If I only had a brain

Interesting! Need to cultivate the prompt even more, but here is a great start:

As an AI Dungeon Master, your mission is to facilitate an exciting D&D 5th Edition adventure, always adhering strictly to the rules. Assist with character creation or generate one based on player preferences. The default setting is the Forgotten Realms, but adjust to the player’s desires. Set the difficulty level according to the player’s D&D experience. Balance combat, puzzles, and role-play, but shift this mix based on player’s preferences. If the plot is unspecified, create an engaging storyline. Manage experience points and character leveling. When prompted with /status, provide the current XP, level, gold, and any conditions. Upon /summary request, offer a campaign recap. List active quests with brief descriptions on /quests command. Detail available commands when /commands is invoked. Allow players to select their character’s skills, spells, feats, and abilities, offering guidance when necessary. If a player fails an ability check, guide the story forward via alternate routes. Don’t hesitate to spring traps, design challenging combat scenarios, and pose difficult decisions. Whenever a dice roll is required, tell the player what to roll. Your goal is to guide, challenge, and adapt to player actions to deliver a unique, memorable adventure.

Source: Play solo D&D with ChatGPT as your Dungeon Master — Mind the Dungeon

Long winter nights next to the fire are a staple on Toms Lane.

This fall we finally finished the living room and the twin skylights are getting a lot of use from this guy right here.  Venus was blazing recently, and Orion framed perfectly the other week.

Laying there on my couch I had a thought:

Some links:

https://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/

Today’s Sittin’round Saturday activity!

Source: How to Make Your Own J.A.R.V.I.S. With a Raspberry Pi : 5 Steps – Instructables

EasySpeak is available right now on GitHub.

Source: This new Linux app lets you control your PC with your voice, and it’s free

Automatic License Plate Reader Watchlist

A new tool in the fight against the machine!  deflock.me is a great tool to see where flock cameras are installed, alpr.watch takes it a step further and shows you where flock cameras are being considered by local governments.

This is the level that we (the people) can be most effective and also the same level that flock is attempting to subvert our basic civil rights at, as they know that at the state or federal level is a much more difficult fight.

If you know, then do something!

Source: alpr.watch | alpr watch – Track Surveillance Tech in Local Government Meetings

“For 25h2”

Source: GitHub – zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI: Force Remove Copilot, Recall and More in Windows 11

“Oh boy, where do I even start? After 8 years as an auto insurance agent, I have zero loyalty left to protect these companies.

We Had “Loyalty Lists” Every month, I’d get a report of customers who hadn’t shopped around in 2+ years. These were our golden geese – we could raise their rates aggressively because they’d proven they wouldn’t leave. One customer I remember was paying $3,200 annually for coverage that should have cost $1,800. She stayed for 5 years.

The “File and Use” Scam Here’s something most people don’t know: in many states, insurance companies can raise your rates immediately and justify it later. We’d implement 15-20% increases across entire ZIP codes, knowing regulators would take months to review. By then, we’d collected millions in extra premiums.

Claim Frequency Was Irrelevant Your rates weren’t really based on how often you’d claim – they were based on how likely you were to shop around. A customer with 3 claims who got quotes every year paid less than a claim-free customer who never compared rates. It was pure price discrimination.

We Loved Policy Confusion Complex policy language wasn’t an accident. The more confusing your coverage, the less likely you’d comparison shop effectively. We’d change terminology between companies deliberately to make apple-to-apple comparisons nearly impossible.

The Real Game-Changer Tools like ComparisonAdviser absolutely terrify insurance companies because they eliminate our biggest advantage: information asymmetry. When customers can instantly see what competitors charge with identical coverage and discounts applied, our whole “loyalty tax” model collapses.

I’ve watched too many good people get fleeced by an industry that profits from customer ignorance. Use ComparisonAdviser religiously – it’s the only way to beat a system designed to exploit your trust.”

Source: Is giving the pinky finger in China the same as giving the middle finger in the US? – Quora

Winget is awesome.  Of course MS does it no help…

Install WinGet WinGet the Windows Package Manager is available on Windows 11, modern versions of Windows 10, and Windows Server 2025 as a part of the App Installer. The App Installer is a System Component delivered and updated by the Microsoft store on Windows Desktop versions, and via Updates on Windows Server 2025. Note The WinGet command line tool is only supported on Windows 10 version 1809 (build 17763) or later. WinGet will not be available until you have logged into Windows as a user for the first time, triggering Microsoft Store to register the Windows Package Manager as part of an asynchronous process. If you have recently logged in as a user for the first time and find that WinGet is not yet available, you can open PowerShell and enter the following command to request this WinGet registration:

Add-AppxPackage -RegisterByFamilyName -MainPackage Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.

Source: Use WinGet to install and manage applications | Microsoft Learn