2025 was not a great year, but it's over, at least.
First things first: time for a Hive Power Up Day! If you see this before the UTC clock ticks over to January 2nd, you can also join in. Power up at least 10 HIVE for a badge from @HiveBuzz. I've powered up about 100 myself already, and I think I may go ahead and boost myself to 64,000 HP before the end of the day.
January
2024 Retrospective and 2025 Plans Last year, I wrote one of these retrospectives for the year prior. I quit writing monthly retrospective posts, so this will be the first in a long list of posts.
A Thought-Provoking Documentary is a review of the 1978 BBC series Connections, hosted by James Burke.
Honest Money vs. Government Money examines the fraud of fiat money and contrasts it with the security afforded by commodity money. The dollar was once defined as a weight of silver, and until 1965, it maintained that weight in the composition of quarters and dimes.
Magic Monday: Snake Charmer covers a Commander deck built around creatures with deathtouch, wither, and poison abilities. I have modified it a bit, but I still have it in my deck collection.
The Lessons from Los Angeles feels like I wrote it more than a year ago. So much insanity has been packed into 2025. I don't think the lessons I recommended have been remembered anyway.
How I Modified a Leather Belt is a DIY post, and I still have the belt. It held up.
Magic Monday: Bear Necessities is about a deck I have since disassembled. Eleemnts from it are in a new deck I am still refining, and Wilson himself leads a new deck I covered later in the year.
Driving in the Snow: A Tutorial for Southerners was a response to wintry weather extending further south than usual.
My critique of Trump's Immigrant Agenda remains relevant for 2026.
Magic Monday: Commander History and Basic Deck Construction is an overview of the game format and some tips to build your own deck.
Lords of the Realm II: A Retro Gaming Review is what it says on the tin.
February
Library Censorship in Idaho is a current events post about regional news. The library mess has not resolved in the Idaho panhandle. The consortium of districts has collapsed, and has been rebuilt without the Community Library Network.
Cool Creator Spotlight: Technology Connections adds to my ongoing series highlighting stuff I find interesting.
Tiers of Coffee was a rather pointless, but fun, post about coffee.
Durability, Quality, and Sustainability vs. Fast Fashion examines the systemic issues of the clothing industry.
More Idaho Authoritarianism looks at Idaho's stupid escalation of its war on weed. I wonder what they think now that Trump has changed its classification?
Snowshoe Trial Run was my best post of the year, and it covered my test of new snowshoes. I haven't needed them yet this year.
Political Centrism vs. Principles dissects partisan talking points from outside the US Democrat/Republican spectrum.
A Penny For Your Thoughts? Or, why the Trump decision to abandon the penny signals deeper problems with the dollar.
Friday Night Magic: Unboxing the Golgari Guild Kit! Different day, different kind of Magic post.
Identifying and Addressing Spam was a response to a spam epidemic. Now the same thing is happening from a different account. Weird. It couldn't possibly be the same person with new sock puppets... right?
Artificial Intelligence, Spam, & Dead Internet Theory tried to explore the enshittification of the internet.
March
1963 Scoutmaster's Handbook: Hiking and Camping reviewed part of the book in the post title.
The Other Thing Zelensky Got Called Out On is a post from the Mises Institute, shared with full crredit to the source and payout declined. I tried sharing several of these in 2025, and will note them with "(Mises)" from here on.
The Hidden Cost of Tariffs: A Lesson from Bastiat’s Seen and Unseen (Mises)
COVID-19: Five Years Later looks back at what happened, what has changed, and why I can't trust "the experts."
Magic Monday: Modern Horizons III Play Booster returns to Monday and I open a pack. the Planar genesis card is in use now for sure, but the others may all be in my boxes of bulk cards.
What is a "Possibles Bag," and Should You Make One? What it says on the tin.
The Real Scandal Behind the Signal Leak Does anyone else think this should have been a bigger story in 2025?
April
Scam Ads and Gullible Buyers A.I. slop is just the newest version of an old problem.
Re-imagining Dwarves was an attempt to make fantasy dwarves, especially for tabletop RPGs, feel more unique as a culture.
Tariffs, Capital Heterogeneity, and the Real Costs of Intervention: The Aluminum Example (Mises)
How and Where Do You Do Laundry? A weird topic that got much more attention than I expected.
Emergency Kits and Possibles Bags followed up on the post from March with some ideas and an example I keep either on my bicycle or in my car.
Vance is Wrong About Love criticized a bad theological comment from Vice President J. D. Vance.
Three Tune Tuesday & Tax Day Rant is music and musings about the deadline for annual tax filings in the US.
Updates About Nothing was just checking in when I felt checked out.
Re-Imagining Elves is shorter than the dwarf post, but also tries to add some ideas for gamers.
May
Homeschooling: Early Recollections and Overview looks back at life as an early homeschooled student of the 1980s and 1990s.
Tariffs Did Not Make America Great and Won’t Make America Great Again (Mises)
Home, Home IN the Range... a DIY post about fixing the Mother Thing's oven element.
A Tale of Two False Kingdoms explores the false messiahs of Christian Nationalism and Christian Socialism placing political power above the Bible.
The Illuminate Have Returned? The first post in a series about Helldivers 2 and defending Super Earth during a major story event.
Super Earth Has Been Invaded! The story continues.
Defending Super Earth: First Impressions had suggestions for loadouts and strategies. The new Super City biome also had new challenges and missions.
Master Mind: a Vintage Game Review was a review of a game. Surprised?
The Fate of Super Earth wrapped up the successful defense of Super Earth, but the Illuminate threat remains.
June
Walkin' That Tightrope of politics, religion, and LGBTQ issues during Pride Month.
Blisters and Roses was a post about hurting myself and taking pictures of flowers.
Bumblebees and Persistence was about recovery and more flower pictures.
Tall Hat Imperial IPA: An Amateurish Beer Review covered drinking a real beer and brewing digital beer in Fallout 76.
Fixing a Broken Sprinkler Head covered another DIY repair topic.
Turmoil and Trouble in North Idaho covered a weird news story about someone who deliberately started a wildfire and then ambushe dthe firefighters who arrived to put it out. Wounded Engineer David Tysdal only recently returned home to continue his recovery.
July
Another Milestone: Orca Level! Celebrating progress on HIVE and blathering on a bit about "killer whales."
Repairing a Bad Hose was yet another DIY post. I've done more than I expected this past year, now that I'm lookng back.
Helldivers 2: an Intro for Xbox Players (and Everyone Else) was posted shortly after Microsoft and Sony agreed to release Helldivers 2 on Xbox.
Helldivers 2: Stratagems, or How We Spread Democracy! More in=depth information for new players.
Magic: The Gathering—Pauper Mill looks at my new favorite 60-card format. Low cost, huge strategic potential. The blue mil deck I showcase has been updated a bit, and it's fun. It's not guaranteed to win, but your opponent will not like seeing their library go straight to the graveyard.
Stablecoins, Hive, HBD, and the "GENIUS Act" was my perspective on a stupid new law and whether it was a concern for HIVE.
August
Helldivers 2: Your First Warbond was another tidbit of advice for new players, especially on Xbox.
Deschutes Symphonic Chronic: An Amateurish Beer Review looked at a microbrew and Mythbusters.
Nine Years on HIVE! Yup, I've been here for a while, although not from the very beginning.
Magic: The Gathering—Pauper Burn covers the first iteration of my red pauper deck. I've made a few improvements since, and I still like it.
Magic: The Gathering—Pauper Soldiers covers perhaps the weakest of my pauper deck experiments, but I've been gradually updating it as its weaknesses are revealed.
Helldivers 2 X Halo ODST Crossover Announcement! Not only was Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox, we were also getting a new warbond with premium items base don Halo 3: ODST!
Magic: The Gathering—Black Death is another Pauper deck, and it was arguably the strongest from the outset, and has thus changed the least. I may not have updated anything, now that I think about it. This deck is mean!
Magic: The Gathering—Fantastic Beasts is my mono-green entry in the series. Its elf-and-beast synergy is pretty strong.
Cool Creator Spotlight Double Feature: Woodworking shows off two channels with tips and tricks for woodworking from very different, but not conflicting, perspectives.
The Inherent Flaws of Democracy picks at some popular ideas about how politics works, and whether it works at all.
Hoplophobic Hysteria looks at the gun control arguments in light of a murder in Minnesota.
Magic: The Gathering—Fantastic Beasts (Upgrades!) A look at how I improved one of the previous Pauper decks.
September
Helldivers 2 Legendary Warbond Review was a proper review of the new Halo 3: ODST crossover Legendary Warbond. There was a recent update to the old Killzone release as the second Legendary Warbond. Should I review that, too?
What Are We Leaving Behind? Introspection and musings about big ideas and change.
Assassins, Blame Games, and American Politics preempted any posts about September 11th, 2001 with a new strange story in the news. American right-wing activist and media personality Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a Utah university.
Pauper Sideboards and Upgrades is more card game deck updates.
Charlie Kirk's Death, Conspiracies, and Social Degradation The public reactions from many left-wingers were absolutely vile. I disagree with many of Kirk's positions, but I still cannot comprehend how people could celebrate his death.
Cool Creator Spotlight: Dime Store Adventures takes a look at an American history channel I recommend.
Midnight Snack was just a short post in a new community where I wrote about making vegan macaroni and not-cheese, and the adding meat.
October
The Encyclopedia Set looked back at the family encyclopedias, some memories from home-schooling, and why it might still be worth owning a set today.
Individualism and the Violence of the Identitarian Left (Mises)
What's Your Magic Color Identity? A personality test based on the colors and their combinations in a collectible card game. Just for fun. Not at all serious.
What is the Real Inflation Rate? Even mainstream economists don't always trust the official government Consumer Price Index.
Matchbox Memories gives you a look at some of my old toys.
Free Speech Facsimiles looks at what I consider hypocrisy on all sides when it comes to free speech.
The White House, Civil Religion, and Desecration was my response to public outcry at Trump's silly ballroom project.
November
Bear Necessities: a Budget Magic Commander Revamp is my massive change to the deck I wrote about back in January.
Midnight Tacos is just another short post about food I made in the wee hours of the morning.
False Messiahs and the True Kingdom is another attempt to point out the problem of combining Church and State, not because the former is the problem, but because the latter is corrupt.
Midnight Soundtrack is a post about songs, and those songs are about night.
Making Dairy-Free Pierogi is a DIY cooking post. I should make these again soon. It's a lot of work, but they're so good!
Calzone is a short post about another midnight snack.
Windows Turns 40 celebrates Microsoft's operating system and its first release. I still usually recommend Linux if you're a serious computer user though.
Cluttered Musings on Travel, History, and the Future is a potpourri of ponderings.
Hive Housekeeping and Happy Thanksgiving is more about HIVE than the holiday.
December
From "Peace Candidate" to More War? No, I am not done criticizing the president.
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way? Thoughts on leadership, rulership, and society.
A.I. Slop and My Thoughts (not a fan, generally speaking)
Jump Scare: A Commander Deck Review looks at a birthday present preconstructed Commander deck. I like it.
Feed the Minnows is a practical look at how we can improve hive with small adjustments in our behavior, no whales or witness votes required.
What a Day was a rough day. Click the link to get the details.
Montana Travel and Merry Christmas is a glimpse into a tourist trap along the interstate in the Big Sky State.
Ask Me Anything & Frequently Asked Questions is still open as of this post. Ask away!
If I counted right, that's 109 posts, and 11 of them were creative commons posts written by someone else with just a bit of my commentary. I counted 135 for 2024 in last year's edition of this post, so I did cut my content creation a bit. I am even more hesitant to make predictions for 2026. I'm not planning to stop supporting HIVE. I have delegated a large chunk of my Hive Power to various users and curation projects. If I go offline for an extended period, I plan to increase those delegations, and I am always open to good suggestions for projects I may have overlooked.
As I wrap up this post, I am only a few hours into January, but most of the world is already seeing the 2nd on their calendars. Nonetheless, Happy new year! I sure hope it's better than the last one for all of us.
If you're not on Hive yet, I invite you to join through InLeo or PeakD. If you use either of my referral links, I'll even try to delegate some Hive Power to help you get started.