Tuesday Heat and Meeting

Tuesday started without a game in Portland — my usual plans — because one of the players was unable to make it. I had the morning to myself. I did not rise early, as there was no need to make a 9:30 timeslot and experience Tuesday morning rush hour wrap-up traffic. Instead, I made coffee and returned to my usual practices. I updated my Quicken transactions, read email, and viewed the news.

I was disquieted and had trouble finding a focus. Memories of Susie’s last months filled my mind with the usual regrets and replaying of events. I quickly rallied, wrote the blog, took many calls about church issues, and was busy all morning and early afternoon with various matters (including talking to US Bank Wealth Management to get some paperwork done).

With my groove back, I talked to Deborah (who was worried about my brief replies and had noticed some of the sadness that had slipped into me) and enjoyed the afternoon. I had leftover chicken for lunch and deboned the rest for some future use. I discovered I need to get more veggies, as I have just had chicken. Next, I headed to Insomnia Coffee, forgetting my earpods, and completed my plans for the fourth class on the Book of Revelation. I was happy to connect the story of Cyrus the Great with my class. I also had a chocolate croissant and a latte.

With the notes done, I returned home and read more American Civil War (ACW) history: The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah (1993). It covers some of the same places we walked on our South Trip last year. It is the story of the final battles of the intact Confederate army in the American South until its disintegration due to losses and poor leadership. It is for those who want a detailed story, but a bit short on maps (so far, I am only 50 pages in).

Next, at 5, I was acting as chairperson for Missions/Outreach for the church and called out the first organization meeting. We managed to get it done in an hour (I used Zoom and its AI to draft minutes, which I will revise later) and covered some of the plans, many of which were still in the early stages (and some more speculative). We will meet again in about four weeks and see if we can get any of the plans moving. I will follow up.

After the meeting, I headed to BJ’s Brewhouse with my ACW book and got a high-top in the bar area. Eric, my usual waiter, was there, and he was surprised that I switched to an Old Fashioned. I think I like this better than beer with dinner; beer seems heavy to me. I also surprised Eric by asking him to make something special. I had their chicken breast dinner, but not with the lemon sauce; instead, I asked them to use the Jambalaya blackened chicken. The cook added mushrooms, made an excellent spiced sauce, and even seasoned the asparagus. It was hotter than the chicken! I told Eric they should put this on the menu (it was based on the menu item Sal’s Chicken), and I thought they should add a new entry: Eric’s Chicken. I ate the mashed potatoes with the sauce. Soooo goood.

I finished with coffee and soon headed out, saying good night to Eric. I returned home in Air VW the Gray and plugged it in as it was below 50%. I set it to charge to 100%, despite the extra power (about 2x) to get above 80%, as it was late and there was spare power in the grid. I cannot even find the EV’s impact on my electrical bill. Compared to the AC and the oven, it is tiny, and it has about the same drain as the dryer. Folks who think EVs will break the power grid have not done their homework. Now, if your grid is powered locally by coal without any significant carbon sequestration (central and southern USA), EVs, from what I have read, break even with a gas car on Carbon Impact.

It was warm in the house, and I had to use the fans later. I had forgotten to open the windows, and the house retained the heat of the afternoon.

So far, my experience with the EV has been positive, with one $300 bill for alignment and other small issues (stupidly expensive alignment). No oil changes or filters. Charges for fast charging, often $35, on long trips are about the same as $2.30 a gallon of gas, based on my calculations and mileage from the old Volvo.

Returning to Tuesday, I read more and soon was sleepy. I slept with the thought of General Thomas discovering he had been played by General Hood and had to rush to stop an invasion of the Ohio Valley.

Thanks for reading.