Monday 9/2/24

[theevan]

Off to Tanzania in a few minutes. Slept like poo-poo ahead of 28 hours of travel.

Baton rouge-Houston-Boston-Zurich-Kilimanjaro

Return Flights on the 23rd are Kilimanjaro-Addis Ababa-Frankfurt-Houston-Baton Rouge. 37 hours of travel

Tried to talk Wendy into coming but she's staying home. Waaaah-waaah.

[Marshall]

WOW. Best to you Evan. Safe an fruitful travels

[Cornflake]

Wow indeed. That's a lot of travel time, Evan. Safe travels.

Good morning, folks, and happy Labor Day. Unions achieved a lot for working people.

A friend's coming for coffee at 8:30. Then I need to take some photos of a neighbor's back yard that are relevant to a dispute I have with the City. Then I'll need to try once more to figure out how to file papers electronically with the City. It has me flummoxed. Negotiating the modern world is complicated.

Enjoy your day.

Wordle 1,171 3/6*

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[drlj]

I may be traveling next door today. That’s as far as I have planned.
It’s 55° right now. Feels wonderful.
Enjoy a non-laborious Labor Day.

[John B]

Safe travels, Evan.

I will be traveling from the big Nashville home today. While dining out on Saturday I spied the headquarters of the new Gallagher guitars just up the block. As it is near my brother-in-law's place, I shall do my best to arrange a tour the next time I'm in town.

Colored boxes, because I know how much Doc loves to see them

Wordle 1,171 5/6*

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Strands #183
“Order in the court!”
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Connections
Puzzle #449
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[Hobson]

After our Iceland trip in July, I decided that I'm too old to do that sort of thing again. I was just thinking about many Labor Day weekends spent camping with a large group of friends. I miss those days. I'm still glad that I'm not going anywhere today.

I thought I had everything arranged for an easy short hop over to San Diego later this month. No connections, no car rental, staying on Coronado Island in a Marriott resort. Then yesterday I read about a hotel workers strike that includes Marriott. Sigh.

Best of luck on your travels, Evan.

[howard lee]

Cool and sunny in Brooklyn right now, going up to 82°.

It's Labor Day.

Thanks to those who came before us, who fought for the eight-hour  

work day, weekends, benefits, sick pay, paid vacation. And retirement benefits!

[paleo]

Greetings and happy Labor Day.

Yesterday I went with my grandson to trouble shoot an outboard boat motor on the other end of the lake. We drove over and when we pulled into their driveway I spotted a guitar, outside, leaning up against a card table. While we waited for the people with the boat to come out of their house, I thought I'd check out the guitar.

It was a Fender F-15, the fret board was completely separated from the neck with about a quarter inch gap. The neck was bowed up and the strings were about 3/8 inch above the separated fretboard.

No playing that thing.i was hoping I could buy it, for $5.00, but it wasn't for sale
Didn't have my phone so didn't get a picture.

[Cornflake]

"After our Iceland trip in July, I decided that I'm too old to do that sort of thing again." From here on out, I expect our travel to be limited to North America. The minuses of air travel abroad have come to outweigh the pluses. Just traveling to the east coast from here eats up most of a day and it's all unpleasant.

[Marty]

Good morning.

52F-76F sunny.

We head out to Kauai on the 22nd and that is supposed to be it for a while but we are getting passports just in case we can do one more trip, Ireland.

Last day of the State Fair and we will do our usual, not attend. It's a money spending fest, none of our favorite things are there anymore and my feet hurt just thinking about all that walking.

I have a Telecaster to rewire, good fun right at home, and DaWife has some new doll house kits to make. I'm helping her put together a tool kit and trying to convince her to do them from scratch at 1/4 the cost. Also much more satisfying, creative and takes much more time. To start, the supplies investment will be expensive but in the long run MUCH cheaper. I'm showing her diorama artists on YouTube so she can see how things are done.

Breakfast, fruit, yogurt and granola, yum.

[kenlarsson]

Good morning. Have a great trip Evan.

Nothing exceptional planned for this labor day. I'll be mowing the lawn and doing some more landscaping work. Maybe some shopping, we'll see.

Have a great day.

[millring]

Wordled in 3 even though I only got the E in my first guess. I'm beginning to suspect that there is some sort of magic afoot in the game. Maybe because "afoot" is a favorite of duotrigordle, secodordle, octordle, quordle, and dordle. I don't believe in coincidences. Wait. Yes, I do.

Then I got connections right away, and strands right way, but whiffed at Waffle again and got it with three remaining.

Got to walk in the woods. When the temps dip below 60 the mosquitos and deer flies allow access to their woods.



Lately on my route I've been (re)listening to "Peace Like A River" (Leif Enger), and when I get home I hear our Echo Dot following Dar around the house reading "Gilead" (Marilynne Robinson) to her. Those two books represent two pretty solid contenders for Best Novel of the past 50 years ... and I'm getting a earful. It brightens my outlook.

“Beauty will save the world” - Dostoevsky

Or, as reexamined by Alexander Solzhenitsyn:

"One day Dostoevsky threw out the enigmatic remark: “Beauty will save the world”. What sort of a statement is that? For a long time I considered it mere words. How could that be possible? When in bloodthirsty history did beauty ever save anyone from anything? Ennobled, uplifted, yes – but whom has it saved?

There is, however, a certain peculiarity in the essence of beauty, a peculiarity in the status of art: namely, the convincingness of a true work of art is completely irrefutable and it forces even an opposing heart to surrender. It is possible to compose an outwardly smooth and elegant political speech, a headstrong article, a social program, or a philosophical system on the basis of both a mistake and a lie. What is hidden, what distorted, will not immediately become obvious.

Then a contradictory speech, article, program, a differently constructed philosophy rallies in opposition – and all just as elegant and smooth, and once again it works. Which is why such things are both trusted and mistrusted.

In vain to reiterate what does not reach the heart.

But a work of art bears within itself its own verification: conceptions which are devised or stretched do not stand being portrayed in images, they all come crashing down, appear sickly and pale, convince no one. But those works of art which have scooped up the truth and presented it to us as a living force – they take hold of us, compel us, and nobody ever, not even in ages to come, will appear to refute them.

So perhaps that ancient trinity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty is not simply an empty, faded formula as we thought in the days of our self-confident, materialistic youth? If the tops of these three trees converge, as the scholars maintained, but the too blatant, too direct stems of Truth and Goodness are crushed, cut down, not allowed through – then perhaps the fantastic, unpredictable, unexpected stems of Beauty will push through and soar TO THAT VERY SAME PLACE, and in so doing will fulfil the work of all three?

In that case Dostoevsky’s remark, “Beauty will save the world”, was not a careless phrase but a prophecy? After all HE was granted to see much, a man of fantastic illumination.

And in that case art, literature might really be able to help the world today?

It is the small insight which, over the years, I have succeeded in gaining into this matter that I shall attempt to lay before you here today."

...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

[paleo]

Just back from taking the granddaughter's car to her, she's a college student at U. W. Madison, so she could drive to the Renaissance festival in Milwaukee.

Next we will rack a bunch of wine and then pick grapes to make more wine.

The New Glarus beer for ijam, is in the car trunk and will travel to Iowa tomorrow.

[Hobson]

After some digging, I found a list of hotels where staff is on strike. Relieved to know that it does not include the one where we have reservations.

www.cbsnews.com/news/hotel-strike-boston-seattle-hawaii-marriott-hyatt-which-hotels-impacted/

[billhammond]

Had a nice three-hour road trip today. As I was getting started, I was surprised to see that the Great Clips shop just down the street was open, so I stopped in and got a quickie beard trim.

Why would they be open on Labor Day? Doh! Back to school haircuts.

The compass was pulling me north, so I motored through North St. Paul, Mahtomedi, May Township and beyond, including some gravel roads, all with very pretty scenery along the way, and tons of cyclists.

I pulled into historic Scandia just in time for the opening bell at Meister's, a beloved ancient saloon/eatery, and enjoyed a Bloody Mary and a so-called Steakhouse Salad that had it all, even onion rings, for a mere $14! With steak! Good steak! And bacon! Good bacon!

The appetizer list includes smelt!

Thank you, Tim Walz, for creating this great state!

[billhammond]

SUCH a gorgeous photo, John, well done! So much breathing space for the eye ...

On edit, that is "your" tree, right? Love how its leg kicks out to the right.

That photo encapsulates Indiana for me -- you should shop it to some regional tourism/chamber offices.

On second edit, the more I look at it, the more I love it. The distant silo, center, the little sliver of sky between the trees at the far left, the pleasing, contrasting angles of the crop rows and how they fill in the bottom of the image. Folks, I'm just a layman when it comes to photography, but is this not a fabulous composition?

p.s. The cloudage speaks for itself. It's the heart and soul of the photo.

[theevan]

Sept 2, 2024 8:36:08 GMT -5 howard lee said:

Cool and sunny in Brooklyn right now, going up to 82°.

It's Labor Day.

Thanks to those who came before us, who fought for the eight-hour  

work day, weekends, benefits, sick pay, paid vacation. And retirement benefits!

None of that for me...

[Cosmic Wonder]

Sept 2, 2024 9:07:37 GMT -5 Marty said:

We head out to Kauai on the 22nd…

Where are you staying and have you already secured a rental car? If not you might try thr TURO app.

Mike

[drlj]

Sept 2, 2024 14:35:15 GMT -5 billhammond said:

Had a nice three-hour road trip today. As I was getting started, I was surprised to see that the Great Clips shop just down the street was open, so I stopped in and got a quickie beard trim.

Why would they be open on Labor Day? Doh! Back to school haircuts.

The compass was pulling me north, so I motored through North St. Paul, Mahtomedi, May Township and beyond, including some gravel roads, all with very pretty scenery along the way, and tons of cyclists.

I pulled into historic Scandia just in time for the opening bell at Meister's, a beloved ancient saloon/eatery, and enjoyed a Bloody Mary and a so-called Steakhouse Salad that had it all, even onion rings, for a mere $14! With steak! Good steak! And bacon! Good bacon!

The appetizer list includes smelt!

Thank you, Tim Walz, for creating this great state!

Looks like a cool place. It reminds me of Sleder’s in Traverse City.
I confess to liking smelt and ordering them at Sleder’s on more than one occasion.

[howard lee]

Sept 2, 2024 17:31:36 GMT -5 theevan said:

Sept 2, 2024 8:36:08 GMT -5 howard lee said:

Cool and sunny in Brooklyn right now, going up to 82°.

It's Labor Day.

Thanks to those who came before us, who fought for the eight-hour  

work day, weekends, benefits, sick pay, paid vacation. And retirement benefits!

None of that for me...

Evan, you have my sympathies.