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While not as hot as Thursday, the air pollution from smoke increased on Friday. I rose before 8. I planned to fry up some bacon, but I sliced another bit of pumpkin spice bread and peeled a banana for breakfast. I made liberal coffee in the French press; I am to my last bag. More is on its way—the warehouse is in Portland, Oregon. I am sure you are not surprised, dear reader.

I wrote the blog and finished it early. I was so surprised I was done early that I forgot to publish it! In the late afternoon, I noticed it was missing and corrected that. I also updated my base page, and that change went poorly, and I ended up creating the page. I used a newer photo of myself. The initial page was created back in 2019 as I learned how to use WordPress and tried out Grammarly. I learned from other sites that WordPress’s provided content is basic, and its page models are not designed to attract Google and other scanners. You have to properly tag to attract the scanner, and the tooling for tags, while there, is more of an add-on than a focus. Still, I like it, and it does what I want, to post a daily blog with all the content mine and under my control and ownership.

I got out the non-stick OXO pan (thanks, Steve), cooked six slices of bacon, and stuffed the rest of the slab I bought into a large ziplock bag. More bacon to come! I was talking to my sister, Linda, on the phone and told her I should take the pan outside, set it on fire, and fill the already smoky neighborhood with bacon smoke—something different from the burned pine smell we have enjoyed all week. But I resisted my ironic urges and instead sliced some fresh tomato. I was out of lettuce, which I should have bought when I got the tomato at the 185th and TV Highway Corner veggie and fruit stand. My good bread was green; I, like most IT professionals, had a backup loaf in the freezer and toasted the frozen slices. A little mayo and the bacon slices, cooked to just starting to crisp, were layered between two thin slices of tomato. Excellent.

I returned to the last Matrix movie on my laptop while I enjoyed my BT sandwich. I sliced it in half to make it easier to bite and handle. There is no sign of sadness with the colors leaving the world showing in my thinking this morning, and bacon makes everyone happy. I put away the remaining bacon (three more pieces) and the remaining tomato in ziplock bags and will return to another sandwich soon (or a salad once lettuce is reacquired).

I wonder about my reading and check what is on my Kindle online. I find my Kindle and charge it. While I can use my iPhone to read, I like the Kindle better. It is back-lighted (without causing a headache) at night, so I do not need a light to read. I have forgotten the book I started, Navigational Entanglements, by Aliette de Bodard, who writes space opera set in a SciFi world of Imperial Viet Nam culture (no, really). I will return to the book as I liked it.

I returned to the “Lord of the Rings, Rings of Power” series for the next episode. This episode was too dark to see clearly—a foolish mistake for such an expensive production. The storyline with the elves went sideways and was inexplicable. The hobbit story got some eye-rolling. Overall, it was unforgivingly predictable, physically too dark, and greatly disappointed me.

I had spent the whole day indoors and decided that The 649 would be an excellent place to finish my day. I got some writing done on my Dungeons and Dragons adventure but could not find much focus. Air Volvo had me there soon. The smoke, while hard to see in the air, made the trees look two-dimensional, and the hills before the Coastal Mountains were grey. All the mountains disappeared into the grey smoke.

I had to park in Safeway’s parking lot, but a space was open as I walked in. The 649 was busy, and I found a chair along the windows with just enough space for my laptop and food. I got two red ales. Stephen opened and would soon be done. Taylor had just started. Kera (Avery’s sister, and I am not sure I have the name right) was also finishing up. Natalia, wearing a mask after a nasty illness, showed up later to help close on a Friday. The energy and noise of the place seemed to help, and soon, I was writing and making progress. I noticed some remaining 4E notations that are meaningless in the new 5E and 5.50 versions. I deleted the notation and made a few updates.

I found some more interesting writing, including a friendly vampire exchanging magic items for blood, which I had forgotten. Instead of giving the items in a lost treasure that somehow only the players find or facing the magic items used by their enemies, they can negotiate for them with a powerful undead who has his own reasons for the exchange. How much damage they will take is part of the challenge instead of combat. It gives the Dungeon Master a chance to role-play, and deadly yet helpful undead is a perfect foil for a DM.

I also reorganized my 401K and moved the piles of money to be less protected by bonds. I had received a note in the mail that the 2025 retirement fund would close, so I bumped all the money to be the exact breakdown, but I set 5 years in the future. This seemed the most straightforward and least risky choice.

I explored traveling to New Orleans in mid-October, staying at the same hotel as last time, Le Richelieu, and taking a cheap flight. I will likely order the flights and hotel when I am in Chicago once I determine how I fared on that trip. The cost, mostly the hotel, was not too high. It would be the same room as last time, too. This trip will have fewer museums and graveyards, more jazz, and visiting locations now forgotten. I have read more about the history of New Orleans, and there are places to see that are not on the usual tourist paths.

I continued to revise the document until after 8 and ordered dessert: coffee, bread pudding, and a shot of amaretto (Taylor suggested I have my usual finish of coffee and amaretto). With the noise, my reduced hearing, and my concentration on writing about the undead, Taylor startled me with the coffee and then again with the rest. I enjoyed my dessert and put away the writing. Natalia and Taylor wished me well after paying the bill and heading towards Air Volvo.

I do the dishes watching ShipHappens on YouTube, and soon head to bed after a shower. I read until late and manage to sleep without waking until 5ish.

Thanks for reading.

Thursday was a terrible day with smoke and heat in the valley. We broke 100F (38C), and there was smoke from the fires. However, it was not a dangerous level of air pollution, and the usual allergens were not present, so I was not coughing and sneezing all the time. There was an additional warning of a red flag fire condition; Thursday would experience low humidity with wind, making fires quickly uncontrollable. Don’t even spark near dry grass or a forest!

I decided that I would not let it slow me down today. I rose before 8, and the house was cold, 65F (18C); I hope the orchids are happy! I soon enjoyed liberal coffee made in my French press with pumpkin spice bread and a banana. There is nothing like the taste of liberal coffee in the morning to remind you of all the possibilities.

Some colors ran out of the world while I wrote this morning. The heat and smoke limited what I could do, and that, with no plans, seemed to bring forward a deep sadness. I believe this is depression, and it really sucks. I pushed through the feelings and decided I would follow through with my plans.

I packed up large slices of the Celtic cake I made and boarded Air Volvo. The smoke made the trees look 2-D, meaning there was more smoke than I saw (your eyes correct for smoke). Mount Hood was a grey blur. The coastal mountains were now white-colored hills, and the mountains disappeared into the grey. It was terrible, but we have seen worse.

I take the back roads over Cooper’s Mountain to reach the other side of Beaverton. It is a pretty drive, but I am dodging so many construction barrels that it seems like a terrible idea for a video game, Furious Urban Construction Traffic. You get points for arriving faster but not speeding in a school zone and avoiding hitting a barrel or another car. You also get extra points for texting and not being caught by Beaverton’s Finest.

I find my groove again while driving, and the colors return, though many are grey from the smoke to the world. I arrive not knowing what to expect at the Portland Running Company of Scholls Ferry Road, and a grey-haired and retired Nike employee finds me some new Brooks shoes for walking. They feel excellent, and I was told they improved for walking than the Air Force Ones I usually wore. They offered to recycle my worn-out AF1s, and I was out and about in new shoes.

I headed by Dondrea’s house, dropped off the cake, and headed home across Beaverton. No walking in lousy air; this restriction sends me back to the house. Lunch is forgotten–I can’t remember if I ate lunch. I try to focus on something after Air Volvo delivers me, but the colors run out of the day, and soon, I am sad. I read and watched a new show on Apple TV (I just ordered the three-month trial as there are some exciting shows there); Slow Horses gets my attention as I like spy shows.

I wrote a few words in my Dungeons and Dragons adventure, which I am revising. It is approaching 4, and I turn off the AC and fan and leave only the orchid light on. PGE, our power company, asks us liberal and kind folks to reduce our electrical use at critical times to prevent PGE from having to buy or create power on demand, often from high-carbon methods, by cutting our use. We get a small payment in kind. I see that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 2024 is playing now nearby and at 4:30. Perfect. I wish the orchids well and hope they enjoy the higher heat; I give them a misting. I board Air Volvo in the 100F+ heat and smoke and am at Movies on TV Regal minutes later.

Popcorn and a complimentary tiny kid glass of water (it is my limit for two hours and often finds me still running to the restroom after the show). The movie, while not terrible, ain’t great. While I laugh frequently, it drags and gets lost in a four-way story. All the actors, even those not there (one of the four strange intersecting stories), do well and are believable. The movie just does not come together nicely and seems disjointed. I would say that the film failed in the cutting room and should have been reshot and organized, but still, it was icy AC on a 100F day with no smoke, and I was using electricity that would be used if I was there. I was living being liberal while eating my popcorn!

I stopped by Carl’s Jr. and committed a dietary sin: a Western Burger with fries and a Diet Coke. Air Volvo and I arrived after 7, and I could resume AC and power use; the house was 78F, and the orchids did not look impressed. They were looking for the 80s. The food worked, and I felt more like myself again. Between the movie, popcorn, and burger, my groove was back, and soon, I was writing until 10:30 and making improvements. The original is for D&D 4E, nothing like 5E (or 3.5 or D20), and the editing includes rewriting. I have enough done that I can now plan to play it. I will be looking for players soon.

I head to bed after a shower and hope to sleep tonight. The sadness does not reappear, and I soon sleep happy, knowing I have done some D&D stuff. I do not wake up until after 6.

Thanks for reading.

Update: I had lunch with Scott yesterday, and we had a great discussion about politics, Nike, and investing. I’m not sure why I keep missing that. Sorry, Scott! But Thursday lunch usually involves meeting Scott and chatting.

Often, it takes a moment to recall the previous day, but I am having trouble recalling Wednesday this Thursday morning. The morning started with me rising before 8. I am having trouble sleeping, and it was hard to get started on Wednesday morning. I am not tired when I lie down. I think I will stay up now and write or do other tasks. I saw 2 approaching on my clock! I found liberal coffee and made that in the French Press. There is still pumpkin spice bread left, and I had a slice of that for breakfast. I add a banana to that.

I have played through my music multiple times for multiple days and now am listening via the Internet to Kink.FM while writing. The commercials are annoying, but the music is changing, unlike listening to my collection. I suspect it is loud, but I am alone and have no way to measure it, and I find myself sitting with my right side slightly tilted to the Apple. There is no sound for me on the left side. I mourn that loss often, and I am starting to notice it more often.

I wrote a 1400+ word summary on Tuesday, and when I finished about 10. I dressed after cleaning up and soon headed to Hillsboro. I walked the town twice until finding lunch. I spoke to Rev. Steve, and we will meet there the following Monday or Wednesday. I tried a new place, La Mixteca Oaxaca, and had their margarita, mostly booze, with their spicy wet burrito for $28 for lunch–outside of my spending limits as I am retired! I am leaving Amelia’s, a favorite, for lunch with Rev. Steve next week.

I resisted antiques and buying local coffee but did not resist a cup of coffee and pastry at Insomnia Coffee (more appropriately named for me). There, finding a padded chair, I opened my Apple laptop (it is too hot to leave it in the car, and I carried it when I walked Hillsboro) and started back editing and converting one of my old Dungeons and Dragons adventures for the older version of D&D, the unlamented 4E. In years past, I wrote an adventure for the new version of a role-playing game to learn and teach the new system. I thought I would like to start some games and need something for new players, so I decided to republish Finding a Broken Sword for 5E. The older version is still for sale, and I even got paid recently when someone bought a complete set of my 4E writings, but it is time to update it. The monsters available in 4E and the licensing are pretty different in 5E, and the rules present additional issues. This makes this a rewrite and not an update. The adventure is 50 pages and over 20,000 words. It is a lot of work.

I see that school closing time is approaching; it’s time to go. I board Air Volvo and return to the Volvo before Beaverton goes into gridlock. I do the dishes and make a salad for dinner, adding some roast beef to the salad along with the freshly chopped carrots and celery. I return to the long-forgotten series Space 1999 and watch an amazingly poorly executed episode. It had empty scenes that were clearly filler and actors going through the motions. It is a wonder the show was not canceled the day this trashy episode was released. I do like the theme song. I was wrong; there was a second season, but my favorite character was not there (he quit the show).

I head to The 649, and their parking lot is full, but the taphouse is not busy. I have to park at Safeway and walk in. Stephen is bartending with Taylor (who has changed her look, and I was not sure it was her). I get a red ale and write more D&D stuff. Taylor closes, and I order coffee and a shot of amaretto from her while I write. I plan to write until closing.

Corwin calls, and I offer him a sandwich at the house and a chance to browse the new 5.50 version of Dungeons and Dragons. I finish my coffee and shot without rushing. I pay my bill and make it to the house after Corwin arrives. I make grilled beef and cheddar in butter, adding water and covering the pan to steam cook the meat and cheese between the bread slices. I cut it into squares (not triangles!) and served it to Corwin. We talk D&D, and Corwin reminds me about my other 4E adventures and thinks I should convert those. He remembers one that is a dream-themed adventure, and I will look for its source.

Corwin heads out, and soon, I am showered and in bed, reading D&D books and learning more about 5.50. I try to sleep, but I do not sleep before 2 a.m.

Thanks for reading.

 

I was late rising again and did not write the blog until 9ish. It was another atypical, overcast, and rainy day, which we usually see in mid-September. This will contrast with the 100F (38C) temperatures later this week, which are also not seen in September. Ugh! I tried to find focus but spent the morning writing with little focus. I kept starting and stopping.

Breakfast was a not-ripe banana from Safeway with liberal Equal Exchange coffee made in my French press. I also downloaded my transactions for Quicken and corrected the categories assigned to the expenses and income. Quicken tries to learn and automatically assigns them; it gets about half right. Most of my costs flow through the miles-earning Alaska Airlines Visa instead of my ATM card Visa for US Banks. This hardens my checking account from hackers and thieves. All of my monthly expenses now use direct payments through US Bank.

I finally finished the blog and soon cleaned up and dressed. My hair is becoming unruly. The shaving of the left side of my head for the brain surgery made my previous haircut uneven. I had to wait for some new growth.

I decided to make dinner for lunch. This is a new habit, and I will stick mainly to what I know works today. I am also excited that the Paul Newman pasta sauces are back in Safeway, and I got an old favorite, Sockittome. Rigatoni is a favorite pasta form and the cheap box works. I find that for other forms of pasta, I need more expensive versions to avoid over-undercooking them–I can’t time them, and the recommended times are wrong. I included a small selection of mushrooms for pasta on yesterday’s trip to Safeway. These are chopped and fried in butter (no salt butter) until just starting to brown. I put them on a plate so as not to overcook. I also get Johnsonville’s sweat Italian-style sausage out of the freezer and defrost it in the microwave. This is loose, and I break it up and fry it in my non-stick pan (thanks, Steve). I use too much water for the pasta and do the usual boiling until it is just cooked. I remember to reserve one cup of the salted and now starchy water. I add the mushroom to the now browning sausage on low heat. I carefully pour out the pasta into a strainer and then recombine everything. The Paul Newman was heating on the stove on low, bubbling softly, and I added the reserved water to it. I pour the sauce over the pasta. I add the meat and mushrooms and mix it all together.

Paul never fails me. It is great. The reserve water helps the sauce flow, adds salt I don’t use in most of my cooking, and the starch thickens the sauce. I saw this new trick in one of the NY Times recipes, and now I use it when I remember to reserve the water.

I get the mail, primarily catalogs with Susie’s name and some mail for Corwin. I send him a text to consider some of my dinner-lunch cooking and get his mail. Corwin appears after I have completed three bowls. The sink, empty when I started, is now overflowing with pans and dishes–I am proud of that. Corwin says it is excellent; I still have some remaining taste issues from the nerve issues from the brain surgery or leftover from a Thrush infection (again, from the surgery), meaning I always have doubts.

Corwin and I talked about the new version of Dungeons and Dragons, the 50th Anniversary version, or what it may be called 5.50E (I play 5E and was calling the latest version 5.1E, but now it is 5.50, I think). Corwin heard that the changes were more invasive than I had heard. I try to look up some content, but it is still unavailable online. I have pre-purchased my copy and an electronic version, too, but they have not yet been delivered. Frustratingly, you can pay for an earlier release, but I have resisted that so far.

Corwin heads out to make money delivering food, his new second job. His truck is running better and getting better mileage. He used some fuel additives recommended on the Internet, and then his mileage improved. He believes he needs a new starter and fuel filter, but at the moment, it starts and runs.

I take Air Volvo across Aloha, Oregon, to Great Clips and wait about thirty minutes for a haircut. The gal manages to get my hair off my ears and straighten the imbalance. I go from unruly to boring but nice-looking businessman cut. The cuts are cheap, and I give an excellent tip.

I returned to SMS Derfflinger 1916, added the anchor chain, and tried to update the capstan with a brass etched bit. Despite the jewelry cement, one falls off, and I cannot find it. I am very frustrated, and I am not sure anymore that 1/700 tiny f**king parts are fun. I would instead paint figures or build something with wood. I am considering putting this back in its box and painting figures. I have American Civil War armies to paint that seem more fun than endless tiny bits. It may be an emotional reaction, and I will wait a few days to see how I feel (I have a spare set of brass bits that I use to replace the lost part). I have four more 1/700 to follow this one!

Dinner is leftover ribs and fresh corn on the cob. Bob emailed me an update for my church meeting on Thursday, and I thought about it all day. I may not share any details here, but I am focusing on my reasons for thoughts about this meeting’s content.

I take a walk as the sun starts to set. I return to the house to get my phone before leaving my street. My back is not a problem during the whole walk, with just a few aches near the end. I do the long walk of over 4,000 steps and rack in over 5,000 for the week. My app lost all its information for Tuesday! Since I pay for it, it is annoying. I got a strange request to log back in and suspected something went wrong. I checked the count when I got home to ensure I knew it; my usual paranoia with computers paid off.

I am not ready to do anything and put on an episode of Space 1999. While not that good, this show was an attempt to recapture some of the magic of Star Trek ten years later. Still, it cannot resist some of the pessimism of the 1970s about the future of a world facing nuclear war, pollution, race issues, and the perceived decline of the USA after the loss of the Vietnam War. It is dark. It also uses the top-down WW2 single-white-guy who makes the decisions hierarchy, disturbing to a viewer in 2024. The show made one season. I still like it, but there is one nightmare-causing horror episode I will skip.

I have some potato chips, and then I remember I have a veggie tray and skip to better-for-me food. At 9, instead of returning to the model, I return to my Dungeons and Dragons writing. I enjoyed that, and I managed to improve the adventure’s start and find where I stopped. I re-read the stuff I have already edited, and return to it and improve it; it is not ready. The start of the adventure is now working for me.

Feeling better after editing, I head to a shower and bed. I try to sleep after reading more of the Player’s Handbook for the 5.50E and notice the game changes are not impactful, and the flow of play is unchanged. The book does not cover the details of the game anymore (like the previous version), and I find myself in the new “glossary of terms” to discover that many of the terms, now defined, have the same meanings. There is a strange revision that has weapon definitions now determine what extra effect an attack can cause. Halberds are now an important weapon. Totally strange, as before, the weapon selection was more of a role-playing decision and not a min-max alignment.

My head swimming with D&D, I try to sleep and cannot rest until after 1. I get up and have some pumpkin spice bread and that seems to help me find sleep.

Thanks for reading.

I rose late on Labor Day and did not start writing until after 9. I had not been to the grocer or fruit stand in at least a week, and the choices for breakfast were limited. I selected to make steel-cut oats for breakfast and promptly burned them and blackened my expensive and high-quality saucepan! I stopped writing, cooled the burning hot pan under running water, and cleaned the mess. I had to get some steel wool. I keep a bag of various roughness for woodworking. One example is when I spray paint wood, age, and distress it with steel wool. I keep it in a drawer in the tool chest as steel wool is highly flammable. I took the fine wool, scrubbed the pan with it, removed the harsh burn, and returned it to usable. Be warned, the wool cleans by scratching and will fog glass, leaving scratches on glass, and mar fine paint and finishes. Use it only for work not seen or to get to base wood or metal when planning to remake the finish. I carefully made steel-cut oats for breakfast.

I spent the morning writing the blog. I was not able to find my focus. I was tired and even sleepy. I added more water to the French press to make more liberal coffee from Equal Exchange; coffee was necessary today. I reviewed my transactions in Quicken. My balance for my Alaska Visa was high again, which represented my choice to use it for most daily expenses and my trip to Chicago. I purchased the hotel from Expedia, so the main costs (air and hotel) are already in my balance.

I shave, dress, and so on, and I am dressed before (very late for me), but I am nearly staggering. I rest and read and nod off. I bake a Trader Joe’s Steak Pie. I step outside to wake up, and my neighbors are out, and I chat with them. I then help my next-door neighbor, Lauren, remove some weeds. They don’t have grass but wood chips, but this means laying a weed matt under the wood chips, how I did it for the garden years ago (the matt is still there in places), or facing endless battles of weeds and grass. The weeds are enormous and deep-rooted in the cement-like earth we have here in the former farmer fields (it is like pudding in the rains). We pull them as best as we can. I bring over my lawn waste container, and we fill it. I have to check on my lunch and wish Lauren the best.

Lunch is good, and I watch ShipHappens and nod off at my Apple. On the cool, overcast day, I considered focusing on my model, but I was just unable to focus and was tired. This is not the time to sleep. I board Air Volvo. The coffee place supplies a super wake-up of a European Moca, and I see that Safeway has grilled ribs for sale. Why not?

Before Safeway, I took my size 42 pants and shorts to the clothing donation bin. It is time to believe I will not head back to size 42. Excellent.

Fortified with my moca, I head into Safeway with a small cart. I find the rack of $9 ribs, cole slaw, and corn on the cob and tour Safeway to collect the items I need for a few more meals. I try to be good, but the potato chips are irresistible. I also get a Pumpkin Spice quick bread mix (I usually resist pumpkin everything). Aws, an Iraqi immigrant, is checking, and we are happy to see each other. We shake hands, and he is glad to see me relaxed, smiling, and looking well.

I brought the bags of groceries to the house in an Air Volvo and soon put everything away. I finish ShipHappens. Dinner is microwaved corn (in husk, run for three minutes, and everything just comes off), slightly rewarmed Safeway ribs, and cole slaw. I continue watching the last Matrix movie, The Matrix Resurrections, on my Apple.

During the day, I do the dishes, do three loads of laundry, make the bed, and order my next COVID-19 vaccination (plus flu and RSV–my seventh COVID-19 shot) next week (using Walgreens’s website). I lost my passport holder, yellow vaccination records, and my COVID-19 card in Morroco. I have printed out my Covid-19 with a QR code in case we return to lockdown again. My passport, while not lost, is somewhere in my office. My Oregon driver’s license is a federally approved one, and I have my passport card in my wallet. I can travel within the USA and Mexico with those.

I will remind folks that vaccines are far cheaper and safer than actually getting the crap. Viruses are rising that could lock us down again. I hope to write blogs for many more years, and this is one of the best and cheapest ways to ensure I can keep going. Recommended.

I decided I needed some sweat and baked. I made pumpkin spice bread from the box mix, adding dried fruit from a bag of King Arthur Flower for fruit cakes. It took an hour and was wonderful. I have a slice to help with my evening pills and later when I can’t sleep.

I am trying to read Conan Doyle’s The White Company novel (about monks so far) to help me better write like him. I also have his biography–I have yet to start–created by editing his letters. So far, this book is OK and reminds me of Tolkien’s and C.S. Forester’s writing style. There is also the careful description of people often commenting on the shape of faces and hand movements I see in Holmes’s stories. I will see if I can keep going; I am on page 20.

One of the few luxuries you can enjoy for free at home is freshly laundered towels, sheets, and PJs. I luxuriated in them Monday evening after doing laundry all day. I read and tried to sleep.

With the shopping, I managed 1,600+ steps while so tired. I am still at 235 pounds, and I could not sleep!

I finally sleep before 1AM. I rise twice for proof of hydration.

I should mention it rained the night before, and the day did not climb over the mid-70s (23C) and was overcast grey, thus previewing the next seven months.

Here is David Austin’s Wedgwood climbing rose. It nearly drowned last winter, but it has finally fully recovered, and the flowers are four inches across!

Souvenir du Président Lincoln is still flowering, but these are smaller, heat-reduced blooms. I am still happy to get a late flower from the rose. The Bourbon rose shows no black spot issues. It is a surprisingly good choice for the Greater Portland Area.

Thanks for reading.