Journeys 3.1

It was time for my annual cycle ride to the airport. Sadly, planes were landing on other runways as I passed by these approach lights. At Terminal 1, I “discovered” the car rental building, a place I would normally never visit, of course. Escalators go directly to different companies’ rental counters. I took the Blue Line home, which was the main reason for visiting the airport today; until today, the LRT had been closed for a few weeks for upgrades.

Riding across Northern Pacific Bridge No. 9 felt like cycling through a cage this morning. I’m heading to the first of 28 appointments over the next 30 days at the U for my second round of study treatment. The tumor marker that had been climbing consistently has finally dropped slightly, a good sign. Now, my priority is to focus on the space between appointments: the time that belongs to me, not the study.

On a bike ride with a friend, we stopped at this statue of Thomas Lowry, best known for overseeing the early growth of the Twin Cities streetcar system. Our house was in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis. My friend grew up in Lowry, Minnesota, a town that owes its existence to the Soo Line Railroad, which was founded and led by Lowry.

On my cycle ride: spoon, cherry, and Basilica. ​The Basilica is currently undergoing restoration work both inside and out.

Worked on the design of a minimal LEGO Technic finger, version 1.0, using a flexor tendon to bend the finger and an extensor tendon to straighten it. Along the way, I learned I had to prevent hyperextension to keep the joints stable. Designs I’ve found online seem over-engineered and contain too many parts: after all, it’s a model. Now I need to build a refined version with an eye toward eventual automation.

I wandered the aisles of Whole Foods seeking a jar of preserved lemons for a cod recipe Dwight found in Cook’s Illustrated. “A bit posh,” I thought, but played along. When I suggested he make them himself, it was clearly a bridge too far. A Google AI search identified the Global Foods aisle as a possibility, but the shelf was empty. Fortunately, a nearby stocker reached into the dark recesses of the shelf and pulled out the final jar.

Walked over to Chloe, a French-style bistro, for lunch with friends. The building was once a tractor factory, now repurposed as a hotel with two restaurants. The face sculpture is fashioned entirely from welded bicycle chains. Toward the back of the photo, an atrium cuts up through five floors, letting in natural light.