Blog

I am writing this on Monday morning, and already it is 10, I am trying to find my focus this morning — so far it is not happening. Let me try again…

I rose in a rush and grabbed liberal coffee, roasted locally and made in a machine on the timer at 7. I had slept better, sticking to water at Richard’s while we played games late. I was not asleep before 1 and 7, and sunrise seemed to come sooner than bidden. My body felt like I had been attacked by the bed, and I will be more careful with my neck and pillows in the future! Morning pills and painkillers!

I did the usual check of email, read a few depressing news headlines, and updated Quicken with transactions. I then composed a detailed account of what happened on Saturday, drawing on my memories. Already in a swirl and starting to fade. One of the reasons I write these is to keep the day forever. I hate to lose even a single day now.

I wrote and cut some cheese to go with my banana, trying to avoid carbohydrates for breakfast. I wrote and finally posted the blog with time to get ready. Again, the usual routine, though I was well-rested after a liberal dose of coffee, shower, shave, and dress. Soon, I was in a sweater vest and a tie, brown with butterflies from Deborah, and with dress shoes for church. I forgot my phone and headed back to get it when I boarded Air VW the Gray.

I soon arrived, in moderate traffic, which was surprising for a Sunday morning, with thirty minutes to spare. I get out of the car and look in First Class. Yes, I had not loaded the sandwiches from Costco there. Back in the EV, a quick trip back and forth, and returned with sandwiches. It was just a few minutes into the service when I carried in my sandwiches and papers for my class on Methodists today for the New Members Class after the service.

I ushered. Michael R gave the sermon about Methodist history and how it sheds light on today, and how the church service, Methodist in its design, represents traditions going back to the apostles. It was fitting like a puzzle piece into my class. Michael R also covered “the awkward moment of the offertory and that seemed to lighten the moment of passing the plate; one of my duties when I usher.

The music was moving today and included, I know some will not believe this, I could actually sing and knew most of the words too (and sang in time). There was clapping, and we in the back waved our hands and did some steps to the music. I also heckled Dondrea gently, as she coordinated the worship as usual, and this seemed to raise the warmth of the atmosphere. There were smiles. Also, our new organist seemed to find his way and fit with the music, and the congregation sang louder and with the organ.

With a break at the end of the service and sandwiches, I started on the class and warned, at first, I am not that good at theology and “being saved,” but hoped to make it work. I read John Wesley’s instruction for singing from the Methodist Hymnal as an introduction to Methodism and the John and Charles Wesley.

I requested a more interactive session and received it. There were questions and answers supplied by some of the folks. I managed to keep to my plan and finished on time, just past 1. Folks seemed happy with my covering of grace, the means of decision-making, and some history.

I returned home. Pulled off the tie and focused on Dungeons & Dragons accounting as we played at 5:30. I could not find my notes from the last session. I upgraded my Sorcerer to 6th Level in the 2024 version of D&D. I also looked at the Bastion rules for 2024 D&D.

I arrived at M@ early and we chatted. We did a bit of bastion work and then returned to the adventure once everyone arrived. Karyn got a birthday bar (we have various dietary complexities in the group) and had a brutal battle that left our characters near defeat. We managed, though the encounter used various immunities and undead, which we are not very suited against. We are charm, sneak, and run away-and-come-back style. This time it was a slug-vest. We found, after that, a more playful and colorful encounter that better fit our group. We are still puzzling that out when we reach the time. I will miss the Oct 19th game and Karyn, another. Karyn’s son will be my replacement. Excellent.

It was a fun night of mixing genres in D&D. I headed home after chatting with Scott for a while. There, I did the dishes, assembled the coffee for Monday morning, and climbed into bed with new role-playing rules, Shadow Dark. Another attempt to produce a light version of D&D 5E. The “quickstart” rules cover 1-10 levels and basic rules. I purchased that and an adventure to see if they are building on the original success of D&D, rules to create characters for excellent adventures. I see so many rules, but seldom with good playable content.

With rules bouncing around in my head and our last play, and stopping the coffee before 7, I was able to drift away into sleep. I did wake a few times, but I managed to sleep again.

Thanks for reading!

 

Starting from the end of Saturday, I played the board game Luthier with Richard, Laura, and Kathleen. The game allows for four players, and it was my first time playing it with four. It was my third play and I made only one mistake. I scored 70, which is my high, but behind Kathleen by ten or more, and more than fifty points behind Laura and the winner Richard. Richard and Laura finished more instruments and patrons, and, as I suspected, there are “magic” patrons and cards that push your score way up. Still, I enjoyed the game and found the four-player setup easier than the three-player setup, where some resources are cut due to the lower player count.

It is an efficiency race with worker placement and working management. Engine building is less. The turns are complex and often played together with complex sequencing.

(Laura plotting her next turn)

The game can be mean, and you can do things in a sequence that will disrupt the play of others. I struck Laura once, not knowing I was going for a sequence that would be detrimental to her. I also made the reverse mistake, misplaying a sequence and having to settle for fewer points, and taking two rounds to complete something that could have been completed in one. It is a challenging game, and while I enjoy it, it is too expensive for me (Starting at $129 for a deluxe version with many add-ons not available now) to buy and too deep for any but the most dedicated gamer.

We talked about politics, religion, and gaming for a while after the game. It was midnight when I left Richard’s house in Portland. I called Deborah, who has an early flight to New Jersey for a family event, and reached her on the second call. She was happy to hear from me; her alarm had failed, and we got to start her day together as my day was winding down. I reached her as I was driving across a bridge in Portland, crossing the Willamette River. I rang off; she had to get ready and head to the airport, and there was a mess on Highway 26 outside of the tunnel. People were out of their wrecked cars, waving cars to safer lanes. There were car parts all over the road. I counted seven wrecked cars spilled into at least two of the four lanes, and some spun around. I blew my horn, braked, put on the hazard lights, and got to the shoulder and crawled around the accident.

Having escaped adding Air VW the Gray to the pile of cars, looking like a pile of Matchbox cars dumped on a toy track, I traveled fast to Beaverton, and soon crossed it to my abode. I put the few dishes stacked in the sink in the dishwasher, had a few bits of pretzel, took my night pills, and assembled the coffee, using locally roasted, liberal coffee beans that were now ground and loaded into the coffee maker.

I climbed into bed in my PJs and soon was asleep, listening to the rain and the gurgles in the gutters as the Pacific Northwest changes season to wet. I woke at 4 a.m., happy to get a text that Deborah was on her plane (an unexpected upgrade to First Class took the sting out of getting up so early for her and her family member). I went right back to sleep and woke, not from texts but from muscle cramps. Water and a painkiller let me sleep.

Aside: I believe we really have only three seasons: “wet,” “not wet,” and “both” with “both” being a short transition and happening twice; I have also heard of the month Oct-Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb-March-April as another name for wet, with the only difference being the temperature of the rain in these individual months.

Before this, around noon, I met Joan S for lunch. We try to meet and keep in contact. We have a shared background in IT and SAP systems and know many of the same people. We met at BJ’s Brewhouse, located off of Cornell Road. We had just appetizers, sharing two favorites, and talking about politics, computers, AI, and some of the computer challenges. Mo, often my waiter, was working, but not our waiter, and she said hello. She was wearing a custom Seattle jersey. I worked on the software that allowed for custom jerseys — I love seeing them. The big screen had the Civil War game on (O vs. O State). It was a nice light-ish lunch.

We said goodbye, and I headed to Costco. There, I got some packs of nuts to give to Richard as gaming snacks, and sandwiches for my class on Sunday (I suspect that is the best part of my Sunday School Class). I return to the house in the EV, still well charged (it gets over 300 miles on a full charge), and putter around the house, speaking to Deborah a few times as her day, three hours ahead of me, starts to move towards sunset and the evening.

I popped a potato into the microwave and collected some of the French-style beef I cooked a few days ago. I kept the portion size down, dressed the potato with the meat and some butter, pepper, and just a bit of sea salt. It was good. I watched some political videos recommended by Deborah, one for the Dutch (here, highly recommended for liberals), while I consumed my meal. I caught some of the American late-night stuff and Daily Show; all wonderful (well, maybe not for my MAGA readers, sorry). I was feeling a bit down after reading the news yesterday, but now I am feeling better. I am not alone with my constant WTF-ing.

With dinner done, I took the EV to Richard’s, thankful once again that you cannot put the charging vehicle in reverse when it is still plugged in. I did remember to get out and unplug it after I started it this time, but you would only have to screw that up once if there was no safeguard. Traffic to Richard’s was slow on Highway 26, but cleared and ran fast on 405 in Portland. I arrived fifteen minutes early, having given myself an hour and a quarter to get there.

Moving to the start of my day, I rose, sent Deborah a ‘good morning’, and talked to her as I wrote the blog, starting my day with her. Breakfast consisted of yogurt, which was somehow still in the fridge; I hadn’t bought any for months, a banana, and coffee I had made. I had forgotten to assemble the coffee the night before. I rose around 8, thinking the coffee would be cooling, but there was none until I ground it and made it.

That covers Saturday, thanks for reading!

 

 

I am sorry, I did not take any pictures on Friday.

I rose, feeling better, around 7:30, and the coffee was already made; I had assembled it on Thursday night. It is locally roasted liberal coffee. I had a Voodoo donut with my coffee, Portland Cream, and soon was suffering from a terrible sugar high and crash. Can’t do that again! Just plain cake donuts! And all the coffee did not make this better.

Despite the jitters, I managed to finish the blog while it was still morning. I also got my one load of laundry into The Machine and got it all on hangers or added it to the yet-to-be-sorted-and-folded stuff left over from Monday. I did not get a card out to Mom Wild. I will take that to the post office later.

Scott and I usually meet on Thursday, rescheduled to Friday, for lunch and a beer (I decided I can have one a week with Scott), and I was ready early, so I puttered around the house and collected the mail. I received an email with all inbound mail to the house from the US Postal Service, a service you can order, but it is often incorrect. Most of the mail I received today was not included in the email. Hmmm. The inbound package information has been correct.

I had only partially charged Air VW the Gray as I forgot to charge it the night before. I plugged it in for part of the morning. I had more than a 50% charge when I headed out, which was enough to get me more than 100 miles. I try to be a good neighbor by charging the EV only at night, when power usage is lower on the grid. Dear reader, the charging is about the same as running an electric dryer.

Aside: I belong to a group of customers of Portland General Electric (PGE) that agree to curtail our usage on days when the grid is maxed out (usually hot summer days). I get an email to cut my usage for certain hours the next day. PGE pays me a small bonus for the difference in my usage from the average usage that is credited to my bill. I am not always able to reduce my usage, but I often turn off the AC and play board games elsewhere. It is just a few bucks. As I understand it, power on the market is expensive when demand is high, and starting up bonus power plants is costly for a short few hours. By reducing usage, PGE can avoid the extra costs, lower the cost of power for everyone, and avoid purchasing power that may come from coal and other carbon-intensive sources.

The traffic is heavier for a morning trip after rush hour. McMenamins’s Cedar Hills was not busy, and Scott soon appeared. We spent lunch, composed of half sandwiches, soup, and a small salad, catching up. Scott has recently visited Hawaii and Paris. We discuss money (my plans for giving away more money but then using that to avoid some taxes on withdrawals from my IRA), investments (we are buckled up for more Trump-caused chaos), and our concerns about Putin’s adventurism and Trump likely TACO when facing a real challenge.

I shared with Scott that I am deeply concerned that Putin will break NATO by getting one of the countries to issue an Article 5 after some terrible event (i.e., an errant missile hit in Warsaw, for example). Trump will then ignore it and abrogate US treaty obligations. Xi will repeat the process for Taiwan.

(deleted political comment goes here; yes, I am very concerned)

Scott and I returned to more pleasant topics of travel and parks in Hawaii. Scott is headed to the Keys later this year for more diving and to help his kids get certified for deeper diving (Scott reminded me that most accessible shipwrecks are located in moderately deep water). It sounds marvelous. I do not dive; I am an armchair explorer of shipwrecks, using sonar scans, publications, and RV views. We also discussed my plans to visit Michigan for ten days in October and the American South in November.

Scott and I said our goodbyes and plan, now that we both are back for a few weeks, will meet again next week on Thursday. Next, I wrote Mom Wild’s card in the EV and then drove to the post office to post it. Done!

Clint, the other outlaw in Susie’s family in New Hampshire, texted me about some Dungeons & Dragons items and to get an update on my plans. Thanksgiving or Christmas? I have yet to decide. More to come. Holiday gaming with the Weiss Family!

I headed early into Portland and soon arrived without issue at Rogue in SE Portland. The traffic was not slow, but it was chaotic, requiring me to be extra careful when changing lanes and taking exits. Back to school, stressing out some drivers, I suspect.

I found a table and got an iced tea (not a beer). I sat and wrote and revised the new chapter of my fantasy novel. I have never written an action scene, and the transitions and imagery were incomplete. I often need to add words and even paragraphs; I get the bones down and then flesh them, and well, fix the mistakes. Others I know write and cut, but I follow my usual IT-like thinking. What is the vision? Expand the vision into steps and processes. Revise and adjust. I write like I code.

Kathleen showed up after 3, we spent most of the day talking, some writing, and even reading.  Kathleen listened to my thoughts on the refresh. She is a professional and licensed architect, and her views on my thoughts were interesting. We also talked about writing and read some of it to each other. I like Kathleen’s story, which includes fantastical quant beasts and a bit of snark. Kathleen thought my voice in my story was good and hints at a large fantasy setting or space opera. My action scene, she thought, was good. My updates, rewrites, and transitions had hammered the text into something better.

Various tourists appear and leave. Rogue is on various pub-crawl routes. We have dinner, with me going for the fish tacos (thinking them reasonable for someone wishing to lose weight). Kathleen went, and I was jealous, though my dinner was fantastic, fish and chips. He talked and often wrote until 8. It was dark, a sign that fall was soon to arrive, and we said goodnight and headed to our respective homes.

The return was messy. I decided to drive through Portland, ignoring the EV’s Nav, and soon discovered closed roads. I had to do some loops and dodge many cars that seemed to be lost. One car tried to turn into the one-way street I was on, threatening a low-speed head-on collision. They corrected, and I escaped Portland intact.

This weekend, as we move into the fall, there are many galas and events. I discovered myself driving around double-parked cars and folks with canes, formal dresses, and suits getting out of vehicles. It appears that the evening crowds, while later, were returning to Portland events.

I arrived home, and I felt tired, changed into my PJs, and decided to nap for a moment; it was midnight when I woke. I took my meds and headed back to bed. I did not set up the coffee, but I did sleep most of the night.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

I rose before 7, happy to not have fallen out of bed again. I had trouble sleeping and finally gave up, rising before 7. I pushed the button to make coffee, returned to my office, and began a 1,500+ word blog that took me all morning to finish. I was also reading and thinking much of the morning. I find myself thinking and looking out the window often. I am thinking about the news, civil rights, and church theology. Sometimes the window takes ten or more minutes as I ponder all of this. I also drift off about the refresh project.

I enjoyed the locally roasted liberal coffee from Hillsboro. I had a donut, a Voodoo Donut maple bar with bacon. I wrote and thought until mid-morning.

With the blog done and a card sent to Mom Wild, I showered, dressed, and all of that. I reheated some leftover pasta and sausage. I found the excellent historical Mary Beard had some videos in my feed on YouTube, and I watched one all afternoon. Mary Beard’s books are superb (with deep sets of footnotes), and her videos are excellent and visually stunning. She finds all these interesting museums that I want to visit all over Europe. I recommend her books and shows.

New bids for the church refresh work came in, and I wrote and then sent out the weekly report to the Church Council on our progress. I also completed my notes for my Sunday School Class and sent out a copy of those. I like to get them out so folks can be aware of what I am teaching.

I found two widow’s mite coins from the Middle East that Susie’s dad, Ben, gave to her. These would have fit the previous class, but still, they will be passed around. One is from 30CE and another is from 100BCE and fit the period of Jesus and the Maccabees.

Next, I made a cake. I remade the same cake as before, Grand Marnier Golden Cake, but using better chocolate, and remembered to put more orange glaze before removing the cake from the pan. I also put more orange flavor in one step. This really brightened the cake, and I was told it was better than my practice cake. Excellent!

I cleaned up the kitchen, which looked like a baker had exploded in mid-bake, while I waited for the cake to bake.

McMinimans was slammed when I got there, and it took the staff and Stephenie, our waiter, a while to get our room ready. Service would be slow as the staff was running everywhere at once. We had about twelve people for the Theology Pub meeting. The topic was the impact of isolation on people and what the church can do to help. Dondrea, who got to hear “Happy Birthday” three times as it was her birthday, shared on her usual excellent write-up some statistics that showed how severe the problem is now and how it also varies based on age groups. We agreed that our church may try a game night, book club, and other means to reach people who need more social interaction.

After that, Air VW the Gray took me home. There, I did the dishes, assembled coffee for the next day, and soon was reading in bed. I tried a new book on my Kindle, and that was not something I liked (it cost me $4.99), and returned to my Analog magazines. I started a story and soon was nodding off. I closed my eyes, rolled over a few times, and woke a few times, and managed to sleep better tonight. The dreams were just shadows and forgotten now.

Thanks for reading!

I rose around 7 and discovered I had failed to assemble the coffee the night before. I ground the beans roasted here in Oregon and nearby in Hillsboro by Mom. Roasted by Mom is a local company that supports women and women growers (website). It is good to taste liberal coffee again and know that every cup is helping moms. And it was good to remember who I am: a liberal, and someone working to make the world better, and helping the world remember Justice with Compassion.

On Tuesday, I read a lot about Kirk’s assassination and a comedian losing his job. I am sorry about all of it. Grief comes with anger, I know, and assassinations come with fear. The combination is poisonous for democracies. But I get it.

I had trouble writing the blog as I would find myself thinking about the words and events instead of writing. I am thinking deeper about the events of the day lately. It took me until 11ish to finish it.

I finished off the cottage cheese and had a banana with that. I am trying to ensure I am not hungry and don’t eat out of turn. Just trying to stick to three meals of smaller-sized portions. So far, no more weight gain.

I updated my transactions in Quicken and watched my IRA investments. They are up more. The cut in rates will give some of my bond holdings (in the form of mutual funds and indexes) a temporary boost, as the financial instruments hold higher-paying bonds than what is currently available. These assets will slowly produce a lower yield as the cut starts to work into the new bonds purchased to replace those sold or reaching maturity. The only immediate impact of the cut is usually on car loans, which should, though there are many other factors, soon reduce.

Sadly, thinking about car loans, President Trump did not restore the car interest loan write-off. That would have helped all the regular Americans and the US Car manufacturing (even Elon). President Reagan’s 1986 tax changes dropped this. I remember my father and grandfather, both Reagan supporters, being outraged when they realized around 1988, the end of the Reagan Administration, they would now buy cars less often due to these changes and how hard this would hit Michigan. Now, imagine if these tax breaks were reinstated instead of the make-believe no-tax-on-tips deduction, which likely nobody can take (since individuals who receive tips do not typically itemize). It would have been good for everyone, except for the very rich. Hmmm.

Returning to my story for Tuesday, I published the blog and warmed up some pasta and Italian-style sausage for lunch, a smaller portion. I ate that while watching more of Apple+’s Foundation series. The acting, special effects, and camera work are excellent. The storyline is OK. I love space opera.

I next grab a copy of Analog Magazine, trying to read a few items from the ones I have just stacked and ignored, boarded Air VW the Gray, and took the EV to the TriMet MAX station. I wave my phone at the scanner, pay $2.80 via a virtual card, and wait a few minutes for my train. I am too excited to read much as I have missed walking in Portland.

I talk to Deborah a few times while riding the train (not shouting into the phone as many do) as she is between things on her long day. She is monitoring the start of classes, including the evening ones, in Michigan and working long hours. I reach the Teacher’s Fountain and Library stop and from there walk up the slight hill on Park Street. The Farmer’s Market runs in the park on Wednesday mornings from early to late afternoon; I did not know this. This will give me a reason to come earlier next time on a Wednesday.

I have a membership to the Portland Art Museum (PAM), and I am soon inside looking at a new display of various modern pieces. Some are new to me, and I did not know that Andy Warhol painted some of his posters with glitter. The neon piece made me think of Deborah.

The art is not part of PAM’s collection but from the local private Schnitzer Collection, made up of mostly prints and modern art. I learned there is another art museum to see, The Schnitzer Collection on display, which is open 5 days a week, 3-5, and longer on Saturday. It is free. Soon!

I did my usual walk through the usual displays and noticed the changes, and enjoyed the French Impressionists the most. PAM’s Monet’s “Lily Pads” painting was back in its usual place. No brighter after a cleaning, but showing a bit of fading too. I enjoy a walk through and try to visit every month.

Next, I walked to the MAX, used a free transfer to get to the Green Line, and took it over to Ground Kontrol. On the way, I met a tourist who asked for help, and I explained the MAX for her and had her get the app and a virtual card. She was looking at multiple trips and was headed to the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden.

I arrived one block from Ground Kontrol and soon had my ID checked and found some games to play. I keep my card under my driver’s license. I went to play one pinball game, and it broke and ate my credits. I was given a $5 card for my trouble. I could not even use that up as the play; I find this to be a time sink, but still, it was entertaining, a guilty pleasure. I tried, for the first time, the Star Wars Combat Pods — expensive, and managed to not blow up the Death Star on the easy mission — Total Fail. I was often flying upside down and crashing into things. It was quite entertaining and felt immersive (when I was not crashing or flying upside down). I will invest in more training. A pair of pilots wanted the machine after I was done, and I let more skilled flyers save the universe and ‘use the force.’

Next, I walked to the Chinese Garden and the ticket taker remembered me, “Hi, Michael.” There I walked around, enjoyed the quiet, had a tea and coconut party, and read. The waterfall was not running, and it was very quiet. I finished the excellent story “It Eats Metal” in Analog, which appeared in the March/April issue. A gal next to me sat and meditated, and I tried to not make too much noise. I was self-conscious of the sound of sipping tea and eating only a few feet from her.

Eschewing the Green Line, I walked back to the Red/Blue line, which heads west to Beaverton and Hillsboro. Along the way, I stop at Voodoo Donuts, which is not busy; there is no line. I stand at the door, the guard smiles, and waves me in. You can’t just walk in, like a donut vampire; you must be invited in to harvest. I bought three, including the Zombie, Portland Cream (so many inappropriate jokes), and a bacon maple bar. This is placed in the signature pink I-am-a-tourist-rob/ignore-me box.

 

I am not sure what has happened to Portland over the past couple of months while I have been traveling, but there are fewer homeless people (though I recognize some), and the smell of marijuana is less. The hot days drove some folks away, I am sure. School is back, and I suspect the smoking and vaping tourists are now fewer. The town felt to me like it was welcoming the rains, falls, and the change of seasons.

While the number of shuttered and ‘for lease’ buildings is distressing, I saw a few had signs of activity and recovery. It is not enough to make up for the 40% reduction in lunch traffic from before the pandemic and the great migration away from cities and to working from home. The incubators are gone, as are the shared workspaces to rent.

I took the Max back, paying another $2.80, for the short trip back to Beaverton. No drama on the trains or smells. It was back to what I remembered. Pleasant for urban transport.

I took the EV home and made a frozen Chicken Tikka meal for dinner. Deborah, now at the end of her day, talked to me about our day (and some of my complaints on a political nature that I will not recount here). I apologized for being boring to Deborah and received forgiveness. I wished her a good night as she was tired and had another long day on Thursday.

I work on my lesson notes for this Sunday.

I took painkillers, pills, and food. I was unsteady from the nearly 7,000 steps and the still soreness from the fall a few nights ago. My head is still bruised. There is no sign of a concussion or headache. I read, do the dishes, make coffee, and get to bed early.

I woke at 4 and was not feeling well. I could not get back to sleep. I finally rose, had some toast, and then returned to sleep at 5, and had wild dreams but not scary dreams until I woke before 7.

Thanks for reading.