2025 in Review

2025 was a year defined less by spectacle and more by substance. It was about taking things apart—sometimes literally—and putting them back together with greater intention. Progress arrived not in sudden leaps, but through steady, deliberate work.

Much of the year revolved around spaces and systems: improving how things function, how they feel, and how they support daily life. Projects that began as practical necessities evolved into opportunities for creativity and reflection. In the process, patience became a skill sharpened by repetition, and problem-solving turned into a kind of quiet craft.

Beyond the tangible work, 2025 offered moments of recalibration. Priorities were clarified. Some plans were refined, others abandoned, and a few unexpected paths opened up. There was value in learning when to push forward and when to pause—when effort adds meaning, and when restraint does.

Relationships, routines, and rituals all played their part. Small habits proved more powerful than grand resolutions. Consistency mattered. Showing up mattered. And over time, those small choices accumulated into visible change.

As the year closes, 2025 stands as a foundation year—one that didn’t chase perfection, but aimed for durability. The lessons carried forward are simple but earned: build carefully, listen closely, and leave room for things to evolve.

Here’s to what was built, what was learned, and what comes next.

March 2025

McLean VA

Finished May 2025 

Washington DC

August 2025

Burke VA

Rosie

 

Overview

The Neato D9 is a mid-range, laser-navigated robotic vacuum designed for medium to larger homes. It uses LIDAR mapping (precise laser mapping) to clean in systematic lines instead of random bumps, and its D-shaped design helps it cover edges and corners better than many round robots.

Real-World User Experience

From actual user reviews & feedback:

👍 Pros reported by owners:

• Good cleaning power and battery life.

• Navigation & mapping are often better than random-path robots.

• D-shape helps with edges and trim.

👎 Cons some owners face:

• App setup/connectivity can be frustrating or unreliable.

• Some find it occasionally gets stuck or has mapping errors.

• With cloud services ending, remote features/app control may no longer work.

Verdict

Great cleaning engine, middling software/automation reliability.
The Neato D9 remains a technically capable robotic vacuum with strong battery life, solid mechanical performance, and LIDAR-guided navigation — but its app and smart-feature experience is inconsistent, and future feature support is limited without cloud connectivity.

If you want:
👉 Reliable suction and navigation on hard floors and carpets — the D9 can deliver.
👉 Advanced app-driven scheduling and remote control — you may be disappointed now that cloud support is being shut down.

Van Buildout (Update)

 It has been five years since  I planned to build out my van. Luckily, I never did complete it.

Where did the time go (again)?

 Five years ago I published the same question covering the same year. Reading through my blogs on a rainy Sunday, I discovered that I neglected to update my blog for a very long time. 

Again, this year it is September and I asked myself the same question - where did the time go? It seems that the older you get the faster the time flies. Although the daily routine does not deviate too much it still is Sunday then Sunday again.

 

A Discovery of Witches

`A Discovery of Witches' is a fantasy series based on the similarly named novel of the `All Souls' trilogy, written by Deborah Harkness. Teresa Palmer portrays Diana Bishop, a historian who discovers a bewitched manuscript in the Bodleian library. As she attempts to unravel the secrets this book holds about magical creatures, she is forced back into the world of magic, full of vampires, daemons, witches and forbidden love. Forming an unlikely alliance, geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont, portrayed by Matthew Goode, helps Diana to attempt to protect the book and solve the riddles within, while at the same time dodging threats from the magical creature world. 

After seeing the trailer multiple times on various devices, I decided to watch the series. Series one's episodes were nebulous enough to continue watching it. Although it plays in the fantasy realm (as far as we know), the actions of various characters do not deviate from the plots of other "power hungry" movies too much. 

The interesting part starts with the time walker discovery. As many theories suggest the paradox of time travel, it does not seem have an effect in this series or does not play a role. I'm curious to see the possible change after the characters return to the presence. As suggested in the movie "The Butterfly Effect" the slightest change will have great consequences. I'll see what happens here in the mind of the authors soon.

Two days later

So I watched it to the end. No butterfly effect here, in the greater scheme of things it is not important to the story line. Although one fact lingers in my mind: Diana is pregnant in 1590, returns to 2022 - pregnant - this must be the longest pregnancy in the history of mankind, also, the twins are 432 years old when they were born ... 

It was an interesting plot line with enough intrigue to keep watching. The cinematography was outstanding, so were the costumes. The scenes in Venice with the boat steering towards the hidden island got somewhat old after frequent switches between countries. The slow gathering of species over several episodes was well done. Some of the travel between the countries did not make too much sense, especially in the last series where the imprisoned witch is in Poland and drives to France, Matthew drives from France to Poland. This takes a long time by car, however, the actions in either location have not progressed too much in the meantime. Little parts which jump out and make the episode look chopped up in the last series.

The discovery of the dependency of chromosomes between the species was a logical explanation for the ending of the series, which also led to the dismantling of the old hierarchy. 

"If there is something wrong with the hive, you have to replace the queen" (from the Beekeeper) would be very relevant in this scenario.

98" Television

 

I always wanted a "movie theater" environment. Before I was able to build a movie theater in one part of our lower level, I ran across a good offer for a 98" smart television. I thought it would fit perfectly in our already buildout lower level. When it arrived I was blown away how big it actually was. It took both delivery people to carry it down the stairs. After several days of having the TV setup on the floor, I had a chance to add mounting brackets on the wall and install the proper outlets and connections. Of course, I had to enforce the wall otherwise it would not stay mounted on the wall.

It was not until February that I had enough man power in the house for the Superbowl game to hang the TV. It took two people to lift it and another two to spot the hanging devices behind the TV. The additional Dolby Atmos soundbar gave the setup the finishing touch for the entertainment area.

Year in Review 2020

Looking back 

Even though the world is in turmoil because of the virus, it was not all bad.

We welcomed 2020 in the usual way as the new year, not knowing that this year was a life behavior changing event. 

The early spring delivered a mandatory vacation aka lockdown. I did enjoy the “guild free” time off, it allowed me to catch up on many projects around the house. Luckily, I was able to empty my storage unit before the lockdown. The unit contained most of my tools as well as items we did not have space for before.

I managed to finish the kitchen, laundry room, both guest rooms to our liking, also in preparation for guests later in the year. Of course, the guest visits did not happen as planned.

Romeo and Juliet Room

Laundry Room

Kitchen and breakfast area

In addition to the renovation of the rooms, I spent considerable time to automate and control areas of the house. As a platform I choose the Home Assistant running on a Raspberry Pi. It connects nicely to Samsung’s Smart-Things, Phillips Hue, Z-Wave and WIFI enabled devices. It took several months of programming, trial and error until I had the screen I was planning on. As usual it is more ornate than some of the other screens Home Assistant shows as demos. Below is the beginning of the year.

Shown is the Holiday theme, of course the screen changes from day to night, seasons, and switches the backgrounds on holidays or other special occasions.

Business started to pick up in the late spring, however, it was somewhat unnerving leaving the house every day to go to work. One of the welcomed side effects of the new situation was lesser traffic. It cut the travel time by at least 40%, and lesser tolls.

By June I was booked until September. I was planning on taking time off after October 1^st, but it did not happen until the beginning of December.

In between projects I continued to renovate and maintain the house. The annual power washing of the house, driveway, and the deck was one of the weekend projects. Finishing the garage was another challenge. Moving tools around, sorting various parts into bins, building doors for the existing shelves, applying epoxy paint to the floor, paint the walls, installing baseboards and crown molding (yes, I have crown molding in my garage), new lights, and a ceiling fan. Most of the crown molding were either giveaways or left over from jobs and they had to go somewhere.

Before including items from storage

In the early part of the fall the dining room took shape and we were able to use it for an excellent Thanksgiving feast.

Sadly, my sister was not able to make the trip from across the pond for my birthday because of the travel restrictions. However, there was a highlight this year in the form of a Harley Davidson FLHTCUI Electra Glide Ultra Classic as a birthday present. It has been my favorite motorcycle ever since I was allowed to ride one.

The latest creation was the master bedroom bathroom toilet area. Originally, I only planned on replacing the way to low toilet, but then I got carried away.

While working on the garage, I ventured into the attic space above the garage and discovered that there is absolutely no insulation. The attic space spans all the way across the house and also holds the walk in closet for the master bedroom. Another project in the making. It took many ladder climbing efforts to maneuver all the insulation batts through the tiny hole in the ceiling.

This year we were on time in getting our Christmas tree, the day after Thanksgiving. Compared to last years tree, this one was bigger. For a theme we decided on red and gold.

and the outside decorations

 

Yet, another highlight for this year was the Winter Solstice on December 21, which is the shortest day and longest night of the year, also when the sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation. Winter Solstice this year will see a rare astronomical event - the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. 

True to the saying that ‘every cloud has a silver lining,' the pandemic-ridden 2020 is bringing a year-end treat for all of us. 

This year's celestial spectacle is especially rare for a few reasons – it has been nearly 400 years since both the planets passed this close to each other in the sky. The last time it happened was in 1623, 13 years after Galileo Galilei built his first telescope, when it was given the name 'The Great Conjunction'.
 
It has also been nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night. The Great Conjunction is taking place at night this year, allowing many around the world to witness the extraordinary event of the alignment of these bright planets in our night sky. * 

I ventured out to see this rare occasion, however, I only saw a small glimpse then the clouds swirled in.

Soccer

 Needless to say, my beloved soccer playing was cancelled for the spring as well as the fall season. I am hopeful that by the time fall season 2021 comes around we safely can resume playing. 

Movies 

With most people at home, it seems that the B movie industry boomed. Apart from a few movies or series such as The Queen's Gambit and The Old Guard there were only a few other watch worthy flicks or movies far and in between. Although I binged on Hart of Dixie, Emily in Paris, The Punisher, Warrior Nun, Outer Banks, Lucifer, Shameless, Bodyguard. Even those movies became somewhat repetitive. There must be some writers out there who can come up with some more intriguing plots. Some of the latest seasonal movies resembled a high school play at best. 

Football 

Perhaps the thought was that after the name change and a new coach it all will change for the better. Not really. The return of a severely injured quarterback, Alex Smith, showed some promise, it also showed who can lead a team. Of all the divisions, the NFC East is a sad story. All the teams in that division have a losing record, yet the Washington Football Team are on top with one more win than Dallas and Philadelphia. Watching the games is somewhat painful in comparison with some of the more capable teams. Although a long-time fan of the WFT, I enjoy watching Kansas City or the Miami Dolphins more. Both teams have young quarterbacks (Patrick Lavon Mahomes II and Tuanigamanuolepola "Tua" Tagovailoa respectively) who think outside of the box and are very dynamic. Yes, the Baltimore Ravens also have a great quarterback, however, it does not seem to be a complete team. Especially when the quarterback has more rushing yards than the running backs. This year, 2020, it seems that the top is more distributed than in previous years – we will see. 

Conclusion 

 * By Jasmin Jose (Gadget 360) | Updated: 21 December 2020 16:50 IST