Friday Busy with Issues

Last night, I tried again to use my resin-based Egloo Mars printer. I cleaned everything with alcohol and used gloves. I dumped toxic resin into a container, washed everything down, and dried it. I was happy to see I had replaced the film before, and it was still in good condition. I found an old print, tried to zero the printer, and ran it. This Saturday morning, I found a puddle, not a print, stuck to the tank film and not the printing plate. Total fail. The plate had some of the print. It takes six hours to print. I woke up to the mess this Saturday.

Elsbeth is a new Paramount+ show that Deborah suggested; I tried it before heading to bed. It is a light crime show that uses the Columbo model of showing the viewer the crime. Then, we watch as the police fail to pick up the subtle nuances that Elsbeth, who is awkward and asks questions all the time, matching Peter Falk’s character in the old TV shows, begins to work out the murder. It is light but fun, and set in NYC now.

After that, I remade the bed. Friday is laundry day, and I washed the sheets and put last week’s washed sheets from the linen closet on the bed. I did laundry and now have laundry to put away. This includes all my new, smaller underwear (apparently Grammarly switched ‘underwear’ with ‘underwater’ yesterday, and I missed it). New pants and shirts, all smaller, are on their way from L.L. Bean.

I read for a while and then slept.

Going further back, my colon and tummy were not in agreement, and I decided it was best to stay home the rest of the day. I did pop out to the East Harbor and got too expensive but good Chinese-style food. I took it home and ate it while I sat on the deck in the sun, watching Drachinifel’s YouTube four-year-old video on the beginning of the Jutland 1916 naval battle, an hour of images and lots of dramatic readings from the written memories of those there. Drachinifel does not do animations, but I love his photos of his collection of painted gaming pieces set up to visualize the positions of navies. And his placing cotton over the ships that explode is an old gaming trick (often tiny cotton balls are put in front of models that have ‘fired’). I have played Jutland only a few times in college and used paper markers, not models. Recently, I played the WW2 Battle of the Denmark Straits, and I have all the models for that, Bismarck vs. Hood.

Drachinifel video, which I recommended to Pastor Ken, was excellent. I thought I had seen it before, but it seemed new. The video covers all the issues, including the terrible explosive handling in the British ships, which historians now attribute to losing three ships, one of which was new. It was good and covers the ‘ride south.’ Part two covers the fleet conflict and the Germans’ retreat.

Before this, I was in Portland. My tummy and colon issues threatened to ruin my trip, but stayed in the background enough to let me enjoy a short visit. I parked Air VW the Gray at the nearby MAX station. I got to the platform as the train arrived. I tried to scan the ‘tap’ with my iPhone to charge my virtual card, but it would not work. The train engineer waited for me, most kind, as I tried multiple times, but finally got it.

The train was mostly empty. Another passenger commented on the engineer’s kindness and told me that the MAX officers were just on the train checking fare payments. It’s good that I was scanned. Last time, something went wrong. I had not purchased a virtual ticket, so I got off the train and fixed it. Yikes!

I read my book, I brought my Kindle with me, read, and soon was off at the Library stop, but decided to head to Jake’s Grill a few blocks away. Portland is emptier than before the Pandemic. I saw no tourists wandering the streets, and I was crossing against the lights on now-empty streets. Working from home and escaping from cities to remote work has reduced Portland’s population.

Only a few folks were at Jake’s Grill, but I was at 1 on a workday. I had the special, which was a meatless pasta dish. Heavy on garlic and absolutely nothing you should eat for a work lunch. I had ginger ale to go with it as I was feeling off. This is my go-to for planes and troubled moments. It is cold, bubbly, and a bit of sugar to help. The pasta or the drink worked. I commented on the marks on the wall and learned that the old-style mirrors were taken down; I missed them.

It was a few blocks back, and I was hit up for spare change by the crowd of panhandlers and other challenged people who seemed to haunt the front of Portland’s library. I thought I had no change to give them and turned them down. Later, I felt bad when I discovered I had a few one-dollar bills I could have spared.

I saw that Teddy Roosevelt and his horse in bronze still have yet to return to the park across from the Portland Art Museum (PAM). The tall granite block has his name on it, and was a backdrop to a flash food kitchen for the locals. I donated $5 to cover some of their costs.

PAM let me in for free, my membership is paid up, and I soon enjoyed Monet and Japanese prints. PAM has all the famous Hokusai prints, but I have never seen the famous Wave that I know is in the collection. Instead, I saw it in Chicago. However, others were on display, mixed in with various impressionists, and it was a small but excellent show. The kind of show I like is where each piece was included for a reason, which is explained instead of endless repeats with only dates and donor information. The New York Times recommends the PAM show.

I bought a set of Hokusai cards in the shop to send to Mom, including The Wave and two prints I saw in the show. Some folks grumbled that there were only two Monets (the total of PAM’s Money collection, I learned). I pointed out the Hokusai prints they missed, and they suddenly were re-walking the show, and I saw they were much happier. Culture vultures.

I took pictures of the Monets and was happy to walk back to the MAX with my insides deciding it wanted attention. But the Skeleton Key Odditorium was on the way back, and I paid admission to what was a tourist trap or a celebration of Goth (I saw a note to that effect in the place). It was interesting and spooky. Some things were jump scares, and I avoided them as I do really jump at them and did not want a ‘clean-up’ issue with my colon and tummy. It was like a gruesome antique store with some things for sale. A few items got my attention, like the haunted box and the blood jewelry (mixing blood with resin). Possible stories there for me, or descriptions of items in Dungeons and Dragons. Worth the visit and the $15, but not a likely return for the paid part. Photos were allowed.

Mister Lincoln 3-4″ across.

I returned home in the EV after a non-eventful trip on MAX.

The morning had me rising late, writing the blog, texting and chatting with Deborah, and all my usual morning routine. Laundry was started and completed.

Thanks for reading.