Microblog

12th Night, time to put away our Christmas decorations.

Worked on my latest “science project.” I’m trying to move an arm smoothly to any angle using a pneumatic piston. This brings together LEGO Mindstorms and Pneumatics, as well as 3rd-party digital sensors to measure air pressure and angles. This is proving surprisingly challenging.

It warmed up sufficiently to comfortably walk outside. The reflection in the icy Mississippi reminded me of a moody Turner painting.

The chill continues: walked for about an hour through corridors and stairways in the two towers of our building. My daily workout goal is “move” but I’ve yet to figure out how to explain that to the software.

Our New Year’s Day tradition is a long walk and a bar lunch. With subzero weather all day we achieved one out of two. Maxwell’s is our local, a chilly two-block walk.

Our annual tradition: celebrated the new year in Madrid at 5:00 p.m. Central then made paella.

Posted 12 Months of Microposts: 2021.

It was -6°F outside when I went downstairs for a socially distanced spin.

Included the Minneapolis Skyway in my walk to escape cold and ice. Finally got to see inside the new Minneapolis Public Service Building. I’ve previously admired the exterior, so it was good to walk through the beautifully designed interior, including this skyway section.

Abandoned my walk on icy sidewalks; docked my walking shoes for the rest of the day.

There were eight of us at the table at my sister- and brother-in-law’s. This huge platter was filled with the best turkey and brisket, slow-cooked in a smoker. Needless to say, we got to take some home.

Last Christmas, a bottle of red wine was corked, so I reduced the wine to an excellent syrup. Over the year, it’s added a fruity note to dressings and sauces. Today, a couple tablespoons added a pleasant dimension to the gravy.

Walked through deserted university campuses, nurturing my inner introvert.

Dwight is up in Fargo to see his mom and drive her to Minneapolis tomorrow. Walked over to Zen Box Izakaya to satisfy my craving for gyoza and tonkotsu ramen. An authentic Japanese Christmas meal would’ve been a bucket of fried chicken from KFC.

Replaced the plant irrigation system pump with a much more powerful model. We’ve been adding plants to the top of racks, and the water pressure had been inadequate. Now we have to reduce the pressure on the drip irrigation emitters to prevent overspray.

Decorated our made-in-Minnesota tree.