Microblog

Cycled trails on both sides of the Mississippi, including this recently repaired section that had been underwater. At this point we’re on the St. Paul-side looking across to Minneapolis.

I’m anticipating some meals with interesting ingredient combinations: we’re running the freezer down before a trip next week. Cue the song, “Lime Jell-O Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise.”

Spent the morning mapping and logging issues for each of eight irrigation zones on a rooftop deck on our building. Used a Google Maps satellite image that shows every garden bed and planter.

I love the name of this device: Time-of-Flight sensor. It measures distance by bouncing a laser beam off a surface. Today I started figuring out how to use it to measure water depth in a tank for our indoor garden. As always, software is the challenge. I’ve previously used ultrasound for this application, but stray… Continue reading Time of Flight

On a day when women lost a Culture Wars battle, and it was clear people like Dwight and me would be the next target, met lovely people, straight and LGBTQ+, at a Pride gathering in our community room.

I sometimes point my bike through this yard where sculptors work. I like the accidental sunlight flare on the lens creating a mystical water effect at the bottom. Continued my ride while imagining interpretations of the sculpture, not knowing if it was unfinished.

As I do at the start of every day, took a small handful of Abiraterone and Dexamethasone. Later, at Methodist Hospital, got my quarterly Lupron shot and chatted with my oncologist. As the tumor marker graph (below) shows, it’s working, at least for now: it’s pointing towards zero, which is a good thing. I don’t… Continue reading Pills and Hot Flashes

At the start of our cycle ride, looked across Ft. Snelling State Park towards the airport. Followed the Minnesota River, then Mississippi to downtown St. Paul. Cycled back, mainly on trails on the opposite bank. Click through for an extra photo of a (potentially) high voltage eagles’ nest.

On the kitchen counter: stale bread we’d been collecting in the freezer. Tonight, one of my favorite salads: Italian bread salad.

Posted Continuously Variable LEGO Pneumatic Control.

Came home to hats and gloves airing on the bed. Dwight had decided it was probably safe to launder and put away cold-weather gear until the Fall. As they say, back in the old country: “Dinnae cast a clout till May be oot.” In Minnesota, mid-June is safer.

Wrote to each Hennepin County Commissioner asking them to right a wrong. The $67 million (annual budget) county public library system no longer provides GED and ESL adult literacy services. Recent immigrants have lost an important step-up in life, and I now need to go elsewhere for expert assistance with tutoring. Franklin Learning Center (Minneapolis)… Continue reading No Adult Literacy Services Here

Not exactly the source of the Nile, but interesting nonetheless while cycling with a friend through Reservoir Woods Park. An image search for this 30-million gallon tank, part of St. Paul’s water system, brought me to photos of Mongolian yurts.

On our walk: kids with steel swords. They’re attending summer school at the Guthrie Theater.

Temperatures climbing to the mid-90’s provided an opportunity to nurture the inner couch potato.

Wake-up weather presaged a steamy couple of days. This afternoon I imagined myself in New Orleans as I rode my bike along leafy streets with a stop for ice cream.