The other day, Xuân played pickleball against his buddy. They became competitive and argued back and forth. His friend got mad and walked off the court. He said to Xuân, “I am done with you.”

I observed, but didn’t want to get involved. I didn’t say anything and let them work out their conflict themselves. Xuân looked sad and wanted to go home. I took him home. In the car, I asked Xuân, “Are you OK?” He nodded, but didn’t want to talk about it.

The next day, Xuân asked me if I were going to dads’ volleyball night so he could meet up with his buddy. I asked him, “Weren’t you guys mad at each other yesterday?” Xuân replied, “Everytime we fought, we would be friends again the next day. We were always like that.”

When they met up for volleyball, they were so happy to see each other. My jaw dropped. It was fucking awesome how kids just moved on quickly and held no grudges. It was an eye-opening moment for me.

Even as an adult, I often took things too seriously. I had a difficult time letting shit slide. I ended up holding things inside. I need to learn to be a kid again. Just let shit go. No need to sweat over small things. Just move on. Life is too damn short. In fact, let’s turn negative into positive.

Thanks to my Lil Xuânshine and his buddy for teaching me an invaluable lesson.

My Lil Xuânshine plays multiple sports. Whether swimming, skiing, or snowboarding, he excels in them. Even if he never competes in any of them, I still support him for as long as he puts his efforts into them.

I must confess. I am a terrible swimmer. I can’t swim from one end of the pool to the other end without taking a break. I tried to learn to swim, but I quickly got bored. I felt as if I were trapped in a pool filled with water. The good thing about swimming is that the weather is not an issue.

On the other hand, skiing and snowboarding depend on the weather, but that’s the beauty of these winter sports. It’s a partnership with Mother Nature. What makes skiing and snowboarding so damn exciting and magical is the pleasure of carving across the snow and leaving your tracks behind.

After discovering the art of carving, I had been focusing on chasing those tracks. It took me a while to understand the techniques of carving on skis, but I picked up carving on snowboard a bit faster. Regardless, I still have a long way to go.

I have always enjoyed watching a flock of birds flying across the sky in an “S” shape. My ultimate goal is to ski and ride down the trails in an “S” shape similar to those flying birds. Carving down the long terrains feels like flying to me. I have yet to perfect my carves, but I am not in a rush either. I still have many seasons to work on toward my goal. Having a goal not only lets me stay focused, but also lets me thrive.

For the first time in my life, I feel as if chasing a dream is possible. I have free access to many mountains in the world. As an instructor at Vail resorts, I am surrounded by expert skiers and snowboarders who can help me achieve my goal. I will get there on my own terms. All I need is my own determination.

In his interview with Frazier Tharpe, JAY-Z said:

Everything in your life, it’s not happening to you, it’s happening for you.

It’s a great interview to watch.

Last week, I attended the annual Computers in Libraries 2026 conference in Crystal City. This year, they should have renamed the conference to AIs in Libraries 2026. Out of 4 keynotes and 70 tracks, the focus was primarily on AI. There used to be a track dedicated to website and UX, but this year there were only two presentations on website and UX. I attended both. For the rest, my brain was about to explode with AI lectures. Then again, I learned something about Vibe Coding.

As a web designer and developer, I had always been skeptical of using AI to create webpages. After hearing and seeing some demo about Vibe Coding at the conference, I decided to give it a try. One of my passion projects has been creating typographic sample pages for my Vietnamese Typography web book. Whenever I read something interesting in Vietnamese, I would create a sample of it—of course with proper credits. For instance, if I read a book, I would sample my favorite chapter and provide an English translation if I could. If I read from a printed book, I would take photos of the pages, copy, and paste the text. After that I would write the HTML markups for the text. The process beat typing up the text manually, but it was still tedious because I had to change dumb quotes to smart quotes, markup italic words, and make sure hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes were applied correctly.

With the latest sample page showcasing Bảo Ninh’s short stories, I tested out Google Gemini. I uploaded 10 images since the free version only allows 10 images at a time. I put in the prompt: “Convert images into one HTML page. Markup <em> tags for italic text. I changed the option from “Fast” to “Thinking.” Within 15-30 seconds, Gemini showed me the HTML page it had created. I copied and pasted into my HTML editor, removed everything else except for the main content. I was amazed how clean the HTML page was. All the smart quotes, hyphens, and dashes were correct. Italic words were marked up in <em> tags. Furthermore, it places all the footnotes correctly at the bottom of the pages. It was definitely a time-saver for me not having to do these tasks manually. I still do not trust AI to do the design for me because I still want to write my CSS and the way I structure my HTML document, but I can let it help me with speeding up the manual, repetitive labor.

I had a mixed vibe about Computers in Libraries, but I always ended up attending. While not all of the presentations fit my interests, a few did. If nothing else, I had a chance to get away from my regular work for a couple of days.

Carlo Iacono writes a fascinating essay on “Books and Screens.” Iacono argues:

The real problem isn’t mode but habitat. We don’t struggle with video versus books. We struggle with feeds versus focus. One happens in an ecosystem designed for contemplation, the other in a casino designed for endless pull-to-refresh.

Reading worked so well for so long not because text is magic, but because books came with built-in boundaries. They end. Pages stay still. Libraries provide quiet. These weren’t features of literacy itself but of the habitats where literacy lived. We need to rebuild those habitats for a world where meaning travels through many channels at once.

Iacono concludes:

The choice isn’t between books and screens. The choice is between intentional design and profitable chaos. Between habitats that cultivate human potential and platforms that extract human attention.

I recommend reading or listening to the entire piece.

Bảo Ninh is known for his historical fiction on the Việt Nam War. His works have been translated into 20 languages, including English. After reading his compelling short stories, I decided to create a typographic sample page featuring “Hà Nội at Midnight” and “Untamed Winds.” These two stories provide a glimpse into Bảo Ninh’s observations of the war. I also included English translations from Quân Mạnh Hà and Cab Trần. The sample is typeset in Atlante, designed by Yorlmar Campos & Martín Sesto.

My colleague was being nominated for the Rick Holt Award, which “recognizes a Mason faculty or staff member who is committed to utilizing, promoting, and advocating for the use of active transportation as part of their daily commute life.” I was asked to write a letter of support. Of course, I complied:

To The Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Committee,

I am so glad to hear that MK is being nominated for the George Mason University’s Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Award.

M has been biking to work for as long as I started working at the Law School in 2011. Rain or shine, hot or cold, she bikes to work almost everyday. She has made the commitment to not only stay strong and healthy, but also contribute to a greener environment.

Furthermore, M promotes active transportation to the Mason community by encouraging me to take advantage of the shuttle system Mason is providing for free. Even though I live right by Fairfax main campus, I commute to Arlington campus at least three days a week. For many years, I drove my car to work for the sake of convenience. A few years ago, I started to take the shuttle because M had encouraged me. If I needed my car to work so I could go to my doctor or dentist appointment, she would offer me her complementary parking pass. As my supervisor, M would also provide me the flexibility if I needed to take care of my personal matters.

Thanks to M’s support and advocacy, I have made the transition from using my own vehicle to using Mason’s transportation service. I get to walk for 12 minutes each way from my house to the shuttle stop on Fairfax campus and back. I get the opportunity to meet other riders and become friends. I also get a chance to read for 40 minutes or catch a quick nap during my commute.

With her commitment in using self-propelled biking to work and her role in promoting active transportation to the Mason community and beyond, M deserves to win the Rick Holt Active Transportation Advocate Award.

Sincerely yours,
Donny Truong

Great news: She has been chosen as the 2026 recipient of the Rick Holt Active Transportation Award. My letter did the job.

The President of the United States:

Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP

I haven’t written about politics in a while, but I want to keep this quote here. When it’s his time to go, I refer to the despicable way he talk about someone’s death.

Rest in peace, Mr. Mueller.

Replacing 4 rear brake discs since November 2024. The rear brakes wear out quick.

• 4 Rear Brake Discs: $50
• Labor $50

Front brakes and rotors were also replaced:

• 2 Front Rotors: $150
• 4 Front Brake Discs: $50
• Labor: $70

Replaced the following after-market lightbulbs for 2011 Toyota Sienna:

• Fog lights
• License plate lights
• Tail lights

Update March 27: Replaced the passenger headlight for 2018 Toyota Sienna using the lightbulb from 2011 Toyota Sienna.