When I am writing (fiction) I adopted a trick taught me but a professional novelist - "create a playlist on heavy rotation". "Sara and the Nightclub Riddler" it was the Rat Pack. "Sara and the Saint" had Reggae. For 2026's "Sara and the Missing Artifacts" it's 70's & 80's British rockers.

In 2024 I released the Explorer eChallengeCoin with a text adventure game, "Sara and the Dark Labyrinth". Sara wrote notes on the walls. They were her back story but they also included the title of every Taylor Swift song from "Fearless" thru "Tortured Poets Society" - a MANUSCRIPT as it were 😉

Thinking about 2025 as we begin 2026 I am reminded of the annual M*A*S*H episodes ...

The Virginia Hacker community will understand this ...

To my introvert friends …

0 to 435 mph in under two seconds. 435 mph to 0 in a 1/4 mile. newatlas.com/transport/ch...

Got a late start on firing the laser today. It took a bit more work to get my artwork settled. 7 faces done. 3 faces to go. 5 coins in total. Each face takes an hour.

#politics Accidents Happen 😇

The laser is back to work ...

Ooof 😱

Hiromi playing “Blackbird” live during an interview with Rick Beato. youtu.be/xcKd9OkMPcc?...

The production PCBs for the 2026 eChallengeCoin arrived today! I typically order ENIG on my production PCBs but for 0.8mm PCBs most colors and finishes I cure significant "engineering fees".

I have decided to venture down the DIY path of making a pen plotter / writer. I considered buying a solution but then realized I have a large gantry ready to go. It just needs a modern controller. My go-to controller for multi-axis projects is the MKS DLC32 with touch screen.

The great thing about Apple's autocorrupt is how good a job it does.

A person who exhibits dementia, severe headaches, coordination loss, heart issues, and destructive skin lesions may be suffering from an advanced case of syphilis. ... just sayin' it's good the Epstein files are under lock and key.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate - It could be made any time of the year but it seems most appropriate in December ☕️🍫🎄🧑🏼‍🎄

my "Pet Project" feels like an untrained Shih Tzu that pees on the carpet and chews everything is sight. CircuitPython thermal printer support is in a sad place. Old serial printers are power hungry. Newer BLE printers are closed source finicky enigmas. Will I succeed? Will it be abject failure?

Sad. Tragic. 😢

It wouldn't be December is we didn't make Nick his new collars! Each December we make 2 new colors. These get us through the year. A hunting dog deserves hunter orange!

eChallengeCoin 2026 update During my talk for @spacecoastsec.bsky.social yesterday, I was asked “what is a qualifying donation?” I went ahead and added a bit more detail to the web page to help. The goal is ‘youth STEM opportunities’ so a lot of programs easily fit the bill. aosc.cc/eccn2026

Fascinating. It's 4AM. It's 3C. And that is our high temperature for the day.

Happy 100th birthday! What a treasure 👏🏼👏🏼

Sometimes you pick up a gem while doom scrolling … the One Voice Children’s Choir youtu.be/FUQheX3PSnY

I did some digging and all of these cylindrical maze boxes are generated using a [free online tool](www.me.uk/puzzlebox/) which generates OpenSCAD files. The OpenSCAD files can be rendered to STL using another [online tool](imagetostl.com/convert/file...). Now I can go make my own designs 🤩

Decorating for the Holidays

“go find something to do or I'll find something for you to do” “be back before the streetlights come on, or call”

He nieces and nephews are getting moneys for Christmas. Boring! So I decided to "wrap" their gifts in something fun! 😱 I am printing various levels of difficulty 🤣 Yes, I am "that" uncle 😎

When it comes to learning new languages, I am horrible. I have tried several times. I really wish there was a Duolingo course for learning GenAlpha 😳

You will be visited by three spirits

Working on my talk for @spacecoastsec.bsky.social this Saturday!

Modern microcontroller based text adventure games (a niche space for sure) have an advantage from those back in the day of ZORK - namely, custom code. Each year I write a new game and each year it needs a few custom behaviors ... like pressing 2 elevator buttons at the same time 😉

When a geek has a senior moment … I honestly have no clue when I wrote this 😳

Little update on the 2026 eChallengeCoin. The adventure game map currently has 115 rooms. 😳

The Ashland Virginia police department have released the booking photo of the raccoon taken into custody for vandalism of an ABC liquor store.

The "raccoon broke into a Virginia liquor store, got drunk, and passed out in the bathroom" is the story we all need these days!

After blocking the sweater, it nice and comfy. If anything, I may have blocked the sleeves a little longer than needed but the important body and arm "expansion" are great.

I. Am. Easily. Amused.

Hackers Who Travel Lite For those who use an iPhone or iPad and find the need to connect to a serial/UART device, the options have been slim and expensive - until now. Using just an RP2040 Zero it's easy to connect to a serial device using an telnet app. The Telnet2Serial is just 26mm^2

Catahoula Nick likes to be ever present while keeping his distance. You would not mistake he for the affectionate cuddly type of companion but he is faithful and always vigilant ... even as he nears his 15th birthday.

Last night I was making Mac&Cheese from scratch. I opted to add some salsa into the mix. When I was finished, I had more of the cheesy ingredients than pasta so I put the extra in a dish and popped it in the refrigerator. It makes a wonderful spread on crackers (with a glass of red wine) 🍷

Next time you step outside, look all around. You just might see something simple catch your eye.

From the "things my mum taught me that someday become relevant" files ... "blocking edition". A) I like Icelandic sweaters. B) I am not as small as I was. C) Sometimes I find a seater I really want but it's too small. This is where blocking comes to the rescue. This "M" will eventually be "L". 🤓

I asked Google Gemini to create a series of cartoon characters. It created sheep. ... was it trying to tell me something about the state of the world?

I finally circled back to my PortaProgXL to add a feature I wanted within the first week of use ... USB Mass Storage access to the onboard SD Card. It wasn't as much work as I feared .. thanks again to @adafruit.com for their examples code: github.com/adafruit/Ada...

I can't wait for the Waveshare RP2040 Zero boards to arrive. They will make for a super tiny Telnet2Serial adapter! 🤏🏼

Why did I wait so long ?! Here is a kitchen hack I wished I'd done 10 years ago. It's a $6 kit that connects a full jug of dish soap to the soap dispenser. No more refilling the little bottle!

The all newer super affordable Telnet2Serial adapter! This gives a telnet session bound to a serial device. Great for IT administrators and OTG hackers! Uses most any RP2040 board and could be made extra tiny with the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 🤩

For those in the USA, don't forget to set an alarm for "noon" because it's a tradition to listen to Alice's Restaurant at noon on Thanksgiving Day. 🦃🗑️

the Galaxy is on Orion's Belt

I must admit i surprised myself at the @defcon.bsky.social Reddit post showing 4 fictional hackers ... I knew all four and had seen their movies 🤓