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A second night of pain as I woke at 6 from the pain. My left leg and some dental pain on my left side kept me awake, and I could not go back to sleep. I did take some painkillers when I went to bed and then they wore off. If the problem continues to reoccur, I will contact the doctors. I switched chairs while writing.

I woke at 4 on Wednesday with some pain but managed to fall back to sleep and rose around 8m; this is late for me. I  wrote the blog until 10 with a few interruptions. Among the interruptions, I set my Quicken numbers to match my investments. These do not update automatically, and I manually adjust them at the month’s end. I had forgotten to do May. Now, my net worth statement is correct for May 2024.

I dressed and headed to McMenamins Cedar Hills to meet Dr. Ernest, who runs the Hillsboro Python and Machine Learning Meet-up. We both were on time, and Dr. Ernest soon confused our waiter because he talked so fast. He switched to Spanish, and all was good. We talked about my adventures for the past couple of months and my recovery. We also talked about Ernest’s proposal, which I will consider. No details here as this is Dr. Ernest’s proposal.

After lunch, I headed to Powell’s, and that turned out to be expensive, as it often is. I found a new book, Nuclear War: A Scenario, that covers a scenario of a nuclear war happening today. I paid $30, knowing it was cheaper elsewhere, but I thought I would read it today, so I splurged. I also found a used book, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, by Piper Kerman, which I also started today. It is well-written and hard to put down; the author is an excellent storyteller.

Air Volvo returned me to the Volvo Cave, and I started to read Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen. I could not put it down. It starts with the nuclear destruction of the Pentagon, Washington D.C., and the nearby areas (where I used to live and work). The book then describes the creation of nuclear weapons and the spies that gave the technology to the Soviet Union. It is heavily footnoted, and the author interviewed many people, and their comments fill in the story. I am tempted to order copies of some of the original documents to read the US rationale for the creation of nuclear weapons. It is quoted in the book. I just love the footnotes.

The scenario is possible, set in today’s world, and, according to the author, could happen today. The book covers the US government and military operations second by second and minute by minute, with the first nuclear attack, the Pentagon, in 33 minutes from lunch in North Korea to exploding a 1-megaton bomb. The details the author is able to provide, quoting and footnoting her sources, have updated my understanding of the current nuclear threat and capability (most of my memory is Cold War news reports and books like Fail-Safe and, of course, the movie Dr. Strangelove).

Corwin was surprised to see me reading the whole day away. I could not put down the first 100 pages. The next part includes speculation and storytelling and fewer facts. In this story, the President of the United States does not make it to safety, as I have seen in many movies. The Russian officials will not listen because the President is not available and assume the counterattack the US launches against North Korea is an attack on Russia, and the story spins into the end of the world.

What was interesting to me was the fact that the Russian Federation’s nuclear attack detection is flawed and may provide misleading information. Annie Jacobsen backs this up with various sources. It is quite possible that Putin and friends would misread a counter-attack on North Korea as directed at Russia. For example, the US ICBM range is too short and cannot reach North Korea without overflying Russia. This is the book’s end of the world story; Russian officials believe it is being blamed for the US attacks, the USA has launched a counter-attack on Russia, Russia has only minutes to respond, and the end is nigh. I put the book down at this point as it is now more speculative and storytelling. The damage, loss, targets, and other parts, I am sure, will be footnoted and based on documents and expert interviews. It reads more SciFi than history, but I will finish it.

With my reading, I did not make dinner. Corwin is available for dinner, so Air Volvo takes us to a favorite, Nonna Emilia Ristorante Italiano. I had the gnocchi, and Corwin, remembering that Susie always ordered the veil, had Veil Parmigiana. We both felt like we missed Susie at dinner. I took half of mine home. I cannot eat large potions anymore. Corwin took a side of spaghetti home.

Corwin was again surprised that I returned to the book and read until 9 when I hit the Russian attack and the US launching a full attack in response. While speculative, the author points out that Biden and Putin get only about six minutes to respond to an attack, and the pressure to respond is high. The US and Russian military doctrine is there must be a nuclear response to a nuclear attack, an overwhelming response. The author wants the reader to understand that this was true before President Reagan in the 1980s (who publically complained that six minutes is too short), and the risk is still real, and nuclear war could start today.

I needed a break from nuclear war and went to read Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman. This is the story of a gal who graduates from Smith College and finds it exciting to connect with some shady characters (what I have read so far) and goes to prison. So far, she is an excellent storyteller, and I had trouble putting the book down. Nice to have two books from Powell’s that are easy to read.

I changed my dressing and was happy to see just a dot of blood this time. Better! Two more days of antibiotics and a week of dressing (or less, hopefully) to go. I sleep until 1AM when the bedroom lights come on. I order them out, and they come back on and then brighten to full power. I kill them at the switch and go to sleep. As I said, I woke up in some pain and rose too early on Thursday. I changed chairs this morning and am sitting on a pillow.

Thanks for reading!

I woke a few times, and the sunrise woke me, but I rolled over and did not rise until nearly 8. I rose, put on my slippers, and started my morning. I read my emails and looked at a few news items. I downloaded all the transactions into Quicken.

I wrote the blog with many distractions because I was not in a hurry. I finished it at about 11, which was very late for me. My lunch appointment was canceled, so I was not rushed. For breakfast, I had a banana and coffee.

I showered, shaved, replaced my bandage (still weeping), and so on. I used the microwave to heat a Trader Joe’s frozen Cuban-style rice bowl. I got reflux issues from it all day–f**k. I went through my electronics to find some existing parts for the miniature submarine I am thinking about building. The design I am basing this on uses an ESP VROOM without a connecting board. Not something I really want to do. I found I have an Adafruit Feather with the same hardware and would use Arduino IDE to program–better, but this will use more power and require a separate battery. Hmm. I also found a breadboard that I broke when plugging in another board with too long pins (It went thru the breadboard and ruined the connections–f**k). I found more batteries, jumpers, and another board (still loaded with stuff to read light levels for an Arduino sketch). While I spent some time looking through my supplies, I spent much of the time thinking of how to assemble a working test version on a breadboard.

I did the dishes and put more and more things away in the kitchen. I am starting to find the countertop! I am slowly putting away things, recycling items, and trying to get the house in order. It is a long-haul project!

I decided that I needed to clear the table with all my paints on it and make it ready for electronic work. This will require a lot of work, as well as finding places for paints, figures, and so on. That is the goal for the week: Get the table ready for electronic and modeling work (I want to return to my model building soon).

PT showed up at 3, and we went over my status. I graduated from home care (yay!) as I am not homebound but can care for myself. I have workout items to keep building strength and as the wounds heal (heal, damn it!) I will expand my workout. The joining of a workout place with a pool PT thought a good idea. PT and I discussed my experience on the MAX, and PT suggested some of my issues may have been balance-related. PT warned me about the Portland Street Car as they bounce more, and folks have fallen there when they have no issues on MAX or when walking on uneven surfaces. Boats and cruises maybe even worse. Generally, I should be careful and not surprised that I may get motion sickness more easily, which is too bad as I already had issues with it. PT checked my blood pressure, which was back to normal (110/70).

I saw PT out and was happy about my four to five weeks of services.

I did more reading and looked into basic tests for the hardware for the mini-submarine. Power and control, always complex and even harder at this scale, look like the main issues. I think the video part will be easy, as there are good examples, and that just requires copying from others who have this working. Video is writing live video to an SD card and then live serving that out via a web server. This is outside my experience, but I think I can do it.

I decided to take a break and try the Disney+ Acolyte show, which has a terrible rating. I had read that Disney haters had used social media to attack any new shows and that the ratings were wrong. So I turned it on and found a dark and interesting show set in the Star Wars universe, but 100 years before the movies. The assassination attempt (giving nothing away) in the first episode was surprising and extremely violent; Star Wars meets John Wick. While many people complain that the show is running against the accepted stories of Star Wars, I judge it on my interest and surprise level. I thought it was good and watched four episodes in a row. I will be back for more.

I made dinner, which took a while, and my back and legs hurt after that (I also did my exercises), so I found myself using painkillers to sleep. I made goulash from the German cookbook Michael G’s father gave me one Christmas. I added potatoes and carrots to the mix instead of making pasta. I chopped all the onions I had (some were bad and got tossed—I might stop buying them from Safeway, as this has happened twice now). I cook lots of beef stew meat and then add all the onions and garlic and let that cook. Next, I add all the spices, wine, tomato paste, and veggies and let it all cook on the stove for about an hour on something higher than low settings.

Corwin loved it, and I might have had a few bowls. I fill my bowls about 1/2-way now. Corwin agreed to do the dishes and put away the leftovers. I read some more, but I was cold and went to bed early. I read and took painkillers, as I said, and finally slept.

Not a very exciting day, but thanks for reading!

I rose before 7 as I woke with the sunrise near 6 and had to prove hydration a few times. I had the XIAO ESP32S3 SENSE delivered yesterday and put aside the whole morning to see if I could make it work. While maybe not the most interesting blog subject, it is the base for having a mini-camera in my next project. I spent the morning trying to get the XIAO ESP SENSE to work.

The tooling is the Arduino IDE, as the device accepts a version of Arduino compiled C code. The device is tiny, about the size of a stack of three American quarters, and has many non-standard names and ports. For example, the 13-pin is not the LED on the board, and I found that the ESP Blink sketch supplied was wrong (!?). I revised it to use the name for the correct pin, LED_BUILTIN; later updates to Arduino established names for these items, but older timers, like I still think, 13. My copy works now.

It took me two hours to get the XIAO ESP32S3 SENSE to be recognized by Arduino IDE. I had to find the correct URL and set the IDE to see it. Next, then load all the required updates and libraries. Some of my stuff was outdated, and ESP hardware requires current as most of this hardware is only a few years old or earlier (part of the Internet of Things tech). Once I got the board information loaded, I could run the usual Blink sketch and see the friendly LED blinking on the board. Then, I found the incorrect ESP Blink and loaded and fixed it. This meant I had the basics working and could now try to do something interesting.

I attached the SENSE part of the XIAO ESP32S3, which is a tiny camera and an SD card that stores photos and videos. I also discovered that the extra memory, PSRAM, must be turned on in the IDE Arduino, which was a new item for me. Apparently, the setting allows the compiled code to use more memory and moves the camera photos to this extra memory.

Next, I took my Take-a-Photo sketch, code I copied from an example, and managed to compile and load it on the XIAO Sense, with some more updates to various libraries and adding one obscure ESP library (Arduino has a strong Stack-overflow-like site and Stack-overflow even picks up Arduino questions sometimes) after searching the Internet for a fix. It takes two pictures.

Then, my next delivery of items, including well-timed SD readers with USB-C connections for my MacBook Air M2, arrives. I pull the SD Card from the device and put it in the reader. I have not removed the protective lens-covering film on the camera, and I get to black photos. These are the last photos that work. After this, every photo is corrupt. Hmmm.

I spend the morning searching the Internet for information about photo processing and the XIAO SENSE. I found an article that says that moving a captured frame from the camera to a file is useless as it is a binary image and not a usable format. I revised the code all morning to try to get the frame to JPEG format, but I saw so much code strongly suggesting the frame should be in JPEG format already. I do finally get a working file (not corrupt), but the image is just a repeated set of color lines, and each photo is exactly the same. I wonder if the camera (SENSE part of the device) has died. I did buy two, so I am tempted to see if the problem exists with another device, but I keep working.

It’s time for a break and lunch (breakfast was an NYC bagel with cream cheese and capers—thanks, Joyce—liberal coffee and a banana). I get out some celery, onion, and seasoning. I chop things tiny. I added the leftover pasta from a day or so ago, a can of good tuna, capers, and real Mayo—cold tuna salad. I have a bowl, just one with the pasta (I can’t do the carbs and keep my A1C down).

I decided I needed a walk and some fresh air. I watered the roses on the front lawn, as there will be no rain in the forecast for ten days. Summer weather came early this year, about three weeks early. I went to use the hose coiler, bent over, and turned the crank, and when I went to stand, I was unsure where the up and down were. I walked over to the house, leaned on the house (knowing the house knew where up and down were), waited for my mind and body to settle up with gravity, and looked hard at the horizon. Soon, all was right. I was careless, and the f**king hose can sit on the ground next time.

I went back inside and decided I had recovered, and then I boarded an Air Volvo. I flew over Cooper’s Mountain via 170th to Roy Rogers Road and on to Al’s Garden and Home. I love walking in the place and used to take Susie there just to walk, look at all the plants, and, during Christmas time, see all the lights and trains. The parking lot and greenhouse are flat and easy to transverse for people who use walkers or are just prone to falling. Today, I thought it a good place to get some walking in. I did go out into the rougher plant area (having no issues) and saw a rose tree with Angel Face blooms (an old favorite that I was not able to grow–mine died in Maryland–and I had not seen it in Oregon before). Tempted, but the price did not include installing a hole, and I resisted. Here is the information on the rose for those interested: Angel Face (local Oregon source). I did look at hats, and they had exactly the summer hat I was looking for, and medium, while a bit loose, fit well enough. I purchased it and wore it to the cashier, who approved of my new look.

Aside: When I would buy flowers for Susie in Maryland, one florist specialized in exotic roses. I spent extra on a set of roses for Susie, Angel Face. I bought the bush later, but it did not thrive.

I returned to the Volvo Cave after Air Volvo flew back over Coopers Mountain. I rested briefly and decided dinner should be at BJ’s, and a pork chop sounded good. My usual waiter in the bar, Eric, had tables full, so I got a less skilled waiter. Soon, I had my favorite beer, a house salad with Thousand Island dressing, and a double pork chop and baked potato. It was all perfectly assembled. I could not eat it all. I got 3/4 of the pork shop and about the same for the potato (with sour cream and butter) and could not go on. I am down to 230 pounds (headed to my goal of 220, with breaching 200 being the impossible-to-imagine future moment) and obviously am used to eating less now (except for jambalaya and absinthe-based drinks). I got a dessert to go. I did re-write more C while at BJ’s.

I reached the house in Air Volvo, not noticing that my phone was not connected to Air Volvo. I put the ice cream in the freezer and drove back to BJ’s. They had my phone and stuff, and soon, I was back home.

I rewatched the last two episodes of Doctor Who for this season, still liked them, and went to bed.

Thanks for reading.

I woke with the sunrise and enjoyed two proofs of hydration, too. I managed to roll over and sleep until 6:30, knowing I had to rise early and write the blog to make church this morning. I finally ordered a replacement for my pride tie, which had worn out—something to be proud of, I think. It was a less bright print but a better-made and likely longer-lasting tie. I planned to wear the new one today.

I finished the blog around 9ish, and breakfast was also assembled (a banana, some cheese, and liberal coffee). I replaced my bandage and took my meds, which included antibiotics. The incision is less angry but still weeping. As I said yesterday, heal, damn it! I took a shower and started my laundry. I also did the laundry, which I mis-timed, and I had to rewash the totally wrinkled shirts and pants (stripping the bed in the afternoon to make the load worth running) when I returned in the afternoon.

I discovered I reached my next weight number, 230 pounds, and am slowly heading to 220, my next goal. I would not suggest recovering from grief and brain surgery as a weight loss strategy. I intend to keep the weight off and try to build up some muscles once I feel better. I still tire easily.

With the chores done, I headed to Beaverton’s First United Methodist Church. Michael was preaching today on James 3:1-12. This passage is not often quoted by pastors, and it talks about how the tongue can create a firestorm and the same mouth that prays reverently to God curses others. Pastors can find it uncomfortable for them and their listeners. Which is the James’ point. Michael’s message was that when God scattered people in the story of Bable and then returned a single language in Jesus’s message. According to James, the tongue, while small, can do great evil. Michael suggests that if we follow the teachings in the New Testament (I am thinking of the Sermon on the Mount), this is the new language to unite people, a new language for us all to learn. His sermon reminded me of the law in Louisiana that puts the Ten Commandments in every classroom (launching a thousand memes and court filings) when other words I think it would be more comforting and useful to children. The Golden Rule and “And every tear will be wiped away” comes to my mind. We do, as Michael suggests, still suffer from a form of Bable instead of hearing the clear language of kindness and responsibility that Christians are called to. It was an excellent sermon and had me thinking.

After church, I headed to The 649 in Air Volvo for lunch and a beer. I had my laptop with me. Kyle opened today, and I mistook her for her sister, Avery, at first. Kyle was my bartender before the pandemic. She told me she cares for her daughter now and does not work that often. It took me a moment to realize I had the wrong name, as Avery is taller, and Kyle has colorful body ink with her sisters on her arms. Kyle was kind when I corrected it and asked her for her name, as I could not recall it. I am never shy about asking folks their names.

I wrote for more than two hours while eating a hummus platter and drinking a Red Zepplin beer. I was editing and fixing my newest Dungeons and Dragons adventure. I plan to publish it soon. I felt off, almost nauseated. Likely the result of the antibiotics, and I finished with coffee. Kyle was happy to see me in my church outfit (and pride tie); she said my Methodist was showing. Excellent.

I returned in Air Volvo to the Volvo Cave and rested, trying to keep the hummus, beer, and other things inside. Within an hour, I was feeling recovered enough to return to my laptop. Soon, my newly purchased Seeed XIAO ESP32 Sense arrived from Amazon. I spent the afternoon updating my Arduino software and following directions (mostly) to be able to program and run software on my new devices. This is a tiny device and camera used in the project to make an RC and video experience from a normal-sized Hot Wheel car. With a price of $13, I got two! I assembled the first device (which can connect to WIFI and Bluetooth) and attached the little camera.

It took me all afternoon to get Blink (which just blinks a light) to run on the device. I also discovered that the supplied Blink for the ESP32 device was miscoded, and my corrected version worked. Hmmm. Yes, this is going to be a challenge. I managed to crash the device and worked out how to recover it. It is my idea of fun and exciting.

I took a break and made dinner. I took one of the Trader Joe’s frozen meals, Butter Chicken, and heated it in the top oven. In the last seven minutes, I heated a piece of garlic naan, also frozen and from Trader Joe’s. Dinner was great.

Next, I watched the end of the new Doctor Who season, which saw the completion of a two-episode adventure for the newest Doctor and his companion, Ruby. It was a good finish and links to Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, in a favorite group of episodes. While I thought the singing goblins were just too much in the first episode of the season, I did like much of this season. Even the totally bizarre babies in space which left me shocked that this was good idea for a show. It does feel this time like an update of the old series and less the crazy we have seen over the years.

After watching Doctor Who, I returned to my work on the Seeed XIAO ESP32 Sense and managed to get more to work. I managed to get the camera to take a photo, but I have no reader that mounts the mini-SDHC on my Apple to view it. Puke! I ordered two different types that will be delivered on Monday. Hopefully, one will work. It took me hours to discover that the code was broken and I was not having a library or access issue. I added a header file I copied from an example project, and the code ran! I no longer believe the code examples work out of the box.

I finally stopped coding at 9:30 and started this blog. I might get distracted by code tomorrow, so I thought it would be best to write tonight. I’m getting more parts for my version of the Hot Wheels project—a submarine for an aquarium.

Thanks for reading!

Going backward, I changed the dressing on my incision, and it was still weeping around 11. I went to bed being tired from the trip to Portland.

My incision is unchanged today but not getting worse. I still have days of antibiotics left to take and cream to put on the wound. I am trying to just let this heal, but I want this over with. Heal, damn it!

Before, I was at Richard’s in Portland playing a new game, Ultimate Railroads, which is a worker placement and resource management game, not a Euro train game. Michael, Chris, and Richard (who won by a hundred points) all played well and were flying up the points. I was slow to start and never caught up. I liked the game and would recommend it to anyone who likes board games. Unlike some worker placement games, you start with five workers, which gives you plenty of options each round. But like many mean games, most options can only be taken by one player, so you are often forced out of your best plays by other players taking the option. There is also an option to buy first and second place, thus allowing you to get the best options. I liked it, and once I was about  1/3 through, I had a good handle on the rules and process and look forward to playing again.

Air Volvo had no trouble with the light traffic headed into Portland and the high bridges on the way back (including what I call the space shuttle launch super high on-ramp that is taller than the bridge). I was not tired and managed it all. I left Richard’s after one game at 9:30-ish, which was a bit early for us.

While we were playing, I explained the surgery and related events to the gamers, and then Chris, Michael, and I (all IT and, in my case, retired IT) discussed AI and its impact on IT and corporations. This was after Richard asked if it was true that AI was reducing IT departments by 20% or more. We agree that AI is just the latest buzzword, and much of what is being attributed to it has been going on for years, and the press is just beginning to understand the changes. One change was that natural language and image processing have recently improved (i.e., AI-generated art, document creation, AI story writing, and so on), making AI more visible to the public. We covered that there was unthoughtful hiring after the pandemic, and the layoffs are the usual reaction from management. Hiring has stopped as most companies are still trying to understand AI and what they need. It, to us IT folks, is yet another set of changes in a field that is about change.

Before heading to Portland, I spent the day at the house. I did not want to get overly tired and have to skip gaming with Richard. I did not do any writing as I wanted a break after writing for three days and getting Howard stories published. I just read, surfed, watched YouTube videos, and tried to be careful.

Aside: If you want to buy a Howard story (the price is zero or pay-what-you-want), you can find the stories here: AlohaWild Publisher. This is a shameless plug. I would recommend Howard’s Lockdown as my best story and Howard in Florida for IT folks, especially SAP folks.

Go backward more; at the house, I reviewed the current issues of Make Magazine’s story about turning Hot Wheel cars into RC-controlled racers. The story includes a video transmitted in real-time from the car–yes, tiny work. I discovered that the maker, MAX Imagination, on YouTube produces excellent videos, parts lists, and even plans for builds, including converting a Hot Wheel to RC. The Maker uses a new style of soldering iron that heats and cools fast and has a temperature reading on the iron. It is also USB-powered and can be run from a battery. This is safer and easier to use than the excellent one I got from AdaFruit years ago and better than the battery-powered one I use when I need quick work.

I ordered using the link for the maker, so Amazon will credit MAX Imagination, the soldering iron, and then many of the parts the maker used to make the RC Hot Wheel. I am thinking of a tiny submarine for an aquarium. The maker used SMD (surface mount devices) parts to reduce the footprint of the build instead of the old-school through-hole electronic parts, which is out of my experience. The use of WIFI to control and receive video is also out of my experience, and the use of two different phones to control and view is not something I would want to do. However, the Arduino-based work, the wiring, and the model-building reworking are all within comfort level. The maker had power issues with an H-bridge, and then the use of a transistor to control a motor is all in my experience (including the failure when building/using an H-bridge). So I bought $200 in parts, with the soldering iron being a third of that, skipped the SMD for now, and will see if I can make that submarine with video work. It is great to be retired, and I love that something this crazy costs only a little over $100 (excluding the tool upgrade).

I made lunch by cutting up the locally made German-style smoked sausage, browning it a bit in a non-stick pan (thanks, Steve), adding leftover pasta from yesterday’s soup making, adding water, covering, and letting the steam get everything hot. Next, I finished it, first cooking out the excess water, then adding some tomato sauce, dried oregano, and some capers and cooking until thickened. It was good. Corwin ate most of it, and I had one bowl. It is prepared food (the sausage) and carbs (pasta), and I keep all that to a minimum. I do like the taste.

Later, I had cheese and crackers for a snack. I skipped dinner because I was full after a bit of cheese.

On returning to Volvo Cave, I had a bowl of lentil soup I made a day ago. I like to have something to eat when I take my pills.

Breakfast was the usual: liberal coffee, a banana, and yogurt with fruit. I rose late after 8, wrote the blog until almost 10:30, and dressed after 11.

I woke wide awake at 3 (?!) and finally went back to sleep and woke late.

Thanks for reading.