August 2017

Thursday, Aug. 31st/17 
As Houston continues to bathe in the waters of Harvey, Windsor recovers from a totally unrelated event.  My dojo is underwater (at least the downstairs change rooms and kitchen), and Randy continues to come to terms with a damaged swimming pool, and untold damage to his finished rec room.  Here are some photos he sent me earlier today.

 Lowest room in the house was a finished rec room...

...and the laundry room and furnace room.  No such thing as flood insurance, 

either, at least in our area.  In 50 years his house has not flooded.

 The backyard pool has a lot of washed away soil in it, and the liner

floated to the top.  In short, a disaster.

Meanwhile, it is cool and dry here today.  3,000 homes were flooded in Windsor on Wed.  That is a lot of damage.  I am hearing lawn mowers again, for the first time in many weeks.  Grass is green, and weeds are growing again.

The next part of my blog is called Paintings By Bruegel I Have Seen, Pt 1.  First off, a spelling lesson.  When referring to Bruegel the Elder, there is no "h" in his name.  That apparently came later, and was used by his sons.  Bruegel is the painter of less than 50 extent works, though he was copied many times by his youngest son, Pieter the Younger.  The first painting of his I ever came into contact with was Detroit's Wedding Dance, one of the most spectacular paintings in the world.  It even contains a self-portrait of the artist, observing from the sidelines.

 The Wedding Dance, by Bruegel the Elder, in the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Can you spot the artist?  This is a very large painting, and is the earliest of 

his peasant paintings.

And, from Copenhagen, this tiny oddity....

 The Triumph of Death is another large work, this time from the Prado, Madrid.

I have spent a lot of time with the Detroit and Madrid canvases, and have seen the Denmark one twice.  Next time I will share the 4 works I have seen in London.  And that is it, until Vienna next month, when I hope to see 14 or 15 more, including his best landscapes.

Wed., Aug. 30th/17 
Detroit is blessed with some of the finest skyscrapers in the world.  Today we revisited the Fisher Building.  The New Center area is the northern limit of downtown Detroit.  The Fisher Building is an Art Deco skyscraper from 1928, designed by Albert Kahn.  We went back there to try out a different cafe, enjoying our visit and hoping to return as an even newer cafe will soon open there.

 Fisher Building, Detroit, taken from the historic building across the street.

Inside is one of Detroit's prime Broadway theatres.  And a cafe and shops.

 Main lobby.  "Outdoor" cafe tables are just ahead, where we sat today and sipped.

View of the theatre doors from upstairs.

 Nice view of one of the chandeliers.

 Ceiling detail.

 Another detail.

In other news, it rained here Tuesday.  While our area only received 1", the next suburb to our north, and many parts of Windsor, received up to 7".  That is unprecedented for our county.  Yes, there were floods.  Many people are dealing with some very bad situations today.  Randy and Anita, for starters.  For the first time in 50 years (since just after the house was built), their downstairs is flooded and everything down there ruined.  Furniture, storage, carpets... toasted.  Also, their swimming pool overflowed, and mounds of dirt from their adjacent garden seeped into the pool.  Hours of fun times ahead.  Anita is set for her 3rd chemo tomorrow in London.  Randy needs to stay home and deal with things there, so a relative will be driving her the 2 hrs. each way.  Also, our dojo is closed indefinitely, as there was 5" of water downstairs.  What a world.

We had to drive through some of the rain Tuesday for an unscheduled visit to my dentist.  I lost part of a back molar and filling while eating my granola that morning.  It was bothering me a lot, so I finally called at 11:30 am and got a 1:30 pm appointment.  On arrival it was raining very hard.  25 minutes later I was out, and the tooth was repaired, to the tune of $331.00.  An expensive bowl of granola, as they say.  Afterwards we stopped off in Lasalle for some groceries.  Rain pounded down the entire time.  We did not realize then that it was Armageddon.  It had been sunny when we left A'burg, and it was sunny when we got home.  Only later we found out that the rain had never ceased in some places.

Monday, August 28th/17 
Back in June we decided that our next bucket list trip should be Vienna.  We had briefly booked a trip to Naples, then backed out before the 24 hr. refund deadline expired.  Then we decided on Vienna.  It's all about the Bruegel paintings (Belgium will be next), plus the fact that one or two musicians of note hailed from that area.  We booked a refundable hotel, and sat waiting for a good airfare for late Sept.  None came along.  In mid-August we finally decided to go anyway, and booked the flights.  3 of them to get there, and 3 to get home.  Air Canada to Toronto, then Polish Airlines to Warsaw, then Austrian Airlines to Vienna.  Fun.  So we are officially going to Vienna, for a stay of 6 days.  At least 3 of those will be spent at the main art museum.  We investigated vegan restaurants on Saturday, and have a list that should keep us alive.  We're hoping for a few city walks, and one visit to the Vienna Woods.

Our walking program is now two weeks old. Our weather has been anything but hot, but it has been very humid.  Today's longer walk wore Deb right out.  She is beginning to notice some improvement in her neck pain and flexibility, so hopefully her magnesium treatments are starting to work.  Though we are not planning any long walks in Vienna, such as we undertake in London, it's always best to be in good physical shape when traveling.  At least that is one of our discovered truths.  3 1/2 more weeks to go!

Last night I attended my 50th Iaido class since achieving the rank of Nidan!  I am pretty much on the ball again, and it feels good.  The fitness level, combined with the walking program, and the weight lifting I have been doing since early June, has meant that I've been sleeping really well lately!

By a weird coincidence, this past weekend the next novel I was reading in my planned SF reading program was called A Town Is Drowning, by Cyril Kornbluth and Frederic Pohl.  It is a non SF story of a small East Coast town hit by catastrophic flooding due to a hurricane.  It is a hell of a good read, and gives uncanny insight into what many Texans are going through right now.  They have my full sympathy and empathy!!

Recital invitations have gone out, and the practicing is going quite well.  Only a week and a half left till showtime!  When it is done, I will have two weeks to immerse myself in Vienna books and history before our journey.  After Vienna, it will be time to pay down the car loan!


Friday, August 25th/17 
It was new car day for us!!  We took possession of a new VW Golf, thanks to the settlement of a class action lawsuit regarding the diesel scandal in North America.  We essentially received $20,500.00 and put it towards a brand new 2017 car.  We also have a total 10-year warranty.  It is a 4-Motion drive, with a full ceiling sunroof top.  Our dealer threw in monster mats and a cargo mat, too.  We are very happy with the deal, except we would rather have another diesel car--this one is a gasoline engine.

 Our brand new, ultra-equipped VW Golf Wagon, 2017 version. 

We are hoping for our first good night of astronomy tonight since last Saturday.  It's been a frustrating week of evening clouds lingering too long for us to bother heading out to the observatory.  Tonight might be different, we hope.

I have begun sending out invitations to my next recital, Sept. 8th.  That's two weeks away.  Practices are going okay, but the old memory cells are in pretty rough shape.  It is a very rounded program, featuring music by Bach, Haydn, Cramer, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and others.  Deb will perform two recorder solos, and I will join her for two duets, all accompanied by keyboard.  Should be a fun evening!

Monday, August 21st/17
4:45 pm:  The eclipse viewing went rather well!  It began at 1:04 pm in a bright and clear sky.  As we got toward mid-eclipse clouds moved in, no doubt caused by the sudden temperature drop.  However, we were able to view it at maximum for us (around 87%) in between clear breaks.  After maximum it began to clear up again.  Apparently it was good viewing all over Essex County.  Here are some of my shots...

 In 2012 we went to Tucson, and stumbled upon a major astronomy convention.  We obtained these ultra-cool solar glasses there, and they worked really well today!

 Deb's hand making a pinhole.  Voila, the sun in eclipse!

The Astroscan, with solar filter.  There were several large groups of sunspots today, making it more fun to watch the progress of the eclipse.

 A hand-held camera shot through the eyepiece of the telescope, at mid-eclipse.  This was as far as the moon's shadow went for us.

11:30 am:  Eclipse Day (and our 41st wedding anniversary) has dawned as partly cloudy and hazy, very warm and humid (much like our wedding day, back in 1976).  Things get started around here around 1 pm, with our maximum sometime after 2 pm.  After reading about all of the traffic jams in key places in the US to see totality, I am glad we cancelled our plans and stayed home.  Not to mention weather problems many key areas are having.  We will only see 87% coverage, which is a far cry from seeing a total one.  That's okay, as these one-time wonders are not really a high priority for me.  I have seen a total before, an annular as well, and several partials.  We will be using our 4" Astroscan scope with sun filter, as well as our eclipse glasses.  Should be fun, but hot.  Our local paper, The Windsor Star, has already said that the university will have Astrology professors on hand with telescopes.  Good grief!  Let's hope they correct that one soon.

I had a clear night finally on Saturday, and the observatory was pretty busy with other amateurs and their scopes.  I am spending time in Scutum, a small constellation that is right in a Milky Way star cloud.  It is quite an adventure to plough through the skies here with a 12" telescope!  And the best part is that it is infinitely repeatable, unlike an eclipse.  And each time is different.  Some truly lovely star clusters, double stars, and even a wonderful planetary nebula.  Good times.  More clear nights are expected later this week (as the moon brightens, of course).

Last night was my 48th Iaido class since taking my last test.  My goal for the summer was to reach 50 (I was already at around 30 when I restarted classes in July), and hopefully by Christmas 75.  Again, I need 250 classes before I can test again.  And I need them, too.

I am almost ready to announce my next recital date.  That should come out this week.  More later, after the eclipse viewing...


Thursday, August 17th/17 

There were three positive events today, and I shall dutifully report on all of them.  Firstly, it rained.  Twice.  Early a.m. and again early p.m.  We received 0."8 of the good stuff at the Homestead.  Last rain was 15 days ago, when we received 0.7"  It was badly needed.  The grass is crispy and brown.  It is very humid and warm tonight, though.  It feels like a South Pacific Island, with the coolish breeze off the water.

Secondly, Anita has returned from London, after finally receiving her first chemo treatments today.  Huzzah!  Things seem okay with her, other than fatigue from the ordeal and journey itself.  Hopefully she will soon notice a difference for the better.

And finally, Deb is back on track with magnesium therapy to fight off her fibro pain.  When we went to London, England at the end of April she was doing well on the supplements.  However, they eventually triggered some very bad gastro-intestinal issues, and she had to stop taking them.  Her pain came back fully in early August, so we know the treatment worked wonders.  Many women with fibro are magnesium-deficient.  We figured out yesterday that there are other and better ways to get the much-needed substance into Deb's system.  They make lotions and oils from the stuff, and of course Epsom Salts are mostly magnesium.  So after a few rubdowns and a salts bath later, she is feeling a bit better.  The skin absorbs the magnesium, and it is faster working than by ingestion.  Fingers crossed for her, too.

Wednesday, August 16th/17 

Summer teaching is over, and I am done now until Sept. 5th.  At that time I will be down three students, but I have a new adult one.  Two other students are increasing their time.  So I am down 1 3/4 hours, but up again by 1 1/2 hours.  Net loss 15 minutes.  Not enough.  And there might be one more new student, too.  And others who may not return.  As long as my teaching time isn't higher I'll okay.  If it is up, I hope it isn't by much.

Our six week walking program has begun, as we prepare for our next trip.  We will be heading to Vienna, mostly to visit the art museum and see Bruegel the Elder paintings, of which they have about 15.  So far I have only seen a handful of his incredible works: one in Detroit, one in Copenhagen, one in Madrid, and four in London (one was at a special exhibition, one other is permanently at the National Gallery, and two more are at the Courthauld).  After Vienna, there are several more in Brussels, Antwerp, and Rotterdam, all of which hopefully will be visited soon.  He only did about 45 paintings, and I hope to see as many as possible someday.

Despite forecasts of excellent conditions last night, it was not to be.  Deb and I headed out with some optimism to the observatory.  Two other members were there upon our arrival.  Clouds and haze thickened and we finally gave up in despair and came home.  Tonight it is supposed to be cloudy and rain, but it is perfectly clear instead.  Go figure.  I am staying home to read.

Anita G. had to make an unscheduled trip back to the London hospital Tuesday for more tests, though last I heard she is all set for her first chemo treatment there tomorrow.  She has to be back in London at 9 am.  The infusions (she qualified for the trial one, so will get both the regular and the experimental one) take 5-6 hours, so they will likely be there all day.

Deb went for her bi-monthly blood work today.  Her infusion is next Tuesday.  Her drug is still a trial one, but seems to work well for her.  However, it does not help at all with her fibromyalgia, which causes most of her pain and discomfort these days.  We are about to try something else for that, however, so stay tuned.  Deb's infusion only takes 30 minutes, but some of the people are there most of the day for their treatment--it just depends on the drug. 

Monday, August 14th/17 

We are slowly but surely getting through our collection of films by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa.  Last night's feature was Yojimbo, one of the greatest of the wandering ronin movies.  Toshiro Mifune plays the wily samurai who tries to control an entire town of bad guys, keeping them at each other so he doesn't have to do much of the killing.  Sergio Leone saw the film and then remade it as The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, the first of the really fun spaghetti westerns.  It was Kurosawa's greatest film, The Seven Samurai, that influenced the American western remake called The Magnificent Seven.  And it was John Ford's westerns that influenced Kurosawa to make his original samurai films.

Anyway, it is a really fun movie to watch, the first to really mix comedy with samurai doings (Seven Samurai had a few comic scenes; however, they were subservient to the main plot).  One of the funniest scenes in Yojimbo takes place near the end, in a cemetery at night.  Yojimbo has been beaten to a pulp and held prisoner, and makes his escape.  Getting to the grave yard is very funny in itself, but it is what he looks like that is truly funny.  One would think  that a badly beaten man's face could not possibly be funny, but the make up artist excelled at making Yojimbo look like a dead spirit walking.  And then he smiles.  I cannot find an on-line screen shot of his face at this point, so I will have to watch the film again if I wish to see it.  A great movie, and not viewed in a very long time.

 Poster for Yojimbo, starring Toshiro Mifune

 Yojimbo in action!

Speaking of the art of the sword, my Iaido class was cancelled last night.  I stayed home and read.  I finished a book by John Christopher, and am now reading a very good courtroom drama by Edgar Pangborn.  This writer is very good and very versatile.  I first encountered him through his SF novels, but he writes several other types of fiction as well.  He has an uncanny ability to get inside the heads of several characters as events unfold, revealing their thoughts and teaching us about their past.

I am preparing to head out to Monday night Iaido class, and possibly to the observatory afterwards.  The new observing session is officially underway, though the clouds seem to be descending as per usual.  If it is cloudy when I come out of training at 9:15 pm I will come home.  If it is clear I will go directly to the observatory from the dojo.  Weather forecasts are of no help whatsoever.  Living life on an indecisive edge... 

 Friday, August 11th/17 
No rain for us today, though rain fell close by.  It has been 9 days for us, and things are very dry here at the Homestead.  We had some dramatic clouds after dinner, as seen from our back deck.

 Thunder clouds pass us by, as does the much-needed rain. 

Last night was my 45th Iaido class since testing for Nidan two years ago.  I need 250 to test for Sandan, so some way to go yet.  My goal is to reach 50 by the end of August, and hopefully that will happen.  After that, 2x per week for a year.  So by next year I might be at 150.  At least I should be rather competent with a sword by then.

I went back to the hospital last evening before Iaido class to visit with Anita once again.  She had a biopsy procedure earlier in the day, and was looking pretty tired by 8 pm (so was I, for that matter).  Her first chemo treatment is now scheduled for next Thursday, the 17th.  It cannot come soon enough for all of us!  I gave her two Dr. In The House books by Richard Gordon.  Hopefully she will find them entertaining.

Summer in our area is a fruit bonanza, beginning in late May and continuing on well into September.  Large containers of strawberries for $2.  Same with raspberries and blueberries and cherries a bit later, and then on and on.  Now Ontario peaches and nectarines are coming out, with vast containers of the most delicious tasting fruit one could ever imagine, for $3 a box.  I feel like a glutton, but our fridge and counter are always crammed with fruit this time of year.  Yum!

Deb made a vegan peach upside down cake tonight, and it was delicious, especially served with a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream.

 Deb's fresh peach upside down cake.

 A slice served with vanilla soy ice cream!

Wednesday, August 9th/17   

10:45 am:  Yesterday was Detroit day.  I am amazed by what we got done in only 4 hours!  We left home just before 10 am and headed downtown Windsor to the tunnel.  We crossed to Detroit and had to wait about one minute to get up to a border guard.  Less than a minute after that we were in downtown Detroit.  Of course it's construction season, and the already narrow streets are reduced even further.  Actually, it has more to do with the renovating of old buildings than with actual road construction.  Cranes, delivery trucks, double-sided parking, and lots of traffic made it a near-epic journey to John King Books.  Today I was not in search of anything for myself, but for Anita G., who is still in hospital.  She is a reader but has not been able to focus much due to her medications.  When I visited with her Monday evening I told her about the Doctor In The House series of books, and she seemed interested.  I found a hard-cover edition of the first book, and then also bought her one of the later ones.  I think she will enjoy them, either reading them herself or having them read to her.

Next, we headed across town to Eastern Market.  Upon arrival, about ten minutes later, we realized that Tuesdays in summer months are full market days.  Which means mass mayhem, no parking, and longer waits in stores.  Usually market day is Saturday.  However, the shops around the market are open most other days.  I dropped Deb off at Germack Coffee Roasters while she went inside to get some green beans for roasting, then I took a short drive.  I inadvertently located the garage where the Detroit Fire Dept. repair shop sits.  There were a lot of fire trucks there, parked inside, outside, and across the road.  It is virtually within Eastern Market, and all this time I never knew!  Now I know where to bring my fire engine when it needs fixing.  Deb eventually came outside with her beans.  The head roaster had come out to chat with her, and she had a hard time getting away.  Meanwhile I was double parked outside the shop.  Anyway, she got some Harrar beans (Ethiopian, and our favourite), some Brazilian single source ones, and some from Rwanda (these were expensive, so I hope they are good). 

The freeway lies just beneath the market, and we were soon on our way to Dearborn.  First stop was Fairlane Car Wash for fuel and a good scrubbing.  Beorn, our VW Tiguan SUV, is the vehicle that goes to the observatory with us and our scopes on clear nights.  It involves some dry, dusty dirt road driving (or wet and muddy, depending on recent weather), along with early evening bugs smashing into us on our way out there, and then late night bugs smashing into us on the return journey.  The vehicle gets pretty gross.  After the fill-up and wash, we headed over to our UPS mailbox, where I had books awaiting.  All six were there!  I had books by Kornbluth, Silverberg, Anthony, Harrison, Christopher, and one by Spinrad, all authors related to my Avon/Equinox mega-project.

After this came lunch at La Shish, which is just across the avenue from our car wash.  We ordered the usual.  First comes pita bread hot out of the oven, with two delicious dips.  One is whipped garlic and the other is a spicy tomato dip.  These are complimentary, and come right away.  The rice-almond salad is the best thing on their menu (except it isn't on the menu--you have to ask for it), and big enough for three to share.  A huge platter arrives with half rice loaded down with splintered almonds, and half green salad with romaine as the base with olive oil and a zatar spice, packed with tomatoes, cukes, onions, and red cabbage.  We also order a side of baba ganoush and put it on top of the rice.  Yum!  We ate and ate and ate, finally leaving about 5% of the salad behind.  Price?  $21 with tax and tip.

Then it was home, back through the tunnel, and to one of our regular grocery stores in Lasalle (an adjoining community to A'burg), with a pet store next to it.  Pet food shopping, then groceries, and we were home just before 2 pm!  It was a packed 4 hours, but even coming home we had no wait at the border, but just drove right up to a booth.

Today is teaching day, but due to a birthday party I am only having 3 students today, with the remaining 3 tomorrow morning instead.  Our weather continues to be sunny and very pleasant, not too hot lately.  We are slowly catching up with yard work, but the mosquitoes are very bad.  We are both well bitten.

Now I am off to my NGC astronomy blog, to continue my report on the galaxies of constellation Hercules.  Ciao!

Monday, August 7th/17 

Two more Iaido classes are now under my belt.  Since I tested for Nidan rank nearly two years ago, I now have about 44 classes behind me (about a dozen are recent ones).  I need 250 classes before I can test for Sandan, so no worries for me about testing anytime soon.  I still haven't quite caught up to where I was before returning last month, but I'm sure I'll get there soon.

I paid a visit to Anita last night at Met hospital.  She was admitted Friday night for pain issues and not eating.  Hopefully she will be home again soon.  Next week should be the start of her chemo.  She was looking pretty good, and we had a long chat.  Her spirits are up as high as one could expect, under the circumstances.  She is being very well looked after.

Tomorrow is our twice-postponed Detroit day--heavy traffic or not, here we come.  I should have 6 books awaiting me at the mail box, all of them unavailable locally.  We will likely stay over for lunch, then come home.  Tonight is Full Moon, but because of clouds and my Iaido class, we are postponing our wild party till tomorrow evening.  I can't really remember the last time it was cloudy on a full moon night.  Maybe this is a good sign for next week's resumption of our observing program.

Only two more teaching Wednesdays till our final summer break.  So far I have lost three lovely students for the fall session.  However, I have gained one, and three others will likely increase their time as a result of time now being available.  We will be off for a week in late September on our final big trip of 2017, then back to the routine of afternoon and evening lessons 3 days each week.

Saturday, August 5th/17 

Jenn visited from Cambridge today.  We met her in Windsor and spent some time sampling ales from two local brewpubs.  It was a beautiful day, though windy.  It was cool, not too much sun, and perfect weather to be outdoors.  Or indoors, if there is good beer!  We began at Craftheads, which is right downtown, then moved to Erie Street, a cool uptown area.  We ate at Motor Burger, which is also a brewery.  After a late lunch we went down to the river, to our old haunting grounds at the foot of Langlois Ave.  It is now a big, fancy developed park, with flowers, footpaths, and a fountain.  Back in the days when we lived here it was a field of weeds.  Before that it was train tracks.  The park gives beautiful views of the Detroit skyline across the river, reminding me of a small mountain range. 

 Detroit Skyline from Windsor riverfront.

 Fountain at the foot of Parent Ave., Windsor. 

As of last night Anita is in the hospital.  She is unable to eat anything, and she is experiencing a lot of abdominal pain.  Everyone is hoping they can help her to at least keep some food down.  Her chemo treatment has not started yet, but wheels are rolling.  Last week's trip to London was preliminary, and she has to return there on the 14th for yet more tests.  So no definite date yet for chemo. 

I clarified (hopefully) my previous essay on the Avon series, which I wrote on the 3rd (below).    It's a bit hard to explain exactly what my reading program is, but I think the blog entry is slightly more understandable now.

I am trying to finish up a Gabriel Knight (#2) game on the upstairs PC, the last of three games I have been playing lately.  I finished Timelapse a while back, and just recently finished Dreamfall Chapters.  I really miss that game.  I played it for about a year, off and on.  I would like to replay the original Longest Journey game soon.  At the time it was my very favourite PC game, and I'd like to see how it has held up.  Playing it will also give some insights into the 2nd and 3rd games of the series, which were also wonderful.  But first, back to Gabriel Knight. 

Thursday, August 3rd/17

It was supposed to be a Detroit day today.  I have several books awaiting me at the mailbox.  However, we got close to the tunnel to Detroit and backed out last minute due to high traffic volumes.  We'll try again early next week.  We had lunch downtown Windsor at Pause Cafe, with wonderful vegan soups and salads.  We then did some food shopping at two specialty stores, one of them Asian.  Our storms did not materialize today, at least yet.

I have begun reading a different series by P.J. Farmer, his "Dayworld."  There are three novels and a novella in this, his final series.   This might be a good time to say a few words about my SF reading adventures.  I am on my 123rd book since beginning this newer project of blogging and reading an older series of novels, all written by different authors.  The Avon/Equinox series of reprints of classic SF novels caught my eye last year, and I began collecting the books.  So far, the actual series has been first rate.  But I am going well beyond that project and delving deep into other works by those authors.  

There are 27 books in the Equinox series, representing 24 different authors (there are two works by Farmer, two by Silverberg, and two by Edgar Pangborn in the Avon series).  While the other written works by these 24 authors are largely SF, many of the stories are in other genres, including historical fiction, mystery/detective, avante garde, gothic romance, adventure, and fantasy.  Several of the authors have written almost too many books to count, and they often wrote under many different names, making it difficult to track down all of their work (especially short stories).

I have read 14 of the original Avon series novels so far, including SF works by 13 different authors.  And so I am reading on a rotation schedule.  My order is as follows:  a book by Farmer; then comes Kornbluth, then Sladek, Budrys, Silverberg, Spinrad, Farmer again, then Piers Anthony (he wrote so much--I am concentrating on only his SF for now), Eric Frank Russell, then Chad Oliver, Edgar Pangborn, John Christopher, Harry Harrison, and finally Hugo Gernsbeck.  Once I read one of the two non-Avon books by Hugo (THE Hugo guy), I will at last read the next volume of the Avon series (Bulmer, #15)), then begin all over again with a new book by Farmer (which will be Dayworld 2).

This way I am never binge-reading a series, and I am always on to something completely different.  I am anxious to finish a two-volume series by Piers Anthony (Chthon, and Phthor), and the Deathworld Trilogy by Harrison, but they will have to wait their turn.  Gernsbeck only wrote three books, and I am nearly finished with Kornbluth, who died at 34.  Pangborn did not write many books, or Chad Oliver.  So some writers will disappear from the reading list as others are added.  However, many prolific writers will carry on for quite some time in my life, especially Robert Silverberg and Piers Anthony, whom I especially like.  It looks like Bulmer also wrote a lot.  Not complaining.

My 124th novel related to the Avon/Equinox Project.

More about P.J. Farmer in an upcoming blog.

Wednesday, August 2nd/17 

We finally got some rain!! It's been nearly three weeks.  The weeds should be turning green again at any moment.  We had a lovely rainstorm today at 6:30 pm.  There was 0".7 in the rain gauge.  Haven't cut grass in a while now, and that wasn't really enough rain to change that.  However, we also have good chances of rain for the next two days.

Today was summer teaching day #5, with seven lessons given.  It felt like 14.  Two more weeks of lessons and I go on holiday for two weeks.  I found out today that two favourite students will not be returning in the autumn.  While I am happy my schedule is reduced somewhat (others will take up the slack by increasing their time), I am saddened by the fact that Sarah and Jayne are now gone from my life.  Teaching is like that.  Meet some great kids, and then they are gone (or suddenly grown up and then gone).

Yesterday I completed one of the most massively involving PC games I have ever played.  Dreamfall Chapters The Longest Journey was part 3 of a huge universe that I have lived in for many years now.  At least as complex and involved as reading Lord of the Rings, Dreamfall has nearly as much dialogue and adventure.  Good people (and animals) die, bad guys get ahead (somewhat), and the plot thickens to the point where I don't even remember what the hell is going on.  The visuals are stupendous, the story is complex and involving, but the best part is that the characters are really complicated and interesting.

The player plays three characters in the game: Zoe, who was also in game 2, Kian (also in game 2), and a mysterious girl who is a songline wanderer.  All three come together at the exciting climax.  Back in the good old days, The Longest Journey #1 was the best adventure game I had ever played.  The 2nd part was pretty good, but it messed up big time by having combat as one of the features.  Hmmn.  Sombody forgot what us real adventure fans truly wanted.  Then came part 3.  Excellent graphics and settings, wonderful and likable characters, and a story that did not know when to quit.  And no combat.  However, like in most adventure games of yore, one can die dozens of times during the game.  To me this is a really stupid feature.  If the only way to learn how to advance in a game is by dying multiple times, then that game is not a great one.

However, Dreamfall seemed to bridge this gap, though there were many times I was ready to throw in the towel.  I'm glad I stuck it out, and I hope there is a part 4 someday.

 The three central characters in the poster are the three characters players become

during this epic, many many hours-long PC adventure game.

Tuesday Supplement 

A few photos from this afternoon's coffee roasting.  Some Nicaragua beans are now ready for grinding next time we have coffee!

 The head roaster at Seven Little Blackbirds Roasting, hard at work on the back deck.

 The final phase of the roasting is the cool down.  Note the rich colour, 

compared to the first photo.  It takes about 10 minutes to roast a 

small batch.

Tuesday, August 1st

Anita G. is on her way to London, Ontario for her first chemo treatments.  Yes, there are two.  The first one is the one she would normally receive, and the second one is part of a clinical trial.  Best of luck, Anita!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hopefully I will talk with Randy later tonight.

Today is Lammas, and we will celebrate by staying home in the air conditioning, as our minor heatwave rolls on and on.  Hot and very dry here.  It's been clear now for 5 nights in a row, but our last night out observing was Friday, due to the lateness of moonset.  We stayed out till 3:30 am that night, enjoying an excellent observing session.  However, we did pay for it next day.

I also went to Iaido training on Fri., Sat., and Sun.  I am teaching there again, and was asked to lead the warmup exercises, so I must be improving! 

Deb has been switching us over to a new computer.  It is a refurbished one, high end, with Windows 10 Pro.  It is very fast, has a better video and sound card, and should make gaming even more fun!  I am trying to finish up Dreamfall Chapters, but it is a very long game.  I am nearly done, and will post a review and some pictures here soon.

My SF reading project continues to zoom along.  I recently finished the 2nd Majipoor book by Silverberg, and am currently reading a book of short stories by Norman Spinrad.  He is still alive, and even has a Youtube channel!  Head on over to my Avon/Equinox page for more SF talk.

Photos will appear here (larger than before) as soon as I take some.

Mapman Mike