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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
If you were watching the Games, we were on the Big Screen at the business end of the Conference Room at Socotra House yesterday.
\nThere was a reason.<\/p>\n
Miles claimed he missed the production meeting due to an episode of sleep apnea. We suspect he was curled up in the Transient Suite on the 6th floor. Some of the mini-bottles from the Superaldn Distillery Delivery System were also missing.<\/p>\n
Even if he told us to lay off until after Easter.<\/p>\n
He showed up this morning with the lead graphic\u2014Olympic gold everywhere\u2014and Splash held up his tablet with another glowing image:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/022026-2.jpg\")
\nRocket put his index finger on the screen, tracing the arc of a missile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Games are well in progress,\u201d he said. \u201cGetty shot. Iran-Russia naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz. Twenty percent of the world\u2019s oil flows out of there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo the Russkies still have a Navy?\u201d asked Melissa, pursing her lips. \u201cI haven\u2019t heard much about it lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vic laughed. \u201cIt\u2019s a signal. They still have maritime capability. A lot of missiles and manpower are busy in Ukraine, though. Long-term demographics are going to be brutal for both sides. That bill comes due eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides having the electrical grids fried and city centers blown out?\u201d asked Holly, frowning. \u201cThere are big changes coming we\u2019re not paying attention to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her grammar caused a pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike what?\u201d Keith asked, hunched over his oversized mug of Flat Yank coffee. His hair had grown long and fell across his forehead. He had been reviewing force deployments coming on station in the Mid-East.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe One-Child policy effects are just being felt,\u201d said Dierdre. \u201cChina\u2019s birthrate is down around 1.6. It takes 2.1 just to stay even.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d said Keith. \u201cOurs is below replacement, too. Next Census could show decline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChina faces a structural collapse inside a decade,\u201d Vic said, reclining in his FlexiSpot C7M. \u201cI\u2019m pleased I probably won\u2019t have to deal with it. I am concerned we only have two product references in The Daily this morning\u2014and we haven\u2019t discussed the Supreme Court decision on tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump\u2019s had decent luck with them,\u201d Miles said firmly, reclaiming the meeting. \u201cBut they say he can\u2019t just whistle up tariffs like he did with Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ve come back to Canada again,\u201d said Splash. \u201cThat was a thrill yesterday\u2014overtime victory over them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t the only thrill on ice,\u201d Splash added, grinning. \u201cAlysa Liu was breathtaking. First U.S. figure skating gold in two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t the only gold on display,\u201d said Melissa, shaking her curls. \u201cCaptain Hilary Knight proposed to speed skater Brittany Bowe the night before the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGold?\u201d asked Keith.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was gold yesterday,\u201d Melissa said. \u201cMedals. Rings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd oil routes,\u201d Rocket added quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd missile exhaust,\u201d said Vic.<\/p>\n
The room went still for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may not be at war with Iran until Monday,\u201d Miles said evenly. \u201cTwo carriers, a screen of destroyers, Raptors overhead, more en route. Full posture by mid-March.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we may get a good weekend,\u201d said Holly.<\/p>\n
There was general nodding around the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrittany skates today,\u201d Holly added. \u201cIt will be interesting if she medals to match her fianc\u00e9e.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe choice between war and romance used to be an easy one,\u201d Vic said.<\/p>\n
Dierdre smiled.<\/p>\n
Outside the window the afternoon light leaned toward gold.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra<\/p>\n
www.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you were watching the Games, we were on the Big Screen at the business end of the Conference Room at Socotra House yesterday. There was a reason. Miles claimed he missed the production meeting due to an episode of sleep apnea. We suspect he was curled up in the Transient Suite on the 6th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32503"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32507,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32503\/revisions\/32507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}