Zen Box Izakaya

Walked over to our local izakaya, a Japanese bar that also serves food. They had emailed me a $5 discount for my birthday, but I didn’t need an incentive.

Shortcut to Donuts

Knowing great donuts awaited us on the other side was a strong incentive to seek out this “secret” passageway in the Minneapolis North Loop.

Shielding Cyclists from Traffic

Watched this protected bikeway being extended towards our home, still a few blocks away. I appreciate being physically separated from traffic. About 200 miles of on- and off-street bikeways make Minneapolis one of the most bikeable cities in the country.

Phew! What a Scorcher*

As temperatures nudged towards 100, cycled an abbreviated route along almost deserted trails. *The title probably originated in the UK as a spoof of a tabloid headline.

Categorized as Summer

An Annual Treat

Another slice of my once-a-year Princess Torte. Since I was born in a time zone six hours ahead of Central, I got to enjoy my first slice yesterday evening.

Categorized as Birthday

Family Walkabout

We cooled off on a hot day by walking around the Guthrie Theater with family. On the very yellow ninth floor, where all the windows are yellow, there’s a section of glass floor where our grandnieces showed no fear.

Categorized as Family

Filling in Time at the House of Balls

Wandered around the outside of the House of Balls behind Cedar Riverside LRT Station, a good place to kill a few minutes with a friend before his train arrived. The artist who works here specializes in found objects.

Apportioning Expenses of a 5-Day Hike

Worked on a spreadsheet to apportion hotel and rail expenses for a five-day hike we’ll do with two friends in the North East of England in September. If we take turns paying for hotels, everything almost balances. I don’t entirely trust my numbers, so I’ll return to this another day.

Unstructured Mondays

I like to leave Mondays unstructured. Started the day slowly, reading and sipping coffee. Went for a bike ride with more coffee and a donut. Took a nap after lunch. Finally, successfully connected a PlayStation controller to my pneumatic hoist and gripper via a computer program.

Categorized as LEGO

Death of a Dial Tone

Our VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) adapter decided to brick itself, and no amount of coaxing could bring it back to life. It had saved us a bundle on phone calls over the past 11 years but it was time to order a new adapter.

Categorized as IT