Tuesday Pearl District PDX

I rose around 7:30, wanting to avoid losing the day and get the blog done in the morning. I started to write about 8ish after making coffee (liberal coffee made in my French Press) and having a banana. I wrote, with some interruption, until 11ish. I also activated my Alaska Air Miles Visa and started replacing my US Bank Card with my checking account. I want the miles and, more importantly, my checking account further away from daily transactions. I just want it to pay repeating bills and transfer (the type of transaction I record in Quicken) a single payment each month to the credit cards. This is what I do with AMEX. I now have the Alaska Air Miles Visa downloads working for Quicken and transferring money from my checking. I am also replacing AMEX with the Alaska Air Miles Visa to get the miles.

I got a note from Jenny that she, too, uses eye grease and is having trouble buying the OTC product. She must order it and pick it up when they get it in. I found it on Amazon, and I will see if that works. I am always surprised by how difficult it has become to obtain anything medical, even OTC, these last few years. If Elon Musk wants to impress me, forget Mars; he needs to run a pharmacy in Beaverton and fully stock it. That would be a worthy and near-impossible task.

The blog was longer than I expected, and I made lunch. I got out a frozen salmon burger from Trader Joe’s. I used the tiny non-stick pan and soon covered it with a plate and added some water to steam and cook the salmon fully. I had some nice buns from New Seasons and toasted one. While not good for me, I also baked some tater tots (also from Trader Joe’s). I cleaned up and dressed, ate my lunch with care and no choaking, and watched some videos on YouTube. ShipHappened has a new episode involving repairing a piston spring and reassembling the ship’s engine. Next, I watched a fascinating description of the history of AC on Battleship New Jersey. Apparently, sailors baked in the ship in WW2. AC came later with an all-volunteer force starting in the 1950s. Lastly, I am enjoying the Lady K Sailing channel, which is about learning how to be a sailboat owner. The channel’s producer sails on the Great Lakes, and his drive is to get as many people sailing their own boats as he can. This is not for the rich, he tells us and finds ads for boats you could buy and sail.

I ordered more XIAO hardware and will soon return to the miniature submarine/diving bell project. Some of the material from Seeed (not the band, but the China-based hardware company) will come from China. You can order it on Amazon, too, and after shipping, the hardware may be cheaper on Amazon. I have been enjoying the hot sunny days and will likely be more interested in indoor projects when the rains return.

I decided, after discovering I could not donate Susie’s dress, that the Peal District in Portland was a good place for walking. It is a slow but not terrible trip into Portland as the Pearl District is on this side of the rivers. I park in the garage under Whole Foods. I take the elevator with my parking ticket (and lose it) and head to Powell’s.

Outside Powell’s City of Books location, a man is selling his book, and I pay $20 in cash for a copy. He signs it for me. After that, I headed into the temple of printed paper knowledge, reportedly slightly haunted by the previous owner and former angry employees who can’t quite pass on. I saw no ghosts, but I did recognize that the old occult section had been revised to crime, and the occult books were away from the haunted corner near the religion section. I was looking at Greek bible books and found an excellent concordance that I decided I could pass on now (the Internet is an excellent concordance), but this one did cover the Early Church Fathers, which I seldom see referenced in my Google searches. I might be back (sold ‘as-is’ for $20).

(Notice that AI is now near Hobby stuff–I agree)

Lately, I have found myself reading more Greek New Testament writings. I gave my Hebrew stuff away as I seldom used it. I have my Greek-English books and various translations (KJ, RSV, NRSV, Tyndale, Philips, and some others). The Internet makes this work easier now, but it is hard to know if your search shows you everything you need. And some jokers could mess with a source, and few would know. I find that I agree with NRSV most, but sometimes it tries to recall the KJ, and this can make it, I think, miss. I had to translate my own Revelations once, as I thought the KJ translation was just plain wrong.

Rev 22, according to Wild: “And he, the angel, points out to me a river of living water glowing like crystal sent forth from the throne of God and Lamb.”

Leaving the haunted floor, I found a book about moving from London to live in Casablanca, and a follow-up book continued the story. I bought the first one (used) and a book on Absinthe. I resisted any new cookbooks; there was a coffee table-sized India-style book that I dared not open the cover. I will stick to my 666 Curries by the late Raghavan Iyer. I would send pictures of my attempts to his X account, and he would praise them. I miss him! His colon cancer spread as it was detected late and ended his life. As I survived colon cancer (so far), his loss hurts.

I headed to Deschutes down the street, stopping by the Armory to get next season’s flyer. Yes, they are doing Sweeney Todd, and maybe they can set it in the protests for 2020-2022 in Portland. “The Worst Pies in Portland” would get me singing along. Likely, they will follow the usual London setting.

I had a Black Butte Porter and deviled eggs. That was more beer than I am used to. I read for a while and then had a nice chat with a tourist who sells roofing supplies. We were on opposite sides politically, but we agreed about the lack of service and caring, the drive for profits over the longer-term survivability of a business, and the loss of pro-customer thinking. It was nice to chat about anything that does not include the words Biden or Trump.

I needed to walk, and the hot sun felt good. I walked the tourist areas of the Pearl and back. There was some shade here, and it was from buildings. I was surprised by how the food joints had changed and that some of the high-end but not necessarily good places still survived. I will have to be back, maybe with Z and Dondrea, and try some of the less-dressed places. I managed to hit 3,000 steps and was at Screen Door as they opened at 4:30.

I took a stool at the bar at Screen Door and told folks I was not in a hurry as they continued to open. I ordered coffee and pecan pie. The pie was excellently made with a little chocolate and homemade whipped cream with a hint of vanilla. I ate it slowly and watched. The seat I took looks into the kitchen, and all the food must pass by it (I take one seat as I then avoid dodging the food). It has a great view and is perfect with pie.

I watched the waitstaff get their items and then wait impatiently for corrections and additions missed by the cooks. The cooks are flying, and often, the manager inside has to make a few fixes. I noticed the manager point out which direction to point the plate at the customer to the waitstaff. Excellent!

I headed home and realized I did not have my ticket for Air Volvo. I asked security, and they told me to head past the gates and reach the next set where a person could help me. I followed directions in Air Volvo and was surprised that parking was free. Nice!

I returned home to the Volvo Cave without incident or much traffic, except for the short bit to get into the 26 tunnel. There, I watched two episodes of Season Two of House of Dragon. It picked up where it left off in Season One. I like the special effects and the grand vistas, but the plot is brutal and dark or, in other words, usual for the show. While I can’t recommend it, I could barely stop at two episodes! It is very addictive.

I finished the dishes that had languished in the washing machine and sink. I also folded and put away all the laundry that had accumulated for too long. The depression had faded, but it might have held on to me longer than I thought—I do not usually let laundry and dishes languish. Again, I feel for those who face depression for longer episodes.

I took out graph paper, read through my Dungeons and Dragons adventure, and finally drew a first draft map. I will use the draft to create a map I can scan and put in the finished document. It is the last thing remaining to complete the initial work. I am considering contacting some artists to draw a cover and add a few images to the text. I saw that AI-generate art has to be called out in DriveThruRPG now and appears to be a handicap for sales.

I went to bed after taking a shower. I read until late. When I finally decided to sleep, I used the last of my eye grease, squeezing out the last bits.

Thanks for reading!