Author: alohawild

The day (I am writing this Saturday morning) started with me sleeping into 7:30; it was a work-from-home day, so I rested until the last moment. I sleep poorly on some weekdays and am tired on Fridays; a little extra sleep helps. When I arose in the sunlight, I was surprised I did not burst into flames, making my best vampire-meets-sun reaction Friday morning. As apparently I would have to go on, I found the coffee (having to get more from the case I have from my last purchase of liberal coffee), made hot water in the electric kettle, and assembled all in my French Press. I had a slice of Whole Foods’ Cream Cheese Brioche with peaches from a can, 1/2 of the can, for breakfast. I drank the coffee all morning.

Work began with a team meeting and all of my Zoom meetings using my Zoom avatar–it is Avatar Friday. My avatar is a pale-skinned gray-haired mustached guy with a cowboy hat, and the software moves your avatar’s lips when you talk, and your image sways a little bit to not look so robotic. Slightly creepy.

I spent the morning in staff and status meetings. I had a long break after 9:30 and watered the roses. I still have not installed the new hoses for the back and side of the house. The roses are blooming, and the stress is fading, but I see that insects have found all the roses, and the rose leaves are, near the bottom of the plants, looking perforated. There is some black spot showing also on the lower leaves. This is likely from the watering as the fungus that causes black spot is found in the ground. I don’t cuddle my plants, and it is unlikely I will treat them either, but I do remove the cuttings from roses and any leaves that fall below to reduce the disease. This is the best preventive care for roses. Many rose folks burn the canes to prevent the fungus from traveling into mulching. I put it in the trash (not the yard debris container).

After watering (The new redwood tree I planted is still alive and still 2″ tall), I slightly dampened, headed into the shower, and dressed in a t-shirt Kickstarter for the Jupiter Disco in Brooklyn. I was in the Kickstarter to help this crazy venue survive the pandemic–I got a t-shirt and an excellent paperback with drink recipes and some of their edgy stories from the bar at the disco.

I received the package from Mouser Electronics. My potentiometers, expensive nobs that vary resistance that can be measured by a microcontroller like an Arduino are tiny and perfect (even the golden rod color will look OK on the wood radio box) and fit the holes. Usually, a nod like this is under $10 and usually just a few bucks, but these premium products were just under $25 (costing nearly as much as all of the electronic boards combined). Despite the high cost, these are 1W and under 50V maximum components (my project is about 250mA and 3.3, so far below 1W).

Next was a Zoom meeting on how Nike assigns inventory to customer orders and the impact of this process to order processing and reporting. Maybe not exciting to you, dear reader, but this is a critical process and is being revised with our new software (to be installed this coming year-end–Christmas and New Year are canceled). The meeting went over. I ate two pieces of cold pizza while the presentation and discussion lasted fifteen minutes over the hour’s time slot. As the camera was off, my avatar was not shown to be eating pizza (I am not sure it does that, anyway). Once the meeting was done, I packed up my Nike and Apple laptops with the charger (it works for either as they both use USB-C for power), boarded Air Volvo, and headed to Susie’s at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

The trip there was not memorable, which is a good thing, and I arrived there without incident and in light traffic. Susie was in her recliner in the shared main room, napping. I woke her and brought her the flowers I bought at Whole Foods during yesterday’s grocery shopping. Susie was delighted to have a visit and loved the flowers.

Jennifer, the nurse aide for the weekdays, moved Susie to Susie’s room, put her in the bed, and I set up next to her with the Nike and my Apple computer. I use both. There was a production issue in our group’s system, so I had to follow along. We are now in summer hours at Nike, and most folks take off Friday afternoons by finishing their work by Friday noon. Our project is not respecting this as it is driven by Accenture, which does not have summer hours, and our timeline is 7/24, so we will be working Fridays all day. We also do not get June 19th or July 3-4 (much of Nike WHQ gets both days, as July 4th is Tuesday this year). Susie napped as she decided not on TV or movies but music, and I put on The Best of Billy Joel on Alexa (I pay for the all music service on all devices–Susie’s Alexa is an extension of my account at the house).

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, while in the room. Leta was thrilled to see us and was on her deck watering her new plants and some volunteers from last year’s plantings. Marrow is a favorite. We use FaceTime to see each other, and Leta could use her phone to share an image of all her plants on her new deck. Leta is pleased to have a new sprayer on her hose. I had some distractions from work, so I handed the phone to Susie, who could just manage to keep the camera on her face. It is good practice for her. Once work did not need me, Leta rang off, and Susie returned to listening to Billy Joel.

At 4PM, the production issue was being worked out by our lead of development, I stopped working and put aside the computers, and Jennifer got Susie ready to head out to Metzger Park in the wheelchair. Susie was happy to leave the house, and the temperature was finally warm. We have cloudless nights, and that can drop us, like a desert, into the fifties at night. It takes a while to warm back to comfortable for Susie. By 4PM, the sun was hot, and the shade was cool but not uncomfortably cold. Perfect.

We traveled to the park next door, and to prevent the bouncing from the crushed gravel, which has gotten freer with the hot, dry weeks (it has not rained for weeks and will not shower for at least ten days), I used the paved trail into the tennis courts, not in use at that time. So I crossed the netted courts to the park’s usual paved trails. Susie was confused by the extra travel but was pleased not to have her body nearly rattled out of the wheelchair by the gravel!

The park was busy with families that had the late afternoon off too. School is still on in Beaverton, so the later time for the families work (school ends at about 3PM with sports and other after-school activities starting after that). Susie and I found a bench and watched the folks for a while. There were fewer dogs than in the morning, and the crowd was primarily families and younger children. All the joggers and older walkers used the park on the earlier day. We did our usual tour of a circle in the park. Then, I returned to the hummingbird house and sat with Susie on the porch for fifteen minutes.

With a kiss and a promise to return on Saturday, I headed out from the hummingbird house. I stopped by Panera Bread for dinner. I had a strawberry poppy dressing salad with chicken, but they were out of strawberries (they gave me more lettuce and then told me they were out–I ate it anyway and demurred when they offered to refund the incomplete salad). I had lukewarm tea (their hot water tank was not) and had to go back and get the bread I ordered with my salad. They were a bit stressed by having customers in the evening, and it is unlikely that I will try dinner there again.

Next, I stopped by Target to get some flowers for Z; I selected sunflowerAfter that, s. I walked the store to see the Pride section, which is very controversial according to the media and could not find it. Dondrea told me I just missed it. I also got some cough syrup (no sugar and suitable for high blood pressure).

I traveled the short distance to Z’s middle school and soon sat next to Z for the slightly truncated school version of Legally Blond, the musical. My memory of school, dimmed by forty years, does not include the hot no-air movement rooms and disordered reality. I paid my usual $20 for a $7 ticket (likely making a mess of the count) to support the school and found Dondrea in the first row, saving me a seat and a seat for her son Jackson (who arrived just on time).

The show has the usual problems of poor sounds (not helped by my hearing loss) and actors who are unsure of themselves. The lead pulled off most of the songs, and the supporting singers, too soft for my taste (and reduced hearing), did fine. The dancing, which this musical does the dance video looks over and over, was still being worked out by many gawky teenagers. The ending was pulled off well and ended the musical, 90 minutes total, with a 15-minute break, on a high.

Z played Enid and supporting roles. Z was dressed in a huge curly blond wig (which kept moving on its own), and this time Dondrea had helped Z with make-up that made her face distinct on stage. Z got a few good lines here and there, and looked like she enjoyed being part of the musical and a chance to be on stage.

After the play and everything settled down, Dondrea and Z joined me at a nearby Mexican place. Z had a no-booze frozen drink with Dondrea, and I have the house margarita on the rocks (no salt for Dondrea). We shared nachos with chicken. Dondrea had promised Z ice cream after the musical, and this was upgraded to fried ice cream. Z began to fade (after all that food), and we went our separate ways, with me taking Air Volvo back to the Volvo Cave.

After quickly taking my meds, I returned to my Kindle, headed to bed, and read more of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. This was recommended by Dondrea and is set in the 1920s, an era I read about (H.P. Lovecraft horror is placed in these years, and so is the role-playing game The Call of Cthulhu, named for Lovecraft’s most known horror story). There is always something to learn about these times, and I did not know the story of the Osage Nation, and some more info is here on Wikipedia. The writing is excellent so far, and the author knows how to hide facts and reveal them slowly to keep it more of a story than an emotionless recounting–so far recommended.

I was only to read for a short while, and soon, despite the constant coughing today, I fell asleep and did not wake up from my kidney working overtime.

Thanks for reading.

 

I have just made a late dinner. I made North African-style chicken thighs on the stovetop. While an interesting recipe from The New York Times, I did not quite get it right. However, I managed to enjoy the process, and the food, while not right, was still good. I will have to try it again.

While cooking, preparing for the next step, and waiting, I watched the Senate end the debt-limit crisis. I also watched the Nerd of the Rings’ new video on Golem (recommended). I watched Ocean Liner Designs’ heartbreaking presentation on the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. Battleship New Jersey’s channel explained how many people were needed in their turrets and what each position did.

Before this, I was at Wholefoods getting the supplies to make dinner and a few extra items, including some more flowers for Susie on Friday. I resisted overbuying as now it is just me.

Moving further back, I was with Susie but stayed only twenty minutes. Work had a task for me, so I had to get home and log in and take care of it. Susie was sleepy again but was delighted to see me. We decided to stay in today and called Leta from her recliner in the shared living room. I had brought Susie flowers from Target (and body wash and new nail polish), and she was happy to talk to Leta, her mother. We did a FaceTime call so we could see each other. But, again, it was a short call, and I needed to head out. Susie was unhappy with my quick visit, “I miss you,” but was tired and happy to hear I plan to spend Friday afternoon with her (I work from her room until 4ish). She relented, and I left with a kiss goodbye.

I had come to Susie’s from Nike WHQ. I had lunch with Scott on campus. We talked about work and the current organizational changes–most at the top levels. It was a pleasant lunch, and Nike WHQ is fantastic. We have salads from the salad bar–all good.

I park in the NYC garage at WHQ (it is never full) and then walk across the campus. It is a great walk, and somehow it always seems uphill going both ways–Nike magic, I think. As it was Drag Lunch Day at Nike WHQ, I did see a few folks dressed for the occasion. I was in my usual dress shirt and pants.

I had to travel to the house (I forgot my phone) after I finished all the status meetings from 8 to 10. So I spent the morning following along and sending relevant info to our team. I also approved a document early this morning.

I woke up unable to breathe at 5:45. My throat had blocked, which was not a pleasant experience. This has happened before and soon clears. It is impossible to fall back to sleep when it happens–you start feeling it start again, but that does not happen. You can’t get it out of your head. So I was up early this morning.

If it gets worse, I will bring it to the doc’s attention.

Here is the rose from Dondrea and Z; it seems happy. The other rose is The Herbalist.

This is the painted rose to show some hints of white, suggesting it is painted.

China Rose has tiny blooms, which are lovely when fresh.

Sorry I am rushing today, but the cooking took most of my free time.

 

Today ended with me doing laundry. If I want clean underwear, I must get the laundry caught up. I let it slip when I was not feeling well, but now it has reached its limit, so a late-night clean-up.

I am just back from First United Methodist Church, where Z and I played the Lost Ruins of Arnak (I have recently described that game, so I won’t repeat those words here). It is a mid-complexity board game with a strong theme of a 1920s movie-styled archeologist. Z had forgotten how to play, so Z did not win the game as it took a few rounds for Z to remember how to play, but we both enjoyed this lighter game. If you like games like Wingspan or worker placement and resource management, this game is good.

Before Z and I took on the virtual digs in the game, Z eating a sandwich while we played, I picked Z up at her school. Z is in the school play, Legally Blond, which opens on Thursday. So I waited until Z was done, about 7, and got the pleasure of listening to public radio for an hour–a favorite that I used to do when driving twenty years ago in the Washington/Baltimore corridor.

Before this, I got a Mexican Pizza at taco bell that was messy and not that good–I remember them being better. So, I won’t be back. I left work about 5:30 as I was not in a rush as Z was in play practice, as I said, until 7PM.

I spent the afternoon helping here and there with crises of the moment. I also did forward planning for educational meetings and software upgrades. All fun and everyone was smiling today. We are happy to start the data conversions soon and get the software live.

Before this, I had a Whopper with Cheese for lunch and listened to public radio about local issues. I did this after visiting Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. Susie was in her recliner in the shared living room. Susie looked sleepy, and we agreed that overcast, windy, and 64F (18C) were reasons to stay warm inside. I called Leta, Susie’s mother, and we chatted over FaceTime using my iPhone for a while. Leta was in her house in the AC with 80F+ (27C)  in Michigan with likely matching humidity outside. Leta would move to the deck later to read and enjoy the heat. We chatted for a short while as Susie was tired. I sat with Susie for a few more minutes, and she nodded off, deeply asleep. I woke her, kissed her goodbye, promised to return on Thursday afternoon, and left. Susie was sleepy and did not look upset when I left–she was struggling to stay awake. She will likely be more awake on Thursday.

Before this, I was at the Clubhouse office building and listened to an all-project meeting in our atrium. The focus was on the deployment team, most folks I have known for years. It was a good presentation and showed how diverse opinions improved the project.

Before this, I was doing my usual hours of Zoom status and other meetings. Coffee and pastries were offered before the all-project meeting. I got more coffee and a scone.

The morning started at 3AM with me woken to unload the work my kidneys were proud of. I managed to sleep until just before 6AM and woke without a lousy cough (it did get worse as the day went on as my allergies kept my nose running). I made an NYC bagel with cream cheese and liberal coffee from my French Press.

I read my emails, was updated on the project from the Slack channels, and saw in the news that Washington was still interested in debt drama and Russia was still getting tiny drone attacks. In addition, states are banning drag shows while Nike has Drag Lunch tomorrow, and a Pride Talent Show is coming up soon. Not sure how the country can be at such extremes, but here in the Pacific Northwest, we “keep it gay.”

Thanks for reading.

I managed to get through until 5PM at work, with my coughing mainly controlled. I spent the day in the Clubhouse office building, not part of Nike WHQ (WHQ is about a mile away or so) in Beaverton. I left work, took Air Volvo home, and arrived thirty minutes early for the China-hosted All-Employee Meeting. I then watched the 1:15 presentation and show. It was better this time, and I was interested the whole time; it was nicely done. I cannot here comment on the content, but the virtual content, including transitions, worked well.

After that, I headed to The Rock Woodfired Pizza–the best pizza I have had in the local area. I have been told there is better pizza in Portland, but I have found none in my immediate area better. Their red ale is good too. I sit in the bar on tall tables and tall chairs and order an average Caesar salad to go with the pizza. I order the all-meat pizza, but their other pizzas are good too.

Returning to the story, starting on Tuesday night, the coughing would not stop, so I took my mind-numbing no-coughing pill and slept until my overactive kidneys needed me to wake up just after 4AM. They repeated the trick at 5:30 too. I did my best Dracula rising interpretation at 6AM, but instead of exploding in flames from the morning sun, I had to appreciate my kidney’s overworking again.

I had a bagel with cream cheese, an NYC one, and liberal coffee (via my French Press), and then I enjoyed my emails, company emails, and various updates on Slack channels. I also read the news (the budget deal is exciting in Washington), and a drone left a burn mark on a building in Moscow. Putin looked like he was trying not to say that Ukraine should contract with Iran to acquire a better class of remote death machines. Seeing that the world was not going to end (the US trying to tell Ukraine that if you do that again, at least scare someone, and then denied the attack), I put on my slippers and watered my roses in my robe. I was a bit damp when done, as the hose sometimes finds my slippers and the sleeves on my robe droop, covering the hose and getting soaked. Next (slightly damp), I quickly showered, dressed, and headed out in Air Volvo.

I arrived at Clubhouse before 8AM and saw that breakfast was served downstairs. I missed the start of my first meeting, but I acquired scrambled eggs, with the usual potatoes with cooked onions and betters, bacon, and a refill with Starbucks generic coffee–second breakfast (so hobbit-like). I then spent the morning in status and update meetings. Content can not be shared here, but I could read my email, Slack updates, and even review a technical design document while this was happening or during the short times between the meetings when they ended early. Not exciting stuff (which is a good sign, by the way). The morning did go by fast.

Soon I was back in Air Volvo headed to see Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116. I was there after 11:15, and Susie was just finishing her breakfast. Susie’s stroke means she cannot eat food that is not been through a blender. She uses a small spoon to help her eat and feeds herself unless tired or not feeling well, and she can mostly get the food in her. She is now a messy eater. She has a light plastic cup with ridges that lets her easily handle the cup. She drinks water and Ensures from the cup. Always strawberry Ensures. She is carefully watched as she can easily choke, but that is not the worst. Susie can aspirate, damaging her lungs, and we will then be facing a life-threatening infection like the one that nearly took her life last year. We are all, including Susie, cautious.

But no tragedies today; Susie was done and ready to head out. On Jennifer’s (the weekday nursing aide) advice, I put a blanket on Susie and headed for a short visit in the overcast Oregon May morning. It felt normal–all we needed was some Oregon mist–with the lack of sun and 62F (17C). Susie said it was chilly, meaning, “Go faster, Wild.” So I quickly found a bench not in the cold shade and called Leta, Susie’s mother, on my iPhone using FaceTime. Leta was uncomfortable in 90F+ (32C) heat. We talked briefly, and Susie wanted the chat to go fast (“chilly”). So soon, we rang off and quickly finished a short loop with us, skipping the cold shady section (we will enjoy that more later in the year). I had to return to work and find lunch, so I kissed Susie goodbye, and she headed to her recliner in the shared living room. I promised to return on Wednesday morning.

Lunch was local at Chipotle near Susie. I had the bowl with chicken and guacamole and skipped eating the rice at the bottom. Instead, I get a bag of chips and eat the top with the chips. I read stories on my iPhone from BBC, CNN, and The New York Times (I have a subscription and a paper delivered on Sundays) while eating my chips with dip.

Next, I returned to work and followed along. The day was soon over, with a few crises of the moment handled.

That completes the circle. I am drinking hot tea after the pizza and beer. Eating makes my nose run and starts me coughing and sneezing. It is a Wild thing; we all do it. The tea helps.

Thanks for reading.

 

I was better in the morning this Memorial Day Monday, but by the time I had lunch with Joan S, I was often coughing. I got back in Air Volvo, and I got better and am better in the house. The pollen is too heavy outside today, I guess. I decided to stay in for the rest of the day to see if I improved. My lungs are clear, but antihistamines and cough syrup help only a bit. I was hoping to do some housework but took a long nap all afternoon. That helped, and besides the pollen, I am tired.

So I am in my office in the house, looking out the window, watching the light fade on Memorial Day 2023. Dinner was reheated spaghetti with meatballs, and I watched the rest of season 1 of Space Battleship Yamato 2199. The story included an extra-dimensional U-Boat to hunt the Yamato, creating a steampunk Das Boot WW2 look. So a guilty pleasure, but full of surprises like space submarines.

As I said, I managed to stop the coughing and rest for a few hours. I think it helped. I was also reading Popular Mechanics, which has changed its format to resemble a maker’s zine. I liked the articles, including information on living on Mars and structural batteries (and supercapacitors) where you can make a beam or flooring into a battery–these are carbon-based batteries, not lithium. Interesting. I will try next month’s and see if I like it (Violet Blue, an Internet acquaintance, was published by Popular Mechanics, and I thought I should try it again).

I did some work on the radio project. I have glued in the stays for speakers (they will be 1″ from the box to allow me to fit in my new speakers around the face plate and nobs and buttons). I try assembled the radio, and I needed to replace a few wires that were too short, but soon the final assembly will start for the face plate and light effects. I will retest the speakers soon with the 5V stereo amp–this time, I remember not to use 9V and wonder what that high pitch sound is (the amp chips melting).

I have a special chopper for small lumber, and it worked great for cutting the stays 1″ each. I am happy with my tools. I look forward to finishing the radio and then painting the figures. I will then plan the next radio or begin one of my ship models or possibly the Addam’s House model (with spooky lighting and sounds).

Moving back to the morning, starting the day over, I woke without breathing issues and only a light cough at 8ish and made cereal and liberal coffee in my French Press for breakfast. I then wrote the blog and checked out the glue in the radio project updates–perfect. I finished the moderately long blog by 10:30ish, rushed showering and dressing, and boarded Air Volvo to see Susie at the hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at Allegiance Senior Care LLC, 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

The drive included more extra-legal driving from my fellow Oregonians and creative lane use. I managed to ignore it and arrived undamaged in Air Volvo soon at Susie’s place. Susie had just finished breakfast and was ready to head to the park. We made the reverse loop and headed down the streets to the back entrance to Metzger Park. A man in a van was smoking, not tobacco, and walking his ducks. He had a collection of about five ducks, and he picked them up, and they followed him–definitely not wild ducks. I am sure there is a story there. Susie was fascinated.

The park was busy with folks having parties, and the kids were running everywhere. The number of dogs was less. We stopped at a bench and called Leta, Susie’s mother, and talked for a while. After we rang off, I pushed Susie through the tennis courts, not in use, to avoid the rattle of the crushed stone. Finally, we arrived back at the hummingbird house porch, and I called David and Michelle Smith; they did FaceTime, and we talked briefly. Susie was thrilled to see the Smiths. David and Michelle were doing home repairs at their beach house, and we chatted about the usual power/plumbing issues that always haunt you when you do minor upgrades.

After the Smiths rang off, I kissed Susie goodbye, headed to BJ’s Brewhouse, and met Joan S for appetizers. We chatted for an hour or more. Unfortunately, my coughing started to get worse and worse. I could barely talk when we left.

Surprisingly, as I said above, the coughing stopped when I was in the filtered air in Air Volvo (it has high-quality filters that are replaced on certain service miles–I know I paid the bill). So I headed to Barnes and Noble and saw Joan S there. Then, I bought some zines and headed home.

And that takes me full circle.

I water the roses this morning and took pictures of the now proper blooms.

One of the new roses, Wedgewood, a climber by David Austin. I got it last year as just roots, and it is graphed. It should cover the fence this year.

Souvenir du Président Lincoln, a French rose from 1865, is no longer stressed and has its wonderful flowers fully open. It is a repeat bloomer, so we will see only a few more blooms in the summer, but they are worth it, I think.

The orphan rose (the tag was lost at the nursery, so they were sold cheap) is a pale English rose. A nice surprise.

Thanks for reading!