a counterattack early in the second half after being set up by substitute Antoine Griezmann, who then marked his 100th Champions League game by getting on the scoresheet himself. Angel Correa added a late brace for Atletico, which earned its biggest away win in Europe. Atletico beat Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round and extended its winning streak across all competitions to six matches. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerMeo, Battle net 13 to help Coastal Carolina down South Carolina Upstate 73-51

Spacefaring countries have for decades been sending thousands upon thousands of satellites and other objects into orbit, where they have become an integral component of modern society. From hundreds of miles above Earth, satellites can help scientists make observations about our planet and the surrounding universe, or even provide us access to television and entertainment. But what happens when those aging satellites become defunct and are no longer active? Well, many of those objects - or fragments of them - are still there, languishing above Earth in an ever-expanding space junkyard. Because they're expensive to remove, retired satellites are often left in a low-Earth orbit, where their presence poses a growing threat to both future satellite launches and crewed space missions, according to NASA . Just this November, an incoming piece of space junk prompted the International Space Station to take action to maneuver itself out of harm's way. A Russian cargo ship docked at the space station fired its thrusters for more than five minutes to "provide an extra margin of distance" for the hunk of debris, NASA said. While the inbound object, which was debris from a defunct meteorological satellite, was not necessarily on a collision course with the station, NASA said the evasive maneuver provided a little more cushion for it to safely whizz by. All of this debris floating around in space could lead to a theoretical scenario known as the Kessler Syndrome . Here's what to know about space junk, why it's a problem and what's being done about it. What is space junk? Also called space debris, space junk is comprised of non-operational satellites and other human-made objects that continue to hurtle around Earth's orbit long after they served their purpose. Spacecrafts, spent rocket boosters and even astronauts' lost tool bags can combine with old satellites to create a halo of orbital debris that lasts for decades. Since the dawn of the space age in the 1950s, humankind has launched around 50,000 tons of material into, according to the ESA , which cited data from the U.S Space Surveillance Network. The total mass of all space objects in orbit is estimated to be more than 13,000 tons as of September 2024. And of the 19,590 satellites launched into space since 1957, 13,230 of them - 10,200 of which remain operational - continue to whiz around in space at high speeds as of September, the space agency says . And the pace of satellite launches is quickening. Why is space junk a problem? The risk of all these new objects firing off into space? When combined with all of the satellites that have been there for decades, the ESA warns that the rising threat of collisions puts humanity's future in space into question. In a 2009 incident, two satellites crashed into one another over Siberia. Not only were both satellites - one of which was still active - destroyed, but the collision created a whole bunch more debris in the process, according to a report at the time from the American Scientist . Up until December 2022, the International Space Station had moved out of the way of space junk 32 times since 1999, according to a 2022 quarterly report from NASA. By October 2023, that figure had jumped to 37 orbital debris avoidance maneuvers, including two in August of that year alone. When the ISS maneuvered away from space debris in November this year, it marked its 39th Pre-Determined Avoidance Maneuver. It's also not uncommon for some of those objects to crash back into Earth, scientists say. Earlier this year, a family in Naples, Florida, filed a claim against NASA for more than $80,000 in damages to their home after a chunk of space debris from the International Space Station tore through their roof. What is the Kessler Syndrome? All of this adds up to the likelihood, the ESA warns, that a theoretical scenario known as the Kessler Syndrome could become reality: That left unchecked, the multiplying detritus and subsequent cascade of collisions could make Earth's orbit unusable for space travel. “We are seeing a dramatically increased use of space, but still insufficient technology to prevent the risks that follow," Holger Krag, ESA's head of Space Safety , said in a statement last year. What are NASA, ESA, others doing about space debris? The movement to crack down on the hazardous debris whizzing through outer space has seemed to strengthen in recent years. Many scientists have for years sounded the alarm about Earth's rapidly overcrowding orbit, but now the European Space Agency, NASA and other organizations across the globe are beginning to take more concrete action. Last year, ESA adopted the Zero Debris Charter , which seeks a global commitment to nearly eradicate so-called space junk by 2030. “As space infrastructure has become the backbone of our modern society, the proliferation of space debris is threatening our way of life," Director General Josef Aschbacher said in a statement a the time. "Now is the time to act as a community to channel our collective efforts." In the United States, NASA has its own Orbital Debris Program based in Houston, Texas tasked with creating less orbital debris and designing equipment to track and remove space junk. A previous version of this story published in November 2023. Contributing: Max Hauptman, USA TODAY Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.comCHICAGO — With a wave of her bangled brown fingertips to the melody of flutes and chimes, artist, theologian and academic Tricia Hersey enchanted a crowd into a dreamlike state of rest at Semicolon Books on North Michigan Avenue. “The systems can’t have you,” Hersey said into the microphone, reading mantras while leading the crowd in a group daydreaming exercise on a recent Tuesday night. The South Side native tackles many of society’s ills — racism, patriarchy, aggressive capitalism and ableism — through an undervalued yet impactful action: rest. Hersey, the founder of a movement called the Nap Ministry, dubs herself the Nap Bishop and spreads her message to over half a million followers on her Instagram account, @thenapministry . Her first book, “Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto,” became a New York Times bestseller in 2022, but Hersey has been talking about rest online and through her art for nearly a decade. Hersey, who has degrees in public health and divinity, originated the “rest as resistance” and “rest as reparations” frameworks after experimenting with rest as an exhausted graduate student in seminary. Once she started napping, she felt happier and her grades improved. But she also felt more connected to her ancestors; her work was informed by the cultural trauma of slavery that she was studying as an archivist. Hersey described the transformation as “life-changing.” The Nap Ministry began as performance art in 2017, with a small installation where 40 people joined Hersey in a collective nap. Since then, her message has morphed into multiple mediums and forms. Hersey, who now lives in Atlanta, has hosted over 100 collective naps, given lectures and facilitated meditations across the country. She’s even led a rest ritual in the bedroom of Jane Addams , and encourages her followers to dial in at her “Rest Hotline.” At Semicolon, some of those followers and newcomers came out to see Hersey in discussion with journalist Natalie Moore on Hersey’s latest book, “We Will Rest! The Art of Escape,” released this month, and to learn what it means to take a moment to rest in community. Moore recalled a time when she was trying to get ahead of chores on a weeknight. “I was like, ‘If I do this, then I’ll have less to do tomorrow.’ But then I was really tired,” Moore said. “I thought, ‘What would my Nap Bishop say? She would say go lay down.’ Tricia is in my head a lot.” At the event, Al Kelly, 33, of Rogers Park, said some of those seated in the crowd of mostly Black women woke up in tears — possibly because, for the first time, someone permitted them to rest. “It was so emotional and allowed me to think creatively about things that I want to work on and achieve,” Kelly said. Shortly after the program, Juliette Viassy, 33, a program manager who lives in the South Loop and is new to Hersey’s work, said this was her first time meditating after never being able to do it on her own. Therapist Lyndsei Howze, 33, of Printers Row, who was also seated at the book talk, said she recommends Hersey’s work “to everybody who will listen” — from her clients to her own friends. “A lot of mental health conditions come from lack of rest,” she said. “They come from exhaustion.” Before discovering Hersey’s work this spring, Howze said she and her friends sporadically napped together in one friend’s apartment after an exhausting workweek. “It felt so good just to rest in community,” she said. On Hersey’s book tour, she is leading exercises like this across the country. “I think we need to collectively do this,” Hersey explained. “We need to learn again how to daydream because we’ve been told not to do it. I don’t think most people even have a daydreaming practice.” Daydreaming, Hersey said, allows people to imagine a new world. Hersey tells her followers that yes, you can rest, even when your agenda is packed, even between caregiving, commuting, jobs, bills, emails and other daily demands. And you don’t have to do it alone. There is a community of escape artists, she said of the people who opt out of grind and hustle culture, waiting to embrace you. The book is part pocket prayer book, part instruction manual, with art and handmade typography by San Francisco-based artist George McCalman inspired by 19th-century abolitionist pamphlets, urging readers to reclaim their divine right to rest. Hersey directs her readers like an operative with instructions for a classified mission. “Let grind culture know you are not playing around,” she wrote in her book. “This is not a game or time to shrink. Your thriving depends on the art of escape.” The reluctance to rest can be rooted in capitalist culture presenting rest as a reward for productivity instead of a physical and mental necessity. Hersey deconstructs this idea of grind culture, which she says is rooted in the combined effects of white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism that “look at the body as not human.” American culture encourages grind culture, Hersey said, but slowing down and building a ritual of rest can offset its toxicity. The author eschews the ballooning billion-dollar self-care industry that encourages people to “save enough money and time off from work to fly away to an expensive retreat,” she wrote. Instead, she says rest can happen anywhere you have a place to be comfortable: in nature, on a yoga mat, in the car between shifts, on a cozy couch after work. Resting isn’t just napping either. She praises long showers, sipping warm tea, playing music, praying or numerous other relaxing activities that slow down the body. “We’re in a crisis mode of deep sleep deprivation, deep lack of self-worth, (and) mental health,” said Hersey. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2022 , in Illinois about 37% of adults aren’t getting the rest they need at night. If ignored, the effects of sleep deprivation can have bigger implications later, Hersey said. In October, she lectured at a sleep conference at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, where her humanities work was featured alongside research from the world’s top neuroscientists. Jennifer Mundt, a Northwestern clinician and professor of sleep medicine, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, praises Hersey for bringing the issue of sleep and rest to the public. In a Tribune op-ed last year, Mundt argued that our culture focuses too heavily on sleep as something that must be earned rather than a vital aspect of health and that linking sleep to productivity is harmful and stigmatizing. “Linking sleep and productivity is harmful because it overshadows the bevy of other reasons to prioritize sleep as an essential component of health,” Mundt wrote. “It also stigmatizes groups that are affected by sleep disparities and certain chronic sleep disorders.” In a 30-year longitudinal study released in the spring by the New York University School of Social Work, people who worked long hours and late shifts reported the lowest sleep quality and lowest physical and mental functions, and the highest likelihood of reporting poor health and depression at age 50. The study also showed that Black men and women with limited education “were more likely than others to shoulder the harmful links between nonstandard work schedules and sleep and health, worsening their probability of maintaining and nurturing their health as they approach middle adulthood.” The CDC links sleeping fewer than seven hours a day to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and more. Although the Nap Ministry movement is new for her followers, Hersey’s written about her family’s practice of prioritizing rest, which informs her work. Her dad was a community organizer, a yardmaster for the Union Pacific Railroad Co. and an assistant pastor. Before long hours of work, he would dedicate hours each day to self-care. Hersey also grew up observing her grandma meditate for 30 minutes daily. Through rest, Hersey said she honors her ancestors who were enslaved and confronts generational trauma. When “Rest Is Resistance” was released in 2022, Americans were navigating a pandemic and conversations on glaring racial disparities. “We Will Rest!” comes on the heels of a historic presidential election where Black women fundraised for Vice President Kamala Harris and registered voters in a dizzying three-month campaign. Following Harris’ defeat, many of those women are finding self-care and preservation even more important. “There are a lot of Black women announcing how exhausted they are,” Moore said. “This could be their entry point to get to know (Hersey’s) work, which is bigger than whatever political wind is blowing right now.” Hersey said Chicagoans can meet kindred spirits in her environment of rest. Haji Healing Salon, a wellness center, and the social justice-focused Free Street Theater are sites where Hersey honed her craft and found community. In the fall, the theater put on “Rest/Reposo,” a performance featuring a community naptime outdoors in McKinley Park and in its Back of the Yards space. Haji is also an apothecary and hosts community healing activities, sound meditations and yoga classes. “It is in Bronzeville; it’s a beautiful space owned by my friend Aya,” Hersey said, explaining how her community has helped her build the Nap Ministry. “When I first started the Nap Ministry, before I was even understanding what it was, she was like, come do your work here.” “We Will Rest!” is a collection of poems, drawings and short passages. In contrast to her first book, Hersey said she leaned more into her artistic background; the art process alone took 18 months to complete. After a tough year for many, she considers it medicine for a “sick and exhausted” world. “It’s its own sacred document,” Hersey said. “It’s something that, if you have it in your library and you have it with you, you may feel more human.” lazu@chicagotribune.comNorth Carolina fired Mack Brown on Tuesday, setting in motion a coaching carousel that has been lacking movement at the power conference level. While the American Athletic Conference already has a half-dozen coaching changes in progress, and CBS Sports insiders expect a robust market for power conference coordinators and assistants, the apparent cooling of multiple hot seats over the past month suggests a quiet year for change at major programs. But North Carolina moving on from Brown puts the program in an unfamiliar position. For the first time in the modern era, the national coaching carousel runs through Chapel Hill. This is not a school that has ever held all the cards when it comes to football searches. Thanks to the work of Brown's second stint, however, North Carolina football is as healthy and attractive a job as it has been in decades. Brown raised the floor, ushered the fan base and donors into the NIL era, and repaired relationships throughout the state that had become fractured during previous tenures. He will end the "Mack 2.0" era with six consecutive bowl-eligible seasons, an ACC runner-up finish in 2022, and an Orange Bowl appearance in 2020. In comparison, previous North Carolina football hires have inherited: A program that won just five games combined across 2017-18 A program in the midst of NCAA scandal with sanctions on the way A program that had gone 27-45 across six seasons with just two bowl appearances A program that had lost its footing from the highs of the Mack Brown 1.0 era -- 1999 was its first losing season since 1989. Every coach hired since Brown's exit (which led to the promotion of defensive coordinator Carl Torbush) was tasked with fixing major issues within the program. By moving on from Mack Brown in the 2024-25 offseason, North Carolina is hitting the coach market in the best condition it has been in during the modern era. North Carolina may be doing so with less competition than it has ever faced--or may ever face--in the coaching carousel marketplace. It has been suggested that many hot-seat situations cooled in recent weeks because of the upcoming House ruling and the uncertain financial future of revenue sharing. That may be the case, and if so, North Carolina is taking a calculated risk. If the school had let Brown's tenure extend into 2025 only to make this same move next season, perhaps more clarity about the financials of college sports would have made schools less hesitant to fire their coaches. If North Carolina entered the marketplace in 2025, it could have been competing with multiple SEC programs for top candidates. Brown's Hall of Fame career in perspective Tulane's Jon Sumrall could be best candidate for UNC Why Dennis Dodd says today was another case of Brown being done wrong UNC alum Chip Patterson says Tar Heels in rare spot (in rare time, too) The North Carolina job is a strong position that would attract interest from top candidates. Top SEC coordinators and rising coaches were all mentioned as potential targets before Butch Davis was hired in 2006, but questions remain about the actual candidacy of those individuals given the timeline of the coaching change. John Bunting was fired midseason and allowed to finish the year, while Davis, who was not coaching at the time, was announced as the next coach on Nov. 13, 2006. Now, athletic director Bubba Cunningham and the university leadership get to hold a proper search, within a normal timeframe, with a job to offer that is as attractive as it has been in decades -- and, for now, the best available job in the country. That's an enormous opportunity and a pivot point for the school. Coaches often talk about building programs by following a progression: "lose big, then lose small, then win small, and finally win big." Outsiders often discuss the potential of North Carolina football, citing the rising level of talent in the state, the school's national brand, and a passionate fan base familiar with celebrating big wins in other sports. The reality, however, is that most of the Tar Heels' coaching hires in the modern era have been restoration jobs to bring the program back to its historical average -- winning about 55% of its games. The expectation, based on 120-plus years of North Carolina football, has been to win more games than you lose and, once every four to five years, produce a team that contends for conference championships and a top-25 finish. If North Carolina wants more than that, this is an opportunity to bring in a qualified candidate who doesn't have to start over with the "lose big" or "lose small" stages of building a successful program. Thanks to the work of Mack Brown's second tenure, North Carolina football doesn't need to be rebuilt to its historical 55% average--because that's where the next head coach will begin. Considering the health of the program and the apparent lack of competition, there is no excuse for North Carolina not to make a great hire who can lead the team into a new era of college athletics. That's the calculated risk North Carolina is taking by making a change while others wait for things to settle. This is a job that hasn't been the best available before and might not be again.

In her new book, “We Will Rest! The Art of Escape,” the author and academic says you too can flee the toxic grind culture.France celebrated the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral on Saturday at a special church service that featured a standing ovation for the firefighters who saved the 12th-century landmark from destruction during a 2019 blaze. A two-hour service attended by incoming US president Donald Trump among other world leaders began with the archbishop of Paris knocking on the doors of the cathedral three times. "Notre Dame, model of faith, open your doors to bring together the far-flung children of God in joy," archbishop Laurent Ulrich commanded, banging with a wooden staff crafted from a roof beam that survived the inferno five years ago. Trump could be seen sitting on the front row as guest of honour next to French President Emmanuel Macron, with invitees marvelling at the freshly cleaned walls, new furniture and state-of-the-art lighting installed as part of the overhaul. In a short speech, Macron expressed the "gratitude of the French nation" for the restoration work, achieved at frenzied speed over the last five years. France had "rediscovered what great nations can do -- achieve the impossible", he said. One of the most moving moments came when firefighters in their protective gear walked through the congregation to thunderous applause as the word "Merci" ("Thank you") was beamed on the intricate facade and famous belltowers of the Gothic masterpiece. Small crowds of Parisians and tourists braved wet weather and high winds outside to witness the renaissance of a monument, which came close to collapsing due to the intensity of the inferno that toppled its roof and spire. "I find it really beautiful, even more so now that the spire has been restored," Marie Jean, a 27-year-old dentist from southwest France, told AFP outside. The reconstruction effort cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the re-opening achieved within a five-year deadline despite predictions it could take decades. Workers had to overcome problems with lead pollution, the Covid-19 epidemic, and the army general overseeing the project falling to his death while hiking in the Pyrenees last year. Saturday's service featured classical music, the cathedral's choir as well as the "re-awakening" of the 8,000-pipe organ which is considered the voice and soul of the cathedral. A televised public concert planned outside featuring Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang and possibly US singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams had to be pre-recorded on Friday night because of the stormy weather. Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by Macron, Notre Dame's renaissance so soon after the fire comes at a difficult time for the country. The sense of national accomplishment in restoring a symbol of Paris has been undercut by political turmoil that has left France without a proper government since last week when prime minister Michel Barnier lost a confidence vote. Macron is hoping the re-opening might provide a fleeting sense of national pride and unity -- as the Paris Olympics did in July and August. He scored a major coup by attracting Trump along with around 40 heads of state and government, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who was given a round of applause as he entered Notre Dame. Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the presidential palace shortly before the ceremony, with future US military support for Ukraine's war effort against Russia's invasion expected to have been discussed. Trump has vowed to end the nearly three-year Ukraine war when he takes office on January 20, sparking fears in Kyiv that he will force Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia. "It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that," Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for talks with Macron. One surprising absentee on Saturday was Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church. He sent a message addressed to the French people and weighed into a row about whether the place of worship and tourist attraction should remain free to enter. The "immense" numbers set to visit Notre Dame should be welcomed "generously and free of charge", he said, clearly opposing a proposition from the French culture ministry to charge for entry. The exact cause of the 2019 blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an accident such as an electrical fault was the most likely reason. On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 Paris priests will take place at 10:30 am (0930 GMT), followed by a second service in the evening at 6:30 pm which will be open to the public. adp-sjw/jj

Dear Eric: We live on a lake and love hosting our great-nieces and nephews on school breaks and the entire family on vacations. My husband and I have no children. Our niece’s families are dear to us. Our 11-year-old great-nephew has been gaming now for about a year. When he comes to visit, instead of reading or playing cards or board games with us, he wants to disappear with his video games. We feel vacated. How do we navigate this with his parents who think his being on a video gaming team at school is awesome and I think it is a bad omen? What is a fair place of compromise and balance? — Game Off Dear Game Off: Let his parents parent their child. The other night I re-watched the movie “Network” from 1977. In it, a character in his 60s dismisses a character played by Faye Dunaway by saying, “She’s the television generation. She learned life from Bugs Bunny. The only reality she knows is what comes to her over her TV set.” Every generation has anxieties about the ways that technology is changing social interactions or altering the minds of the generations below. While some of those concerns are valid, those of Faye Dunaway’s generation (now in their 70s and 80s) would argue that they’ve managed to stay quite well-rounded, despite TV. In moderation, video games have been shown to improve a child’s cognitive function and working memory. While your great-nephew’s gaming might not be your choice, it’s important that you not seek to undermine the research and thinking that his parents have done about it. What you’re really yearning for is a sense of togetherness as a family, so try talking to your niece and her spouse about group activities you can plan to meet your great-nephew where he is. Dear Eric: I eat at a local restaurant a couple times a week and tend to get one of three meals. This one waitress asks me what I want to eat, but then interrupts me to make guesses or tell me my choice. I just put my head down and nod yes or no to the guesses. It’s frustrating, but not life-threatening. She enjoys it. I hate it. However, if I were to say something, it would force her to make the choice of being herself, doing something she likes doing, or appeasing me so I can order the way I want to order. I don’t know if this is a big enough problem to have a “high road.” The answer will not change my life. She can easily change, and I can easily suffer. The question is who gets to be themselves? — Speaking Up Dear Speaking Up: I worked in the service industry for more than a decade. I loved it. I loved seeing regulars, meeting new people and carrying a lot of beverages in my hands at one time. The whole bit. I also loved knowing what people wanted, but I would always ask and confirm. That’s part of the job. She may think you’re a regular who likes to be known in this way. So, informing her that that’s not the case won’t be keeping her from being herself. It will be helping her to do her job better. You may not have the kind of temperament that easily or comfortably course-corrects in social situations. That’s just fine. But know you won’t be causing her suffering by saying something like, “I’ve already decided on my meal. Let’s skip the guessing today and I’ll just tell you.” This also clears the path for the two of you to talk about something else, if you want. Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com . Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!

ASML Deadline: ASML Investors with Losses in Excess of $100K Have Opportunity to Lead ASML Holding N.V. Securities Fraud LawsuitWhat happens when 'The Simpsons' join 'Monday Night Football'? Find out during Bengals-Cowboys

Smith scores 23 in Furman's 69-63 win against PrincetonAP Sports SummaryBrief at 3:45 p.m. EST