Despite taking down over 40 beetle-killed trees in my yard myself last year, with another dozen or more taken down under the contract of our electric company, there are easily that many trees for me to take down this year as well. In particular, there are about nine within striking distance of our house that have died since last summer. The sight utterly depresses me. 

Yesterday, I took down my first tree of the year. In preparation, I pulled from the ground the cables that ran through the area (I had removed the satellite dish which had been attached to this particular last fall). Between being out of shape and the effort I had already expended, I was almost out of energy after I felled the tree (in the wrong direction). While, I left many felled trees in my yard without cleaning them up, I plan on fully cleaning and cutting the trees that are in direct line of sight to the house. However, I figured that I needed to stop considering that my arms were shaking from fatigue as I used the chainsaw to cut up part of the tree I had just felled.

I will say that it already looks better in that area just by having the dead tree cut down. In general, these dead trees are a major eyesore. While I don't like the look of the downed trees all over the place, it's better than these dead trees swaying ominously when the wind kicks up.

Speaking of downed trees, if anyone in the area wants the wood, you are welcome to come get it. Just give me a call or send me a message, and we'll figure out the logistics.

I loved my hair. With how thick it was and how quickly it grew back, I had hoped that I would be able to keep it throughout my life. Sadly, I watched my hairline recede as the years went by. I didn’t want to be a combover guy, so I started just buzz cutting it (it was also quicker and less expensive). I toyed with the idea of taking it all off, but never really too that final step … until today.

As I was due for another buzz cut, and since I have the whole summer to grow it back before school (if it even takes that long), I decided to shave my head completely.

The results are not terrible, but it’s not for me .. at least, not yet. Mostly, I don’t like how it feels. I have a habit of rubbing my head, and doing so without hair is surprisingly more uncomfortable than I had imagined. Instead of smoothly sliding by, my hand seems to stick. Meanwhile, my head has been significantly warmer today. I never realized how much insulation an eighth of an inch of hair can still provide.

When I include how long it took to get my entire done smooth and the nicks I gave myself when doing so, I think that this is a style that I will abandon as my hair (what’s left of it) grows back in.

Six years ago, I surprised Janelle by asking her how many puppies she wanted when I was supposed to be out on the hunt for an entertainment center (which I also got). After a discussion, Janelle decided to go out with me to take a look at the litter. We chose two of them so that they would have someone to play with and then brought home our new family members.

Since then, River and Starbuck have grown into beautiful and (generally) well-behaved dogs. They each have such distinct personalities, yet are often perfectly happy playing with one another (and sometimes escaping together like they did yesterday for a bit). River is much more of the snuggler and is much more interested in being petted. Starbuck continually wants to play and is always eager to give someone her ball for them to throw, but her special love is to play catch with the frisbee out in the yard.

I can't believe that they're already six years old. I still think of them as puppies.

On Saturday, we watched the original Top Gun movie in preparation for watching its much hyped sequel on Sunday. For the younger boys, it was their first time watching it, and they all claimed to enjoy it immensely and more than they expected. I also enjoyed seeing it again even if it has never been one of my favorite movies (I consistently agree with Iceman that Maverick is out of control and a danger to others--as the film proves--until he earns redemption at the end). Still, it is a movie that really affected late 80s culture and deserves recognition for the cultural touchstone that it became. 

I was concerned when they said there was going to be a sequel. We certainly live in an era full of nostalgia. In general, I'm loving it as the revivals of Star Wars and Star Trek have been phenomenal. The recent Ghostbusters movie and even Stranger Things have really drawn from our societal desire to revisit a past that seemed less complicated and hostile (even though it was more ridiculously complicated and hostile than many people realize). Some of these visitations have fallen flat (particularly the reboots), and I was concerned that this new Top Gun movie would be one of them.

It was a good movie. Sure, the plot was fairly predictable and full of plot holes, but it was reverent to its source material, provided a set of character arcs, used only practical effects for the flying scenes, and was a great deal of fun to watch. In many ways it was more enjoyable than the original; however, I don't think that it will have the same cultural significance. This movie spends most of its time looking backward rather than forward, and while that provides comfort, it does not progress (and it doesn't have to).

One last side note, I loved that they brought Jennifer Connelly in as Maverick's love interest. I've had a crush on her since I first saw the ads for Labyrinth, but I absolutely adored her in The Rocketeer when her character knocked out the villain played by Timothy Dalton. With her connection to the 80s, her casting was also a part of this push for nostalgia. Even her character was a strange callback to the original film as she was the Admiral's daughter that was mentioned in one of the opening scenes of the first film--something that I did not catch even though we had watched the two so close together, but that an online Easter-egg hunter noted. I'm still a little concerned that Kelly McGinnis and Meg Ryan were not even approached about being in the sequel--likely due to the inherent Hollywood bias against older women.

All said, I still highly recommend that people not only watch this movie, but that they do so on as big of a screen as they can. It was shot for the IMAX theater, and I kind of wish that I could see it in one. 

Just as faith, hope, and love are bound together, separate from one another yet parts of the same whole, so too is the Holy Trinity bound together. As stated in the homily today, God is love. That God is also three persons means that this is a love that is designed to be shared. We, built in the image of God, continually reach out to one another for connection, for completeness. As we are not God, what we find is but a shadow of what we truly need. Still, what we do find, what love we do share, helps to make us greater.

Well, it's June 11th and I just completed my first round of yard mowing today. Technically, I started yesterday, but had to stop when it started raining on me. Had I been here last week, I probably would have done it then as some of the patches had grown quite dense. 

Unfortunately, much of our lawn has still not recovered from the septic replacement from two years ago. I've particularly been hopeful that the clover would use this opportunity to take over, but hardly any of it has bloomed yet. Meanwhile, the dandelions and horsetails have been out in full force. Still, I prefer their green covering than no green on the ground.

Hopefully, the lawn grows out more this year. However, the low amounts of precipitation this spring do not bode well for it. We will see how it progresses through the summer.

With gas prices continuing to hit record highs leading to a corresponding rise in inflation, it is easy to jump to quick conclusions and try to find scapegoats. Unfortunately, the truth (as in most things) is considerably more complicated than a meme or a sticker on a gas pump can express. In just the past day, I have seen a number of these finger-pointing posts that falsely place all of the blame for such a complex issue on just person or organization. There are two of these in particular that I would like to address.

Before doing so, I would like to remind any Americans reading this that your gasoline, as expensive as it has become, is still below the world average. In fact, considering overall inflation, the average price of gasoline in the U.S. has still not reached its all time high that was hit in World War I (although, it's getting really close). Considering the relative scarcity and the reduction of new discoveries of oil in the past few decades, that's pretty impressive--and largely due to government subsidies (that's right, low gas prices are due to socialism). 

My right-leaning friends tend to blame President Biden. This is of course demonstrated by the "I did that" sticker-vandalism present on so many of our gas pumps. To be clear, he does share some of the blame. In particular, unlike his predecessor, he not only put us into a confrontation with Russia which has placed an embargo on Russian oil and thus decreased world supply, he has been unwilling to make the same risky arms deals with corrupt members of the Saudi government. Without those bribes, OPEC has shown a reluctance to increase their supply; however, that will likely change as the price of oil continues to increase.

My left-leaning friends want to put the blame on greedy oil corporations. As much as I love going on the offensive against oversized, amoral (if not downright immoral) companies, oil companies might be making a great deal of money right now, but it's due to market forces, not because of a grand conspiracy on their part. The fact is that oil supply is not as simple to correct as the tap in your bathroom. The constriction of the oil market during the first year and a half of COVID left most companies moving in the wrong direction--shutting down more costly wells and closing down operations. With the price of oil swinging so quickly upwards, one can understand their hesitancy to ramp up too quickly in response. 

Don't forget that summer activities are warming up and that increased travel has always brought increased fuel prices along with it. Even with more oil coming from strategic reserves, it's likely that the price of gasoline will continue to rise for a while. I will say that it makes me appreciate Mera even more.

Am I gloating? ... Maybe a little. 47 miles to the gallon ...

I didn't have to wake up as early this year as in previous years, but 4:30 (1:30 AKDST) is still a bit before I'm ready to wake up. What followed was a day of rather average (and thankfully uncomplicated) traveling which included having Sarah Palin in the row across from me on the flight from Anchorage to Kenai, and ended only after Janelle picked me up from the Kenai airport and brought me home. It is certainly good to be home.

I still haven't decided if I want to wrestle with the "One" scoring system and my Internet tomorrow. I was sent yet another email asking if I would, and all day tomorrow counts as overtime so there's that added temptation, but I will need to see how I'm feeling tomorrow. I might try it for at least an hour and see what I'm feeling then.

I've already managed to unpack from the trip. Somewhere, I will need to make a list of things that I need to remember to bring next time, and at least one item will be a roll of my own toilet paper. All told, I think that I'm going to go to be early (my body says that it's nearly midnight).

What is strange is that I thought I already wrote this. Apparently, I was too consumed with packing up and substituted my mental composition of this post for having physically done it. I also went to bed early due to today’s early morning. Still …

I have mixed emotions about our last day at the Reading. While it’s good to be going home, I don’t like leaving things unfinished, and we left before all of the tests were scored. They have the option of continuing to score online, but my Internet connection makes that rather frustrating. I haven’t decided if I might try anyway. We will see.

It was also sad to say goodbye to my friends. I certainly hope that it’s not another three years before we get together again.

That can’t be right! How has it already been six days of reading essays? How has it been seven days since I’ve been home?!

I was not at my best today, but even on this slower day, I read more nearly three times the number of LEQs than my best day with DBQs during the 2017 Reading (according to my Facebook memories). It makes a real difference when you can just focus on the essay and not try to remember seven (or more) outside documents along with it. Maybe this is why I don’t feel as burned out at this point as I have in the past.

Today was our chosen “dine-out” night. This year we got to pick which evening to go out on the town. The company covers up to $25 of restaurant purchases, so my friends and I went to Plowboys where I got loaded fries with pulled pork. We then went to Betty Rae’s specialty ice cream shop where we had the pleasant surprise of meeting up with our other friend who had not been able to make dinner. There, I was reminded that the mint ice cream (although good) does taste of actual mint leaves.

One more day of Reading (for me, at least)!

Traditionally, the fifth day has been a “wall” day for me where I struggle to maintain my concentration and my productivity drops. However, that did not seem to be an issue this year. Instead, my productivity (and everyone else’s) took a hit when our scoring platform shut down for about an hour. There are many positives to scoring electronically, but a problem connectivity is not one of them.

One aspect working to my advantage has been the weather this week. Not only have the temperatures been moderate (with hot temperatures both before and after my stay), but any forecasted storms have either disappeared completely or have held off when I’ve needed to walk in the city. A friend of mine has taken credit for this, and I need to thank her so that our good fortune continues. At the moment, I’m watching the thunderstorm that’s rolling though. While I hope that there is no damage due to it, I am glad to get to see one as they are so rare back home.

Well, tomorrow is our penultimate day, and we have plenty of work still cut out (and scanned) for us. I hope to avoid the wall. However, I think I might sleep with my shades open tonight so I can fall asleep to the storm.

Although we are a bit more than halfway through the Reading, my impression is that we are not halfway through the responses we need to score. Our Reading has been extended by half an hour for every day of the Reading and they have asked for some people to score once they have returned to their hotels. I have my own suspicions as to why this might be the case, but I promise that it’s not due to any slacking on the part of my friends or myself.

I would have declined the evening Reading anyway, but especially today as it was Pentecost and the mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was at 8 pm. It’s a beautiful church, but I didn’t take pictures since I still have them from three years ago. I did quite enjoy the homily.

In his homily, the presiding priest started by talking about the Tower of Babel—where humanity was divided by its many languages due to its presumptuousness. He said that Pentecost is the correction of that event, that it is through Christ and the Holy Spirit that we can come together in unity and learn to understand one another. He said that just as the sin of presumptuousness divided the people of Babel, so to does our presumptuousness divide us today as we judge others rather than try to understand them.

I realize a certain sense of irony as I consider this since I’ve been trying to understand these students’ responses, but I still have to judge them.

The days have already blurred a bit together. Throughout the day, different people commented on how they couldn’t remember if it was our second or third day at the Reading. I didn’t remember that it was Saturday even though I saw the marathon start on my way to the convention center this morning.

During the rest of my stay, I have something that I need to do in the evening. Tomorrow it’s mass—and I picked up an umbrella just in case the rain that has been threatening shows up. On Monday, I’m part of a professional group looking at online practice possibilities for student writing improvement. And on Tuesday, we’re going out to dinner; although we haven’t decided just where as of yet. Today, after a brief excursion to a fancy grocery store, I just went back to my hotel.

I’m pretty beat, but there’s an outdoor concert that sound like it has at least another half hour left to it.

There’s not much for me to talk about. I did not do much except for grading, and there’s a great deal about that which I am not allowed to discuss. I will say that grading an LEQ (long essay question) is MUCH easier than grading a DBQ (document based question) even if I have had to Google a few invented “facts” to make certain that I’m not misremembering historical events or people.

With the walk from the hotel to the convention center (which is just under a mile away) and back, I’m certainly getting in my steps. We have shuttle buses that I can take (and I will if the weather turns bad), but I had might as well get in some exercise while the weather is so nice. However, nearly the entire walk there is uphill, so my shins are definitely complaining.

The next few days are the hardest as the monotony starts to kick in, but I am so far still quite glad that I came as I have learned a lot about the LEQ and what is expected from students. It’s one thing to be told during training, but quite another when you score hundreds of examples. Yes, I’ve scored hundreds … already.