MIL just now, fresh from book club, carrying that satisfied glow that suggests something important has just happened.

“I read a book about two months ago, and it deeply affected me.”

This is how myths begin.

“Awesome,” I say. “What was it called?”

“I don’t remember.”

Naturally.
So I adjust course.

“What was it about?”

“I forget.”

Okay, fair enough. Books are slippery creatures. I try again.

“What about it affected you most? A character, a plot point?”

“I’m not sure,” she says, serenely. “But it was excellent.”

At this point the book has achieved a kind of Platonic perfection. It exists only as Impact.

“How did it affect you?” I ask, carefully.

“I don’t know,” she says, without irony. “But it was really life and outlook changing.”

I nod, because this is clearly not a problem that can be solved with follow up questions.

“I’m glad you got something out of it,” I say, and I mean it.

“I’d like to read it again,” she continues. “Can you help me find it?”

“Sure,” I say. “What criteria should I use to search for it?”

She looks at me kindly, the way one looks at a child asking about taxes.

“I don’t know. You’re the tech guy.”

So I do what tech guys do. I pull up her tablet and present evidence.

“Here are all the books you’ve read in the last three months. Do any of these ring a bell?”

She reads about four books a week, give or take. There are roughly thirty of them staring back at her.

She scans the list.

“No,” she says. “I don’t think so.”

“Well,” I say, doing some quick math in my head, “now you have thirty books to reread and find out.”

Here is the thing. Her memory outside of books is a steel trap. Names, dates, conversations from decades ago, all locked in and retrievable on demand. But the moment she finishes a book, its contents are immediately flushed like a temporary file. Characters vanish. Plots dissolve. Titles evaporate.

All that remains is the emotional aftertaste and the firm conviction that it was excellent.

Some people collect books. Some people collect knowledge. She collects the feeling of having been changed, again and again, by stories she can no longer name.

Honestly, that might be the most literary approach of all.

Here’s a spoiler-heavy breakdown of The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. Full spoilers below.

Today in Roanoke felt like a reset that hit again like it was on a timer.

Morning came in gray layers, the kind that stack quietly over the valley until you realize the light has already been there for a while. The mountains were partially erased, then redrawn as the clouds shifted, their outlines softened like someone had rubbed an eraser over the edges and decided to stop halfway. It was cold, but not sharply so. More a reminder of when we had snow.

The city has moved past the holidays now. You can feel it. Decorations linger in a few stubborn yards, lights still blinking out of habit, but most things have returned to their working posture. Traffic resumed its usual patterns. Coffee cups were carried with purpose. The pause has ended, gently but firmly.

Our one visitor left today. No ceremony, just a wave and “see you in summer” Just bags gathered, a few last words exchanged, the door closing with that particular final click that sounds louder than usual. The house noticed immediately. Rooms shifted back into themselves. The air felt rearranged, as if it was remembering how it normally circulates.

The rest of the family will probably be heading back soon too. You can sense that approaching adjustment already, the way conversations start to tilt toward logistics and timelines. The holidays loosen their grip one departure at a time. What remains is familiarity, settling back into place.

Outside, everything seemed to be recalibrating as well. Birds returned to routine business, no longer lingering like they had an excuse. Squirrels resumed their efficient negotiations with gravity and fences. The ground stayed damp and dark, holding onto the memory of recent weather without making a fuss about it.

The light never really committed today. It hovered. Even at midday, it felt like winter was keeping its voice low. By late afternoon, the valley took on that familiar steel-blue tone, the one that makes the distance between houses feel larger and the space between moments feel longer.

This is not a day that asks to be remembered. It does not offer a story or a lesson. It simply shows up, does what it is supposed to do, and hands the calendar back to you with a nod. January is good at this. It clears its throat and says, “All right. Let’s continue.”

Tonight, Roanoke settles into its regular breathing again. The house does too. The mountains stay where they have always been. Tomorrow will add its own small adjustments.

I note the day. That seems sufficient.

The government discontinued pennies. Therefore, your two cents are no longer needed.

Having a rough year already? Maybe some otters in ponchos might help.

I keep thinking about the Peaks of Otter,  the way you might think about a book you haven’t read yet but already feel fond of. It sits out there quietly, not asking anything from me, just existing as a future possibility. Sometime this year, I want to go – not urgently, not as a quest, just as a gentle agreement with myself. I’ve been here for years and still haven’t headed over to that neck of rhe woods yet.

It makes me laugh that the name promises otters, and everyone knows you probably won’t see one. That feels solid somehow. A place that doesn’t guarantee its mascot. You show up for the idea, the shape of it, the sound of water and wind, and the way the mountains lean toward each other like they’re in on a secret.

I imagine the drive first: the slow unspooling of roads, trees reflecting the seasons, the radio half-listened to. That soft mental shift where Roanoke loosens its grip and your thoughts stretch their legs. By the time the peaks come into view, you are already different, even if only by a degree or two.

If we go and there are no otters, that will be fine. We will have seen ridgelines and old stone and the lake holding the sky like a comfy hammock. We will have walked a little and stood still a lot. We will have proven that the point was never the animal, but the act of going, of saying yes to a day that asks nothing more than your presence.

And if by some cosmic joke an otter does appear, slick and brief and unimpressed with us, that will just be a bonus. A footnote. The real entry will already be written in advance, in the wanting to go, in the quiet promise that sometime this year we will.

https://www.virginia.org/listing/peaks-of-otter/7079/

#Roanokeva #peaksofotter #doodle #otter #ottersinponchos

Filmation’s #TheHardyBoys perform “Those Country Girls” in the episode “What Happened at Midnight?” ABC, Saturday, November 1, 1969.

#ByronKane-#JoeHardy #FentonHardy #DallasMcKennon-#FrankHardy #ChubbyMorton #PeteJones

#JaneWebb-#WandaKayBreckenridge #GetrudeHardy

#FilmationHardyBoys

New Year’s Eve

The year is packing its things tonight.

Not rushing. Just moving deliberately, deciding what to keep and what can be left folded at the back of the drawer. Roanoke seems aware of this. The valley feels held, like it knows a threshold is being crossed even if nothing dramatic marks the moment.

The mountains remain where they are. That helps. It always does.

New Year’s Eve here is not loud unless you go looking for it. Mostly it is lights in windows, distant sounds, the low hum of people finishing one chapter and setting another gently on the table. The cold keeps things honest. Breath visible. Hands in pockets. Thoughts slowing down enough to be examined.

This year had its share of weight. Some days heavy, some days surprisingly light. There were small victories that did not announce themselves, and losses that lingered quietly, asking to be carried a little longer. None of it feels wasted. It all taught something, even if the lesson is still forming.

Outside, the night settles into the valley. Trains pass through, unconcerned with calendars. The star keeps glowing, steady as ever, reminding everyone that continuity matters as much as change.

The new year does not arrive with instructions. It never does. It shows up like a trailhead without a map, familiar and uncertain at the same time. Step forward. Adjust as needed. Pay attention.

So here is a simple wish, written where the mountains can overhear it.

May the coming year bring enough quiet to hear yourself think.
Enough warmth to soften the hard days.
Enough mystery to stay curious.
Enough steadiness to keep going.

Happy New Year, Roanoke.
Happy New Year to whoever is reading this, wherever you are standing tonight.

The lights are on. The path is there. That feels like a good way to begin.

https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/newyearscountdown.html

Development slowing. Getting indecisive.

https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/hero6eSupersV45.html

This latest version (v45) is designed to act as a complete “zero-paper” digital assistant for running Hero System 6E sessions on a mobile device.
Here is exactly what this version offers:
1. Absolute Design Consistency
Every character in the roster—whether a Player Hero (Scott, Will, Trism), a standard NPC (Agent, Alien, Cop, Titan, Thug), or a Custom NPC you create—now uses the exact same high-performance 6-tab interface. This removes the “mental friction” of looking at different layouts for different units.
2. Standardized 6-Tab Character Sheets
Each unit possesses:
* 📊 Stats: Interactive characteristic grid. Tapping “DEX” or “INT” rolls a check and calculates the success margin.
* ⚡ Combat: Functional attack buttons (e.g., Bear Punch or Gravity Gun) and repaired Stunned/Aborted toggles.
* 🎯 Skills: The full Everyman 8- suite (Climbing, Stealth, Deduction, etc.) plus professional skills, all one-tap rollable.
* 📂 Bio: Fully restored, multi-paragraph narrative dossiers (Origins, Personality, Tactics).
* 📝 Audit: Line-item “point receipts” showing exactly how the point totals (175, 400, or 404) were calculated.
* 📓 Log: A secure, persistent text area for session-specific notes.
3. Reactive Vitals & Recovery Engine
* Dynamic Trackers: STUN, BODY, and END have dedicated + and – buttons for real-time tracking.
* Smart Recovery [❤]: Tapping the heart button adds the character’s specific REC stat to their current Stun and End, while automatically capping them at their starting maximums.
4. Advanced GM Tactical Hub
The GM tab acts as a high-speed rules reference and calculator:
* Repaired Hit Location: Rolls 3d6 and tells you exactly which body part was hit, the Stun Multiplier (x2-x5), the Body Multiplier, and the OCV Penalty to target that area.
* To-Hit Calculator: Input Attacker OCV and Target DCV to see the exact target number needed on 3d6.
* Mental Combat Engine: Automated OMCV vs. DMCV target calculation.
* Presence Attack Tool: Base PRE + Situational Dice vs. a built-in results table (Hesitation, Surrender, etc.).
* Throwing Math: Conversions for STR vs. Object Mass (kg) to find max throwing distance.
5. Marginal Success Feedback
To speed up play, every roll in the app provides instant mathematical feedback:
* Instead of just saying “Success,” the banner says “SUCCESS by 4” or “FAILED by 2.” This allows the GM to immediately describe the quality of the action without doing mental subtraction.
6. Technical Reliability & Persistence
* VIPER Fix: Standardized Agent vitals to the correct 20 Stun / 10 Body / 20 End.
* Mobile-First Design: Emoji icons are locked at 22px for high touch accuracy.
* Data Persistence: Character notes and custom-created NPCs are saved to your browser’s local storage so they are still there if you refresh the page.

Proof of concept for html5 hero system 6e campaign aid

https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/hero6eSupersV20.html

Hero Campaign Manager (v20) – User Manual

1. Getting Started

This application is a Single Page Application (SPA) contained entirely within one HTML file. It requires no internet connection, no server, and no installation.

How to Install
* Save the File: Save the code block from the previous message as Hero_Campaign_Manager.html.
* Open: Double-click the file on your computer, or open it on your smartphone/tablet.
* Mobile Tip: On iPhone/Android, you can use “Add to Home Screen” in your browser options to turn it into a dedicated app icon.

2. Navigation
The interface is divided into two main navigation bars:
* Top Roster Bar: This is your “Character Select.”
   * Scott, Minimax (Will), Trism: The Player Characters (PCs).
   * Agent, Alien, Cop, Titan, Thug: The Non-Player Characters (NPCs).
   * 🛠 GM: The Game Master’s control center.
   * Tip: The bar scrolls horizontally if you have many characters.
* Bottom Menu Bar: This changes based on who you have selected. It controls the specific “Tabs” for that character (e.g., Stats, Powers, Combat, Bio).

3. Character Sheet Features
Every character (PC and NPC) shares these interactive features:
A. Vital Statistics (Interactive)
At the top of every sheet are the STUN, BODY, and END trackers.
* Taking Damage: Tap the [-] button to lower the stat.
* Healing: Tap the [+] button to raise it.
* Note: These numbers reset if you refresh the page.
B. Status Toggles
Below the vitals are buttons for Stunned, Aborted, and Flashed.
* Tap to toggle them Red/Active.
* This is a visual reminder only; it does not mechanically stop you from rolling dice.
C. Click-to-Roll Skills
In the Stats or Rolls tab:
* Tap any button like [Stealth 14-] or [Perception 12-].
* The Result Banner: A banner will appear at the top of the screen showing:
   * The total rolled on 3d6.
   * Success or Failure.
   * The “Margin of Success” (e.g., “Made it by 3”).
D. Click-to-Roll Powers
In the Powers or Combat tab:
* Attacks (like “Gravity Gun” or “Bear Punch”) are clickable buttons.
* Tapping them rolls the damage automatically (Normal or Killing).
* The result (Body/Stun) appears in the banner at the top.
E. The “Recover” Button (❤)
Located in the bottom right of the PC navigation bar.
* Tap Once: Instantly adds your REC score to your current STUN and END.
* Visual Feedback: The Stun/End boxes will flash green to confirm the recovery.
F. Notes (Auto-Save)
The Notes tab contains a text area.
* Anything you type here is saved to your browser’s Local Storage.
* If you close the browser and come back later, your notes will still be there.

4. GM Tools (The 🛠 Tab)
The GM tab is designed to help run the game flow.
A. The Speed Chart (Tracker)
* Segment Counter: Tap the large number at the top to advance the turn (1 to 12).
* Visual Grid: As you advance the segment, the corresponding column in the Speed Chart highlights Purple.
* Who Acts? Anyone with an “X” in the highlighted column has a Phase.
B. Dice Rollers (Calculators)
* Hit Location: Rolls 3d6 and tells you the location (e.g., “13: Vitals”) and the damage multipliers.
* Reaction Roll: Randomly determines NPC attitude (Hostile to Helpful).
* Damage Rollers: Enter the number of dice (e.g., 10) and tap “Roll”. It calculates Total Body and Total Stun automatically.
* Knockback (KB): Enter the Body damage taken. Tap “Calc KB” to subtract 2d6 and see how many meters the target flies.
C. Reference Tables
Static charts for quick lookups during play:
* Modifiers: Range, Darkness, Cover penalties.
* Falling Damage: How much damage you take for falling X meters.
* Object Body/Def: How hard it is to break a wall or door.
* Maneuvers: OCV/DCV modifiers for Dodge, Block, Grab, etc.

5. Editing & Customizing
Since this is a single HTML file, you can edit it with any text editor (Notepad, VS Code).
* To Change Stats: Search for id=”scott-stun-val” and change the number inside the tag (e.g., <h3>45</h3>).
* To Add Skills: Copy an existing <div class=”roll-btn” …> line and change the name and the target number in the onclick function (e.g., rollSkillCheck(14, ‘scott’)).
* To Add Characters: Copy an entire char-wrapper div and rename the ID (e.g., id=”char-newguy”). You must also add a button to the top roster-bar.

6. Troubleshooting
* “My notes disappeared!”: Notes are saved to the specific browser you are using. If you open the file in Chrome, write notes, and then open it in Safari, the notes won’t transfer. Clearing your browser cache/cookies will delete the notes.
* “The layout looks weird”: Ensure you are viewing it on a screen with a width of at least 320px (standard smartphone). It works best in portrait mode on mobile or a narrow window on desktop.

Re:small (used for minimax original bio)

https://scottobear.livejournal.com/131805.html

This LiveJournal post, titled “Small,” was written by user scottobear and published on October 6, 2000. It is a piece of flash fiction or a short story that deals with themes of childhood illness, mortality, and the psychological mechanisms used to cope with trauma.

Here is an analysis of the post:

1. Narrative and Plot Summary
The story follows a ten-year-old boy who appears much younger (“small as five”) due to a debilitating illness, implied to be cancer (references to hair loss, “special food,” doctors, needles, and a “bad thing” seeking him). The boy develops a fixation on the concept of being “small.” To him, smallness equates to safety, invisibility, and the ability to slip away unnoticed.
The narrative concludes with the boy returning to the beach alone. While his parents cannot find him and likely mourn his death (“They seemed sad”), the boy’s perspective frames his disappearance as a triumph. He has successfully become so small—like a pebble—that “the bad thing” can no longer find him.

2. Themes and Symbolism
* The “Bad Thing”: The story personifies the boy’s illness or impending death as a predator (“the bad thing”) that is hunting him. By reframing death as a game of hide-and-seek, the boy retains a sense of agency in a situation where he has none.
* Smallness as Safety: The central metaphor is the safety of being small. In a world of scary “big” things (doctors, needles, the disease), the boy retreats into the idea that being microscopic renders him invulnerable. “You cannot be a small boy and be far away” and “You are smaller if you don’t scream” suggest a retreat into himself to survive the pain.
* The Pebble: The pebble represents the ultimate goal of the boy’s transformation. It is hard, enduring, and indistinguishable from thousands of others. By wishing to become a pebble, he wishes to become part of the eternal landscape of the sea, effectively immortal and beyond pain.

3. Tone and Perspective
The story is written in a third-person limited perspective, staying close to the boy’s internal logic. This creates a heartbreaking contrast between the innocent, magical thinking of the child and the harsh reality the reader understands.
* Euphemism: The boy never uses words like “cancer” or “dying.” Instead, he focuses on “special food,” “doctors’ place,” and “the bad thing.” This emphasizes his youth and his attempt to cognitively distance himself from the trauma.
* Bittersweet Ending: The ending is ambiguous and spiritual. While physically the boy has likely passed away (drowned or succumbed to illness on the beach), the narrative voice insists on his survival in a metaphysical sense. He hasn’t been “caught”; he has escaped.

4. Context and Author’s Intent
In the comments section of the post, the author (scottobear) provides crucial context for the piece:
> “Thanks. an old piece, posted due to certain folks passing due to cancer, and a lj’er mentioning her desire to shrink.”
>
This confirms that the story was a response to real-world grief and a specific conversation within the LiveJournal community about the desire to disappear or “shrink” away from life’s hardships.

5. Community Reception
The comments on the post reflect the emotional weight of the story. Readers described it as “amazing,” noted that it made them feel “lonely,” and praised the “Lilliputian” perspective. It highlights the tight-knit, supportive nature of the blogging community in the early 2000s, where creative writing was often used to process collective grief.

Futzing around with a
Clean html5 hero system character catalog / gm aid proof of concept

https://svonberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/hero6eSupersV6.html

Roanoke does not have a specific cryptid or monster you can point at.

If it did, someone would have put it on a bumper sticker by now.

Instead, we have mountains that lean in like they are listening. Tinker Mountain squints down at the city as if trying to remember why it came into the room. Mill Mountain wears a star the way some people wear a tuxedo, not because it explains anything, but because it looks sharp.

Nothing official haunts these woods. No Goatmen or Giant frog-critters. No festivals to celebrate Mothman or the Woodbooger. Just trees doing tree things and occasionally reminding you they were here first, exhaling the isoprene that colors the air, making it the blue ridge. 

Roanoke’s mythology is subtle. It prefers suggestion over spectacle. It lives in the way fog gathers in the valley like the city is being gently tucked in. In the way trails curve just enough that you are never quite sure what is around the bend, even if you have walked them a hundred times.

This is a place where directions are philosophical exercises. Turn where the old place used to be. Go past the building that caught fire once. If you hit the Starbucks you have gone too far, unless you have not, in which case maybe you are exactly where you need to be.

At night, the city hums softly, like it is thinking. Trains clear their throats. The highway sighs. Owls call out. The mountains hold still and let the valley do the talking. That is when Roanoke feels most itself, not empty, not full, just aware.

If there is something watching from the woods, it is not here to scare anyone. It is here to observe. To note how we keep building and rebuilding, naming and renaming, forgetting and remembering, all on land that does not seem particularly impressed.

You feel it on a quiet weekday hike when the trail belongs only to you and a few very judgmental squirrels. You feel it standing in line for coffee, wondering how many versions of yourself have stood in roughly this same spot over the years, thinking roughly the same thoughts.

Roanoke does not need a monster. It already has a personality.

It is the kind that asks questions without waiting for answers. The kind that suggests you slow down, look around, and accept that some things are better felt than explained.

The star lights up on schedule. The mountains stay put. The city carries on, cheerful and strange and mostly convinced it knows what it is doing.

And somewhere between the fog and the foothills, Roanoke smiles to itself, pleased to remain slightly mysterious.