Sat Jan 24 2026

Sleep 0245 to 1045 (8 hours)

• Even though it'll be another 10 months, cancelling my RapidWeaver Classic subscription is probably for the best. It's pretty much in maintenance mode so you only get bug fixes but even then bugs are not being fixed. My showstopper -- application crashes just after a global search finishes and displays results -- has been there for months. I noticed recently that deleting a blog entry gives you a warning that it'll be permanent but only a cancel button that behaves like ok (delete entry) so the warning is effectively useless. Without a subscription RapidWeaver will keep working until an OS update breaks it permanently. But with a subscription it's slowly getting less and less usable though still largely just fine.

Sun Jan 25 2026

Sleep 0315 to 0915 (6 hours)

• Last night we played a Gloomhaven quest which took a really long time and we lost Then we played a couple of long NY Times puzzle games. CSr is using Steph's account as she has a subscription which opens up both new games and advanced goals for some of the free games.
• And then I woke up early to do Twitch mod duties.

Mon Jan 26 2026

Sleep 0400 to 1130 (7-1/2 hours)

• Mom's therapy appointment. She's moving pretty good now. Can get in and out of bed (the couch). Can get to/from garage entrance (there's a small step). Can get into and out of car by herself (though someone needs to take care of the walker).

Tue Jan 27 2026

Sleep 0345 to 0845, 45m nap in car (5-3/4 hours)

• Mom's doctor appointment. Progressing well and everything looks good. Probably keep knee brace on for full three months: on Wednesday it'll be at 70 degrees and +10 degrees per Wednesday. Next appointment in six weeks.

Wed Jan 28 2026

Sleep 0130 to 0900, 45m nap (8-1/4 hours)

• Parents Internet data usage about 650 GB for the month. I watched videos but didn't download Twitch VODs (which are huge) and watched Twitch at 480p (I assume live stream is also big like the VODs).

Thu Jan 29 2026

Sleep 0315 to 0945 (6-1/2 hours)

• I was thinking why I wasn't using Anything to create apps. It comes down to you 3k credits for signing up and I don't want to waste them. If you give me X amount of free credit but that's it then I'm afraid to use them. If you give me a little bit of free credit per month and it's "use it or lose it" then I'll make sure to use those credits. I think if you want people to try your service maybe the latter model is better.

Fri Jan 30 2026

Sleep 0315 to 1015 (7 hours)

• Gloomhaven. Re-tried last scenario with max level characters and this time was a comfortable win.

D3 Waifus 4U Bundle is a $25 bundle of 9 D3 Publisher games.

• Full Metal Schoolgirl (Oct 2025, $50, Windows 64-bit DX 12) - 3rd person shooter with cartoon graphics
• Ed-0: Zombie Uprising (Jul 2023, $30, Windows 64-bit DX 12) - 3d person combat. "A rogue-like action where traditional Japanese characters (Samurai, Sumo Wrestler, and Ninja) destroy hordes of zombies. Since everything is randomly generated, no run will be the same. Decision making will be essential but there are some RPG elements as well."
• Samurai Maiden (Dec 2022, $60, Windows 64-bit DX 12) - 3rd person sword fighting with cartoon graphics.
• Maglam Lord (May 2022, $40, Windows 64-bit DX 12) - Action RPG with cartoon graphics. "a vibrant action JRPG straight from the depths of hell! Boasting exploration, real-time combat, weapon crafting and relationship building."
• Onee Chanbara Origin (Oct 2020, $60, Windows 64-bit) - 3rd person sword fighting game.
• Bullet Girls Phantasia (Jan 2020, $30, Windows 64-bit, DX 11) - "the latest installment of the all-female third person shooter "Bullet Girls" series. This game is a thrilling action-packed game where cute girls shoot assault rifles and bazookas in a world filled with slimes, orcs, and dragons."
• Omega Labyrinth Life (Dec 2019, $60, Windows 64-bit) - "Roguelike x Relaxation! Take it easy in the latest addition to the series where you buff your bust with every foe you defeat, Omega Labyrinth! Enjoy your daily life in an academy of fair maidens!"
• SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter (Jun 2018, $40, Windows 64-bit DX 11) - "SG/ZH is a shooting action game where the story takes place at "Kirisaki High School". The school has been suddenly cut off by the outside world and surrounded by the crowds of zombies."
• Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (Jun 2016, $40, Windows 64-bit, DX 11) - "Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is the latest entry in the Onechanbara series. Two sets of buxom vampire sisters battle through over a dozen stages of high-octane real-time swordplay. Fight off the invasion in gruesome detail, occasionally transforming into a demon for short bursts of added power and speed."

This publisher doesn't seem to believe in lowering prices for old games. Other than the last game, Full Metal Schoolgirl, the other games don't seem to have great graphics. Overall these games don't look that interesting.

Another month of Netflix and I watched:

• Eternal Love (2017) - this was 58 episodes so watched 2 episodes a day throughout the month
• Vagabond 1.7 to 1.16 (2019) - I finally finished Vagabond
• Hi Bye, Mama! (2020)
• My Holo Love (2020)
• In Love and Deep Water (2023) - a Japanese vacation cruise murder mystery
• Invisible Us (2024)
• Cinderella Closet (2025)
• The Great Flood (2025) - a Korean sci-fi action-drama movie as the world suddenly floods

In retrospect was not the best month of tv shows. No great Korean romance series to anchor the lineup.

Sat Jan 17 2026

Sleep 0230 to 0730. (5 hours)

• Gaming at Dave S's place so that Christopher and I can switch being at parents.
• We got a couple of hours of D&D in. Leveling up characters. Then reading X1 handout and buying/outfitting a ship. Then sailing to the Isle of Dread which was mostly Borin rolling Navigation checks and a couple of random encounters.
• After the game we walked to Cold Stone for a bit of ice cream and beer at Jack's. Then walked back. I think I rubbed this spot at the bottom of my foot because it feels tender.
• Drove to parents. Foot definitely bothering me. Not a blister yet.

Sun Jan 18 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1100 (8 hours)

• Limping around the house bothers mom so she keeps nagging me about it. Great to be with parents :(
• Apparently the guys had scheduled a game tonight since tomorrow is a holiday. Luckily I saw the Discord messages so I hopped on 10m late. We played DDO Vault of Night which took us to 0130 (a good half hour or more fighting the last boss since we did little damage and he kept healing) and then did Plane of Night which took 20m.

Mon Jan 19 2026

Sleep 0400 to 1100 (7 hours)

• Mom's appointment at Laguna Physical Therapy & Hand Rehabilitation. Small business with room for maybe a max of 10 simultaneous patients but probably 5 comfortably.

Tue Jan 20 2026

Sleep 0400 to 0900, 1530 to 1730 (7 hours)

• Calendar keeps reminding me to leave for CW's family events since they have a shared calendar I subscribe to. Don't see a way to limit "Time to Leave" alerts to specific calendars so I guess I'll turn off that feature.

Wed Jan 21 2026

Sleep 0330 to 1100 (7-1/2 hours)

• GURPS Basic, Fourth Edition, Revised is coming this March. The FAQ says $100 for the book (it's one book now) and pdf.

Thu Jan 22 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1030 (7-1/2 hours)

• I wish Twitch allowed two payment methods, one for subscriptions and one for buying bits and gifting subs. Or generally even support for multiple payment methods and you can choose which to use at point-of-sale (with a default payment method for subscription auto-renewals).

Fri Jan 23 2026

Sleep 0400 to 1000 (6 hours)

• DDO: Dave S was out so we played DDO with our A characters. Got three quests done in Legendary Isle of Dread.

Dynamite Character Crossover Comics Bundle is an $18 from Humble Bundle.

There's definitely enough that I don't own to make it worthwhile (and for the Non-Female Leads I may have bought them previously and trashed them).

Female Leads (one or two)

• Barbarella Holiday Special (2018, 48pp)
• Barbarella/Dejah Thoris TPB (2019) - [OWN issue #1]
• Blood Queen vs Dracula #1-4 (2015) - [OWN as part of Blood Queen Omnibus]
• Elvira in Monsterland #1-5 (2023)
• Elvira Meets Vincent Price TPB (2024)
• Elvira Meets HP Lovecraft #1-5 (2024)
• Green Hornet Miss Fury #1-5 (2024)
• Purgatori Must Die TPB (2024)
• Red Sonja/Tarzan TPB (2019) [OWN]
• Red Sonja/Chaos: Age of Chaos TPB (2022) [OWN]
• Red Sonja The Superpowers TPB (2022) [OWN]
• Sonjaversal v1 TPB (2022) - v2 not in this bundle
• Red Sonja Hell Sonja #1-4 (2022)
• Lords of the Jungle: Featuring Tarzan and Sheena TPB (2016) [OWN]
• Vampirella vs. Dracula TPB (2012) [OWN]
• Vampirella/Army of Darkness TPB (2016) [OWN]
• Vampirella vs. Reanimator TPB (2019)
• Vampirella/Dejah Thoris TPB (2019) [OWN]
• Vampiverse TPB (2022)
• Vampirella The Dark Powers TPB (2022)
• Vampirella vs. Purgatori TPB (2022)
• Vampirella vs. the Superpowers TPB (2024)
• Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy TPB (2024)
• Vampirella/Dracula Rage TPB (2024)

Mixed Leads, Mostly Females

• Prophecy TPB (2013) [OWN]
• Chaos TPB (2015) [OWN]
• Legenderry A Steampunk Adventure TPB (2015) [OWN]
• Swords of Sorrow: The Complete Saga TPB (2015) [OWN]
• Die!Namite TPB (2022) [OWN]
• Die!Namite Lives TPB (2023)

Non-Female Leads

• Army of Darkness vs Re-Animator TPB (2006)
• Monster War TPB (2006 Top Cow/Dynamite)
• Army of Darkness Ash vs. The Classic Monsters TPB (2007)
• Masks v1 and v2 TPB (2013-2016)
• Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini TPB (2015)
• Greatest Adventure HC (2018)
• Project Superpowers Omnibus v1 TPB (2018) - v2 and v2 not in this bundle
• Army of Darkness vs. Reanimator Necronomicon Rising TPB (2024)

Eichhorn Mörk Borg Bundle is a $20 set price bundle of (mostly) Mörk Borg supplements by Christian Eichhorn. I already have some of his products from a previous bundle but this one has no overlaps for me.

Supplements

• Apocrypha (76pp, $15) - from a Jan 2022 KS.
• Hallowed (48pp, $15) - formerly titled Bone Heart Crusaders, from a Jul 2023 KS.
• Monsters! (48pp, $15) - from a May 2023 KS.
• Refuse (48pp, $15) - discarded ideas from previous books.

Adventures

• Death & Taxes (48pp, $15) - adventure with "a demon infestation, a shortage of silver coins due to the king's ravenous taxes, and an economic depression caused by mandatory daily festivals", from Apr 2024 KS.
• Monochrome (48pp, $15) - adventure: "the miserable and cruel Countess Anthelia seeks to hasten the end of the world by constructing many huge telescopes", from a Jan 2025 KS.

Tri-Fold (2-page) Adventures

• The Factory (trifold, $2) - mini-adventure
• Holy Femurs (trifold, $2) - mini-adventure
• Rat Cellar (trifold, $2) - mini-adventure

Generic Supplements

• Commercial Pack of Maps ($5) - 40 maps for use with any RPG

It's $101 retail on DriveThruRPG. He sells discount bundles for about 20% off. Not sure these would go on sale but I assume if so it'd be 30% off so on theoretical sale it'd be $70. So $20 is a great price.

Sat Jan 10 2026

Sleep 0115 to 0815, 30m nap (7-1/2 hours)

• Vent cleaner company (The Vent Cleaner) came by this morning. I had to let them in walked out of my apartment without my front door keys -- I automatically picked up the keys on the counter and walked out but apparently I had left my front door keys in my other pants pocket. And then as I was thinking about it I walked into the courtyard and locked myself out of the building.
• Luckily I had my phone so used the call box to ring myself and the vent guys into the building. And I had picked up the misc keys so I had the office key and could grab my emergency backup we store in the office (along with anyone else who wants to store an emergency key there). I had only put in an emergency key a couple of months ago when I decided I'm never having guests at my place in any case.
• Vent cleaning was interesting. Guy comes in and moves my dryer forward then climbs into the back. Uses a power tool to unscrew the exhaust tube then has this blow dryer thing with an exhaust-sized hose that he uses to blow the lint out into the exhaust shaft. Someone on the roof has a vacuum cleaner with a long hose they drop in and suck up the lint. Takes like 10 minutes so 19 units is about 3 hours for two people. But there were two people working the floor so 1-1/2 hours with slack in case of difficulties.
• Donated via GoFundMe and I forgot that if I select PayPal it uses the last PayPal funding source and doesn't ask. I find that quite annoying.

Sun Jan 11 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1030 (7-1/2 hours)

• At my parents when I'm using this soft mousepad (which is still better than using the mouse on a cloth-covered dining room table), I have a hard time clicking Notepad links, it usually selects text or does nothing. When I'm home on a hard-topped desk then my Apple Magic Mouse clicks links just fine. Possibly the mousepad makes it seem like I click + move the mouse a little so it's not really a "activate link" command. If I use the Glorious Model O mouse the click usually registers correctly.
• Power outage from about 1215 to 1450. Luckily sun was out so got 100 minutes of reading in. PG&E is fairly good at estimating time to repair. Usually estimate comes within 30 minutes of the outage and the estimate (in this case it was 1445) is pretty accurate, I guess maybe it's "find out which part is broken, get part from depot, replace it". An email saying power was back came at 1450.
• Modiphius another web site transition to Shop. I can login with my current password (and when you put in an email address it triggers opening a little "login with Shop" window) but no UI choice to change my password.

Mon Jan 12 2026

Sleep 0330 to 1130 (8 hours)

• I forgot Gym Precision was coming by to do maintenance. Luckily he got here about 1230 (estimate was 1100 to 1400).
• Got a text saying I needed to schedule an appointment for 2 fillings. Earliest afternoon opening is March 17th which is great since that'll be six months after Mom's surgery so she'll have full range of motion.
• I thought this up in the shower: since Dave W doesn't like MechWarrior 5 the plan will be Fri/Sat play MW5 until Dave W arrives then switch to Gloomhaven/DDO. Gloomhaven we'll often have to break in the middle of a scenario until the next week but that seems to work ok. DDO has few very long quests -- and in that case we can run at a low Reaper level -- so we should be fine there.

Tue Jan 13 2026

Sleep 0430 to 1200 (7-1/2 hours)

• Apple Creator Studio bundle at $130 per year. If you're a professional I think it's a lot cheaper than something from Adobe. And for non-professionals Apple still has iMovie (instead of Final Cut Pro) and GarageBand (instead of Logic Pro), though nothing free instead of Pixelmator Pro.

Wed Jan 14 2026

Sleep 0530 to 1200 (6-1/2 hours)

• Started playing Slay the Spire+ (for the first time) after I went to bed and a couple of hours later I finished a run to completion and it was 0530.

Thu Jan 15 2026

Sleep 0315 to 0930 (6-1/4 hours)

• Got my Kaiser bill. Used it to register to kp.org/payonline (which redirects to https://ucp.aciondemand.com). From there I could pay my bill. Paying from my kp.org login still doesn't work, pay and set up recurring payments buttons don't do anything in Safari or Chrome. It's only by going to the help and watching that video that I got the kp.org/payonline link.

Fri Jan 17 2026

Sleep 0000 to 0500, 1145 to 1345 (7 hours)

• Prepping for tomorrow's D&D session.
• Printing out stuff I won't have a chance to do later.
• Playing too much Slay the Spire.

Wild Card Round was exciting. Four close games and then a comparatively boring defensive game. I'm happy the 49ers won so now they get to go to Seattle for game 3 -- they won in Seattle and lost at home.

Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers 34-31 - The Panthers played poorly at first then got good and finally couldn't stop the last Rams drive for winning score. Panthers played better than I expected.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears 27-31 - Packers were up 21-3 at the half was both unlucky and didn't look in sync. And then the Packers couldn't move the ball and the Bears caught up in the 4th and went ahead. Packers had one final drive but only got to FG range and they need a TD.

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 - Jaguars played very well and should have won the game. They kept close to the Bills and banged up QB Josh Allen. In the final drive with a minute left QB Trevor Lawrence threw a bad interception to DB he should have seen. He had an earlier interception like that too.

San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles 23-19 - Tense game from my POV. 49ers first drive led to a TD but after that the Eagles defense held very well until the 4th quarter. In the end the 49ers were up enough that the Eagles needed a TD on their final drive and they drove down the field to about the 49ers 20 yd line but couldn't convert 4th down.

Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots 3-16 - Patriots blitzed a lot and the Charges O-line couldn't hold them back and QB Justin Herbert kept holding the ball too long.

Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 - For half the game QB CJ Stroud just kept fumbling the ball (twice) or getting picked (once) but those two fumbles only led to two Steelers FGs and Houston led 7-6. Then in the 4th quarter the Texans finally started going with a FG, fumble recovered for a TD, then an interception for another TD. So I guess we can say the Texan defense won the game. And as I think I mentioned before QB Aaron Rodgers looks so old.

I listened to Between Two Cairns podcast episode for The Cairnies 2025. Ranked them based on votes. Scoring is like for F1 race scoring for top 5 finishers but 1/10 the points. Tie breaks go to cheapest product.

1. The Frozen Ascent ($6) [4.5 points]
2. The Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburgh (£15) [4.3 points]
3. Grotto of the Golden Gargoyle (AUD $4) [2.7 points]
4. The Smoking Pillar of Lan Yu (free) [2.5 points]
5. The Ghosts of Zoazanna Mountain ($30) [2.5 points]
6. Arkos ($15) [1.5 points]
7. Fragments of the Floating City (PWYW) [1.2 points]
8. Kidnap the Archpriest ($7) [1.2 points]
9. Buried in the Bahamas ($8) [1.0 points]
10. Ex Inferis ($8) [1.0 points]
11. The Evils of Illmire ($10) [1.0 points]

I was thinking I could run one after my PCs finish X1/X2 -- they'll probably level 6-7. But most of the adventures are for low level characters (up to level 4). Except these three:

Arkos - science/fantasy Troika adventure so I'd be doing this on the fly and Troika is not heavy combat I think.

Kidnap the Archpriest - A systemless adventure that seems to be more about talking, interacting, and figuring things out than fighting.

Ex Infernis - Liminal Horror set in modern day abandoned research ship on the Great Lakes. Probably too hard to adapt well.

Although none of these are appropriate enough Arkos seems the most interesting.

Sat Jan 03 2026

Sleep 0245 to 1200, 1 hour up around 0600 (8-1/4 hours)

• Finally Underworld 5-movie bundle on sale in Apple Store. $25 which is lower than last year's $30.

Sun Jan 04 2026

Sleep 0200 to 0530, 0630 to 1030 (7-1/2 hours)

• Last night Dave S was having trouble with his controller. We played a bit of MW5, DDO was pretty useless, played half a Gloomhaven scenario. He is rather useless as a keyboard/mouse player.

Mon Jan 05 2026

Sleep 0045 to 0800, 30m nap (7-3/4 hours)

• Briefly looked for an iPad text editor. Way too many choices. Too bad there is no version of BBEdit for iOS/iPad. Guess I'll stick with using Apple Pages.

Tue Jan 06 2026

Sleep 0200 to 0530, 0715 to 1115 (7-1/2 hours)

• I've been sleeping on the couch in case mom needs to get out of the couch in the middle of the night. Was ok for a week or two but now my back is killing me. Switched to a mattress on the rug but was not a great idea. For some reason my right leg is sore when I wake up, more like a cramp or maybe a nerve. Right leg since I sleep on my left side. Sleeping on my right side is painful. I guess tonight I'll just sleep on a regular bed. Mom says she is fine until Dad wakes up about 0600.

Wed Jan 07 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1115 (8-1/4 hours)

• PG&E Bill for Nov 26 to Dec 28 is only about 80% of previous bill even though I was mostly absent and only home about one week.
• U-Haul seems to be going to emailed code logins. Although you can your password I didn't find where I could change my password.
• Received a Kaiser email about getting a prostate cancer screening. If I do it first step is a PSA test which is a blood test. Mostly reliable indicator but not for sure. Kaiser also has a page with more information that makes prostate cancer not seem that bad as 1 in 8 men get it but it's seldom aggressive cancer. I'm encouraged enough to at least do the PSA test after I'm living back in San Mateo.
• If you look in IRS web site, https://www.annualcreditreport.com is the official place to get your free credit reports (you can go to each credit bureau separately but they make it hidden/hard and provide you less info). This time I got one credit report and will do the other two in four month intervals so that it's easier to monitor for sudden changes.

Thu Jan 08 2026

Sleep 0230 to 1030 (8 hours)

• Went to kp.org to pay my monthly premium. The view bill, pay now, automatic payment buttons don't do anything (tried it in Chrome even). Apparently you can go to kp.prg/payonline which goes to a different service provider to either login or do actual payments. You have to register but to do that you need info from your bill and since I don't have a bill I can't sign up. So I guess they haven't generated a bill yet.

Fri Jan 09 2026

Sleep 0300 to 1130 (8-1/2 hours)

• Went home today as mom and dad didn't want me to drive late.

#1 Seed. Seattle Seahawks (14-3) Last year QB Sam Darnold led Minnesota Vikings to 14-3 and this year he did the same with a different team. He has risen to be an excellent QB and let's see if he can win a playoff game.

#2. Chicago Bears (11-6) 2nd year QB Caleb Williams are not that much of an improvement over his excellent first-year stats. Sacks are way down and hopefully that's because he recognizes when to throw away the ball rather than better line play.

#3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) Not an amazing season for the Eagles but still a team that can win the NFC Championship.

#4. Carolina Panthers (8-9) This was a weak division with a three-way 8-9 tie broke the Panthers' way. I've seen their highlights and they are definitely a 500 team.

#5. Los Angeles Rams (12-5) A couple of missteps to finish below the Seahawks. QB Matthew Stafford looks reinvigorated and WR Puka Nacua had a pretty amazing year.

#6. San Francisco 49ers (12-5) After losing QB Brock Purdy (8 games), DE Nick Bosa (season-ending in game 3), LB Fred Warner (season-ending in game 6) the 49ers managed to be 5-3 with QB Mac Jones. Then Purdy comes back and they win 6 games before the last game to Seattle. Playoff ready although they'll have to do it on the road.

#7. Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) QB Jordan Love was out two games (and they went 0-2). They also lost their last four games. Like the Panthers, don't see the Packers going anywhere.

Unlike in the AFC here I do think Seattle is the team to beat and that the other teams can't beat them in Seattle.


As usual my list of who should win the Super Bowl is based on who hasn't won it the longest.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. Houston Texans
3. Los Angeles Chargers
4. Buffalo Bills
5. Chicago Bears
6. Seattle Seahawks
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Carolina Panthers
10. San Francisco 49ers
11. Denver Broncos
12. New England Patriots
13. Los Angeles Rams
14. Philadelphia Eagles

NFL 2025 season is done and we can look at the final standings.

AFC East - New England Patriots (14-3, #2 seed) are one of the two big surprises. QB Drake Maye has become really good passing and running. Last year he kind of struggled on a bad team but in his second year he's been stellar.

Buffalo Bills (12-5, #6 seed) had a good not great season and seemed to lose a couple of games they shouldn't have.

AFC North - Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, #4 seed) won the division with QB Aaron Rodgers at the helm and Rodgers has looked old. He can make plays and has good stats but asking him to carry a team to come from behind and win is not really a thing anymore.

Both Baltimore Ravens (8-9) and Cincinnati Bengals (6-11) had QB injury problems and it certainly killed Cincinnati's season. Baltimore even with a healthy QB Lamar Jackson and great RB Derrick Henry still seemed to maybe give up too many points that their offense could compensate for.

AFC South - Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4, #3 seed) QB Trevor Lawrence is having a great year. For some reason doesn't look like an elite QB when I see highlights but still I think was worth the #1 pick especially since the other 9 QBs in the 2021 draft are all at best backup-level.

Houston Texans (12-5, #5 seed) I really like QB CJ Stroud and he was out a few games so their record is better than I would have expected.

AFC West - Denver Broncos (14-3, #1 seed) is the other big surprise and QB Bo Nix has had two good seasons. Third year Broncos coach Sean Payton looking to maybe win a second Super Bowl (last one was 16 years ago with New Orleans Saints).

Los Angeles Chargers (11-6, #7 seed) had some great wins (vs Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles) so might surprise in the playoffs.

Looking at the bracket I am slightly afraid of Buffalo and Los Angeles getting an upset but not two upsets so Denver looks safe to get to the AFC Championship and probably win it. Still, I'm going with New England.

Sat Dec 27 2025

Sleep 0400 to 1030 (6-1/2 hours)

• Oops. Didn't realize that my new iPad Air M3 came with iPadOS 18 and is still on it. I'll wait to upgrade to iPadOS 26 until I'm home. I'm looking forward to multiple windows.

Sun Dec 28 2025

Sleep 0130 to 0930 (8 hours)

• Dave S wasn't around so we did DDO White Plume Mountain with our good characters.

Mon Dec 29 2025

Sleep 0215 to 1015 (8 hours)

• My cousin Jaime and his wife and eldest son (also Jaime) came for lunch. Since all three sons are attending USA colleges (two in California and one in Indiana) they're all applying for permanent resident and elder Jaime and wife are looking to buy a place in California.

Tue Dec 30 2025

Sleep 0145 to 0600, 0845 to 1100 (6-1/2 hours)

• Mom's doctor visit. Stitches removed. She is healing well. Now allowed to bend knee 30 degrees + 10 degrees per week (you can set it on the brace). Next appointment in 4 weeks.
• DDO Symphony of the Fey run is done as I died in Madstone Crater. Tried a jump but fell into lava, cast Dimension Door but died before I could get through. Ironically I remember dying this way before in a hardcore event, maybe even in the same place. There is a point where I think I can shortcut and save a few seconds but the jump is just a bit too far and you don't grab onto the ledge.

Wed Dec 31 2025

Sleep 0230 to 1030 (8 hours)

• I figured out the Comcast account web site doesn't quite work in Safari (some pages just never load completely). Maybe I already knew this.
• Slow start (my stocks were under from start of the year to mid-year) and slow end (stocks down 15% the last couple of months). But overall up 16% YTD and now at almost $3M in retirement funds.

Thu Jan 01 2026

Sleep 0245 to 1100 (9-1/4 hours)

• It's been one year doing Forever Notes, though I've only been doing the journaling part not so much the data storage stuff.

Fri Jan 02 2026

Sleep 0030 to 1015 (9-3/4 hours)

• Power outage at my place last night, about 4 hours. Couldn't reach my server in the middle but can reach it now. I 'm guessing UPS ran out of power so Sonic ONT went offline and my MBP kept running on internal battery long enough for power to come back (if it shuts down then starts up after power outage it would be stuck on login screen with no services up).

Three fixed-price Bundle of Holding bundles.

The Burning Wheel ($20) ends Jan 19

• Burning Wheel Gold Revised (600 digest pages)
• Burning Wheel Codex (560 pages)
• Burning Wheel Anthology (122 pages)

This is a bundle for the classic fantasy RPG from Luke Crane. Very procedural (we played Mouse Guard which is a somewhat lighter version). I think a gaming group is supposed to create their own setting and run it which is not my style of GMing. I want campaign book and more-so adventure books.

The Painted Wastelands ($18) ends Jan 21

• The Painted Wastelands (152 pages) - "100 new monsters, 35 fully detailed hexes, and four dungeons"
• Player's Guide (45 pages)
• Referee Screen
• Strange Tales of the Painted Wastelands (56 pages) - detailed locations you can drop in anywhere
• The Quest Unpronounceable (50 pages) - adventure

A setting book for Old-School Essentials. Weird acid desert fantasy similar to The Ultraviolet Grasslands, Yoon-Suin, and Troika. Sounds quite interesting so I'll probably buy it.

Strike Force ($20) ends Jan 26

• Aaron Allston's Strike Force (283 pages) - this is the new version from the KS of like 10 years ago
• Strike Force Organizations (333 pages) - "eight of Aaron Allston's major factions, groups, and teams from the 22-year Strike Force Universe campaign"
• The Strike Force Archives (800 megabytes) - "Aaron Allston's original material for his long-running HERO System campaigns", thousands of pages of GM material
• Hero Games #42: Strike Force (98 pages) - a new scan of the 1988 Champions module plus three manuscript versions.

I already have Aaron Allston's Strike Force (paid $20 for the PDF in the Kickstarter). The archives was a $20 add-on in the KS so paying $20 for Organizations and Archives is maybe a modest discount.