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Going back, I reached the house from Matt’s house before ten, and I had a slice of bread with peanut butter as a snack. M@ cooks us burgers with some keto buns, and Scott, who does not eat meat, has dinner before he heads to M@’s place. I just wanted something tasty, and peanut butter and toast worked. I also caught another For All Mankind episode and found it interesting to have watched the recently made prequel and how the two shows fit together. I assembled French Bread in my bread machine, always weighing my flour. The last tries were flops, and I replaced the flour and yeast since then, but I have not made anything lately. I leave it running overnight and later fall asleep to the smell of yeast. I do dream, and I am traveling again in my dream world, then returning to work. I am so much younger. Most of the dreaming details are lost to me now.

Before this, I was at M@ playing Carter the Great, my sorcerer/bard, as we descend to the bottom of Hell to learn the secrets of how to destroy an unholy relic. We are also rescuing lost souls. Tonight, Ulysses, my wizard gnome who invented a way to make fried abyssal chicken that has flavor in hell (where all food usually tastes of ash and dust and does not satisfy), not KFC but UFC, soul will be rescued from damation. Without spoiling or risking copyright violations, I will say we rescued what was left of Ulysses and ran from most combats. Scott’s non-combat monk was beat up and had to be healed. My character and others staged a fake robbery and the resulting fight, and even sang during the pretend robbery while a real robbery was being committed by Scott’s character. Fake blood, multiple rounds of “combat,” and the rest had us finish up the whole recovery before we ran out of gaming time. Off to the third level of Hell!

We had a problem in the restaurant, as Ulysses was suffering from irony, a tool for punishment in hell, and was built into a golem tasked with being a short-order cook. We finally intimidated the owner into giving us the golem, which we then had to violently and dramatically disassemble in the marketplace. Since it was Hell, it counted as entertainment and broke up the monotony.  Scott is enlarged and dragging our boat out of harm’s way. My figure, in blue, is facing a bone devil, and that went poorly, nearly killing Carter in one set of hits! Jack’s character is in a nightmare. Scott, sort of a Flash-like character, ran us out of the battle. The devils had objected to the moral outrage of one of our characters (not Carter, who is a charlatan and sees Hell as just another place full of opportunities for his special skills).

Before this, I rose closer to 8 than I will admit here; I made coffee and started to write the blog in my office. It was partially cloudy, which would burn off to mostly sunny. The wind is back, the harbinger of fall, from the high desert, East to West, and colder than the still air. The cold, heavy air flows into the Columbia Gorge, then blows west over the Portland hills, bringing cold, sometimes freezing, air to the valley. Sometimes called the Coho winds. The rains, pushed out a day, are now predicted to start on Wednesday and last a week.

I write, finish the blog, have some chai pudding (I used too many chai seeds, but I will try to get it right next time), and then dress and board Air VW the Gray. I dress in tan slacks, a biz shirt, a sweater vest, and a brown butterfly tie from Deborah.

I still need a haircut.

I usher and listen. Brian, our organist, is out at his grandchild’s first birthday party. The praise band manages, and Eric K does a nice solo too. Dondrea, tired from running 17 miles in Hood-to-Coast, is doing her usual directing and then steps up to give the sermon too.

Her theme comes from Matthew’s story of his calling with the other tax collectors, 9:9-13. And Dondrea reminds us that Jesus called out mercy, not sacrifice. It is better to eat with and forgive sinners than the best sacrifices of time and treasure. While Z, the liturgist today, read the text listing the sinners, I amused the folks in the back by adding Methodists to the list, especially Carl, who was near me. Being in the back, unseen except by the folks up front, is a special advantage of being an usher.

Dondrea pointed out that we often feel special for all our work and attendance at church. But maybe we should be out there eating with sinners and bringing mercy these days. Mercy should be our focus.

With that, and some easy-to-sing hymns, we broke for coffee. I helped to put the money away and then headed out. I was soon home after committing a caloric disaster at Carl’s Jr. and a Western Burger. I was tired and rested a bit at the house. Corwin stopped by to pick up a package, then made pizza. I headed off to M@’s.

And that takes us full circle. Thanks for reading!

I am enjoying rolling over and not rising early in this late summer. I am still not fully recovered from the jet lag, colonoscopy, and nonstop activities since I returned from NYC. I put the brakes on for Saturday and focused on home things, reading, and coding. I invested the morning in laundry and writing the blog. I think my writing has improved, and I am again enjoying finding the words for the story of the day before. It is not a duty or a discipline.

Also, I am ignoring more and more of Grammarly’s suggestions as I like my voice better than its simplifications. For example, in the previous sentence, Grammarly wants ‘because’ instead of ‘as,’ but to me that sounds less like me. I find ‘because’ to sound like a child, and it screams to me ‘Becaaaauuuussse.’ I almost never use ‘because.’ I don’t like it. It is a thing for me.

Returning to my story, I make coffee now, drinking liberal Equal Exchange again and noticing it has more flavor now. This is not a change in the coffee but a return to taste for me. I have lost much of my sense of taste, not from COVID-19, but from a mouth infection and I am happy to have it slowly return.

I managed to finish the blog by 10:30ish and remember to publish. When I head to Facebook to post it there, I often get distracted by what I find there, both good and bad, and forget to publish my link. Saturday, I remember and even get the email version out. And while, dear reader, you would think I would have this down cold after so many years and thousands of posts, nope, every day is a new day. And that is a good thing.

Sheets, underwear, socks, pants, shirts, and other items are cleaned, and some are even put away. I return to my new Scythe faction I have been painting, the Sultan faction from the add-on and stand-alone board game, Duel of Molech, which was dry. I wipe off the extra black oil paint, and this polishes the silvers. The black has faded some, but the 3D pop is still strong. Done. Later, I will lightly spray them with a dull coat, again using Mr. Clean brand rather than Army Painter’s Anti-Shine, which I find dims the colors and metallics (dull coats from paint stores also do this). A mist spray; just enough to remove the shine and lock in the oil.

(You can see the metallics are not strong even with this light dusting. I often dry-brush them again to brighten them, but these fit the picture. Done.)

I dressed, updated my plans with Rev. Steve, and selected tequila and tacos for lunch at Amelia’s Exquisite Mexican Restaurant in Hillsboro (their official name). I picked the Kolchak T-shirt, which Steve liked, and I got many questions about it, and I think I bored many young people with suggestions to try the show (the opening credits are great, here). It is Saturday Market, and parking is complex, but I manage to find a spot nearby and walk into the Saturday Market, and Steve finds me there, still resisting the sweets, veggies, and breads that look lovely. Instead, we return for a small drink and a plate of excellent food.

We catch up and cover what I am learning about the surveillance state that AI and various corporate entities have created. Unlike something I see on the show Star City, it is not the government that you need to fear, but the greed, complacency, and basic stupidity that a lack of transparency creates when handling deeply personal information (your location and whereabouts). Stalkers have killed people using Flock and similar technology.

I also shared with Rev. Steve (retired) that I am exploring quantum computing and programming in Rust, a programming language and ecosystem I am not very familiar with. All this is from the HOPE 2026 hackers’ convention. Plus, Steve and I chatted about travel and enjoyed each other’s company wtih drinks and food.

With the food and drinks done and dessert passed upon, we settle the bill and head in our separate directions. I head to a London Fog (tea with milk and sugar) and read for two hours more about complex numbers and their use in quantum mechanics and, more importantly for me, their connection to quantum computing. I began to see some of the underlying mathematical structures that align with the metaphor and with my understanding of collapsing wave functions. This reminds me of some of my work on fractals and on solving run-of-the-mill equations, including complex-number solutions. I did not know that the polar version makes the equations easier to work with. I remember back in the 1980s seeing the same thing in Differential Equations.

I also find the work a bit boring, and I remember that from the 1980s, too. The tea helps. The music in my AirPods also helps. A hardback chair and a public space also mean not nodding off. I have not used all these study tricks in a long time. I also recall some of the mathematics, but I have not needed this stuff since classes back in the early 1980s.

Somewhere while driving, I need the wipers, as it rains hard enough to be heard by Deborah on a call. We in the Pacific Northwest are tired of the endless California days and want our rains back. It is the same every August. We are all delighted to finally get a soaking. Next week, we have at least four days of rain. Yay!

Aside: The grape and wine people are rushing to get the crop in before it is rotted or soaked with rain next week. It is The Crush! It is possible to wait it out and let the water wear off in drier weather. Winemaking is about choices.

More Aside: Grapes need to suffer to make good wine. Water is not flavor for wine. It dilutes and spreads yeast too thin, either burning through the sugars too fast or stopping before the work is done; not a helpful return of the rains for wine people.

I pack up and head home. Corwin surprises me by visiting, but then I remember he has some deliveries. Hank the dog is happy to see me, Pee Dog to me. Hank and Corwin stay for a few Slow Horses Season 2 episodes. I heat up Irish Stew from Costco and feed Pee Dog some cheese. We get a few episodes in. Corwin heads out with Hank, who managed not to be Pee Dog today and enjoyed lots of petting.

I wrote some Rust in the evening. I tried to understand some standards and forms in Rust. I learned that Rust contains complex structures and the ability to link programs in pieces. There are also cross-compilers for it. Rust contains object-oriented structures like C++ and Python. I see I have lots more to learn. I also found that Unix 7 has fully incorporated Rust into its programming language model. All interesting. It has been a lot of learning today.

After that, I tried to read a spy story, but fell quickly asleep instead. Thanks for reading!

Friday was a cooler day, but the hot fall sun was still striking. The yellow jackets are out, annoying everyone as they search, with some desperation — it is their nature — for food to complete their cycle in their buried dens. They rush to form the queens they need to participate in next year’s summer. From my reading and experience, there seem to be more now, and it is unwise to step into unfamiliar bushes or other plantings off the main paths without looking for wasps. I was one of those children who stepped in a nest and was stung over and over with them in my clothing. I do not love wasps, or fear them, but I treat them with respect.

No wasps that I saw in my backyard as I rose at 7:30ish and reheated my coffee in my new microwave (remembering to push the “Open Door” button before I pull the door handle). I found my focus and wrote the blog. I had lunch planned with Brad J and Scott W, my fellow retired Nike colleagues. I got a message from Scott W that he would be early, and I started to rush. I managed to publish the blog, shower, shave, and dress. Air VW the Gray got me there before Scott W had reached 1/4 of his beer. Brad and Scott greeted me, and we enjoyed an hour and some change talking about travel, and Scott W and Brad J sharing notes on various hikes. Both Scott W and Brad J hike and enjoy the changes in altitude, sometimes climbing boulders to reach lovely places on this earth. Brad J and Scott W might hike some places together when they are in the same area.

We did not talk about money, as the market seems to be rising inexplicably in both yields and equities. Junk bonds are over 7.5%, and while the markets are flat, I made enough to crack my nut of expenses, including my travel. I have not planned my year-end yet and may give some capital away to church and other non-profits (in ways less efficient than just paying the taxes; it is definitely more satisfying and fun).

We broke up and will meet again — just Scott and I in September, and Brad J, back from Eastern Oregon, in October. I travel for over 1/4 of the remaining year. We are enjoying our traveling years (let’s not call it retired years).

I drive around Beaverton, find a muffin-and-coffee place, and add to my Friday calorie load with an almond-and-poppy muffin and coffee. I read more about quantum computing. They are closing in an hour, and I take a break as I finish the first introduction, using a playing-card computer as a metaphor for quantum processes. I am tempted to try to code the example, as suggested in the book, to better understand it. Maybe in Rust. Thinking.

I hear from Dondrea; she is running Hood-to-Coast in the team, Super Delegates: “How Can We Make This Suck More,” and has safely completed her first run. Dondrea is also preaching this weekend. Last I heard, she was revising her words to include a remembrance of Dolly Parton in the sermon.

I find my way to Cosmic Monkey Comics by taking the slower, non-highway route, which is slower but more fun. The sun is bright, and I squint often as I turn, and the sun is once again blazing in my windshield. I park within a block of the store and realize I missed out and should have been here sooner. Doomquest #4 is sold out, and I am told, “It is quite popular.” I order #3 in error and take a Doctor Who and a Solomon Kane #2 (#1 is sitting unread at home), and later regret ordering the wrong comic.

I am already running out of time; I agreed to dinner with Mariah at Nudi (a noodle house with fantastic mixed drinks) and to head across Portland again, this time in the other direction, to reach that area in SE. Hollywood, Laurelhurst, and Reed College are passed by. I sit in the EV and read Short Circuit comic about the Fugitive Doctor in the Doctor Who universe. I enjoy the story and the return of the hand mines and Daleks.

Mariah appears after I sit down (having finished my comic), and we order insane fruit and tequila drinks. We have fried pickles to start, and then a new noodle dish. I liked it, but I think their soup-based items are more my style. Still, it was wonderful, and I ate most of it. We talked about plans, and I was still distracted and unclear in my thinking, so I kept much of it on the surface. I did whine about all the church emails, texts, and the misadventures that came with them, and my frustration that this is not what I want to do. We ordered the house flan, another caloric mistake, but it was sooooo good. It was cold, and the flan was cooked into a squash. Wow!

With all of that, I spun the EV around and headed back to the house and talked to Deborah while I took the well-worn path home. We are both missing each other and must focus on the usual mundane things of modern life, like buying groceries and organizing the house.  We talk often. We will see each other again on 15th Oct and then again on Christmas.

I return home and watch For All Mankind on Apple TV. This is the American story from the same people who made the alternative-history Star City show as a prequel. I finish the first episode and find the fun mix of Nixon and his tapes and Senator Ted Kennedy, who misses a trip that would have been a disaster for him, when the Soviets beat the West to the moon. All interesting.

I complete the first chapter and stop there, as the next chapter is filled with mathematics. No reason to start that at night. Not bedtime reading. Instead, I return to my figures and seal the colors with a gloss coat. Once that’s dried, I brush them with oil paint to shade them black. The Army Painter inks tend to change the colors of the underlying acrylics. Also, their Anti-Shine spray seems to dull too much and change colors. Instead, I use Mr. Clean brands.

With this undercoat of gloss, the figures’ shine becomes uniform, and some colors stand out more; the oil paint flows well, and I can fill in all the details, making the figures “pop” into 3D. I soak the figures in a black wash. When it dries, it can be wiped off to bring back some metallic shine. I will also check if I need to brighten any areas with dry brushing a mix of the base colors with some white, but this can be wiped off if overdone before it dries (the oil paint can always be wiped off).

The final coat of dull must be a light coat, or the figure will wash out the colors and metallics will turn to grays and shades of yellow. The purpose is to lock in the new work and remove the shine. Only the lightest spray is needed. But tonight, I just let the oil shading dry. I will finish them tomorrow.

I talk to a sleepy Deborah, to whom I wish a good night. It is always wonderful to end and start our days together.

I am tired, but I feel less frustrated because I got some reading done and my figures are nearly finished. I also got my printer to work. With a new, expensive black ink cartridge, it now prints well. Hmmm.

I read the Solomon Kane comics, #1-2, which take Solomon Kane to pre-British-conquest India. I know the history and the areas (having been to the ruins of the palace featured in the story). It is interesting to add magic, mysticism, and Kane to these stories. I like it. There is a published version of the early story, and I might acquire that.

With that done, and not wanting to dive into more quantum or a spy story. I calm my breathing and drift off. I am having breathing issues again and feel like I am drowning again in the air. I know it is stress and pollen. The chemo also gives me this feeling and is one of the side effects. My 02 levels are good. My inhaler gets more use in the fall. Love all those pines and the pine smell, but it does make it harder for me.

I sleep and only wake to check hydration, then find my way back to my remade bed. The sheets always are so inviting when newly replaced. I snuggle in, and the world fades to black. Dreams fill the night, but all are forgotten; I suspect there was quantum India with Kane from the flashes I can sort of remember.

Thanks for reading!

Thursday was full of items. I rose after 7 and soon made coffee. This is the Equal Exchange brand from the Portland, Oregon warehouse, already ground. I have a huge bag of Starbucks beans, but this one was open, so I will use it up. Ever since Trump was elected the first time, I have changed my coffee to liberal. Every morning, I am reminded that we liberals are always seeking Justice with Compassion with every sip of that dark, bitter drink.

Let me pause and note the shocking anti-Muslim statement I have seen of late on social media, accusing a whole religion of the sins of a vocal minority; it has saddened me. I thought we were past such simple manipulations, but once again I see this is not true.

Just in case we all need a reminder of our agreement as a people, please consider the following. Please notice that the order is: first, we are in this together, Union, and that Justice is our first priority:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

And

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Lastly

“Justice” defined by Noah Webster in 1828: “The virtue which consists in giving to every one what is his due; practical conformity to the laws and to principles of rectitude in the dealings of men.”

Note: And a reminder that English traditions of this time used the masculine pronoun and the masculine form for groups. Webster means everyone. It is an inclusive word and has nothing to do with revenge. And for those reading Bible translations that use the word “Justice,” this is what it means in that context too. 

Returning to the story, I wrote the blog and did my usual morning tasks of updating Quicken with transactions and reading the news. Mostly, less about the President and more about wars, costs, and disasters. I have noticed a change over the last few months. I read my emails, mostly deleting them.  I had an 11 meeting at the church, and I managed to get the blog posted (and yesterday’s that I failed to send out by email and post) and showered and dressed. I reached the Beaverton First United Methodist Church on time in Air VW the Gray.

The meeting, I will skip the details, went for an hour and then I talked to Jack and Wendy on some other items. I later called Jeff A to do some work for us. I ended up calling Wendy twice to cover other items. I have a long list of items to get completed at the church.

Lunch was a bust; Scott W was not able to make it, and I had missed his text. I had lunch alone and got Theology Pub booked for next month. Another item completed. Next, it was a day full of sadness; I drove over to the local gaming store, Rune and Board, to cancel my Tuesday night games. We never got anyone to join us, other than Nic, the store owner, and it was best to bring the experiment to an end. Again, I have noticed that the store’s focus, rightfully, is on items that generate excitement and revenue: Collectible Card Games and Warhammer 20K. I talked to a customer, McCloud, who had finished some huge, wonderfully awful demons for Warhammer. We talked about painting for a while. I was amazed to see cards for sale priced at $850. I headed out.

Next was buying too much for too much at Costco. I selected meats and dinners for me for the next couple of weeks. I also got a few items for the church, including ‘hot’ cups. Costco has no boxes. I just pile the stuff into the EV cargo hold from the cart. It takes a while to unload at the house, and I split up the heavy purchase of meats and call Corwin to get about 1/2. It was $300+ of items, and he and I are not set with food for the next month. I put most of it in the freezer, as it is just me. I put most of it in separate bags. I usually cook one steak, a pork chop, or make a batch of goulash for multiple meals.

I have Costco chicken for dinner, and they’re not good, ready-to-reheat scalloped potatoes. Corwin is running late, and I eat and finish the last episode of Star City. It is an anti-ending, as it leaves many arcs unfinished, much like the Cold War disappeared one day. I enjoyed it, and though it is dark, I would recommend it.

Corwin appears, harvests some Costco chicken and scalloped potatoes with Hank the Dog (“Pee dog,” as I call him), whom I watch with care. The dog seemed delighted to be back at the house and ran around the house. We finished the first season of Slow Horses.

Corwin and I then watched the lunar eclipse, with Corwin managing an excellent photo by using video, selecting a frame, and then taking a screenshot. I could not reproduce his photo, but I must admit, I did not try too hard. Corwin then headed home with Hank the Dog, who managed not to pee on anything (that I am aware of, but the bedroom doors were closed). I returned to painting my Scythe Sultan figures and finished up the base painting. As usual with model building, figure painting, and assembly, they often finish suddenly. I will follow with shading and final finishing steps. I use a column pawn, not the usual pawn supplied in my version of Scythe, to mark actions. I bought a spare set, painted one gray (it was green from another faction I already have) with primer, then copied the faction board, cut out the faction symbol from the copy, and glued it to the column. Later, I painted it with transparent anti-shine from a bottle. I will try to update the other Scythe markers to match my updated version.

(Hank the Dog watching us watch the moon)

Next, feeling out of sorts, I nodded off, then woke up wide awake. I picked up my book on Quantum Computing, finished the introduction, and started the first chapter. I read past 11 and stopped as the material got complex. Not the time for that. But I felt better about making some progress on something I wanted to do. I also looked at my final hotel reservation in Nashville for my 15Sept trip, but was not happy with the Studio 154 Lux Hotel rooms, as they were expensive and seemed to lack windows when I went to its website to book a few days. It seemed like a repurposing of a commercial building into rooms, but without windows. Hmmm. More to follow. Also, they wanted an extra $30 to book, with a chance of cancellation. Double Hmmmm.

I ordered some printer ink cartridges because I am getting terrible results with my new Canon 4720 Printer. I have found this replacement printer a disappointment. The scanner is no longer usable on my Apple after a software update, and now it cannot print. I have always had a disdain for printers; they always seem to be more dust collectors than printers.

I returned to bed, slept, and woke with terrible leg cramps. I drank more water, and that stopped it. I managed to sleep until 7ish. There were dreams, but none stayed with me, not even a flash of a memory.

Thanks for reading!

I rose on Wednesday without much of a plan. I did have two bagels from Emma, and one was soon toasted and covered in cream cheese. They are still a work in progress, according to Emma, and while not a bagel-like bread product, they were still not the same as the ones I got in NYC; they are still better than most here in the Pacific Northwest (thanks, Emma), and clearly a bagel. Thus fortified, and adding the last OP Bean coffee from Portland Coffee Roasters (so liberal that a few bucks from each bag is sent to Oregon Public Broadcasting), I began my morning.

It was another sunny morning, and I saw the hummingbirds searching the roses this time for pollen. I spotted the local squirrels carrying materials to hide or something. The grasshoppers are back. The dragonflies and damselflies often pass through. No cat patrols of late, and I have not seen a rodent running along the fence again. I am not sure if it is a mouse, rat, or something else, as it is fast.

Despite the desert conditions, the roses are blooming, with Mister Lincoln not wanting to disappoint anyone. The Herbalist, an impossible-to-find David Austin variety from 1991, is smaller but looks good. The other roses, while sporting smaller flowers, are all growing.

(Mister Lincoln)

(A David Austin Herbalist now only available in Europe, if there)

I was dragging after running the Call of Cthulhu tabletop role-playing game on Tuesday night, playing the same game the next morning, and having the colonoscopy on Monday. It felt like it was time to slow down for a bit. With the blog done and published, I strangely missed emailing it or posting it to Facebook (I did get it to Facebook on my phone), so I showered and dressed.

I painted my new Sultan Scythe figures. I am getting them further. The colors are gray, but I added more brass and silver shades to make them more 3D. I am still using diluted paints.

I was not sure what to do for lunch, but decided on BJ’s Brewhouse. I sat and was surprised that prices were now in the $25 range, but inflation is still above 2%, and the service industry had to endure huge increases (“surging profits” is the word that I read when looking at non-health insurance companies); it was not a real surprise. But what did surprise me was the $13 lunch offered on weekdays, which was 1/2 the size of the $26 version. Excellent. It was a suggestion from Chris, my soft-spoken bartender. I had sat at the bar.

With lunch inside me and having mostly read and skimmed the rulebook for the board game Brass for the newer Birmingham version, I returned home. I took a nap until 4ish. I picked up (having boarded Air VW the Gray and crossed Beaverton in our first after-school traffic this fall) Emma, and we enjoyed the Beaverton Carts for a 5ish dinner. I gave the rules to Emma and tried to explain Brass, but it is best to just dive in and experience it in a practice game (the practice game is highly recommended in the rules).

We arrive too early; today I am running early, and we wait at the church, but Emma gets to read more rules. Z, Dondrea, and the rest arrive about 6:30-ish, and soon we are about it. We assemble the board game, which takes some effort, as Brass: Birmingham has complex rules, many components, and lots of cardboard pieces to manage. The Praise Band practices and even plays the hymns for Sunday, as Brian, the organist and choir director, is out this Sunday, and thus they need to play all the music for Sunday’s service. We manage to get through the turns. Z struggles, as our last time playing Brass was a year ago, but soon Z gets it. Emma surges ahead, having read the rules and asking questions over and over that I can mostly answer. Z listens, and soon we are flying.

I was reading, as I was preparing to play Brass, that some universities use the game as an example of how capital is used to enable even more capital. How to use borrowing to enable progress, but also not to drown in debt and misspending. Capital cannot be held; it must be spent to increase income, cover borrowing costs, and enable more capital and even more borrowing.

We did not finish the first Epic or the practice game, but Emma and Z voted that it was fun and that we should play it again. We will get it out again. Next time, we should be able to finish the Epic. Also, practice will be longer when the choir returns in the next few weeks.

I dropped off Emma at her apartment, where the cats — she has two — are likely plotting. I understand the cats are of questionable sanity. I headed home, watched the depressing after-events Star City episode; I have only one left. I found it an interesting show, and the hour-long episodes fascinating, though dark. The word dystopian does not cover it; more like it is steeped in Orwellian anti-Justice and Stalinist terror.

I soon read in bed, but made no progress. I put aside my current book and tried something I found in Michigan, which better fit my mood, but soon nodded off. I closed the book, took off my glasses, managed not to drop them on the floor, and soon slept. I dreamed bright dreams of playing Brass, but this time, when you built something, it came into existence. Z and Emma were busy with their Empires too. Karen, the church treasurer, reminded me in my dream to increase my liquidity by taking out loans. I woke to prove hydration, but then returned to my dreams. I think I then toured my empire, which matched some of the features of Star City and rockets. As Chief Designer (dream logic can easily allow for a normally illogical change), I reduced the repression, but this lowered my liquidity. Morning came, and I woke. I do not remember if I improved my cash flow.

Thanks for reading.