Microblog

For us, aging in place means living in a “15-minute city.” Today I aligned my primary care with that goal and signed up at a clinic just a short walk from our home. My new primary care physician used to be an actor (Juilliard graduate!) at the Guthrie, just across the road from the clinic, before deciding to go to medical school.

Cycled with a friend, starting at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge, now free of automobiles. An ice warning sign was a great reminder to make the most of the last days of summer. Across the bridge, we followed a lovely new wooded trail along the Minnesota River, then backtracked.

Woke up to this view of low clouds, glowing hot pink over the Capella Tower downtown, announcing both a day of light rain and World Breast Cancer Research Day. The color served as a reminder of recent NIH cuts in breast cancer research funding.

Spotted this on our Sunday walk: A tram had just dropped off a wedding party for photos on the Stone Arch Bridge, apparently leaving behind some expired wedding guests. I started imagining ways of incorporating this into the wedding vows: “Till death do us part. All we are is confetti in the wind, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

We feasted on American-style sushi: it’s actually delicious. I ate too much.

Posted my new YouTube video: Filtering LEGO Stud-Side Up. I thought about calling it Studs on Top, but decided against it to avoid drawing in the wrong crowd. I also skipped the LEGO nerd term SNOT (Studs Not On Top) to keep it family-friendly. Click through to watch.

While walking to Zen Box Izakaya for dinner, we passed the Guthrie Theater, whose thrust stage towered above us. The 2025–26 season had just been put on display, but we already have season tickets. When I was a teenager in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, my mother and I regularly had season tickets for the People’s Theatre. My need for theater has persisted since.

Took a break from my bike ride at The Trailhead in Theodore Wirth Park. I love the soaring lines of this building. The non-profit Loppet Foundation built then donated the facility to the Minneapolis park system, and is involved in its daily operations, promoting DEI in this diverse part of the city. Inside, I sipped an Americano while watching kids getting ready to ride the mountain bike trails maintained by the Foundation.

From the vantage point I discovered at the airport last week, watched planes take off, including this A320. My friend didn’t know about this part of the airport, which is surrounded by runways and reached via tunnels, so we made it our cycle ride today.

Wearing a cut-resistant glove, forced open a tracker to remove its speaker (the tiny white and gold circle). The speaker’s beeping is an anti-stalking feature, but I don’t want a bike thief to know they’re being tracked. My plan is to hide the tracker in a cavity behind the reflector, but it doesn’t quite fit. The reflector vendor is going to 3D-print a case with a slightly wider cavity that will fit.

Chatted with AI about the Chinese eggplant I’d picked up at the farmers market. Arrived at a recipe for which I had all the ingredients. AI called it Smoky Braised Chinese Eggplant with Fennel and Tomatoes, and provided an ingredient list and a self-evident recipe for a braise. The dish did not catch fire: the smoky flavor comes from smoked paprika.

A storm brought an early start to my day. Looking west from our home, I watched the storm approaching around 4 a.m., well before sunrise. There were periods of constant lightning in the clouds, illuminating the area. I never did see ground strikes. Visibility was poor due to a downpour, which delivered over an inch of rain.

While cycling to get a haircut, I did a double take when I saw this yard sign. Humor is a surprisingly effective antidote to autocracy.

Today was my annual ‘Cycle to the Airport’ day. I rode through tunnels under runways to a viewpoint surrounded by four runways, where I watched planes take off and land on parallel runways. I just missed the departing Tokyo flight, which was probably for the best, as I would have only imagined myself on it.

​On our walk, I introduced my friends to the House of Balls, where we saw sculptures all over the property made from found materials—including this whimsical art truck. Artist Allen Christian has been doing this for over 30 years. The property appears in articles with titles like “Weirdest Museums in Minnesota” and “Twin Cities’ Most Fantastically Odd Museum.”

Riding with a friend, we biked a route that included two new trail sections along the Mississippi River, one passing under a freight rail bridge and another beneath a busy road. We stopped at the new Aki’s BreadHaus and WunderBar, enjoying delicious pastries that brought back childhood memories for my friend. We continued our trip carrying freshly baked baguettes for later.