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Today was the first time I have played Dungeons and Dragons in months. One of our players was ill and just got home and well enough to play again. You forget how much you missed something until you once again get to do it again.

Today we played on Roll20 using premade adventures. This is online and uses even video conferencing built-in to the software for everyone to see each other. We have been playing like this years before Corvid-19, and the lockdown made it the only real safe means to play. One of our players is handicapped, and this one of the ways we can play Dungeons and Dragons without all the stress of a physical game. Actually, I like the online version better than setting up the table-top as the software handles much of the housekeeping work and keeps everyone focused on the game and less on the mechanics.

Today I used two monitors. I have found it difficult to use just my small 12″ Apple screen and control all the bits of the game as the Dungeon Master, the player who runs the game using the software. I set-up another monitor, I have a flat-screen 17″ that is USB powered, and it was great to have the text and creatures on one screen and the adventure map, video chat, and chat window on the other screen. Today went much smoother.

We had a good time as my five players, and I played the Mad Mage’s Dungeon and finished most of the first level, and finally, the players discovered the entrance to the next level down. There are twenty-three levels! We will have a short break and pick-up the game again in two or three weeks due to holidays and family events. As we say, “life getting in the way of gaming.”

Today I also received some 32 GB SD cards and a write-read USB device from Amazon. I then downloaded the new Raspberry Pi SD card writing software and create a new boot disk on the SD card using the USB device. Of course, I then installed the card and booted-up the Raspberry Pi 4. The software was the newest version of Linux or what is called Raspberrian. This is more of my work to build a microcomputer controller for the church’s chimes.

It was refreshing that you can go to the Raspberry Pi organization website and just download the SD card writing software and then load-up the best current version of the operating system. Previously, I would load some version of Raspberian and then have to updates it and rebuild it for hours. Now you just get the best version. So much better!

While I was preparing on Roll20 and also working my Raspberry Pi set-up, I ordered KFC to be delivered. I was going to make dinner, but I could not swing that and get everything ready. I also love KFC. I used to have it for my birthday when I was a kid. It was nice to play Dungeons and Dragons and have my fav!

Work was Zoom meetings and working on software upgrades starting at 6ish this morning. I will likely work all night, once India gets going. I am tired today. I always have trouble going to sleep on Sunday night. I do not want the weekend to stop or the new week to begin. I try to drag it out the night a bit more, so sleep comes hard on Sunday night. It always has.

I had a lamb gyro from The Gyro House delivered by GrubHub for lunch. Always great!

The market is still building up, and there was a discussion that a stock split should not increase the prices of stocks. Both Apple and Tesla have announced splits, and these stock had flown straight-up. My 401K continues to expand, and Nike’s stock price continues to grow.

It is reported that five-hundred ten people died today from the virus in the USA.

I found a vesper hymn that I do not know, but it was so lovely I thought it was kind to share: Now, on Land and Sea Descending. This is Methodist Hymnal #685.

I forgot I had groceries delivered this morning. I found the stuff outside thirty minutes later. One substitution was not workable, and I got a bag of things I did not order, and I was missing a few items(someone has my cream cheese and I have their little vegan tomatoes). But, in the end, it still works for me to have everything delivered. It is safer than risking infections that are increasing in Oregon.

I did the dishes and the laundry today. I also wrote some Python today to handle YAML files for the new hardware-software I am making to control the chimes at the church. YAML is how modern software is controlled. It is also an unstructured means to store data. In my line-of-work, you either hate YAML or love them.

I made soup and then headed out and had even more lunch with Mariah at the Golden Valley Brewery. I had fish and chips and brought Susie back their chicken pot pie that she likes.

I have to admit that most of the day, I took a nap and relaxed. No mind-numbing AI tricks with Python. No impossible small figure painting. I just relaxed and did laundry and dishes.

I did spend hours reading and writing in Roll20 for our restart of our Dungeons and Dragon 5E campaign on Monday. We had a player get ill, not Covid-19, and so we stopped for the summer. Cory is better now, and so we will restart, and we have invited a new player to join. I created a new 9th level rogue character for him, so he has something to play. I am fully prepared for our adventure and can start a new player.

All of this is played online with a built-in video conference. All the material is purchased and most of the game system is built into the screens. A player clicks on a line that says sword and an attack roll appears in the window for all to see. Dynamic lighting and fog-of-war are in place. I have also invested, again, in the materials so the purchased rules are available to all the players.

We have been playing online for three years. Before it was cool! Before it was the only way!

I am also just doing more laundry and will likely do a bit of Python and reading.

Lastly, I watched the next episode of the show “Lovecraft Country” on HBO. To me, A perfect portrayal of the terrible racial discrimination suffered by black Americans in the 1950s and then adding in pulp horror Lovecraft. Highly recommended. I loved the book and find the revisions in this version surprising and workable. Excellent!

Today the reports show four-hundred thirty people in the USA died from the virus.

I went with this video with the translation of the Call to Prayer from Islam traditions.

It is hard to imagine that we have been locked down for 160 days now. I had to work-from-home even before the official lockdown as I had allergies, and every time I coughed or sneezed, my co-workers were not happy. So lockdown is about 165 days for me.

And to celebrate 160 days here is the best thing so far I have found created because of the lockdown on the Internet that makes me smile every time I play it: YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND performed by the worldwide cast of BEAUTIFUL (in quarantine) for The Actors Fund.

It was a busy week, and sleep was hard to come by for various reasons. So when I woke at 5AM this morning, I just rolled over. When I woke again at 6AM, I rolled over again and stayed that way until 9:30ish. I feel still a bit worn but not sleepy.

I attended a Meet-up via Zoom at 11AM for the Knowledge Mavins this Saturday. Garret, who runs the meet-up, had a guy named Nick who works on phonetics give a presentation on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA–though I always think it is about beer). Nick covered how all this works, and it was something I knew nothing about. Apparently, the IPA can be used to represent unique ways to make sounds for various languages and has charts for how certain vowels, for example, sound different in different versions of a given language.  The presentation video is here: How to Speak Every Language: A Tour of the International Phonetic Alphabet.

I finally finished the last faction mech miniatures today for my copy of Scythe the board game. I have all the proud colorful mechs in my copy of the game now. I have a spare set of miniatures from the manufacture. Scythe is one of the few games where even the plastic pieces can be bought and collected–there is also a metal set that is just going too far for me–so they can be painted and traded-sold. I have painted three sets of characters and now one set of mechs. I gave away one set of painted characters and have another that is yet to find a home. I am waiting for a spare set of airships and campaign parts so I can paint those too. But I can stop painting for a bit.

Aside: I try not to describe games I play as the link takes you to a website that will cover everything about the game.

I have now started on my next project. I have ordered a GPS top for a Raspberry Pi 4 microcomputer. I am building a chimes controller for the church and decided to go with the new powerful RPi4. I plan to get the time and day updates from a GPS connection. Get the date and time from the sky (satellites) just seems so right in a church. I can also use the Internet to get the time and day, that is how the Raspberry Pi, which does not have an internal clock, gets its time and date. I want to have the data and time double-checked before my software set-off a chime in Beaverton, Oregon!

The GPS board is from Adafruit in New York City but ordered from a regional supplier as Adafruit is still focused on making PPE for the city. Also, timing for deliveries is no longer promised. Apparently, the virus and the White House messing with the Postal Service now is making deliveries timing unstable. Bah!

Dinner was chili burger with cheese and onion for me, and a bacon and cheese covered patty for Susie. I cooked it all.

We were also snacking on new items from The Vermont Country Store that was delivered today. I reloaded my Charlie Chips in a Can, and we had other wonderful items. It is not helping with weight control!

King Arthur Flour scone mix, flour, dried buttermilk, and yeast for baking also was delivered today.

Today we are almost out of toilet paper. A new order for delivery from Safeway is in. Milk, TP, meat, and various other items will be here in the morning. I still avoid shopping. I try to order paper products for no more than two weeks of use.

Today it is reported that in the USA, more than nine-hundred seventy people died from the virus. Worldwide the reports for today show more than five thousand three-hundred deaths happened because of the virus, and about a quarter of a million people were counted as new cases today. The death rate for those counted as new cases of infection today is five percent. The chance of requiring hospitalization once infected is twenty percent.

This is the best version of this spiritual I could find on the Internet, ‘Tis the Old Ship of Zion. Methodist Hymnal #345 with many more verses.

Dinner was Susie’s choice, and Olive Garden was selected. We know the food is just above average, but the staff does try to make it dinner a special occasion. We have not been back since 2019!

Susie had her usual of alfredo sauce with chicken and fettuccini pasta. I had chicken parmesan. The breadsticks were the same and very hot, and the salad fresh with all the normal stuff (included industrial croutons instead of fresh-made–like always). The staff was in masks and very careful. The tables are spread out for safety, and arrows are in tape on the carpet to direct you. Susie got her Southern Comfort Manhattan on the rocks. I had a cheap house red.

Emily, our waiter, had a familiar accent. I asked her how her experience with the virus had impacted her. I was surprised to learn that Emily was from Michigan and had moved here and was finishing her classwork at Central Michigan University (CMU), like everyone else, by remote. She was yelling “Fire-up Chips” for Susie and me after she learned we are CMU Chippewas too.

Emily had moved out to Beaverton when her college roommate got a job in Beaverton. She helped her move and followed her out to Oregon. Then Corvid-19 hit, but she had years of Olive Garden experience (there is one in Mt. Pleasant Michigan just outside of CMU’s campus) and managed to get a job doing take-out and now as a waiter in Beaverton.

We got a $5 to-go spaghetti to go (a special to-go item they have after purchasing a meal), Corwin got that, and tiramisu to go for Susie later (I might have a tiny bit).

Before this, I picked up Evan and headed to the Mox Boarding House in Portland. Yes, it is still there, both Portland and Mox. Sydney and Tatyana were there again as our waiter and bartender. We had lunch, I had a salad and Evan had the amazing lamb with pasta.

Evan and I got out Scythe with the newly painted mech figures. We used the new deck of encounter cards that change the game to wildly swing. Evan managed to get one encounter that gave him five popularity. This increased his final point total to defeat me by twelve points. Not bad for Evan’s second game!

We then switched to Architects of the Western Kingdom with the Artisans expansion, which I strongly recommend as it improves the gameplay. The subtle rule changes make the game more exciting and reset some card play giving the players even more decisions. I won this game. Evan had a bit less luck this time. The game also has a lot of choices, and it is often unclear how some choices impact your final victory points. Evan will likely catch me next time.

And even before all of this, I worked from home for a half-day for Nike summer hours. I had coffee and toast and then hours of Zoom calls and a few crises of the moment that needed to be resolved. It is strange to talk to many people in so many different times zones.

It was reported that eleven-hundred seventy people lost their lives to the virus in the USA today.

Time for a Catholic hymn! Faith of Our Fathers found in the Methodist Hymnal #710.

We have reached 158 days of lockdown.

I slept poorly and did not get much sleep. So today’s report will be short.

I tried to start at 6ish this morning, but after checking went back and rested until 7ish.

Today Nike was for me mostly supplying information and doing process; not very many crises of the moment today. I wrote instructions on how to load software reading all of the instructions, adjusting them to our setting, and then reading all the additional fixes and revising the instructions to match. The morning blew by fast.

Lunch was Burger King Whopper with Cheese, and I picked up a Chicken McNugget Happy Meal for Susie, her fav, and double bacon something for Corwin also at Burger King.

I did manage to finish one of the factions for Scythe today. It only required me to clean up the bases so even tired I could finish them up. I did that while eating lunch.

I continued to answer questions in the afternoon and then went to rest a bit as I was so fatigued. I had to help a few times, but I did rest a lot and read a lot this afternoon.

Moving to a discussion on books, V.E. Schwab is my new reading material, The Shades of Magic series. I was reading some books before by John Pearce, “Last Stop: Paris,” and thought it entertaining, but I found the main characters were not my cup-of-tea. I moved to John Pearce as there is only one unread Maisie Dobbs left for me (I have read all fourteen during the lockdown), and I want to hold on the dream that there is one more story left–There is another one in the works, so there is hope. I did read the last Andrea Camilleri murder mystery, the author passed away, after delaying for six months as I could not face that Inspector Montalbano would have no more new stories. I finally read “Overnight Kidnapper,” and it was another perfect Inspector Montalbano story. Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano mysteries are highly recommended. Beware, they do not have all have happy endings, and he covers some painful subjects. Maisie Dobbs is always recommended!

Aside: I can’t make underline work. I know book titles are supposed to be underlined.

I almost took the day off, but I have to help get specific tasks and upgrades done. It was a tough start today and hard to keep going.

I took a short nap in the late afternoon. I then decided to make dinner. I was going to order out, but the house is overflowing with food. I made scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese (Susie’s favorite), bacon (frozen cooked bacon is a marvelous thing–I just toss it in a pan and then bake it for ten mins), and toast with jam (sugar-free jam for me). “Foyle’s War” from BBC is what I watch while cooking and cleaning. I enjoy the mix of WW2 and regular polite British murder mystery. 

I did start on the last mechs for Scythe, Scotts, in green.

I cannot believe the rains are back. We missed the downpours. Almost six weeks without any heavy rains. Welcome back, rain!

One thousand ninety people are reported to have died from the virus today in the USA.

I found this one that I think I have sung before, What Gift Can We Bring. Methodist Hymnal #87.