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At 1:50PM or thereabout, we finished loads of master data for Nike’s testing systems. It took us the last six weeks some of it 7/24 to get to the finish. We have run 7/24 starting Tuesday and went through the week and weekend. Done!

I spent the morning, starting late at about 9ish, with our first meeting as we began to see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. A network failure at Nike WHQ scared us as it slowed our access, but the impact was localized to connections outside of the Nike firewall, and thus we had trouble watching the progress while the processes kept going as all connections for our conversion are inside the Nike firewall.

So at 1:50PM or so, the process finished. Early this evening, we finished flowing the data to the targets. Done again!

I went off to meet a friend with Corwin to McMenamins Cedar Hills. I had a beer to celebrate, Purple Haze, and a Capt’n Neon Burger. Again, we sat outside to minimize exposure to the virus and the staff was very good at keeping us safe, gloves and masks. Still, the other customers were less safe, and I saw the trip to the restroom was a hazard, and folks did not put back on their mask to use the bathroom. One guy walked right by us without a mask.

I also put gas in Air Volvo–got the light you must fill up as there are only forty-miles left on this tank. Second gas purchase since the lockdown!

Now that I have been working for months to finish the conversion, I am finally a bit free. What to do? Well, I went out and looked at the roses. My lawn service cut back all the roses (!?) I have only a few to share. These came with the house and I heard they were transplanted from the mother’s house of the previous owner making them likely older than 30 years. I have to be careful with these roses as they are grafted–can’t cut them back too far. Some of the canes are two inches thick.

I also found that the toadstools have created a fairy circle. The lawn service breaks up the perfect circle but you can still see it. The fairies can dance tonight.

And one of my favorite creatures is a damselfly or dragonfly or needle as I have heard them called. This one is drying its wings on my house, having likely raised out of the waters just a short time ago. I have always imagined having a small enough camera to mount on them to see what their lives are like. I love to see them in the backyard flying so fast feasting on the lesser pesky bugs.

So that is my nature looks as the sun is down. Rumors are that the African dust storm will reach us soon, turning the sunset red and yellow. Tonight’s is lovely but not red.

I have ignored the news and only saw that TikTok might have been involved with a political event. As it is a Chinese company, there are all sorts of threats from congress. Not sure I understand the massive threat from TikTok.

I just read that a noose was placed on the equipment for one of the drivers for NASCAR. The driver is black. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in the security at NASCAR, and this is proof to me that we have so much more to change than just banning some flags.

The reports, again becoming politicized, is that the death rate in the USA has fallen to more than two-hundred sixty today, including one death in Oregon. The active infection rate is showing explosive growth. I found this unusual hymn (#678 in Methodist Hymnal) and liked it: Rise to Greet the Sun. It is a Chinese sourced song.

Today started a bit late as my first meeting was at 9AM. We are still loading data for the data conversions and will be loaded until sometime on Sunday. We are in the last bits and are very happy. This, for me, was a three year, at least, journey to get the first time load done for the new computer systems for Nike.

Lunch was a quest today. Corwin and I first headed to the Gyro House, but the place is not yet taking dine-in. Off to BJ’s and the same story. Finally, Wild Buffalo Wings was open. The bar was spread out, and the staff was conscientious using masks and gloves and cleaner. The customers all did not bring masks, and my disposable mask ear string broke, so when we left, I held it to my face. The food was familiar, and I had a large beer. The prices were reasonable too, unusual for Wild Buffalo Wings. I have found most places have increased their prices by at least 10%.

I am not comfortable eating-out as my fellow diners do not seem to be careful. The walk to their tables and leave without masks. I will try it again a few times.

Work continued with a check-in and a decision to just run it straight-through all night. We should then finish like I said on Sunday.

I finally returned to the Titanic model. It was time to do try to finish the tiny deck above the officers’ quarters, the wireless office, and the gym. This is the section I decided to finish first to see how my skills with tiny brass and wood overlays are holding up.

I did a bit of touch-up painting and then attached the wood decking permanently. I attached the tiny railings and finished the dome and skylights for the famous Grand Staircase. I have to build the two funnels yet, the ovals for the funnels stand out on the deck, and I plan on minimal rigging for this model so the funnels are simple (no rigging).

The two holes are were the collapsible boats go. Office Lightoller survived by standing on one of the capsized collapsible bottoms with a few other people. So it is always strange to build one of these Titanic models when I know so much about the people and what happened more than 100 years ago.

The area that I am building is the deck that is planned to be cut open soon and the wireless equipment to be salvaged. A judge cleared the way for that a few weeks ago. They salvagers want to recover the original Marconi equipment from the Titanic before the sea claims it. Also, the wreck of the Titanic is showing signs of deterioration that might make it soon impossible to reach the equipment, so cutting into the wreck is the best option to recover the radios.

Dinner was baked potatoes. We have sour cream, cheese, and butter. I cooked up some bacon to break-up and sprinkle on the tater. Some I had not done in a while.

I did not watch any news and Facebook was mostly skipped today as I was busy with work, cooking, and the Titanic model.

The report for today is the loss of more than five-hundred seventy people for the USA to the infection. I found this hymn (#731 for Methodist): Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. This is by John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace.

Today was a holiday at Nike for the End of Slavery Day.

Here is the image of the order from the USA National Archives.

We are working on the data conversions for a significant project for Nike and are working through the holiday and the weekend, our fourth weekend.

I made scones and a breakfast of eggs and kielbasa from Olympia Provisions.

Corwin made a dinner of Moroccan chicken with olives and lemon, which is my own recipe, and it was good.

I worked on and off all day on the data conversions. We also loaded more software enhancements to try to make it run faster. We have started a mass load that will run for as long as twenty hours. We will meet again at 9AM Saturday and see how it is going.

This weekend includes Father Day, and so I have posted on Facebook a few old pictures from the 80s and will put up more pictures of dad and others.

I wish I had something more inciteful to say on this my first 19June Holiday.  I can say that I am happy we are starting to work through issues on race now. I know that some of the purgings of the evils of the past are confusing people, removing statues, and banning flags, and correcting names, but it is how we reach the truth. I am learning so much these last few years about our institutions and I am so disappointed. I am saddened to learn I have on occasion participated unknowingly in failed institutions (i.e., the non-unanimous jury in Oregon).

We could have so much more if we would accept the failures of the past and talk about how to walk to the future with everyone. The only learning for me is that when someone is talking (posting) and they refer to how something impacts them or how it is something they don’t want, or they have rights that are being trampled on, or there is a conspiracy to rob them of liberty, I know that they have missed the point. The truth is that while I am safe and well off, other Americans are not safe or well off. For me, it seems that I am in the dark, but as MLK said, you can only see the stars in the dark! So I see stars and a future that will be brighter. I know it will be, and we will find a better future.

I ignore the stock market today; the stock market went down.

The reports are that there were more than seven-hundred deaths from the virus today in the USA. One of these deaths is from Oregon. The active infection rate is explosive as Texas, Arizona, California, and Floria show massive increases. Over 1.2 million people in the USA have an active infection. I went with this song: America the Beautiful.

The day was a mix of work with some breaks for sleeping and taking Susie out.

We were back at it again at 6ish and working on the data conversions. The servers ran all night and finished about the time we started. We then started up more work, but at a slower pace, so we would not run the servers so hard that they nearly stop.

At the same time, we had more fixes done to make everything go faster and better. More vendor patches (OSS notes to you SAP folks) and new programs with some better load balancing. All a rush.

We had more Zoom meetings about race. Nike has decided that we all need to do more. We are now having difficult conversations, and it included this video: Difficult Conversations with a Black Man. It is much like pulling off a bandage, and like a bandage, it has to be done, and the sooner, the better.

Tomorrow is the 19June2020 and Nike and many will remember this as the day to celebrate as it is the End Of Slavery. We have to continue the data loads all weekend, but I will try to honor it.

I watched when I had a break between crises of the moment the Martin Luther King speech I have been to the Mountaintop. I had not listened to this one before and I really liked it. Words to live by and I like, as a writer, the flow and how he makes his points.

I then took Susie to the Reedville Cafe to lunch late. I have found it a bit safer to be a bit later for lunch as the kids and folks who think a mask is a political statement are already done and gone. The staff was friendly, masked, and very supportive and safe.

Susie had a cheeseburger with bacon with coleslaw. I had a Pacific Northwest favorite of fish and chips but halibut.

I went back to work after taking a break. I ordered pizza and pasta and salad from Dominos delivered.

We finally finished at about 11:30PM. We start again at 9AM.

The stock market went up and down, not much to say about that.

Today the reports are that more than seven-hundred forty Americans died from the virus, including four people of Oregon. Here is a hymn I don’t know: Now the Silence (Methodist Hymn 619).

I am tired as I have had no sleep except for a few naps. We are running the data conversions, and I babysat them over the night. I have managed a few naps of a few hours.

I was up again at 5:30 after a short sleep to check everything. We have been running all day and all night, and we have three more days or so to go.

So my day is a blur and is still a blur.

I did watch a bit of the stock market, and I saw it going up and down. That looked like profit-taking and options impacts to me.

I am sorry, but I am so tired that I can only do a few more minutes.

Just over eight-hundred people are reported to have lost their lives to the virus in the USA today.

So I went with a prayer instead of a song today. John Paul 2 prayer from the Methodist Hymnal 556