Sat Aug 30 2026

Sleep 0330 to 0730, 0830 to 1130 (7 hours)

• DS joined Discord last night. He's like a week or two from finishing his hike. Then he and Julie will drive around the country for a few weeks.
• DDO with just DW and I. Last night we did Search and Rescue which is the last Legendary that I don't have a Last Played record. Tonight we did Through the Tulgey Wood and One Dame Thing After Another which I haven't played since Nov 2022 and DW said he never played -- could be true I know I played them with DS on Heroic and probably with CSr.

Sun Aug 30 2026

Sleep 0230 to 0900 (6-1/2 hours)

• I decided to do MBP Time Machine backups to my Airport Time Capsule now that it has SMB 4 support. Even though the Airport is connected to the WiFi router via Ethernet Cat 5e cable (so it should be a 1000 Gb connection) the upload speed is about 8 MB per second. Several days ETA for the first backup (I excluded many folders that are either already backed up to the QNAP (i.e. TV and Music) or, for games, that I can easily reinstall to bring it down to about 850 GB to backup).

Mon Aug 31 2026

Sleep 0345 to 1215 (8-1/2 hours)

• Went to Kaiser San Mateo and got two vaccinations. Pretty easy process to both schedule and do the appointment.
• I do feel like I'm getting sick though but that's expected.

Tue Sep 01 2026

Sleep 0245 to 1045 (8 hours)

• Felt pretty down today up through going to sleep.
• Roger wants me to call project management company since I know about what's been going on with our current court yard testing. It's a logical decision but still sucks for me. I happened to be here therefore I spent two days helping therefore I know what's been going on so I'm the subject expert therefore I get more tasks. Actually I guess kind of like a normal job except I'm not getting paid. This is because our HOA manager had to take bereavement leave.

Wed Sep 02 2026

Sleep 0615 to 1415 (8 hours)

• Woke up and feel ok, though my shoulder still hurts (Tdap vaccine side-effect).
• QNAP. Finally tested all the drives. Now I can use the last slot for a 14TB drive and add mirroring to that storage pool.
• First Time Machine backup to my Airport Time Capsule finally finished. Good thing that if it's interrupted it'll continue from where it left off since it's backing up a snapshot not the current file system. I set it to daily since I expect incremental backups will take an hour or two. And then if I ever have to restore... But I will keep weekly backups on regular external hard drives.
• Anyway that first backup is 838.35 GB. With the Mac mini backups that still leaves 2 TB free on the Time Capsule drive. Once that HD drives I can finally retire the Time Capsule. Not sure if I'd move daily backups to QNAP -- it does have an option to set a share for Time Machine backups.

Thu Sep 03 2026

Sleep 0515 to 1145 (6-1/2 hours).

• Looking to see if QNAP has a wiki server I can install. App Center, their official "App Store" though it's not really a store but I guess just official QNAP apps and vetted 3rd party apps, doesn't have one. I did a search which pointed me to a Reddit thread which pointed me to a blog page, Configure MediaWiki on QNAP with Docker. MediaWiki is fairly heavyweight so not crazy about going that route, though I'm sure there is a module for the drawing tool that Wiki.js uses.

Fri Sep 04 2026

Sleep 0130 to 0830, 1330 to 1430 (8 hours)

• DDO. We did two Myth Drannor quests, leaving two left. Starting to get excited about reincarnating.

Now that everything is pretty much setup this is what I have:

QNAP NAS

• Storage 1: two 8-TB HDs in a RAID 1. Videos. 2.94 TB Used, 2.69 TB free. In general I tend to add 1 or 2 TB and then start trimming down as low as I can.

• Storage 2: two 2TB HDs in a RAID 1. System (QNAP applications) + Downloads (which I also use for temp work). Used 319 GB, free 1.04 TB.
• Storage 3: two 14-TB HDs in a RAID 1. Nemo VODs (for reference), TV app files (which means when I want to watch them I need to copy them back to the main drive), Music files mirror (backups since I still don't trust Music and it's cloud syncing / auto-categorization to not someday blow up my music collection), Software (less important nowadays). 7.82 TB used, 2.08 TB free. This storage had the standard 80% warning threshold which it hit so I raised it to 90%.

MacBook Pro M4 Pro

• Main drive: 285 GB used, 230 GB free.
• Attached SSD: 1.37 TB used, 2.64 TB free.

Offline Storage

• 4TB HD: Anna Cramling VODs (full)
• 4TB HD: BotezLive VODs (full)
• 6TB HD: more Anna Cramling VODs (a bit), more BotezLive VODs (2 TB), Miscellaneous VODs

Offline Storage (Backups)

• 14TB HD (iffy HD): Mirror Anna Cramling, Miscellaneous
• 14TB HD (iffy HD): Mirror BotezLive
• 18TB HD: Weekly backups MBP/Mac mini. Backup of QNAP Storage 1.
• 18TB HD: Monthly backups MBP/Mac mini. Backup of QNAP Storage 3.

In the end all my data has a backup. Even RAID data because RAID is not a backup solution. (Although ideally you want two backups so you can keep one set off site and rotate).

I have 2 spare 2TB HDs, 1 spare 8TB HD for the NAS. Also have 6+ 4TB HDs for use later (kind of hoping if I use the 2TBs regularly they'll die then I'll upgrade Storage 2 to two 4TB HDs).

If Storage 3 overflows I'll take the oldest 4 TB of Nemo VODs and offline storage them. Storage 2 I'd rather not move any of that to offline storage.

Mysterious Maze KS is the latest Deadlands supplement. $120 for the new stuff as physical product ($50 digital only).

The Mysterious Maze Source Book (180 pages, digest sized) - "everything you need to know about the locations, people, and events surrounding California and the shattered coastline now known as the Great Maze"

Curse of the Maze Queen (Boxed Set) - "adventure following the poker tournament of the century aboard a stately river boat in the perilous waters of the Maze. Whether the posse is there to play for the prize, protect it from low-down varmints, or take it for themselves the Maze Queen is the place to be!" Includes a plot point adventure, archetypes and NPC cards, pawns for enemies and maps of important locations, two double-sided foldout maps of the Maze Queen.

Red Tide (96 pages plot point campaign, digest sized) - "the bloody tale of the one-and-only Dracula's trip to the Weird West. He has the Twilight Legion in his sights, and it's going to take the best of the West and some serious luck to stop his evil plan!"

Weird West Pawns 3 - boxed set of cardboard standup counters useful for the material in this KS.

I was thinking I skipped the last Deadlands KS. But looking at their KS's I guess it was 30th Anniversary Celebration where I only bought the new edition of Deadlands RPG, and Deadlands Dark Ages which I totally skipped. I didn't mind Hell on Earth or Lost Colony as they're more sci-fi but historical stuff I'm less into.

So I will be backing this at $120 plus shipping.

Sat Aug 22 2026

Sleep 0215 to 0745, 1030 to 1315 (8-1/2 hours)

• Woke up early for termite inspectors who came by about 1000. Then I slept some more.

Sun Aug 23 2026

Sleep 0115 to 1015 (9 hours)

• D&D Session 37 at C3's house. Sophia is in Taiwan. CSr/CJr paid attention for a while then CSr went to take a nap and CJr played with Jonathan. DW and CW did most of today's gaming.

Mon Aug 24 2026

Sleep 0330 to 0815, 1215 to 1445 (7-1/4 hours)

• Foot feels like maybe gout is coming so taking Advil since this morning.

Tue Aug 25 2026

Sleep 0045 to 0700 , 1115 to 1230 (7-1/2 hours)

• Termite inspections. Pacific Coast had to cancel but a mix-up and they didn't notify Manor yesterday so I didn't know until I called.
• Received my printed books of Designers & Dragons: Origins. Since Atlas Games was doing fulfillment I was confused about getting more Ars Magica stuff.

Wed Aug 26 2026

Sleep 0145 to 1100 (9-1/4 hours)

• Last night and today I have pain lower back on the right when I put weight on my right leg. A couple Advil helped by 1400 so I could go grocery shopping while I'm still mobile. Could be gout or could be because slowly jogging last week on a hard wood floor so kind of jarring to my legs.
• Safeway for white rice (I'm totally out), Advil (almost out, 100-ct same cost as Safeway brand), two Zevo Flying Insect Traps (these use a light to attract bugs and a sticky surface to trap them, which means the insert has to be replaced when it's full of dead bugs).

Thu Aug 26 2026

Sleep 0330 to 1115 (7-3/4 hours)

• HOA Meeting. We're going to hire a project manager so I don't have to deal with two groups that aren't talking to each other.

Fri Aug 28 2026

Sleep 0345 to 1130 (7-3/4 hours)

• Apple TV and Apple One price increases.
• Apple One, Individual ($22) $22 instead of:
• Apple Arcade ($7)
• Apple Music ($13)
• Apple TV ($15)
• iCloud+ 50 GB ($1)
• Just realized I can create a QNAP storage volume with one hard drive, no RAID. That leaves one slot free for running bad block scans on all my drives. When that's done I can finally put in a second drive and convert the storage volume to RAID 1.

When I log into my Kaiser Permanente account there are a couple of reminders for vaccinations. So I finally scheduled them -- takes a few minutes online though you don't specify exact injections it's just "the ones recommended".

Tdap (ADACEL) (Tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) - Apparently I should have gotten this in 1990.
ZOS (Herpes zoster recombinant) Shingrix - Shingles vaccine which I should have gotten in 2021.

I went to the clinic, which is opposite the Whole Foods complex in Hillsdale. Arrived about 1435 and there was plenty of parking. Check-in at the Optometry Dept #109. Scan your medical card and they confirm it's you then direct you to the right room (305). Wait outside until you're called -- I waited like 5 to 10 minutes but I was a bit early.

Then you go to the room where one person confirms the vaccines you're taking. Nurse takes the vaccines out of storage. Scan them to record they're being used. Then two injections and you're done all in a few minutes.

Tdap vaccine might make my arm sore for a day. Shingles vaccine might give me flu-like symptoms for a day or two (kind of like when I get COVID-19 vaccinations I guess). I also need a second Shingles vaccine shot in 2 to 6 months.

Anyway, a fairly quick and easy experience.

Written: Aug 31 2026.

Humble Bundle Masters of the Craft, A Megabundle by Valiant is $20 for almost 100 TPBs (some are individual issues not yet in TPB form I suppose).

Although I own a good amount from a previous X-O Manowar-focused bundle more than half of this bundle is new to me and it's a great price so a must buy.

4001 AD TPB [OWN]
4001 AD: Beyond New Japan TPB [OWN]

Archer & Armstrong v1: The Michelangelo Code [OWN]
Archer & Armstrong v2: Wrath of the Eternal Warrior
Archer & Armstrong v3: Far Faraway
Archer & Armstrong v4: Sect Civil War [OWN]
Archer & Armstrong v5: Mission Improbable [OWN]
Archer & Armstrong v6: American Wasteland
Archer & Armstrong v7: The One Percent and Other Tales

Armor Hunters TPB

Bloodshot Reborn v1: Colorado [OWN]
Bloodshot Reborn v2: The Hunt [OWN]
Bloodshot Reborn v3: The Analog Man [OWN]
Bloodshot Reborn v4: Bloodshot Island [OWN]

Bloodshot Salvation v1: The Book of Revenge [OWN]
Bloodshot Salvation v2: The Book of the Dead [OWN]
Bloodshot Salvation v3: The Book of Revelations [OWN]

Bloodshot U.S.A.

Book of Death TPB [OWN]
Book of Death: The Fall of the Valiant Universe TPB

Book of Death: Legends of the Geomancer #1-#4

Generation Zero v1: We Are The Future
Generation Zero v2: Heroscape

Harbinger (1992) #0-#10
Harbinger v1: Omega Rising [OWN]
Harbinger v2: Renegades
Harbinger v3: Harbinger Wars
Harbinger v4: Perfect Day [OWN]
Harbinger v5: Death of a Renegade Superhero
Harbinger v6: Omegas

Harbinger Wars TPB [OWN]

Immortal Brothers: The Tale of the Green Knight #1

Imperium v1: Collecting Monsters [OWN]
Imperium v2: Broken Angels
Imperium v3: The Vine Imperative
Imperium v4: Stormbreak

Ivar, Timewalker v1: Making History [OWN]
Ivar, Timewalker v2: Breaking History
Ivar, Timewalker v3: Ending History

Ninjack v1: Weaponeer [OWN]
Ninjack v2: The Shadow Wars

Psi-Lords TPB

Q2: The Return of Quantum and Woody #1-#5
The Complete Quantum and Woody Classic Omnibus [OWN]

Rai (1992) #0-8
Rai v1: Welcome to New Japan [OWN]
Rai v2: Battle for New Japan [OWN]
Rai v3: The Orphan

The Life and Death of Toyo Harada

Unity v1: To Kill a King [OWN]
Unity v2: Trapped by Webnet
Unity v3: Armor Hunters
Unity v4: The United
Unity v5: Homefront
Unity v6: The War-Monger
Unity v7: Revenge of the Armor Hunters

War Mother TPB

Wrath of the Eternal Warrior v1: Risen [OWN]
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior v2: Labyrinth
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior v3: Deal With a Devil

X-O Manowar (2012) v1: By the Sword [OWN]
X-O Manowar v2: Enter: Ninjak [OWN]
X-O Manowar v3: Planet Death [OWN]
X-O Manowar v4: Homecoming [OWN]
X-O Manowar v5: At War with Unity [OWN]
X-O Manowar v6: Prelude to Armor Hunters [OWN]
X-O Manowar v7: Armor Hunters [OWN]
X-O Manowar v8: Enter: Armorines [OWN]
X-O Manowar v9: Dead Hand [OWN]
X-O Manowar v10: Exodus [OWN]
X-O Manowar v11: The Kill List [OWN]
X-O Manowar v12: Long Live the King

XO Manowar Annual 2016 #1

X-O Manowar (2017) v1: Soldier [OWN]
X-O Manowar v2: General
X-O Manowar v3: Emperor
X-O Manowar v4: Visigoth
X-O Manowar v5: Barbarians
X-O Manowar v6: Agent
X-O Manowar v7: Hero

Sat Aug 15 2026

Sleep 0400 to 1200 (8 hours)

• Unsubscribed to another 3 Next Door mailing lists. I guess I found where these are coming from, Settings > Notification Settings. Go through each category setting New Posts to disabled. I note everything was still enabled so apparently clicking an email unsubscribe link wasn't doing anything even though the page you go to says you've been unsubscribed from this specific list. Apparently I was also subscribed to 27 local public agencies that I had to disable one by one. Overall probably about subscriptions I disabled individually. Crazy.

Sun Aug 16 2026

Sleep 0315 to 0900, 1245 to 1515 (8-1/4 hours)

• Reading about SMART support on macOS. Two SMART utilities say that macOS does not support SMART on external drives so you have to install OS X SAT SMART Driver, free open source. CleverFiles does not recommend for macOS 11+ because SAT SMART Driver has not been updated in years.
• From BinaryBruit's FAQ page, with SAT SMART Driver installed macOS won't load it on startup hence my external SSD won't be connected on startup. I need to connect a drive after macOS reboot so that macOS will load the kext. Don't think I want that behavior. But I guess I can install on my Mac mini if I want to read SMART data of my external HDs.

Mon Aug 17 2026

Sleep 0115 to 1045 (9-1/2 hours)

• Engineer and contractors here today to do testing. I got called for a couple of things then hung around helping for six hours. When I got back I was tired and maybe a bit dehydrated/overheated since it was a somewhat sunny day. More tomorrow.

Tue Aug 18 2026

Sleep 2300 to 0730 (8-1/2 hours)

• Another six hours walking around helping the engineer do testing. Mostly watching him do testing and stepping in to move stuff or open doors or do a bit of grunt work.
• Yesterday I forgot to wear my Apple Watch. Today I wore it and got all three rings for once in a very long time. And the price is that my legs feel like jelly. Jelly on fire.

Wed Aug 19 2026

Sleep 0315 to 1045 (7-1/2 hours)

• With two of my 14TB hard drives having read/write errors QNAP refuses to use them. That leaves me with two 14 TB HDs so I'm going to have to rethink what I want to put on the RAID and how I'll configure the NAS.

Thu Aug 20 2026

Sleep 0200 to 1045 (8-3/4 hours)

• Trader Joe's. Forgot tortilla chips.

Fri Aug 21 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1100 (8 hours)

• Ars Magica: Definitive Edition arrived. That completes the BackerKit deliverables.

Turns out two of my four 14-TB drives have bad blocks and out of spare blocks so the QNAP won't use them. I can still use the drives for manual backups if I'm ok with some data may go bad. As far as I can tell the QNAP's Bad Block Scan does read/write operations on every block in order to let the drive's firmware detect bad blocks and retire them. Otherwise BBS doesn't do anything else -- no bad block redirection in software.

The two 14-TB drives I was using constantly. Writing TBs of data and then deleting them a couple of times a year (with the second drive mirroring the first on a weekly basis). So it makes sense they went bad first. Now I don't have enough drives to have all my data online which I can live with for now. I'm thinking of setting up three RAID 1s.

Storage Pool 1. RAID 1. Two 2-TB drives. System volume, QNAP applications, and enough space for my web site if my Mac mini dies. I want to use my 2-TB drives and wear them out first. Possibly download folder here though that would cut my WiFi throughput in half. Three spare drives.

Storage Pool 2. RAID 1. Two 8-TB drives. Work drive where I add and delete data. Normally has 3 to 4 TB used. I have one spare 8-TB drive so should be fine for now.

Storage Pool 2. RAID 1. Two 14-TB drives. Longer term storage that is mostly store and don't delete. Video, music, software, VODs. Would be about 9 to 10 TB currently. No spare drives.

Offline. About 10 TB of VODs.

Humble Bundle's Shantae & Heroic Heroines Bundle is $10 for 9 Windows games redeemed on Steam. Plus a coupon to buy a 10th game, with costumes DLC, for what turns to be more than the game itself, though the three DLC costumes each add a new power so I guess not totally useless (costumes on an 8-bit graphics game is not that impressive).

These games are all from WayForward and is about half their Steam catalog. Shantae and most of the other games are side-scrolling platformers of console quality. I've played a couple of these games on Apple Arcade -- loved Shantae and the Seven Sirens, was unimpressed with Spidersaurs.

May buy this bundle.

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (WayForward, Jul 2014, Windows, $10, OWN) - "Guide “half-genie” Shantae through haunted wastes, burning deserts, enchanted forests, dripping caverns and deadly labyrinths. Discover magical attacks, brew zombie coffee, save golden babies, and master the art of belly-dancing to transform Shantae into more powerful creatures. Use your powers to foil the lady pirate Risky Boots and save Sequin Land from certain doom! With its infectious characters, flirtatious humor and deliciously outlandish action, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge offers up all the hair-whipping, belly-dancing action you can handle!"

This is a port of a Nintendo game though with updated graphics, animation, and adds Steam features.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (WayForward, Apr 2015, Windows, $20) - "Embark on an all-new adventure with Shantae, the hair-whipping belly dancing genie. After losing her magic, Shantae teams up with the nefarious pirate Risky Boots in order to save Sequin Land from a curse."

Mighty Switch Force! Hose It Down! (WayForward, Jun 2015, Windows, $3) - "Team up with Officer Patricia Wagon to save Tangent City from a fiery blaze! As a member of Planet Land’s Fire Brigade, your job is to douse the fire in each building — and to evacuate any Hooligan Sisters who may be trapped inside."

This is a puzzle game where you move tiles around, diverting your water jet to remove obstructions, put out fires, save people.

Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate Edition (WayForward, Dec 2016, Windows, $30) - "Shantae embarks on her first full HD adventure! When a mysterious crime wave sweeps Sequin Land, it’s up to Half-Genie Hero Shantae to save the day! Use Shantae’s devastating Hair-Whip Attack to send monsters flying, or Belly Dance to transform her into more powerful forms!"

The regular edition had three DLCs and everything totaled $46

Mighty Switch Force! Collection (WayForward, Jul 2019, Windows, $7 65% off) - "Switch up the fun with four games in one! As cybernetic peacekeeper Officer Patricia Wagon, you'll use your platforming skills, puzzle-solving abilities, and level-altering Siren Helmet to catch criminals, extinguish infernos, and smash enemies. Four-player co-op and versus modes included!"

Collects four previous Might Switch Force games into one package (though doesn't include Mighty Switch Force! Hose It Down! because that's a different genre of gameplay).

River City Girls (WayForward, Sep 2019, Windows, $30) - "There's trouble once again in River City, and this time only the girls can save the day! Using a variety of attacks, weapons, and items, these hot-blooded heroines are ready to teach the city’s lowlifes a lesson - either solo or in 2-player co-op! It’s an old-school rumble for a new generation!"

This is a TMNT arcade game style play.

Shantae and the Seven Sirens (WayForward, May 2020, Windows, $30) - "Shantae is back in an all-new tropical adventure! In her fifth outing, the Half-Genie hero gains new Fusion Magic abilities to explore a vast sunken city, makes new Half-Genie friends, and battles the Seven Sirens in her biggest, most thrilling quest yet!"

This game I played on Apple Arcade with a controller and it was quite fun and even finished it (with a few hints).

Spidersaurs (WayForward, Jul 2022, Windows, $5 75% off) - "The nightmarish dinosaur-spider hybrids known as Spidersaurs have run amok! Armed with an arsenal of awesome weapons, it's up to you (and a friend in co-op mode) to shoot your way through six levels of ferocious run-’n’-gun mayhem and send these mutant monstrosities back to the stone age."

This is a side-scrolling shooter (Contra-style). I played this on Apple Arcade and it was ok.

RWBY: Arrowfell (WayForward, Nov 2022, Windows, $30) - "Dive into an explosive new RWBY adventure! Instantly switch between Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang, and use their weapons and Semblances to battle a mysterious new threat in this in-canon story set during RWBY Volume 7! Featuring a new song by Jeff Williams with vocals by Casey Lee Williams!"

Sat Aug 08 2026

Sleep 0300 to 0830 (6-1/2 hours)

• Another AT&T Business twist of the knife as they charged us an early termination fee for our current contract. I had assumed after our 12-month contract expired a couple of years ago we went month to month that's how they could keep raising prices every few months.

Sun Aug 09 2026

Sleep 0300 to 0900, 1345 to 1600 (8-1/4 hours)

• I've been reading Supergirl (1996 and 2005) comics and especially with 2005 the storylines have been a bit confusing. Finally realized it's because of crossovers, where a story goes from one comic book title, continues to another title, then back to the first title. In the old days (like the 1980's) it used to be that the first page recapped the story so far even if it was the same title. But now they don't so it takes a while to figure out what you missed. Also don't help that the trade paperbacks sometimes don't make it clear when one issue ends and the next issue starts which makes it more jarring.

Mon Aug 10 2026

Sleep 0730 to 1430 (7 hours)

• I finally setup the QNAP NAS that my brother gave me (it's a hand-me-down). Unlike the Drobo the QNAP RAID uses the smallest disk size so mixing drives sizes wastes space (I think that's standard RAID behavior, Drobo had Beyond RAID technology to use all the drive space). Researching a bit and QTS Hero OS also uses the smallest drive size.

Tue Aug 11 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1100 (8 hours)

• Copying files to the QNAP NAS. It's nice having a WiFi network that is as fast as my External USB HD connection. About 36 MB per second which is the same as when I was doing External USB to External USB copy.

Wed Aug 12 2026

Sleep 0115 to 0915 (8 hours)

• Humble Bundle's BattleTech RPG Book Bundle. It doesn't mention anywhere that this is an exact repeat of an April 2025 bundle which I might have missed but noticed the URL has +'-encore" at the end. Reading what I wrote before it's still a valid reason not to buy this bundle.

Thu Aug 14 2026

Sleep 0630 to 1430 (8 hours)

• Nemo asked me to relay a message to one of her stalkers asking him to stay away from her. Initially he replied apologizing saying he would. Then a few days later asking if he can meet her one more time. Then a few weeks later a couple of long rambling messages where I can see he's slowly convincing himself that she didn't mean it and she really likes him. Meanwhile I have not replied and only sent that one original message. I'm not sure what to do because when I talk I'm not really that decisive so I'm afraid anything I said would leave small rooms for him to keep encouraging himself.

Fri Aug 14 2026

Sleep 0245 to 0945, 30 nap. (7-1/2 hours)

• Next Door has a few mailing lists and I didn't see any settings to unsubscribe, so when I get an email I click the unsubscribe link. So far four different categories I've unsubscribed in 24 hours. I'd guess there may be a weekly or monthly email I will receive and unsubscribe.