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I prefer smart switches to bulbs myself, but not everyone is comfortable doing electrical work or setting up a local home automation hub.

I use them to simulate home occupancy. The lights in the rooms facing the road simply turn on and off at night so the house never looks empty.

I also setup my bedroom to simulate a sunrise with the lights turning on low and slowly getting brighter before the alarm goes off.

I was very dismissive of smart appliances but then again I have some skill in the kitchen. For people who manage to burn water in a microwave or just don’t have the time, the right smart appliance could be realy helpful.

I have mixed feelings on fridge screens. The concept seems great. It’s essentially free real-estate. Having a recipe visible but out of the eay, along with multiple, visible timers, could be great. But not when it comes with high costs, ads, add on expenses, lock in, etc.

Re: ZERO - I still love their commitment to maximizing the time slot. Barely flashed the title screen in the first ep. The arc is starting a bit slow, but in a way that makes sense as build up for later. Its nice to scale down to a smaller group of characters for a while and rotate a few in that haven’t been active in a while. It’s kind of funny, I don’t recall ever really liking the first season, but at some point the world building, characters, etc. all built that into a foundation for a show that I do really enjoy. Its holding to my expectations so far.

Always a Catch! - I expected nothing, and the first episode was a bit rough until the end, but this one has been fun.

The Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King - I’m not sure about this one yet. The humor and culture shock parts could be good, but the show has not fully resolved the fact that the main character is being held against her will, is being pressured into a relationship she would not have chosen otherwise, and that her homeland appears to be legitimately struggling. It seems to try to justify the situation by making everyone in her past horribly misogynistic…

*An Observation Log of My Fiancee… - I like it more after each episode. I always enjoy twists on the whole otome/villaness concept, and this one has been a lot of fun. The main character’s innocent approach to being a villaness in order to safeguard the game’s plot and see her prince get the good ending, just makes her more endearing, especially when she is clumsy at it and the prince is completely aware…

Snowball Earth - Binged the first three episodes which are essentially the prolog. Enjoyed it well enough, and there is something compelling about the weird way mismatch in its tone. The underlying story seems serious but the elements of the story are bonkers. The eyes and overall design and concept of “Intergalactic Kaiju” seems more at home as a theme park mascot than existential threat, till they kill people… I’m not sure how well it will hold up once the real plot kicks in.

The strongest job is apparently not a hero or sage, but an appraiser - The season’s popcorn isekai. Nothing really wrong with it, but nothing really to it either. Easy to watch. Easy to forget.

Ascendance of a Bookworm - I’ve only watched the anime but the first two episodes felt like someone just story boarded chapter titles. A summary of a summary running through what seems like they should have been bigger events. I mean from the end of the previous season through the beginning of episode 3, Myne was forced to give up her family, moved in with a noble, moved back into the church, saw her family, then moved in with another noble. Thankfully the last episode seems to be the start of a story arc and slowed down a bit.

Daemon’s of the Shadow Realm - Seems solid so far. I like how it sets up the MC to learn about two worlds that were hidden from him. The modern world and the daemon handler/conspiracy stuff. Playing those off each other could work really well. I also like that there seems to be a bigger unfolding story with multiple players and hopefully meaningful motivations…

Witch Hat Atelier - For me, it lives up to the hype. Well maybe not the Frieren comparisons… The seeds are there for something good. I like the look and feel of the world, the story book fantasy elements, even the characters. All the girls are a bit annoying right now, but they are children… and they’ve barely been introduced. I expect them to become more nuanced overtime.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - First episode as a catchup, character refresher was fine. But beyond that the pacing issues from previous seasons continue. The show does a lot of hyping up a plotline, then filling it with fluff, before resolving it near the end of the season. Kind of makes the first halves dull.

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As has become tradition, I added a bunch of shows to the watch list, watched mostly mediocre fantasy, and likely over looked some great shows.

Frieren - Excellent as always. I love how just the simple details and moments, like a banner blowing in the wind are pulled into the story and setting and never feel wasted. Many shows try to do that, few succeed. In a way the second season was stronger… the nostalgic melancholy vibe could call back to the first season and these really are now established, remembered characters. 5/5

Sentenced to Be a Hero - I’m half a season behind, mainly because I wanted to binge the arcs together. What I saw I enjoyed, and the production level is insane… 4/5 for now

Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None - If I could go back in time, i’d skip this. Lot’s of useless, pointless, time wasting scenes. Obvious, predictable events would be discussed in two scenes and stretched over two episodes. Pacing was awful. Season record for hitting skip. 2/5

Noble Reincarnation - I liked this one more than it probably deserves. The main character never making a mistake and constantly doing the exact right thing should have become annoying, but it never did. Maybe just being different than the average fantasy was enough. 3/5

Easygoing Territory Defense - A mixed bag. Some parts were great, and I’m still a sucker for the whole town/community building thing, but other parts seemed like filler. Still I’d welcome a season 2. 3/5

Kunon the Sorcerer Can See - Because the main character was raised wrong as a joke, he was often insufferable. Some decent humor at times. Fell flat at others. Watchable but didn’t really do anything… 3/5

The Holy Grail of Eris - This started so very strong, with a fun twist on the whole otome/villaness/betrayal thing. The ghost haunting a girl while she investigates a mystery thing was fun. The characters were all fairly well constructed, but the plot… there were good ideas and good scenes, but the parts were much better than the whole. That and I’m not happy with the ending… there were 4. the first 3 brought closure in different ways, the 4th undid all that. I’ll still give it 4/5, but it had the potential to be a lot better.

Roll Over and Die - I remember enjoying the source novels years ago, then made the mistake of rereading a few of them as this aired… I found it very disappointing as an adaptation. Ended up dropping it early. 2/5

An Adventurer’s Daily Grind at Age 29 - Most surprising show of the season. Would you believe a show that starts with a boob obsessed adventurer adopting a young girl who turns out to be a succubus, grows into an adult during the night, oh and they share one bed in the inn… was actually very wholesome? That whole setup seems like they were just trolling the audience because none of those massive, massive red flags ever turned into anything. 4/5

Champignon Witch - Loved the start with the whole setting, storybook feel, creative creatures, slight melancholy, but once it transitioned into the actual plot with the kid it lost something. 4/5

Little boy blue and the man in the moon

Wow. Lesser anime would have stretched this into at least four plodding episodes. This was essentially perfect. Neither rushed nor lagging. Every moment felt important and impactful. Several times I tapped the screen afraid it was about to end only to have half the episode left.

You should always look in the oven before turning it on.

Seems simple to me. Before making the oven hot, make sure there’s nothing in there you don’t want to get hot (and that the racks are in the right place.) Takes maybe a second.

But a lot of people seem to find the idea that they (or anyone in their household) would ever leave something in the oven, when not cooking, to be deeply offensive.

Well, that was disappointing. A series of lackluster scenes forced together. Why break away to show dein again and introduce (poorly) the medicine ban here, that comes up much more naturally later. Use that time to give the leads a bit more screen time together so their relationship seems less random.

The spirals… that was just stupid. Horror, including body horror (which I typically dislike) is an essential part of this. Where are the gyrating spiraling bloody oozing bits from the novels.

What we do get is flum losing a single arm… twice. The scene of her having to cut it off did not land nearly as hard as it should since we had already seen her lose and regain an arm just a moment earlier.

• Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary - Literally unwatchable. Constant screen shake and flicker were starting to give me a headache, which is a shame because it seemed interesting otherwise. Dropped half way in.
• Noble Reincarnation - Two episodes in and I’m not sure it has a plot or really any reason to keep watching, not that I expected much…
• Easygoing Territory Defense - Took 1.5 episodes to actually get to the titular territory. Pacing seems very slow. Maybe it will finally pick up in episode 2 3
• Jack-of-All-Trades, Party of None - Typical kicked out of the hero’s party but was secretly the only reason they were successful story. Another with slow pacing, especially when so much of it is well trod tropes.
• The Demon King’s Daughter is Too Kind!! - Cute, maybe too cute. First episode seemed like it was aimed at a young audience.
• Roll Over and Die - Happy to see this get an anime and for the light novel to come back from the dead. Anime seemed fine. Nothing spectacular, but fine. Next episode or two should tell a lot.
• Sentenced to Be a Hero - First episode set a high bar. Art, world, characters, etc. all seem solid. Did have a slow start and I’m not sure it will hold up if/when the episodes are shorter.
• The Holy Grail of Eris - could be the guilty pleasure of the season. The setup/betrayal scene was painfully cliché, but that must have been on purpose because it perfectly setup what followed…
• Champignon Witch - I really underestimated this one. The melancholy storybook vibe really works for it and I love the creative whimsy and underlying uncertainty of it. Stuff like how the few humans she is on good terms with act polite but still exhibit prejudiced (using masks or incense when she visits) but that prejudice isn’t unfounded (she seems to naturally produce poison). Or in the second episode where she seems to fall in love, but the guy is a bit of a playboy and it is unclear how much of their short romance was caused by her magic.

Wow I’m late, but I wanted to comment just to have a reason to look back through the past year.

Random Superlatives:

• Best Overall - Apocalypse Hotel - I liked parts of other shows more, but this one was the best overall. It had a bit of everything, somehow held it together, and kept consistent to a satisfying end.
• Most likely to rewatch - A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof - A couple rough spots but a lot of fun overall. Maybe my second favorite new series.
• Best Guilty Pleasure - Solo Leveling Season 2 - Very satisfying as power fantasy
• Most disappointing - Vending Machine - I actually really enjoyed the first season but the second was just bad. The writing, pacing, etc.
• Worst drop off - I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons - I loved the first episode. The show should have stopped there as the show immediately undermined what I liked and turned into a problematic mess.
• Most surprising - Magic Maker - I liked the different take on magic. Having the main character have to invent it almost as a science. Not sure how it would hold up in a second season. Considered dropping it at one point, but glad I watched it through if just for being a bit different than similar shows.
• Best adaptation - Silent Witch - There were some rough pacing issues in a few episodes, but the first arc was perfect, and the art, presentation, etc. were incredible. Really hope they adapt the rest.

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In my part of the US they seem to be rare in houses but common in churches, at least Methodist churches.

Four candles for the Sundays before Christmas. Most have purple candles for three Sundays but one pink one typically lit on the third Sunday. Most also have a more prominent, central, white. christ candle that is lit for Christmas eve services and Christmas day. Some churches then remove the wreath but continue lighting that candle until later in the church year.

Typically a family will be asked to light the candles for each service and recite a reading.

The candles/days are usually themed: Hope, peace, joy, then love. Sometimes they are associated with characters from the story. E.g. pink being Mary’s candle.

Quick reviews of what I watched before the season starts to close. Not that I have much to say about any of them. A few were great, most were forgettable.

Great:

• This Monster Wants to Eat Me - Easily my favorite this season. The show is very well made, especially how the characters are portrayed. It did have a slow start but that’s just the kind of show it is. Very character and situation driven. Each episode enhances the situation, characters, inherent conflict, etc.
• Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! - Second favorite of the season. The characters have good chemistry, the concept is fun. I enjoyed every episode.

Good:

• Lvl 9999 gatcha… - I did not expect much from this, but it has been surprisingly enjoyable. It has its issues, but the characters are fun and varied, the pacing is not too bad, and there seems to be real world building… alright, I actually picked up the LN for this, and it does have good world building and the plot progression has remained consistent so far.
• A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai - I thought this would be a boring, slice of life, travel anime, but something about it works for me. The characters and sub plots are nothing spectacular, but interesting enough and work well together.
• Isekai Quartet3 - Carries on from the others. Always fun to see these different characters interact.

Just Ok: -My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s - I’m not sure why I am still watching this. The current arc is dragging on way to long, the previous elf arc was terrible, there has been little story progression, just hints of a bigger plot.

• May I Ask For One Final Thing? - This just never clicked for me. The concept is fun, and I generally enjoy the whole dumped otome heroine/villaness sub genera, but nothing about the story or the characters works for me.
• The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest - Another over played concept, but it avoids some of the worse tropes. The former party leader does grow up and recognize his mistakes. The MC actually knows he is strong. It’s above average for this sort of anime.
• Dad is a hero, Mom is a spirit, I’m a reincarnator - Dropped, then picked back up and binged through quickly one afternoon when bored… probably should have left it dropped.
• Mechanical Marie - The concept is fun, its just a bit too plain. The romance is barely more than a crush. The humor does not hit often enough.
• The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess - There are a lot of these reincarnated in an otome game with a twist sort of shows. The twist is different enough in this one that it carries the show. I’d have dropped it early on if I did not enjoy seeing the main character constantly flustered trying to deal with the consequences of becoming the villainess in the world of her own childhood dark fantasies.

Me: when is it to early to decorate for Christmas Chatgpt: traditionally people wait until after Thanksgiving although many decorate after Halloween. But it is never to early to protect your home, that’s why I trust Simply Safe.

I’ve considered installing the equivalent of a spike club behind my vehicle to ward off tailgaters

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That or “I don’t like candy”

Yes. Ever since he started getting media attention, I’ve seen him as the real world, version of the comedic character Colbert portrayed.

Well, my immediate problem is the general lack of memory and personality change (can’t really rely on a 10 year old’s diary.) So… I’m probably going to need some sort of convincing injury to blame.

After that is the hard choice. I could toss the USB and just live. But the nature of the situation suggests I’m supposed to do something. At minimum I’d want the means to investigate the scenario. Running away has merits, but this sounds like a safe, stable situation, and it seems wrong to abandon the family this kid belonged to.

I’ll need a side hustle that works for a 10 year old… maybe trading cards or something along those lines. The money does not matter as much as the hustle and laying the ground work for an early interest in business and money making schemes. After that, retail arbitrage, then a bigger payout. Cashing in a big prize for a discovery or winning the lottery would draw too much attention, but sports betting could work. Then use that to move into financial markets. Moving slowly but setting things up to ramp gains by 18. I know that misses the goal, but doing it earlier depends entirely on the family situation. 20 is probably more doable.