Microblog

Included some of my favorite indoor spaces on my Downtown walk. This was originally the banking hall for the Farmers and Mechanics Bank, my first bank when I arrived in Minneapolis. The original space is quite recognizable, although it’s now the lobby of a Westin.

Backed up all our files to an encrypted thumb drive which we’ll keep for ever. Files are backed up continuously, but I like to create a full snapshot of the data every now and then.

Added smarts to the ceiling fan over our bed. We can now control it from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection, solving a problem we didn’t have. More likely use cases include: control it by voice from bed, and turn it off automatically when when we leave our home.

Posted The Ministry.

Walked as far as the Minnesota School of Bartending. Learned that in this time of Covid, it’s holding one-on-one classes. Rode the rails back.

Winter was receding as we walked around Lake of the Isles. When we lived in this neighborhood, I, along with other regulars, jogged or walked this lake almost every day. Over the decades that added up to something like 30,000 miles.

On a grey, drippy day, in a sleek place with no vowels in its name (FRGMNT), we chatted with a friend over coffee and the best donuts.

Wandered with a friend in an historically Jewish neighborhood, St. Paul’s Highland Park, with a map of their eruv. An eruv is a wire on posts to define an area where it’s OK to carry stuff on the Sabbath. It turned out most of the eruv consists of existin

Avoided another trip… …to the emergency room. (There were no cones.)

Tonight I’m making one-pot comfort food: chicken and brown rice. I rarely stray from these three types of rice when cooking: sushi, Arborio, and short-grain brown.

Walked across Interstate 35W on a new pedestrian bridge (5th St SE, Minneapolis). Unlike the bridge I crossed a couple days ago in St. Paul’s Union Park District, this is wide enough for pedestrians and cyclists, has lighting, and the bridge and approach

With temperatures soaring into the mid-40’s, it was time for an al fresco coffee.

On my walk in St. Paul’s Union Park district, “discovered” the Aldine Street Pedestrian Bridge. It falls short of modern standards, dating back to the early days of I94, below. It’s a reminder of the communities divided and eliminated by the construction

Walked around Downtown with a friend, picking out favorite buildings. This beauty was built as a facility for manufacturing farm equipment. Today, it’s a hotel with dramatic public spaces. An atrium, with exposed timber beams, soars through all six levels

Walked to a store that’s been in business for almost seventy years to load my backpack with locally made, multicultural goodies: pierogi (Poland), lefse (Norway), and bangers (UK/Ireland).

Wheeled my bicycle over to Freewheel for a service. So many worn parts are being replaced, it’ll practically be a new bike.