Monday arrived with me having trouble sleeping again. I woke at 4, 5, and 6, finally getting up at 6:30ish to start Monday. The ant bait was surrounded by a black line of soon-to-be former ants. The ant bait is made from borax mixed with corn syrup and water. It is easy to make, but I usually buy it. The roach products are also made with borax. It is not dangerous but is used chiefly for washing (don’t eat borax like you don’t eat soup). The pests will soon be reduced in number.
I ignored the black swarm, made coffee (dumping out the water in the pot, just in case), and made hot water for liberal coffee via my French Press. I had only yogurt for breakfast with my meds. I was a bit unsteady, so I forwent my exercises and stretches today. Today is my 220 weeks (4+ years) of writing; Grammarly keeps track. I then enjoyed a few hours of Zoom meetings and some crises of the moment as we started the next testing cycle for our project. My team was busy all day fixing and working out issues in the data configuration we needed to have in place before we started the three weeks of data conversions on Wednesday.
I had meetings repeatedly for various data issues and special data conversions. Of course, the details can not be covered here (and it would put more readers to sleep); I was busy and rushed all morning. I found time to open a can of tuna fish, add capers, stir in mayonnaise, and sprinkle in seasoning (dried mustard, pepper, dried tarragon). I ate this with some crackers while listening to Zoom meetings and reading (emails, Slack streams, and Internet news).
I finally boarded Air Volvo in the afternoon and drove slowly across Beaverton. My timing was lunch; this was a heavy traffic time, and the construction worsened it. Beaverton’s Finest must have a month-end quota, as I saw them everywhere and giving out tickets.
I forgot to take a picture of Susie. Susie was in her bed now as she was having tummy issues. She was delighted to see me, was no longer exhausted, and was wide awake. She had Bunny next to her and was still holding onto the toy stuffed white rabbit. I promised to bring Owly or Froggie next.
Susie and Leta, her mother, chatted for a while on my iPhone. They can see each other on FaceTime and talk for a time. I was time-boxed as I had a meeting until the afternoon and the next one at 1:05. Susie was surprised I had only a short visit, but I decided to do the meeting in the car and stayed longer. Susie looked better, and while she looked sad when it was time for me to leave, she looked happy to see me and talk to her mother. A better day.
I managed to cover most of Beaverton before I had to pull over to do the Zoom meeting on my phone. The meeting was canceled: f**k. Air Volvo got me home without incident.
I received the casting resin set and replacement screw terminals that are the right size for breadboard spacing. The clay for the resin molds will be here on Tuesday. Later, I received my breakout board microphones, 2″ speakers, and other goodies from AdaFruit in NYC. I have purchased LiPo batteries from Sparkfun, plus some parts for the next radio project that will be here next week that I can only get from the folks in the Denver area.
Nike IT continued to have some crises of the moment, and we had a meeting on how to control some data flows–again, details can’t be covered here (and it would be boring). I am finally free, but I follow along as the setup is a critical path for the project.
I contact Dondrea, and she and Z can join me for dinner. We decided to meet for dinner at Si Senor, near Dondrea’s home. I had a Mexican dinner (a Taco, plus Chile Relleno and a Pork Tamale–hungry from my light fair today) with a beer and ordered fried ice cream for Z–we shared that. Everyone was stuffed and happy. We chatted about Z’s camp in Portland and some church items while eating. It was a pleasant meal.
At about 8ish, I headed back in Air Volvo with light traffic this time and still Beaverton’s Finest, trying to catch up on the ticket counts for March, I believe. I drove carefully (no hot yellow lights) and did not handle my phone. I arrived home without incident or increasing the Beaverton’s Trafic Court’s treasury.
I managed to replace some more veneer on my radio project between things. I have one more big piece to replace. I then need to reglue some veneer that had delaminated from what I believe is water damage. I may then replace some tiny bits or just accept it. More to come on that. I have the stain and poly already purchased.
I decided to drop the needle meter from the display as there was not enough room for the LCD and the meter. This means dropping the microphone from the design (which finally showed today!). The meter and LCD would take up all the space, and the original radio plate would be lost–I want it still to be visible.
I think the needle will work in the following radio project; with the LCD on the outside of the box mounted over the speakers, I can fit the meter in the tuning window on the Crosly 1935 Tombstone cabinet. So no loss. I also have more space inside the case. I am also considering ordering an actual PCB board manufactured for the next radio–so cool if I can do that.
Well, it is getting late, and I have one more piece of veneer to fix tonight and then some neoPixies to solder in a series. Thanks for reading.
And thinking about a few years ago in Amsterdam with Susie…
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 