I returned to the house after having a drink, wings, and coffee at Hopworks with Mariah. Among the things we discussed was our disappointment with the quality of villains in the USA. Pete Hegseth, for me a bad guy, recently accused the US press (as did President Trump) of questioning if we had used up our stockpiles, only to be reminded that the press was quoting Pete Hegseth’s statements to Congress. It just has not reached the quality of 1984 or any decent dystopian movie. Our villains must be “an embarrassment to Evil,” to quote Maleficent, when she complained about the useless help she had (from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty).
We bewailed the situation over our Old Fashioned that we had not gotten back to writing. But I hope to write in November, if not sooner. Much of my headspace is taken up by The Book of Revelation as I teach five sessions at church this May. For me, I have discovered how much is NOT in the book and later constructions. Sticking to just the text, the story is different from the movie or sermons. I have also suggested that the NRSV has made the text harsher and out of context, as I peek behind the translation, sadly read it word by word since I have forgotten my Greek, and discover a more nuanced text. But this is hours of study, and I often find myself thinking about how to explain it in the lecture. It has been a blast to disappear into scholarship again.
Aside: When I write the blog, I often stop to think about how to present in class and to recall all the facts.
Returning to the narrative, it is wings again, despite the fact that they are bad for me, as they are good here and not as expensive as other places. They are served with carrots, celery, and ranch dressing. I have coffee as I was tired. Again, we talk about Mariah’s work and some of my travels.
After a long, traffic-filled ride home via the usual highways, as I said, I was home, and it was not late. We did happy hour at 3, and I rode over the hill, not on the highways, again. I watched more Star Trek DS9. I have reached session 2. I studied the PICO Raspberry Pi, which I have recently acquired. More like micro-controllers than what I am used to when working with Raspberry Pi hardware. Hmmmm.
I get a note that we are on for gaming with Doug’s group at 2 on Thursday, excellent, and he suggests bringing a game, and I consider a rail game. I read the rules, and I’m not sure I remember them all. I also have Raider of Scythia, too. Next, I decided to make some scones from a mix. I cut in cold butter, added salt, milk and an egg. Then, I piled the sticky dough into a baking pan. I had one, excellent. After that, it is late, and I head to bed before 11 and soon sleep. I wake a few times and then sleep the night away.
The afternoon started wtih me just before the afternoon at McMenamins Cedar Hills at the bar. I had my new biz cards; I picked them up just before lunch and gave my first to my usual bartender, who used it to make the Theology Pub reservation for Thursday night. I had the Aztec Salad with chicken and a beer. I was sleepy all afternoon after that. Next time, iced tea!
At the bar, I revised and assembled the minutes for the church meeting I ran the day before. I had Zoom record it and then, using its AI, assemble a version of the minutes. I used that to make my minutes by extracting some of the text (with many revisions). It was helpful and within an hour, and reviewing some handwritten notes I took during the meeting for important points not to be missed, I had a proper set of minutes done. I sent the minutes by email, shared a link to the Google Drive for committee documents, and saved the same minutes to the same drive. I tested the document, made a change, and checked that it stayed (it did).
Before this, and before I showered and dressed, I wrote the blog (it was a bit short) and also revised my notes for Class number 4 on John’s Apocalypse. I try to get a copy of what I am planning to Joan, Ken, and cc’d to Dondrea to allow for input (or objections). I sent out the notes and published the blog.
It was damp and gray all day, even cool enough for a coat, and it rained overnight. The roses look happier with a bit of rain. The pair (or more) of hummingbirds seems happy to patrol the pines and roses for insects.
I rose late, nearing 8, and turned the heat back on in the house last night. It is not usual to stop the heat before the end of May.
And thank you for reading, dear reader!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 