Journeys 3.1

Installed e-ink picture frames in our front hall to display our photos. They rely entirely on ambient light, in this case, overhead high-CRI (Color Rendering Index) wall washers. Each frame has a rechargeable battery lasting up to a year on a single charge, with display refreshes managed via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Setting up the leftmost frame and adjusting the overhead lights are tasks for another day.

Had a great bike ride through Spring Lake Park Reserve with a friend. We’ve cycled this stretch that includes bluffs above the Mississippi, downriver from St. Paul, plenty of times, but today was different. It was the first time I actually got to see the bison up close on the restored prairie.

Spent much of today at the U, hopefully delaying a visit from the Grim Reaper. On my bike ride home, I spotted this freight car graffiti: the man himself, flipping classical Christian iconography right on its head.

On our Sunday morning walk, we spotted furniture set up on the substructure of the 10th Avenue Bridge: unexpected, possibly art, and an expense for the city to remove. This afternoon, we relocated a watercolor from another room and adjusted the placement of these Craftsman pieces. Much like the morning’s installation, our arrangement is essentially decorative.

First port of call today: stocked up on veggies and bread at our local farmers market, tucked between the Mill City Museum and the Guthrie Theater. I then cycled over to Coastal Seafoods for a nice fatty piece of Atlantic salmon, then on to the Seward Co-op for our favorite almond milk ice cream, which conveniently kept the salmon cold on the ride home.

The street was deserted: no electrician, no work truck, no one in sight. So, I summoned my inner Karen (or is it Kevin?) and immediately filed a report through the Minneapolis 311 app. The meter was live, meaning the bare bus bars exposed at the back of the box were actively carrying current, which is more than enough energy to kill a curious child. It looks like the abandoned attempt of a wire thief, which has become a rampant issue across the city.

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 and cars. 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.