Thursday Surprises

I rose at 7:45 and rushed to get coffee, breakfast, showered, etc. I had my six-month teeth cleaning and check at 8:30 at the nearby Aloha Dental. Archana called me, but the sound broke up, so I called her back. I pay for everything every month on my iPhone so I can call even India without a second thought. When I travel, it automatically shifts if I’m going International. This provides Internet access and emergency services when I travel, as needed. Returning to the story, Archana was upset; it was another layoff day at Nike, and the India office had been decimated, resulting in her job loss. Compensation was limited. As I am retired, I can provide recommendations as a former colleague, and I offered that. I tried to be supportive.

Later, I would call Brad Jones, my old boss at Nike, and learned he was retiring and taking the American-based package with compensation. He told me that my old department was being eliminated and that a consulting company was taking over. It was a 90% layoff. I felt terrible for all my friends who had moved to Oregon to take jobs and those with H1V and incomplete Green Card processes. It was one year and three weeks from my retirement day, April 20, 2024.

The dental experience always involves me trying not to panic, as I think I can’t breathe. It is my new panic thing and not real. I should have taken my emergency inhaler before they started. I was able to keep it together and was fine. Previously, some decay was cleaned up on my back teeth (drilling and fillings), and there were no new issues.

I returned home with a new toothbrush and the next appointment in December. I started on the blog and chatted with Deborah while writing. She was working today and we connected between work items. The blog was published in the late morning. I had written a card for Mom Wild the night before to make sure it got in today’s mail. I published the blog in time to head to lunch.

I was only a few minutes late at McMenamins at Cedar Hills. Scott was sitting at an inside table. It was cool outside and damp, so it was best to be inside. We had a few beers and talked about AI, family issues, Nike layoffs, and travel. Scott is enjoying Charles Stross’s future predicting SciFi novels, which I recommended, like Accelerando, with its statement: “Widespread intelligence amplification doesn’t lead to widespread rational behavior.” My favorite is the Space Lobster stories.

I talked about the surprising things I had just learned about AI uses for RISC-V and something called Foundational Models for AI. I have more to learn. Also, Scott pointed out that my 3D printer was old, outdated, and I should update my technology. Later, I ordered about $600 3D stuff from Amazon, as they have a better return policy than the vendor. Though I gave up my membership, I got a reasonable price and free shipping on Tuesday. I also ordered Tuesday delivery and free shipping, some extra scrapers and cleaners from a generic kit they offer, and then added a resin funnel to more easily pour resin back in bottles.

Aside: The resin is toxic, and gloves, masks, and careful cleanup are needed. Exposure to UV locks the resin to a manageable solid that can be tossed. Alcohol 96 %+ is required to dissolve the resin and to clean prints and the equipment. You then put the used alcohol in the sun to evaporate, and the resin dissolved hardens from the UV exposure. I have learned that the UV is so high in Australia that you can just wash and put out your prints outside, and the sun will harden them.

To prevent cracks, priming paint is essential to use on prints. I paint mine. I often print a small bust as a test printing and give away a painted one in bronze color.

I continued working on my figure for Dungeons and Dragons, locking in the power tendrils with jeweler’s cement. Yet another toxic but very effective product. I mixed purple and white and used the lighter color to dry brush the too-dark purple speed paint, which worked well. I touched up the over-painting and added some leather paint to the too-thin sections of the leather speed paint. I used the Insane Army Painter brush to put blue dots for eyes. Next, I mixed darker blue with water and washed the skin, face, and blue hair. I find that blue makes a good color for a mysterious power color. I added color to the power tendrils from the cards. When the paint dries, I hit the figure with just a misting of flat spray to level out the shine. Done!

(This is a magnified view, only 28mm from the eyes to the base)

The new printer has a heated tank and other features that should make it more successful. As Scott reminded me, technology has moved on from five years ago. Expected updates next week.

I talked to Deborah as her day ended, and I cooked Jambalaya for dinner. I chopped for quite some time as I made the Trinity and added The Pope (peppers, celery, onion, chopped, adding chopped garlic). I had sausage that was not spicy or smoked, and it let me down a bit. I will have to stick to something with more kick and smoky. The rice was the cheaper kind, and there were some chalky bits. I will stick to better choices next time. The longish frying of the meat (I added ham) added some flavor, but the Jambalaya was tame. This is not bad, as one can always add more heat.

I had a few bowls, trying to taste what I missed. It was almost too salty for me (meaning it was salted correctly). The smoky flavor I tasted in New Orleans (NOLA) was not there, but I think that is a function of the meat selection. I watched Elsbeth and put that on hold while Deborah and I chatted for a while as her day ended and she finally slept.

I finished the next episode and still enjoy the show. The actors have assumed their roles now, and the writers are hitting their strengths. I recommend the show, and also recommend starting with season one.

I read more and rested, but rose again and used a King Arthur Flour Company mix to make another bundt cake using my new pan. I had a warm piece of the pecan maple cake while reading more Dungeons and Dragons 2024 rules. While the new rules resemble the previous version and are strongly connected to 3.0, when the game becomes popular again, the 2024 rules are pretty different. This is not a minor update, but a subtle rewrite fixing many stacking issues and super builds and combinations in what we call 5.0.

With all these numbers, rules, and Elric stories jumbling in my mind, I nodded off, turned off the light, and slept. I woke at 3ish to prove hydration and again at 6ish. I was well hydrated.