Author: alohawild

Wednesday started with me sleeping into 8ish and investing the whole morning writing the blog. I did have a croissant from Beaverton’s Tous Les Jours bakery and a banana for breakfast. This, combined with liberal coffee made in my French press, got me going Wednesday morning. I had no plans for the day, but my legs were stiff from three days of walking near or just over 5,000 steps. I was also wearing slightly smaller new pants and was hopeful that my weight was still headed down. I am starting to hear the siren call for more travel and will plan a trip, I think, in September.

I put away the electronics for a while and now have my Flyhawk 1/700 (small) SMS Derfflinger 1916 model out to restart. This special version has tiny etched brass and laser-cut wood veneer on the decks to produce an excellent display. I have a few other models to follow after it. I also have figures I want to paint. And then all the writing I want to complete (A Sherlock Holmes AI story, a tenth level D&D 5.0E adventure to play-test, and an initial adventure for D&D 5.0E). I might have no plans, but I have hobbies to get back to.

I wrote as I said above until the morning was gone. Today, the weather returned to our California-style weather. The hot sun and temperatures into the 80s (26C). My allergies are back as summer pollen levels soar.

I make couscous to go with the India-style leftovers. I have no rice, and rice is not so good for a diabetic, and it is just me at the house. Couscous goes better with other things. In a little oil, I toast almond slices, raisins, and Garam Masala (Punjabi Style) in a sauce pan. To this, I add the couscous grains and toast it too. I finally add water 2:1 of the couscous and take everything off the heat. I am careful; adding boiling water to a hot pan can be exciting. I remove it from the heat and put the cover on. The water will be mostly absorbed.

The Tikka Masala (made from a simmer sauce jar from Trader Joe’s) Chicken goes well with the couscous. The flavor is still a bit flat for my taste. I watch more Battleship New Jersey videos on YouTube. The discussion is about the roles the Iowa-class battleships would play in the Cold War had it exploded into a hot war. Ryan, the head curator for the Battleship New Jersey, seemed to suggest the ship was not able to defend itself from a Soviet mass-missile attack and that the attack would damage the pre-WW2-designed ship. He also refers to Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising and the use of the battleships for shore bombardment in the books. It was an interesting return to the past. I was in the Washington, D.C., area during the end of the Cold War and remember the fascination that we all had with the Iowa class back in service.

I began to prepare to return to my model building. I need the suggested paint for the model. I go through my extensive collection of bottles of Tamiya military colors. I toss the aging ones and at $4 a bottle, it was not an inexpensive loss, but I usually buy only one or two bottles at a time.

Aside: Tamiya XF-63 is German Grey, a very dark grey that I use instead of black when painting figures. This is almost black and can be shaded with black. I find it better to start with less than black and fill in with black instead of dry brushing a grey on black. XF-63 is called out for the top of the main guns on SMS Derfflinger.

I discovered that I had every color except XF-9 Hull Red, a red-brown color I could easily mix, but I decided it was an excellent excuse to head to Old Town Beaverton and Tammy’s Hobbies. I was there yesterday but boarded Air Volvo and soon arrived without incident or witnessing any extra-legal driving. Beaverton’s finest was out in force and seemed to be catching up on the ticket totals for July. Tammy’s Hobbies’ Tamiya Paints display was restocked, and the paints looked fresh. With some care (XF-9 is the target, and X-9 is not), I found the correct paint bottle. I was also happy to see Mr. Hobbies, another brand of paints, also restocked, and H-79, the same shade, was for purchase. I selected a fresh bottle of plastic solvent; it does not age well, and I soon purchased all my goodies.

Without bringing the attention of Beaverton’s Finest, I returned home. I looked over the model and decided, again, to brush the colors instead of masking and using an airbrush. I will do a little masking to keep lines straight and military looking. It is still a lovely day out and not really the kind of day to build WW1 Battlecruisers models.

Instead, I unwrap the updates to my board game Expeditions, which has not been on the gaming table often. The add-on, Gears of Corruption, is not inexpensive ($29), and the updates include new plastic mech models, enough supplies to allow for six players, rules for a game-controlled corrupted mech to hurras the players, and fixes and rewriting the start of the game. Later, I learned that a metal version (sold out and $50) would fit my all-metal game. I had purchased a set of plastic mechs and went through quite an adventure to get the matching color rings (having to make a PayPal payment for “replacing” the rings).

I followed the directions and began updating my version of Expeditions. I replaced the metal mechs and rings with plastic to match the add-on (the metal mechs are larger than the plastic ones!). I put the metal ones in the box that the spare plastic ones come in and set them aside. I forgot that I used plastic sleeves on the cards for this game, something I seldom do, but I saw the Expedition cards wear faster than normal and decided to protect them. I took a sleeved card with me and the new deck of cards from the add-on to the local gaming store, and Air Volvo soon had me there without incident. One of the staff opened a few packs of sleeves until we found the correct match, Standard American inner-card sized.

I updated Expeditions and read some of the updates. I think the publisher has fixed the issues that stopped this game from being played more often. The start of the game was a rush, and some players would miss out on important resources and this weakness would haunt them the rest of the game. I found there were always two players ahead and the rest behind by some distance. The start now provides resources to play a good first few turns without having to fight over limited resourcing options. I read the rules and watched a few videos, and I think I will put this game back in Air Volvo’s cargo hold and play it again.

Aside: I will have to paint the mechs. I am debating whether to paint them with a black undercoat, the usual choice for complex surfaced SciFi models (think Discovery in 2001 Space Odyssey and not Star Trek’s Enterprise), or go with a brighter, cleaner look. More to follow.

For dinner, I made a grilled cheese and heated up a can of vegan-approved lentil soup from Trader Joe’s. The bread was from Tous Les Jours, too.

Dondrea and Z will meet me at First United Methodist at 6:30ish for Praise Band Practice. Andrew will not be joining us. Z and I will play two-person. We played the board game Istanbul‘s basic game last time. I promised to add in the coffee and try the expanded board. Z was surprised by how much the game changed by adding in four locations and a new resource, coffee. The coffee extension to the game adds new cards to the basic game to include coffee and some other improvements. The Guild provides superpower options that cost you a turn. Z liked these and spent many turns getting new superpower options. Coffee supplies a few means to get rubies with coffee and small bribes, Baksheesh, or with lots of coffee. In the second play, Z started to understand all the fun new options.

Z had trouble grasping all the changes, and I was familiar with all the changes. Soon, Z was watching me gather rubies at a speed not reached in the base game. Istanbul is a fast and, I think, exciting race to use all the worker placement and resource management provided in the locations on the board to get victory points, which are rubies. When a player reaches the final ruby, they end the game and win; everyone gets one last play to tie.

(Z by my cart with all the rubies)

Z will want to play again, maybe slower. Z did like the new version of the game and started using my tricks against me—excellent. Once you understand the basic game, Istanbul with Coffee allows you to change your strategy when a player is blocking your move. Instead, you grab some coffee and stack your plans. This is how I beat Z twice. Also, the map is larger, so everything is a two-turn journey now, maybe three. You will need some virtual coffee to push that virtual cart so far!

Aside: This version we played is known as the add-on Istanbul: Mocha & Baksheesh. You can still find it for sale, often cheap. But the Istanbul: Big Box includes the base game and all the add-ons, and would be my recommended purchase. Usually, a gaming store has an old copy of Istanbul in their try-before-you-buy collection. Give it a try, but it is best to learn it from someone who knows it. Be prepared to lose your first couple of games until you better understand the twists and turns of the streets of the old city!

After that, we said goodbye, and I took Air Volvo home with Z, loading Istanbul back in the cargo hold. I read and did some updates to Quicken. My deferred compensation lump payment cleared today. I was tracking it before taxes and would now have to transfer it to my US Bank checking and adjust the balance to remove the tax payments (which appears like money that went puff, which is really what happened–taxes).

I felt I needed to walk a short distance with the sun already down. My street is not lighted, but I managed to return before it was too dark to walk. I am not worried about my safety; my balance is less when I cannot see the horizon. I am not good in the dark anymore.

I stayed up late, even making tea, and had some excellent cookies with my tea (thanks, Linda F). I soon showered, dressed in my PJs, and read until I started to sleep-read. I did not wake up until sunrise.

Thanks for reading!

 

I woke with the sunrise again, and I woke previously when I was cold, requiring me to climb under the covers. Off to my workspace, I have the last of the plums and artisan bread with butter and a sprinkle of sea salt (I use unsalted butter) with my usual coffee. The coffee is made in a French Press, as it is just me in the house.

I have drunk liberal coffee nearly every morning since Trump was elected as a reminder that I must stay focused on what is important to me; today, it is the Equal Exchange brand packed in the Portland facility. A rather liberal location, and the coffee is fair exchange (farmers got a living wage payment). What is important to me as a liberal? It is justice–not what you expected, dear reader–but I mean justice for the widow, the orphan, and the poor. God calls out in the Hebrew scriptures that the greatness of a kingdom is not measured on its wealth or power, but how it brings justice to the widow, the orphan, and the poor. Jesus echoes this call in the Greek scriptures. Justice can be found in a cup of coffee, and I can tell you I taste the liberal and the justice–no sugar needed.

I write most of the morning, but I rose at 6 and am done before 10. It is still a long blog. I am retired and can just write about my whole day and some other topics as ‘asides’ and explore the events of the day I am describing. I also enjoy discovering new words and trying to align them with Dreyer’s instructions (there are no ‘so’ in my writing if I can help it) to not overly use the same words and eliminate words with little meaning (like ‘actually’).

Tuesday is a day I have no plans. I was thinking of the Zoo, but I put in over 5,000 steps, my legs hurt, and I was tired. I also lost five pounds, 234 lbs (despite a few exceptions to eating well), and this showed that the impact of brain surgery and my increasing activity was impacting my weight. I cannot give myself full credit as the brain surgery undoubtedly made weight loss a forgone conclusion. Before the surgery, I could walk 10,000 steps and often did. Now, 3,000 is a struggle, and 5,000 leaves me sore, but as surgery was only ten weeks ago, I should be happy with my progress (and not to be dead, brain damaged, and able to live in my home). It is hard to slowly improve.

I put on my newly shortened pants with a 40-waistline, and with my belt tight, they stay on. Excellent. Someday, I may reach 38! My goal is 220, and I no longer have my gut overhanging my pants belt. A dream.

I put away my electronic project in the wooden cigar box I recently purchased and reset my working table for model building (and soon figure painting). I was unhappy with the progress (it is too nice to be working on this stuff in our summer) and the instability of the hardware I used. I returned the 1/700 (small) SMS Derfflinger 1916 model on the table. I think I will also do some figure painting. The advantage of these things is they make progress that you can detect, and I don’t have to struggle with wiring and incomplete information. I have books and plans on SMS Derfflinger 1916 (the ship’s look changed after the Battle of Jutland; this version is what was seen at Jutland). I could build it from scratch if I wanted to. I think I will enjoy this more.

But before I put it all away, I got out the tiny wire wrap wire, attached it to an SMD LED with my soldering iron, and lit it with a coin-cell battery. SMD technology, surface mount devices, is attaching reduced tiny electronic components to an etched board by baking. It is one of the main reasons electronics are so cheap now. Instead of drilling holes, putting large parts in holes, and then soldering them, we use tiny parts and machines to place them and then bake them in place. For my work, SMD means tiny work with steady hands and 3x bifocal lenses. I was happy to make an LED work as the tiny version better fits my model work. I don’t have to buy prewired ones; I can do it myself. I have not moved up to baking yet.

With my table ordered for models and the blog finished, I decided to check out the gaming store. I boarded Air Volvo and returned to get my phone; it was a short, aborted flight. Guardian Games opened at 11, and I was early. I headed Air Volvo to Old Town Beaverton. I stopped at Tammy’s Hobbies, found some early 1900s car models in the correct scale for 28mm figures (1/58 or so), and bought them for ten bucks. I can build them quick when we need them.

Tous less Jours is a French-style bakery in Beaverton Center, and I stopped by to get some croissants and fresh bread. I was out of bread and had not gotten out of the bread machine to try again. I now had breakfast for a few days and bread to make a grilled cheese!

On my return, Air Volvo headed to Guardian Games in Aloha (it was previously Rainy Day Games) and soon found the extension to my copy of Expeditions. Richard told me that this improved the original game. Expeditions was a disappointment for me; an excellent game but nothing that made you want to get it on the table again. The start-up was slow and predictable (much like Scythe, its predecessor), and the play was easy, but repeat players could find combinations and focus on them. I did not feel like it was that fun, and I hope the $29 add-on improves the game (otherwise, it will likely find its way to GoodWill).

I talked to the staff, and they recommended their Discord site and Tuesday nights for a Dungeons and Dragons 5.0E game. I will see if I can raise some players for my tenth and first-level adventures and maybe try out the 5.0E update for the Lord of the Rings version. I have the Moria add-on and the Hobbit Shire adventures for this system. More research to follow. I would love to try out the LOTR 5E version again.

Returned to the Volvo Cave by Air Volvo, I found celery, onion, and tuna in a packet (I am done with cans) and sliced a new NYC bagel. Thanks, Joyce, for the new ones that appeared yesterday. I cut up a Wala Wala onion (more than half now in a zip lock bag) I bought at the 185th Produce Stand. I placed the sliced and toasted bagel on a cookie sheet with tin foil sprayed with olive oil-based non-stick spray. I mixed the chopped veggies with mayo and various spices together, and then I spooned it on the bagels. I then tried out the broiler in The Oven on the first oven. I managed to carbonize part of the bagels, but I added the cheese last and avoided lighting off the bagels; yes, 550F broilers would cause the cheese to catch fire. I ate these while watching more Battleship New Jersey stories on YouTube. I had no burns, fires, or choking; better!

I decided I needed a walk and took Air Volvo to the grocery store. I decided to start at Whole Foods, as I like their meats better. I got most of the basics there and paid the usual premium for what I hope are good items (Whole Foods was sued successfully by the US government for price gouging by selling plain items as premium items and Whole Foods promised to price items fairly). I then headed to Trader Joe’s to get some veggies and frozen items. While I avoid overly prepared foods (I did get some sausages this time), I find their frozen meals perfectly sized and taste fresh.

Air Volvo, crowded with board games and bags of various items, soon arrived at the Volvo Cave without incident. It took three trips to unload and some time to put away the items. I put on Sherlock, the recent BBC modern version, while I settled things in the kitchen and pantry.

I cut the boneless and skinless thighs from Whole Foods into three pieces each. I should have made them smaller. I then fried them in my non-stick pan (thanks, Steve). I cut up a new green pepper (no seeds) and added that to cook with the chicken. Once everything looked cooked, I added an Indian-style Tikka simmering sauce from Whole Foods.

I set The Oven first oven to 400F and reheated the frozen naan also from Trader Joe’s. I made two pieces and regretted the calories later. One would be enough. The Tikka-like food was soon ready. The spices were a bit understated from what I am used to, but I dipped naan in the sauce and ate with my fingers with just a little help with my fork, and that was great. The chicken was tough and needed to be in smaller pieces and maybe chicken breast would be better for this one. While my recipe is a better product, it takes six or more hours to make; this was not a bad shortcut.

Stuffed with naan, I put away more than half of the Tikka in a container for lunch on Wednesday. Next, sated, I went outside and walked under the setting sun. My legs complained, and I went only half the distance of yesterday’s walk. At the corner of 209th and Sandra Street was a stand with free peaches. Their tree was overflowing (as were many) with stone fruit and offered free fruit to passerbyes. I took four firm peaches for later. I returned to the Volvo Cave with just under 4,000 steps for the day.

I watched the last of the season of Star Wars’s Ahsoka on Disney+, which, from my reading, is a live version to follow the animated Rebels series, including my favorite villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn. While I am unsure how well-received this story was, I liked it. It reminded me of the Thrawn-based novels I have read. I’m not sure if I can recommend it; it seems an acquired taste (warning: the outfits are tight-fitting, and everyone looks like they have a gym membership).

I could barely stay awake. I took my meds and headed to the bedroom. After a shower and heading to bed early, I read until I started to dream. I would find that my eyes were closed, and instead of reading the story, my sleeping mind was inventing a story from the last few words. The book, iPhone, or Kindle then hit me in the face or fell to the bed or floor. I wake with a start.

I was reading the new Vietnamese-inspired space opera Navigational Entanglements by one of my favorite writers, Aliette de Bodard. Yes, Vietnamese-inspired space opera is a thing. So far, it is excellent, but it is a slight change from the universe of her other novels. Space travel and mind ships have not appeared in this story.

I am cold (the AC is back on), and I climb under the covers to be comfortable and fall asleep. I do not wake up until sunrise. Not Star Wars, but Vietnamese space travel for dreams tonight.

Thanks for reading.

I rose at about 8, and all day, I was hungry to do things and to experience things. But first, I had to write a blog post, which took most of the morning. I also made breakfast of plums from Scott (more like plum-flavored water bags) and some buttered artisan bread. This was with liberal coffee, Equal Exchange, made in my French Press.  I now have a Treasury Direct account, and that requires a one-time code time each time I access it. I was excited to see that it scored $100 for investments in old-fashioned saving bonds (except these are indexed for inflation and pay 4.28% interest–but there is an annual limit of $10,000 in purchases, and you must hold them for a year).

I wrote over 2,000 words, and this took most of the morning. I was surprised to see the weather was cool and damp; it looked like fall and not mid-summer in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Our Oregon mist was back, and even rain. My roses were almost dancing, slowly, in the damp. The PNW always looks right with some cloud-diffused sunlight, and everything is damp. I turned on the oven, it was about 62F (17C), and baked a Trader Joe’s Steak and Stout pie. I cleaned up, dressed, and was ready to head out in the cool PNW fall-like afternoon.

I dressed in a white dress shirt and my blue sweater vest as this would be warmer and dryer than a more casual outfit. I picked blue as I had worn green for church the day before. This time, I selected Air Force Ones.

I decided on the MAX into Portland and the Chinese Garden; I have a membership. I put on the wool Indiana Jones hat, which is meant for water, and grabbed an umbrella in case the mist turns to rain. There is no reason to get drenched. Air Volvo got me to the Quatama MAX station without issue. The Monday afternoon had not even filled a row of cars parked for free at the station. MAX usage sank during the pandemic, and with folks working from home there is less need to head into Portland. Also, the exodus from Portland (and other metropolitan areas in the USA) continues; Portland has fewer desk jobs. MAX is running three-car trains with about ten-minute waits.

The train was quiet and about 1/2 empty, even after passing through the busier stations in Beaverton. I enjoyed the trip to Portland, read some Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and soon was in downtown Portland. My stop is the last one on this side of the Willamette River. Portland is bisected by the river and joined by twelve bridges. I walked a wet two blocks with my situational awareness training, having me nonchalantly change street sides when there was a fight over a recycling bin. A small amount of illegal camping was near the Chinese Garden, which covers a whole block in Portland (which is carefully fenced), and I got to see some street theater.

Avoiding involvement in the now-recovered recycling bin, I showed my membership after passing the gate door (which can be easily locked to protect the volunteers from becoming involved in street issues) and was given my pass. The contrast of calmness and the beauty of the lotus flowers, small ponds, traditional structures and rocks, and the plantings to the streets of Portland is startling. Soon, I forgot the risks and noise of the streets and just relaxed. The mist became rain, and I used the umbrella. I made two circles and tried to see every room and view. I wanted the extra steps and the garden looked lovely in the gray of rain in the PNW. Perfect.

The waterfall was off, and when you looked in, there was a guy trying to repair it. I was told it had a leak, and I replied I was not surprised as that is really what a waterfall is. Hopefully, the unwanted leak will soon be located and plugged, and the falls can be brought back.

I stopped next at the tea house and ordered tea and wonton soup. I had this snack while reading some more Conan Doyle stories on my iPhone’s Kindle app. My memory is that the complete Holmes stories are free.

This time, I walked in the opposite direction and did one more lazy circle in the garden. The mist and rain had halted, and the day was slowly warming, too. I managed to answer a tourist question about the garden. I have been to a few in China and remember some of the words from various tours years ago and some I took of the garden here.

When you start being a guide, it is time to either sign up or leave. I chose to move on to the streets of Portland. The old Chinatown area has been sketchy and failing for years, and the current poor economic conditions have exacerbated the decline. The old buildings, many from the sailing ages and built with iron pillars that were made from the iron ballast for the sailing ships, have survived to now (most are gone in other cities from fire and earthquake). I took a few pictures.

I find myself surrounded by tourists who ignore me. They head to Voodoo Donuts after we cross Burnside (the dividing road from the old warehouse district (Pearl) and Chinatown, and I laugh and tell them about my favorites for them to consider (bacon maple bar and the voodoo donut of a zombie that bleeds cherry filling). They happily consider the options; the line is not too long today.

I plan to walk back to the Pioneer Square area to reconnect to MAX. I saw many Asian-style places, and the combined indoor Pine Street Market had some interesting options. This place is a group of different eateries in a combined space, much like carts. I will be back.

(If I had to pick a location for my evil cult headquarters in Portland)

I was walking by Portland Burgers and decided that I had to try the place. The fried items, pickles in my case, added much to the cost. The beer was also not cheap. I would recommend the mini-burger as even that is a lot of food. I regretted the deep-fried and bread pickles later. They accidentally gave me two orders, and I shared them with others who were soon stuffed with mini-burgers (that are not that mini) and shakes. If you want fries, shakes, and a good burger, this is the place–but at Portland prices.

Stuffed, I walked four more blocks to the MAX line and had a short wait for a blue-line train back to where I started. I read more about Holmes and “The Musgrace Ritual,” starting with Doctor Watson’s description of Holmes’s messy habits that sometimes distract him. It includes, I think, Watson’s best deadpan:

I have always held, too, that pistol practice should be distinctly an open-air pastime; and when Holmes, in one of his queer humors, would sit in an arm-chair with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges, and proceed to adorn the opposite wall with a patriotic V. R. done in bullet-pocks, I felt strongly that neither the atmosphere nor the appearance of our room was improved by it.

The text is in the public domain, which you can find here.

My trip was uneventful. I looked, surfing on my iPhone on MAX, into taking Calculus I again at PCC as something to add to my days and to tighten up my math skills. I could do the work without PCC, but having a schedule and seeing folks would be worth the cost. I will think about it. I was thinking of doing Vector Calculus (what we called Calc 2 when I was in college), but that would require a test, and I doubt I could pass the test now. Just a thought.

My tummy thought that the colon issues (an all-or-nothing experience best not shared here) and the introduction of greasy pickle fries and spears with a hamburger with sliced smoked brisket on it were insane. I managed to keep everything inside, and my colon did not decide to exit my early dinner early, either. I also walked for the first time over 5,000 steps in one go and was tired. I sat in my recliner and watched Star Wars Ahsoka on Disney+. I liked it and did four episodes. But I am not sure how close these align to the canon of Star Wars as they mention the Grand Admiral Thrawn (a favorite of mine), who existed only on the edges of the stories, mostly in books (I have read them all). I am sure with the return of Thrawn, it will be a kick.

Feeling less bad and sure that deep-fried and battered pickles should not be tried again, I head to bed early with a long hot shower. I was going to read but decided that sleep was better, and I must admit that I don’t remember much after that thought. I did have dreams of Star Wars (I was not on the good side–I said I liked Thrawn) and had to wake up when I dreamed there was some kind of heat loss issue on the bridge. I woke up, climbed under the covers, and returned to the highly efficient side of Star Wars.

Thanks for reading (and for those it fits: rebel scum!).

I see that Grammarly is still out of its AI mind. I think I have undone its many “improvements.”

I rose earlier than usual, around 8, which has been my start time for the last few days, because I had to write the blog, dress for church, and be there by just after ten: time-boxed. While I wrote, I had three very juicy (more like a water balloon!) plums that Scott gave me on Friday (he has more than he needs from a tree in his lawn) with a slice of bread from a bakery in Forest Grove with butter and a tiny bit of sea salt (I use unsalted butter). With this, I got coffee from my French Press. The drink was the last of the Kenya beans roasted and ground here in Hillsboro. I had little time for interruptions and stayed focused on my writing. I updated the Quicken transactions, but there were also very few interruptions.

Somehow, I had time for more than 1200 words! Saturday was packed full of activities, almost a weekend in a single day. I even had to update the published account later with something I forgot. I cleaned up, dressed, and was ready to board Air Volvo before ten. I picked my green sweater vest to go with the pride tie I usually wear to church. My tan pants were clean and not too badly wrinkled. I wore my black leather shoes with this. All this topped off with my summer hat.

It was a cool morning (62F/16C), with air from the ocean. The skies were a mix of clouds and blue. Smoke and its pine smell were gone. It was a lovely morning.

Aside: I had to check the style guides to see if it is a “Pride tie” or is the correct form “pride tie.” According to the AP and other sources I located on the Internet, the ‘P’ is capitalized if it is a part of a name; otherwise, it is not. Thus, “Beaverton Pride Parade 2024” and “I went to the pride event and had a good time.” The latter is correct. For my writing, I like to be the most correct and polite.

I arrived at the church on time, and the Progress Pride flag (it has a check to include more colors) was looking great by the side entrance. It had eyelets and clips, which let it flap nicely in even a light wind. I was soon inside and happy to see that the coffee was made before the service now that the lack-of-filters crisis was resolved. Pastor Ken arrived, and I told him the coffee was already done. He was much relieved and rushed over to get a cup!

Dondrea (church staff and leader of worship) asked me if I could take Z home after the service as Dondrea had church meetings afterward. I suggested pizza and some board games for lunch for Z in Beaverton and was given a time of 1:30 to deliver Z home. We, including Z, agreed to a plan.

During this summer, the church’s music has been retooled. I can sing and recognize the songs, and many are in the regular hymnal. Dondrea and Mary Beth did a piano and Cello duet of “Be Thou My Vision,” and you could hear some singing along. I did not know “Be Still My Soul,” but the tune is Finlandia (Methodist #534), my favorite, and it was lovely (and easy to sing). The others were all familiar and easy to sing.

Z was a liturgist today. She managed the task with the usual teenager: “I can’t believe I am doing this.” It was a rushed-through reading for the introductory items. But, her reading of the New Testament epistle James 5:1-12 was near perfect and slow, with pauses in the right places. Z seemed to underline the call that “your gold and silver have rusted” and other failures for the rich. The next section of the passages is a call for patience and kindness to each other. Z made them sound heartfelt.

Pastor Ken, now loaded with coffee, tried to shock us with his title, “Why Bernie Sanders is a Better Christian Than Christians,” but we are Methodists and are used to the pastor trying to shake us. We play the game by looking the same and not reacting. We listened more than usual, and I saw nobody nodding off today. Ken even called out for a response and had to repeat that with Dondrea (in the back standing near the sound system and making sure everything is running perfectly, or as perfect as she can keep things) called out back.

Ken’s message, which was heard, was that historically, the rich being called out in this passage were actually collaborators with the Roman occupiers who were extracting labor and pay from the poor for themselves and their Roman masters. There was no middle class in ancient Israel. James was focused on the poor and the working people and had no time for the wealthy traitors other than to call for God’s justice upon them, much like Bernie Sanders’s call to help the working and middle class and to stop giving help to the folks who do not need more help. Ken said he could not see much difference between the words of James of ancient Israel and Bernie’s calls for change.

Ken points out that James asks the poor not to attack each other but to be united. God is on their side, and they are to endure and let Job be their example. When answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ let that be true, and no oaths should be taken. Or, as I would say, “Just Do It.”

After church, I found Z reading in the back, and we headed out to Air Volvo. We picked out the board games Azule and Furnace from the cargo hold (which is full of board games). We then walked to Sizzle Pie in Beaverton. I had a Rabbit salad (huge), and Z had a white pizza with whole garlic backed onto it. I asked if we could play some games, and the guy agreed. We played Azule and used our simplified scoring process (put on all the tiles and then count the score with pairs counted as one and add it in each time minus any reductions for dropped tiles or taking the first player tile). We had time to play four games, with me winning three and being crushed 31 to zero in the one I lost. I was lucky the first few games, and Z had to remember to block me. She nearly caught me a few times.

Soon, 1 approached, and we packed up and thanked the folks for the food and the table. We reloaded Air Volvo, and Z took first class (and co-pilot) chair in Air Volvo. We arrived a few minutes early and scanned Red Tail Golf near Dondrea and Z’s house. I later learned that Dondrea and Z are south-paws, and finding a few cheap clubs for them (Dondrea is tall) would be a challenge, if not impossible. So, my idea of the driving range and other golf things faded.

I dropped off Z, who had a nice time and headed home in an Air Volvo. I arrived home without issue, but I did notice police everywhere. It is near month-end, and apparently, the locals are behind in their tickets. Beware!

I picked up my laptop, headed back out, and soon arrived at The 649, where Stephen served me an excellent Pilsner and some chips. I wrote for a while and surfed on the Internet. I watched some of the Olympics, as it was the finals for Women’s Archery. My cousin, Joe, was on the para-Olympic team for archery in 2008 in Beijing. I am always ready to watch archery (I never was serious but have been shooting a few times and always enjoyed it). Korea beat China for the gold.

Stephen made me coffee, and I started on a solo board game, Nemo’s War, which I acquired on a Kickstarter and enjoy playing. I had to recall some of the rules as I had not played them in about a year (time seems to speed by and then run slowly), and I made a mistake on the setup. I played to the very edge of failing (there are two goals, avoid sudden loss, and then score high enough that Nemo will be happy–yes, there is text for each scoring range) and saw I had a stack of cards left and lost. I did not know that the stack was a mistake, and I had one last move left–just one card, so I would have made it to scoring had I sunk one extra ship. Puke!

It was now beyond 7, and Crystal had replaced Stephen. It was time to head home, and I paid the bill. Air Volvo had me at the house. I did some late laundry and discovered another House of Dragon episode had dropped. I watched it and was surprised by the theme and special effects. Being on the receiving end of this dragon’s breath is not good. Our anti-hero, Daemon, played by the former Doctor Matt Smith, has to accept some justice. I think this and the previous episodes are excellent. Less sex, more acting, and a storyline with plenty of dragons.

The sun had just set, and I felt I needed to do something. I headed out under darkening skies with my Air Force Ones and a T-shirt and enjoyed a near-perfect windless night. I walked to the creek and was happy that I did not find it that difficult; I was breathing only a bit hard on the way back and near the house. I reached 4,700 steps for Sunday. Excellent.

(I think I may need to make them a letter. And this looks ready for some dramatic music and strange lights)

I always find the perfect cool, windless twilight spooky. It just gives me the creeps. It seems perfect for summoning something or being hunted by some arcane horror. Somehow, it is Lovecraft’s time (see this).

Without horrific accidents or findings of lost arcane magic, best forgotten, I reached the Volvo Cave and returned to less frightening tasks. I put away the laundry, loaded dishes into the dishwasher, and wrote a few more words for my Holmes and Watson story. Next, I showered and headed to bed; seeing it was late, I read for only a short time. I took my meds, applied eye grease to my still-troubled left eye, and soon fell asleep. The house was too warm for me, and I woke late, made adjustments, and slept until sunrise.

Thanks for reading.

Saturday started with me rising at 7ish and feeling like the morning came too soon. I had no plans except for a game at Richard’s house at 6 at night. I found the kitchen, it had not moved and started making coffee. Today, more Kenyan coffee will be roasted and ground in Hillsboro. It was more northern California with the bright sun, but it was cold in the morning and going to the low 80s later (26C). The house and outside smelled of pine smoke, and I would be sneezing and coughing despite the good air quality rating. There is something in the fire that does not agree with me! I feel tired and have to use my inhaler all day. I will not be walking today with just 2300+ steps for the day. But I did not carry my phone in the garage when I was looking for it; the count should be much higher.

I write the blog, read the news online (still mostly political), and update my Quicken with the newest transactions. Now, I have to put in a code each time for my Treasure Direct account. I am waiting to see if my first experimental purchase of a $100 savings bond (index for inflation) will process. My Alaska Airlines card is replacing my US Bank card and my AMEX. This is to get miles and remove the bank card from providing direct access to my checking account.

I am done by with the blog by 10ish, clean up, dress, and ready to face the day. But it is smoky, and I am affected. I decided not to take up a sitting project like writing, model building, or figure painting and decided to find the garage. I do not plan to do any heavy lifting or organizing (if I do, I will ask Matt V over who would like to help with that), but I suspect there are plenty of easy recycling and trashing things I could do. I will also limit my head moving below my waistline; falling is a bad thing, and since the brain surgery, I am at risk of losing the location of the floor and sky. I have no balance left on my left side, and my sight is compensating. If I am looking down and cannot see the horizon, I might not know where up and down is.

Before looking for the garage, I did try outside by watering the roses and a few other plants. The air made me sneeze. I also got covered in dust as I tossed an old ruined hose (I replaced all the hoses in the Spring). I am still collecting and throwing away the old hoses.

In the area formerly known to be a garage, I keep my feet pointed down the whole time. I manage to throw away junk that has accumulated over the last few years. I discovered that resin had run all over my work desk from a bottle of epoxy. Since it is not mixed with the other 1/2 of the epoxy, it has not glued anything and just made things sticky. I have to clean my hands with alcohol to get rid of it. I will have to clean the workspace and items with alcohol–that is for another day when it is cooler.

I find my Nike move boxes. We moved four times when corporate was sending Information Technology (IT) people to random buildings not on the WHQ campus. It was impossible to take seriously after so many chaotic moves; in frustration, I stopped unpacking four of my boxes and just stacked them wherever they moved us for the next two years. For each move (more than three), I would pick up my laptop and a few personal items, put the new location label over the last one, and let the corporate move people move them to my new location, where I would then sit. I am where my laptop is.

Jokers would put a single ream of paper in a box with my name and location and send it to me. I might have retaliated with a wastebasket on the next move. These moves went on until Nike leadership decided that desks and locations were no longer needed. Soon, we were reduced to a locker, and an ad hoc location that was “first come, first serve” in a team area and a specific building, and my boxes were then just forgotten in my garage. Until today…

After cleaning up some areas and stacking a few items to make it easier to negotiate the floor, I grabbed the first box and found my old biz cards and various items I used to have on my desk. This included a shoe for the upgrade back long ago. Nike IT now gives awards not in plaques or framed certificates but in specially made sample shoes. I also found my old rewards that predated that. Some went in the trash as not very interesting.

I found my years of service awards, each framed, and will consolidate them into one frame with the last year, XXV, showing. I have seen folks put their biz cards in a frame, and now that I am retired, I think I will do that. I have cards, somewhere, that go back to the 1980s. I tried to keep a few from each job for the day when I would frame them and look back. That seems to be now. It is a strange feeling to finally reach the point to frame and look back after imagining it for my whole working life (starting in 1985 as a part-time computer operator as a summer job).

I found old coding standards, once-expensive books on coding and standards, and various technology books from yesteryear. They are all now in the recycle bin (even a COBOL book). I also found my homemade CDs, back when I would write my own playlists on a CD to take my music to work. In those distant days, we used desktops and had a built-in CD player with a place to plug in headphones. Later, laptops would provide the same useful plug (Bluetooth was a failing technology back then). All to the trash, but a good memory.

However, I found the DVD of Nike’s software, which was converted from SAP version 4.6 to 6.3 by SmartShift. I did not think I had anything of value in these boxes. I sent a picture to Brad (my old boss) and Michael G with a picture of a box with all my move labels. I will return or destroy the two DVDs, but Michael replied with a friendly note. It is good to remember all of our good works.

I also found endless, so it seemed, convention lanyards and travel items from Turkey and Florida. I used to travel more than 10% of the time. I was in Istanbul and Europe for three years in a row, working on tax software compliance with the Turkish and other governments. My glass Turkish tea glasses, forgotten in the box, are now in the dishwasher.

While the garage is still missing and replaced with what looks like a wrecked warehouse for a gaming store, model building, electronics, and yard work items, there is hope to soon recover it. The goal is to park Air Volvo again in the garage. I need some new shelves and to throw away or recycle items that have never left their shelves for years.

After all the work, my back and legs complained. Again, my iPhone was safe in the house and did not record the hours of work. I changed clothing and cleaned up again. I then boarded Air Volvo, adding Unsettled to the cargo hold of board games.

Next, Air Volvo headed to Portland. But I stopped by the local coffee shop and got a European Mint Mocha. I was tired, and smoke was likely contributing to my sleepiness. Dark chocolate, mint, and coffee combined are my secret weapon against these feelings. Energized, the trip to Portland took 35 minutes in light traffic. There were some instances of four-lane at once change, extra-legal, but it was done with a blinker and full usual Portland politeness. The older model, BMW, who did that at 50 to reach an exit, almost deserved a golf clap.

Today, we played the beautiful and fun to play the newest and, I assume, deluxe version of Yedo. A worker placement, card play, and resource management game with a Japanese theme. You collect resources and workers to do missions of various difficulty to receive victory points–kind of mini-goals. There is also a stacking of cards that can get even more cards, and I did find us waiting as five cards, keep two, would be run over and over.  I discovered that the game is mean and that some resources are unavailable if not acquired at the start. Next time! I also learned the hard way that the bidding process is just one bid.

I scored above Chris but behind James and Richard (who won) by quite a distance. They both had played the game many times and knew the best places to get victory points. I was told my score was excellent for a first-time player. I enjoyed the game and would play Yedo again. I will consider buying a copy if I play it again and it plays for less than four hours.

I returned home in light traffic. I took the huge on-ramp to Freemont Bridge, which is taller than the bridge’s roadway! It was like being launched into space in a sci-fi movie. With the exception of the high flying, it was an uneventful trip.

I gave my wooden pieces to Richard for Grand Hotel Austria, but some are missing. After returning home in Air Volvo, I searched the house but did not find them. I will look more.

I took a shower and soon was in bed. I woke at 4ish cold and crawled under the covers after proving my hydration.

Thanks for reading.