I finished Saturday baking some Trader Joe’s almond-filled croissants. I found they need extra time to rise. I let the frozen croissants rise all day. I baked them at about 10-ish at night and slightly overcooked them (twenty minutes next time). I did not have one, as I did not want to start coughing again. The dry flakiness might not work well for my cough at night.
As for my cough, when the four hours of effectiveness of the cold/cough meds reached the third hour, the coughing returned. I would slowly, at first, start to cough, and then it would become more frequent and then much worse, and it felt like I was trying to cough up a lung. I decided to stay mostly at home.
I watched the last season of Slow Horses on Apple TV to get ready for the new, and I believe, last season of the story. The previous season was fast-paced, and I watched three episodes back-to-back.
Mariah texted me, and I agreed to an early dinner and to meet her at 4:30 at BJ’s Brewhouse at the bar. Mo was our waiter. Mariah and I just chatted, and I filled her in on all the challenges (some not to be shared here), and we talked about my travels next week and what was happening with her. I imagine I bored her with AI details I was learning and struggling with. I ordered the prime rib for too much money and Mariah a steak (I had $20 in discounts), and I had a Spanish Coffee, my go-to for a cough. We said our goodbyes after sharing my dessert.
Before that, I stayed home and even ordered delivery. I had Chinese-style food with soup and moo shu, which I assembled for a late lunch. I watched an episode of Matlock with Deborah. We are still winding up the last season. We manually sync and watch on our separate TVs, but keep the phone on. We can hear each other laugh and comment. We would chat for a few hours on Saturday, since we both had no plans and needed a day off. It was nice to just hang out, even on the phone. I will be back in Michigan in October. For Deborah, classes start next week, and she teaches too. She will be busy.
I also look closely into how to code quantum computer solutions. There are Microsoft, Google, IBM, and Amazon implementations to learn (and even a company in the UK, Rigetti, with a quantum chip it is trying to sell), each with its own languages, access, and availability (Rigetti quantum bits purport to be an option on Amazon servers). I looked up the market rates, and a director position pays $275K, surprisingly low, but these are start-ups, and I suspect the pay comes with options. It looks like a Gold Rush, much like shared ledger solutions (Bitcoin-like systems) looked ten years ago. Everyone had one. More to follow.
I watched another Arnold movie and picked The Terminator as my next series. I love the catchphrases and got to see the famous “I’ll be back.” The music track sounds like someone trying to do techno, but it is just one instrument; it screams low-budget! Still, it was fun to see again.
Quickly moving to the start of my day, I woke, feeling terrible and coughing, and rose around 7 to overcast skies and some Oregon mist. I got some cough/cold meds, and this improved. I struggled to focus but finished the block late. I did the usual things, including drinking liberal coffee, remembering what the comic Godzilla vs. Portland taught me: “Tolerance is not weakness.” I smiled, remembering that as I watched the squirrels assemble their winter quarters. It is good here in the Pacific Northwest.
Thanks for reading!
(Heaven Scent, a gift from Dondrea and Z to remember Susie, has put out a full-sized flower this fall)
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 