 HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!
明けましておめでとうございます！！！！
Hey Friends. Happy New Year 2026. Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year.
I recently updated the story pages
of my blog. Please check out the new posts and new pictures when you can.
Thanks, and again, Happy New Year.
皆さん、こんにちは。2026年、明けましておめでとうございます。皆様が幸せで健康な新年を迎えられますように。最近、ブログのストーリーページを更新しました。新しい投稿と写真もぜひご覧ください。ありがとうございます。改めまして、新年おめでとうございます。
Click to read posts and see pictures
クリックして投稿と写真をご覧ください |
 Traditional
Lunch
January 1, 2026 - Akiko made a traditional New
Years lunch today along with the money envelopes for the kids. |
 Close
Up
January 1, 2026 - This is a close up of the lunch
and the Japanese sake. Akiko usually make many more different items, most of
which have some meaning, but she only made a few things this year since we are
busy with a few things now. |
 Happy
New Year
January 1, 2026 - We are really thankful for the
last year which saw us move to our new home. We are looking forward to a happy
and healthy 2026. |
 Sake
Taste
January 1, 2026 - A bit of Japanese sake which is
the traditional drink for New Years day. Except for Akiko, none of us are that fond of Japanese
sake though. |
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Travel Time
January 2, 2026 - Today we traveled to Nara,
Japan to visit family. We first had to take the dog to the kennel called Felice.
Quite a name for a pet place, when separated could stand for iron lice, lol. We
then took a total of four trains to get there. We met family at Oji and grandpa
drove four of us to the house and then went back to the train station to pick
everybody else up. That night involved a whole lot of eating and drinking.
Nara Park
January 3, 2026 - The next day we went to Nara
Park to see the deer. Before getting on the train we went to visit relatives for
a few minutes. The park was a lot of fun albeit with a ton of people, especially
foreigners. We ate ice cream and petted a lot of deer. That night the same
relatives came to the house. Again there was a lot of eating and drinking.
Played Football
January 4, 2026 - Today we went to a local park
and played football and a bit of frisbee with the cousins. That night was more
eating and drinking.
Nostalgic Places
January 5, 2026 - Me and Akiko showed the kids
and took pictures together a few of the places that were important to Mommy and
Daddy back in the day. We began with a trip to the library. This is where I met
Akiko and the journey together began. Being there with her and our three boys
brought tears to my eyes. The library was closed but the lights were on and were
able to take some nice pictures and video together.
Next we went to the Royal Host restaurant. This is where me and Akiko went to
meet her parents together for the first time. This is also the place where I met
her sister for the first time on another day. Again more tears of happiness.
Then we went to the Mister Donut shop where me and Akiko used to go and hang out
and talk. Although the place was somewhat renovated, they were still playing
rock music from the eighties. We ordered a lot of food with coffee and hot
chocolate and then headed to the train station. After the train station, we
picked up the dog, went home, and then went to the grocery store to pick up
something to eat. Certainly was nice to be home again. We drank some wine and
other drinks and spent the night talking about the trip. |
 Earthquake
Today
January 6, 2026 - Today there was an earthquake
in Japan. The earthquake was strong enough to shake the house pretty good. Then
there was another earthquake which also made the house shake quite a lot. There
was also a third earthquake. The intial earthquake measured 5.7 on the American
scale, with the other two measuring 4.7 and 5.0 respectively.
When the earthquake hit, I was on the computer and our phones began saying
EARTHQUAKE over and over. I said to Akiko and the kids there was supposed to be
an earthquake and then seconds later the house began shaking like crazy. I ran
into the toy room and me and Akiko huddled and covered our two younger kids. Our
oldest son was in his room on the second floor. The earthquake here lasted about
30 seconds. A few minutes later the earthquake showed up on the USGS website as
a 5.7 magnitude earthquake. We are all okay and there was apparently no damage
to the house but it was pretty scary. More updates to follow.
USGS page for the
5.7 magnitude earthquake
Today was also the beginning of my New Years resolutions....well kind of. I went
for a one hour walk along the river with my family. They came along to support
my effort to get back to working out again. That night Akiko made "frizza",
which is her version of pizza made in a frypan. We drank another bottle of wine
which will be the last alcohol for awhile with the exception of house parties.
Working Out Again
January 6, 2026 - Today was the actual return to
working out. For the last about 10 months, I was really active doing home
improvement projects, mostly outside landscaping. Although that kept me in
pretty good condition, it wasn't the same as a formal workout. Today was the
return to working out. Today the whole family went for an hour walk along the
river close to our house. These days kind of cool outside in the afternoon but
great for walking. Then at night we ate "frizza", pizza made in a frypan, and
drank a bottle of wine. The plan is no more wine after tonight.
More Workout
January 7, 2026 - Today we went to the building
supply store to purchase some wood in order to complete a few projects. We picked up a few packs
of sushi and came home and ate lunch. Then in the afternoon I began strength
training again for the first time since moving from the island.
More Changes
January 8, 2026 - I did not eat breakfast today.
I am going to reduce the amount of carbohydrates I eat every day and this is a
good beginning. Planning to reduce the amounts of rice and pasta as well. I do a
complete abdomen workout while the family is eating breakfast.
Completing Projects
January 9, 2026 - I returned to home improvement
projects today and cut a few pieces of wood for the walls of the entry to the
bathroom. This used to be a hallway and will now be used to set up a table and a
computer. This area is directly between the bedroom and the bathroom and really
convenient for nighttime computer work.
More Home Improvement
January 10, 2026 - Today I made a really nice
laundry hanging area for Akiko in the long wood hallway. The entire hallway is
south facing and perfect for drying laundry. In Japan most women typically hang
laundry outside. The laundry can blow off onto the dirt on windy days, and stink
bugs can occasionally be found in the clothes. I was happy to make a laundry
hanging area in the house in order to make things more convenient for my
incredible wife.
Snowing Today
January 11, 2026 - Today it actually snowed. For
maybe about an hour it snowed off and on. Although our youngest son has seen
hail, we were pretty sure it was the first time for him to see snow. We decided
to go for our usual walk along the river but the snow "storm" was already
finished. When we went walking, the temperature was about 39 degrees F (about 4
degrees C), not cold by Buffalo, New York standards but a bit cold nonetheless.
Project Continues
January 12, 2026 - More work on the room between
the bedroom and the bathroom, worked out, and we went for a river walk in the
afternoon.
More Work
January 13, 2026 - More work on the room, river
walking, and oldest son went with a few old guys to work on the trail leading up
to the top of the mountain.
January 14, 2026 - More work on the room, river
walking, and a light weight workout thanks to a hurting shoulder.
January 15, 2026 - More work on the room, river
walking, and no weight workout because of the messed up shoulder. Planning to
only do strength training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from next week.
Really not the journal or blogging type, might not continue writing daily posts
unless there is something noteworthy to write about.
January 16, 2026 - Actually went out to meet my
therapist, AKA my garden today. After weeks of remodeling the inside of the
house, the weather really warmed up and it was time to turn my attention to
gardening and preparations for the Spring crops. Today was all about soaking the
fruit trees and the garden....it had been really dry the last few weeks and
almost no rain. We also barbecued some chicken for naan bread sandwiches at
night.
January 17, 2026 - Another day working out in the
garden emptying out the compost bin and spreading it in the garden. Made a fish
barbecue in the afternoon. A bottle of wine at night.
January 18, 2026 - A bit of work today around the
barbecue area. Then went with the kids in the afternoon to Beautiful Forest
park. The long slide was actually repaired and open. Ate frizza at night and
another bottle of wine.
January 19, 2026 - Worked on the front yard
cutting wood in the parking area.
January 20, 2026 - Put caulking and set up
lighting in the small room next to the bathroom and bedroom.
January 21, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files. Then played chess at night. Played the game
with Ethan and he said to do the same moves as him and he won. Then played with
Lael and he won with me really trying. Used the bathtub for the first time
today. Went in with the little dudes. Was not much space but pretty fun.
January 22, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files.
January 23, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files.
January 24, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files. Was really cold outside again and we decided
to stay in the house. The night though turned out to be pretty crazy. Every
night we usually play some time of board game (yup no video games in this house,
except PBS kids) like four player chess or scrabble. Tonight the game choice was
Yahtzee. The last time we played I won with two Yahtzees. Tonight I won with
FOUR Yahtzees....yup four. The kids kept asking what are the chances and we
decided to find out.
I typed the following query in Chat GPT.
What is the chance of getting four Yahtzees in a single
game?
This was the answer.
Short answer: astronomically small.
Longer answer (with some intuition): on the order of one in many millions of
games.
How rare is this, really?
A standard game of Yahtzee has 13 turns, and on each turn you can roll up to 3
times to try to make something happen.
Some helpful benchmarks: |
- Chance of getting at least ONE Yahtzee in a full game
≈ 4–5% (about 1 in 20 games)
- Chance of getting TWO Yahtzees in one game
≈ 0.2–0.3% (roughly 1 in 400–500 games)
- THREE Yahtzees
≈ 1 in tens of thousands
- FOUR Yahtzees in a single game
roughly 1 in several million games (often estimated between 1 in 5 million
to 1 in 20 million, depending on play style and assumptions)
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There’s no single “official” exact number because: |
- Strategy matters (when you chase vs. give up)
- Extra Yahtzees require the Yahtzee box to already be
filled
- Bonus Yahtzees depend on continued perfect outcomes
under pressure
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But all reasonable models land in the “lottery-level rare” category.
Intuitive way to think about it: |
- Getting one Yahtzee already feels special
- Getting two feels like a story you tell people
- Getting three is something most lifelong players never
see
- Four Yahtzees in one game is the kind of result that:
- seasoned players may never witness in decades
- would be believable only with a scorecard photo
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Bottom line
If someone says they rolled four Yahtzees in one game: |
- It’s possible
- It’s not impossible
- But it’s extraordinarily rare—comparable to a
once-in-a-lifetime (or never) event for most players
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January 25, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files.
January 26, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files. Then ordered a refurbished computer.
January 27, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on deleting computer files. The new computer came today.
January 28, 2026 - Today friends from the beach
area came to the house for lunch and to hang out and play music.
January 29, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on the music section of the blog. We watched the movie "Back to the
Future 1" with popcorn and the lights out. This was the first time for Lael and
Ethen to see the movie, although the little guy ended up sleeping.
January 30, 2026 - Stayed in the house again and
worked on the music section of the blog. We watched the movie "Back to the
Future 2" with popcorn and the lights out. This was the first time for Lael and
Ethen to see the movie, although the little guy ended up sleeping again.
January 31, 2026 - Tonight we had a party with
the neighbors again. They invited cousins to the party. |
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