March 2026 Newsletter

From Dan, Your Friend and Lifelong Learner

Dear Friends,

March has been full in a very particular way. Not overwhelming, but lively. A lot of movement, a lot of creativity, and a lot of tiny things that built up. Not in a bad way... It just ended up being a lot, looking back!

Fig. 18.1: Mia attempting to remove the squeaker.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of house sitting lately, which means I’ve also been spending time with a rotating cast of pets (Fig. 18.1). At this point, I’m convinced they’re all mine... Maybe not legally, but spiritually. There’s something grounding about caring for animals, even briefly. You step into their rhythm, and for a while, that becomes your world.

One of the highlights this month was going out with my friends to see Disney Hoppers (Fig. 18.2). It does make you wonder, what would it feel like to step into that perspective...

Fig. 18.3: A handmade dragon hand puppet.

Over at furry club, our art meetings continue to be a creative anchor. This time: paper, glue, and color. The result was a small dragon hand puppet (Fig. 18.3). It’s charming, a little chaotic, and very expressive. I’ve already shown it off to quite a few people. And now, of course, it makes its official debut in the newsletter.

Fig. 18.4: A custom LEGO house, adapted from a MOC online with my own take.

I also spent a night building a small LEGO house, complete with a slide (Fig. 18.4). It started as a relaxing activity and quickly evolved into a full hyperfixation... Digging through pieces, searching for just the right shapes to match the idea forming in my head. There’s a particular satisfaction in watching something imagined slowly take form, one piece at a time.

Fig. 18.5: A 3D printed Menger sponge, with Kodi for scale (and approval).

And finally, my biggest and most complex 3D print yet (Fig. 18.5). This is a Menger sponge, a fractal formed by repeatedly removing smaller cubes from a larger cube, creating an endlessly intricate structure of voids within solids. I could technically go bigger, but this was a test: both of scale and of how these colors and materials interact. Also, Kodi was present for quality assurance.

And yes, another bonus paper!

This one is found at the link: Lights, Sound, Printing

For once, this wasn’t just for fun, I actually submitted it for school credit as an alternate assignment (instead of attending a solo field trip, though admittedly the convention option did sound fun). That said, it still very much carries my usual style: a blend of personal reflection, technical curiosity, and, inevitably, me talking about my interests, with research woven in.

March was a good month. I hope it treated all of you kindly as well.

Dan out.