Author: alohawild

On my return home, I saw the usual fireworks in the street and sat in Air VW the Gary while Pablo, my neighbor, filled the skies with color with less-than-legal fireworks. The sky filled with sparkles. I then drove, trying to pass around anything that was still possible to go bang. I roll down my window because Pablo needs to talk.

My palm tree is burnt. Something went astray, I hear, and Pablo is quite remorseful. My palm tree went up like burning cotton or spider webs, he explains. He and the local Fire Fighters had put out the flames, and the fire department used thermal imaging to confirm the fire was out and would not rekindle (as in the movies). I laughed, and Pablo was relieved. He explained there was a lot of screaming and crying, but he used his hose and mine to put out the fire. And then the Fire Department showed up, used more water, and ensured everything was safe. I went out and checked it, yup, burned.

Pablo, he explained as I walked him to another of my biz cards, had a new phone, and had left a call and message for the wrong ‘Michael.’ I give my neighbors a set of contracts on paper (even insurance and lawyer phone numbers). At the moment, Pablo forgot it (or has lost it). I will give them out again.

With the slight burnt odor lingering in the area, I returned home, still smiling, put on my PJs, and read. I am also trying to figure out what to do with the EV, as the buyout price seems too high given market forces that have lowered the price of a comparable VW. Hmmm. I soon nodded off while reading as the house cooled with the fans. Around midnight, the explosions quieted. I was already sleeping with an occasional big one almost waking me. One of the few benefits of reduced hearing.

I dreamed I was back in high school, being told we needed to gather the ingredients and bake 100 cakes for our class before graduating. To keep the flour fresh, it had been frozen in blocks in liquid nitrogen. It needed to be handled with care. I decided I could buy my own. None of this is at Laingsburg High; it’s at OMSI’s restaurant.

The dream, following dream logic, is now about funeral rites for the pharaoh, and at first I thought I had to help build and design it, but soon I discovered that I am the pharaoh’s substitute, and they feel bad about entombing me alive. I wake, nearly jumping, when the lid drops on me, and darkness fills my vision.

Before the fire and the dream, I was at M@ house for their Pride Day (formerly July 4th) Party. I was in a gold sparkly vest, pride tie, and dress shirt (with comfortable shoes). Mostly gaming folks, but a few work friends too. M@ and I have played games for over 25 years, and other folks have been with M@ longer. M@ made grilled burgers and dogs (burning his hand once). There were lots of drinks of all types. I had brought Casillero del Diablo wine that I had served before when we played Hell as a setting. M@ opened it, and folks enjoyed the Malbec’s dark flavors. Slightly sinister. Becky and Dustin remarked that it was good, with Becky thinking it reminded her of Port and would go with chocolates.

We talked about games, travel, and even handymen for house updates. We all have had to make updates and changes. We missed Cory (who has gone on before us to play new games). I taught some of the younger folks, Jack and Gimma, and Becky, how to play Flip-7, and we enjoyed a game. Gimma won two out of three games (I got lucky in one game). I was a few points from winning. She threw a Freeze card on me, and then did exactly enough to win. She then laughed at me. I have taught these young folks too well. Later, Mom was told to get the game (at an excellent price under $10).

I also showed them how to request politely and how to handle cards better. Always above the table, and it is OK to split the deck and shuffle in pieces. They intensely followed the play, no time for iPhones in this game.

Deborah called and reminded me that I needed her to give her a time for tomorrow to call and talk about our upcoming discussion on travel (July 13-25) in Michigan. I headed out, and two motorcycles passed me on both sides consecutively on a turn on the way home. I could have taken one out. I am not too happy with the recent increase in aggressive motorcycle driving. I assume they had a clear view and could have reacted if I had swerved when startled by the close pass in my lane. It still scared me.

Before this, I had some reheated chicken soup, and then my colon decided to draw some attention. Since the cancer surgery reduced my large colon by 26cm, there have been new adventures. Lately, there has been a stop-and-start that I do not prefer. I was concerned that I would have to pass on M@’s party, but things finally calmed. I include this detail for others facing the same issues.

Before this, I rose after 7, closer to 8, reheated coffee, and rushed my blog as I was time boxed. I managed all of that and, dressed, showered, all of that, boarded Air VW the Gray. I was around 9 and found the traffic little, with the roads and bridges almost to myself. James and Richard had been playing Space Race, a Kickstarter game, a few years ago. We had not played it for a few years. I had seen it in my garage the night before and thought it would be interesting to get it out. Today, with the game set to a lighter basic mode, we played again. I had to ask lots of questions and for advice, as the details and iconography (way too much and tiny, in my opinion) were overwhelming, but I still remembered many misplays and focused on points rather than obscure engine-building. This is a race game with possible Euro-style engine building. During our play, we were often only a few points apart. In the end, Richard was two points ahead of me (a tiny margin in this game) and James one point behind me. We all enjoyed the game and were playing differently. I remembered my previous games (seldom enjoying the ones in my memory) and that it was important to win every turn and that it focused on flexibility and covering everything for points.

My plan worked, and I almost caught Richard, who was working on complex engines, but in the end, it was only luck that separated us. Same with James, he had divided his attention. I was surprised that a do-everything (peanut-buttering in gaming terms) kept me in the running.

We enjoyed the game, and once I got it back into my head, I started to find my way. Chris, who did not join us, received updates from Richard and was surprised by how close the game was. The previous play had runaway games.

We talked politics (me the only liberal), and I gave away my pencils with James and Richard both happy to get a Reagan pencil for July 4th from the Presidential Library for the late president. I headed back, and enjoyed light traffic. I talked to Deborah on the way back as the driving was easy. And that takes me full circle as I got home in time to make lunch.

Thanks for reading!

It is not true that there is a Minions Titanic Movie. But the new movie Minion is at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), as is the current version of RMS Titanic Inc.’s display of Titanic artifacts, VR experiences, and information. Though it is easy to imagine the Minions crowding the famous movie or, more Minion-style, the older black-and-white version, A Night to Remember.

Instead, I rose around 7 to start on the blog and make coffee. I was time-boxed because Corwin was coming by at 10 (he was twenty minutes late, but I had included a thirty-minute buffer in my planning). I managed to write a short blog and get it published before 9ish, and was showered and dressed by 10. I loaded the EV with coal from the wreck of the Titanic, a model, plans, and some other items. Corwin appeared, getting only a protein bar for breakfast, and we soon crossed Beaverton and picked up Dondrea and Z after covering some of the material.

While we drove in, I covered many of the facts about the ship and the wreck. Dondrea directed me and arrived with twenty minutes to spare, parked easily, and paid Parking Kitty for a day at OMSI. We got in line, and a few minutes later, we were given paper bracelets and boarding passes. Each had the name and information on a real passenger. We carried our coal with us.

We enjoyed the displays with part of the ship’s whistle, steering gearing, and many passenger belongings recovered from the wreck. I read that the tanning process, which used many noxious chemicals back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, had lessened the deterioration of many items, including those packed in leather and even paper. Even the china recovered from the wreck and used for only a few days aboard the Titanic showed deterioration after over 100 years of exposure to saltwater and high pressure.

I learned that the water on the Titanic was not potable, and that a steward would provide you with a glass flask of water upon request. This is a time before water was drunk from taps. There was a lovely glass flask with the white-star flag cut into it. This was not something I had read anywhere and might be one of those things that would be obvious to some in 1912, but not to someone in our time.

The big piece was not in the collection, but the models and VR displays were good. It was worth the couple of hours we spent. We skipped additional costs for pictures or VR goggles and found the restaurant and soon had an excellent repast. I had the Captain’s bowl (lightly battered shrimp over steamed rice), Engineer Fries with extras for Dondrea, the First Class Burger (extra patty) for Corwin, and the Over the Side Burrito for Z. All good and not that expensive.

We were soon standing in line in a crowd for the Minion Movie on the huge screen at OMSI. We stood for about twenty minutes and entered just after the time on the tickets. We found my favorite seats mid-screen, where most of your view is the screen without moving your head. We were still stuffed and passed on popcorn.

The movie was fun, and the crowd was filled with kids who cheered every time a minion appeared or did anything. I thought the beginning was good, but the monster part dragged for me. Still, it was fun, and the credits were full of fun too. Recommended just for a laugh.

With that, we headed home. We dropped off Z and Dondrea and then returned in Air VW the Gray to home. I made dinner of steamed broccoli, lemon zest and ricotta stuffed pasta (with just a little butter), and bone-in pork chops. Corwin watched The Agency while I cooked. I read, started some laundry, and caught the show here and there (I had already seen season two). After dinner, I went to the office and worked on some church paperwork.

Corwin headed out at 10 after the conclusion of season two. I was working just short of 11. I also got a text from Richard and agreed to 9:30 in the morning on Saturday while working on the church stuff.

I completed the laundry (except the towels were still damp and let them spin in the dryer for an extra thirty minutes to be extracted on Saturday. I will fold it and put it away later. I did all the dishes and stacked many in the dishwasher to be run in the morning after my breakfast dishes are in.  I read more and soon was asleep. I woke early, 5ish, and had trouble going back to sleep but managed just before my early alarm. Hmmm.

Thanks for reading.

 

Yes, woke late, closer to 8 than 7, and coughed and sneezed my way through the morning. The pollen is harsh this year. Wow! I may have to add to my pharmaceuticals.

I skipped breakfast again, feeling that I had had enough food the night before. My weight, even with a Shake Shake caloric disaster, was down to 230. Better!

I spent the early morning paying bills, looking at bills, reading email, and all of the day-starting stuff. Since I have retired, I have used Quicken to create a daily balance of my worth. This allows me to ensure that nothing has been intercepted by unsavory people and that my money has not been raided. Retired people like me can easily be robbed of everything or a large pile. I am protecting my checking account, savings, and IRA balances with care.

Skyrizi, the injectable med for psoriasis, arrived today. I put it in the fridge and checked that paperwork. My next injection day is Friday. All set.

I wrote the blog. I was time-boxed as I had lunch with Scott W at 11:45 (it would be noon as he was running late). I talked to Deborah in the morning; it is always a pleasure to start my day with Deborah.

I managed to finish the blog, the dress, and all of that (skipping the creams since I planned to get a haircut, but that did not happen). I was soon headed to Cedar Hills McMenamins for lunch, and a beer wtih Scott W. Brad J was in Central Oregon and sent us a picture of him hiking at Maxwell Butte there, and thus would not join us.

Scott was late getting back to refuel his Jeep; I offered to pay for lunch after he had made such a large investment in gas, but he said he was OK. We talked about travel, my trip, and his adventures at home. We talked some about the market and AI. I am reading a new book on AI and, depending on what I find, may suggest it. It seems DIY-style, and that is interesting to me. I have started to skim some of it as it spends a chapter on one or two concepts, but the introduction is complete, and I admit I had forgotten some of it. I am also reading Deborah’s gift, The Humans by Matt Haig, and it is delightful. It reminds me of Douglas Adams’ stories (Matt Haig is also British). We talked about investments and our strange experience of being liberal but harvesting gains from the market. We find the AI-centered run-up unfathomable, but enjoy our returns. Bonds with the new Fed appointment and the strange rulings from the US Supreme Court make us nervous about hiding in bonds. Basically, harvest and hope.

I also arranged for the next Theology Pub next Thursday at 7 (the reservation starts at 6:30) on the 8th.

I returned home, went back out, got some more veggies, and started on the chopping for dinner. I meet Sonsee out at the 185th Veggie, and we talk a bit. She is the wife of Michael G, whom I used to work with at Nike. She is enjoying retirement. I give her one of my cards. It was good to see her.

I am making golash from a cookbook that Michael G’s family gave me for Christmas many years ago, but more stew-style with veggies. I recipe wants as many onions as there is meat. Three and a half onions (I had a half left from the chicken), carrots, potatoes, and the end of my celery are all chopped. This time, I take out the knife sharpener and run the knives through it. Better and safer!

Corwin shows up as the cooking starts, with 1 1/2 pounds of chuck cooking reduced to one-inch (or so) bits. I add the onions and garlic once that is brown. Trying not to burn anything, I add spices, tomato paste, wine, and various other goodies. It is a wonderful recipe.

Corwin puts on The Agency season two and starts binge-watching while I cook, then mostly just stirs for an hour once in a while. I even set an alarm for the stirring, as I can be easily distracted. Hank, Corwin’s dog, is there and wants to be close to me all the time. I don’t have doggie treats at the house (that will have to change), but Hank gets some food later and is happy.

I ordered tickets for our fun day with Dondrea and Z, with Corwin free to join us. I also sent my sister, who is turning a birthday this month of July, a gift (I sent a matching gift today while writing this).

I read more AI and more of the novel, and then went to bed. I fell almost immediately asleep, woke just before sunrise for the usual-you-are-older-and-have-diabetes reasons, and went back to sleep. The dreams, all faded to mist in my mind, were pleasant.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

I woke around sunrise, soon fell back asleep, and did not rise until half past seven. I found yesterday’s coffee and decided to use it for today via the microwave. I was not hungry (from a late dinner the night before) and skipped any morning food. Yes, going corporate warrior with just a cup of old coffee and a morning on my laptop.

Deborah sent me many texts and welcomed me to the morning (she is three hours ahead in Michigan). I am always happy to have someone say “good morning,” even if I type it. It is glorious to have Deborah as my girlfriend.

With my dark coffee and my laptop, if I were still employed, I would be in various Zoom meetings, reading endless emails, trying to help direct a project toward clarity and away from the usual chaos, and generally swinging unpredictably from boredom to horror to anger and back (sometimes all at the same time as multiple projects and issues would be happening). Instead, I begin with the electronic house chores and download transactions, review and file them correctly in categories in Quicken, check the status of my IRA (seemingly connected to the Straight of Hormuz status as stated by the White House, with some sudden drops as truth happens), which (for now) shows an insanely easy rise to new highs. Faith in AI, the White House claims, and strange exuberance keep stuffing my IRA with more money.

On money, it is July 1, and all the July expenses hit. I have moved them to use the Platinum AMEX instead of checking (except for the mortgage). Yes, I earn miles, and I can choose how I pay the bills. The health insurance bill is paid on the due date, car insurance is covered, and support for Mom Wild is sent. I still marvel that my max was reached with Regence (health insurance provider), and I pay almost nothing (except for the bill, which, at over $1,000, is nontrivial—$40 for dental—for the cheap plan for one!). Still, it gives me a little pleasure to be independent of any corporate entity and to keep on my PJs until lunchtime!

I have not been focused on church matters and upcoming travel, and Deborah has started asking me questions. We will have a planning moment on Sunday for the upcoming trip to Michigan. I feel a bit guilty for not being heads down on many things, but it feels good to write, play, and find my way again at home. But then I realize I have only been home for five days, including a travel day! I have medical things to take care of these days.

Which moves us to an unexpected change, the dentist’s office wants me in today for my tooth work. Tooth 12, the first bicuspid, has an old bimetal filling that needs to be replaced, and the tooth reworked to cover a wear spot that is slowly progressing toward the root. With allergy season, the idea of trying to breathe with my dentist sharing the same space that enables breathing is not thrilling to me. We agree (after a call back) to 3.

I finish the blog with many distractions of my own making, and still in my PJs, and shop veggies for my soup. I had taken the chicken bones and other remains and boiled them for hours (it was still too watery), then headed to the shower. There (having not yet heard from the dentist), I forgo some creams to allow for a haircut without exposing the cutter to the medications. Ready after all that, I head to Safeway. There, I get some items for other food projects (new yeast, for example), herbs, broth-making concentrate (to add to the soup), and noodles. I return, having tossed the veggies into the watery broth (after passing them through a screen and paper towel) and added my purchases to the mix. I cut up most of the chicken and add it. I let that get hot for 20 minutes (until it reaches a slow boil), then add the noodles. Still not great, but lots of veggies, noodles, and fresh chicken. I might have had three bowls. The rest finds its way into plastic bags, and some will likely be in the freezer soon.

I watched more old BBC shows from the 1980-90s, David Suchet’s Hercule Poirot, while I ate. I tried to relax and nodded off in my chair, but rose in time for my few-minute trip in Air VW the Gray. While it is unpleasant and the thirty minutes or so seem like hours, I focus on the fact that I like my dentist, who combines skills, humor, and a touch of cynicism that makes me comfortable (we often talk about his costs relative to his pay from insurance). I spend most of my time trying to remain calm, counting backward, and seeing how many times I can count from 100 to zero. It is important not to think about what can go wrong (someone is in my mouth with a carving tool, and an advanced Dremel) and to remember that I pay for his expertise (which is excellent), with tough moments having me try to go backward by three. I also imagine the mist and roar to be the sea and I close my eyes and think of Deborah and I walking a Caliornia boardwalk. It is the sea, not a drill, that I hear and enjoy the inner image of the waves crashing in the Pacific. The water is sea mist, and I can almost smell the salt.

And then the drilling is done, and the strange resins are applied and shaped (a bit more light drilling). All done, twenty minutes (or a day, in my experience — time runs differently in a dentist’s chair). I spoke with someone else who still does bimetal. I have discussed this with my dentist, and he believes these resins are better. He understands the use of bimetal and why it is still popular, and I agree with his opinion to use resins. He is a skilled professional, and I will follow these recommendations accordingly. In the same way, I would not let him tell me how to code or load an AI model.

I returned home, cleaned up the mess in the kitchen (it looked like the Swedish Chef had made chicken soup), sat in my chair, nodded off, and woke to a call. Corwin wants to visit, but we agree to Thursday afternoon. I get up and fold the laundry and put it away. I call M@, and we talk gaming stuff. I am thinking of running a Call of Cthulhu game at Rune & Board (if I can get a plan together and they agree) and needed to align my choices and retrieve a few items loaned to M@. We agreed to avoid the material M@ plans for early 2027 (yes, we do plan that far out), and I will pick up some Central American-based Kickstarter items I can use without covering the same area that M@ is using.

I headed to Shake Shack and had a single bacon avocado burger with fries and a Diet Coke, a caloric travesty, and watched the USA finally score the needed knock-out goal to move on to the 16. It has been a long time since the USA made it this far (2008). I was surprised to learn that Germany and Japan were out (I have been too busy to spend hours watching the games). Belgium and the USA are in the next knock-out game. Luck is all I see taking the USA forward, but the team fought hard in the game I watched, though the red card is going to hurt (f**k!).

With the crimes against my weight-loss efforts committed, I headed to First United Methodist Church in Beaverton and followed Dondrea with Z to the parking lot. Z, skipping over Scythe, Concordia, picked Raiders of Scythia (a new favorite) for today.  Z surprised me by raiding fast and furiously, remembering how I played last time and running on high-risk and reward. Z swept up the goals and raided until she ended the game with almost her whole crew “retired.” I had misplayed by not taking a wagon instead of provisions (I ended the game with a pile of provisions unused) on one turn; I knew I had done it wrong but lived with it. I could not then raid on my last turn and break Z’s point spread. I ended six points behind (I missed nine points on the raid). Lesson learned! Next time!

We finished the night playing Flip-7, with me able to be slightly more risky than Z, who had not yet picked up that with just a little more risk, Z would match me, and luck would split us then. I suspect this was my last win!

After that, we chatted for a while, and then I headed home. I had said good night to Deborah in the middle of the game with Z. It is always wonderful to start and end a day together.

I read more and soon slept. I managed to sleep through the night. I had dreams, all forgotten now, nothing scary or repetitive. I remembered waking up from a pleasant dream and needing to remember it for the blog, but alas, it is gone.

Thanks for reading, and I hope, dear reader, that you will wave to me as we pass in dreams, fellow travelers in the phantasmagoric worlds of sleep.

 

 

I finished the day in bed reading and completing the novel Radiant Star by Ann Leckie. I then started a technical book on AI for predictive processes, my interest, and will start The Humans, a gift from Deborah, as my next novel. If you like Ann Leckie’s space opera stories, this is a story that tells the results of the previous novels, and I liked it. I soon was too tired to go on and marked the start of chapter one of the technical book after reading all the “How to Use This Book” section, standard in coding and algorithm books, which this book covers both, Grokking Machine Learning.

Aside: Elon Musk appropriated the term “Grok,” and this book does not cover AI tools or large language models. Grokking is about the predictive model in AI shifting from overfitting (bad) to performing equally well on test and actual data (good).

I closed my eyes, got up, turned on the house fan to move the air (I forgot to turn it back on when I returned), and left the ceiling fan running. I slept better without waking with a headache and did not have to prove hydration, that I remember, nearly every hour like the last couple of days. The dreams came, and they were mundane wandering and traveling in locations I cannot remember. I woke late, after waking for sunrise and rolling over, and did not feel the allergy issues. Better.

I will replace the filter early and will dust and vacuum soon.

Returning to the story and moving backward, I cooked dinner late. I started around seven and had a whole chicken to cook. I sliced up onions to put on the bottom (my rack is long gone), peeled little carrots and added them whole with tops on (French style), cut up some celery (I like to eat celery cooked), and then sliced too many potatos (bad for me), and salted the 4-pound chicken and managed to fit it in the pot with all the veggies (and too many potatos). It was 100 minutes to get it done (and even then I thought it was just done). The carrots were perfect, retaining some crunch, and the potatoes were not mushy. I had mostly white meat. I have returned to watching Dave Suchet’s Hercule Poirot and tried his adventure on the Queen Mary (though I was disappointed that they did not film it on the ship, with their version being brighter than darker wood and without the thick smoke of the time period). I ate my dinner while watching the mystery, which I remembered, but it was still fun.

Before dinner was made, I watched some YouTube on ShipHappens and managed to nod off for Battleship New Jersey’s long talk about the placement of AA guns after WW2 and into the Korean War period. Yes, I could not stay awake for that and woke up after the video stopped and commercials on YouTube were blasting me awake.

Before this, I spent the afternoon and early evening at the local gaming store, Rune & Board, and played my first full game of The Plague of Dracula. This is a solo game. And I set it up and played it for hours as I tried to learn the rules; solo games, by their nature, have many rules and processes to follow. I made some mistakes, and I think next time I will get it mostly right. I need to make some helpful cards on the process and a Dracula standee to represent the bad guys’ attacks. I learned to better defend Mina and Lucy in previous short tries, and neither was turned. Mina played the whole game with a pistol and stayed with Lucy.

I found it, as I often do with solo games, at one point repetitive, and then just advanced to the end. I almost got Dracula as I was down to one ‘bite’ and Dracula to one point, but the vampire won. Next time! I will try to find another day to invest hours and hours. I often find the hours pass by unnoticed.

I nearly missed a good night with Deborah as it was late for her when I finished the game, but we did connect and ended our day together.

Before the game, I was home. I made another sandwich with plain bread for lunch in the style of a muffuletta, and before that, I wrote the blog, made a pot of coffee, dressed, and felt better, but with a headache and allergy issues. I did the usual updates and reading.

I managed to remember to get a postcard out to Mom Wild and was delighted that Highway 405 had not sent me any more demands for payment. I was worried I might have slipped into the Express Lane in error more than once on my trip in California.

Thanks for reading!