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I forgot to take pictures today.

Working backward, I was home before midnight and made a ham and cheese sandwich as a snack. I did not get dinner. I had that and took my pills which are best on a full stomach. After that, I crashed as I was tired. Bur, I ran all the dishes in the dishwasher before heading to bed.

Air Volvo delivered me from Richard’s house in Portland without incident. I took the tall ramp onto the Freemont Bridge; the ramp roadway was more elevated than the bridge’s (200 feet in the air), and I was worried that there would be puddles up there. No issues.

Richard and talked about taxes for a bit after the games. Mike, Caroline, and I played with Richard tonight. We taught Mike and Caroline the board game Vindication. This time Richard ran away with the game while Mike and Caroline were still learning the game. I tried to catch Richard, managing three masteries to his none, but his ownership of tiles pushed him beyond where I could catch him.

In the game, I never had a knowledge-based companion and found that a disadvantage. Early in the game, you need at least one strength and knowledge companion to get Vindicated and improve your movement speed (new learning for me). Richard got some of the best companions, and I should have gone back for more. That gave me a second-place score. Next time.

Next, we played War of Whispers as a light game. Ricard found a correction in the rules, and we played the game correctly this time. The game uses a unique set of processes, which has been hard to learn. This is a game loosely based on the spies of the Game of Thrones TV show. You place agents, and they control part of the kingdoms, and you have a randomly assigned victory measurement. The number of cities controlled by the Kingdoms is the factor. Thus one player will secretly want the red kingdom to do well, while another need red to fail. And this is hidden. The game has four rounds, and once you get the rules down (which we still have issues with), it plays fast. It is a chaotic secret motive game, fun.

I won by having my three top kingdoms hold on to most of their base cities. I was lucky to have overlapped with three players for the kingdoms that I did not want to succeed. So mostly luck and Richard misunderstood the rules, and that hurt him. Still a learning game.

It was nice to play a few games today. My trip from the Volvo Cave was without incident, and traffic was just stopped-and-go for just part of Highway 26 on Sylvan Hill. I was at the house as I had two packages delivered. One, Utterly Smooth 20% Urea for my hands and feet (to help with nerve issues from Chemo), and micro-controllers from SparkFun.

I left Susie’s place at about 4:20 and called into a status meeting at 4:30 while driving home. I would pull over if it got interesting, but the project still awaited a substantial single-threaded data conversion. I had to help with an issue in the morning, but there was nothing more for my team at 4:30. So it was a short meeting, and I had no problems getting to the Volvo Cave.

Going backward, I arrived at Susie’s place after 11AM. Susie was in her wheelchair (already falling asleep) with her coat ready for her. I offered to take her to the March 4th opening of the Portland Saturday Market and then lunch at Kells. I could see in her eyes that the idea of being in the wet and cold in Portland (windy and colder by the river where the market is held) did not appeal to her. So I offered the mall instead, which was not something she wanted to do. So Susie got her favorite: sit in her rocking chair and watch a movie with me in her room.

Louis, the live-in night nurse aide (and Jennifer’s husband), had watched the first Wakonda movie with Susie. So today, we would both get to see the next one. No popcorn, but it was still fun to do that. I got a chair that was comfortable and sat next to her. Susie held my hand for some of it and nodded off a few times, but soon she was closely following along.

Susie was tired but still talking and only slightly leaning to the right. So not too bad on Saturday. After the movie, I left Susie with Anassa, the weekend nurse aide, and headed out for lunch. Susie had lunch at the hummingbird house. I went to Chipolti’s for a chicken bowl with extra guac, chips, and a drink. I eat it with a fork and dip the chips. I was surprised when talking to Evan (he had a flat tire, so he would not make it over, and I thought it best to just hang out with Susie today, so no board games today with Evan) that the stock price was so high. I checked, and the food chain matched the general market and had a significant run-up, like most stocks in 2019-2021, and crashed back to the previous highs with the Ukraine War, inflation fears, and general Wall Street market grumpiness.

BTW: The market had a run-up after being grumpy most of the week. Churn and more churn. I have changed nothing.

I returned after my late lunch, and Susie was in her chair in the living room (no nap today) and was happy to see me. So I stayed with her, watching the movie Big (with a young Tom Hanks) in the shared space until I needed to leave before my 4:30 meeting. Susie was sad to have me go but was glad I had stayed so long.

Moving back to the start, I woke before my alarm and managed to sleep the night, except for one proof of hydration, and discovered there was no alarm, oops. I made liberal coffee from Fair Exchange branded coffee from Portland in my French Press. I had a yogurt for breakfast and later a cookie.

The meetings started at 8, and I was in my office eating and drinking coffee during the meeting. As is my habit, I read all the emails, Slack Channel updates, and news headlines to prepare for the meeting and the start of my day. I had to rally some team members as we had a critical defect, ugh, and soon it was being worked on and completed. This delayed my blog writing, of course, and made me late for Susie. But, I get paid for work, so I did the needful.

This is the fourth weekend I have worked in a row, and thus I have had no day off for a month. Life in the new world of IT.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

I am writing the blog on Saturday morning between work Zoom calls and Slack channel updates. Of course, I have a new high defect this morning, making a mess of my usual quiet Saturdays.

Recalling yesterday, Friday is a work-from-home day for me, so I could sleep in until 7ish, but I did wake before my alarm and had to prove hydration at 3AM, but generally, I got enough sleep. So I made liberal coffee and the last packet of instant oatmeal, adding dried cranberries and walnut pieces to jazz it up. I carried these consumables to the home office. I ate and read the email, Slack channel updates, and news to prepare for the day.

The first status meetings, all Zoom calls, started at 8 and continued until later morning. It is Friday, and the crises have begun to settle. The political items all cooled a bit. Thus, I was able to slip out at 10:40ish to see Susie.

The drive-in was low traffic and low drama–the best drive in Beaverton. In the damp gray, Beaverton’s Finest did not appear on the roads, the police liking sunny days (like all of us). Only a few grey piles of snow were left, and sad collections that once were snow people.

Metzger Park, next to the hummingbird house (Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116), was green and empty with the constant rain and Oregon mist. But then, the sun appeared momentarily, and everything was dazzlingly bright and cheerful. I toyed with the idea of taking Susie out in the park; the 41F (5C) conditions would not be happy for Susie.

Susie had finished breakfast and was comfortable in her recliner chair in the living room with Judge Judy on. Susie still had ankle protectors on (fuzzy partial slipper) and was no longer in pain. Her tummy issues had also been resolved. Susie was bright and happy to see me. So I resolved to get a to-go lunch and eat that in my office, so I could spend more time with Susie, seeing her clear-eyed and happy.

We called Leta first, Susie’s mother, and chatted with her for a while. Leta was waiting to see how the snowstorm would play out. Would it miss Lansing or dump a massive pile of snow? Leta was ready to enjoy a few days at home, reading and resting. Leta asked about Susie’s pain, and Susie said she had no pain and “I am fine” was her answer.

After Leta, we called Barb, Susie’s sister, and talked more about the storm and her kids. They were ready for another storm. Next, we called Susie’s Aunt Joyce, as Susie was worried about her. Joyce was thrilled to hear from us and happy to tell Susie she was well. They are getting lots of rain, now snow, in North Carolina.

I called after 5PM, and Susie was still without pain, and the redness was gone on Susie’s ankle. So it looks like the good folks at Aligence Senior Care (the hummingbird house) had stopped the issue before it became severe. Thanks!

Returning to the narrative, I left Susie with a kiss; Susie was sad to see me go, but the visit did not seem short–excellent. My next stop, using the highways to reach 185th, was Happy Panda. On the way, part of a minivan fell off (!?) and caused me to dodge large debris on Highway 26. There was no time for cars to brake, and instead, everyone was diving into the roadway’s left shoulder. Exciting. Air Volvo, with good tires and alignment, easily missed the mess.

Arriving safely at the food place, It took about five minutes to get Mongolian Beef from Happy Panda (in a strip mall on 185th). But I would say that I have never seen this with cabbage and slabs of beef. It was still good, but nothing I recognized. Finally, air Volvo arrived at the Volvo Cave without further challenges, and I ate my lunch while catching up on work items.

Evan stopped by, did some work on his taxes, cleaned up, and then headed to his next Pickle Ball game. He was just between appointments and needed a place to park. So he stayed at the Volvo Cave for a few hours.

Work continued, but I had time to plug in my new volt meter and Bluetooth speakers (yes, I had to have that). I managed to play toons through my meter. One strange item is that the meter is powered by USB B, not a power cord. I could not find a wall plug for a USB A (legacy), but I know I have some. I used my Windows laptop to run it for a while. So cool and so ridiculous.

Back to the story, I had a design session for one of the constant crises of the moment, and I think we understood the constraints better. One person just wanted to code it, but we explained the real constraints, and I think they were finally accepted. More to come. It was nice to talk about something technical and complex.

I finished my day with another short status meeting. I did check my phone for the rest of the night for issues–nothing.

I reheated the rest of the Goan Pork Vindaloo I made a few days ago. The spices are incorrect, and it is more of a Vindaloo and Kung Po cross. Still good. I grabbed some magician decks and a magic book. Time to return to magic, as I feel I should get that skill back. I had stopped most of that before the pandemic, but I liked it and should do it more.

I found that I had dozen card decks but was missing the type I wanted. So I found a new one and decided I could open it (it is so much better to open a deck on stage to establish legitimacy). So, while headed to read, write the blog, and practice at Wildwood Taphouse, Mariah asked to meet at Von Eberts in Portland; my plan changed–magic will wait.

So I headed there and still managed to beat her to a table. Traffic across Portland and parking were both troubling for Mariah (yes, I can get to Portland Pearl District from Reedville (Aloha-Beaverton), sometimes faster than folks in Portland). There we had some smoked wings and a few beers. I just had three and nothing else (having already eaten once) but beers.

I am happy to report that the wings are good again. So good are the wings that there are rumors that chickens volunteer. They are delicious.

I tried to stop by Powell’s after dinner (again) and beers, and Mariah let me try. Closed. I remember when they were open all night and then open late. Now they close at 9AM. Sad.

After paying $7 for parking in the garage (the only parking I could easily acquire), Air Volvo delivered me home without events. I was in bed soon after.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

It is Thursday the pre-Friday as we no longer head to the office on Friday. I ended my attendance early at the office as I thought a package was coming–nope. Customer Service at SparkFun said it could be another week. So I did the last two Zoom meetings from my office in the house. I rested for a bit and woke (I could not believe I fell utterly asleep) a few minutes late, but they were not looking for me–no harm.

I checked the Slack Channels and email, nothing I needed to cover. I went into the kitchen, ate a Hersey Bar with Almonds to stop the sleep from returning, and warmed up my spicy Goan Pork Vindaloo. I make it with potatoes and carrots (instead of eating it with rice). I rewatched the first episode of the third season of The Mandalorian; I still loved it.

With the snowstorm dumping seven inches on us last week, recycling and trash were not picked-up. Today I added the current trash to last week and collected all the recycling. This includes the old boxes for Vindication; I was sad to say goodbye to one of my first Kickstarter original boxes and trays. Everything is now in a vast box and new updated trays.

The ants had found the trash, puke! I put the tr sh container on the deck (the ants can be cold). I will need o do some cleaning and set some traps. I emptied all the trash and recycling, and it now waits on the street for Friday’s pickup.

I was thinking of staying home tonight, but my back hurts, and I feel out of sorts from working every weekend for three (and now four) weekends. Thus, I am in Wildwood Taphouse writing with a dark beer, an 8-ounce pour of a dark beer.

Returning to the late morning, my meetings were completed, Zoom, and I went out to see Susie after 10:30. I reached the hummingbird house without issue. However, Susie was in pain and unhappy. Her right ankle has a skin issue (not broken open), and it hurts (5 on ten point scale). Jennifer has Susie in soft wrapping foot items and on a pillow, but Suse keeps yelping. She can’t help moving, and that aggravates the affected area.

Susie can be found in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and they chatted for a while, and Susie seemed to forget the pain for a bit. But she jumped from the pain a few times after the call. Susie’s mother was happy to see Susie and was concerned that Susie was uncomfortable. I was soon headed out as Jennifer agreed to let Susie rest in bed with a pillow and protectors for her right foot.

I called later, and Susie was resting and comfortable in her bed.

I had lunch at Red Robin, my usual spicy split chicken breasts and salad with a Diet Coke. I was back in the office before 12:30, and my boss was surprised. I did not have Physical Therapy today, so I was back early.

Moving to the start of the day, 6AM came unbidden by me, and it could have stayed away a bit longer. Instead, I was up and did a truncated set of exercises as I did not feel quite right. I did make liberal coffee and had a single cup (forgetting my thermal mug when I headed out), along with a banana and regular-priced yogurt (having enjoyed 1/2-priced expired yogurt for the start of the week). I read everything I could, work, news, and Slack channel updates, to prepare for my day. There were no emergencies.

My travel was easy, and I was at the office early and started my hours of Zoom meetings. However, more issues arose, and the items that had been pressing continued to pressure. The morning blew by without me noticing.

On the money front, Ford (I have stock) paid over $250 for 335 shares. While I am still on an unrealized loss (Ford blowing its quality promises and delivering the worst-made US cars again), they still are making money and paying a 4.8% dividend. While far behind Tesla on EVs, they are more successful than expected. There are thoughts of splitting the company (which would be great for a stockholder like me–I could sell the old tech company stock after the split and buy even more EVs), but I suspect the dividends would end with the split. I like free money. I might buy more F!

I could not help myself and ordered all the components to create a Tesla coil from one of my electronic magazines. I’m not sure I want the coil, but I want to try out the circuit to load it with a million volts. I ordered 4x of the components, which are all good items in my garage. I have the equivalent of a Radio Shack in my garage. Every cap, resister, regulator, and so on is in folders and cases. Ready for my mad scientist moments. I am waiting for some new microcontrollers too.

It is Bingo night and raffle night. I do not have a ticket or a card. I am just writing.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

Going backward, I have some sausage and crackers for a snack after reaching the Volvo Cave from First United Methodist Church of Beaverton. There, it was Wednesday, choir practice, and I played Zophia (Z) board games while Z’s mother practiced with the choir. Today Z, who turned twelve on Tuesday, picked the board game Architects of the West Kingdom to play; we had not played it for a while and managed two games.

Z won the first game by six points but was a bit hyper or out-of-focus, and I had to slow her down a few times and explain a few things to her. But she seemed to enjoy the game, and once she got in the groove, Z started to crush me. I did a last grasp for points building the cathedral to prevent a washout!

In the second game, I built a few higher-point buildings that gave me some advantages. I played very efficiently and managed to pull ahead and stay there. Again, I rushed to build the cathedral at the end, my usual play, but I was trying to end the game before Z caught me. I managed an eight-point win. We both had fun, and Z built two great works in each game–something I have seldom seen.

We are playing all the add-ons and promo cards with the Princess and Pirate impacts (costing me -4 points in the last game to Z’s glee). I won’t summarize the game as I have covered it in many blogs. Feel free to google it and look at it on Board Game Geek.

Before this, I enjoyed a slice of pizza at Sizzle Pie and a lager plus salad. One of my favs is pizza and salad. I parked Air Volvo at the church and walked over. They were not busy, and I asked them for recommendations. I would not usually order a jalapeño pepper chicken and broccoli pizza, but it was good. The salad was just greens with freshly made croutons and not enough dressing. The beer is a bit plain but perfect for my mood. I wanted to just relax for a while, and it worked for me. The place filled up while I was there.

Before that, I was taking Air Volvo from work and had Slack channel updates even though I was flying. Work was busy or nothing. It switched about every hour from boring to crises and back again.

I went to Chipotle for lunch. I was having a chicken bowl with a lot of guac and eating it with chips. Right after I ordered, I got a meeting at noon that was another crisis of the moment (with a call of over forty people). Again the day was bouncing to eating without any concerns and then swallowing and rushing back.

I did the call parked in my car at our building for the project: Clubhouse. It was a political meeting masquerading as a technical discussion. I deleted my words and will just say that beer was a good idea. I did buy a nice mocha and drank it slowly in the afternoon to get my focus back.

Before the troubled meeting and various discussions that were brought forward, I was visiting Susie at the hummingbird house. I reached her via the highways, and the going was fast without incident or slowness, a surprise. Susie was happy to see me but was having tummy issues. I called after 5PM, and she was better. Susie had just finished her breakfast and was resting in her recliner in the living room and was uncomfortable.

Susie can be found in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

We managed to reach Leta, her mother, in Lansing. Leta was having her lunch. Leta and Susie chatted for twenty minutes or so; at that moment, I was thinking I was clear of crises, so I stayed a bit longer. Susie did not want me to leave, but she was going to rest some more, so it was OK for me to go.

Before all of this, I was in the office in time for two hours of Zoom meetings and various ad hoc in-person meetings and discussions, mostly on the same issue in different versions or viewpoints.

I woke at 6 and did my exercises, and made liberal coffee to go with the banana and yogurt. I had the last 1/2 off expired yogurt (how can it expire?). I did my usual reading and preparation for the day.

Returning to the previous day, after finishing the blog, I had trouble paying my bill at McMenimens. My waiter apparently left, and no waiter was now assigned to me. No more service. I had to go to the bar and wait for someone to finally conceded that I might be a customer and let me pay my bill. It is always strange to experience passive-aggressive service at our local chain–some things never change here.

I also stopped by Barnes and Noble and picked up an electronic and modeling magazine before heading home and going to bed early and reading about Tesla coils and a simple circuit to generate millions of volts. Yes!

Today I got a new volt meter and other tools from AdaFruit in NYC. It is also a Bluetooth speaker. I just had to have it. They said they only stocked it because it was so cool. It arrived today and I will set it up on my bench in the office.

Well, that is all, and it is late. The series The Mandalorian started again today. I watched the first episode while writing. It was excellent. Recommended.

 

Sorry, I forgot to take photos of Susie today.

The day started with me suddenly realizing I did not write a blog on Monday. So So, I popped out of bed before my alarm and wrote a short blog with just the highlights of Monday, a briefing. I did wonder what that meant. Is it time to rethink the blog? Has the lack of days off broken my mind? Is the stress getting to me? Am I OK? Yes, I am OK. I wrote the briefing in an hour, showered, dressed, and rushed to work. I was early, and the weather was just Oregon mist. I missed the school buses picking up the kids. One did pull over and let us all pass it.

I did make liberal coffee and had a banana while rushing. I poured my coffee into my thermal cup, and, physics works, it was too hot to drink for an hour. Ugh!

I was in the office, and we were lightly staffed. Nike sent a WTF on the weather and said everyone could work from home. There was a party, and our boss was presenting at the pre-party meeting. All of this was canceled later in the day, and the food was distributed to anyone who showed up (I ate lunch before the free food was provided). Thus we were there to cheer on our boss and department giving the pre-party talk.

I did my usual morning Zoom meetings. Sitting alone in a small conference room, calling into five meetings, all ending early, and multi-tasking to get approvals and reading done during the calls. But, of course, there were issues, and I had to read about them, and I sent out some, let’s call them, observations–none of which can be written here.

Snow started on and off. I headed out to hummingbird house using highways (26 to 217) without incident, but folks driving slow on local roads (they are just wet). I arrived safe and without events in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

I was running early and arrived just as Susie sat in her chair. She was grumpy, sitting in her recliner in the shared living room. Jennifer thought her stretching exercises and breakfast (a lot of food for Susie) had made Susie uncomfortable.

Ignoring the grumpy Susie, I called Leta, Susie’s mother, who was having a late lunch with Barb, Susie’s sister, in Lansing, Michigan, at Panera’s Bread. We talked for a while. Leta learned the estimates to repair her house (she has an invasion of mice and raccoons) will be more than initially thought. Hopefully, her house insurance may cover some of the raccoon damage. We also learned that Susie’s Aunt Joyce has some health challenges (we wish you the best, Joyce). We waved at Barb (Leta had the phone connected to her hearing aides, so Barb couldn’t hear us when we called Leta’s phone).

Soon the call was over. I stayed a few more minutes and held Susie’s hand. I had to get back to work, and it was snowing again–time to hit the road. Susie was disappointed that my short visit was at an end. She told me she wished I could stay longer and apologized as if it was her fault. I told her it was not her fault and kissed her goodbye. She was sad but OK with me leaving.

I returned to work, and many more folks went home to finish working from home. I had a few ad hoc meetings and more Zoom. I approved a few items and sent more back from proper paperwork. People are not dishonest; our project has folks now working on two different go-lives (and designing a third), running 7/24 data conversions, and trying to enjoy a return of Covid-19 and other Spring Break colds and flu. They are now missing the easy stuff. It makes it hard on everyone to do some things, often on some critical path, over and over until it is correct. I read and check everything–it is my job as Architect to read it. Folks are burning out, but I point out the corrections without emotion, so folks are not embarrassed or react.

My last meeting was fast, the current data conversion will take until Friday, and everything is waiting for it. I left before 5 and reached home after filling Air Volvo for $4.09 a gallon (remember we have no sales tax), but that is still higher than last week. Snow was coming down. Portland and the hills are getting some accumulation tonight. We received another Nike WHQ weather WTF note saying to work from home if you feel safer staying home for Wednesday. My boss knows I drive an SUV Volvo, and I am not scared–I will be back at the office.

More was happening at work, but I never put those details in the blog. I was busy most of the day.

I was delighted when I arrived at the Volvo Cave and found three packages waiting for me; four more pairs of pants arrived (two from LL Bean and two from Lands End), plus my book. I ordered a book made in India for too much money. It is a huge copy of the 1927 (published in 1926) Export Regulations Encyclopedia. I have a 1918 copy and discovered that the 1927 version was only available printed and bound (in leather) from India. Leta gave me money to buy something for myself for Christmas. Yes, I had them make me one.

It is over four inches thick and looks more like a newly rebound altar bible than a copy of export instructions. I was thrilled. Yes, do you want to know who held a package for you in Romania until you got there in the 1920s? How about what shipping lines were available in 1926 in Portland, Oregon (yes, PDX gets a few pages)? What is the approximate exchange rate for Abyssinia currency in 1927 (now Ethiopia)? This and the 1920s travel guides, science summaries, and archaeological publications (on Stonehenge) all create a picture of adventuring in the 1920s. Maybe not your thing, but the more I know, the more fun it is for me to write stories related to these times. I also have an 1890s guide (very small print) for Paris that is just wonderful for those who want to head back a bit further.

Aside: I have an India-produced copy of the 1919 published communications during the Battle of Jutland. Again, in a nice leather binding. The maps are a bit incomplete, but the text is perfect. Someday I will find an original copy in a library and copy the maps and just fold them and put them in my copy. Yes, the British published all of this right after the war.

I got a call from Dondrea and Zophia (Z), as it was Z’s birthday. Z was thrilled to open the gift from Susie and me, the board game Wingspan. I also promised the Easter Bunny would supply various upgrades and add-ons (and also on other holidays and excuses for giving) to improve Z’s acquisition. Z picked Architects of the Western Kingdom to play on Wednesday.

I headed to dinner with Mariah, but she turned me away (PDX is a snowy mess), and I instead found myself at McMinnemen’s for dinner. I had a burger, the Captain Neon (bacon and Oregon blue cheese), and a Ruby beer (strawberry without the sweet). This is one of Susie’s favorite places, and I missed her tonight. So I have a drink and think of the days before Covid-19, strokes, and depression when she and I would just hang out and have a good time. To us!

I wrote the blog while eating and drinking. Finishing with a cup of coffee tonight.

Thank you for reading.