It's Time For Affinity Manager

Since refocusing on Adobe Bridge to manage photos on my laptop, I've been trying to choose a good image processor to go with it. At first, I thought Photoshop Elements was best, but now I'm favoring Affinity Photo. I noticed two things: it could use a digital asset manager of its own, and the Affinity company (Serif) was bought last year by Canva. So now I wonder (worry?) about the quality of Affinity's future.

Managing Photos On My Laptop

A few months ago, I was deciding between traditional photo apps and settled on Adobe Bridge. But then I reverted to Google Photos because I had started to lean back into a Chromebook. Yet moving my photo collection from my local PC into Google's cloud over time pressed me: I would soon need to subscribe to a paid cloud storage plan, and I would need to further cull and organize my picture files on my laptop. Then I snapped out of Google Photos. Bridge is the way to go.

Creative Cartography

A few years ago, when I started making my own role-playing video game via RPG Maker MZ, I discovered map-making software. These are like purpose-built "photoshop" apps for creating fantasy maps. How cool! I was interested but never ended up diving into them. Fast-forward to this month — the creative bug bit me again. Two cartography tools I found are Inkarnate and Wonderdraft. I must choose...wisely.

Keeping Kindle Without Color

Well, I mulled it over. After my eyes were opened to Kobo, I decided that despite some greener grass there, I’m gonna stay comfy in Amazon’s pasture. The reasons are simple.

More Busy Building Than Blogging

It's been over a week since I last posted. I've been super laser focused lately, building a new room onto our house, even taking time off work. I last mentioned it when I finished the framing. Now the exterior is almost complete! That's a gigantic milestone I've been pushing for. With that and the interior finishing around the corner, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This DIY project will finally be done before long. I can't wait.

Parks By Keymaster

Not all gaming is with video games. My focus now is Xenoblade Chronicles X:DE on Switch. But last year for Christmas, I was given a new tabletop board game — I love it! Made by Keymaster, it's called, Parks. The original base game was accompanied by two expansions, one of which I also was given for Christmas. In early January, before I expanded the base game, I learned that Keymaster opened pre-orders for a new and improved 2nd edition. Coming in two versions, the best one is the deluxe Summit Edition; it was delivered to my house this week — yeah!

Ni No Kuni II Artbook Discovery

Serendipity is nice. I was having a date-night with my wife this past weekend. While eating pizza for dinner, we reminisced about how we went to video stores like Blockbuster and looked for a movie to watch on a Friday night. Sometimes we'd end up walking around the aisles, browsing for something that would catch our eyes. It was nice to discover new entertainment.

The Switch 2 Era Begins

Well the big N delivered. Switch 2 is officially here, sort of. You can't take one home yet, but it's been announced and some gaming outlets have reported playing it. The Switch 2 Era has begun! Now we can start speculating on Switch 3, right?

Jason Journals Back On Blogger

Jason Journals lives...on Blogger! Going steady since 1999 (!), it hasn't changed in years, so what caused me to leave my newfound host, Pika, and rejoin ye ol' Blogspot? Good question.

I Got A Skell!

On April 4th, 2025, I earned my first Skell in Xenoblade Chronicles X. YASSS! It was at 27 hours into gameplay time in the Definitive Edition on Switch. When I first played the game on Wii U, I was about 40 hours into the game when I was still trying to complete the exam certificates to earn a Skell License; I never finished. Now, finally, I got my first Skell. This awesome game just got even better.

The Switch 2 Must Wait

It's April, and the Switch 2 should be fully revealed tomorrow - fun! I'm sure it will be really cool, but it must wait. I still have several great Switch 1 games to play and finish.