I knew that the last few Dinobots would be opened relatively close to one another as I hit some of the final milestones for my doctorate, but I did not expect to open two of them only five days apart. In truth, I was supposed to bring out Sludge (the Dinobot first made to resemble the now-defunct brontosaurus, but now is "correctly" named an apatosaurus) after passing Form and Style, but THAT wasn't supposed to happen until after I passed my Final Oral Defense. With the order switching, I decided to wait until having a successful defense of my dissertation--which I did today. In the end, I'm glad for the switch as today felt like a bigger milestone, especially with being called Dr. Marks quasi-officially for the first time.

My committee was extremely pleased with my dissertation and my defense. In fact, much of the discussion portion was spent with them trying to convince me to pursue my research at a higher level as they felt I made a compelling argument for its importance not just at a local or even state level, but at a national or international level. I've been so focused on this one goal that I have not given a great deal of thought about taking it beyond, but they were quite insistent. We will have to see …

I'm still in awe of how fast this past week has gone. I first bought these Dinobots in 2019, not opening the first one (Slash) until October 22 of that year. It was over a year before I opened Slug on November 2nd of 2020 for getting my proposal approved. I then opened Snarl on January 20th of 2021 when I was given the approval to start my research. That Swoop (opened on September 11th) and Sludge could be opened within a week of each other was quite a surprise.

This only leaves one left, their leader, Grimlock. I open him after I receive final university approval for the publication of my dissertation. Before I get that, I need to finish making the adjustments requested by my Form and Style editor and submit the polished copy for final URR review, who will then pass it on for CAO approval. The planning tool indicates that this is a six week process. I will polish my dissertation over the weekend, confer with my committee chair during our meeting on Monday, and submit it then. While I thought that I would largely just be waiting at that point, my chair wants me to work on condensing my 176 page document into a journal-sized article. 

Yep. That shouldn't be any problem at all …

I know that the stress is getting to me as I have had vivid, full-color, surround sound nightmares the past several nights. In one, flood waters suddenly rose and took the house that I was in on a trip through a town with domed buildings, yet I was expected to steer the house back to its foundation. In another, I was desperately trying to make it to a class at a local college (back in Michigan), but traffic was completely backed up to such a degree that I abandoned my car (which was not Mera) and tried to get there on foot. Last night, I needed to make a PowerPoint presentation about Star Trek and had found some perfect images for what I was trying to convey, but Microsoft kept rearranging the formatting in ways that made the message meaningless.

Now, it's clear to me that these are all my mind's metaphors for this last stretch I am facing. Events are moving quicker than I expected. Between my dissertation and the classes I teach, it feels like I am being swept away in a flood. Similarly, I am working hard to push myself to get this last piece of my doctorate done even with multiple distractions and obligations getting in my way like a traffic jam. Finally, Microsoft is simply the worst when it comes to formatting.

With my final defense set for tomorrow, I wonder what dreams may come tonight.

While most people reading this post already have a good idea about who I am, there are aspects of me that some might not know. Rather than write another post about my dissertation (which is the main thing on my mind at the moment as my defense has been scheduled for Thursday), I thought that I would bring up some weird bits of trivia about me. At a minimum, it'll be a nice break from me just staring at this PowerPoint.

My favorite musical is the Pirates of Penzance - Perhaps it's because I saw it such a young age. Maybe it's because it was one of the first movies we had on VHS so we could watch it over and over again. Whatever the reason, I want to be a pirate king.

I used to believe that I could accurately mimic an entire orchestra with the sounds from my mouth. I spent quite a while of my childhood running around the yard while convinced that I was recreating the soundtrack of Indiana Jones or Star Wars. Strangely, I caught myself doing it again just last week when I was walking around my yard.

The guy in the mirror looks nothing like the guy in my head. One thing that bothered me about the Matrix movie was that the people in the Matrix looked like their physical bodies even though Morpheus explains that the Matrix is a projection of what people think they look like. If I were Neo in the Matrix, well, I guess that I would look like Keanu Reeves too.

I am not a morning person. I much prefer to stay up late and wake up late. It has been this way for me since I worked third shift at college. I stay forcefully energetic in the mornings as a way to keep myself from just dragging through the day.

I don't like being next to ledges and railings because I kind of want to throw myself over them and see if I can stick a superhero landing. Granted, this urge has decreased over time. However, glass balconies are a double threat to me because I also continually suppress a desire to jump through glass like an action hero. … I have to have similar mental arguments to keep myself from pulling fire alarms (something that I have also not yet done).

In a similar vein, I am nearly convinced that my mind has locked away the ability for me to levitate and fly. I occasionally have hyper-realistic dreams with me doing just that. It involves pushing down with my arms while in a mental state that recognizes the energy forces surrounding us. Thankfully, I tend to stay away from ledges and railings.

Well, I think that I've worried enough people for the moment. I should probably get back to staring at this PowerPoint.

As I noted on Saturday with my Dinobot post, my dissertation recently received URR approval and was moved on to Form and Style review. At 4:35 this morning (which is 8:45 Eastern), I received an email from my newly assigned editor. He introduced himself, asked me not to make any changes to my manuscript while he was reviewing it, and stated that he would have his review back to me by the 27th (two weeks from today).

I was thus floored when I received another email from the editor at 2:15 this afternoon (6:15 Eastern) that he had reviewed my manuscript and that I had passed the Form and Style review! … My committee and I haven't even set the date for my defense yet (which usually takes place while waiting for Form and Style). Unfortunately, the site which is used to officially move these files is currently down, so I have not yet been able to see any of the comments or suggestions that the editor had left.

This is a HUGE relief as I was concerned that I would have to wait a couple of weeks just to receive word that I would need to make changes and resubmit again--as has been much of my experience. Hopefully, we can get my defense set up soon (I may have to take a day off of work to fit my committee members' schedules) so I can make those last changes and send it off for final approval. It's looking like I should be able to finish this up this term after all!

Today's second reading, as pointed out in our pastor's homily, contains the religiously controversial sentence "So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Interestingly, yesterday I completed a Read Aloud of portions from Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" for my 11th grade language arts class. In it, Edwards argues that all of our works are meaningless in saving us from the wrath of God. The two ideas are not as exclusionary of one another as some people have made them out to be. 

In truth, can faith truly be faith if there is nothing other than words or thoughts? To be clear, I do not believe that we can work our way to salvation, but rather that our faith in God should be clear through our actions. In fact, I believe that this goes beyond just faith in God, but into most of our lives. As the saying goes, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." So often, we say that we want to do something, but then fail to do it--faith, but no works.

We might say that we want to be healthier, but then do not take the steps that we know lead to better health. We might say that we pray for an end to gun violence, but then do not bring legal change that might actually affect it. We might pray for an end to COVID, but then continue to do things which can contribute to its spread. We might say we have plenty of stories to tell, but then do not actually put our pen to the page. 

This is what St. James was saying about faith without works being dead. It's not so much about the key to entering heaven. Instead, it's about how we should live our lives today.

Today, I received word that I have received URR (University Research Review) approval of my dissertation. At this point, the Form and Style department has 10 business days (starting Monday) to review my dissertation and send a list of required changes before the dissertation can be formally accepted by Walden University (a process that is listed on my original doctoral planning document as taking three months, but I hope to accomplish in two). 

My next immediate step is to finish preparation for my defense of my dissertation. Basically, I need to finish up a PowerPoint on the results of my study and present it to my committee. It looks like my actual defense will be next week. Doctoral defenses have a LONG tradition in the educational process of earning a doctorate. Even though it feels a bit like a formality designed to give me something to do while we await yet another review of my dissertation, I kind of like putting this together. In fact, I hope to share this presentation with my school board once my doctorate has reached full approval as my results have implications for our school district.

Anyway, URR approval is a Dinobot-worthy step in my journey towards becoming Dr. Marks. Swoop, the Dinobot who transforms into a pteranodon was next on my list. His name is the only one of the S-named Dinobots (which is all of them except their leader, Grimlock) that made sense to me as, at the time, he was the only Autobot who could fly.

This new incarnation is not only bigger than the original, he's actually larger than the other Dinobots that I have opened thus far. Strangely, he is also the only one with a large amount of blue on him instead of red (like both the original and the other newly-designed Dinobots). Even his packaging shows him in red. However, the blue is a throwback to his pre-Transformer origins (and thus color-scheme on the TV show). The website which provided the previous information also states that "Swoop is notable for being one of the most fragile Generation 1 toys …" -- a fact that I can personally substantiate. I had to complete some surgery with superglue to get his head reattached for the photos below.

With Swoop, I have hit four Dinobot-worthy milestones. Two more remain. 

Our student council came up with an interesting, and successful, idea for this year's homecoming: a tailgate concert. Due to mitigation requirements, they were not allowed to do anything indoors, let alone the standard homecoming dance. Instead, they found a local band and some food vendors and held an outdoor concert. The band and food were both great, the weather cooperated, and the students seemed to have fun.

Although I have been wearing a mask nearly all of the time that I'm in the school, I decided that the outdoor venue and distancing (not to mention being fully vaccinated) meant that I didn't need to wear one. Apparently, this and the fact that I was wearing a baseball hat made me unrecognizable to some of my students while I was collecting tickets and money. Several of them came back to look at me again and say, "Mr. Marks?!" This was commonly followed by the shocked observation that I have facial hair--something that they should know if they've been watching my videos for class.

It was a good way to end a chaotic week. Honestly, I enjoyed this event more than any homecoming dance that I've attended. Maybe we've started a better tradition.

Despite working past my bedtime for the past several nights, I still do not have everything caught up for all of my classes. One class still has some essays that I have had for a couple of weeks now. Meanwhile, I do not have my next units up on Canvas yet for two of the courses that I teach. However, my headache has now added a timpani to its percussion section, so I think that I'm going to call it a night. I still have my prep period tomorrow, and some buffer time so I can wrap some of these things up over the weekend.

It will be nice when I have things set a little bit farther ahead. Right now, I just need to clear some more room to breathe.

What? Cymbals?! Yep. It's bed time.

While others might complain about the downward trends of media and our society, I feel tremendously blessed to live in a time when such complex and well-produced content is being created. I can't remember a previous time that there were three completely new TV series coming out in a single year which I was super excited to see, as well as a few returning favorites.

Of them, the new Wheel of Time series is at the top of my list. I have been waiting for someone to make a decent adaptation of this fantasy series that I love, and it looks like this might fulfill that promise. I know that high hopes can lead to even worse disappointment, but its teaser trailer seemed to indicate that they were heading in the right direction.

In close second is Strange New Worlds, the new Star Trek show set with the original pilot crew of the Enterprise under Captain Pike. Pike's tour on Star Trek: Discovery is season 2 was absolutely amazing, and I am excited to see what they will do with him in command of the Enterprise. Even the cast and crew's limited comments about how much fun they had makes me hope that we will see a group chemistry often lacking from ensemble shows.

That a Star Wars show--The Book of Fett--is in third place on my list is not a testament to my concerns about the show, but rather a tribute to the quality that all of these shows bring. 

Meanwhile, Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel are also supposed to release before the end of this year! That's five new shows (even if the last two are probably one shots). It's a good time to be a geek like me!

While our DM is busy doing real-world things, the rest of my D&D group is going to run a side adventure with different characters in a different world. One of the players really wanted to play a rogue and have the "face skills" of the party, which leaves the other two of us to split up magic, healing, and tanking. As my other character is a tank, and the other player's character is a healer, we thought that we could swap those primary roles. I said that I would fill based on the other player's final choice, which will leave me with some interesting options.

There are three classes which I would like to try out that could put some interesting flavor into the game: a warlock with a celestial patron, a divine soul sorcerer, and a monk that follows the way of mercy (at some point, I wouldn't mind trying an alchemist artificer). Of the three, I have only played a monk once before and that was a LONG time ago before they had some of these neat new powers. The warlock intrigues me because I like always getting to use the most powerful version of a spell. However, I think that the divine soul sorcerer might be the most versatile of the bunch. 

I still have over a week to decide, and my decision will depend on our third player's choice. I might work on backstories for all three just for fun and then choose the one that I would most want to play based on that. I will say that it is great to be back into gaming again.    

In today's Gospel, Jesus opened the ears of a deaf man and removed his speech impediment. In today's homily, our deacon said that the word Jesus used to open the deaf man's ears, "Ephphatha," means more than "be opened." Unfortunately, my mind is clouded and I cannot remember what our deacon said, but I do remember being profoundly struck by his message at the time.

Apparently, I am also in need of having my ears opened--or at least the connection between them and my brain. In truth, this is something that requires continual work on my part. Too often, I am absorbed in my own thoughts and tasks, not listening to those around me (Just ask Janelle). The same is true for my thought processes. Although I like to think that I am generally open-minded, even that belief can be a bit of a trap. I need to learn how I can let my thoughts "be opened" to other ideas and opinions that I would prefer to ignore.

One of my medications gives me a dry cough. It's usually not something that bothers me, or that I even notice, but yesterday it turned from a dry cough to a wet one. As I also have allergies, I was hoping that this was something that would quickly resolve itself. However, I then woke up feeling miserable. 

Now, Connor recently had a cold, missing two days of school last week. At the time, we tested him for COVID, and it came up negative, so he was able to return when most of his symptoms ended. Thus, I was pretty sure that what I had was a cold, but there have been students at my school who have tested positive for COVID recently. 

I really warred with myself over this. For one, I did not want to make something out of nothing. I am also quite concerned about what a positive result would mean for me and my family. It would require Janelle and the boys to get tested. Being vaccinated, a negative result would allow most of them to return to work and school, but Rowen would be on quarantine with me. I am vaccinated and have been wearing a mask while in public indoor areas, so I don't believe that anyone else would have to quarantine for a being a close contact with me. Still, I would need to take at least a week off of work until my symptoms subsided, so I started pre-planning what I would do for my classes while I was gone.

I also wasn't sure where to go. Just a few days ago, I would have contacted our school nurse who has been wonderful at donating her time for situations such as these, but she left the state yesterday. I called the hospital (who is listed as a COVID testing site) but was informed that the only places testing on a Saturday is the Urgent Care Clinic. Their earliest appointment was 4:30 PM, so I let my pastor and music minister know the situation and that I would not be able to lead the music at the evening mass, and might not be available for the morning mass tomorrow.

Thankfully, the test came back as negative. Connor's cold only held tight for a couple of days, so I'm hoping to be back at near full strength after this extended weekend. I still feel miserable, but at least I feel better about it. 

From a distance, I felt like I was going to get a great deal accomplished this weekend. However, the closer that we came to it, the more that I realized how much less that I was going to do. This is a regular problem of mine: I will have great expectations for what I can achieve at a future date, but then find that I do not even come close to meeting them.

Granted, part of the issue is that I am an expert procrastinator. I often find myself putting off tasks until the last moment and then completing them in a feverish whirlwind of productivity. The problem is that, not only has this paid off for me time and again, there have often been times that I have discovered that the task itself had changed or had become unneeded. Thus, my procrastination has saved me from piles of unnecessary work. Even worse, there have been multiple times that I have taken the initiate to be proactive only to have that preparation go to waste.

Well, there are a few things this weekend for which the clock is ticking down as they have already been put off for a bit. Unfortunately, there is a part of my mind that is bargaining with me with the argument that "ticking down" does not mean "out of time." It's also saying things like "You need more rest" and "You need to take more time for yourself" along with the classic "How important is it in the grand scheme of things?"

… We won't talk about the part of me that says that I've "earned that donut."