A little over 8 years ago, in 2018, I instituted a policy that no one in the family could use electronics on Tuesdays and Thursdays unless the use was directly tied to work/homework or was somehow cooperative with other family members (no single-player video games or individual show watching). The concept came from the movie version of Ready Player One where the Oasis was turned off on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that people would spend time in reality. In our version we even made a rule that some portion of the day had to be spent outside if the weather was nice. 

It was met with the expected amount of frustration from our three boys, but it led to some interesting activities and interactions. There also tended to be more fights between the boys and general bad moods on these days too. Still, we stuck with it for over a year and a half--when COVID hit and we were all suddenly spending a lot more time online.

A couple of things have happened recently that made me start thinking about instituting Oasis days again … for myself. One has been due to my own blog posts from the past. Thanks to Facebook's Memory feature, I spend a bit of my morning rereading all of my past posts for the given day. Posts about Oasis days (especially from the first couple of months) have been showing up lately--so have posts about various projects that I had started (and even had enthusiasm for) but never saw a conclusion. 

I also spend a bit of time every morning reading some sort of book about my faith. At present, I'm reading through The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic by Matthew Kelly. Like anything I read, I don't agree with all of it (and even have some real concerns about parts of it), but there was recently something in the book about making small, regular contributions to the world. In particular, it combined with a post that had recently popped up in my Facebook Memory about wanting to be a contributor and not only a consumer.

I no longer have my doctoral work like I did during the original Oasis days. In fact, it's been five years since I finally had my dissertation approved. I think that it's time that I start trying to contribute again. Make no mistake, I have a ridiculously busy schedule during the school year; I picked up union duties, DDF coaching, and now running the school drama program which has more than filled the time that I had spent on my doctorate, but I've been using that as an excuse too often. This is just asking for two days a week--and some of those days will have other events that take priority--to try to focus on creation over consumption. 

Still, I almost didn't do this. When I came home from work today, I was entirely ready to abandon this mad scheme and just play one of the video games that currently have my attention. After all, I need to unwind. However, I managed to convince myself to start small--using today's creation time to organize previous year's blog posts--a task that I am behind on doing by years. 

It worked. I forgot how long this process takes--I only got through a few months worth of posts--but I felt good for having made some small steps of accomplishment. In fact, I started thinking of multiple other ways that I could productively use this time. I will also likely not stay up too late, leading to me getting more sleep.

​I hope that this is one of those habits that I can keep.

It's clear that we are approaching winter. Even though fall colored leaves are still on many of the trees, our first flakes of snow mixed in with the rain this past weekend. Up in the pass, there were patches of snow along the road. The mountains in the distance have white-covered peaks again. 

Even more telling has been the moose in our yard. They've had to move out of the higher elevations and have been lately frequenting our lawn and, to Janelle and Katrina's chagrin, what's left of our garden. Today, twin yearlings followed by their mother decided to have dinner in our yard while we were also enjoying our evening repast. They clearly found our lawn quite enjoyable as the decided to lay down and munch away for quite a while.

The colder mornings that have come with this season of change have led me to get out some of my early winter gear. In fact, I even picked up a new set of winter gloves this past weekend in preparation for any upcoming snow-shoveling endeavors--even though any serious accumulations will likely still be a month or so away. We're getting close to the point that I will start regularly wearing boots again.

That said, I've still been changing into my shorts when I get home from work.

There are a number of items in our house that I would like to see repaired, replaced, or upgraded in the next few years. In many cases, these are items that could even save us money (let alone worry) over time, but they almost all have enough of a cost that it would take a while to make them financially viable. A few of them need to be done sometime soon to avoid larger expenses later on. I've thought about ranking them in order of importance (or even just interest), but that seems like more effort than I want to give at the moment, so I'm just going to brainstorm them.

-Replace the kitchen counters.
-Replace our washer and dryer. 
-Replacing the windows on the southeast half of the house, including the window and door in the arctic entryway.
-Replacing the remaining copper pipes before we spring more leaks.
-Replacing the water pressure tank (and perhaps reworking that system to make it more stable).
-Having a full-house battery backup system, ideally with solar panels to not only keep it charged in the case of emergency put to at some point replace (or at least supplement) the electrical power for each of our buildings (house, garage, cabin).
-Replace the upstairs electrical box.
-Patch the chinking in the cabin.
-Replace the cabin's water heater.
-Replace the carpet in the living room (and stairs).
-Replace the flooring in the kitchen/dining room.
-Replace the siding (especially on the sides and back) while checking the insulation (maybe replacing it) of the house.
-Turn attic space into a usable room.

Yep. That should pretty much cover it for now. We'll see what we need next month.

This weekend, I had someone ask me if I am a socialist, and I had to think about it for a little bit before answering that generally I'm not, but it depends on what a person means by socialism. For example, if a person claims that public services such as public education, fire stations, police forces, etc. are socialist, then I'm all for it. However, I actually believe in capitalism--real capitalism, not the type of corporate welfare quasi-capitalism that seems to dominate our nation (and world) today. 

Allow me to explain. When Adam Smith first wrote The Wealth of Nations in 1776, the nations of the world were kingdoms and empires. At best, some of them had advisory parliament-type bodies that were a sort of oligarchy comprised of the wealthiest (usually land-owning) men in the nation. The governmental interference that Smith warned about was the interference of wealthy men on the economies of nations and the world--those who put their "thumb on the scale" when it came to economic endeavors in ways that benefited them at the cost of others.

You see, that was the economic belief at the time. It's referred to as mercantilism. The most basic idea is that there is a limited amount of wealth in the world. Thus, for one person to have more others, by necessity, must have less. Smith, however, had come to understand that wealth did not have to work that way. In fact, he identified that the wealthiest nations were those that had learned to take what might be discarded by another, use it to create something new, and raise the level of wealth for all of those involved. This is the basic concept of capitalism--people use capital to increase wealth based off of what is available and what is wanted. 

Socialism, in its most basic form, is that the means of production (and other capital) are to owned by the workers themselves. Note that this is different than communism where all wealth is communal and that everyone somehow uses what they need and contributes what they can. Basically, communism is the system in most households where family members have items held in common that various members use depending on the task at hand--it becomes an issue on a macro scale as who steps in as the arbiter(s) in the case of multiple people wanting to use the same items (in family's, the parents usually take that role). As for socialism, the idea of giving workers near equal shares in ownership of the business can work in certain circumstances, but somehow there still needs to be a person or group who makes the final decisions--sort of like in a representative democracy.

The issue with socialism (and even democracy in many cases) is that it requires a capable level of education for those who vote on the decisions, and even then the process can be a great deal slower than what might be needed when time is of utmost importance. We see this with the way that we pass (or fail to pass) laws that are necessary for protecting the public from new types of untested technology, by the time that anything gets decided, the damage is often already done. 

Capitalism allows for quicker adaptation with natural consequences. Note that currently, our large businesses keep getting buyouts when in trouble and that the wealthy can use loopholes to avoid the otherwise natural consequences of their horrible decisions. Democratic capitalism allows for people to help gather together to keep individual outliers from damaging people and resources. Adam Smith wrote about this before the United States existed.

In his idea of capitalism, workers were allowed to group together freely (already, business owners were getting nations to squash worker groups while allowing business owners to work collectively). They were also guaranteed a living wage. In fact, Smith noted that successful nations would come to see (he pointed to the American colonies as an example) that workers would need well beyond a living wage to afford marriage and children. In his mind, capitalism would naturally punish those who accumulated well beyond the amount needed for their own family without putting those funds back into their business and into their community. 

True capitalism is the tide that lifts all boats. I side with Teddy Roosevelt on this in that big business is fine as long as it works towards the benefit of the entire nation, but that it should be actively dismantled if it only funnels money into the hands of the few. I understand that my view is idealistic (one might even say naive), but I'm truly a democratic capitalist.

I really don't know anything about growing grapes. The few images in my mind that deal with this kind of agriculture come almost exclusively from the Picard family vineyards from Star Trek: The Next Generation (as well as a hilarious reference in Lower Decks) and from the end scene of French Kiss. In all of the references, tending the vineyards seems to be part of an idyllic experience. At a minimum, the suggestion seems to be that owning a vineyard--especially one that predominately produces grapes for the purpose of wine making--is something that only the wealthy can afford to do.

It's interesting that the image of God as the owner of a vineyard is used multiple times in the Bible. In these analogies, the vines always represent the growing people of faith. In the ones that have workers, they usually represent the priests or political officials who are supposed to care for the people (as is demonstrated in this week's Gospel reading).

Like the analogies to sheep and their shepherds, I wonder if the symbols of God being an owner of a vineyard is intentionally designed to show that God generally allows us to grow our own way. He (or His servants) are there to tend, protect, and guide, but these are crops and flocks that do not require a great deal of forced action. They still need care, but they generally do their thing on their own. 

God allows us to grow spiritually as He designed us to grow. However, He seems to have little patience for those of His servants who do not take care of His creation. It is when we allow our selfish ideas to interfere with the lives of others or the health of our world that He begins to trample "out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."

With Trevor and Kendra's wedding only about five weeks away, and most of my weekends between now and then already spoken for, I decided that we needed to do a run up to Anchorage to pick up Costco supplies. That we were nearly out of toasted marshmallow flavoring may have also had something to do with my desire to go on this trip. Additionally, I knew that this would be one of the last weekends to see the fall colors on our scenic trip. Rowen graciously volunteered to come with me.

It might not have been the best week to be at Costco. It had completely slipped my mind that Alaskans (including myself) had received our Permanent Fund Dividend (with an energy rebate) this past week. Thus, the store was full with people who could finally get the item(s) that they had been waiting for. Considering that Rowen and I were both dealing with carts (and even then barely had space for everything we purchased), navigating our way through the crowded store was quite challenging at times--and strangely not at others. I could tell that Costco was ready for this deluge of customers as all of the checkout lines were open with helpers at each one who were unloading and loading carts. 

We often have full carts when we make these trips, especially if it has been a while since our last one. However, this trip seemed extreme. The checkout helper eyed us as we came up and said something about us having a two cart trip. I mentioned that we only come up every few months and that we are also getting ready for my son's wedding. The helper looked up and down the line of items and asked, "How big is this wedding going to be?"

He was not wrong to be a little concerned as Tifa (my Kia Sportage) was completely packed full on our return trip.

Today, I found myself thinking about what movie marathon that I would want to watch on my birthday--only to discover that I really have no idea. This is a little strange because, although it's two and a half months away, I usually have some sort of idea by this point in the year. In fact, I usually have an idea in mind soon after the end of the previous marathon. 

Last year, it was Pirates of the Caribbean movies (well, technically, it was the two Dune movies on my actual birthday) while the year before was all of the movies that included The Guardians of the Galaxy. The Lord of the Rings or the Star Wars movies would normally be contenders, but I did both of those marathons this summer. Similarly, I watched the Indiana Jones movies that I cared about this summer too. An MCU phase would be nice, but I'm seriously considering going through all of the MCU movies (and shows) this summer between this year's release of Avengers: Doomsday and next year's Avengers: Secret Wars. Because of that, I also don't think that I'm going to run the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies even though Brand New Day should be on BluRay by then. 

It's been almost ten years since I watched the Star Trek movies. In fact, I still haven't done a marathon of the Next Generation movies--largely because it would mean ending with Nemesis--which I hated. Either the original six (maybe skipping the first one) or the rebooted three would be fun to see again. It's also been fifteen years since I've run a full marathon of the Harry Potter films (which really need two days to see all of them). Other possibilities include the Back to the Future films--which we haven't watched since Marty McFly was supposed to travel to the future--that was eleven years ago. 

All of them sound interesting, but none are filling me with any sense of urgency to watch. I suppose that it will also depend on what Alex and Connor (who will both be up for Christmas) as well as the rest of my family are interested in watching. It's not like I need to make a decision now anyway. 

In July, I started reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl series at the suggestion of Katrina and multiple friends. I devoured the first book quickly, and had to wait while the next book was on order. After that was the case for the third book (maybe it was the fourth) too, I went to our local River City Books and purchased the rest of the books that have been published in the series (which were all only available in hardcover). Today, I finished that final book, The Parade of Horribles, and now have to impatiently wait for Matt Dinniman to complete book nine--let alone book ten and the series.

I feel that my original comparison of this book being a blend of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Ready Player One still holds. Although, I agree with whomever had told me that it also reminds them of The Hunger Games series. What's wild for me is that as extremely ludicrous as the story gets (and it starts out absolutely insane), it also seems to become more and more "real" as it gets closer to its completion. This book does what my favorite pieces of literature do: make me reexamine my life and personal view of the world--and my reflection is not particularly flattering.

Throughout these eight books, there have been scenes and scenarios that are absolutely disgusting and disturbing. There are sections that delve into into irreverence to the point of actual blasphemy, but somehow do so in ways that keep the main characters and storyline pure in their intent. It's been a book that has had me belly-laughing at some points and actually in tears in others. Parts and characters that I never expected to care about have had both devastating and uplifting moments which have equally made me furious with the situation and its real-world analogy and optimistic for both the story's and our futures.

Somehow Carl manages to be both the hero we need and the one that we deserve.

Our area certainly looks like fall! While we are more limited in tree colors here than we were in Michigan, Soldotna has been trying to make up for it with multiple days where rainbows have helped brighten my way home from work. Crisp morning temperatures have certainly put me in the mood for cider and cinnamon donuts!

I ended this month by singing at a Mass of Remembrance for the comfort of people who have lost loved ones to suicide. One of our parishioners who is a public health provider was asked to speak after mass about seeking help, offering hope, and dealing with loss--which he had personally experienced. For me, it was a powerful ending to a much needed Mass.

While that is how I ended the month, here are some highlights from the rest of September:
 -I started the month with a final recruitment meeting which added more people to the my Spring Break trip to Berlin, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest--but not enough to keep us as an exclusive trip, let alone fill the bus. I'm still quite excited about the trip itself!
-I somehow managed to wear the same shirt for picture day, so I now have two IDs that where I look nearly identical.
-My drama class had one of those great moments where nearly everything seemed to click at a particular scene.
-I've seen video of the upcoming remake of The Ocarina of Time which as made me quite excited for the game's release later this year.
-After more than a decade, I watched (and quite enjoyed) The Fugitive again.
-A session of mowing left me with bug bites that took weeks to disappear.
-I watched Supergirl again (it was the first time for Rowen and Janelle) and enjoyed it more on the second viewing. It's still not a great movie in my opinion, but it is a good one.
-Our unions finally settled a contract with our school district!
-I attended multiple Homecoming events, including getting to see Rowen take the field during halftime as a candidate for Junior Class Prince (although he did not win, that was still a first for our family).
-I cleared my desk of the Post-It notes that have been on it for years.
-I finished the amazing Hades 2 game and all of its challenges. I then went back to the original Hades game and completed all of the challenges that I missed except one which I finally quit for the sake of my sanity.

There was certain more, but that's most of what I wrote about. It was a full month. October looks to be an extremely busy month as well.

For the sake of my sanity and the health of my remaining controllers, I have decided to stop attempting the 32 fear "run" in Hades. I have made about 100 attempts (perhaps more) on this challenge in the past ten days, only to continually end unsuccessfully--usually well past my bed time. To put this in perspective, it only took about 120 attempts for me to compete the main game, its epilogue, all of the side quests, all of the trophies, and every challenge except this one. Playing this game has damaged two of my controllers: one now has a permanent drift and I somehow managed to peal the rubber coating off of the left stick of the other.

I don't like giving in, but this has taken enough of a toll and there are still other games that I would like to play--and some games that I want to play again. I was so frustratingly close on multiple attempts; however, most of my attempts didn't make it through the third (of four) areas. I feel like I have managed to complete more difficult challenges than this in the past, but the random nature of the game (which normally keeps the game fun) makes this challenge outside of my current abilities.

There is a good chance that I will play this game (and especially its sequel) sometime in the future. There have been other challenges in other games that I have left unfinished only to complete them years later. There are also plenty of games (let alone tasks) left incomplete. We will have to see where this one falls, but for now, I'm leaving it alone.

With Halloween coming up, I have already heard a few people talk about their disdain for the season as it promotes ideas of wizards, witches, and magic which conflict with their personal beliefs. In general, I support the concept of people not wanting to take part in things that they do not like. For example, I actively hate mushrooms and want nothing to do with them. In fact, I have difficulty holding back my anger when people force them on me or sneak them into my meals--I'm still fuming about a recent example of this, but I'm trying to let it go. Thus, while I believe that people who want to avoid anything regarding magic are missing out on some amazing stories, concepts, themes, and ideas, I respect their right to do so.

However, I should also mention that I feel that magic (including superpowers) can be a dangerous idea. The best stories involving these kinds of supernatural powers demonstrate the costs that they bring--the effects on the lives of the people involved as well as the toll that those powers can take. The problem with magic is that it is a shortcut to a goal--it bypasses natural laws to achieve an end. In doing so, a great deal of power can be placed at hand without the magic user understanding it, let alone how and when it should be used.

Unearned power is dangerous. Like all forms of power, it can quickly corrupt even the best of people. Because it is unearned, magic is so much easier to abuse--unintentionally causing harm to people all around the user--even people the user has never met.

People want magic because they believe that it would make their lives easier. They think of all of the things that they could do with it to benefit themselves without considering the costs to others and to their own growth as people. For these reasons, I feel that magic is an extremely dangerous idea.

... I feel the same way about wealth.

In today's Gospel from Matthew, Jesus talks about two sons: one who tells his father no but then does the work requested and one who tells his father yes but does not do the work. I have known many people in my life who follow the directives of Christ despite claiming that they are not Christian. Sadly, I have known entirely too many "christians" who regularly attend church but who leave Christ's teachings there and do not bring them into their daily lives. 

Jesus tells the chief priests and elders, "tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you." I think of this when I hear "christians" condemn other people whose lifestyles they don't like. These were the "chief priests" that Jesus was admonishing--they were the ones who publicly proclaimed whose sin-offerings were accepted and whose sin still remained, and Jesus was telling them that the very people they attacked were the ones doing God's will. 

I, too, need to be careful that I examine my own life more than pass judgment on the lives of others. God does not miss my failings just because I point out the faults of others. I need to be more like the first son in my actions rather than like the second son who "talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk." 

Well, I managed to get a good amount of sleep last night, but I largely blew those gains today. I feel that I'm really close to being able to complete the videogame challenge I'm working (completing a "run" in Hades with 32 fear activated). Unfortunately, close is not good enough. I have again gone past midnight thinking that I needed "just one more run" to get it right.

After spending so much time on it, I don't want to give up on the challenge--at least, not just yet. I think that it would be different if I had another game that I really wanted to start up. The next one on my radar is over a month away (the remake of Ocarina of Time). 

Well, I'm certainly not going to complete it tonight (or this morning).  

I've been making poor decisions the past week or so regarding when I have gone to sleep. I've been stubbornly trying to make my way through a particular challenge of the first Hades game: completing a "run" with 32 fear activated. I've come tremendously close on two occasions, and not close at all on many others. Regardless of how I end, I keep making the choice to try "just the start" of the next run, only to make my way to the character's demise--and thus back to the start.

I realize that this is a process with diminishing returns. My current lack of sleep is likely not helping the process. At present, I've logged an average of 5 hours and 51 minutes of sleep a night (usually a bit over 6 hours, but I had one night with only 4 and a half).

Thus, I am stopping this post here and am not starting up the game this evening at all. It will still be a little bit before I get through my nighttime routine and fall asleep, but I'm going to attempt a roughly 12 hour reset. We will see if my body (and often hyperactive brain) let me do this.