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Today was another chance to get up and log on and work from home. The day spiked my blood pressure only a little bit as the project starts to approach hard deadlines, and the usual panic happens.

I had a few meetings and then slipped out between sessions and went grocery shopping. We are running out of milk and eggs; I put together a list and mostly stuck to it. I brought my bags and then was told they are not using customer bags anymore. Well, that does make sense.

I started soaking beans last night and started cooking bean soup while listening to meetings (this consists mostly of two minutes of assembly and then turn the heat on).

We ordered again lunch from La Provence. I want to help them as much as I can. This time Corwin and I both ordered the tuna melt. We both got soup as the side. Susie got my French Onion Soup. I ordered some cookies too. It was delivered perfectly.

I took a walk after eating as I get stiff from all the sitting. I changed my chair back to the good chair–don’t ask. My back is back to normal. During my walk, I pass Reedville Elementary. The school was built in the Great Depression by the work programs. We have kept the old building and just added on to the school here in Oregon.

Watching the difficulties we have now and seeing the plate on the school gives me hope that everything will work out soon. The old school even has an old cupola where the flag used to fly. They now use a pole out in front of the school. They have kept the original look with a few safety upgrades.

I also walked by the Reedville Presbyterian Church that shares its parking lot with the school. The building is a bit square for an American church. That is because the church building burned during World War 2, and they could not rebuild it due to the emergency. When the war ended, they purchased a portable church, yes the army had such things and had it delivered. The end of the building is still that WW2 chapel. The Presbyterians have a pipe organ and invite the neighbors to the concerts–The sound is amazing.

It is reassuring to me as I walk by our shared history here. In the past, events happened. We are changed by them in unexpected ways. I can see that everything worked out even with all the changes. The Presbyterian even spelled it out for us: Hope.

By-the-way, Reedville is mostly gone. Another event, the Columbus Day Storm, flattened much of the small buildings of Reedville. The name has faded to mostly a name on a map. The church and the school survived the storm and kept the name. The newest housing development is called Reed’s Crossing remembering the past.

Work finished with more than forty of us from Nike SAPAE (call us Nike IT) calling into a video meeting and singing happy birthday to one of our colleagues, Kate. It was dreadful and fun. I put on the light-up tophat that I built. Others provided other festive views both real and virtual.

I finished up the bean soup and added veggies and ham. It was good.

I found an article on 1920s books. Those fiction books that one would have read in the 1920s. I liked the list and while tempted by Lady Chatterley’s Lover, I went with two others that fit more my thinking: Cheri and The Last of Cheri and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes -and- But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes: The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady. I ordered them online from AbeBooks from various used book stores across the country. I figure they need some business. None cost more than five bucks delivered. Supporting my habit of reading 1920s material for Call of Cthulhu and reading, from the reviews, some fun stories.

Which of course takes us to today’s song: Gentlemen Prefer Blonds (Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend)

I am tired and took a nap and then started on the dishes and the clean-up.

I then noticed the cover of ChessLife. I see I should have been locked down in the Cayman Islands with a chessboard! It was a typical day of rain, sleet (yes ice bouncing off the roof), sun, and clouds all at the same time here in Oregon. Spring is here.

Today the press reports more than seven hundred forty people lost their battle with the virus just in the USA this Tuesday. More than four thousand deaths are now reported in the USA.

Today’s song is not a formal hymn, but it works that way too: Mercy Now.

 

 

 

A short update today.

Back to working from home. Many video conferences and status updates and even some thanks are given. Not a bad Monday.

I was disappointed that Krispy Kreme now does not deliver here. So I could not have their donuts this morning. They changed this–we were able to get them delivered last week.

I made my lunch instead of ordering it. I started baking some potatoes while listening to meetings online. I had a baked potato with the fixing and Beef Vegetable soup for lunch. Susie had the same when she got going.

Usually, Susie has a hair appointment and nails on Monday. Oregon closed down all hair places. Susie’s nails look good still. I will do them later in the week, instead. I got the supplies last time Susie was ill and did her nails.

I took a walk. I get stiff from sitting in front of computers.

My last meeting was a project Zoom meeting; more than three hundred people.

So today’s song is a crazy song: Veteran Cosmic Rocker.

We made dinner, the first day when I ordered nothing from outside. We made grilled teriyaki chicken fettuccini. Corwin grilled the chicken, and I made the pasta and sauce from a jar. It was good.

Monday is Dungeons and Dragon Fifth Edition on Roll20. Bill, Cory, Corwin, and Mike logged in, and we played from 6:30 until 8:30 local time. Bill is in Central Time. Again, the challenges were difficult. The fire elementals hit pretty hard. They finally defeated all the cultists and drove off an evil Ginni to reach the final nexus of power and evil. Only to be stopped by a dragon! It seems the dragon want to negotiate. We will pick up there next time. This is all part of the content you buy to play from Roll20 and the makers of Dungeons and Dragons.

I also ordered some more electronics from Denver. I received a nice note from Pololu that my order is on the way. They thanked me for asking for no rush and for supporting their business. They make very useful robot parts and electronics. I am decided to build a flashy device that is supercapacitor powered. I ordered parts from Sparkfun too. No rush.

I built some hats for the Portland Makerfaire two years ago. I helped run a booth that year (in the rain).

(Here is my rechargeable top hat with lights that detect sound and change colors. The hat is showing a level three sound–loud).

The financial news contains more panic about liquidity, but the stock market went up again. The flight to dollars has stopped. Gold is becoming quite popular again. It appears that the actions from all The Fed and other Central Banks worked so far.

Today more than five hundred seventy people are reported to have perished from the virus. Today’s hymn: God Bless America.

 

I did plan to sleep in late, but I had trouble sleeping and awoke with a headache. This usually means I am having asthma attacks while sleeping. The dreams are horrible and sleep limited. I was up at 6:00AM.

It did not help that I am reading horror stories by Clark Ashton Smith. He is not as scary but often and wordy as H.P. Lovecraft. Still reading horror stories on a late Saturday night will not bring you calm dreams!

I started to read him after supporting a Kickstart here in Portland to finish a film-short of one of his stories: The Last Incantation. I have read, somehow, much of H.P. Lovecraft dense prose on horror. I write horror adventures for the roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu and even run my own stuff at gaming conventions. I read a lot of horror and adventure books from the 1920s for ideas and sources.

This reminds me I received yesterday a book of radio schematics for the radios from 1926 to 1938 reprinted from a 1941 publication. It was on special from the Antique Electronic Supply. I figured they needed some business. They supply products to rebuild tube radios and old guitar amplifiers, including the lost plans and books on tube circuits. I buy ruined tube radios and use their cases for new electronics. One I have rebuilt to use a digital radio device. I do not believe in using antiquated technology, but it is interesting to know how it works and how to service it. I repurpose it or recreate it in technology. I also use some as props for roleplaying.

(Yes, a Czech tube from the cold war and books and catalog where you can buy tubes now–JJ is the new name for Tesla. They let some American buy the name).

Which suggests a song: Mexico Radio.

I was tech-support for Rev. Anne Weld-Martin today for her worship service. I was not much help as someone was trying to connect using Windows 7. That is a bit out-of-date for Zoom.

I spent much of the morning assembling more of my new American Civil War (ACW) army. I have 25 infantry done for the Union. I will start on an equal number of Confederates. I have to paint them, mount them, and store them once I get this done. I have always wanted a tabletop ACW experience. These are from Perry Miniatures.

I ordered lunch, I was the only one up, from Gyro House again. It was perfect and extra spicy. I keep supporting our local food places and delivery drivers.

Susie got going, and we used Zoom to attend a worship service at 2PM. The sermon was made available last night: Sermon FUMC Beaverton 28March2020.

I made grilled ham and swiss for dinner.

We got out the game Killer Bunnies and Corwin, Susie, and I played for a few hours. Susie won again–she usually wins. It took a bit to remember how to play. We need to get it out more often. I forgot how much fun it is to play. It is one of the few games that has its own website!

A quiet day. I never left the house.

It was reported that over two hundred sixty folks lost their lives to the virus today in the USA. This is a significant drop from yesterday, but this may be a reporting issue. We will see if the trend continues.

The hymn is Simple Gifts for today and also for hope for Monday.

 

A quiet day. Slept in late.

Rev. Ann Weld-martin called this morning, and we practiced more Zoom. I have agreed to be on Sunday at 10:30 AM to be tech-support for her first worship service by Zoom. My church meeting is with Joan Goldhammer at 2PM on Sunday, also on Zoom.

I managed to charge and light up my practice circuit with my supercapacitors. My more expensive and higher voltage supercapacitors (going from ten bucks to twenty bucks) worked better–no surprise (generic China make-up versus German made). I did notice some instability as the voltage went down. I then added a decoupling and a smoothing capacitor (for those who know what that means) from my general supply to smooth out the output power to the light. The light then just slowly went out instead of blinking on and off.

I should point out that I decided a few years ago to create my own supply of components and equipment for building low power circuits. I purchased not one capacitor but all of them in kits–it is cheaper to buy them all than just the ones you need. I have sets of transistors, diodes, resistors, wires, and LEDs and even displays. I have proto-typing PC boards and plenty of breadboards ready to use. I purchased rolling tool drawers units and filled them full of parts. I have my own “Radio Shack” in my garage.

Returning to the story, so yesterday, I built a resistor and bar LED into some jumper wires so I would be able to visibly watch the supercapacitor discharge. This was from my supplies.

I am trying to build a mini-sub to run in a fish aquarium. I want it to carry a spy camera so we can see inside the tank. The main issue is power and the safety of the power source. Currently, my microcontrollers all use LIPO batteries, which would explode spectacularly in water.  I also want to do the same thing in a rocket and again the batteries would not be something I would want to fly (the batteries explode if shorted or overheated).

So supercapacitors seem more reasonable. But as capacitors, they drop voltage fast. That would play havoc with a DC circuit and a microcontroller. I was hoping the adjustable boost regulator from Pololu would be stable, but it is not working.

I have ordered new parts with a set voltage, 3.3V, and 5V. Pololu is still shipping and struggling to operate in the current locked-down world. I have marked the order as non-critical and they will ship it when they can.

I have ordered smaller supercapacitors that I might string together from Mouser. Again, the order is not rushed.

The song for the day is something we are trying not to cause: Smoke on the Water.

I made Michigan Chili for dinner, again. I also made cornbread muffins to go with it. Never used the Women’s Bean Project cornbread before. Susie thought the muffins tasted like Frito Corn Chips. She liked it.

The Women’s Bean Project was the only place I could order bean soup kits on the Internet. Bob’s Red Mill and all the others were sold out. Safeway had none. It is not just toilet paper that folks are hoarding! I have now learned more about the organization and now enjoy the cornbread even more. Order from them and create jobs for people.

(this is the soup package and my electronics behind it)

Corwin and his friend are here and we played Architects of the West Kingdoms board game. I taught the game and it was a learning game. They did catch on. It was a close game.

I also joined a Kickstarter to upgrade the game parts: Meeples Kickstarter.

I also did the laundry. The towels and whatnot are stacked in a chair. I will fold it later. Everything else is hung-up and put away.

So that is about all. I am feeling a bit better today and not as tired. I think I will sleep in one more day.

It was reported that more than five hundred people died today in the USA from the virus.

A hymn for today to remember all the people who died today: This is my Father’s World.

I decided yesterday to have a three-day weekend. I wanted to do some of the project I have not been able to do in the last few months.

I watched the House of Representatives pass the stimulus bill.

I started with finishing my game of The Architect of the West Kingdom. I was re-learning this game and also wanted to get the hang of the one-person game using the automatic play. There is also a two-person with the automatic player that looked interesting to try. I very much enjoyed playing by myself–unusual for me. The number of choices makes the game fun to play, and the automatic play was pretty good.

I then finished my charger circuit for supercapacitors. I built this from specifications I on the Internet from Instructables. This has been an area of interest to me. Capacitors are safe, generally don’t start having problems charging like batteries, and are well understood. Supercapacitors are a newish idea that allows low voltage but very high storage without the chemistry of batteries (i.e. supercapacitors don’t wear out and/or explode when shorted). The small car starters you see for sale are actually banks of supercapacitors with a charger built-in. I am looking for a power system that is safe and small and reasonably long-lasting and quick to recharge. This may be the answer.

Here is my board I built, and the big black thing is a 2.7V 400F supercapacitor you can buy on Amazon.

Of course, it did not work. I got out the schematics of the circuit I was supposed to build. My university did not have an engineering department or college but instead was famous as a teacher’s college. Instead of engineering, we had shop classes. Very very hands-on electronics and lab. Actually, 100% lab. I took all the courses on electronics and still fear no electrical shocks. I can build almost anything in low power electronics.

I found my bag of parts and noticed that all the 240-ohm resistors were still in the bag, oops forgot to put that in. Yes, there is a 240-ohm in the schematics that is not in the circuit. Solder that in. Now it works perfectly. I use silicone-coated wires now. More attractive colors and they take the heat of soldering better. Actually, I like the colors and the feel. After years of working with plastic-coated wires, it seems so modern to be using something like silicone wires.

That takes us to today’s song: Shock the Monkey.

I stop and talk to Peter Keller from SAP today. We have a group for the America SAP User Group (ASUG) on testing and test data. We do a little planning. Peter, he lives in Denver, tells me that they are too locked down.

I get the mail and a strange letter presents. My old Buick is being held in Astoria, and there is a lean against it for about $200. I traded it in years ago. This is the car I moved from Maryland in 1996. It is four cars ago!

(Loading up The Buick to ship to Oregon in September 1996)

I call the folks who have it. It was found abandoned on a farm field, striped, and left to rot for years. Nobody re-registered it. OMG, I still own it.

I remember that I had signed the power-of-attorney to have it re-registered and saw the payoff of the loan come in the mail when I traded it in for “The Volvo.” It seems that the car was stolen or lost or illicitly used for years until abandoned in Astoria, Oregon. I gave the car to the salvage company who recovered it. They will crush it soon and recycle it.

I was first sad; it was a beautiful car and it drove so fine I drove through New York City one-handed. Snow and ice were not a problem for this car. I called it, “The Buick.” Its hood was so long you could not see if you would hit anything when parking it. Apparently, after it left me, it entered an exciting life of crime. I choose to imagine it finished up crashed like in a Vin Diesel movie. Goodbye, “The Buick!”, Cuban Car Crash.

Lunch was also a challenge. Red Robin sent the wrong burgers. I called them, and they said it would require them to have me call in a new order to have it delivered. They would credit me the cost of the food. I was by then talking to the manager. I told them to keep the money, and we would eat what they sent. I told them they need the money, and I can manage a mushroom burger. It was great, actually. There is a chicken BBQ left still. I will likely have that on Saturday. The manager was grateful.

I have managed to charge some more supercapacitors. I have also added in an adjustable boost regulator to discharge a charged supercapacitor like a battery. Supercapacitors discharge by lowering the voltage. This change is at a much higher rate of collapse than a battery and will make a hash out of a DC circuit. The adjustable boost regulator can stabilize the voltage for a while and the DC circuit will work. A supercapacitor flashlight would be burning bright and then be dim for hours. The additional electronics evens out the light and would turn off the light when the supercapacitor can no longer support it. And I managed to get a flashlight circuit going. Small victories are how we progress.

I have not watched much of the news. Last time I saw the stock market was down a few percent. That is more normal. Liquidity is still improving, but some companies are starting to fail; energy industry supporting companies are headed to bankruptcy according to some news reports. They cannot get new loans to keep going. The Fed and other banks are already picking winner and losers. Bail-out always create winner and losers.

Over four-hundred people passed away from the virus today in the United States.

Today I picked something to remember all of these folks, not a hymn but close to a hymn: Over the Rainbow (Hawaiian version).