I've also heard of this concept as "grandfather's axe." The question is that, if the pieces of something are replaced bit by bit over time to the point that nothing of the original remains, is it still the same thing (ship, axe, etc.)? While a long held thought experiment (going back to at least ancient Greece), the idea showed up on a bunch of Google searches due to its mention in WandaVision. I wonder this about myself.

At this point, nearly all of my cells have been replaced many times over from when I was first conceived. My physical body has undergone a wide variety of changes over time, mostly due to the normal aging process. I have changed so much that, as I've mentioned earlier, I don't like shaving off my mustache and goatee because I don't recognize the person behind them anymore. 

More so, my thoughts, values, and ideas have changed over time. Students of mine from my first few years of teaching would be shocked at the differences in my current classes. Certainly, some parts would be recognizably familiar, but I've changed quite a bit in my teaching practice over the decades--personally, I believe for the better. Nor are my thoughts on a variety of subjects the same as they were even a few years ago (and I have these blogs to look back on to see precisely what has changed and what has not).

I still resolutely believe that I am me. However, I am clearly not the same me that I was before. In general, I'm quite a bit happier with the changes, but I cannot help but wonder if I am missing pieces of myself in this process of continual self-evolution. I am also interested to find out who I will be in the future. I will strive to make certain that it's someone I would like. 

So ... I unintentionally knocked out the power to my neighborhood today. On my task of clearing the beetle-killed spruce trees from our yard, I first wanted to go after the ones that might fall into the road. I called Homer Electric Association to take down any of the trees that are in danger of hitting the lines, and I thought that I was limiting my cutting to those that were not capable of hitting the line. It turns out that I was wrong.

When cutting the trees, I've taken care to angle my cuts in such a way that the trees fall in nearly the precise way that I want them to fall. Occasionally, they fall a little to the left or the right, very rarely getting caught up on another tree. I thought that would be my primary concern as "widow-makers" are quite dangerous. It turns out that I was wrong.

The tree in question seemed to be leaning slightly to the right of where I wanted it to land. It's not that it would have landed in a terrible place, but I was trying to get the trees to land in a larger clearing in my yard to make it easier to deal with them later as I had already taken down about ten trees this morning. I tried to compensate by taking the initial wedge a bit to the left of of the tree's lean. I then stood on the opposite side for the final cut. I was almost positive that it was going to fall in the direction of the wedge cut, maybe just a bit to the right. It turns out I was wrong.

Instead, the tree fell in the exact opposite direction of the wedge I made, making it fall in the opposite direction of the clearing. I was standing out of the way, about halfway between the wedge and the way the tree was falling, but I still scrambled back just in case. I was irritated that I was going to have to clear up the road right away, but I thought that would be the extent of the mishap. It turns out I was wrong.

I heard a snap, and saw the top of the tree fly up in the air. I immediately noticed that the power lines across the road were bouncing. Clearly, the top of the tree was just high enough, and the tree fell at just the "perfect" angle to clip the wire. Thankfully, it was not enough to bring the line down. I was hoping that, because it did not bring down the wire, that power would not be disrupted. It turns out I was wrong. 

I immediately texted my sons to come out and help me clear the road. I had about half of it cut and cleared by the time Connor came out to help. He immediately said, "Uh, Dad? We lost power." At about this time, one of our neighbors came out and asked if we had lost power too. I sheepishly called HEA and let them know that we were without power, and yes, I knew exactly how it happened, providing the details to the answering machine, and later their operator when she called back. A little girl from one of our other neighbors came out and asked if we lost power. I said we did, and that it was my fault. She informed me that I made it so she couldn't have yogurt because her mom wouldn't let her open in the refrigerator. I said that it would be okay and that they were going to get the power back on soon ... which they did in about an hour.

At least in that it turned out that I was right.

I made my first main effort at felling the beetle-killed trees on our property along the road today. I made both more and less progress than I had hoped. After two-and-a-half hours and two batteries, I managed to take down nineteen trees, exhausting myself in the process. However, I had hoped to get all of the trees along the road and also get some along my driveway, but I didn't even make it all the way down the road--so many trees were dead.

Although I did not spend time doing anything other than felling them and cutting down their stumps, I was still surprised that I made it through so many trees on just the two batteries (which was good as I had forgotten to charge my third one after the last time I mowed the lawn). The new chain I was using seemed to be working quite well, cutting smoothly. It also helped that most of the trees fell the way I wanted them to with only a couple getting temporarily caught in the branches of other trees. Only one ended up falling in a completely unexpected direction and landed in the road. Although, I texted my sons to come help me, one of my neighbors (whom I had not met before) came over and helped me clear the debris from the road. 

As I mentioned, I still have more to do just along the road, let alone down my driveway, around my house, and deeper in my forested property. I certainly have plenty of work still to do. If anyone wants some wood, you can take all that you can cut and  carry. 

One of the points that George Orwell makes in 1984 is that one of the best ways to keep control of a population is to have them involved in a perpetual war. The continual fear of destruction drives people to believe anything their leaders tell them. In Oceania (the fictional state where 1984 is set), the Party's leadership continually riles up the people with daily propaganda (the Two Minutes Hate) and rallies (Hate Week) to focus the people's attention on the "enemies" of the Party. 

It works, and not just in the book. One of my largest frustrations with the Republican Party under Trump (although the roots go farther back) has been this continual notion that America is "under attack." The rhetoric used is one that associates any problem with warfare or battle. Everything is a "call to arms" with suggestions that their "enemies" be "destroyed" before they can ruin the "American way of life." It's prevalent in nearly any "conservative" media source.

Don't get me wrong, the far Left does this too. What's disturbing is how the far Right has become such a dominant force, continually creating false flags for their followers to rally around. The sudden war on Critical Race Theory is a perfect example. Far Right demagogues started claiming that CRT was being pushed in schools and telling white children to be ashamed of being white. As I stated in an earlier post, this is a massive misrepresentation of what CRT is or does, but like rabid lemmings, easily manipulated members of our population rose up to this call to arms and started making rash and irresponsible demands to combat a problem that does not truly exist.

​ This isn't a new tactic. Republicans under Trump are involved in wars against people who are going to ... let in illegal immigrants, remove Christmas, take away their guns, and create "socialist" systems (except--ironically--in Alaska the truly socialist payment from the Permanent Fund Dividend which these same people claim is a right). It's one war after another.

I suppose that the Republicans under Trump have to do this. If they focused their attention on real issues, they might realize how deeply they've been duped. Worse, if they discovered the truth behind one lie, it might make them question the entire series of lies that they've been sold.

I had read a couple of reviews that compared this game to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After playing through it, I have to say that the comparison is an earned one. Fenyx Rising takes the core exploration and puzzle-solving aspects of BoTW (including the ability to climb nearly anywhere and to glide from place to place) and wraps it into a game filled with Greek mythology, and I mean completely packed full with blink-and-you-miss-them references.

While it lacks the polish of BoTW and adds in a few annoyances, Fenyx Rising is actually better in some respects, particularly in the narration. BoTW is largely a lonely adventure with conversations few and far between; meanwhile, Fenyx's story is full of commentary, particularly in the humorous bickering between Prometheus and Zeus who are narrating Fenyx's adventure. Although some of the voice-acting (and writing) got on my nerves, the humor hits more than it misses. 

I entirely completed the main game and have started on the DLCs (the first of which has been enjoyable, but not as good as the main game). I enjoyed the combat and puzzles throughout, with the exception of some challenges which required a precision that the controls do not always provide. This meant multiple (sometimes dozens) of attempts on the same section with checkpoints frustratingly far apart until I was lucky enough to avoid any mishaps. 

As nice as the graphics are, there were times when the colors worked against the gameplay while still not seeming as crisp as BoTW. Still, it is an enjoyable game that makes the wait for BoTW2 more bearable. I recommend it for any fantasy/adventure fan.

As I sat listening (and trying to hold in my laughter) to public comments and to a garbled voice yelling through a bullhorn at a protest during today's school board meeting, I could not help but wonder what would happen if these people's passions were directed towards a real (not to mention worthy) issue. I was actually impressed that so many people felt passionate enough to come to a school board meeting and have their voices heard. However, this is a far cry from when community members attended to save their local schools when the governor had proposed his draconian cuts a few years ago. Instead, these are people who were terrified about conspiracy-fed untruths.

At the top of the list was the claim that school personnel are telling students that they are transgender. That is a radical departure from educators respecting and not persecuting a student's choice of identity. Yet somehow, several community members believed that teachers were telling students to be transgender. My favorite was the woman who said that schools should not be teaching kids how to enjoy sex, but that should be the parents' job.

In a close second was outrage about Critical Race Theory. As I tried to explain in an earlier post, and as our superintendent said today, CRT is not a curriculum. The issue comes when trying to ban facts or statistics that CRT uses, let alone telling people that they are not allowed to think a certain way just because they disagree with it. 

And, of course, was the concern that our schools are being used to indoctrinate students to socialist, liberal, or Marxist beliefs. Several of the speakers used nearly identical wording, and were saying "amen" as the other speakers basically repeated what they had said sooner. This made it clearer to me that they were all fed the same lies to rile them up.

The tragic ridiculousness of the situation was almost too much for me. There are real problems in the world that could use this kind of attention and energy. Instead, puppet-masters are getting people to dance to their discordant tunes to distract them from real solutions. Worse, they are using the phrases of movements that they are seeking to destroy to vindicate their ideals. Truly, they are sheep led by false shepherds.

In today's Gospel, Jesus sends out His disciples to preach with little as far as provisions and training, making them completely dependent on God to provide for them. It's in accounts such as this one where I realize that I would not have made a good disciple. Most of my trips get planned out with sufficient extra luggage to cover all sorts of possibilities. Granted, I'm not being sent on these trips by the direct request of God, but still, I feel that their willingness to go out in such an unprepared fashion does show their faith and trust in Jesus and His teachings.

I also find it interesting that they were sent out in pairs, as a support for one another. I imagine that this experience created quite a bond between the various disciples (which was likely part of Jesus' plan). It does make me wonder about who was paired with whom. Were the brothers (Peter and Andrew, James and John) paired together or intentionally placed with different disciples? Who was Judas Iscariot's companion?

Do we think about how we prepare for our own spiritual journeys? Do we consider who our companion(s) are?

One of my friends who I ran across at the dump said that he just can't get used to seeing me in contacts. He said that he didn't even recognize me at first. I've had a number of people make similar remarks. Janelle, in particular, seems really bothered by my appearance without glasses, and one would think she would be the most used to seeing me without them. I mentioned this to my friend, and he asked, "How about you? Do you recognize yourself when you look in the mirror?"

My reply was, "I haven't recognized the man in the mirror for decades now."

Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, my grandson, Alistair (pronounced Al-ih-ster) Thomas Maurer was born. I was excited to pictures of the awake baby and the happy new mother when I woke up. Thus, I was thrilled when Katrina made a video call and I got to see her, Peter, and our newest addition to the family--at which point I made the obligatory ATM joke. I didn't share anything on my post yesterday because I had forgotten to ask for permission to do so before my exhausted daughter went to sleep. 

A lot of people want to know his stats. As best as I can figure, they are:
1 for Strength (after all, he can't even lift his own head at this point)
2 for Dexterity (he is able to grasp firmly on reflex, but not a lot of dodging capability yet)
10 for Constitution (he is perfectly healthy, but still is lacking a lot of immunities)
1 for Intelligence (don't @ me; this is nothing about his capability, rather that intelligence is built over time)
2 for Wisdom (he has a lot to learn about the world, but he's already starting to figure out what he wants).
20 for Charisma (granted babies get a massive bonus here, but he's already learning how to get people to do what he wants)

I'm looking forward to seeing him in person!

Recently, I put together the ATV trailer that Janelle bought for Scarlet (my ATV) this winter. It was a frustrating experience that required that I purchase tools that were not part of any tool set that I had (such as an extension on my larger ratchet) as well as a smaller ball hitch. Despite my frustrations, and concerns, it seems to be working fairly well. 

Between downpours today, I took it out for a proof of concept experiment. I drove Scarlet with her trailer out into the more wooded area of our yard and, with Connor's help, loaded up the massive pieces of a tree that we did not bother moving last year. One of the pieces was too heavy for me and Connor to carry. However, even weighed down, both Scarlet and her trailer made it back out without an issue (although, I do need to work on backing up with the trailer attached). 

This is good news as many of the trees that I need to cut down are at the farther edges of our property. I am quite grateful that we would have to carry the pieces that distance. As is, I wore myself out today.

First, Critical Race Theory is not a curriculum (people often equate it with the 1619 Project which is also not a curriculum, but upon which some curriculum materials have been developed). It is not a series of lessons that are taught in public schools (although some teachers might refer to it as a form of critical lens). Instead, it is a method used for conducting research and examining present situations with an eye on often-ignored parts of our history. 

Second, Critical Race Theory is not something new. It was established in the late 1970s and has been a part of legal and academic understanding behind why systemic racism persists beyond some of the landmark strides made by the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on facts and statistics and is used as a research methodology when studying issues of racism in our society.

Third, Critical Race Theory does not change history. What it does is examine racism as a social construct, rather than an individual's prejudice. It examines historical facts that have long been distorted or avoided by most American curriculum. In fact, it is highly probable that you were taught a version of history that deliberately presented facts in misleading ways or avoided them altogether in a way that contributed to systemic racism. This is why so many people who grew up in the American educational system feel that it is "changing" history when it is actually repairing and restoring history that had already been changed or avoided.

Fourth, with all of that established, this might be the most crucial thing to know: banning Critical Race Theory from our schools would literally establish a racist educational system. By banning Critical Race Theory, these laws would ban any examination of racism. Under the laws being proposed, a teacher could be punished just for saying that many minorities in America are facing socio-economic hardships. Seriously. These laws would punish teachers for presenting any sort of fact that suggests that racism exists or is harmful. If you are supporting any kind of ban on Critical Race Theory, you are literally supporting openly racist views of history.

I believe that most regular people who are criticizing Critical Race Theory do so because they have been deliberately misled from those same misleading sources that are poisoning our society. As I said, Critical Race Theory has been out there for quite some time. There are many  legitimate sources that can better explain it. Here is one that also includes a series of other sources to examine at its end: ​https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05

The Hunger Games Movie Marathon: As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I want to run a movie marathon of The Hunger Games this Wednesday (July 7). I plan on following my traditional pattern of having sandwich fixings (with brioche buns) available for browsing throughout the session, but not taking any substantial breaks for meals. As normal, I will have subtitles on and will be making comments throughout. It's been a few years since I've seen the movies except for snippets of the second one (my favorite) when Rowen decided to watch it. 

Connor and Rowen are very excited to watch them. Surprisingly, Trevor expressed eagerness in being able to see the last two due to a shift in his work schedule this week. It should be a fun session.

The tentative schedule is as follows:
10:00 AM - 12:20 PM    The Hunger Games (2h 20m)
12:30 PM - 3:00 PM       The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2h 26m)
3:05 PM - 5:10 PM          The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2h 3m)
5:20 PM - 7:40 PM          The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2h 17m)

In today's first reading, God sends Ezekiel to the Israelites, calling them a "rebellious house." I found that an ironic reading for today, considering that we as a nation celebrate our rebellious nature today as a part of our Independence Day. Certainly, the reading was referring to rebellion against God, and we are celebrating our rebellion against our colonial monarch; still, I cannot help but note that our nation is one that frequently focuses on its rebellious upbringings.

For that matter, we celebrate rebellion in our society. There are many movies that idolize rebellious youth. There are often protests in rebellion against some aspect of our government with different political parties supporting different rebellious protests. People like to quote Jefferson's statement to Madison that "... a little rebellion now and then is a good thing … ." We even relish our little rebellions against bureaucracy or societal pressures. 

Yes. I'd say that the United States is certainly a "rebellious house."

Janelle decided to use our smoker to cook two chickens today. The process involved brining them throughout the night and smoking them for a good portion of the day. I would not have thought of having smoked chicken for dinner before, but the result was amazing. To complement them, she also made homemade biscuits--which are fantastic--and green beans--which are less so. 

Our smoker is turning out better and worse than I had expected. As a grill, it does not work the way that I am used to grilling. The food hasn't turned out bad (in fact, we haven't had the charred remains of any meals as we have in the past), but it's not quite cooking the way that I would like. This has been especially true for steaks, which I had felt that I had mastered on our previous grill before it died.

However, as today's meal proved, the smoker aspect has worked wonderfully the few times that we've used it that way. For that matter, even the grilled food has had a bit of that smoky flavor too. Still, it's the brine that seems to really make the difference. I look forward to eating more of our smoked chicken tomorrow.