We Went To The Moon!

what if it was made out of spare ribs?

The mission is far from over, but today has been a day I wasn't sure I'd see in my lifetime (as a conscious adult).  Today, people orbited the moon.  

The mission is Artemis II, and as I type this, four people are currently doing science aboard the Orion Capsule.  They just witnessed a lunar eclipse in space.  

clockwise from left - Koch, Glover, Hansen, Wiseman

The astronauts are:

• Reid Wiseman - Commander
• Victor Glover - Pilot
• Christina Koch - Mission Specialist
• Jeremy Hansen - Mission Specialist

The crew is notable for containing the first woman to orbit the moon (Koch) and the first Canadian to the moon (Hansen).  

I've been blown away by how well they all seem to communicate ideas, feelings and concepts as they're on their journey.  It's really moving.  If these people are eggheads, they seem to have found the poetry in their souls.  

I'd also mention NASA clearly is hiring when it comes to women in STEM as a great number of the staff in Houston are female - including CAPCOM and Science Chiefs.

So far they've been stunned by the *actual* color of the moon, which is maybe more brown and green than we know (but this may be an artifact of their eyes being in space).  They've seen actual collisions of meteors with the surface.  They've seen the topography, and named a crater after Commander Wiseman's late wife, Carroll, which makes me want to @#$%ing cry just thinking about it.  Imagine being able to name something that may have that name *forever* after the one you love?

The goal is to sort out what else we need to know about the moon and test current equipment before we start on next phases to establish a permanent lunar base.  

Is this a good idea?

I think so.  But I also think it sounds wildly dangerous.  So.  Hopefully we know what we're doing.  

The feed is really good for sharing audio and some images.  The real haul will come probably after the astronauts are safely home - which is scheduled for the 10th.  

For the current feed as of 04/06/2026:

Easter

Happy Easter, to those who celebrate.  To those who don't, you're missing out on a holiday that blends the apotheosis of a whole multi-national religion *and* plastic, brightly colored chicken eggs filled with jelly bellies.  And sometimes you get ham.

I always found Easter a very odd holiday.  Depending on the whims of government officials, we might get Good Friday off, but mostly not.  So it's not a holiday that felt relaxed in any way.  At our house, there was always a lot of pressure to fit in a lot in a very short amount of time, eat an obscene amount of food, plus you had school on Monday immediately following.  AND my folks would have family friends come, or we'd go see them.  Which means, as a kid, it was a holiday where you got to wrap it up by cramming in homework while full of ham and jelly bellies whilst over-stimulated.  And sometimes while in a moving GMC van.

It's also a holiday where the temps are starting to get hotter in Texas, so it could also be a day where you dressed for church in the morning, but by the time church ended, you were maybe a bit dewy.  

Speaking of...

I also remember knowing the jig was up on good Easter baskets as a kid when my mom dropped a stick of Right Guard in my basket circa 5th grade.  So, yeah, here's The Good News of Christ's resurrection and the hint that maybe I was aging into an era of getting a little ripe.

As a religious holiday - sure.  I like Easter.  Who doesn't like knowing you're forgiven and get a pass to Cloud City?  

As everything else - my feelings are mixed.  

This may be because I once ate the ear off Steanso's Easter Bunny which led to me getting as beat up as I ever got in my life.  And, frankly, I deserved it.  Do not eat the ear off another man's chocolate Easter Bunny.

These days my parents have wised up and host a Saturday Easter celebration at their house so they can do church-related things all day Sunday and not worry about us.  Which we did yesterday.  Easy squeezy.  I ate too much sugar, though, when my niece shoved a "bird's nest" in my face and said "I made these.  You have to eat one." and I already had carrot cake on my dessert plate.  

My egg hunting this morning was limited to laying in bed while the dog chewed on my hands (her favorite morning activity) and then I ate some Wheaties while trying to remember who Jalen Hurts is, and wondering if he has any scandals afoot.

UT Women's Basketball Season Ends - in the Final Four

Well, that is that.  

UT Women's Basketball is definitely back.  We didn't just make the tournament, we dominated right up until the Final Four in which we played UCLA.  

From the first few minutes, it was pretty clear something was off.  I suspect, but don't know, that nerves got the best of Texas.  The Final Four is *it*.  You made it.  

But the shooting average was shockingly bad.  Texas scored only six points in the first quarter, and that's usually what they put up in the first two minutes.  While UCLA was defending hard, Texas also didn't just run its offense and settle in and find the shot.  They were running and gunning and the result was bricks ahoy.  

Usually solid contributors like Madison Booker couldn't buy a bucket, at one point 1 for 17 (at which point, you need to stop shooting for a minute and pass) winding up 3 for 23.  Rori Harmon and Jordan Lee didn't suffer quite that much, but only put in three each.  

Team wide, it was a season low performance, and absolutely the wrong time for it to happen.  But sports is almost as mental a game as it is physical, and between the Elite Eight and the Final Four, Texas psyched themselves out.  

But...  that's okay.  That's just what happened one game on one night.  The team was better than any UT team in decades.  We had great personalities on the court, and they did what they were supposed to - playing with a joy that is contagious.  They won the SEC Tournament and beat UCLA and South Carolina in the regular season, so it's not like we should hang our heads in shame.  We beat teams in the NCAA tournament that I thought would give us a very hard time.

Of course, all of this happened right after the weird confrontation between SC's Dawn Staley and UConn's Geno Auriemma.  I saw it unfold, and I am as perplexed as Staley and Holly Rowe.  I won't comment much more than to say - what was that, man?

UCLA is the real deal - their win was no fluke.  Credit where it's due.  Lauren Betts and Kiki Rice are phenoms.  And I'll be watching the final game.  

Rewind 03/29/2026 - MLB, UT Basketball, WNBA

accurate!

Been a minute since we checked in.  

Jamie's Birthday

It was Jamie's birthday.  We have done nothing for it.  We're 51 now.  It is not exciting.  We'll have dinner with the parents tonight, and dinner with Steanso's family on Tuesday.

Baseball Starts

It's opening weekend for Major League Baseball.  Cubs have a really good lineup, and despite Opening Day jitters and a loss to the Nationals, I'm enthusiastic about our chances - especially as we bounced back and beat them 10-2 in the second game.  Bats are looking good, fielding shouldn't be a problem, and then it's up to the pitcher rotation.  

It looks like The Cubs org is also not being weird, and went ahead and locked up two favorites with 6 year contracts - Centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and 2nd Baseman Nico Hoerner.  Both produce on defense and at-bat, and are fan favorites, so its nice to not worry about contract nonsense through the season on two key players.  

I expect Happ will also retire a Cub one way or another, and I'd love to see Suzuki remain a Cub as long as he's playing the US.  

In addition to baseball, it's good to have my imaginary friends back for the post-game show.  Cliff, Elise and Cole.  And Anthony Rizzo seems to be living part time in Chicago, so I imagine he'll be on with other analysts like Dexter Fowler and Ryan Dempster.

  

Texas Basketball

Both Longhorn Basketball squads made it into the tournament this year!  Hooray!

The men's team played really well, but lost to Purdue after a close game, going down by two points in the last seconds.  No shame at all.  I'm excited about UT men's basketball for the first time since high school.

UT Women, however, have progressed to the Elite 8.  So far they beat Missouri State 87-45, Oregon 100-58 and Kentucky (who I thought of as a really good team this season) 76-54.  

This team is really, really good - and what's nuts is that as good as our seniors are, things look equally (or more) bright for next year based on our lower classmen and recruits.  

While we have our stars in Rori Harmon, Madison Booker, Kyla Oldacre, et al...  Sarah Graves is UT's secret weapon as someone who doesn't just ride the pine.  She's maybe the most enthusiastic player and has become an avatar of the positive vibes of the UT team - leading the bench in enthusiasm for her teammates.  Plus, when she comes off the bench it's a sign from coach Schaefer we have this locked up.  To top it off, Graves has scored multiple times in the tournament after coming in.  

 

WNBA

Sounds like the Connecticut Sun has been purchased as an organization and is headed to Houston.  Houston did have a team years ago, and it sounds like the Sun will reclaim that old team name - The Houston Comets.  No other word on what this means, but I am excited as the trip to Houston is easier than heading to Dallas.  

The contract negotiations are done, the players and WNBA both getting something, and I think it looks like the WNBA players will finally have real pro-athlete pay.  It's now tough to look back at the women who played in the league the past 30 years and know what they did so all of this was possible, but looking forward, it's going to be better for both players and the league. And maybe mean a longer season.

it's Jamie's Birthday

Today is Jamie's birthday!

I also realize this is the 31st birthday I've celebrated with Jamie, which is wild.  When you find the right person - stick with them.  That's my advice.

Y'all wish Jamie a happy birthday.

Venezuela WBC Champs, 2026 / UT men in the NCAA Tournament

Venezuela Takes Gold

Well, after many, many hours of watching baseball, Tuesday night I saw Venezuela beat the USA in the World Baseball Championship Final.  And, to be honest, I was kind of rooting for Venezuela.  It clearly meant something to them that it didn't to our squad.

Look, Venezuela was playing like their lives depended on it, and with joy.  The US was playing like they had to knock this out and get back to Spring Training.  If there had been a sense of fun to what they were doing, after the loss to Italy, the US had sort of lost the plot.  

Still Watching Baseball, The Oscars

Emmylou enjoys some fake corn

Baseball

Well, to my surprise, the US beat the Dominican Republic in the semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and now we're going to see if they face off against Italy or Venezuela.  I'm done making predictions, as I assumed Japan would sweep this year, and they're out.

It is very, very strange to watch what feels like play-off baseball in March, but it's also a heck of a warm up to the season.  Getting to see all the DR players pop off against the US was oddly satisfying, even if they lost (only 2-1), knowing the Dominican Republic has a population under 12 million, and a GDP of about $130 billion.