This was a rather packed month. I still haven't managed to completely catch up from our Spring Break trip to D.C., but as full as it has been, I've quite enjoyed it. Here are some of the highlights.

The month started with the beginning of Lent (well, with Mardi Gras). Basically, for the past thirty days, I have not managed to steadily keep to either my original plan or any of my backups. For that matter, I even made the mistake of eating meat on a Friday. I made up for it later, but I would not call Lent a success for me thus far.

Connor and I had a fantastic time on our trip to Washington D.C. It was a packed schedule, but I still did not get the full amount of time to see everything that I wanted. Still, it was the right amount of time to be gone, even if it set me behind in preparation for school. The experience inspired me to want to run some trips of my own to sites around the world, but the school district has placed many more hurdles in the way than I had expected.

Our dogs figured out how to jump their fence when the snow is high, requiring me to dig snow trenches soon after my return from D.C.

March is full of minor holidays that I get to let my students and coworkers know about [although, I missed Seward's Day].

I've started to actively work at setting up a D&D campaign for the near future.

I've also started to seriously consider adding Paramount+ to our streaming services.

Rowen and I got to tour the middle school together. He seems quite excited for the new experience.

I had to have Mera's tires replaced before one of them could explode.

I noticed that my eyesight has taken a turn for the worse (especially in my left eye).

And Janelle, Rowen, and I spent the weekend at Homer for his Native Youth Olympics competition. He competed in four events and got fifth place in one of them (the Alaskan One Foot High Kick).

It was a good month with plenty of pictures to capture many of its moments.

I realize that I am not always (maybe not even often) the good guy. Present me has a lot of concerns about past me, and I'm certain that future me will have similar issues with present me. I am a continual work in progress. 

For example, I don't like nose rings; they look like shiny boogers or zits to me. I used to judge people who had them, and thought that I would be mortified if one of my children would get one. It took me a while to realize that it was up to that individual whether they decided to wear one or not, and that wearing one in no way affected that person's capabilities or the compassion they deserved. The same goes for other types of piercings, hair styles and colors, or tattoos. 

Similarly, I don't really care what sort of clothes that people wear. While I will still insist that students do not wear clothes that advertise drugs (including alcohol) or profanity while at school, I have no issue with a man wearing a dress (with pockets!) because he wants to twirl without having to hide the fact behind the words kilt, robe, or cassock. Certainly, I have no room to judge other people's fashion choices.

I used to struggle with the concept of cosmetic plastic surgery, and I still struggle with judging those who have (in my opinion) taken it too far. However, I have also come to realize that this, too, falls out of the realm of any of my business. Certainly, I understand looking in the mirror and not seeing the person that I expect to be there.

In a similar vein, I will refer to a person by whatever name that they want to be called (assuming I remember). If people change their names, I feel it is disrespectful to insist on calling them by the names they left behind (unless they expressly ask me to do so). Nor do I think it is my job to check people's trousers for their gender; I will take their word for it. And for those concerned that this belief will lead to girls seeing boys' genitals in their bathrooms or locker rooms: 1) There's a disturbingly high chance that they already have for completely different reasons 2) Maybe we need to rethink bathroom and locker room design 3) The shame and humiliation I personally witnessed and experienced in the boys' locker room as a middle and high school student has made me want to change the entire situation anyway.

Based on my changing views, some might accuse me of moral relativism, but I truly believe that my morality--based on God's commandments to love Him and His creations--is a much stronger constant than basing morality on rules and regulations built for societies long-since gone.

You might ask, "Then why did you write that post about trans competitors the other day?" Well, because it is what I believe now based on the evidence that has thus far been presented. That's how I operate. Perhaps future me will shake his head at my foolishness, or perhaps my concerns will prove prescient. You'll have to ask me later.

My left eye has always been the weaker of the two, but it has gotten noticeably worse in the past month. I have another six months until my next eye exam, but it's becoming enough of an annoyance that I am mildly tempted to go in anyway without the insurance coverage. To help deal with the issue, I have brought my computer screens closer and lowered them to the level of the desktop so that I can more easily use the near-vision portion of my progressive lenses to read what's on the screens. Thus far, this has worked, but I quickly notice a difference if I happen to lean back in my chair.

I'm surprised at this sudden shift in vision. For years (decades?) my eyes have largely stayed at the same prescription with only mild adjustments from time to time. I think my right eye is still holding to that pattern for now; however, my left eye is not only often out of focus, but it seems to take longer to get into what focus it can reach.

It's going to be a few months, but I look forward to seeing clearly again.

I am almost completely uninterested in the upcoming Morbius movie. For those who do not know, Morbius is a Spider-Man pseudo-vampire villain who later gained popularity as an antihero in his own comics, much like fan-favorite Venom (although he existed in comics before Venom). For me, he just seemed like a cheap Dracula knock-off, a concept that has been done better in many other stories.

Still, this movie is supposed to link up with the Venom movies (of which, I found the first one entertaining and the second one less so), perhaps the MCU (as Micheal Keaton is supposed to make an appearance as Vulture--a character he played in Spider-Man: Homecoming), and quite maybe the Amazing Spider-Man universe with Andrew Garfield (an idea that has gained traction after Spider-Man: No Way Home). The movie also has quite a few actors whom I like; however, some have ended up being in poorly done comic book movies before (I'm looking at you, Jared Leto). It has the potential to be good.

... Except the studio has it on a review embargo. Even though the movie is due to come out in under three days, critics have not yet been allowed to release their reviews. This is frequently a sign that the reviews are going to be quite negative. This way the studio can still get a decent opening weekend showing and recoup some of its costs before the negative reviews come out.

Now, not all review embargos mean that a bad movie is coming out. Sometimes, studios do this to keep a tight lid on spoilers for major surprises. However, considering the quality (or lack thereof) of the trailers, I think that this embargo is more likely a bad sign.

It's a little strange to write about a mass that we celebrated the day before, but I really enjoyed the message given by Homer's pastor. The fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare (lay tar ay) Sunday, meaning rejoice. In his homily, he spoke about a number of things that he personally had to rejoice about. Most of them were small, almost inconsequential items, but that didn't stop him from rejoicing about them.

He then referenced the ideas of rejoicing as mentioned in the readings (which was from cycle A due to the RCIA scrutiny [a part of bringing new members to the Church]). In the first reading, there would be rejoicing as Samuel had anointed David to be the future king. In the Gospel, the man blind from birth rejoices after receiving his sight for the first time in his life. The second reading was a little more challenging, but the priest said that when Paul says that we "are light in the Lord" and that we are to "Live as children of light" that we should do so through our rejoicing.

He then admonished us that we are not to fall back into the paths of despair, but to find reasons to rejoice and to bring forth rejoicing in others. He noted that Paul didn't say that we once dwelled in darkness, but that we "were once darkness" ourselves. More than anything else, this spoke to me deeply. It's bad enough that I have harbored darkness in my soul, but on reflection, I have been the darkness itself. Instead I am called to be light, that through Christ I should help destroy the shamefulness that dwells in darkness by exposing it to the light and being a beacon for those trapped in darkness to find their way.

How can I do this? Through rejoicing in the light of God.

Janelle, Rowen, and I made the drive down to Homer today for Rowen’s last NYO (Native Youth Olympics) competition. The views down here are always spectacular! We don’t get down here often, but I always enjoy it.

I also have enjoyed the NYO events, especially as they did an exhibition today of some of the international events often not included in children’s levels of competition. The announcer talked about the origins and reasons behind the events, giving everyone glimpses into the cultures that created them. I’m grateful that Coach Chythlook has built up this program at Sterling and encouraged all Sterling students to participate. Rowen did not place in either of his events today, but he made worthy attempts and was clearly having fun.

We spent a little bit of time at a playground, and an even briefer bit at the beach (there was a cold wind a-blowin’). We also attended mass at St. John the Baptist, a beautiful little church with a gorgeous view and tremendously uncomfortable pews. For dinner, after being turned away from AJ’s due to our lack of a reservation, we were happy to find that one of our favorites, Captain Pattie’s, was already open for the season and could seat us right away.

Rowen has two more events tomorrow, so we are staying over at Land’s End with a phenomenal view of the water and mountains.

I am of the hopeful mindset that humanity will colonize our solar system and later the stars. In the (relatively) near future, this means colonies on the moon and on Mars in a time before gravity plating (or its equivalent) is invented. Children will be born and grow up there, playing their own versions of games that they have played over the millennia. At some point, more athletically minded of these children play competitive sports, likely with fame and scholarships attached to them. 

The gravity on Mars has a force one-third that of Earth's. The moon's is half that again. Even with resistance training and future medical advancements, skeletal and muscular development in these children will not be as robust as that in their peers on Earth who would benefit from the constant pull of the Earth making them stronger. 

I have sympathy for the athletic Earth children whose parents decide to move to the moon in the middle of their high school education. Certainly, they could still practice their sports on their own, but competitions would be ethically sticky situations. Even if they were allowed to compete, any victory would seem hollow as the gravity of their developmental years would place them at a significant advantage over their new classmates. Even after a few years in the moon's gravity, that advantage would still settle in their bones, let alone in the minds of anyone who watched any of their competitions. Meanwhile, should they return to Earth, they would find themselves well behind the friends they had left there.

Thus, when they might win on the moon, there would be no real celebration; however, there would be loud cheers whenever they lost, for they could still lose. There would be dedicated Lunarians (that's the term I prefer) who diligently trained and would find ways of overcoming the disadvantages of their natural gravity from birth to the point that they could compete against Earth-born athletes. Possibly, some of them might even some day travel to Earth and compete in their sports and win. In comparison to the Earth-born athletes, these Lunarians would receive special attention and accolades rather than notoriety.

I see this as similar to the time in Smallville when Clark Kent (who would eventually become Superman) decided to play football. He put the other players in serious jeopardy. Meanwhile, I felt that his successes were largely meaningless. Even with "not using his powers," his native physiology made him unstoppable when compared to the significantly weaker human players.

In the same vein, I do not see Lia Thomas' single victory as a trans woman competing in a women's college swimming competition as something worth celebrating. I do feel pity for her due to the vitriol that has been sent her way. However, I think that she, just like Clark and the aforementioned travelling Earth children, should have avoided competitions.

About a month ago, I hit an ice-pothole that jarred me to my soul while exiting the Sterling Elementary parking lot. It was pretty soon afterward that I realized that Mera had developed a tendency to pull a little bit to the right. I knew that I should get her tires and alignment checked, but my and Janelle's work schedules do not make it easy to schedule vehicle repairs. Also, it was getting close to the end of the quarter and D.C. trip, so I was rather busy.

When we came back from break, I noticed that the pull was a little bit stronger (but still not much) and that Mera had a slight shake at faster speeds. The shake was slight enough that I first believed that I was imagining it. However, I started making phone calls to set up an appointment on a day when Janelle could drop me off at work, when I would have the time to pick up the car before getting Rowen, and when the Alyeska Tire alignment specialist had an opening. That meant today.

In the time between when I first noticed the shaking and yesterday, when I dropped off Mera at Alyeska Tire, the shaking had grown considerably worse. It was bad enough that even Rowen commented on it after I picked him up from school. In short, it was a good thing that I made the appointment.

It turns out that one of my tires (and not the one that I expected) had developed a large bulge and was set to blow out at any moment. Alyeska Tire had the all-weather tires that I wanted, and so I asked them to make the exchange. The ride home was so amazingly smooth!

I'm glad that I listened to Mera's warning; and even happier that Mera did not burst a tire while we were driving.

Janelle, Rowen, and I are spending a night in Homer this weekend as Rowen has Native Youth Olympic (NYO) events on both Saturday and Sunday. I have already decided that I am bringing at least one, if not both, of my pillows with me. As great as the D.C. trip was, one downside was how little sleep I managed to get. While part of that was just the schedule, another was that I cannot seem to get comfortable on hotel pillows. 

In general, hotel pillows are just too soft. I have to double up on pillows normally, but with soft pillows, my head just sinks down like a rock while the stuffing puffs out to the sides like a smothering airbag. Rather than get suffocated in the middle, I try use the edge, only to have the pillow scoot out from under my head while I'm sleeping. I kept waking up and discovering that I needed to readjust the pillow configuration.

My pillows are half and half quilted material and foam hybrids. Thus, they maintain my preferred height while still sculpting to and cradling my head. I worry that I will not be able to replace them when the time comes as I have not seen their type at the store for a while now.

Now, pillows are not very practical to bring on a plane trip. However, they should not pose any problem when driving in a vehicle that only has three people in it. It might mean carrying a bit more back and forth to the hotel room, but I think that the resulting rest will be worth it.

Skyview held an evening visit event for next school year's seventh graders, of which Rowen is one. He was quite excited about visiting, but proved to be rather timid when I introduced him to any of the staff. He has concerns about getting lost and not being able to open his locker, but he's also really excited about taking art and woods.

I, too, am both excited and concerned about him going to the middle school. Our experience with Sterling Elementary has been excellent as the staff there has been a great help with Rowen and his unique needs. The staff that I know at Skyview are also wonderful, but it is a bigger school with quite a few more students. Unlike Connor, Rowen does not tend to stand out, or (at least) not in the same ways. However, this will also be a great chance for him to grow and make new friends.

It will also make our daily schedule a great deal easier. Janelle will not need to drive to Sterling before heading back to Soldotna for work, and I will not need to head out right away after work to pick him up in Sterling before dealing with any tasks in the evening. As I am fully aware of the finite nature of time, I try to never wish to speed up events or skip time; still, I am really looking forward to seeing how this upcoming school year works out.

At present, we have three main streaming services: Netflix (which was our original and still my favorite as far as accessibility), Amazon Prime (which comes "for free" with our Amazon Prime account; it is much more difficult to navigate), and Disney+ (which hold all of the Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel goodness [except Spider-Man]). To these, I am seriously considering adding Paramount+ as its Star Trek lineup has only become more and more impressive. I am particularly interested in seeing Strange New Worlds, not to mention the second seasons of Picard and Lower Decks as well as the third and fourth seasons of Discovery. 

As I have said before, I believe we are in the greatest era of television, especially in regards to the story-telling and production, for geeks such as myself. Not all of the shows have been as great as I had hoped (I'm looking at you Wheel of Time and Book of Boba Fett), but even those shows have been worth watching (in my opinion). Unfortunately, this means paying for multiple streaming services to get most of the content that I would like to see. Still, even with the Internet fee considered, it's still less expensive than when I was getting the lowest package of cable Internet (which made have had more channels, but certain was not the same quality).

We haven't made an account for Paramount+ yet. At present, we are still making our way through the Stargate series (we are halfway through season one of Universe, so we're near the end). There are still upcoming shows, such a Moon Knight, that are about to arrive on services that we already have, so I'm not sure when we will join. However, I think it will be fairly soon.

This morning we crossed the threshold of darkness into light. In an effort that seemed at least mildly ironic, I took down all of the decorative lights in our communal areas--we keep the lights in kids' bedrooms up year-round. It was a little depressing to pack them up, but they were already proving to not be as effective since we have been getting more and more sunlight. In a sense, packing them up makes it so I can look forward to bringing them out again after Thanksgiving.

I was going to try and strain a connection between the light and today's Gospel reading about living water, but it felt entirely too forced. I had another rough comparison between looking forward to pulling out the lights and looking forward to Easter. For that matter, I almost grasped at a tenuous analogy between God and the sun. At least for the moment, I think that we're all better off without those meager attempts.

Instead, I'll just say that today was a day about hope springing forth and bringing change into our lives.

My D&D group is close to the end of the current module that we are playing. Our current dungeon master (DM) would like to step back for a while once it is done. I have really enjoyed playing these past couple of characters, but I would also be willing to run a game as DM. I had fun running the short adventure for the family this past winter break, and I think it might be fun to run the Pool of Radiance campaign with this team.

As I've been thinking about this, I spent a little while looking through my shelves of materials in an effort to find that campaign. I'm glad that I organized each campaign into its own binder. However, I did not label any of the spines, so searching for the one I want has put me on a journey through multiple adventures and even campaign worlds from the past. 

I've noticed that many of these campaigns have run through different game systems. Pool of Radiance is one that was designed for AD&D which I later redesigned for 3rd Edition and then my homebrewed 3.6. I think it should transition into 5th edition without too much work. 

It's funny, as I look at these campaign binders, I realize that I have run games using the run systems from the original Dungeons and Dragons, Advanced D&D, an extended version of AD&D 2, 3rd Edition, 3.5, my homebrewed 3.6, and now 5th Edition. I've liked each system for its own reasons, but I think that I enjoyed 3.6 the best just because I got to tweak it in a way that made the most sense to me.

Yep. I think I'm up for DMing again for a little bit.

As it was Friday, I had been telling everyone I saw "Happy Friday!" One of my fifth period students said that he was surprised that I wasn't telling people that it was Holy Friday. I replied that Good Friday isn't until April 15th this year, but he said that his calendar said that today was holy. He then showed me the calendar on his phone which had listed "Holi" (which is pronounced like "holy") as a holiday today. I admitted that I did not know what that was, but I said that I wanted to find out, so we looked it up.

To be clear, we only did a cursory search, but I was surprised to know that Holi (also known as the Festival of Colors or the Festival of Love) is a holiday that celebrates the coming of spring by about a billion people as one of the two major Hindu celebrations in the year. While there are not a billion followers of Hindu, due to its colorful and joyful nature, it has taken on a wider appeal throughout India and the surrounding regions. Apparently, part of the celebration includes coating one another in various and vibrant colors. 

Despite my new insight, I continued to just wish people a "Happy Friday!" It just felt too confusing to say "Happy Holi" to people. Still, I certainly enjoyed learning more about it.