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sjmerc_local_feedWhen Jason and Kristin Nichols first met at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center in 2017, they made group dinners together from scratch and washed dishes by hand. And while they worked side by side helping to keep flames from the Nuns Fire from destroying the center, they discovered they shared more than a spiritual path. Seven months later they were married.
Their origin story as a couple was the precursor to a handmade family life, where laundry is hung to dry in the breeze, weekends are spent on DIY projects, and after supper, the sounds of a piano and singing fill the house instead of television.
The pair live on a compact homestead south of Sebastopol they call Windhorse Orchard, with 50 fruit trees, a big garden in progress, and room for their two kids — Eve, 5, and Ryo, 2 — to get dirty the old-fashioned way by splashing in a tub with a garden hose or digging in a sandbox their dad made with scrap lumber from their many home improvement projects.
On the surface it looks like a simple life, free of the clutter and gadgetry that bedevil so many young families. But for some five years the Nicholses have been working meticulously to live as sustainably as possible, taking their commitment well beyond many of Sonoma County’s more eco-conscious households. They’ve made their 1980s home ultra-energy- and water-efficient and outfitted it with fixtures and common household items made without toxic materials or processes that may off-gas and pollute their inside air; it’s no easy task since few such products are available. But what is out there, they found.
The Nicholses are committed to creating one of the most sustainable homes anywhere and are well on their way toward becoming the first household to meet two of the most rigorous green building standards in the world. They are close to receiving certification through the Passive House Institute, which focuses on ultra-low energy use and indoor air quality through air tightness, thermal insulation, and mechanical ventilation.
At the same time, they have completed the work and are now spending the next year tracking and documenting the data needed to prove they meet the high demands of the Living Building Challenge. Administered by the International Living Future Institute, which promotes a way of building that is entirely regenerative, the challenge sets standards and goals in seven lifestyle areas. They include place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, equity, and beauty.
Geof Syphers of Sonoma Clean Power, which provided information, support, and some rebates to help the couple reach their goals, said the Living Building Challenge is a near miraculous bar to reach.
“I made an attempt to build one of those projects 20 years ago and couldn’t finish it. There just weren’t enough compliant materials available in the United States to complete the project,” said Syphers, who used to build passive homes himself. “It’s exciting to see the Nichols (family) achieve that extraordinary challenge.”
A designer of ecological landscapes that emphasize native plants, organic food crops, low water use, and plants that provide habitat for birds, bees, and other wildlife, Jason has been interested in sustainable housing since 2007 when he first saw college students from across the country build 400-square-foot homes constructed of sustainable components on the Washington, D.C., Mall. He started reaching out to people in the movement when he relocated to California from his native New York two years later and developed a dream of one day building a passive home himself.
After years studying the behavioral sciences and political philosophy to better understand human behavior, he says coming to California was a revelation.
“It was only when I started getting in touch with the land and thinking about ecology and other species that I thought, ‘It’s not all about us,’” he says. “When I first got here, I saw the California oaks and the redwoods. I saw the manzanitas and the California lilacs. It’s special. When you’re rooted in a place and say, ‘I love Sonoma County,’ it’s partly by looking around and seeing some of the native topography and flora that makes me feel like I’m not in anywhere USA. I’m in Northern California.”
Kristin, an engineer who in her native Germany worked in waste energy—burning waste into useable household energy, a common practice in Europe—easily took to his vision. Concerned about the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, they set out to find the right house to start a family that they could renovate and restore to “the highest and most holistic ecological standards possible.”
After rejecting some 50 properties, they settled on a two-story, 2,300-square-foot home on 3 ½ acres of sandy loam soil. It was bigger than they wanted but had a well and septic system and enough land to accommodate their lofty goal of creating “one of the most environmentally friendly homes and landscapes in America.”
They decided it would be more sustainable to find an older house that needed renovation rather than building a new one. Working largely within the existing footprint—including an octagonal turret reflecting 1980s aspirational architecture—they set about making their own version of a dream home for the 21st century, with Kristin, who is now working toward her architect’s license, overseeing much of the design.
Solar panels weren’t enough. In their effort to reach a Net Zero carbon footprint and produce more energy than they use, they made the house as airtight as possible so it would require minimal heating and cooling. That meant new triple-pane windows and insulated doors. Non-toxic and compostable sheep’s wool insulation wraps the house snug.
They replaced the old siding and roof with Zincalume Plus, made with a high percentage of non-toxic recycled materials that resists fire and termites. They built new decks using reclaimed certified sustainably harvested wood. A new greywater system recaptures water for the landscape and a vacuum-flush toilet sips only a pint of water.
Their green ethos extends to every aspect of life at Windhorse Orchard. They buy dry goods in bulk from Oliver’s to avoid packaging waste; a 50-pound bag of oatmeal will last six months. They refill containers of soap and cleaning products at Sebastopol’s Homebody Refill. Diapering for the Nicholses is old-school, using cotton nappies washed at home through the sanitation cycle in their ultra-energy-efficient Miele washing machine. Kristin buys clothing second hand or from makers that use natural, organic fibers.
Much of the interior of the home awaits remodeling as time and budget permits. But they did replace the old gas stove with induction and upgraded the 30-year-old refrigerator with an energy-efficient model. Leftover construction lumber and scraps will be used to make raised beds for a food forest garden from which they will harvest much of their own fresh produce.
They track their air quality—part of meeting the Living Building Challenge standards—with an Awair Element sensor that lets them know when the carbon dioxide and VOC levels reach a point where they should open the windows.
While their building budget wasn’t done on a shoestring, the Nicholses believe the economics of paying 10-30% more for some materials balance out in energy savings (up to 90% on typical buildings) and longevity. The siding and roof potentially could last the lifetime of their children. Sonoma Clean Power helped them locate rebates to pay for things like an energy-efficient heat pump and water heater, electrical panel upgrades, and a home EV charger.
Kristin says it all makes for a comfortable environment inside and out in all seasons. In winter, little additional heat is needed and socks are sufficient to keep toes warm on the floor—even without radiant heat.
“It’s very beautiful to live more closely connected to the elements,” says Kristin. “It’s been lots of fun to harvest the sun’s power, run our equipment, and charge batteries when we have free energy coming in,” says Kristin. By adding bigger windows and cutting away eaves, they now can gaze up into the old walnut trees on the other side of the super-insulated glass and still feel part of nature.
The Nicholses see themselves as influencers. Not the social media kind—although they do maintain an active website with videos sharing their story and helpful information. But within their community, they say, they are trying to model and teach others how to contribute to the planet’s health—and their own health—by living lighter and more conscientiously. When Kristin receives her architect’s license, the couple plans to specialize in designing highly sustainable homes and landscapes like their own. They make their home available for open house tours, with the next on Nov. 9 in conjunction with International Passive House Open Days.
“If everybody would build the way we do or put the same level of attention to whatever they do, there wouldn’t be climate change,” Kristin says. “There wouldn’t be social injustice and there wouldn’t be threats to other species on this planet. Proving to ourselves that it is possible to reinvent the way we do things and make them regenerative has been an extreme source of hope. That’s what I want to give to my children.”
Green your home
You don’t have to undertake a complete home makeover to lower your energy impact and save money. Small but meaningful changes include:
- Replace your old stove with an induction stove.
- Unplug TVs, gaming consoles, microwaves, and coffeemakers when not in use. Lower your water heater from the factory-set 140 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 degrees.
- Install a smart thermostat.
- Improve insulation and sealing around windows and doors.
- Install a whole-house fan for cooking.
Find more information at: Windhorseorchard.com, Sonomacleanpower.org, Passivehousenetwork.org, Informed.habitablefuture.org
sjmerc_local_feedThere are about 40 days until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. The weather remains cold. The leaves continue falling. Brock Purdy and the 49ers are dougie-ing their way to the No. 1 seed. A lot of baseball offseason remains.
But as the new year looms, the Giants have yet to substantially upgrade their roster after a fourth straight season of finishing .500 or worse.
Their free-agent additions have been a backend starter (Adrian Houser) and two intriguing relievers who did not pitch in the majors last year (Sam Hentges, Jason Foley). There have also been additions around the margins such as catcher Daniel Susac (Rule 5), left-hander Reiver Sanmartin (waivers) and Justin Dean (waivers).
The Giants don’t have the luxury of relying solely on internal development from their young players. To raise their floor, they need more additions. They need another starter. They need a right fielder. They could use another high-leverage reliever.
While the Giants look to return to the postseason, the list of potential playoff contenders in the National League isn’t shrinking. The Dodgers, fresh off back-to-back titles, signed three-time All-Star Edwin Díaz to solidify their bullpen. The Braves have been active, adding to their bullpen (Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez), infield (Ha-Seong Kim, Mauricio Dubón) and outfield (Mike Yastrzemski). Even the Pirates have added bats (Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn) and bullpen arms (Gregory Soto, Mason Montgomery).
Here’s a look at unsigned free agents at the Giants’ main positions of need:
Rotation
Potential rotation: Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Adrian Houser, Landen Roupp, Hayden Birdsong
Available free agents: Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Tatsuya Imai, Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Nick Martinez, Zack Littell, Patrick Corbin, Lucas Giolito, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, Nestor Cortes, Jose Quintana
The Giants seem unlikely to drop nine figures on a starting pitcher, but circumstance could provide them with an opportunity to land a top-tier talent without making a long-term commitment.
The posting window of Tatsuya Imai closes this week on Jan. 2. If he does not sign with a major-league team before 2 p.m. PT on Friday, he will return to Japan for the 2026 season.
Imai recently told TV Asahi’s “Udo Times” in Japan that he has received interest but isn’t close to an agreement. He projected to land a long-term deal in the range of $150 million, but his bargaining power decreases with every passing hour. Will Imai still try to land a big contract? Or, will he transition to a shorter deal with a higher average annual value that allows him to re-enter the market in a several years?
The right-hander wouldn’t be the first Japanese player this offseason to sign a deal below industry estimates. Munetaka Murakami, a two-time MVP in the NPB, projected to land his own big deal but settled for a two-year, $34 million deal with the Chicago White Sox.
Imai and Murakami are not one-to-one comparisons. Murakami’s market depressed due in part to concerns about his shoddy hit tool, which may not allow him to tap into his elite power. Imai likely has the higher floor of the two, but there’s heightened risk in paying pitchers due to potential for injury. But with Imai’s posting window closing, it’s possible that he and his representation shift their strategy.
Imai would check several boxes aside from improving the Giants’ rotation. For one, his combination of NPB stardom and Dodger disdain would make him a box-office draw. It’s likely not a coincidence that the Giants boasted their best home attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic during a 2025 season in which they featured multiple household names.
There’s also the fact that the Giants haven’t had a Japanese player since Nori Aoki in 2015 (Jung Hoo Lee was born in Japan but is South Korean). That drought isn’t for a lack of trying — San Francisco made runs at Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Regardless of reason, the Giants’ inability to tap into that market in the present could hinder opportunities in the future.
Despite the looming deadline, Imai may still end up signing for big bucks over many years. As Friday approaches, it wouldn’t hurt the Giants’ office to explore where things stand — and see if there’s an opportunity to strike.
Bullpen
Potential bullpen*: Ryan Walker (CL), José Buttó, Sam Hentges (L), Erik Miller (L), Matt Gage (L), Joel Peguero, JT Brubaker, Spencer Bivens
Available free agents: Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jakob Junis, Derek Law, Evan Phillips, Danny Coulombe, Andrew Chafin, Seranthony Domínguez, Pierce Johnson, José Leclerc
*Jason Foley will not be available until the middle of next season
Foley and Hentges represent a pair of low-risk, high-reward relievers who beef up a bullpen that will be without All-Star Randy Rodríguez in 2026. Neither pitched in the majors in ’25, but when healthy, they’re legitimate leverage arms.
Walker is best positioned to be the closer, but the Giants could use another late-inning arm given his struggles last season. Just about every premiere backend reliever is off the board, but San Francisco could continue looking for enticing relievers like Foley and Hentges who, for one reason or another, won’t command much money.
The Giants have added other relievers via waiver claim (Reiver Sanmartin) and minor-league deals (Gregory Santos, Nick Margevicius), and they could add more non-roster invitees in the coming weeks. Peguero, Joey Lucchesi and Lou Trivino were all non-roster invites who contributed in 2025, and the minor-league free-agent market is a viable means of building a bullpen.
“I do think they can come from all over,” said general manager Zack Minasian of closers and high-leverage relievers. “It doesn’t mean you don’t spend on a closer or you’re not willing to spend on a closer. But I think the key thing is just being open-minded and then just pushing our front-office group. We just have to continue to get good arms.”
Right field
Current options: Drew Gilbert, Luis Matos, Jerar Encarnacion, Grant McCray, Justin Dean
Available free agents: Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Mike Tauchman, Max Kepler, Starling Marte, Austin Slater
There were, at one point, 10 outfielders on the Giants’ 40-man roster this offseason, but that group has dwindled down to seven. Marco Luciano was claimed off outright waivers by the Pirates while Joey Wiemer and Wade Meckler were designated for assignment.
The Giants’ removal of Wiemer from the mix, at this juncture, was a curious decision. By WAR, Wiemer was the third-most valuable outfielder of that group behind Ramos and Lee. Wiemer wouldn’t have been an ideal every day right fielder, but he provided a plus glove with plus speed and considerable pop.
While San Francisco has at least added to its pitching staff, the team remains in search of a viable solution in right field. The team’s best option with its internal personnel would be a platoon of Gilbert and Matos/Encarnacion, none of whom have a proven track record of hitting in the majors.
There’s a drop off in quality after Tucker and Bellinger, but players such as Kepler, Marte and Tauchman would be upgrades over the Giants’ current group and could form half of a platoon. Marte has a career .770 OPS against lefties while Kepler, coincidentally, has a career .770 OPS against righties.
Upcoming dates for FanFest Tour
The Giants will continue their FanFest Tour prior to the season, making stops in San Jose (Jan. 17), San Ramon (Jan. 24) and Sacramento (Jan. 31) before hosting an open house at Oracle Park (March 14).
Free event tickets are required for admission.
San Jose
Location: San Pedro Square Market (87 N San Pedro St, San Jose, CA 95110)
Date and time: Jan. 17, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Expected guests: Tony Vitello, Bryce Eldridge, Casey Schmitt, players
San Ramon
Location: City Center Bishop Ranch (6000 Bollinger Canyon Rd, San Ramon, CA 94583)
Date and time: Jan. 24, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Expected guests: Tony Vitello, Jung Hoo Lee, Landen Roupp, players, coaches
Sacramento
Location: Sutter Health Park
Date and time: Jan. 31, 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Expected guests: Logan Webb, players, coaches
Open house
Location: Oracle Park
Date and time: March 14, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Expected guests: Giants alumni, Giants broadcasters
cbc_topnews_feed
The NHL is set for an Italian return to the Winter Games in February on the heels the last season's spine-tingling 4 Nations Face-Off that saw Canada again top the U.S. in OT. "The 4 Nations was kind of the appetizer to what the Olympics could be," says Connor McDavid. "Really excited about it."
james_davis_nicoll
An all-new Burning Wheel Bundle presenting The Burning Wheel, the medieval-themed tabletop fantasy roleplaying game about vibrant, dynamic characters whose beliefs propel the story.
Bundle of Holding: The Burning Wheel
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sjmerc_local_feedBy Marisa Kendall, CalMatters
Senate Bill 634 would have made a big splash if it survived in the form Pasadena Democrat Sasha Renée Pérez originally intended. She wanted to make it illegal for cities to cite or arrest homeless Californians for sleeping outside. But, faced with intense backlash from cities and law enforcement agencies, the legislator watered down her bill.
RELATED: From Columbus Park camps to boutique hotel, San Jose’s homeless plan is tested
Now signed into law and taking effect Jan. 1, it takes aim at an issue that is much less prevalent on the streets of California. It says cities cannot punish outreach workers for helping homeless clients, even if those clients are sleeping in an illegal encampment.
More precisely, the law says cities cannot bar people or organizations from providing homeless residents with legal services, medical care or things needed for survival, such as food, water, blankets, pillows and materials to protect themselves from the elements.
“The legislation provides commonsense protections for service providers, especially non-profits and faith-based ones, who are doing the work every day to assist unhoused Californians,” Pérez said in an October statement.
San Bernardino County, on the other hand, said the law will “override local authority and restrict enforcement tools that cities and counties use to promote public safety.”
It’s not unheard of for aid workers to find themselves caught in the crosshairs of a city’s crackdown on homeless encampments. The Bay Area city of Fremont earlier this year briefly made “aiding, abetting or concealing” an illegal homeless encampment a misdemeanor. Its city council later walked back that language — after CalMatters first reported it — but it made a lasting impression on state legislators.
The legislation follows a statewide push toward the increased policing of homeless Californians. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court gave cities more power to cite and arrest people for sleeping outside, even if they have no shelter available. Since then, arrests and citations for homelessness-related offenses have soared in cities across the state.
snickfic posting in yuletideMore recs at my journal, including:
Possibly in Michigan
The Secret History
The Raven Tower
Impromptu/19th Century RPF
The Dispossessed
The Long Walk -Stephen King
Waking the Moon
Rope
Possibly in Michigan
The Secret History
The Raven Tower
Impromptu/19th Century RPF
The Dispossessed
The Long Walk -Stephen King
Waking the Moon
Rope
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mrs_redboots posting in yuletideIf you go to my journal you will find recs for stories in the following fandoms:
Puck of Pook's Hill/Callendar Series
Sussex Set
Swallows and Amazons (two stories)
Cadfael Chronicles
Chalet School
The Secret Garden
and Dragonriders of Pern
There may yet be more to come....
Puck of Pook's Hill/Callendar Series
Sussex Set
Swallows and Amazons (two stories)
Cadfael Chronicles
Chalet School
The Secret Garden
and Dragonriders of Pern
There may yet be more to come....
sjmerc_local_feedIt was another year of high-conviction bets — and fast reversals.
From bond desks in Tokyo and credit committees in New York to currency traders in Istanbul, markets delivered both windfalls and whiplash. Gold hit records. Staid mortgage behemoths gyrated like meme stocks. A textbook carry trade blew up in a flash.
Investors bet big on shifting politics, bloated balance sheets and fragile narratives, fueling outsized stock rallies, crowded yield trades, and crypto strategies built on leverage, hope, and not much else. Donald Trump’s White House return quickly sank — and then revived — financial markets across the world, lit a fire under European defense stocks, and emboldened speculators fanning mania after mania. Some positions paid off spectacularly. Others misfired when momentum reversed, financing dried up or leverage cut the wrong way.
As the year draws to a close, Bloomberg highlights some of the most eye-catching wagers of 2025 — the wins, the wipeouts and the positions that defined the era. Many of those bets leave investors fretting over all-too-familiar fault lines as they prepare for 2026: shaky companies, stretched valuations, and trend-chasing trades that work, until they don’t.
Crypto: Trumped
It looked like one of crypto’s more compelling momentum bets: load up on anything and everything tied to the Trump brand. During his presidential campaign and after he took office, Trump went all-in on digital assets — pushing sweeping reforms and installing industry allies across powerful agencies. His family leaned in, championing coins and crypto firms that traders treated as political rocket fuel.
The franchise came together fast. Hours before the inauguration, Trump launched a memecoin and promoted it on social media. First Lady Melania Trump soon followed with her own token. Later in the year, Trump family–affiliated World Liberty Financial made its WLFI token tradable and available to retail investors. A set of Trump-adjacent trades followed. Eric Trump co-founded American Bitcoin, a publicly traded miner that went public via a merger in September.
Each debut sparked a rally. Each proved ephemeral. As of Dec. 23, Trump’s memecoin was floundering, off more than 80% from its January high. Melania’s was down nearly 99%, according to CoinGecko. American Bitcoin had sunk about 80% from its September peak.
Politics gave the trades a push. The laws of speculation pulled them back down. Even with a friend in the White House, these trades couldn’t escape crypto’s core pattern: prices rise, leverage floods in, and liquidity dries up. Bitcoin, still the bellwether, is on track for an annual loss after slumping from its October peak. For Trump-linked assets, politics offered momentum, but no protection. — Olga Kharif
AI Trade: The Next Big Short?
The trade was revealed in a routine filing, yet its impact was anything but routine. Scion Asset Management disclosed on Nov. 3 that it held protective put options in Nvidia Corp. and Palantir Technologies Inc. — stocks at the center of the artificial intelligence trade that’s powered the market’s rally for three years. While not a whale-sized hedge fund, Scion commands attention due to the person who runs it: Michael Burry, who earned fame as a market prophet in The Big Short book and movie about the mortgage bubble that led to the 2008 crisis.
The strike prices were startling: Nvidia’s was 47% below where the stock had just closed, while Palantir’s was 76% below. But some mystery lingered: Due to limited reporting requirements, it was unclear if the puts — contracts that give an investor the right to sell a stock at a certain price by a certain date — were part of a more complicated trade. And the filing offered just a snapshot of Scion’s books on Sept. 30, leaving open the possibility that Burry had since trimmed or exited the positions. Yet skepticism about the lofty valuations and massive spending plans of major AI players had been building like a pile of dry kindling. Burry’s disclosure landed like a freshly struck match.
Nvidia, the largest stock in the world, tumbled in reaction, as did Palantir, though they later regained ground. The Nasdaq also dipped.
It’s impossible to know exactly how much Burry made. One bread crumb he left was a post on X saying he paid $1.84 for the Palantir puts; those options went on to gain as much as 101% in less than three weeks. The filing crystallized doubts simmering beneath a market dominated by a narrow group of AI-linked stocks, heavy passive inflows and subdued volatility. Whether the trade proves prescient or premature, it underscored how quickly even the most dominant market narratives can turn once belief begins to crack. — Michael P. Regan
Defense Stocks: New World Order
A geopolitical shift has led to huge gains in a sector once deemed toxic by asset managers: European defense. Trump’s plans to take a step back from funding Ukraine’s military sent European governments into a spending spree, giving a huge lift to shares of regional defense firms — from the roughly 150% year-to-date rally in Germany’s Rheinmetall AG as of Dec. 23, to Italy’s Leonardo SpA more than 90% ascent during the period.
Money managers who once saw the sector as too controversial to touch amid environmental, social and governance concerns changed their tune and a number of funds even redefined their mandates.
“We had taken defense out of our ESG funds until the beginning of this year,” said Pierre Alexis Dumont, chief investment officer at Sycomore Asset Management. “There was a change of paradigm, and when there is a change of paradigm, one has to be responsible and also defend one’s values. So we’re focusing on defensive weapons.”
From goggle makers to chemicals producers, and even a printing company, stocks were snapped up in a mad rush. A Bloomberg basket of European defense stocks was up more than 70% for the year as of Dec. 23. The boom spilled into credit markets as well, with firms only tangentially linked to defense attracting hordes of prospective lenders. Banks even started selling “European Defence Bonds,” modeled on green bonds except in this case ringfenced for borrowers like weapons manufacturers. It marked a repricing of defense as a public good rather than a reputational liability — and a reminder that when geopolitics shifts, capital tends to follow faster than ideology. — Isolde MacDonogh
Debasement Trade: Fact or Fiction?
Heavy debt loads in major economies such as the US, France and Japan — and a lack of political appetite to confront them — pushed some investors in 2025 to tout gold and alternative assets like crypto, while cooling enthusiasm for government bonds and the US dollar. The idea gained traction under a bearish label: the “debasement trade,” a nod to historic episodes when rulers such as Nero diluted the value of money to cope with fiscal strain.
The narrative reached a crescendo in October, when concerns over the US fiscal outlook collided with the longest government shutdown on record. Investors searched for shelter beyond the dollar. That month, gold and Bitcoin both rose to records — a rare moment for assets often cast as rivals.
As a story, debasement offered a clean explanation for a messy macro backdrop. As a trade, it proved more complicated. Bitcoin has since slumped amid a broader retreat in cryptocurrencies. The dollar stabilized somewhat. Treasuries, far from collapsing, are on track for their best year since 2020 — a reminder that fears of fiscal erosion can coexist with powerful demand for safe assets, particularly when growth slows and policy rates peak.
Elsewhere, price action told a different story. Swings in metals from copper to aluminum, and even silver, were driven at least as much by Donald Trump’s tariff policies and macro forces as by concerns about currency debasement, blurring the line between inflation hedging and old-fashioned supply shocks. Gold, meanwhile, has kept powering ahead, reaching new all-time highs. In that corner of the market, the debasement trade endured — less as a sweeping judgment on fiat, more as a focused bet on rates, policy and protection. — Richard Henderson
Korean Stocks: K-Pop
Move over, K-drama. When it comes to plot twists and thrills, it’s hard to beat this year’s action in South Korea’s stock market. Fueled by President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to boost the country’s capital markets, the benchmark equity index rocketed more than 70% in 2025 through Dec. 22, headed toward his aspirational goal of 5000 and handily topping the charts among major stock gauges worldwide.
It’s rare to see a political leader publicly set an index level as a goal, and Lee’s “Kospi 5000” campaign drew little attention when it was first announced. Now, more and more Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. think it’s achievable in 2026, helped in part by the global AI boom, which has increased demand for South Korean stocks as Asia’s go-to artificial intelligence trade.
There is one notable absence from the Kospi’s world-beating rally: local retail investors. While Lee often reminds voters that he was once a retail investor himself before entering public office, his reform agenda has yet to persuade domestic investors that the market is a durable buy-and-hold proposition. Even as foreign money has poured into Korean equities, local mom-and-pop investors have been net sellers, channeling a record $33 billion into US stocks and chasing higher-risk bets ranging from crypto to leveraged exchange-traded funds overseas.
One side effect has been pressure on the currency. As capital flowed outward, the won weakened, a reminder that even blockbuster equity rallies can mask lingering skepticism at home. — Youkyung Lee
Bitcoin Showdown: Chanos v Saylor
There are two sides to every story. In the case of short-seller Jim Chanos’s arbitrage play involving Bitcoin hoarder Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc., there were also two big personalities, and a trade that was fast becoming a referendum on crypto-era capitalism.
In early 2025, as Bitcoin soared and Strategy’s shares went through the roof, Chanos saw an opportunity. The rally in Strategy had stretched the premium the company’s shares enjoyed relative to its Bitcoin holdings, something the legendary investor saw as unsustainable. So he decided to short Strategy and go long Bitcoin, announcing the move in May when the premium was still wide.
Chanos and Saylor started publicly trading barbs. “I don’t think he understands what our business model is,” Saylor told Bloomberg TV in June about Chanos, who in turn, called Saylor’s explanations “complete financial gibberish” in an X post.
Strategy’s shares hit a record in July, marking a 57% year-to-date gain, but as the number of so-called digital asset treasury firms exploded and crypto token prices fell from their highs, Strategy shares — and those of its copycats — began to suffer and the company’s premium to Bitcoin shrank. Chanos’s wager was paying off.
From the time Chanos made his short call on Strategy public through Nov. 7, the date he said he exited from the position, Strategy shares dropped 42%. Beyond the P&L, it illustrated a recurring crypto boom-and-bust pattern: balance sheets inflated by confidence, and confidence sustained by rising prices and financial engineering. It works until belief falters — at which point the premium stops being a feature and starts being the problem. — Monique Mulima
Japanese Bonds: Widowmaker to Rainmaker
If there was one bet that repeatedly burned macro investors in the past few decades, it’s the infamous “widowmaker” wager against Japanese bonds. The reasoning behind the trade always seemed simple. Japan carried a vast public debt, and so the thinking was that interest rates just had to rise sooner or later to lure in enough buyers. Investors, therefore, borrowed bonds and sold them, expecting prices to fall once reality asserted itself. For years, however, that logic proved premature and expensive, as the central bank’s loose policies kept borrowing costs low and punished anyone who tried to rush the outcome. No longer.
In 2025, the widowmaker turned rainmaker as yields on benchmark government bonds surged across the board, making the $7.4 trillion Japan debt market a short-seller’s dream. The triggers spanned everything from interest rate hikes to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi unleashing the country’s biggest burst of spending since pandemic restrictions eased. Yields on benchmark 10-year JGBs soared past 2% to reach levels not seen in decades, while those on 30-year paper advanced more than a full percentage point to an all-time high. A Bloomberg gauge of Japanese government bond returns fell more than 6% this year through Dec. 23, the worst-performing major market in the world.
Fund managers from Schroders to Jupiter Asset Management to RBC BlueBay Asset Management discussed selling JGBs in some form during the year and investors and strategists are betting the trade has room to run, as benchmark policy rates edge higher. On top of that, the Bank of Japan is trimming its bond purchases, pressuring yields. And with the nation boasting the highest government debt-to-GDP ratio in the developed world by a wide margin, bearishness to JGBs is likely to persist. — Cormac Mullen
Credit Scraps: Playing Hardball Pays
Some of 2025’s richest credit payoffs didn’t come from turnaround bets, but from turning on fellow investors. The dynamic, known as “creditor-on-creditor violence,” paid off big for funds like Pacific Investment Management Co. and King Street Capital Management, who waged a calculated campaign around KKR-backed Envision Healthcare.
When Envision, a hospital staffing company, ran aground after the Covid-19 pandemic, it needed a loan from new investors. But raising new debt meant pledging assets already spoken for. While many debt holders formed a group to oppose the new financing, Pimco, King Street and Partners Group broke ranks. Their support enabled a vote to allow the collateral — a stake in Envision’s valuable ambulatory-surgery business Amsurg — to be released by the old lenders and used to back the new debt.
The funds became holders of Amsurg-backed debt that eventually converted into Amsurg equity. Then Amsurg sold to Ascension Health this year for $4 billion. The funds who spurned their peers generated returns of around 90%, by one measure, demonstrating the payoff from waging such internecine battles. The lesson: in today’s credit markets, governed by loose documentation and fragmented creditor groups, cooperation is optional. Being right is not always enough. The bigger risk is being outflanked. —Eliza Ronalds-Hannon
Fannie-Freddie: Revenge of the “Toxic Twins”
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance giants that have been under Washington’s control since the financial crisis, have long been the subject of speculation over when and how they would be released from the government’s grip. Boosters such as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman loaded up on the two in the hopes of scoring a windfall on any privatization plan, but the shares languished for years in over-the-counter trading as the status quo prevailed.
Then came Donald Trump’s re-election, which catapulted the stocks into a meme-like zeal on optimism the new administration would take steps to free up the companies. In 2025, the excitement ratcheted up even more: The shares soared 367% from the start of the year to their high in September — 388% on an intraday basis — and remain big winners for 2025.
Driving the momentum to its peak this year was word in August that the administration was contemplating an IPO that could value the enterprises at around $500 billion or more, involving selling 5% to 15% of their stock to raise about $30 billion. While the shares have wavered from their September high amid skepticism about when, and whether, an IPO will actually materialize, many remain confident in the story.
Ackman in November unveiled a proposal he pitched to the White House, which calls for relisting Fannie and Freddie on the New York Stock Exchange, writing down the Treasury’s senior-preferred stake and exercising the government’s option to acquire nearly 80% of the common stock. Even Michael Burry joined the party, announcing a bullish position in early December and musing in a 6,000-word blog post that the companies which once needed the government to save them from insolvency may be “toxic twins no more.” — Felice Maranz
Turkey Carry Trade: Cooked
The Turkish carry trade was a consensus favorite for emerging-market investors after a stellar 2024. With local bond yields above 40% and a central bank backing a stable dollar peg, traders piled in — borrowing cheaply abroad to buy high-yield Turkish assets. That drew billions from firms like Deutsche Bank, Millennium Partners and Gramercy — some of them on the ground in Turkey on March 19, the day the trade blew up in minutes.
It was on that morning that Turkish police raided the home of Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor and took him into custody, sparking protests — and a frenzied selloff in the lira that the central bank was unable to contain. “People got caught very much by surprise and won’t go back in a hurry,” Kit Juckes, head of FX strategy at Societe Generale SA in Paris, said at the time.
By the end of the day, outflows from Turkish lira-denominated assets were estimated at around $10 billion, and the market never really recovered. As of Dec. 23, the lira was some 17% weaker against the dollar for the year, one of the world’s worst performers. The episode served as a reminder that high interest rates can reward risk-takers, but they offer no protection against sudden political shocks. — Kerim Karakaya
Debt Markets: Cockroach Alert
Credit markets in 2025 were unsettled not by a single spectacular collapse, but by a series of smaller ones that exposed uncomfortable habits. Companies once considered routine borrowers ran into trouble, leaving lenders nursing steep losses.
Saks Global restructured $2.2 billion in bonds after making only a single interest payment, and the restructured debt is itself now trading at less than 60 cents on the dollar. New Fortress Energy’s newly-exchanged bonds lost more than half their value in the span of a year. The bankruptcies of Tricolor and then First Brands wiped out billions in debt holdings in a matter of weeks. In some cases, sophisticated fraud was at the root of the collapse. In others, rosy projections failed to materialize. In every case, investors were left to answer for how they justified taking large credit gambles on companies with little to no proof they’d be able to repay the debt.
Years of low defaults and loose money eroded standards, from lender protections to basic underwriting. Lenders to both First Brands and Tricolor had failed to discover the borrowers were allegedly double-pledging assets and co-mingling collateral that backed various loans.
Those lenders included JPMorgan, whose chief executive Jamie Dimon put the market on alert in October when he colorfully warned of more trouble to come, saying, “When you see one cockroach, there are probably more.” A theme for 2026. — Eliza Ronalds-Hannon
–With assistance from Benjamin Harvey, Kerim Karakaya, Youkyung Lee, Cormac Mullen, Michael P. Regan, Isolde MacDonogh, Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, Yvonne Yue Li and Matt Turner.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
sjmerc_local_feedAs artificial intelligence has seeped more into daily life, it’s been met with a mix of acceptance and repulsion. The technology has been used to modify photos and improve productivity, but it has also threatened jobs and created havoc with the truth.
When it comes to video games, players abhor AI. It’s associated with slop and the deluge of nice-looking but cheaply made games. That has created a hunger for authenticity. Players want games made by human artists with code that’s crafted with flesh and blood, and that’s reflected in the best games of the year.
It’s been the year of indies, games made by small teams compared to the multi-studio efforts behind “Call of Duty” or “Assassin’s Creed.” These indie games are passion projects, and the care put into their development shows in the quality of the games.
Here are the top 10 games of 2025.
1. “Clair Obscure: Expedition 33”: Sandfall Interactive is a studio formed by an ex-Ubisoft employee who wanted to create a project inspired by Japanese role-playing games. That led to an impressive and epic tale about Gustave, Lune and the rest of Expedition 33, working together to stop the Paintress from eliminating a generation of people in the city of Lumiere.
The campaign begins with a big shock that pulls players into its distinct Belle Epoque world. The RPG is backed with solid mechanics that introduce QuickTime-type elements into the turn-based combat that reward skill as well as strategy. Combine that with unforgettable characters and heartbreaking moments, and it’s the best adventure of 2025.
2. “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach”: Director Hideo Kojima takes players to Australia this time around as protagonist Sam Porter Bridges once again has to reconnect a continent to the Chiral Network. The original was a brilliant but messy project, but the sequel refines those ideas and brings them into focus.
Kojima improves the balance of combat, stealth and exploration while telling a more intriguing story as Sam deals with tragedy and finds redemption in his mission. Of course, no Kojima title would be complete with a little bit of craziness, but even the more far-out aspects of the game make more sense and are a thrilling part of the journey.
3. “Hades 2”: I slept on the 2020 original, but after recently playing the roguelike game, I tore through the sequel, which carries over the core ideas of the original. The follow-up is brilliant because it adapts the gameplay to a new character, Melinoë, the princess of the underworld. She’s raised in the Crossroads and becomes hellbent on defeating Chronos, the Titan of Time, who overthrew her father, Hades, and imprisoned the rest of her family.
As Melinoë, players have different weapons and movement options, including a slower dash and a sprint. She also travels to different locales from the original, delving into the underworld and also fighting to the surface. The latter path is more difficult than the former. The joy of this roguelike is crafting a strategy and learning the systems before ultimately dying and dying again. Players learn from the failure, improve their skills and advance in an addictive gameplay loop.
4 “Hollow Knight: Silksong”: Team Cherry came out of nowhere to create a massive indie hit with the original “Hollow Knight,” a game that pushed the Metroidvania genre in extreme ways. It’s a game known for its difficulty, as players take on the role of the title character, who ventures into the insect kingdom of Hallownest.
The follow-up, “Silksong,” lets players control Hornet, a character who appeared in the first game, as she finds herself in a new world called Pharloom. Just like “Hollow Knight,” the sequel amps up the difficulty as players have to learn Hornet’s new abilities and master her weapon, the needle. They also have to adjust to her abilities that rely on tools and agility. “Silk Song” also features a much bigger map and longer adventure.
5. “Monster Hunter Wilds”: Capcom’s latest entry to the long-running series takes plenty of risks by bringing the campaign to a more open world and introducing a Focus Mode that lets players target creatures’ body parts and their wounds. The changes were all excellent moves that the franchise needed to grow, but the game also ran into issues for titles built to last months or even years after launch.
“Wilds” needed more meaningful content to keep fans happy and sustain momentum. That’s something that could have been improved on. It was a game so good that players wanted more.
6. “Ghost of Yotei”: This year saw two open-world samurai epics. Ubisoft launched “Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” a sprawling adventure that hits familiar notes, while Sucker Punch Productions released a more artful adventure in “Ghost of Yotei.” The latter was the superior title because of its tighter focus.
“Ghost of Yotei” is a revenge tale that follows Atsu, whose family is murdered by a rogue samurai named Lord Saito. Her thirst to kill him and his lieutenants leads her on an adventure through Japan’s northernmost island. Sucker Punch gives players more weapons, gear and ways to customize their version of Atsu as she travels around Ezo’s regions and picks off the names on her list.
7. Arc Raiders”: Embark Studios struck gold with its second major project, an extraction shooter that puts players in the role of a raider who travels to the surface to scavenge resources in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by robots. The online game not only pits players against computer-controlled drones and mechs, they also have to fight each other.
Like other extraction shooters, players venture across the surface and grab items used to upgrade their gear. Finding the scraps and blueprints is easy, but holding onto them is another matter as players have to escape the surface to keep them. That creates tension and moments of emergent gameplay, where players craft their own stories in a savage world.
8. “Donkey Kong Bananza”: Although “Mario Kart World” launched with the Nintendo Switch 2, it wasn’t the best game for the system that came out during the summer. This adventure starring the Japanese company’s famed ape showed off the power of the new system while also introducing new elements to Donkey Kong’s 3-D adventure.
The ability to dig around in the environment created inspired world design as the ape and his sidekick Pauline journey to the center of the world. Each underground biome is a joy to explore while also providing challenges that let the world-changing gameplay element shine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7IEg0_qNXs
9. “Doom: The Dark Ages”: In the 2016 “Doom” reboot, texts offered hints of the Doom Slayer’s past, and in this prequel, players explore that history through an ingenious campaign. The gameplay diverges from the high-flying acrobatics of its predecessors and instead focuses on a ground game that’s reminiscent of a tank.
Much of that has to do with a shield that can repel attacks, interact with the environment and brutalize adversaries. Although the gameplay feels more grounded and horizontal, id Software creates epic moments when the Doom Slayer will be flying through the air aboard a Wintherin or bashing building-sized demons in an Atlan mech. All of it adds up to one of the most intense and visceral experiences of the year.
10. “Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound”: Before the late Tomonobu Itagaki revamped the ninja-focused series, it was an epic 2-D side scroller that impressed players at arcades and pushed the NES to its limits. This retro-style game continues the vision of those chapters but puts players in control of two protagonists – Kenji Mozu and Kumori.
The two are rivals in the beginning but learn to work together as they battle demons who have taken over the Black Spider Clan and attack the Hayabusa Ninja Clan. While players mainly control Kenji, The Game Kitchen weaves in design elements that incorporate Kumori’s abilities. It creates a diversity of gameplay that keeps the game fresh as the team crafts inventive scenarios that show there’s still life in these action side-scrollers.
askamanager_feedIt’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are four updates from past letter-writers.
1. My promotion was canceled because of budget … but I’m still doing the work
Ultimately, my promotion did end up going through! My manager really went to bat for me and pointed out the terrible optics of cancelling promotions that were already announced to people, and was able to get the decision reversed.
I’m really thankful that I have such a great manager who was willing and able to stand up for us, and that the lab leadership listened and made a change. I did talk to my manager about the lead title, but ultimately there isn’t a good standard for who gets the titles and who doesn’t. Instead I decided to refocus my priorities on the work that is actually my responsibility and strategically let go of some of the extra work I was doing.
In the end, the main project I was on had a sudden decrease in funding (this is a natural part of the way these projects work, but this one was at a suboptimal time.) I was moved off the project, but thanks to the extra work I was doing and the role I was playing for outside collaborators, I was specifically requested by project leadership to stay on part-time! (I was given other work so I am still working full time, just not on one project anymore.)
Unfortunately, the funding situation is still hairy. They are discussing potential layoffs in our division unless some additional projects come through (which likely won’t happen before the federal government reopens.) However, it was definitely worth putting in the extra work in the end, both because I was able to secure the promotion and because it has put me in a place where I am well regarded and needed on several projects and therefore less sensitive to funding changes.
So ultimately, the situation is still a little precarious, but it’s working out so far for me! Thank you for your advice, it was helpful to take a step out of the emotional side and look at things pragmatically.
2. Quitting when I work for a (difficult) friend (#2 at the link)
I wrote in to get a script about how to step down from management, but potentially stay on as a Sunday bartender for an owner who previously had a bad reaction from me quitting her cleaning business.
I will say, I have said nothing yet to her, as it is not yet the end of the football season I referenced. I await the time to do so. She has hired another front-of-house manager, who “as a man” she believes more than me … which is infuriating, and will be mentioned as part as my stepping down when I do so. Which won’t be until February at the latest.
3. People complain that I don’t want to be at work social events
I wrote about my boss talking to me about how others perceive me in relation to work social events. Specifically, that people have commented to him that I don’t seem too excited about them. I confess that is true; I don’t really enjoy them, but I still go. The impression I have gotten from my boss is that I should like them, not merely be present for them.
My workplace is a unique one, but I’m disinclined to describe it in detail for anonymity. Suffice it to say, it is not at all toxic. People are lovely. We work well and we generally get along. There is no politicking or rumor mongering. It’s a nonprofit, and we’re all there for our cause.
I have considered my attitude. I spoke to one of my reports who has always been honest with me. He said he thinks one of the issues is my face — I definitely have RBF. So, when I feel neutral, my face says otherwise. I will try to work on “forcing” a smile, so that people don’t think I hate being there.
I’ve also realized that I’ve allowed familiarity to cause me to be less careful in how plainly I speak — when someone asks what I think of something, I don’t tend to sugarcoat anything. I’m not a jerk who just “tells it like it is,” but I may be less diplomatic than I could be. I decided to address this by paying much closer attention, and being less forthright. I’ve set reminders so that I won’t forget that people don’t need to hear my opinions. I think this will help guard my tongue.
In all, I still love my org. I enjoy the people I work with. I still don’t care for the social stuff, but I will try to address the perception.
4. What to say when declining an offer because of the health insurance (#5 at the link)
By the time I sent my question in, I had already emailed them declining the offer without mentioning the health insurance issue. However, reading your response and many of the comments, it seemed like that would have been good feedback for them.
I got a call from the head of the company a few days later asking why I had rejected the offer. I explained the situation and he put me in touch with their HR and benefits coordinator to see if there was any solution to be had. Although I really appreciated the effort and all the help they were willing to provide, we couldn’t really come to a solution. The health insurance provider they use has a reputation among doctors and professionals for being extremely slow with prior authorizations and I have multiple medications that I rely on that require PAs on an annual basis. Because potentially going months without those prescriptions wasn’t an option, and because getting insurance myself would effectively mean a significant pay cut, I ultimately declined the job (I did see the advice in the comments about asking for more money — while I was candid with the folks I spoke to about what the added cost of getting my own plan would mean for me, it didn’t seem like there was enough room in the salary range to cover the gap).
I am endlessly frustrated by the entire health insurance system in this country, especially the fact that the coverage you receive is entirely dependent on what your employer has chosen. I feel like my employment options are limited both by my health insurance needs and my need to work remotely because of chronic conditions. The good news is, I wasn’t applying to this job because I felt like I needed to leave my current role. I am still doing a job I love with great people, and getting my meds and doctor visits covered.
The post updates: the cancelled promotion, the difficult friend, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
canyonwalkerToday it's back to work after a week-plus off. My last regular workday was Friday the 19th. Now it's the 29th. I was off for 9 days. Well, 8¾ if you count the bit of work I did last Monday. 😅
Coming back to work after a hiatus like this is a bit disorienting. One full week isn't long by European time-off standards, where taking a whole month at a time to travel or just relax is common, but it's still enough to get out of the habit of working. Today it's like, "Oh, I've got to sit down at my desk at 8am? And work? All day? And tomorrow, too?" 😭
And it's not like I even did much with my time off. I didn't even get the memo I had the week off until the week before. By then it was too late to plan anything.... Not that we would have planned much, anyway, with Hawk's recovery from surgery. And things went from "not great" to way worse early in the week, so even if we had planned to go somewhere, we'd have been rushing back home. So I spent most of the week off sitting at home. It was like working from home, just minus the work. 😞
This week's a slow one at work. Many of my colleagues are off until Friday (the day after New Year's) or next Monday. Many of our customers are out, too. My company's holiday break of Dec 22-26 was a bit weird because most companies that are giving holiday breaks this year are scheduling them Dec 24 - Jan 2. The short of it is, there's not a lot of meetings or calls this week. I might take a day off on the 31st just so I don't feel guilty sitting here doing nothing.
Coming back to work after a hiatus like this is a bit disorienting. One full week isn't long by European time-off standards, where taking a whole month at a time to travel or just relax is common, but it's still enough to get out of the habit of working. Today it's like, "Oh, I've got to sit down at my desk at 8am? And work? All day? And tomorrow, too?" 😭
And it's not like I even did much with my time off. I didn't even get the memo I had the week off until the week before. By then it was too late to plan anything.... Not that we would have planned much, anyway, with Hawk's recovery from surgery. And things went from "not great" to way worse early in the week, so even if we had planned to go somewhere, we'd have been rushing back home. So I spent most of the week off sitting at home. It was like working from home, just minus the work. 😞
This week's a slow one at work. Many of my colleagues are off until Friday (the day after New Year's) or next Monday. Many of our customers are out, too. My company's holiday break of Dec 22-26 was a bit weird because most companies that are giving holiday breaks this year are scheduling them Dec 24 - Jan 2. The short of it is, there's not a lot of meetings or calls this week. I might take a day off on the 31st just so I don't feel guilty sitting here doing nothing.
Tags:
kareilaNot much to report from the last 2+ weeks, just the usual December madness. The Messiah was sung. Everyone had a nice holiday. I did far too much crochet and knitting. My dad continues to ignore me. Whatever.
I got bogged down on Day 10 of Advent of Code and never completed it or looked at the problems for the final two days, but maybe I'll find time this week.
I don't think that I'm going to finish the most recent Dungeon Crawler Carl book before the end of the year, but I'm down to only 6 library books checked out, and half of them are non-fiction. Next year I want to focus more on my TBR, which is up to 850. If I could get it down to 800 (while presumably continuing to add to it) that would be a big success.
Denver and New England both won their NFL divisions - yay!
On New Year's Eve we're planning a Freaky Friday D&D session where we randomly switch up characters. Should be hilarious.
My resolutions for 2025 were to get the old house sold, see Connor graduate from high school, and stay healthy. I guess two out of three ain't bad. Robby is finally getting to the end of his fix-it list, and I have pretty much forbidden him to add anything else to it until we get a licensed inspector to check things over and see what he points out.
I got bogged down on Day 10 of Advent of Code and never completed it or looked at the problems for the final two days, but maybe I'll find time this week.
I don't think that I'm going to finish the most recent Dungeon Crawler Carl book before the end of the year, but I'm down to only 6 library books checked out, and half of them are non-fiction. Next year I want to focus more on my TBR, which is up to 850. If I could get it down to 800 (while presumably continuing to add to it) that would be a big success.
Denver and New England both won their NFL divisions - yay!
On New Year's Eve we're planning a Freaky Friday D&D session where we randomly switch up characters. Should be hilarious.
My resolutions for 2025 were to get the old house sold, see Connor graduate from high school, and stay healthy. I guess two out of three ain't bad. Robby is finally getting to the end of his fix-it list, and I have pretty much forbidden him to add anything else to it until we get a licensed inspector to check things over and see what he points out.
sjmerc_local_feedSAN JOSE — A 59-year-old man died Sunday after his van collided with a sound wall along Highway 101, the California Highway Patrol said.
The man’s name has not yet been released by the coroner’s office pending confirmation of his name and notification of his family.
The collision happened about 12:40 p.m. Sunday on northbound 101 north of Lawrence Expressway.
The CHP said the man was driving a Dodge van when for unknown reasons he drifted to the right, went off the roadway at about 25 mph and crashed into a sound wall that borders the right shoulder.
He was found unresponsive in the vehicle. Officers initiated CPR before he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:38 p.m., the CHP said.
The onramp from Lawrence Expressway to northbound 101 was closed for approximately an hour while the CHP investigated.
cbc_topnews_feed
The man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack confessed to the FBI and told investigators he thought the 2020 election had been tampered with, according to a court filing from federal prosecutors.
cbc_topnews_feed
Deborah Ann Badeau says she found warmth, safety and hope at a Saint John transitional housing community, where she's one of 19 residents.
sjmerc_local_feedThe college football coaching carousel might have a few spins remaining this winter — there’s no way to predict the chain reaction sparked by Black Monday in the NFL — but it’s not too early to declare a winner.
The Big Ten dominated the hiring cycle as two of its biggest brands overcame their own missteps to secure two of the best coaches in the country.
Penn State’s embarrassing search lasted eight weeks but nonetheless landed on arguably the most sensible candidate in Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
Then Michigan, despite immense internal chaos, secured a future Hall of Fame coach when Kyle Whittingham agreed to contract terms two weeks after stepping down at Utah.
Campbell and Whittingham are on any short list of the best coaches in the country over the past decade. Both won consistently in power conferences by maximizing their personnel, meshing their playing styles to their school’s natural recruiting pool and hiring sharp assistants.
And let’s not forget a third Big Ten program, UCLA, selected one of the top Group of Five coaches available: Bob Chesney, who took James Madison to the College Football Playoff.
Add them to the Big Ten’s existing collection, which includes Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Washington’s Jedd Fisch, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Illinois’ Bret Bielema, and the sport’s richest conference also boasts the strongest lineup of coaches in the country.
In fact, it’s not even close.
The top coaches in the SEC, from Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer to LSU’s Lane Kiffin and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, are undeniably elite. But the conference lacks the depth to match the Big Ten’s lineup of coaches — a notable reversal of the on-field dynamic in which the Big Ten possesses a handful of elite teams but not the quality depth that exists in the SEC.
While two of the Big Ten’s biggest brands hired proven Power Four winners, three SEC schools dipped into the Group of Five for new coaches: Tulane’s Jon Sumrall (hired by Florida), Memphis’s Ryan Silverfield (Arkansas) and South Florida’s Alex Golesh (Auburn). And a fourth school, Kentucky, opted for a first-time head coach, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.
If you include Pete Golding, an internal promotion at Mississippi after Kiffin’s departure, the conference hired five coaches with zero experience at the highest level of the sport.
Campbell and Whittingham have been winning for years.
Granted, Penn State and Michigan serve as exhibits A and B of the good fortune that accompanies programs born on third base. Both stumbled and bumbled their way to stellar hires.
But the end result is a conference already flush with elite coaches added two of the best in the land.
Other winners and losers from the carousel …
Winner: The Dan Lanning coaching tree. Three years after Kenny Dillingham left for Arizona State, two more Oregon coordinators are taking charge of their own programs: Will Stein at Kentucky and Tosh Lupoi at Cal. And we suspect there will be more — many more — where they came from. Lanning is the prototype modern coach with command of the tactical, psychological, and administrative aspects of the job.
Loser: BYU. The Cougars avoided a coaching catastrophe when they retained Kalani Sitake (despite Penn State’s multi-week pursuit). But they are likely to get whacked one level down with Whittingham’s reported plans to lure Jay Hill, one of the best defensive coordinators in the Big 12, away from Provo. The deal isn’t official, yet. But Michigan has the resources to make Hill an offer that will be difficult to refuse.
Winner: Oklahoma State. There’s a case for Eric Morris as the best low-profile hire of the 2025-26 cycle. He’s a quarterback whisperer who found Cam Ward and John Mateer, and just led North Texas to a 12-win season. The Cowboys haven’t won a conference game in two years. Their trajectory will change next fall.
Loser: Iowa State. The Cyclones were going to lose Campbell at some point. But we’re not convinced they picked the right replacement. Jimmy Rogers’ one year of FBS coaching experience, at Washington State, included a mediocre offense and major blunder with his quarterback evaluation.
Winner: Arizona’s continuity. The Wildcats managed to retain the coordinators, Seth Doege (offense) and Danny Gonzalez (defense), who were vital to the Year 2 turnaround under coach Brent Brennan. The carousel could take a spin through Tucson in coming weeks, but it’s increasingly clear that Doege and Gonzalez won’t leave Arizona unless a head coaching opportunity materializes.
Loser: Cal. The Hotline takes a skeptical view whenever first-time head coaches with defensive backgrounds hire offensive coordinators with no experience as a primary playcaller. And that’s precisely what Lupoi did last week when he picked Jordan Somerville to run the offense. (Somerville has been a running backs coach and offensive analyst at the college level and assistant quarterbacks coach in the NFL.) Our skepticism is mitigated somewhat by the presence of Nick Rolovich as the Bears’ quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach.
Winner: Washington. The Wisconsin loss and 0-3 record against ranked opponents undercut the Year 2 momentum under Jedd Fisch, who has not been fully embraced by UW fans. But the Huskies are better positioned to make the jump to Big Ten contender with Fisch returning in 2026 than if they were experiencing their third coaching change in five years.
Loser: Nebraska. Soon after Penn State fired James Franklin, the Cornhuskers moved to repel suitors for third-year coach Matt Rhule with a multi-year extension — this, despite his modest on-field success and questionable market value. Turns out, Rhule reportedly was never a serious candidate in State College, leaving Nebraska with a longer commitment to a coach who hasn’t proven he’s worthy.
Winner: The new Pac-12. With San Diego State retaining Sean Lewis and Boise State keeping Spencer Danielson, two of the top programs escaped carousel season unharmed. Add Colorado State’s successful pursuit of Jim Mora and the hiring cycle was a net positive for the rebuilt conference. In that regard, the Pac-12 seemingly has an advantage over its chief competitive rival, the American.
Loser: The American. A stellar season on the field, which featured three 10-game winners and a playoff participant (Tulane), came with a steep cost. Many of its best programs were gutted by the SEC.
Winner: Arizona State. Kenny Dillingham is back.
Loser: every school with a vacancy. Any administration that passed on the chance to hire New Mexico’s Jason Eck will regret the decision in three or four years when Eck leads a power conference team into the College Football Playoff. The former Wisconsin offensive lineman (under Barry Alvarez) is the sport’s next great coach. That so many schools declined to scoop up the 48-year-old is a perfect illustration of the mismanagement that led to so many vacancies in the first place.
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One politician was threatened because a resident didn't like the speed bump the city installed on his street. Another was yelled at because a homeowner's garbage wasn't picked up on time. Earlier this month, a man was arrested after his email inquiries to London City Hall turned into death threats.
ysabetwordsmith posting in goals_on_dwHappy Snowflake Season to all! As we prepare to kick off the 2026 snowflake_challenge, please feel free to promote this event within your own circles. You are welcome to use any of these new banners for that. The community page also has icons.
This event may appeal to those with goals about blogging, reading, writing, arts and crafts, networking, making friends, having fun, and so on.
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snowflake_challenge, please feel free to promote this event within your own circles. You are welcome to use any of these new banners for that. The community page also has icons. This event may appeal to those with goals about blogging, reading, writing, arts and crafts, networking, making friends, having fun, and so on.
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sjmerc_local_feedALAMEDA — Prosecutors in Alameda County are seeking justice for a wild turkey that took its last breath in August, after a 38-year-old man allegedly shot it with his BB gun, authorities said.
The Alameda man is facing a felony animal cruelty charge for allegedly hunting the bird, according to court records. He was booked into jail on Dec. 17, after the case was filed, with bail set at $50,000, records show.
The defendant has since bailed out and been released, according to court records.
Police said the man shot the turkey with a .177 caliber BB gun near the 400 block of Pensacola Road on the west end of the island, about three-and-a-half miles from where the defendant lives. Police collected the carcass and gave it to a veterinarian for a full necropsy before bringing the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, records show.
The illegal hunting was originally reported to police and animal control by an eyewitness, who later identified the suspect from a photo lineup, police said.
Although not native to California, wild turkeys are a common sight in some Bay Area neighborhoods, especially in the East Bay. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife introduced turkeys to the Golden State in the 1900s to encourage recreation hunting and generate revenue through the purchasing of licenses required to hunt the bird. Today, there are around 250,000 wild turkeys throughout California.