Blog

I was online ordering dinner at 6:35 from Stir Crazy Kitchen when I saw that I had missed a call from Cory. It then dawned on me that it was Monday and I play, and DM Dungeons and Dragons on Roll20 on Mondays @ 6:30PM PDT. Or five minutes ago! I had just woken from rest. I had worked all night from Sunday into Monday late morning. I then took a short nap and then another set of work updates and emails that I can find nothing happy to say about. I went back to sleep and totally spaced that it was Monday and I had gaming scheduled.

And it is The Tomb of Horrors, the wicked tomb hunt that in many ways inspired the creation of Laura Croft and some of the traps that Indiana Jones faced, that we are to play tonight. This requires a certain level of sharpness from the gamers, including the hosting Dungeon Master. I got going ten minutes late and accept their condolences for my work schedule. When work becomes so crazy that you miss a game session, that gets true sympathy from the other gamers.

My players forgave me for being a bit muddled, but we did have a few surprises and my players avoided some horrific deaths and solved some diabolical trap-puzzles. So far just close calls. We enjoyed the content and the game!

(here is the start screen in Roll20)

The day is a blur as I was working all night. I spoke to India, Singapore, and locally through the night-morning-day that was Sunday-Mondy. At about three in the morning, I ordered bagels to be delivered at 7:30 from Einstein Bagels via DoorDash. I had a lox bagel. I had half a dozen and garden smear provided for Susie and Corwin. After a short nap, I another bagel for late lunch with garden smear.

The work is finally done, and I can return to regular hours after this Sunday-Monday non-stop day.

I saw that the stock market in the USA is going up again. There are a small collection of companies that are showing windfalls. Toilet paper, aspirin, home-based entertainment, and like obvious highly sought after products during the emergency are showing rising sales and profits. While oil prices are at best confused as we just have too much oil and the oil producers are well producing (pun in there, I think). Oddly, large companies have managed to scoop-up most of the money for small companies from the Washington DC stimulus package. Maybe that is not that odd; free money is very attractive.  From what I see in the reporting, there is no liquidity problem now. JC Penny, it is reported, is looking at its options. With the amount of support from Central Banks and The Fed, the reports I saw on Bloomberg suggest that JC Penny might not have to go bankrupt, and if it does, the debt is backed by the vast liquidity now available so it might get true restructuring options. It is not hard for me to conclude the virus might be good for brick-and-mortar after all.

I will likely put in for some days off soon. I have robot things I want to do, civil war armies to build, Howard stories to finish-up and start (Like, “Howard in Lockdown”), figures to pain, and Python to code. So many cool things to do–need some sleep and a few open days (week?).

Recently I found a new figure company: Black Army Games. They are the first to offer a Tesla that is not overly steam-punked.

:

Today the reports show that more than one-thousand three-hundred Americans were lost to the virus this Monday. Everyone one of those people we lost today had nurses and doctors that felt the loss. I picked this Crown Him With Many Crowns as it is Prince Albert Hall, which holds more than 5,000 people. We have lost the equivalent of ten Prince Albert Halls of people so far in the USA alone.

 

 

 

 

I think my shortest report–I am already working tonight.

The number 42 is famous in the improbable Douglas Adam statement that it is the answer to the ultimate question, “Life, the universe, everything.” I did not find my answers today, but I keep looking!

For me, day forty-two is a day of mixed weather today in Oregon and diverse events. I took most of the day off. I did make dinner. We made grill steak over pasta alfredo for dinner. Lunch was reheated pizza. I did some reading, finishing The Kaiser’s Fleet. I managed to do some robot work and get the command reading part working in Python. I have a lot more work to do, but the hardware side is working. The transceivers are on their way from Denver. If I can get this upgrade done for the shoe company, I will take off some time to get some them working.

I am already working for the shoe company tonight as I have a very high ticket for a problem with an upgrade. I will likely work all night. I have already sent out a status report and reminded folks to get ready.

I have today started the final editing on a short story from my sci-fi writing. For those who know me, yes. Another “Howard” story is finishing up. This time my fictional version of H.P. Lovecraft, a Portland-based time-traveling agent against arcane horrors, visits Amsterdam. The same place we spent Christmas. I usually become inspired when we travel to create another story, and so it is finishing up. It is set in present-day (pre-virus) Amsterdam. It should be finished soon.

I attended two Zoom church meetings today. We talked about isolation. It was nice to see all the church folks. Susie slept in today, and so it was just me this time.

Today’s report shows thankfully low numbers, but at least a thousand Americans passed away from the virus today. I was looking for a hymn that fits today and decided it must be Easter again and found this supercharged version: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today arr. Rutter/Burnett/Metzger.

I wish you another Happy Easter! This year we need more than one!

I have not slept into 10AM in a long time. I did wake up a lot, but I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I have had too many long nights, not to sleep.

When I finally get up and make coffee, I turn to The Met Opera. It is the Gala. It is the first time I have been invited. Actually, anyone online was asked to come. I get to watch the great opera singers give solos from there homes. I spent the morning watching. I donated $20 in honor of Leta, my mother-in-law, for the Gala.

(me in my robe drinking coffee at The Met Opera Gala 2020)

Elina sang this song from her home for the Gala: Carmen: “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” (Elina Garanca).

I have to admit I read and watched some TV and took it easy today. I made New England Clam Chowder from a can for lunch. I went to Safeway and got some basics. I did not shave as there are no video conferences today.

I made jambalaya from a box for dinner adding in kielbasa, bratwurst, and andouille sausage–I picked those up today. I lightly cooked the angle-sliced sausage (it is already cooked) to give it a bit more flavor in the pot with a bit of oil, I then added a can of stewed tomatoes once the sausage was just showing some brown, and added a cup of long grain rice to reduce the spiciness with a cup of extra of water. I follow the cooking instructions on the box (2.5 cups of water more). Twenty-five minutes later, we are ready for dinner. No seafood here at the Wild’s as Susie is allergic.

I called and was called. I talked to a lot of folks today. It seems everyone wants to reconnect and catch-up. It was nice to chat with so many friends today.

I started Digging Up Armageddon today. It is enchanting like Eric H. Cline’s other books I have read on history and archeology. I have already pre-ordered his new book on archeology on Amazon. Again, if you look on YouTube, you will find his lectures. They are highly recommended.

I managed to work a little bit on my robot stuff. I managed to reconfigure the GPS device to talk to the alternative serial port#3. I am now trying to get a connection to yet another serial port. I want it to use another serial port to give the robot commands. I have a USB to serial 3.3V device from SparkFun and will see if I can make that work.

I did have to connect with the shoe company today. They wanted a status report on the crises of the day. I explained where we are and what is the plan. I then closed the Nike computer and put it aside.

The reports show that more than two-thousand America’s lost their battle with the virus today. My mother mentioned she listens to Willie Nelson a lot now, so let’s go with this one: Just a closer walk with thee – Patsy Cline And Willie Nelson.

 

 

 

“Forty days and night,” it rained on Noah. I remember taking my first college class on the Old Testament and learning that the number forty was not to be taken literally, it meant a lot. For the first time in my life, I get it. Forty days and nights are more days and nights than I ever want to do in isolation or punishment. It is a lot.

While I have lived in Oregon since 1996, we have had a few brushes with forty days and nights of rain, but unlike now and for poor Noah, we could go on vacation and out for dinner and see a movie and see a show. Flooding and moss build-up being the most significant risk and ruined gardening as you watching the rain beat the seeds for your garden out of the ground! We had choices.

And there was another saying, one only at Nike and only in a small part of the computer group, “We love Fridays, there are only two more working days left in the week.” Back during the time we replaced Nike’s main systems, we worked a lot of weekends to get computer systems ready by Monday. Our director, Rick, came in on Saturday to “catch-up.” He would work a half-day and then often another half-day on Sunday after church. It was his saying and we loved him for it. We would stop at his office and chat. Rick understood.

Now, with us all working at home it is hard not to keep going to “catch-up.” The days seem to filling-up with work with life being then put on hold. Yes, Susie sees me all the time now. She sees me sitting in a chair on video conferences. It feels like we are on the ark and I say, “Let’s go look at the bow and watch the waves, again.” Susie sleeps in on the ark.

I bring some order to chaos. I get up usually about six, make breakfast, take my medications, and read my email and the news before logging in on my shoe company computer. I have to take the Nike computer, open it, plug it, and logon–this is my “driving to work.” On the shoe company computer, I try to catch-up and respond to the crisis of the moment. I send out requests and give status. I then leave all of it and shower and dress (always shaving). Video conferences and calls and emails, oh my.

I often order lunch in the middle of the various meetings in the late morning, often turning off the video at a conference so I can order it online. Many meetings are status type meetings, and once you cover your part, you starting catching-up on other work, including ordering lunch. For me, I want to support our local eateries and so I usually have nice lunches delivered from my favorite local places.

I move to a different location in the house to eat my lunch. I usually have Bloomberg running all day. The finance news is interesting and important to me (401K and retirement earnings). While eating, I listen more carefully and read more news and emails that are for my home account. I check the virus number on how the death rate and infection rate are for the USA. I wait for the numbers to down. I imagine Noah often felt the same way with his doves.

The afternoon is when Susie gets up, once in a while she will get up in the morning. I have no reason to complain that she loses her morning as we can’t go anywhere and I think I would love to sleep in too. When she makes her appearance, I stop what I am doing for Nike and get her coffee (sometimes having to make more–why are my hands shaking, I drank all the coffee!) and ice water for her pills and something for breakfast. Work goes on with me reading and sending emails and doing processes and actual computer work. I will then get out something for dinner and even start it. Again, turning off the video and listening while I work a bit on dinner.

I often take a break in the afternoon if I am stressed. I go to the bedroom and read for half an hour. Often the phone rattles a lot and wakes me if I nod off. Usually, I am “reading” for about thirty minutes at a time. The phone is very busy with messages and news. CNN and the New York Times usually are reacting to the daily President Trump statements and make my phone jump!

I knock off work when meetings are done, and my issues can be put to bed. If I hit five, I try to stop working as I need to get dinner going. When I stop, I take the Nike computer, shut the laptop, and move it aside. This is my “drive home.”

I keep mostly to this pattern, hope I did not put you to sleep, and it keeps me healthy and sane. I try to slip in a trip to the store and a walk, but of late it has been 7/24. Maybe next week I can catch-up on that too.

So we can now say, “We love the fortieth day, as we have only that many more to go.”

Today was full of panic and chaos at work. My big issues were fixed and a new set of issues surfaced. It is like the game whack-a-mole right now.

Today was the first time I got to sleep most of the night. I had my phone under my pillow and it went off at only a few times. I slept in as I had no early video conferences. Of course, my software upgrade broke and we had to ask the vendor to fix it.

I was happy to make my own lunch. Poached eggs, two, on toast with canned corned beef hash fried. As we were working the break, I was poaching eggs and trying a most excellent repast. I broke a process and ate it while working.

(here is lunch sitting on my laptop keyboard with the messages on the issue on the screen)

The day ended with a huge department Zoom meeting, more than 100 people. Everyone had interesting backgrounds, mine the Doctor Who TARDIS control room. Most of the discussion was how proud leadership is of us as we continue to keep going. There is, a questions was asked, and ETA for us to return to our offices in Nike. At least forty days was implied.

I got Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake Pizza for today. I order it on my phone. Except they lost one of my pizzas. So I had to get close, all of us masked, to show them I had a real order. They re-made my lost pizza. I watched the process from the outside. They handed me my pizzas (masked and gloved). I told Corwin and Susie I risked my life for their pizza today. Beer and pizza today.

I took a nap, my usual reaction to beer and wine now. I got up and watched La Traviata on the Met Opera website. I missed the original broadcast years ago. The Met is showing one of its recorded operas a day on its site for free–I used to take Susie to the theater for these. Her mother Leta would be in Michigan watching too.

I hope to finish it tonight after I post this blog!

On Easter, we took picture of a bird’s nest in our door behind the wreath. The little eggs, despite being banged by the door open and closing (scrambled?), hatched. We have our small birds, and they will fly away before we will, just like what happened to Noah!

It was reported today that just under two-thousand people were taken from us by the virus in the USA. The Lord’s Prayer seemed the right choice for today.

I was working on the upgrade of software again all through the night into the day and into the evening. Someday this software will be done!

Lunch was Chef Boyardee spaghetti from a can–I had purchased a few cans when things looked a bit desperate in the stores. I thought I should finally eat it. It was exactly as I remember it. I told Corwin I might have to donate the other two cans.

I slept through the day between running steps for the software upgrade and some meetings. It has been three days and nights, but it is almost there!

Dinner I had delivered, KFC. And Corwin and both commented on how well made the chicken was this time. Undoubtfully the manger is running the kitchen now and wants to send out only excellent KFC. During the emergency, even KFC is taking this a bit more seriously.

I ordered some more robot parts while waiting for an update on the software. I was looking for something to allow me to control it. That was simple. I found the re-use of HAM radio technology to create a small two-way transceiver: SparkFun RFM69 Breakout (915MHz). This is a break-out board of the baseboard to give easy access to the pins using old school through-hole soldering. Sparkfun is still shipping, I looked at AdaFruit, and they are still only making items for the emergency–they are based in New York City. They make and now sell masks for local delivery.

I am reading Elric stories when I can’t sleep. I am in the middle of the second book in the series from Gollancz, Elric, The Fortress of the Pearl. I know I have read it before, but I do not remember much from this book. I am enjoying rediscovering Elric’s adventures. This book has him invading the dreams to free the victim of endless sleep with a, as usual, exotic beautiful women of strange power and skilled with a blade. I am about halfway through the book.

I only went out to get dinner and the mail today with all the chaos from work.

I received a cookbook from Milk Street Kitchens today. They had a special if you buy two, so one for me and one as a Christmas gift. Yes, I am getting ready for this virus stuff to ramp-down and for Christmas to come!

The Met Opera is showing its opera for free, a different one a day. I missed The Merry Widow with Reneé Flemming a few years ago. I managed to fit in the first act today.

Today the total deaths to the virus in the USA is reported to be higher than fifty-tousand. The total deaths reported from the virus for this Thursday in the USA is over two-thousand three-hundred. This is close to the number from the day before. The hymn to remember all of these people: Breathe on Me Breath of God.