RRR32: Clarity at the Chessboard, The Power of Original Thought, U.S. Energy Transition, Kawhi's Feel-Good Moment
♟🧠💭©⚡🏀🎯
Chess will really make you think about the power of attention — some days, the pieces play themselves:
Other days, ignorance begets more ignorance:
This is probably what I love the most about chess - it simply demands focus and a clear mind (even when you’re not playing).
If you go into a match, or study different parts of a game in the wrong headspace, you are mostly going to get bad results.
Since I started playing and studying much more frequently a couple months ago, I feel more focused even when I’m doing something unrelated to chess ♟️🧘🏻♂️💡.
Add me on chess.com if you want some easy wins :).
In Recent Times…
Thanks to instant information, we are living through an age of intellectual karaoke.
The voices may vary, but everyone is singing the same lyrics.
Maybe it’s always been this way to a more modest extent, when it actually took time for ideas to disseminate through channels with much less virality.
Maybe it’s much easier to notice now that the thoughts are so unnatural.
The tariff announcement last week was pretty intense… talk about an economic shock. With time, I imagine there will be a perfectly formed line of thinking as to why this sweeping policy was wise and strategic, and you will see the loudest voices on Twitter echoing it to perfection.
I’m already seeing words like “detox” and phrases like “sick patient” being used to describe the pre-"liberation” economy.
Sidebar comment — Liberation Day? “Gold Cards” for U.S. citizenship with Trump’s face on it? That’s to say nothing of the crypto grifting…
Society’s B.S. meter is completely broken, which worries me far more than even such drastic economic policy announcements. Policies can be rolled back quickly, whereas cultural rot takes time to break.
We’re living in confusing times — don’t be afraid to be unsure of what’s true (especially when there’s breaking / developing events), and try not to pre-order opinions that are cooked up by the same individuals.
The more you really dig into everything your favorite author, podcaster, or news anchor has to say, the more you realize they are right about some things and wrong about some things, just like the rest of us!
Also, if you do have your own opinion on something, let it rip! Just don’t be married to it when presented with new or better information (time usually gifts us this in spades).
Content Corner 📖🎙📺
Dave Smith & Douglas Murray on JRE
Dave and Douglas have been making the podcast rounds recently and admirably decided to sit down for an hours long debate on the Joe Rogan Experience.
I’m not choosing to share this for the specifics of what they get into (though it is interesting and worth listening to), but just to highlight the importance of two people getting into a room and sparring ideas.
The Wonder of Vietnam 💚🟢🌳🌴
One of my dreams in life is to find 3-6 months and go explore Asia — if I ever make it happen, I think I’ll need to dedicate at least a month to Vietnam.
The beautiful beaches, open pacific, lush greenery, and even the rainfall make Vietnam one of the most visually stunning places on earth.
Also as an FYI — this video pairs really well with a cup of hot lemon water while you get ready for a Friday afternoon nap 😂.
Fossil Fuel Reliance 📉📉
One of the obvious trends you see in the world is the clean energy revolution. There is a super-weird faction of folks who still talk about fossil fuels as if they’re the future, but they are powerless (🚫⚡) to stop this transition.
In the U.S, fossil fuels reportedly made up less than 50% of electricity generation for the first month on record in March.
In particular, solar is playing an increasing role in clean energy usage:
Solar power is set to account for more than half of new generating capacity installed in the US in 2025, with more than a third of new solar panels going to Texas. Solar’s rise has been extraordinary. Ten years ago, in March 2015, solar power accounted for just 1% of US electricity generation. By March 2025, this had grown to 9.2%.
Kawhi Leonard’s Resurgence
Kawhi Leonard is as close to a perfect basketball player as there is in the NBA. The size, ball handling, shooting, passing, offensive versatility + defensive versatility — he just has the most complete game of almost anyone I’ve ever seen.
Yet, the basketball world has strangely soured on him in recent years due to his struggles staying on the court.
“Struggles” might not even accurately describe the tumultuous injury history of Leonard — torn ACLs, torn meniscus’, chronic inflammation, thigh tendinopathy, you name it!
He missed the first 34 games of this years’ campaign, and it makes what he’s doing now even more impressive.
In the final fifteen games of this regular season, the Los Angeles Clippers have the number one ranked offense and the number three ranked defense in large part to the brilliance of Leonard on both ends.
Yesterday, I had the lazy Sunday of a lifetime — after a great morning workout, I got to kick back on the sofa with a plate of nachos and watch (potentially) the best game of this NBA season featuring the surging Clippers and the in-form Warriors.
Mr. Leonard wasn’t the only protagonist on the floor — Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac (who might all of a sudden be a top-5 center in basketball) all had incredible showings.
Yet, it seemed like the presence and timeliness of Leonard made the difference in the game. Every time the Clippers needed a basket, he seemed to come up big, including just some ridiculous tough shot making against one of the best defensive units in the league.
The three at 0:43, the drive and dunk at 1:13, the off the dribble three at 1:53, all culminating in the nastiest bucket of the night at 3:23 where he makes Podziemski and Draymond Green each look foolish before sticking a pure jumper from 22 feet out.
Leonard finished the night with 13 makes on 20 attempts — just a ridiculous accuracy especially when you consider the profile of shots he was taking.
Anyways, it may be the case the Leonard will again fail to get through an entire postseason run in good health, but no matter what happens I am thankful for the opportunity to watch him at the peak of his powers one more time.
The Clippers will face off against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, game 1 is on April 19th.