Sometimes what NYT thinks is really common isn't something I think is common. That's the case for today (yellow was hard for me).

Just curious, what was the "fix"? If you'd rather not discuss it, that's understandable.

It just takes time -- a lot of time -- to transition a site that's as complex as ours from one hosting setup to a completely different hosting setup. There are so many interdependencies that a lot of stuff breaks down. Our recruiting database still doesn't work, despite John Donna attacking the problem three separate times and trying to figure it out. Somewhere along the line, two things happened: (1) the picture issue moved up the priority ladder high enough to get attention -- frankly, it's not high priority when you're just trying to get the site to WORK; and (2) he figured out what the issue was. JD and I don't communicate every day on every little issue. I let him work and get occasional updates that frankly aren't very complete and often above my head. JD does all his work with an AI agent now. He can still read code, correct it, etc., and he does that when he needs to -- he'll need to, to figure out the recruiting database -- but he lets the agent work, and he monitors what it's doing. And for literally weeks, the two of them were working on getting the hosting setup properly configured, so the site would deliver reliably, and not working on individual bugs. Edit: And another thing, John doesn't work full time for us. He has a whole other job/career. He works for us when he can. We stick with that setup because, although we don't get full-time attention, John is very good, very knowledgeable about our system, and very cheap. ** Edited by Will Stewart at 5/16/2026, 11:09:47 AM

I knew it was low priority. Getting this beast whole has been a monumental headache, no question. You are an accomplished platform purveyor who adds enormously to the VT brand, all the while providing a perch from which many of us lunatics can crow. John D is a gem; I hadn't imagined until now that AI was 'brought in'. I met a guy the other day who'd just returned from an AI-themed convention in Austin. This guy was an experienced IT pro who was flabbergasted when - from his hotel balcony - he counted three dozen or so driverless cars motoring around the streets in front of the hotel. He lives in the CLT area - where Waymo is getting close to setting free a fleet of the same. I'm going to hide under my bed.

I just about cried when I broke a 100+ day streak by missing a day.

Do my 7 puzzles* each morning and 2 more xword puzzles later if I have time. *Wordle, Strands, xword vox, Washington Post xword and mini, Connections (with 5x shuffle to start) and Connections Sports. I may jump from puzzle to puzzle if I hang up, but stay logged in.

I've set a reminder in the morning to do it, and a reminder at night to check and make sure I've done it. And I still miss days. Current streak is only 28 days.