AI Assisted Writing
- Groups with busy schedules
- Players who want variety in their gaming
- Anyone who’s tired of unfinished campaigns
- New players who don’t want to commit to months of sessions
- The Shell: A crispy exterior of seemingly tough talk
- The Filling: A soft interior of policy reversals and backtracking
- The Hot Sauce: Added spice when Trump himself reacted to a reporter’s “nasty” question about it
- Early 2025: Trump buys red Tesla, friendship rings exchanged (metaphorically)
- Spring 2025: DOGE launches, memes abound, efficiency promised
- June 2025: Public feud erupts, accusations fly, Tesla considered for donation
- Future: Netflix documentary inevitable
- Tesla stockholders are getting a masterclass in why company valuations shouldn’t depend on CEO friendships
- Government efficiency efforts are learning that you can’t DOGE your way out of personality conflicts
- Twitter (or X, or whatever we’re calling it these days) is getting record engagement from rubberneckers
Pulled in Too Many Directions: When Chronic Illness Meets Creative Overwhelm
I spent four hours yesterday watching YouTube videos about productivity.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. There I was, consuming content about being productive instead of actually being productive. But here’s the thing - I wasn’t just being lazy. I was overwhelmed.
I have too many interests that all matter to me. I love to code. There’s something magical about writing text and making computers do things. I’m supposed to be working on an iPadOS app for my wife.
I love cooking, which means meal planning and grocery shopping - two huge time sucks.
I like working out, though I rarely do it anymore.
Roleplaying games fascinate me. I want to set up the next adventure for friends.
My wife has her own projects that need my support. Then there’s my reading backlog - books, stories, technical manuals.
Oh, and I spend twelve hours a week getting dialysis.
The Multi-Interest Trap
Most productivity advice assumes your interests are frivolous. “Just eliminate the time-wasters,” they say. “Focus on what matters.”
But what if everything matters?
Coding isn’t just a hobby - it’s creative problem-solving that feeds my soul. Cooking isn’t just sustenance - it’s how I care for my family. RPGs aren’t escapism - they’re collaborative storytelling that connects me with friends. Reading isn’t procrastination - it’s how I learn and grow.
The problem isn’t having meaningless hobbies. The problem is having too many meaningful ones.
Traditional productivity gurus don’t account for this. They assume you’re scrolling TikTok for hours, not trying to choose between legitimate creative pursuits. When all your interests have value, choosing becomes paralyzing.
The Chronic Illness Factor
Then there’s the reality most productivity advice ignores completely: chronic illness.
I spend four hours, three days a week, lying in a bed with needles in my left arm. I can’t move that arm. I can’t use both hands. I’m physically constrained in ways that make traditional “hustle culture” advice feel like a cruel joke.
My energy fluctuates wildly. Some afternoons after dialysis, I feel energetic. Other days, I’m completely drained. The days between treatments are usually my most productive, but that’s only four days a week at full capacity.
Most productivity experts have never had to plan their creative work around medical treatments. They’ve never had to factor in recovery time or energy management. Their advice assumes consistent daily energy levels that simply don’t exist for people like me.
The Consumption Trap
This is where YouTube becomes dangerous.
When you’re tired, when you’re overwhelmed by choices, when you’re physically limited, consumption becomes the path of least resistance. Watching someone else code feels productive without requiring the energy that actual coding demands. Food videos scratch the cooking itch without the meal planning overhead.
I recently watched a video that hit hard (see The Habit that forces your brain to stop consuming). The creator talked about how our brains crave novelty and dopamine, and social media provides artificial hits of both. But creation provides them in more sustainable, meaningful doses.
The insight was powerful: shift from being a consumer to being a contributor.
But here’s what the video didn’t address - what happens when your ability to contribute is limited by physical constraints? What happens when you have the drive to create but not always the energy or physical capacity?
Adapted Strategies
The solution isn’t to eliminate interests or ignore physical limitations. It’s to work smarter with the energy and time you actually have.
Work with your energy patterns, not against them. My most productive days are the in-between days. Instead of feeling guilty about low-energy days, I’ve started planning for them. Dialysis days are for rest, planning, and light consumption that feeds future creation.
Batch similar activities. Meal planning happens on Sundays. Coding happens in focused blocks on high-energy days. RPG prep gets batched with other reading activities.
Combine interests strategically. What if I coded tools for my RPG campaigns? What if I built meal planning apps? What if I listened to coding podcasts while prepping ingredients?
Make consumption serve creation. Instead of random YouTube videos, I queue up content that feeds my active projects. iOS development tutorials during dialysis recovery time. Cooking videos during meal planning sessions.
Use constraints to make decisions. The physical limitation of one-handed iPad use during dialysis actually clarifies what activities are possible. The energy limitation of post-dialysis afternoons helps prioritize what matters most.
It’s Not About Choosing Less
The traditional productivity advice of “just focus on one thing” doesn’t work when you’re a creative person with multiple meaningful interests. And it definitely doesn’t work when chronic illness adds layers of complexity to your energy management.
The real solution is learning to work with your constraints instead of fighting them. Your limitations aren’t failures - they’re data points that help you make better decisions about how to spend your energy.
I’m still working on this. Some days I still end up in YouTube rabbit holes instead of making progress on projects that matter. But I’m getting better at recognizing when that’s happening and why.
The goal isn’t perfect productivity. It’s sustainable creativity within the reality of the life you actually have, not the life productivity gurus assume you’re living.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is take a nap.
Why Call of Cthulhu Beats D&D at Actually Getting Played
Let’s be honest about something. How many D&D campaigns have you started that never finished?
I’m talking about those epic adventures that were supposed to take your characters from level 1 to 20. The ones that petered out somewhere around level 6. The campaign notes gathering dust on your hard drive.
There’s a reason for this. And it’s not that your group lacks commitment.
The Year-Long D&D Commitment Problem
Here’s what nobody tells you when you crack open that shiny new D&D adventure book. Curse of Strahd will eat 22-26 sessions of your life. Tomb of Annihilation demands 26-35 sessions. Even the humble Lost Mines of Phandelver - the “beginner” adventure - clocks in at 30-50 hours of gameplay.
That’s 6 months to 2 years of regular weekly sessions. For one campaign.
Think about your last group text trying to schedule a session. Now imagine doing that every week for two years straight. While keeping the same characters alive. And remembering what happened in session 12 when you’re now on session 31.
No wonder most D&D campaigns die a slow death around the third month.
CoC: Complete Stories in Bite-Sized Chunks
Call of Cthulhu takes a completely different approach. Most scenarios are designed to wrap up in 3-4 hours total.
Not 3-4 hours per session for months on end. Three to four hours. Period. Done. Complete story with beginning, middle, and satisfying conclusion.
“The Haunting” - the classic starter scenario - takes about 4-6 hours. You can literally run this on a Saturday afternoon and have investigators discover cosmic horror, face an impossible choice, and either save the day or go insane trying. All before dinner.
Compare that to starting Curse of Strahd knowing you’re signing up for half a year of consistent scheduling. Which one sounds more doable for your actual life?
Why D&D Became a Commitment Sport
Don’t get me wrong. D&D’s design isn’t accidental. The level 1-20 progression system demands long story arcs. You need time to grow from “I swing my sword” to “I cast Meteor Swarm and reshape the battlefield.”
Published D&D adventures are built around this. They’re designed as months-long investments. Epic journeys that require sustained character development and party dynamics.
But here’s the thing. Somewhere along the way, the hobby developed this expectation that “real” D&D means year-long campaigns. That shorter adventures are just warm-ups for the main event.
This turned D&D into a commitment sport. Like training for a marathon when you just wanted to go for a jog.
The Beautiful Efficiency of Horror
Call of Cthulhu works differently because horror works differently.
Investigation has a natural story structure. Investigators find clues. Clues lead to revelations. Revelations lead to confrontation with cosmic horror. Confrontation leads to resolution (or madness).
This arc fits perfectly into 3-4 hours. The tension builds, reaches a climax, and resolves. No need for seventeen sessions of character development. The story is the star, not the character sheet.
Plus, let’s talk about character mortality. In CoC, investigators die. Or go insane. Or both. This isn’t a bug - it’s a feature. It creates natural endpoints to stories.
Unlike D&D, where characters grow stronger and more attached over dozens of sessions, CoC investigators are fragile. This makes shorter commitments not just possible, but inevitable.
Real Talk: What This Means for Your Gaming Group
You know what’s great about running “The Haunting” on a Saturday night? Everyone leaves satisfied. Complete story. Full experience. No cliffhangers requiring next week’s session to resolve.
Compare that to starting Descent into Avernus and knowing you’re committing to 30-40 sessions. That’s almost a year of weekly gaming. Miss a few sessions and you’re lost. Have one player move away and the whole campaign crumbles.
CoC scenarios are perfect for:
You can run “The Dead Boarder” in 2 hours. “The Necropolis” takes 1-2 hours max. These aren’t abbreviated experiences - they’re complete horror stories with full narrative arcs.
Ready to Try Some Cosmic Horror?
If you’re tired of D&D campaigns that never reach their conclusions, give Call of Cthulhu a shot.
Start with “The Haunting” from the starter set. Four hours. Complete experience. Your players will face cosmic horror, make impossible choices, and either triumph or face the consequences of meddling with forces beyond human comprehension.
All in one evening.
The best part? When it’s over, it’s actually over. Your group will have experienced a complete story from beginning to end. No scheduling next week’s session to find out what happens. No wondering if this campaign will join the graveyard of unfinished adventures.
Just the satisfaction of a story well told. And maybe, just maybe, investigators who lived to tell the tale.
Though honestly, where’s the fun in that?
Have you experienced the curse of unfinished D&D campaigns? Or found success with shorter RPG formats? Share your horror stories (gaming or otherwise) in the comments below.
Trading Freedom for Efficiency: My Journey from PD to HD
After my kidney surgery, everything changed. I had to switch from peritoneal dialysis (PD) to hemodialysis (HD). PD is the type where you dialyze at home through your abdomen. HD is what most people picture - sitting in a clinic hooked to a machine.
I didn’t have a choice in this. The surgery made the decision for me.
What I Miss Most About PD
I miss my nights. With PD, I just hooked up before bed. The machine worked while I slept. Eight hours of gentle, continuous cleaning. No alarms, no nurses, no commute.
I could roll over. I could get up for water. I could live.
Now that freedom is gone. PD was like a gentle stream cleaning my blood all night. HD feels like a pressure washer blasting through me. Both work, but one lets you forget you’re sick.
Understanding Ultrafiltration
Let me explain ultrafiltration. It’s just a fancy word for removing extra fluid. Your kidneys normally do this when you pee. Dialysis has to do it artificially.
With PD, I could remove about twice as much fluid. The peritoneum - that’s your abdominal lining - acts like a filter. Glucose in the dialysis fluid pulls water from your blood. It’s osmosis, really.
HD uses pressure instead. It forces fluid out through an artificial membrane. It works, but there’s a limit. Push too hard and you cramp. Your blood pressure drops. You feel awful.
The HD Reality
Four hours. That’s what HD demands from me. Four hours of complete stillness every two days.
Try lying perfectly still for four hours. Your arm with the needles can’t move. One wrong shift and alarms scream. Blood might leak. The nurses rush over.
My back aches after two hours. My legs want to stretch. My mind goes crazy with boredom. I watch the clock like it’s my enemy.
Some people sleep through it. I can’t. I just lie there, waiting.
What HD Does Better
I have to be fair here. HD removes phosphate and potassium like a champion. These minerals build up when your kidneys fail. Too much potassium stops your heart. Too much phosphate destroys your bones.
HD clears them efficiently. Three times a week, boom - levels drop. With PD, it was always a struggle. I took binders with every meal. I avoided certain foods.
So yes, HD has its advantages. But at what cost?
The Trade-Off I’d Make
Give me back my PD tomorrow. I’ll take the phosphate binders. I’ll skip the bananas and potatoes. I’ll manage the potassium myself.
What good is efficient toxin removal if it steals your life? I’d rather have good days with some dietary restrictions. HD gives me perfect labs and exhausting treatment days.
Quality of life matters. Being able to work matters. Traveling without planning around clinics matters. Sleeping in your own bed every night matters.
I’d make that trade in a heartbeat.
Looking Forward
My doctors say I might return to PD eventually. The surgical site needs to heal completely first. I’m counting the days.
If you’re choosing between PD and HD, think beyond the medical numbers. Consider your lifestyle. Value your independence. Ask about all your options.
HD works well for many people. Some prefer the structure. Some like not managing their own care. That’s valid too.
But for me? I just want my nights back. I want to wake up dialyzed, not exhausted. I want treatment that fits my life, not life that fits my treatment.
Until then, I’ll endure my four-hour sessions. I’ll appreciate what HD does well. But I’ll keep hoping for the day I can go home again.
Remember: every patient is different. What works for me might not work for you. Always discuss your options with your nephrologist.
Relax History AI: When AI Brings History to Life
Ever wondered what George Washington really looked like? Not the stiff painting version, but the actual person?
What if you could see Marie Curie’s actual face? Not just that famous black-and-white photo. Her real, living face with all its expressions.
That’s exactly what Relax History AI does. And it’s brilliant.
What is Relax History AI?
It’s a YouTube channel that brings dead people back to life. Well, sort of.
They use AI to transform old paintings and descriptions into photorealistic faces. Suddenly, historical figures aren’t just names in textbooks. They’re people. Real people with eyes that seem to look right at you.
The channel creates videos that reimagine everyone from Geronimo to Anastasia Romanov. Each face tells a story. Each image makes history feel closer.
The Magic Behind the Screen
Here’s how it works. The AI analyzes everything available about a historical figure. Paintings, sketches, written descriptions. Even details about their ethnicity and the time period.
Then it creates what they probably looked like. Not cartoon versions. Not idealized portraits. Just people.
It’s like time travel without the paradoxes.
The technology adds subtle details too. Skin texture, natural lighting, realistic hair. These aren’t Instagram filters. This is serious reconstruction work.
Why This is a Brilliant Use of AI
Most AI applications feel cold. This one creates connection.
Think about it. We learn history through dusty portraits and formal paintings. Everyone looks stern. Everyone looks distant. No wonder kids find history boring.
But show them what Cleopatra might have really looked like? Now you’ve got their attention.
This democratizes history in ways textbooks never could. You don’t need a PhD to feel connected to these figures. You just need eyes and curiosity.
It also preserves cultural memory differently. Not through static images. Through faces that feel alive.
Hit Series That Changed Everything
Their “20 Historical Icons Brought Back to Life” series went viral. For good reason.
Each episode features multiple historical figures. George Washington looks less like a dollar bill and more like your stern grandfather. Anastasia Romanov becomes a real teenager, not just a tragic legend.
Marie Curie? She looks brilliant and tired. Exactly how you’d expect someone who discovered radium to look.
Geronimo stares back with intensity that no painting captured. You understand why he was such a formidable leader.
These aren’t just pictures. They’re windows into real lives.
The Future of Learning History
This is what good AI looks like. It doesn’t replace human connection. It creates it.
Imagine history classes using this technology. Students could “meet” the people they’re studying. The American Revolution becomes less abstract when you can see Washington’s actual face.
Teachers could show that historical figures were just people. They had bad hair days. They had worry lines. They looked tired sometimes.
It changes everything about how we relate to the past.
Some Final Thoughts
Sure, these reconstructions aren’t perfect. We can’t know exactly what these people looked like. But that’s not really the point.
The point is connection. The point is making history human again.
When you see Cleopatra as a real person, not just an Elizabeth Taylor movie, something shifts. History stops being about dates and starts being about people.
That’s the real magic here. Not the AI technology itself. But what it helps us see.
Dead people were once alive. They had faces. They had expressions. They were just like us.
And that’s exactly what makes Relax History AI such a great use of artificial intelligence. It makes the artificial feel human.
Have you checked out any of their videos yet? Which historical figure would you most like to see brought to life?
The TACO Revolution: When Fast Food Meets Politics
Trump Always Chickens Out - A Spicy New Internet Sensation
It seems the internet has found its newest obsession, and surprisingly, it involves both politics and Mexican cuisine – sort of. The acronym “TACO” has been taking over Facebook feeds faster than you can say “guacamole,” but this particular taco comes with an extra side of political satire.
TACO stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” a term originally coined by a Financial Times columnist that has now morphed into a full-blown meme phenomenon. The internet, being the internet, couldn’t resist the delicious wordplay opportunities.
Why TACO is on the Menu
Like any good taco, this meme comes with layers:
The beauty of the TACO meme is that it’s both a noun and a verb. “Did you see Trump TACO on that trade policy again?” has become the new way to describe someone who talks tough but retreats when challenged.
From Drive-Thru to Viral Drive
What makes this political fast food so addictive? Perhaps it’s the perfect combination of simplicity and substance. In a world of complex political discourse, sometimes all you need is a simple acronym that people can sink their teeth into.
As one Facebook user eloquently put it: “I used to enjoy Taco Tuesday, but now I enjoy TACO every day of the week.”
Whatever your political appetite, you have to admire the internet’s ability to wrap complex political commentary in a convenient, hand-held meme format. It’s political fast food for the digital age – quick, satisfying, and guaranteed to leave a lasting impression.
Just remember, unlike actual tacos, this one seems to have no problem holding everything together.
Disclaimer: This blog post contains 100% organic humor with no artificial outrage. Consume responsibly.
The Great Billionaire Breakup of 2025: Trump vs. Musk
When Bromance Meets Reality TV Drama in the Age of Electric Vehicles
In what future historians will surely call “The Most 2025 Thing Ever,” the Trump-Musk friendship has imploded more spectacularly than a SpaceX test rocket. Grab your popcorn, folks – this billionaire breakup has everything: Tesla tantrums, Twitter tirades, and stock market drama.
The Rise and Fall of an Unlikely Bromance
Remember when Trump and Musk were the dynamic duo nobody saw coming? It feels like yesterday they were finishing each other’s tweets and making government efficiency memes together. But as we’ve learned from every reality TV show ever (and Trump should know this better than anyone), alliances built on shared enemies rarely survive success.
The partnership that began with such promise – Musk heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (yes, DOGE, because apparently we’re living in a simulation programmed by memelords) – has now devolved into a public spat that makes celebrity divorces look like amicable conscious uncouplings.
The Tesla Tantrum That Broke the Internet
Breaking: Man who bought $100,000+ friendship token now considering regifting it. More at 11.
In what might be the most expensive “take back” in friendship history, Trump is reportedly considering selling or giving away the red Tesla he purchased earlier this year to support Musk. It’s like returning a friendship bracelet, but with a six-figure price tag and autopilot features.
“Trump saying Musk has ‘lost his mind’ is particularly rich, considering both men are known for their… let’s say ‘unconventional’ social media presence."
The Irony Olympics: Gold Medal Moments
1. The DOGE Disaster 🐕
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was supposed to streamline government operations. Instead, it seems to have streamlined the path to their friendship’s demise. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a Cybertruck’s angular edges.
2. The “Lost His Mind” Proclamation 🤯
Trump declaring that someone else has “lost their mind” is like a fish complaining about someone being wet. The pot hasn’t just met the kettle; they’re having a full-blown Twitter war.
3. The Stock Market Side-Eye 📉
Tesla shares dropping 14% during their feud is essentially Wall Street’s way of saying, “Can you two just get along? Some of us have retirement portfolios!” The market has spoken, and it’s begging for couple’s therapy.
💡 Fun Fact: The Timeline of Doom
What This Means for the Rest of Us Mortals
Beyond the entertainment value (which, let’s be honest, is substantial), this feud represents something more significant: the collision of tech billionaire culture with political reality TV drama. It’s what happens when you mix Silicon Valley’s “move fast and break things” with Washington’s “tweet fast and break relationships.”
The implications are real:
The Silver Lining: Comedy Gold
If there’s one thing we can count on in 2025, it’s that when two of the world’s most powerful and controversial figures have a public falling out, the memes will be legendary. From Tesla return policies to DOGE efficiency jokes, the internet has been feasting on this drama like it’s a unlimited buffet of absurdity.
The Bottom Line
The Trump-Musk feud of 2025 will go down in history as either the moment when billionaire bromances jumped the shark, or the greatest reality TV crossover event of all time. Either way, we’re all watching, tweeting, and wondering if this is what peak 2025 looks like.
As for Trump’s red Tesla? Maybe it’ll end up in a museum someday, with a plaque reading: “Artifact from the Great Billionaire Breakup of 2025 – Handle with Care, May Contain Traces of Irony.”
Let’s see where this goes. In the meantime, maybe check your Tesla stock holdings. Just saying. 🚗💔📱
(This article was written in parts with the help of Claude Opus 4.)