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It is hard for me to imagine that it has been as long as one-hundred and forty-one days and that it has only been a bit over a quarter of a year. We knew it would be a long wait, but a few quarters did not appear that hard until you live them. Now, there are so many people and businesses without any means of support as their part of the economy is just turned-off. I am not talking about the switch of purchasing to digital sources from brick-and-mortar stores, but things like the medieval re-actors and artisan making all those craft makers that are now missing all those festivals. How about the horse barns not able to give riding lessons, they are missing their summer. We have lost the plays and musicals that would be starting rehearsals now in the heat of August to be ready in the Fall. Again, it is a small amount of time to be lost, but let us hope that it is not as Shakespeare said, “it is enough.”

Let us hope for a better second act instead! Indeed, I am hoping for Midsummer Night’s Dream, as it is that time of year, and we do not need any more tragedies. With the election coming and all of the protesting and all the angry people (masks, no masks) and folks losing their jobs, it is time for maybe a note from the author. Let’s recall what Puck has for us on the Midsummer Night:

PUCK
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

Returning to today, I slept in this morning. I watched the church service video once I was up, it was better today. I did skip the hymns and readings.

Mariah sent me a text, but I was asleep. We connected later in the morning. Susie was up and dressed before 11AM! So we headed off to Cedar Hills McMenamins for lunch. We watched the splashdown of the Dragon capsule on my iPhone. It was fun to join the world watching. We had a friendly chat sitting outside and having a few beers.

Mariah went off to go tubing in a river.

We headed back to the house. I did some more Python coding and reading about how neural networks are now implemented in Python routines. I also did some writing for “Howard’s Lockdown.”

I have to admit I took a few naps too, and I have been reading Lovecraft Country. I understand it is an HBO series also. The last book I read like this was American Gods, and I only sort of liked it and I never saw the show. But, I love these new takes on the Lovecraft Mythos. This new book, Lovecraft Country, is from the 1950s point of view of black men and women. This new book includes an interesting take on what it was like to travel in the USA as a black person in the 1950s. So far, I like the story. I am just getting to the Mythos part. More to follow.

So today was the classics, Python, and beer.

I have been watching Paul Hollywood bake show, they are great. Michelle Smith suggested it to help get through all of this: Paul Hollywood City Bakes.

More than four-hundred sixty people living in the USA are reported to have died today from the virus.

There was an Islamic event this Friday, and so we will go with O Allah, I stood before You (Eng Subs).

 

It often happens that sleep is hard to come by on Friday night for me. And this Friday was no exception, and I was late getting going this morning. As usual, I awoke before my alarm at 6AM and then woke up enough to know that it was Saturday and re-awoke at 9ish.

I got up and started my day. A text from work at 5:30AM from India was replied to, but no response as it is Saturday night India time when I answered.

I got dressed and headed out to Portland with my wallet, hat, sunglasses, book, pen, pencils, and laptop. This time I was prepared!

Driving was better today and soon, I was walking into Mox Boarding House in Portland. The manager and others were painting 28mm scale (Dungeons and Dragon and Warhammer scale) terrain parts. There were not that many customers. Mox has tables to play at, but phase 1 is still in place, so no gaming. Actually, Oregon’s Governer Browne is sending some counties back to phase 1 lockdown as the rate of virus infection is nearly explosive out in the high desert towns. So instead of demos and fresh gameplay, they get to talk to us customers about how great such and such game is.

We talked about Scythe, Twilight Imperium, Dune, Vindication, and Wingspan as games we will play at the store once we get this virus over.

I headed into the restaurant part of Mox. I was the only customer eating and drinking. Sydney and Tatayana, who waited on me last week, were excited to see me. I had the Humus and soup of the day. I took a picture of it and posted it, and Apple spelling correction had its way with me. My note got many comments (I edited in the SB later).

The lunch was excellent. The soup was some sort of Asian Bone Broth soup. Nobody had a name for it: A rib, poached egg, veggies, and sesame oil in bone broth! The hummus was fine with fresh vegetables. A stout beer went well with everything. The alcohol percentage of the beer was high enough to make it seem like a beer and a shot.

I had their pudding and coffee for dessert. It was fantastic and rich with flavors of chocolate, ginger, and chili and three hot, slightly torched marshmallows on top. Skip lunch and go to dessert with a hot coffee drink is a good plan too!

I returned home after finding the new Wingspan scoring board add-on and purchasing it.

I returned to laundry, dishes, dinner (pasta with Sock-it-to-me sauce from a jar and locally made Italian sausage), and the regular home tasks.

I returned to editing my “Howard’s Lockdown” story and was laughing as I wrote. I was really enjoying the funky path I went with. The story is just so fun to write; I literally laugh out loud when writing. A short extract:

“What about Dream Portland,” says Howard between bites—his face red from the heat of both the food and the spices?

“Not to worry, Richelieu, likes the job,” says Alistair as he scans a credit card and delivers a plate without violating any health or social distancing rules. Howard watches Crowley deliver food with dexterity, and it dawns on Howard that running a taco truck and the precision to summon unspeakable powers is an overlapping skill. Mr. Crowley keeps talking while working. “The Cardinal is a natural at plots and sub-plots. I expect we will see him any day here,” explains the newly minted taco maker.

More tacos are purchased. “And Portland needs a taco cart by me. This town is just so me,” says Mr. Alistair Crowley laughing a made-up evil laugh, slightly muffled through the mask, and letting his British accent highlight the fake evil. He sells more food.

“Maybe he is already here,” says Crowley looking up from the food with a wicked smile just hinted by the covering mask and one eyebrow cocked. “That might explain how Mr. Biden got so far this time in the election. I understand in the last American Presidential election his candidacy just wilted. Just imagine an American democrat candidate with Richelieu as his campaign adviser. Yes, maybe the Cardinal is here,” says Crowley looking thoughtful. Howard just keeps eating, trying to ignore the possibility.

(My apologies to anyone who is offended by the idea that Mr. Biden would need supernatural powers to do so well this time–it is just for fun. And for you who think I have some arcane insider knowledge, no, really it is just a story)

I have also looked into an idea I had before, and that is to teach Calculus online to help people. I have a great textbook, and I read through some of it at Mox. Tatyana nearly screamed in fear when I showed her what I was reading. Math is like wolfbane to some bartenders! I will think about it and see if there is a way I can help people. I will try not to scare any more people by showing them a Calculus textbook!

Today more than eleven-hundred American lives were cut short by the virus.

So we repeat a hymn, Methodist Hymnal #474, Precious Lord, Take my Hand to remember Black Live Matter today.

 

When you get out of your car in the parking garage and notice that no wallet is in your pocket and your wallet is not sitting in the car, there is a moment of just unbelievable shame. How could I be that distracted to get in the car and drive to Portland and park the car without any money, ID, or credit cards? Yup, completely empty. Back in the car, out of the garage, $0.00, and back home. I was not that upset, just totally surprised.

That is the middle of my day. I decided that I should at least enjoy the ride back. I turn up the music and take Burnside back over the hill instead of the highway and tunnel. It is a wonderful day.

I see the traffic out of Beaverton on TV highway. It is so backed-up on this lovely Friday that lanes are full all the way to the traffic lights. It is likely an hour or more to get through Beaverton headed to Portland. My direction, the opposite, is mostly clear and, with few exceptions, are running 10 over the speed limit–never happens.

I stop by the house to get my wallet. I get lunch at Taco Bell. The car line is long. I connect to wifi and do my email while I wait and read the news. Very relaxing wait and I order my favorite listening to public radio stories. I park in the lot and eat, listen, and use my laptop. I look over and there are multiple cars filled with folks enjoying tacos. We all wave to each other.

I drive to Hillsboro and park easy. I walk over to the local gaming store, Rune and Board, and now with my wallet and discover a physically smaller copy of some rules I always wanted, are only $20. I get that, Starfinder.

I then walked over to Insomnia Coffee. There I purchased a coffee and write for a few hours. I worked on my “Howard’s Lockdown” story and finally find an ending for the story that worked. I also purchased a cinnamon roll that I had split and brought Susie the other half.

So a nice relaxing afternoon. I took a nap, got up, made tacos, and started some more writing revising my work from the afternoon.

Writing the blog now.

Returning to the very morning, I started at 6ish and immediately found India based folks looking for me. I worked then on upgrades all morning. I barely had time to take a shower and dress. I had a few meetings that I did while working on all the issues that started popping up. Some very frustrating.

I also had to scare away a huge raccoon in the backyard.

I was happy with the morning finishing and decided to head to Portland to see the new gaming store Mox Board House. I forgot my wallet.

I did not watch the market again.

More than fourteen-hundred people in American died from the virus today.

I went with this hymn as it is from 1544, Christain People, Raise Your Song, Methodist Hymnal # 636, sorry only instrumental versions showed today.

I have a headache this evening. It just started—time to stop soon.

Working backward, I was just re-reading the Strategy and Tactics Quarterly magazine on The American Revolution. Someone might want to read it, so I was just looking at it again and reading a bit.

I made dinner tonight of couscous, green beans with butter and almonds, and chicken Cordon Blu from frozen from Schwan’s. This is one of Susie’s favorite dinners and is simple to make and to eat.

I was watching some more of Nova’s “Making North American” series I purchase to watch on my Apple computer while cooking and cleaning. I usually find something to watch while cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. Again, this show makes you want to get out a shovel and see what is under the house!

As I started cooking, Corwin’s business partner left. He played me in two games of the board game Vindication before he left, I lost both. It was nice to play this game again, even with Evan taking me both times!

Before that, I received a text from Casey, one of the other gamers I never win against, that Twilight Imperium 4 board game just had an expansion released. After some trouble, I have ordered the new parts. The GenCon gaming convention is the once a year event where expansions and new games are launched. It is an online convention this year.

Work ended mid-afternoon. I spent the day rushing from a Zoom call to the next. I was out ill yesterday, and so it was a catch-up day thick with politics and a bit of fear. Layoffs and project deadlines are hitting at the same time. Add lockdown-virus, riots, and Black-Live-matters, and you have some serious mixed-up people at Nike.

Today started with me just waking without pain. No migraine today. Susie was also good.

I had no time for the stock market again. It went down from what I saw.

More than fourteen-hundred American deaths were reported today.

I think I did this one before but is good for a repeat, Methodist Hymn #159, Lift High the Cross.

 

I awoke this morning with a continuation of the migraine I had started on Tuesday night.

Susie then asked me if she was dying. I was concerned as you can imagine. Susie was dreaming that her family was all here and she thought it was because she was so ill. The dream faded, and she was OK.

That put me in a very strange place emotionally with the migraine burning in my head and vision and Susie scaring me. I decided that I would take the day off as my emotions were in the wrong place.

I also received an email that suggested that our solution for converting data had been abandoned and that leadership wanted another miracle. My emotions were no place for that.

I got up and did all the electronic paperwork to take a day of paid-time-off (PTO). It was already too bright for me. Oregon is no longer gray but burning desert bright, but I could use just a few more days of gray, please. I put the out-of-office notice on and closed the laptop. I will not open it until after 9PM for a meeting set in India.

I returned to my staple for illness. I do not watch that many programs, but Deadliest Catch is one I follow. I watched all the episodes I missed. Crab fishing is fun to watch, and they are local heroes here in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). I play board games, and role-playing games (RPG) with a former captain of the fishing boats, and his family is still involved in fishing. It is cheering for the PNW and Alaska teams!

Nobody was up today. I decided to try a new place for lunch. I don’t cook Mexican style and was missing Mexican food. Victorico’s was delivered via GrubHub, beef tamales, rice, beans, and an extra beef crunching taco. It was more food than I usually order, and it was good. So Victorico’s is added to the possible lunch deliveries.

I then got Susie going and went to read. My head still hurts, but reading did not hurt. I think it distracts me from the pain.

I have a subscription to Strategy and Tactics Quarterly (STQ) that publish a single subject by a single author such as this one’s title, “Whirlwind: Kursk to Berlin,” about the Soviet and Fascist eastern front. More than a hundred pages, with few ads, of color maps and descriptions of battle after battle. Not everyone’s cup of tea, I understand, but STQ and their books are a detail that historians and gamer love. This publication includes notes of new sources and where the author has doubts. If you want to know everything about the Soviet-Nazi-Romanian-Bulgarian-Finland-Hungry-Yugoslavia front, that is the current scholarship and at the level that most wargamers and historians need, this is it.

If you want the American Revolutionary War details, that was the last issue–you can borrow mine. Their books on WWI, American Civil War, and Custer are treasured by me.

Corwin made dinner. Grilled chicken with alfredo sauce on the gas grill. We also ordered new parts for the grill after looking at it.

My head hurts still, but I helped a little with dinner. I watched the news while eating and tried to relax a bit.

Susie started her shows, I then watched the PBS show “Making of North America: Life” on my Apple. I would say it does for geology was Cosmos did for astronomy, wow! Just want to get out there and find a rock!

Which made me miss the first 15 of a late meeting for work. I managed my apologies and I think was able to help my Nike colleague Archana based in Bangalore India.

Archana called me back and we talked about the call and then we wandered-off topic and discussed our favorite topic: food! Dosa was the topic as it is one of my favorites. She makes the batter from scratch! I would always have some in India when I visit. Always fun to talk about culture!

Due to my migraine, I ignore the stock market.

The death rate in the used states increased to more than thirteen-hundred today.

I have never sung this song and I found this homey version online, Methodist Hymnal #411, Dear Lord, Lead Me Day by Day. This is a melody from the Philippines.