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Monday is like my Saturday, as I seldom have plans, and the weekend is over. While I don’t work, others do, and I rush on the weekend to be included. On Monday, the rush ends. I rose around after 8 and found I forgot to put the timer on and had to wait for coffee. I entered the office—the corner bedroom is now my office—and started my online morning.

I write this blog most mornings. I am more of a morning person, and the task seems easier than late at night. I used to write a blog late while working for a living. Now I can afford to invest the morning in the blog. I use WordPress for the blog, and Grammarly checks my text and makes suggestions, many of which are useless, while I type. I prefer it to spot missing plurals and insert commas. It corrects my spelling, but most tools do that now. Quicken is updated with the transactions from most of my accounts. Only the IRA and my Treasury account were not updated–both are too complex and provide only limited or no Quicken transactions.

I am done at about 10, and then return to the 3D printer. It is cool today, and I suspect this is the real reason it won’t print, but instead puddles on the tank film. The operating temperature for the resin is 25-30°C (72-80°F). I cleaned up the Egloo Mars 3D resin printer and started a new print. I changed the model to be at an angle with supports and a base the night before. I also changed the run parameters to be the recommended values. It will fail as a puddle again.

Deborah is back to work, but working from home, and I get a few texts and a call. She is doing chores all day. I woke up to her text, and we talked as I started the blog.

It is nearing noon, and I reheat the Chinese-style food. I watch Elsbeth and enjoy the quirky show while I eat. The show reminds me of The Rockford Files and Colombo. This episode’s guest murderer is a modern matchmaker from The Hamptons, and the viewer is treated to a view of the winter version of The Hamptons. I liked it.

After that show, I looked at replacement printers and various options. The highest-tech one would cost about $600, and I was not ready to spend that much (the latest Saturn Ultra 16K with a heated tank, with the extra wash and hardening solutions). But we will see. I have always dreamed of printing my stuff for gaming, and I am still tempted.

Time was slipping by, and soon it was time to head out again. I changed to a dress shirt, Pride tie, and green sweater vest and boarded Air VW the Gray for the short trip to the MAX station. The trip into Portland was faster, and I was enjoying my Canadian murder crime novel on my Kindle and missed my stop. It was just a few blocks’ difference. But I walked to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, and the Heathman Hotel Bar was on the way. I decided to try the remodeled location next to the Schmitzer.

I ordered a Sazerac, which was perfectly mixed without ice (better). I had the chips with the salmon dip. The chips were house-made potato chips with a hint of vinegar and salt. The dip had roe on it and was not overly fishy flavored, and it went well with the chips. I had the mushroom soup, which, while good, was a bit cooler than I liked. Oddly, there were noodle bits sprinkled on the top that I thought did not work. I saw that other symphony goers were sharing the cheese and meat plate. It looked excellent. Next time!

I reached the Schnitzer next door while the talk was still happening and heard a few words from the conductor, Jun Märki, and the principal guest conductor. Conductor Märki described Debussy’s La mer like waves and storms. He shared his excitement, and when conducting later, I could witness his love and enjoyment of the piece.

The most memorable piece was unexpected: Korngold’s Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 35 had me laughing and tapping my feet. Koldgold was a movie composer who combined those bits to make this concerto. It was enjoyable, and Paul Huang, the soloist, seemed to create his own movie with sweeping arm movements as he played the dramatic notes. He really leaned into that music. Medelssohn’s Calm Sea and Properios Voyage, Op. 27, mixed well with Debussy, but I remember Haung’s music more. He played an encore solo that was lovely, too.

I stumbled when the concert was done. It is a long fall. I barely caught myself. My knees had frozen up. Something new. I will be more careful!

I arrived, safe, home via MAX and the EV. I stayed up late and made a pound cake from the Cake Bible Cookbook. I had a slice of the cake, excellent, and went to bed.

Thanks for reading!

 

I nearly forgot to finish the blog on Sunday. Finally, I finished it after 6 and published it. Deborah asked me where the blog was. Oops!

I had just watched another episode of the bright and fun murder show, Colombo-like, “Elsbeth,” when Deborah reminded me to write the blog. The second episode was excellent and gave me a more NYC feel; the murder involved real estate. Often, these shows, well done, do not connect as well to the location, but “Elsbeth” connects to NYC. I was catching up on the next Doctor Who when Deborah called. It was also good and was about a god of storytelling.

After the blog, I started another 3D print run. I got a half-melted 28mm figure and two puddles. Ugh! I cleaned up the mess. Remembering to use a mask this time, I collected the unused resin, put it back in the bottle, heated it to 32°C in a bucket of warm water, and tried again with warmed resin. Another three hours of printing and my second try on Sunday. It would fail again with the same results, precisely the same.

Dinner was reheated: a breaded chicken thigh and pasta I made a few days ago. I covered it in Costco’s Rao’s overpriced sauce. My colon and tummy had been bothering me, and I was dizzy and had moments of feeling hot. I decided to take it slow on Sunday.

I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and ran it. Then, I washed the larger pans by hand, cleaned the knives, and put them back. I hold them on a magnetic board, which I recommend.

I finished the night reading until I started to nod off. I put on my PJs and soon fell asleep.

Sunday, Mother’s Day, started with me rising around 8 and finding coffee made. A pot of liberal Fair Trade coffee to start my day; perfect! I spent most of the morning writing the blog, doom-scrolling the news, and updating my Quicken summary. I use Quicken to download all the transactions and categorize them. I know what is transpiring in all my accounts.

I talked to Deborah with her ‘Good morning’ greeting me when I woke up around 7. I had to ring off at 9:15 to shower and dress. Air VW the Gray carried me across Beaverton in light traffic and arrived at 10:30, for the 11 worship service. The steps to the side door were sprinkled with rice and other food items. I said good morning, got a broom, and cleared the steps. I ushered and had to admit I could not follow the service that well. Ken had two people talk about their experiences at the church, and then tried to connect that to living a righteous and full life. His point was that little things and community matter. Dondrea and Z supplied tulips for Mother’s Day. There was also a cake, and I had one small piece.

I returned home in the EV and reheated the wonton soup. I always order the large to have another meal later. I also wanted the container, as it is perfect for pouring out the resin from the tank. I reheated the soup twice in the microwave and let it sit to let the heat spread through the soup. It was good.

I poured the unused resin into the previous soup container, cleaned up the Egloo Mars 3D printer, reset it, and poured it back into the bottle. I then reheated the resin in the bottle with warm water to 33°C and repeated the print–it would fail again.

Aside: I learned that the resin’s optimal temperature is 25-30°C.

I looked at new models and discovered that the new Egloo printer has a built-in heater for the resin, a fan to kill the fumes, and works much faster. The tariffs are not yet worked into the prices, so I am tempted. I have an expensive, large Egloo 3D resin printer that seldom worked for me, and I am not tempted to try it again. The reviews of this Kickstarter printer are poor, and the amount of resin in the tank makes it hard to work with. For the moment, I will try to make my old original and often successful printer work. I did see that Egloo sells a little heater to put in the printer, which is very tempting.

Deborah spent most of Mother’s Day with her boys, and we talked for a long time after she was in bed. We like to start and end our days together.

And that closes the loop on Sunday’s story!

Thanks for reading!

 

Saturday was unusual as I could play many games and publish the blog. I was feeling better, though my colon, 25 cm shorter from cancer, would fill, and the lockdown was making me uncomfortable. It finally emptied on Sunday morning. It is part of living as a survivor of colon cancer.

I rose late on Saturday, rolling over a few times after sunrise, and got coffee waiting for me when I finally rose after 8. I had drunk a lot of water (see above) and proved this twice, and still had to run for a third when I rose.

I started in my PJs with the 3D printer. Ugh. A melted blob was partially on the printing plate, and a blob stuck to the plastic film on the bottom of the tank as a pool of hardened junk. Using gloves, I did not get any toxic resin on me, and I removed the failed print. I dumped the expensive resin ($25 per 1,000 grams) and cleared the tank of stuck bits. Total fail.

Disappointed, I returned to the office with coffee, a banana, and a NYC bagel (thanks, Joyce!) and spent the morning mostly writing the blog. I also quickly got out a card to Mom Wild, wearing my robe and slippers, and no comments from my neighbors (they have gotten used to the retired guy in PJs late). I squeezed in while writing the blog, getting my transactions updated in Quicken while getting the blog out. I also looked at the website HeroQuest, which lets you design a gaming figure; I hoped to download an STL file for about $8 and print it myself (it is a 4-week wait from HeroQuest and about $30 for a simple plastic version). I read my emails and doom scrolled enough to know that no new disaster had befallen the world (or caused by the current USA government).

I published the blog and then read more on the Egloo website, the manufacturer of my Mars resin tank printer. I thought something was wrong with my settings; possibly, a software update had scrambled them. I checked the recommended settings, and my printer settings, while not matching, were not radically far from the exposure times and movement speeds. These settings are in the software that takes the STL image file and then transforms it into commands for a printer. As my printer is old, I did not dare update the software. I did download a new software, but it did not include my printer, the old Mars printer (not the Pro or other later improvements). I used the old stuff as it is.

I read that the resin works at 25 °C to 30 °C. Yikes, I was printing at 55°F. There was a warning that the resin would stick to the film if it was too cold, which I was experiencing. Could it be a temperature issue?

I created a new build file and transferred it to a USB ‘A’ stick (also old) from my Apple. I then walked that file to the printer. I plugged the stick into the Mars 3D printer. I then put on gloves and cleaned the printer with near-pure alcohol. I cleaned the tank with care. It is transparent to allow the UV light to harden the resin, hopefully on the previous layer. I checked the file and did a print run with no resins. I have UV eye protection. I also use gloves to protect my hands from the resin and UV!

I took the freshly opened resin and a bucket. I filled the bucket with water at 34 °C, placed the resin container in it, and let it reach 30 °C. I reset the printer and zeroed it again. I poured the warm resin into the printer and opened the garage door to let the warmer air in. I started the print. It was an HP Lovecraft bust, my usual practice, and a miniature version only a few inches tall.

I have no memory of lunch, and I think I just spread breakfast over the morning, as I was fearful that my colon and tummy issues would resurface. Next, I took Ottoman Sunset, a solo board game, and boarded Air VW the Gray. I closed the garage door to keep the contents safe and cat-free (the local cats have more than once spent the night in the garage). I headed into the strange traffic of an early Saturday afternoon across Beaverton and Portland.

The trip was the usual stop-and-go in Beaverton, and Highway 26, the Sunset Highway, resembled a parking lot for the Zoo a few times. The local streets of Portland are troubled by racing. Two cars were racing through Portland, and I got out of their way without losing paint on the EV. They zoomed through traffic and weaved here and there, with one car having to downshift. The backfires were loud as the fuel burned poorly in the engine.

I arrived at Lucky Labrador without incident and found a parking spot in their lot on Hawthorn across the river. I found a table and got an Irish ale. The place was busy for early Saturday afternoon, but no gaming groups were there. I found a table and tried to play the solo board game, Ottoman Sunset, again. This game has you play the Ottoman (Turkish) Sultan, and you need to keep back the invaders while keeping up the morale of the Turkish people. The game has cards that replay the events of 1914-1919 that impacted the Ottoman Empire, and if you wish to play them in historical order, you just sort the cards by number. I did random and enjoyed the first set without too much pain, but once the French and Lawrence of Arabia appeared, it became a desperate effort to survive. I misplayed and removed cards that would have helped/hurt, and will get that right next time.

In my version of history, Lawrence of Arabia paraded into Istanbul and kicked me out. I had a marginal defeat (almost making it). I focused on keeping the people happy and investing in Europe’s battles. I must keep Lawrence and others further away to survive to 1919. I enjoyed it and will play again and try to get it right. Solo games have endless rules and complexities, as there is only one player, and thus, having to return to the rulebook often is not so bad.

I got peanuts to go with the beer. I put away the game, put it in the cargo hold of Air VW the Gray, and got out Scythe. This took the whole table and another one. Scythe is not a small footprint game. I set a three-person game with two factions controlled by the automata deck. I have bought extra decks to allow me to play multiple robotic players. I have two automata decks in my box, one of which comes with the game. While you can use one deck for numerous factions, it gets confusing and ineffective. In the unofficial section of the rules, they suggest multiple decks. Time to try it.

(You can see the two decks with a marker for each at the edge of the table)

There were many rules and mechanics, and I will not cover this. The robot factions moved by teleportation, which was interesting. I attacked and watched as the two robots fought each other. It will be interesting to play this with others.

I misread the time, ordered some soup, and put Scythe away. I then discovered I had another hour, and I was also uncomfortable. I sat outside where it was cooler and read some rules. Ostia, another board game, has an add-on, and I read the rules. Ostia is already a complex game, and I am not sure more rules will improve it. Someday we will have to try it.

At 5:15, I headed to Richard’s, and Laura was there to play. We played a three-person basic version of The Lost Ruins of Arnak, a favorite board game played a lot during and after the pandemic. The theme is a Hollywood version of archaeology with a research section resembling the usual worker placement and resource management race in many games. There is also a card deck building and a thinning part. It is an excellent mix of the theme, deck building, worker placement, efficiency race, and resource management. It is hard to get the correct mix, and there are many correct answers.

I remembered the game well, having played it for years, and was ahead of Richard while Laura explored and defeated the Hollywood guardians, gaining a pile of points at the end of the game. I did not expect to win with Laura behind me and Richard at the bottom. He missed, I think, the efficiency race and resource management. We finished the game in 90 minutes.

We then took on Cthulhu—Death May Die with Richard’s painted figures. This is a horror cooperative game in which you fight cultists and the things they summon before they end the world. I have played it before and lost. And not to be disappointed, we lost this game, too. We played for three hours and lost the game by one card draw of stopping the Yellow King.

After we chatted for a while, I headed home. The drive was easy; nobody was racing on the bridges! I was soon home and asleep in my bed. As I said, I was happy to find my 3D print completed and a print still on the plate, as I had hoped. It was pretty hard to detach it. A good sign.

I slept until sunrise.

Thanks for reading.

Last night, I tried again to use my resin-based Egloo Mars printer. I cleaned everything with alcohol and used gloves. I dumped toxic resin into a container, washed everything down, and dried it. I was happy to see I had replaced the film before, and it was still in good condition. I found an old print, tried to zero the printer, and ran it. This Saturday morning, I found a puddle, not a print, stuck to the tank film and not the printing plate. Total fail. The plate had some of the print. It takes six hours to print. I woke up to the mess this Saturday.

Elsbeth is a new Paramount+ show that Deborah suggested; I tried it before heading to bed. It is a light crime show that uses the Columbo model of showing the viewer the crime. Then, we watch as the police fail to pick up the subtle nuances that Elsbeth, who is awkward and asks questions all the time, matching Peter Falk’s character in the old TV shows, begins to work out the murder. It is light but fun, and set in NYC now.

After that, I remade the bed. Friday is laundry day, and I washed the sheets and put last week’s washed sheets from the linen closet on the bed. I did laundry and now have laundry to put away. This includes all my new, smaller underwear (apparently Grammarly switched ‘underwear’ with ‘underwater’ yesterday, and I missed it). New pants and shirts, all smaller, are on their way from L.L. Bean.

I read for a while and then slept.

Going further back, my colon and tummy were not in agreement, and I decided it was best to stay home the rest of the day. I did pop out to the East Harbor and got too expensive but good Chinese-style food. I took it home and ate it while I sat on the deck in the sun, watching Drachinifel’s YouTube four-year-old video on the beginning of the Jutland 1916 naval battle, an hour of images and lots of dramatic readings from the written memories of those there. Drachinifel does not do animations, but I love his photos of his collection of painted gaming pieces set up to visualize the positions of navies. And his placing cotton over the ships that explode is an old gaming trick (often tiny cotton balls are put in front of models that have ‘fired’). I have played Jutland only a few times in college and used paper markers, not models. Recently, I played the WW2 Battle of the Denmark Straits, and I have all the models for that, Bismarck vs. Hood.

Drachinifel video, which I recommended to Pastor Ken, was excellent. I thought I had seen it before, but it seemed new. The video covers all the issues, including the terrible explosive handling in the British ships, which historians now attribute to losing three ships, one of which was new. It was good and covers the ‘ride south.’ Part two covers the fleet conflict and the Germans’ retreat.

Before this, I was in Portland. My tummy and colon issues threatened to ruin my trip, but stayed in the background enough to let me enjoy a short visit. I parked Air VW the Gray at the nearby MAX station. I got to the platform as the train arrived. I tried to scan the ‘tap’ with my iPhone to charge my virtual card, but it would not work. The train engineer waited for me, most kind, as I tried multiple times, but finally got it.

The train was mostly empty. Another passenger commented on the engineer’s kindness and told me that the MAX officers were just on the train checking fare payments. It’s good that I was scanned. Last time, something went wrong. I had not purchased a virtual ticket, so I got off the train and fixed it. Yikes!

I read my book, I brought my Kindle with me, read, and soon was off at the Library stop, but decided to head to Jake’s Grill a few blocks away. Portland is emptier than before the Pandemic. I saw no tourists wandering the streets, and I was crossing against the lights on now-empty streets. Working from home and escaping from cities to remote work has reduced Portland’s population.

Only a few folks were at Jake’s Grill, but I was at 1 on a workday. I had the special, which was a meatless pasta dish. Heavy on garlic and absolutely nothing you should eat for a work lunch. I had ginger ale to go with it as I was feeling off. This is my go-to for planes and troubled moments. It is cold, bubbly, and a bit of sugar to help. The pasta or the drink worked. I commented on the marks on the wall and learned that the old-style mirrors were taken down; I missed them.

It was a few blocks back, and I was hit up for spare change by the crowd of panhandlers and other challenged people who seemed to haunt the front of Portland’s library. I thought I had no change to give them and turned them down. Later, I felt bad when I discovered I had a few one-dollar bills I could have spared.

I saw that Teddy Roosevelt and his horse in bronze still have yet to return to the park across from the Portland Art Museum (PAM). The tall granite block has his name on it, and was a backdrop to a flash food kitchen for the locals. I donated $5 to cover some of their costs.

PAM let me in for free, my membership is paid up, and I soon enjoyed Monet and Japanese prints. PAM has all the famous Hokusai prints, but I have never seen the famous Wave that I know is in the collection. Instead, I saw it in Chicago. However, others were on display, mixed in with various impressionists, and it was a small but excellent show. The kind of show I like is where each piece was included for a reason, which is explained instead of endless repeats with only dates and donor information. The New York Times recommends the PAM show.

I bought a set of Hokusai cards in the shop to send to Mom, including The Wave and two prints I saw in the show. Some folks grumbled that there were only two Monets (the total of PAM’s Money collection, I learned). I pointed out the Hokusai prints they missed, and they suddenly were re-walking the show, and I saw they were much happier. Culture vultures.

I took pictures of the Monets and was happy to walk back to the MAX with my insides deciding it wanted attention. But the Skeleton Key Odditorium was on the way back, and I paid admission to what was a tourist trap or a celebration of Goth (I saw a note to that effect in the place). It was interesting and spooky. Some things were jump scares, and I avoided them as I do really jump at them and did not want a ‘clean-up’ issue with my colon and tummy. It was like a gruesome antique store with some things for sale. A few items got my attention, like the haunted box and the blood jewelry (mixing blood with resin). Possible stories there for me, or descriptions of items in Dungeons and Dragons. Worth the visit and the $15, but not a likely return for the paid part. Photos were allowed.

Mister Lincoln 3-4″ across.

I returned home in the EV after a non-eventful trip on MAX.

The morning had me rising late, writing the blog, texting and chatting with Deborah, and all my usual morning routine. Laundry was started and completed.

Thanks for reading.

Coffee was not made on Thursday morning. Ugh. I forgot to set the timer (a button). I rose after 8, thinking coffee was already waiting for me, only to discover it was empty. I went to write the blog and later returned to the kitchen and acquired the last hard-boiled egg and a banana (from the 185th veggie stand trip I forgot to put in yesterday’s blog). I wrote the blog all morning. It was a cool morning with some clouds and sun breaks.

I spent the morning writing the blog, updating Quicken, and paying a few bills. I also watched the pope be selected and was surprised when Leo 14th got the job. I was betting on an Italian and was disappointed that I, Unexpected the First—my pope name—was not selected. Deborah thought moving to Rome and other requirements would have been onerous (a crash course in Italian and Latin was just the start of challenges), though the Pope Mobile and my jet sounded nice.

Instead of catching the next flight to the Vatican and taking The Keys, I published the blog, showered, dressed, shaved, boarded Air VW the Grey, the Wild Mobile, and headed to McMenamins Cedar Hills. I was early and sat outside in the sun. The breeze, coming from the desert, was cold. Scott showed up a few minutes later. We moved later to a table in the sun; it was too cold for the shade!

We discussed many subjects, and a friend texted us about leaving Nike IT for a job elsewhere. We talked about investing, things we have learned, and travel. Scott is off on a trip down south in just over a week, and I am four weeks out to join Deborah in California. We talked more about Artificial Intelligence, and I plan to find time to dig back in. I used to teach and code AI in the Python programming language (named not for the snake but for Monty Python). I am interested in tightening up my math skills to help with this. More to come.

After lunch, we each consumed a meatless burger and two Hammerhead beers, and I headed out. I called Rune and Board to see about teaching and playing Unsettled with the owner, Nick. Alas, they were busy with store things and could not work in playing a game on Thursday. But we agreed to try again next week, on Thursday.

I was at loose ends, beered, and fed, and thus, it was time for a nap. I enjoyed the break for an hour and bid on some more stamps for my collection (cheaper ones, as some of the holes in my collection rightfully will remain unfilled with price tags matching the cost of a car or house). I returned to Air VW the Gray, stopped by McDonald’s for a shake (still needing to wake up), and arrived at Guardian Games (Aloha, formerly Rainy Day Games).

I chatted with Mike, whom I have known for years, and then set up a solo board game in their gaming area. I asked permission, and after a longer process than I expected (there were only two folks in the play area with over ten tables, one marked reserved that was never used the whole time I was there), they decided I could use the end of a table. I played Ottoman Sunset and completely hosed the game. I got the setup wrong, but managed to play for an hour. Next time, I will get it right. I left around 5 while the group set up BattleTech. This is a new version of a SciFi tabletop with exquisitely painted four-inch towering metal and plastic figures. The game has a high buy-in cost, but the mix of painting and building with role-playing elements and SciFi combat attracts folks. I have played the previous version once. I have never bought in.

I met Pastor Ken back at McMenamins Cedar Hills at the bar. We both had salads, with Ken picking a cider and me a Ruby, a raspberry-wheat beer. We talked mostly about history and some church items. I told him about the history I am reading, mostly Jutland 1916, and later sent him links to the best books I have read.

Please see:

Jutland 1916 Death in the Grey Wastes
By Nigel Steer
Gettysburg: The Last Invasion
By Allen C. Guelzo
Bury the Chains Prophets & Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empires Slaves
By Adam Hochschild

We joined the Theology Pub setup in the bar area, and soon, more than fifteen people joined us, including one person online from Utah. This church meeting discusses deep issues, many political, with beer and food in a non-threatening setting of a bar/restaurant. We have talked about disruption, as this word gets a lot of play now in the press. Today, we discuss the difference between disruption and destruction and the fear of pollution. We agreed that disruption was helpful and good when producing a new and often better solution. But we noticed that folks are concerned that they will be polluted by the ideas of others and resist having meaningful discussions. For example, folks who have issues with the homeless refuse to become involved, as they fear they could be polluted by these issues and soon begin to have those issues. We observed in our discussion that while few will admit this fear, it seems obvious to some that the destruction we see is fear-based. Destruction to force change or to reach a non-existent previous ‘good days’ was more hurtful and not truly disruptive. I thought it stayed a positive discussion with all of us learning new things about disruption.

After the meeting, I headed home, read, dropped my Kindle when I nodded off, and soon slept. I woke with bad leg cramps. Beer does this to me sometimes. I took water, and sleep was again found, and I was able to sleep until the sun rose.

Thanks for reading.