I've been whining about my inability to lose weight for this current attempt, despite eating fewer calories and exercising more... But when I went to tighten my belt today, I realized that there isn't a notch where I need it to be. I had tightened it as far as it will go.

It's vacation week, so I'm planning out my workouts. Rather than the 9 workouts per week I normally average, I'm planning 16 workouts this week. Normally: Swim*3 Run*3 Sword class*2 Strength training*1 Additional this week: Ninja gym Trampolining Ice skating Strength training*3 more

My wife and I celebrated Discount Chocolate Day today by going to a ninja gym, in preparation for the obstacle course race we're doing together next month. I made it to the top of one of those curved walls you're supposed to run up. I'm very proud of myself.

As math teachers, we don't spend nearly enough time on the question, "What should you do if you panic and everything on the page becomes illegible to you?" Or, said another way, "How can you maximize your score if you don't remember anything?"

I'm exhausted. I haven't fought this many adults who are better than me in almost a year. I also fought a bunch of people who have been fighting for less than a year, and some people who have improved a lot in the time since I last fought them. Now I need to unpack my gear so it can dry. Then sleep.

Blessings to all on this Friday 13th. 💜💚 #Witchsky #Pagansky #NorseGoddess

Describe your Bluesky account in 3 words: Kindness, Magic, Life

No, stop, it's freezing out. You'll overheat if you put on that many layers! It hasn't been this warm for two days in a row since December. One thin pair of pants and a light jacket over a t-shirt. No more.

Introduce yourself with the name your parents almost gave you: Chivas

Welcome to Winter in New England. Hurray, it's freezing! It's so warm today, of course you can wear shorts, big guy! No, of course there isn't a school delay, it was only 3" of snow! Even if the plows hadn't been out I could have gotten you to school in this. Now let's have a snowball fight!

Today I have a true sick day. I have some weird stomach bug. I am hungry, but I seriously don't want to eat right now. But it means I get to spend a day at home alone. No one else here to climb on me and tell me to put my book down.

For those asking how the game went yesterday, my D&D game went well. No one was killed by the traps. When they got to the library, it was mostly filled with the paranoid scribbling of the Beholder king. A part member who hasn't been present for the past 3 sessions was found ended in Crystal.

Most of the best compliments I have received have been meant as insults. The most recent was: "Don't listen to him. He's just trying to brainwash you into being nice."

What are your top 5 pains? 1. Dislocated hip from motorcycle accident 2. The girl who broke up with me at the end of sophomore year in college 3. Appendicitis 4. Broken arm from sword-fighting 5. Broken leg from hit-and-run driver when I was on my bicycle.

I'm currently talking to representatives of 2 companies, both in China, about printing t-shirts for my sword class. One is a human being, the other is an AI. The human responds more slowly, but is able to look at pictures I send him. The AI responds nearly instantly, but requires me to write words.

I don't understand people who choose to be unkind. I understand people who lack skills necessary to be kind in particularly situations. I understand people who lack information and are accidentally unkind. But why on Earth would anyone choose, consciously and with intent, to be unkind?

One of my students pointed out yesterday that they wish they hadn't written so many notes on their quizzes about how bad they feel, because those notes end up in their portfolio when they upload those quizzes. I offered to give them sticky notes to write on, so they can throw the note away.

My players for my D&D game on Sunday are worried about the rioting and drunk driving that we are expecting on Sunday because of a sportsball game of some sort at the same time we'll be saving a village from an overzealous umberhulk.

I identify strongly with this adorable little eldritch horror some days.

I bought a pair of headphones for swimming. Their sound is tinny, they are a little uncomfortable under my swim cap and goggles, but that's fine. Music while I swim. The Bluetooth disconnects when my ears are underwater. 1 Star.

It's been so cold that I haven't been running, so today I went to a HIIT class instead. Now I'm sitting in my car, inside my garage, trying to move.

I'm exhausted. Imbolc was beautiful at my covenmate's house, game was fun yesterday (stormlight rpg), and I have done a lot of work on my lesson planning and my website and my business planning. But I have barely moved the past 2 days. Ritual was standing mostly still, and the rest was all sitting.

There just aren't enough hours in the week to do everything that needs to get done. I'm doing the most important things of course: snuggling my children for at least an hour per day, feeding my children, etc. But developing my pre-calculus curriculum? Assigning enough homework? Fixing my website?

My little one woke up 20 minutes ago, came out into the living room, and curled up under the blanket with me while I kept working on my website. Then he got bored and went to snuggle Mama in bed. After 20 minutes with him here, the couch seems cold by myself. Both metaphorically and literally.

I just realized that I'm approaching 666 people that I'm following. I'll probably do the thing I did on Twitter where I take that as an opportunity to clear out the list of people I'm following, so I stop following inactive accounts and just stay at 666 people I'm following for 6 months or so.

Last night, I sat across the table from a child who was on the verge of tears. His dad seemed to believe him that he didn't know he was bullying a smaller kid in my sword class. I pretended to as well. We discussed the fact that it wouldn't happen again. Then sword class went better last night.

I am so glad I didn't try to go with the first member management portal (the cheapest one, ClubExpress). WildApricot is twice as expensive, but it is SO MUCH EASIER to use. I've been approved for 6 hours and it has already passed every test I've put it through.

I was trying to convince myself to go out for a run in the single-digit cold, but then I saw that approval went through for one of the things I'm trying to set up on my website! Woo! I have an excuse to sit on the couch and NOT freeze my own breath into my beard this morning! W007!

Self-explanatory. 🧐

I have spent the long, cold weekend devouring the book Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt. It has a lot of advice that I think I can use in my classroom, but I bought it because I'm feeling stuck running my sword school. It has been helpful there, but a lot less helpful than I had hoped.

I've spent the day calling up leasing and rental places to ask about renting a new space for my swords class. So far the only positive answer I have gotten was from a hall that, when I looked at it, has 9 foot chandeliers. I poked one with my sword and said it wouldn't work.

Your daily fortune: Don't hide your light from the world. We need it now more than ever to brighten the darkness.

In D&D today, my players have been living with a Beholder as a king for the past two years. Today, for the first time, they entered his lair beneath the castle. I haven't put this many traps that people with legs would trip into a dungeon in a VERY long time.

@khthoniaa.bsky.social I think you might want to check this game out: "Sell Me A Sasquatch". Planet Money Makes A Boardgame : Planet Money : NPR share.google/VhAk7DkeGuem...

I haven't gotten a full 8 hours' sleep in a week because cold medicine wears off in 6 hours, and my stuffy nose wakes me up as soon as it does. Grumble grumble.

I guess 3 is the logical next move! I've been 4 at various points in my life. I'm 2 right now. I'm taking a break from trying to be 1.

I know I haven't been posting much. The following have been taking up all of my time and attention: New website for my sword class Magic to protect people from ICE and keep them in their homes Finalizing grades for the term, after grading the midyear exams Living as an incarnate being in this world

I just showed my 4yo the I have a dream speech. I plan to show him some Malcolm X next. What are some good videos to put on today to help my children understand why school is cancelled today? Are there any good videos about MLK's socialism appropriate for kids?

A new player joined my D&D game recently. Yesterday, he pulled me aside outside of game to tell me how impressed he is with the depth of the world. I pointed out that this game has been going on for almost 4 years. The players made most of this world as they played in it.

So then I went around the whole town, one by one, taking however long it was needed to recharge my mana and I revived every NPC, and orc, and then they all lived harmoniously in the city. One of the coolest things I ever did and I think about how the game let me do that frequently.

First rule…

At last night's Boy Scouts meeting the adults discussed recruitment while the children played. The two topics: 1. Should we let girls into this troop? (Yes, of course.) 2. My son is really charismatic! Can he come to every recruitment drive? Everyone wants to join HIS troop. (That's HIS choice.)

Name a 90s song Crash and Burn, by Savage Garden music.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0cS...

Gary Erskine

Today is the first day of exams. Once the exams are printed, there is nothing more I can do. They will pass or they will fail. Talia jacta est.

There was a really cool hawk sitting on a telephone pole and I wanted to stop and gawk at the hawk, but it was a busy intersection and I had the right of way so I had to turn right (away from the hawk) before getting a good look at it.

I don't dread the weekend, because weekends *are* fun, but I always do look forward to Monday when my life becomes more predictable and less stressful. Also, I have sword class on Monday nights.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling strong, thin, and healthy. Today, I slept through my first alarm and woke up feeling groggy, fat, and weak. Objectively, I am comparable today to who I was yesterday. My brain just chose to feel positive yesterday and negative today. I am still strong and healthy.

I just took my precalculus exam; it took me 40 minutes. I want my students to get it done in under 70 minutes on Wednesday and I always assume that my students will take twice as long as I do. Not bad for an exam in a class I haven't taught in a decade: I only need to shave off 5-10 minutes.