One Does Not Simply Walk into Mordor

May 04, 2026 by Adam in Family

It was the first weekend without Yvonne and Emma around and I can tell that I'm still adjusting.  I managed some practical errands in the morning on Saturday.  Saturday afternoon Jo and I went out to the farm to plant our Christmas tree, a couple smaller trees, and start to set up a watering system.  It was rough work for just a handful of trees.  I felt fairly despondent looking at brambles taking over and many of the trees I planted dying or being overgrown.  Still, it was nice to sit there and watch the hawks circling around.  Emma tries to remind me that it's all nature.


I finished playing Dispatch, which was a short but fun experience.  Slay the Spire 2 keeps pulling me back.  I'm also still building out an elaborate Traveller RPG web app where players can control their aspect of running the ship, send messages to and from each other, and so on.  It's fun do make, even if I never end up playing it with someone.


Late Sunday I went over to Jason's house and we played this elaborate co-op Lord of the Rings game.  We were learning the rules and after four hours we finally lost.  There were all these things we missed and if we ever play again I think we could probably win.  It was incredible how often we snatched victory from an inevitable defeat and we replayed a few times due to a rule we missed, but it was fun hanging out and playing.  BJ and Bridget played too, so I got to catch up with old friends while moving little game pieces around.


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Mayday

May 01, 2026 by Adam in Family

It's May first - International Worker's Day.  I feel busier than ever.  I'm leading a bug bash in less than an hour.  I was asked to do a presentation in our monthly demos later this morning.  I've got features I need to look at and projects to keep moving forward.  Maybe I'll try and take it easier this afternoon.  It's also a celebration for the old Traveller RPG that I grew up loving, due to the "Mayday" blurb on the back of the original boxed set.  I've been vibe coding an elaborate system for running a Traveller space trucker RPG.  I managed to get ChatGPT to make some beautiful retro-scifi images for portraits and such.  Even if I never play it, I've been having fun putting it together.

Our wayward travellers continue their adventures.  Emma just left Niagra Falls and should make it to Sadie's later today.  The trip has gone well, and Francis has been super, though I think a week of driving has been exhausting.  Yvonne called, asking for her passport to be mailed.  She's trying to get her driver's permit so she can learn to drive and get an EMT job.  In the meantime she's hanging out on her dad's farm doing farm stuff.  It's great that everyone is doing okay and figuring things out.

The farm house project is slowly coming along, though the list of things seems endless.  Took my mom out to see about a septic tank hookup and other things with a local contractor.  I think tomorrow I'll go out to clean up some garbage and plant our Christmas tree.

I'm getting together with Jason to play board games on Sunday.  Really excited to unwind for a little and hang out with a friend.

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