Blog

Just a short story today.

Today I went to lunch by myself to the Reedville Cafe. It is a family place that has been around long enough to outlasted Reedville as a town. The food is about average to me, but folks like it, so I was glad to see them open. I wore a mask and only took it off to eat and drink my iced tea. The staff had masks. A few of the other customers were not wearing masks, and one was not respecting social distancing, but I was able to keep to my distance. The food was good, I had the Texas Cob Salad, and it was relaxing to be out of the house.

Dinner was another try at Pork Vindaloo, I cooked. I simplified the recipe a bit, and it still turned out good. It was less spicy, but it again turned out very flavorful.

I am still online for Nike tonight as we are having performance issues in our new servers and our data conversion jobs. I am talking to India and local folks.

Today was an extended mix of emails and Zoom meetings.

I also slipped out to the hobby store. I am running out of white primer. Tammy’s Hobbies now has tape on the floor to help keep distances. Most were following them, and some folks have on masks. I managed to get my brand of primer.

The Titanic model I am building uses photo-eteched brass tiny parts has gone sideways for me. The paint stuck down the brass and when I lifted it, the brass railings for the model, hair-thin pulled away and twisted. I then had some other brass I bought before so I went to use it as a replacement. The white primer paint went on so thick that the brass is now filled in with white paint, ugh! I did not have time to work on the model and see if I can salvage the brass. I see lacquer thinner in the future!

Today was the send-off for Mr. Floyd. I saw this on TV Highway on the way home.

So here in Aloha, Oregon, we are protesting too.

Susie attended a church class with Joan Goldhammer on how to deal with the emergency using Zoom. This class is on-line and based on Alan Hamilton’s book and videos on Unafraid.

I am reading another Maisie Dobb book. I find these books a mix of the 1930s detective novel with some mysticism and World War 1 experiences. I recommend them but read them in order.

The stock market finally went down today. This looks like profit taking to me. We will see what tomorrow brings.

The reports show that more than a thousand Americans passed away today from the virus, including five people in Oregon. There is an election in Georgia today that is having long lines while trying to keep social distancing and use masks. So let’s go with a song for them: Georgia on My Mind.

It is back to work today here at home. Starting about 6:30ish and it was hard going as Susie had some trouble sleeping and woke me a few times. I also was feeling still a bit off from the bad allergies attacks from the weekend. I stayed at two cups of coffee.

Today was the first day of the big data conversion tests for the new systems we are putting in late this year.

I received a call about 11:00ish that Susie had an appointment with Zerida for nails and so on. So in the middle of various Zoom meetings I was getting Susie ready and going. We made it just in time for her driver to take her. I sent her with coffee, in a paper cup–we have them in the house with lids so Susie can have coffee in the taxi–and a scone in a lunch bag (I made scones on Sunday night).

Zoom meetings went on all day. Email and many crises of the moment kept me busy with the last crisis at 9PM. I am still online with work while typing this.

I was thinking of heading out to lunch, but The Gyro House is not open yet for seating, so I ordered online. Lamb Gyro with extra spicy sauce and baklava for Susie. Always perfect and delivered so fast, I did not know lunch was here. I found it before my lunch got cold.

I managed a short walk to the end of the street. I did take a break and read and a nap.

Corwin made dinner while I handled more crises of the moment for Nike. We had New York Strips grilled, grilled carrots, and potatoes roasted on the grill in tin foil.

I then played for the first time in about a month Dungeon and Dragons online using Roll20. We have changed to the next campaign manually converting the existing characters to the new adventure. Today we get to start The Dungeon of the Mad Mage. This is an old adventure revised for the new rules and reset in the current timelines of play. It is famous for being 24+ levels with each level being the size of some adventures I have run!

Here is a screenshot of our adventures. Mackers has been turned into a t-rex by Cory our Wizard. Our dark paladin, Bill, is sending ready next to the t-rex. We play with live video so we can talk and see each other. The map uses the 1980s style graphics and the huge rooms that we use to draw with graph paper. Apparently, with 24+ levels (depending on how you count them), replacing all the maps with cool art and more compact maps were not possible. I can also tell you that the fluff text and description boxes are missing–something that came out later as a standard for pre-made adventures. When I run this I have to read the room again and then figure out what to tell the players.

We are playing with 9th level characters. The adventure is for fifth level characters and so this level was more of a romp and practice. It will get harder on the next level. The Bite attack on the screen is actually the player’s last attack. It was a critical hit for the t-rex. It brought the target to a crunchy end.

The protests continue, and I attended more discussions about race at work. I learned that Seattle Police have turned on the vest cameras. I did not know they had turned them off for the protests and riots. I am saddened.

The stock market continues its climb today, and from what I can see, the market has completed a V-shaped recovery by reaching levels before the emergency. There are discussions about the dread W-shaped recovery crashing us. There are also some discussions that hedge funds and other equity investors missed the recovery and are not showing good returns. I continue to have faith in the USA economy.

The reports show the active cases rate continues to climb in the USA. The death count in the USA for today is greater than five-hundred eighty. I found this hymn, 601 in the Methodist Hymnal, that I did not know, but I think it well known to Amy Grant fans: Thy Word is a Lamp. I did not know we had an Amy Grant song in the Methodist Hymnal.

We complete our first week in Washington County, Oregon, under phase 1. Today I did not visit any establishments or travel outside of the house. I had Safeway deliver some groceries; now that wearing a mask and being careful is a political statement, I am uneasy to shop in more public places like my local grocery stores. I feel more prisoner of the virus than before.

I awoke way too early. My ears plugged, and my allergies in full diving mode. I feel like I am underwater. I could not sleep, and so I was up on a Sunday at 6AM, ugh! I felt ill all day as the lack of sleep, asthma, allergies, and total frustration with the world fell hard on me today.

I also followed along on email for work. We have developers working all weekend, and they have managed to write a fix we needed this Monday.

Groceries showed up at 9 this morning delivered by DoorDash via Safeway.com. Only the ground lamb was out today. New York Strips, pork shoulder, coco for a cake, potatoes, instant oatmeal with brown sugar, yogurt, corn chips, pretzels, and so on were all delivered this morning.

As you can imagine, I tried to take it easy and binge-watch some shows, I am up-to-date on “Deadliest Catch” and have seen more Alaska gold shows now. I managed to relax a bit.

Lunch was hot dogs with the end of sauerkraut from Olympia Provisions and some chips. I might have to order again from Olympia Provisions–it is high quality and long-lasting. Corwin was out, and Susie was up late today–so lunch was just me. Dinner was microwaved leftover lasagna and for Susie was breakfast.

Finally, I returned to the 1/700 scale model of the Titanic with the lighting built-in. I had to feel better as you cannot become impatient at this scale–you will break things.

Model builds are always strange as you seem to spend forever preparing and painting. I had to paint everything that is made of white color plastic well white primer. I find the white plastic is too shinny and does not match the paint color so I paint it. I paint it on the trees as I can now touch up any with paint. I managed to get the decks all white that is made of brown plastic. This is a no-paint model and so the model has any part that has a wood deck made of light-brown plastic–Usually, Titanic models are all white. But, the kit has the side hull shafts for the large propellers in black while the hull is a perfect rust-red color. Not sure why they did that and means I have to paint the hull or try to match the shade for the shafts. So hours later, everything was now white and ready for work.

I finally started on the roof for the wireless room, captain’s quarters, gym, and grand staircase–if I remember correctly the Titanic’s layout. I wanted to practice on one deck, and this is the smallest with some intricate work. First, I have checked the decking fits and it is perfect. I purchased an add-on of a thin wood fiber deck that is laser cut to perfectly fit the model. You don’t paint decks anymore–you adhere to the plastic deck light wood that is cut with fine lines to suggest decking and other items. This is one of the new things you can get now from the Internet.

Next, I began on one of those long preparation steps. I gave purchased photo-etched brass replacement parts for this model, and they come as small sheets are about twice the size of a credit card and are fragile and flat. I washed the sheet with alcohol, dried it, painted it with two thin coats of light white primer on each side. Yes, that is four spray painting jobs.

Once all that was done, I then cut the dome of the grand staircase (you can click on that for the pictures of the original) brass attached to the roof piece. It is a bit recessed as I wanted a bit more space for it to make it a bit more splendid. I managed to scratch the paint as often happens with metal tweezers. I just will touch up the paint as the primer white easily lets me hide the scratches. This is all done within a tiny scale, the dome is smaller than an American dime, and I am wearing 3x bifocal safety glasses.

The next item is the small building that covers the dome on the Titanic. On the original ship, this building was to keep the seawater and weather off the dome. The model had one molded into the deck. The instructions had me cut it out, and that is the hole the dome brass piece is now filling. I cut out the brass and then use my brass bending equipment: specially made tiny vice and a straight blade. I manage to assemble it and hold it together with G-S Hypo Cement. This is a product for jewelry and watch crystals. It hardens slowly but holds quickly and once dry is strong. It works on metal, glass, and plastic.

I have set it on the Titanic model setup with just the desk sitting on the hull.

I stopped there as I was happy to get that far, and I had chores to finish—dishes, laundry, blogging, and preparing for online Dungeon and Dragons on Monday night.

I will put on the railing next that follows the white edge that stands out now.

I watched little news as I was not feeling that well.

The reports show that the death rate for today fell to just over three hundred from the virus, including one death from Oregon. The active infection cases rate is again increasing. I went with a short hymn of the navy for today: Eternal Father, Strong to Save (The Navy Hymn).

 

I spent lunch at Cedar Hills McMenamins with a friend. We had burgers and drinks, Monkey Puzzle Tree Whiskey for my friend and Ruby beer for me–both made by McMenamins. Even with the wind and rain, we asked for a table outside just out of the rain. Less chance of virus transmission we figure with the wind and the rain, and when the kids all showed up, they stayed inside. I was a bit cold after lunch, but it was much safer. Still odd to see your waiter more aligned to robbing you than serving you. I gave my credit card to the wrong waiter–they had similar bandanas over their face. I then noticed my waiter had dark eyes and hair to match. I will have to pay more attention, I learned in this new world of half masked people.

Also, we started at Old Chicago Pizza, but they are still closed to dine-in. Their website says they are open for dining. We left and headed to McMenamins. It was strange that after more than eighty days, they are still trying to open! They said they would be open on Monday.

Returning to lunch, we also talked about my Howard stories and how or even if they should be published. The verdict is to publish them. I will pursue some local publishers and a publisher I like.

Aside: I am also revising the last story after Susie said that it was well written but she has little idea of what was going on. I am adding a “Spock” moment to his story. This is a moment you see on the old show when Capt. Kirk says in effect, “Spock explains why it is a big deal.” I am enjoying writing the new mini-story.

On the way back, I stopped by Rainy Day Games. I saw a Cyberpunk 2020 supplement the last time I visited and decided I wanted it, Wild Side. This game is not one I play at this time, and indeed, the emergency makes close quarters role-playing games impossible, but I like the material and see it as a source for ideas. I might even play it someday. The space supplement, Deep Space, is my favorite and describes a near-future of space travel in the solar system. Including such useful information as the communication delays for planets in the solar system (i.e., communication delay to Pluto ranges from 240+ to 417+ minutes). It introduces ARG as something for all space travelers to remember: Atmosphere, Radiation, and Gravity. The things you need and getting them wrong will cause you to go “arg.” The game is ironically called 2020 as it was written in the 1980-90s, creating a story of a dystopian nightmare for Earth after 2000 with the game then set twenty more years into a dystopian corporate SciFi version of today.

Cyberpunk 2020 has one basic rules for the players:

The rules:

1. 1. Style Over Substance
   2. Attitude is Everything
   3. Always take it to the Edge
   4. Break the Rules

Again, I do not actively play this game, but it is interesting. It is in the second edition. A new 2030 version is planned to be published this year. The emergency likely will delay this–almost like it is part of the mythos of Cyberpunk…

Here is some music to fit (highly recommended): Adagio For TRON – Daft Punk.

Not working on Cyberpunk or anything computers this day. Instead, I am working on my smaller 1/700 RMS Titanic Model with LED lights. Academy has produced a model already drilled for all the lights (often, you have to drill hundreds of holes to light a model of the Titanic) and provides two correctly colored hull pieces to avoid painting the waterline. The bottom hull is optional, allowing for a easy water-line lighted model.

I have purchased brass etched replacement parts and wooden deck overlays add-ons. This means I have to cut away the cast railings and ladders on the decks. This took hours and I am finally almost ready to assemble something. The brass etched replacement parts come with color directions on what to change on the model (this is the forward boat deck and bridge area and you can see I have removed some railing above the 1st Class Smoking Room near where the band played).

I made Chicken Cordon Blue from frozen–I get them from the Schwans truck. I made mashed potatoes (shockingly I made them from actually mashing potatoes and not from instant–Gene is smiling somewhere). I got out the recipe book and made Hollandaise Sauce from scratch (the lemon juice I will admit is from a plastic lemon, all I had). Dinner was approved by all. Pears from a can–yes, my favorite Free Stone Del Monte pears–was the fruit. Susie liked it!

Protest continues in Portland. The police use of tear gas in Portland has been restricted to “unless there is a serious and immediate threat to life safety, and there is no other viable alternative for dispersal.” I thought this was always true. My education continues.

The reports are quite difficult for me today. The infection rate is again increasing with California, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, and Florida eclipsing New York State for new infections. Today more than seven hundred people are reported slain in the USA by the virus, including two people here in Oregon. I opened the Methodist Hymnal, and it just turned to hymn 305 Camian, Pueblo de Dios (Walk On, O People of God), and I found this friendly version. So look up the translation if your Spanish is weak, with 6/8, and an easy refrain the hymn is easy to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

I slept in a bit and got started at about 6:30ish for work online at home. Meetings went on all day until about noon. I forgot my haircut appointment was in the morning and had meetings and crises of the moment through it. I was rescheduled to the evening.

Our software was finally approved to move to the next level of testing. It is very freshly written code as we had some set-backs last week that made us write some custom code to handle a conversion. The team is very excited to get this software in use.

I collected Susie and Corwin to head to dinner. Yes, dinner out! We got to Red Robin and were given a table that was surrounded by other tables with balloons. Nobody sits at those. The staff tried to keep all the customers apart. The tabletop was wet with hand sanitizer when we sat down, and paper menus and silverware wrapped in paper napkins were left for us. The waiter never got more than three feet and was usually six feet away and masked, of course.

For the most part, it worked. The little kids that were running around worried me. The parents did not seem to be concerned. I was. The food was delivered by a person with gloves and a mask that was very careful to keep it all safe. When we left, we had to walk by a lot of masked staff. Some recognized me, and I think, it is hard to tell with the masks on, I knew them.

So Red Robin was a mixed experience. The staff was working hard to make us feel safe. Some of our fellow dinners were not being careful enough. But the staff was delighted to see us and did everything they could to make us feel safe.

I dropped Susie and Corwin off at the house and then drove to Zerida’s place at the House of Hair near the Bridgeport Mall. I had to wait until she finished her current appointment, clean, and then meet me at the door and walk me into her space. Very safe.

I then drove back and checked by the church. The pride flag was still on the church–I replaced it a few weeks ago after it was pulled down. It looks good on the church. I then drove home.

The stock market went up a huge amount today. The unemployment rate was announced to be about 13%, and not 20% or worse. This threw the market into a buying frenzy. Later it was announced that the number could have a three present error, and 16-17% was a more correct number. Not sure what Monday’s market will do as a reaction to the misinformation.

I ordered a AA battery charger for Pastor Dr. Wayne Weld-Martin and delivered it today. Wayne has a remote control plane and needed some rechargeable batteries to keep it flying. I just ordered it from Amazon, and it was here the next day. I should also mention the plaque of the Prayer of St. Francis for Peace to President Trump was delivered. Let us hope the plaque helps!

The reports are showing the active infection rate is headed back up in the USA, and today more than nine-hundred people died from the virus here in the USA. Something from Martin Luther for today: Out of the Depth I Cry to Thee.