Microblog

As I was nearing the end of my bike ride, noticed that the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam was open to the public today. Wandered around and took in views of our neighborhood.

On my cycle ride: Cold War-era playground rocket ship elevated to sculpture. Installed in 1962, soon after Alan Shepherd became the first American in space, the climbing frame is now considered unsafe for kids. Neighbors raised $50,000 to convert it to a public art piece.

Posted Avoiding Russia. Next week, we’ll be flying on one of Delta’s newest planes from Minneapolis to Tokyo. Under normal circumstances, this journey would take us through Russian airspace for several hours.

Late afternoon concert of chamber music by members of the Minnesota Orchestra in the Atrium of Orchestra Hall.

We’re 36 years into our journey together.

Chatted with a man who was sticking arrows to the trail. He explained that the arrows marked alternative cycling routes for the American Diabetes Association “Tour de Cure” tomorrow. There are four routes: 5 miles, 27 miles, 50 miles, and 72 miles.

Cycled to the LEGO Shop at the Mall of America to buy the new Everyone is Awesome building set, which went on sale today, the first day of Pride Month. It was 30% off, and I used $5 worth of points from my LEGO VIP (no less) account. Rode the LRT home, admiring my purchase… Continue reading Celebrating Pride with LEGO

Cycled to the university for medical appointments. A medical student from Japan observed while I met with my oncologist. Received the third of four radioactive infusions. Remarkably, the tumor marker halved after each of the first two infusions, and I feel no side effects.

The anonymous industrial buildings may look unassuming, but they house a large Asian supermarket and one of the city’s best seafood markets. I bought vegetables at United Noodles and sea scallops at Coastal Seafoods, taking advantage of their 20% senior discount on Tuesdays.

Posted Japan Loose-Ends List. Soon, our nephew and his dad will be backpacking with us in Japan. In this post I share a list of planning details that needed attention as we got closer to our travel date.

Tonight we’re about to watch Tokyo Story (1953), a classic of Japanese cinema.

Even my phone overheated while cycling through Nordeast Minneapolis. Finding relief, I took a quick break in Surdyk’s walk-in beer cooler. A six-pack of Bauhaus Lounge Wizard in my backpack kept my back cool on the journey home.

On my cycle ride, waved to and thanked needle exchange workers. The service costs about $20 per user per year. One syringe-infected AIDS patient requires over $120,000 per year in public health services. Six states ignore this reality and do not permit needle exchange programs.

This week I’ve been prototyping systems for maintaining water levels while rooting plant cuttings. This morning I built a “production” system that includes a float valve connected to a water supply to top up the tank automatically.

Spotted an octopus’s garden on my cycle ride. My earworm for the rest of the ride was inevitable: I’d like to be\…\In an octopus’s garden\In the shade. (*Cognitive itch: the cause of an earworm.)

Today I had to teach about sentences starting with “That.” In preparation for the class I plugged a convoluted sentence into ChatGPT: although correct, it suggested not starting sentences with “That.” After all that I needed ice cream as a reward, but the store was closed.