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When things go wrong in many computers, the data is filled with all ones when something has gone wrong. This is often represented in hexadecimal notation as FF or in Python (and many other computer languages) as 0xFF and $FF in old displays of “hex,” as it is usually called. Tonight my plans to work the India morning were halted when the software control software, literally the software that updates software, failed. Tonight we could not get the changes deployed to our testing environments, and thus no tests. Foobar or FF–legend has it on model train operational play that the clock would show FF when the operational plan failed; that is where computers get Foobar from. The military version has a different meaning altogether.

I was thinking of 255 when I saw the day count.

Thinking I needed a break, we went to The Rock Wood Fired Pizza today for dinner, working backward. We had a few beers, just one small one for me as I believed then I would need to return to work tonight and dinner. I had a meatball sandwich as I remember it was good and it still is!

The bartender and waiter were all happy to see us again. We have been showing up a lot. Their pizza is delicious with the wood flavor in a crunchy crust, and their drinks excellent. They also follow masking and cleaning with care. The customers are also careful to replace masks and keep their distance. I feel safe there.

I rested a bit in the afternoon after writing more groovy code and getting some install processes finally to work. My test program is now working. I was expecting to be up late, and I was tired from two days of working Portland and India hours.

I also got Susie going, and we walked 1/2 way down our street. Susie found it harder today than last week. We need to keep this up. The neighbors waved and were happy to see us out.

Lunch was Burger King today. I had a whopper with cheese with fries (terrible), and Susie had a whopper jr with cheese plain. I will have to remember Wayne’s suggestion to get onion rings instead and skip fries for Susie.

I received a new esoterica book today, Hermetica. This book had a large influence on the thinking of the medieval and Renaissance periods. I wanted to learn more about this. Also, I have acquired some large books, physically huge, on the impact of writings from the Embassy of the Freemind in Amsterdam. This is more of my research for some adventures I would like to write in a fantasy version of Europe. More books; you can never have enough.

I also purchased on eBay some figures I am painting for a friend’s daughter. A young female druid made by Reaper in metal. I would prefer their bones plastic, but I can make this work. We like plastic figures on the table-top as they don’t scratch and break. I will try to work the figure this week and weekend.

I ordered HO and N scale windows used for building model train scale building. Micromark sells a couple random sets; I should find what I need in the set. The train guys have all the best toys! I want to use a few windows to dress up the factory I am painting. I also think I could use these tiny windows on a couple of ship models on the back-burner.

I started the day sleeping into 7ish as my first meeting was at 8. I spent the early morning catching up with what happened during India’s day and getting started for Wednesday.

12,736 people were vaccinated yesterday in Oregon–this is a preliminary number and will increase. Oregon has administered more than a million doses so far, and our county, Washington, has vaccinated more than 13% of the population. We still have not managed an appointment for shots, but I am very optimistic that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will reduce the logistical problems of two-shot vaccination. We could not get appointments for both shots, so we could not schedule anything. I will try again.

2,350 people died today from Covid-19 in the USA. The death rate is not decreasing now.

I turned to a hymn I did not know, On This Day Earth Shall Ring–Methodist Hymnal #248. This is a 16th-century hymn.

Today started at 6ish as I had status meetings at 7. We were meeting the vendor and Nike in India. It was about our data conversions. That was followed by more status meetings that went on for hours on Zoom.

I did not sleep very well, and my memory of today is a bit fuzzy, so this will be a short blog.

I had a few crises of the moment to resolve before I managed a walk. My coughing was a bit harsh, and I took the shorter walk; use it or lose it! My breathing is better after the walk and using my inhalers.

I ordered lunch from Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant delivered by GrubHub. I got someone’s lunch, but not what I ordered. The mole was sweet and cinnamon; not what I would have selected–interesting.

Susie got going in the afternoon, and I made her oatmeal from instant, two packs. I made oatmeal from scratch yesterday–I am sticking with instant oatmeal (pun!).

We managed to run the conversion jobs, and I have been going on and off all day and the evening.

I did manage to read and take a couple short naps to help. This helps me stay focused, but I am now becoming drained.

I was not able to get a Covid-19 shot appointment for us today. I will keep searching every day.

The Schwann’s truck showed up today, and my driver, Stephene, helped me restock the freezer. She comes by every two weeks and has been running through most of the emergency. I got my ham for Christmas from her. They have good pork products and frozen veggies.

I made grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner today. We had a slice of carrot cake for dessert; this is the last of the carrot cake I made from scratch last week.

Only 3,984 people were vaccinated yesterday in Oregon. These numbers will likely improve as it takes 72 hours to collect all the data.

1,989 people have died from Covid-19 today in the USA.

I found this, and it works today: O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.

Today I started about 7ish with endless status calls until about 10:30, all on Zoom. The coffee and breakfast did not help, and I was fatigued and had trouble following the conversations. I had trouble with asthma this weekend, likely the dry, sunny days are full of pollen, and I am just worn-out.

I made a can of chili for lunch and got Susie out the door at 9ish for her appointment. She, too, looked pale and seemed a bit worn-out. I wish that we had had the party that went with the hang-over! Susie’s driver got her to Zerida, and Susie had hair, nails, etc., done. Susie picked up a McDonald’s Happy Meal with McNuggets, her fav.

I tried to get Susie an appointment for the Covid-19 shot. So far, I have not managed it. I suspect I will land one soon. Maybe Johnson and Johnson will make this easier.

I sent an email out that I was too tired to keep up with the status meetings and took off the afternoon. I went to bed, read for a while, and then woke about 4:30ish. Susie took a nap. I returned to email and work. I was going to just close-out Monday, but then I saw that the data conversion was running at 5PM and would run until midnight.

I could not miss this. I got back online for work, and then on my own Apple computer, I sent out an email to cancel the Roll20 Dungeons and Dragon game for this Monday. I listened and watched more of the time. This is data conversion, and I mostly watch the team.

So I am still watching while updating this blog. I am tired and had a headache. I will take some allergy meds tonight.

6,169 people were vaccinated in Oregon yesterday on a Sunday. This number will likely increase slightly, but the Sunday numbers have been low for the previous months.

One thousand four-hundred thirty-nine people died today from the virus in the USA.

I turned to Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me, in the Methodist Hymnal–#361.

Today’s story will be more about events than a retelling of the day. I thought this would be more interesting, and today was exciting for me, but I suspect it is less so for others.

Today was the last day of February 2021, and my deadlines, self-imposed for taxes. I spent the whole morning doing tax work with TurboTax online version. Others may fear using a cloud version, but I have found the experience very secure and much better than using a local version.

I also cooked oatmeal from scratch and nearly burned it while concentrating on tax stuff and not the bubbling pot of goo on the stovetop. I managed to pour cold water from the faucet on the bottom of the pan to reduce the energy release from stirring. This saved it (and can save rice too).

I had a couple of bowls of freshly cooked oatmeal with just a sprinkle of brown sugar. The unconsumed portion turned to glue in the pan and is soaking to get off the pan now. It was messy, and I will buy more instant!

I finally printed off the Fidelity tax documents, I was looking at the year-end statement in error, and blessedly the corrected cost bases for all the stock transactions were thusly available. I could then supply all the mysterious data TurboTax did not get when it supposedly uploaded the same data. I performed the usual rituals of clicking forever to finally accept the tax information.

I then paid the slightly discounted fee because I finished in February and sent in my taxes to the Feds and Oregon. I owe a lot. I had also paid early when I did some stock transactions. Hate to piss-off Uncle Sam; he got some $ early.

I was surprised to learn that the taxes run so differently now. Oregon is still using taxes as if 1040 was still the same before Trump’s tax cuts. This meant that while the tax changes prevent me from using itemized deductions on 1040, they do seem to work on Oregon 40. I am so glad I entered our charitable giving. I want to record our giving even if I am forced to use the standard deduction. It reduced my Oregon taxes, at least.

By noon I had pushed all the buttons, and the Fed and State of Oregon had my taxes. My checks will follow in April for the bill. I never pay early.

Nobody was up; I went on a celebration of my own. Sushi has not been on the menu the whole lockdown. I believe part of the Sushi’s enjoyment is sitting in a bar or restaurant and ordering and delivering it to you at the bar or table. The presentation on plates or on bamboo is part of the meal to me. It is not a GrubHub item for me. I also like cold draft Japanese beer with it.

It has been more than a year since I visited Wasabi in our area. Their website is hacked (it route you to a viagra website), so no link, but their food is good, and the bartender was the same guy I had a year ago. I ordered the small combo sushi plate and a beer. It was wonderful, and small is not a word I would associate with it.

My laptop was with me, and even the Internet password still worked. Again, it feels like I was there just last week and not a whole year ago. Again, everyone looked happy to be there, it was a bit busy, but there was that tiny hint of fear that this may go away again.

I went home from there and got Susie going. After pills, food, and getting dressed, Susie walked down our street with her walker. It is one of her exercises. She was tired after the walk, but we got in the car and drove places.

We stopped by Cory’s house, and I gave his wife Jenifer a copy of the Wingspan learning set. The board game Wingspan, a unique game where you create a bird sanctuary and manage it–a resource management game based on real science and good game design, can be hard to learn, and this kit, I bought two, so I gave Cory and Jenifer another one, helps teach the game. I have not been to Cory and Jenifer’s house since March 2020, our Sunday gaming group’s last Dungeons and Dragons game. We hope to play again in the summer!

We dropped off a jar of King Arthur Floor’s Vietnamese cinnamon for Dondrea. This spice is a bit sharper than my usual cinnamon and made delicious cinnamon rolls. I ordered some more items from King Arthur, and I ordered an extra jar to give away. I recommend this product.

We got home, and I made dinner (not interesting), and we watched the Pixar movie The Incredibles 2.

I returned to work in India afternoon time, 10:30PM PST.

Completing my taxes and closing 2020 has given me a hopeful feeling. I feel that 2020 is fading away, and 2021 will be better.

19,513 people were vaccinated yesterday in Oregon. These numbers will likely increase as it takes 72 hours to collect all the data.

1,253 people died in the USA from the virus today.

I turned in the Methodist Hymnal to We Shall Over Come–#533.

No working this weekend, so I was up at 8ish and slowly found my way this morning. I did manage to fail in making coffee. I put too much coffee in the drip coffee maker, and it blocked and overflowed back into the back of the coffee maker. A mess!

Breakfast was a bagel and banana while Susie slept. I started on my taxes and got all of the forms loaded for all my transactions and have only a few hours to go on that. I will try to find some time on Sunday morning, time to “give up to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s.”

As often happens, I was out of time and rushes to make the noon opening for Mox Board House for food and gaming. I managed to get out the door and load a few games in the car by 11:30ish.

I was surprised that I had traffic in Beaverton and that highway 26 to Portland was slow and crawling on a Saturday morning. It was a sort of sunny day, well sunny for us in the Pacific NorthWest–meaning not pouring rain and so gray that it makes moss look emerald, and thus everyone was out on the roads driving with politeness. A lane was also closed on 26 for no real reason I could see. I was only a few minutes past noon when I parked the car in the garage under Mox and other residential and retail spaces next to Providence Park.

The store, Mox, was just the way I remember it, and they remembered me. Megan, the manager, was happy to see me, and “we can now talk instead of chatting online.” After about Thanksgiving, the lockdown happened again in Portland, and I had not back to the store except on their Facebook page. Actually, their game selection is better, and the little items, like a dice tray, selection is great, and I did pick-up a few hard-to-find items. I have a folding dice tray, paint tops for Citadel styled paint bottles, and a light tan color I ran out–“mummy robes.”

Tim, whom I remember from before the lockdown, was serving today. I ordered a beer, and Evan joined me a bit at 12:30ish and had a mocha coffee. I had walked back to the car in the garage, using the elevator, to get some games. I asked permission to play as I did not know the new Covid-19 rules. Megan was happy to tell me to play some games. Someday, Megan said she will get to play her first game of Scythe someday, and as usual, I offered, after Covid-19 fades, to teach her.

We all felt like the last 100 days of lockdown fade away and that it seemed like we had been playing every weekend and seeing each other most weekends. But, the USA’s death rate reached more than 5,000 souls lost a day during this last lockdown. You could see in everyone’s eyes how much they were happy to be back and how scared we all were, and how fearful we are now that the lockdown will come again. All greetings are muted but heartfelt.

Evan inaugurated our return to gaming at Mox by reaching an almost 50 lead in two-person Vindication. The board game was mercifully fast. Evan gave me advice on playing better, showing how far Evan has come from learning the game from me to using me for a virtual footstool in the game.

We had a smaller white table as Mox was a bit busy and certainly busier than I saw it when it first opened at the beginning of the Pandemic. I did not get a long table as those went to larger groups. We made it work. Folks put on masks and were very careful.

Lunch for me was Mushroom Bourguignon with a beer. Evan had the NW Duck and Mushroom mix burger. No complaints. Evan started on the new cocktails.

After lunch, it was time to play the Concordia board game. I picked a new board to play that includes just part of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal, and Belgium that we had not played before. It was a bit tighter map with fewer cities. We did include the Forum from the Concordia Salsa add-on. Evan was aggressively building trading posts in cities. I instead focused on buy cards and building my point multipliers. I remember Will, who taught me the game and that buying cards often decides the winner, not the building of trading posts.

I enjoy this game and often plan my turn two to three moves ahead. When Evan tripped the end of the game, gaining seven points for that, I was unsure of the score. Concordia does scoring at the end. I managed a ten-point lead by my investment in cards, and last-minute trading post builds the turn before Evan ended the game.

We paid our bill so that Tim could get his tip and then opened a new bill with Tatiana and Marlyn, who had the evening shift. I always try to pay two bills, so each team gets paid.

Tatiana was my first bartender at Mox, and Marlyn was my first evening bartender at Mox. I got them to pose for a new picture for this first re-opened weekend.

We had dessert and coffee, and then we paid the bill and let our friends at Mox get on with the night customers.

Susie was missing me already, and I made her a grilled cheese for dinner when I got home. Susie then watched the movies Henry V and High Society.

Oregon had a record day for vaccinations this week and almost 25,000 shots yesterday. The number is updated over three days and shows great promise.

One thousand five-hundred fifty-four people died today from the infection.

I decided to pick something different today: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole ➖ ‘Over The Rainbow’ & ‘What A Wonderful World’ Medley.