Monday Minotaur Musings 2

The last normal gather I (and $HOUSEMATE) attended was in February 2020. It was the 2020 Siouxland Winterfeast (See: https://elegantungulate.wordpress.com/2020/02/23/no-bambleweeny-57-submeson-brain/ for detail) and not long after that the “lockdown” nonsense began and even places that were not necessarily following in lockstep had so many venues playing CYA that it didn’t much matter. EVERY event we might have attended in 2020 was canceled.

One of the.. quirks.. that was one ‘genius’ at work figured he’d economize by getting rid of a lot of experienced people and screw over others by moving them from full to part time. This joker was such a ‘winner’ I made a point of printing out one his email rants as I recognized where it brake with some regulations, and… well, I didn’t deploy it, but when someone hands you ammo, hang on to it. I suspect I gave a co-worker pause when I said that while I claim no control over the world, it was quite the coincidence that ALL my reasons to use vacation time went POOF just after the vacation time did. Alright, one did not, and the time I had asked off for an event got extended a bit so I could visit my mother… after the Supreme Court of the state she lives in slapped down the Governor yet again.

Well, the first weekend of this month things were returning/returned enough to normal that the Siouxland Renaissance Festival was NOT “cancelled due to plague” (as the 2020 fundraiser shirts read). There were few with masks – and the person with the plague doctor outfit fit right in (such has been seen in previous pre-COVIDiocy years). Like every year, I attended the (not exactly ren, but…) Mythical Garden. This time I was not one of the characters, but did attended to the stars of the show as it were. I need to reduce my tonnage and up my stamina. That is plain. However, it was still QUITE therapeutic.

Since I was not “on” I could indulge a bit, and the new meadery is quite capable. I’m not sure if the old wasn’t up to it, or what (the “Egyptian” mead with hibiscus is/was great) but the new (for all I know, a re-branding. I didn’t get all the fiddly details of everything) had a VERY sweet dated based mead, and something else I found too dry for my taste. Due to the naming of them, the mix was dubbed a “Maroon” (as in marooned).

One seemingly minor thing was that a Taurus (bull on one side, Taurus symbol on the other) medallion that was struck at the faire a good many years ago, was finally re-strung. In 2019 – or maybe even 2018 – the original stringing failed beyond repair. The replacement had a mechanical clasp, that failed badly in 2020. Now, a new stringing without a clasp and things feel right again.

I’d jokingly suggested we should be able to write off most of the weekend’s expenses as therapy… and got a few laughs, and one person pondering just how much could be dealt with via HSA with correct wording. One semi-sad thing is that one quite good act will be retiring this year. A fellow who has a “bad” magic act (he’s good enough at comedy he can get away with it) is leaving after this year. In fact, after the next show we will see him at, he’s moving overseas – it’s all about keeping his wife happy. He’s not alone in the act, and the other fellow and I have a little conspiracy going. Details… not yet, nope.

Besides the faire itself, there were the visits to a few local restaurants. I’ve particularly missed one, and last Spring we made a trip to South Dakota that would have been to go there, but Sioux Falls had locked down (South Dakota didn’t force things, but let local municipalities do as they liked). So that night we went to a place in Tea, SD instead. The interesting thing was the staff as the restaurants were masked, though many wore them a bit low so they could breathe easy. I suspect corporate CYA more than anything. Especially as a little out of the way cafe we visited Monday morning didn’t have that nonsense going on.

And in the week since… things changed some and I’m to back working full time. 2020 is over. I hope.

Monday’s Minotaur Musings 1

Early this month $HOUSEMATE was at Mayo to have some near-eye surgery done. Not LASIK or such, but his eyes are re-aimed so his lenses are not prisms. Since it was on or near his eyes, I had to be there in order to drive back home. The surgery itself seemed to go better than textbook. When the doc talked to me about it, I really expected $HOUSEMATE to look a lot worse than he did.

$HOUSEMATE also had filed to run for a city council seat, to try to replace someone who has offgeticked damn near everyone in town. Had. Someone else filed, and since she seemed to be a stronger candidate (more known, been in town all her life, etc.) he withdrew. He might run for something again someday. If he does, that he withdrew this time to avoid splitting the vote and potentially handing the election $DINGELFRITZ will likely be in his favor. Me? I ain’t placing any bets on anything. Is 2020, yes?

I’ve taken up Intermittent Fasting as low-carb by itself wasn’t working for me that much any more. Fasting works, but I’m not that good at it I must admit. Then, I’ve really only just started. That said, I can now fit into shirts and trousers at least one size down from what I had been. I tried trousers two sizes down and while I can fit into them, they are still just bit more snug than is comfortable. I have some ways to go before “normal” weight (yes, I know BMI is crude, but it works out fairly well for me) but I have at least dropped from “obese” to merely “overweight” which is certainly progress. While I am decidedly not diabetic, I did pick up a glucometer and test strips so I can be more sure of things. While 70 mg/dL is considered the lower safe limit for everyone, that doesn’t account for everyone not being the same and it likely is tru for those mainly burning sugars. Fat-adapted can be different. I’ve seen some literature suggesting even 50 mg/dL isn’t really bad. I’ve found that anything above 65 mg/dL doesn’t bother me any. Below that, I might feel a bit ‘off’ but even into the mid 50’s it’s not bad. However, below 50 bad things can happen VERY QUICKLY. I ended an 8+ day fast the instant I saw 49 mg/dL on the meter.

$WORKPLACE has (finally!) started to crack down on those pulling multiple no-call no-shows. I worked two partial shifts this past week since two people got a “thumbing and yanking” about that. And while neither are the schedule this (coming) week, I’ve already been asked to work another shift (dunno if I need to be there the full time). As for not being there a full shift? Ancient creature, despite being overweight, having cardiac and kidney (stone) history still manages to at twice the speed of some half his age (NOTE: This is simple truth, not bragging. Bragging would be to agree with the kid who said it was really TEN times. No. Even I am not THAT Mythical). Another fellow is leaving of his own accord, in a week or three, so things might get Interesting for a while. The bad part is new hires seem to come in threes and if we’re really lucky, ONE of the bunch isn’t a complete loser.

Picked up some blackberry flavored Bird Dog whiskey mainly for the gimmick shotgun shell shot glasses (two) with the bottle. While the molding says ’12 Ga’ they hold about 1.5 oz and would be more around 2.5 Ga. Also, they are 3 & 5/8 inch tall/long. If they were actual shells, I would be Very Cautious Indeed about firing the gun that would take them. I suspect the correct way to think of such a thing is NOT ‘big shotgun’ but ‘small cannon’. As for the whiskey, I suspect it’s best at least chilled if not ice. And if you take both barrels, you’ll be shot… or at least half-shot.

I have never read nor watched Game of Thrones and it utterly fails to interest me. However, if you like peated (mmm. smoky!) Scotch are not put off by blends, Johnny Walker’s ‘A Song of Fire’ isn’t bad and, being “limited edition,” might be on closeout if any bottles are left. Worth considering given the price. Don’t know about the other Game of Thrones versions. There a few bottles of something White/Winter at the local store, but I didn’t buy any nor look at such closely.

In a normal year (NOT this one!) we go to at least three Renaissance Faires. One we consider our “home fair” despite it being a state over. I was involved, if indirectly, even before it really began. Another is sort of the fallout of an earlier event that looked good – to outsiders, but had some rot within. (“Now we know who NOT to deal with!”). Both of those were cancelled this year to the COVID-mania. There was hope an event in the Fall. Alas, that has also now been cancelled. I suspect there is no real HEALTH reason for cancellation, but given COVID politics they have to cover their rumps. I comprehend. I do NOT like. It’s sort of the LAST pressure relief valve of the year has been welded shut. Not good for my weight, I know, but good thing I have that whiskey!

A week or two ago I bought some white pizza sauce when there was a good deal, so I thought I’d try it. Kid checking double scanned it. It was easier to just grab a second bottle than go through the refund hassle (didn’t notice til post-transaction…). Made a “white” pizza overnight. $HOUSEMATE woke up feeling hypoglycemic and tried a bit. “If you want to do this again…” well, it looks like those bottles won’t go to waste. And since I use a “Fathead Pizza Crust” it won’t too much to waist, either. That stuff is FILLING!

Blargh

Despite it being a light beer, decided to try St. Archer Gold as it had a few positive reviews. Oops. Even in a chilled pilsner glass it come across as vaguely beer-colored water. Eventually found the trick is to drink it right from the can where an initial hit of aroma can trick one into thinking it being related to beer. Still, won’t buy again. Spend about half, get Hamm’s and get something that can claim to be beer (if only barely). First time I drank all of a six-pack in under 24 hours. I did NOT set out to do that.

Did some de-cluttering of the office, not that it can be noticed, and dealt with a box or more of old statements and thought I was making progress. Until I saw the other THREE larger boxes. The first box held some unused AAA cells and an 8 and a 16 GB USB stick, still in the packaging! Yeah, the cleaning/tidying is overdue. Alright, it’s really Domestic Archeology at this point. And the file cabinet must wait until the floor is cleared. Pity trash pickup is only once a week and recycling only twice a month. Shredder gonna get a workout.

I tried making avocado fries. I think I succeeded, despite the result NOT looking at all like the wonderful (staged, ya think?) photo and the prep. time NOT being the claimed 15 minutes, but closer to an hour. Not difficult, but excessively fiddly. The result… was NOT worth the time & effort. And Hass avocados by themselves are… bland. Won’t bother with that again.

The Bull/Taurus medallion that I struck myself at a RenFaire (and never saw the vendor again…) years ago is on its second “chain” (string) and the clasp failed. So I feel a bit naked even when, er, naked. I’ve had that for AGES. In fact, the bull has largely worn away. If I ever get a chance to strike a new one, I’ll likely do a few – and see about extra ‘string’ (I’d be willing to pay for a yard or several of such, but I do NOT need an entire spool!). There’s no way to repair what I have that makes any sense. If I am lucky, I can swap something out if I can find it. And hopefully find someone willing to do a proper replacement at an event in early October. Assuming COVIDiocy doesn’t screw that over along with ALL the other events I cared about this year, save one in February – which I finally got to go to after a few years of missing out due to weather and/or illness.

Clear night. Saw Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus… but missed on comet NEOWISE (I still loathe the idea of naming comets for automation/machinery. It’s like naming comets Celestron, Meade, Questar, Unitron, etc.). $HOUSEMATE figured he’d be up to see it, but I didn’t catch how LATE that would be – sky was clear but so late in morning twilight nothing besides the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter could be see through the bright sky. Next clear night off, I go by myself when it’s DARK! (I have NEVER YET seen a comet with a right proper tail. Sketches and photos… Do. Not. Count! West was before I knew to look, Halley was like M13 out of focus, IRAS(yuck!)-Araki-Alcock was a diffuse mess of fog more than anything. Anything else I missed. It’s SO FSKCING GREAT to see photos of “This is what is WAS” rather than “Hey you can see this!” Damn right I’m bitter. Hopefully the stupidly misnamed Comet NEOWISE will be more visible in darker skies… Do NOT tell me how great something WAS. Tell me when I can see it how great it IS!!! If I wanted to only see mundane tripe, I’d watch a damn ball game or some such. This hit me harder than I expected. It was almost like being back in elementary school and having an IDIOT substitute teacher who decided a partial solar eclipse was Too Dangerous and thus missing out on something rather rare. Had it been a total, well… I am told they bribe those in reform school with cigarettes.

On the good side, a card that was finally paid off in full had a bunch of points on it that hadn’t been cashed in. Remedied that. When the credit hits, THEN an order gets placed to use it. Seems the laptop doesn’t know from 5 GHz and the 2.4 GHz packet loss is… horrendous. Moving the laptop OR the router are both unworkable, so kindly do not suggest the seemingly obvious yet utterly useless, thank you.

Yeah, yeah, I know, “first world problems.” I want *ZEROTH* world problems instead. So there!

No Bambleweeny 57 Submeson Brain

And no atomic vector plotter, either.

The strong Brownian motion producer? Yeah, have that. And now a nice tea set for preparing and serving it.

Last night $HOUSEMATE and I attended the Siouxland Winterfeast, a fundraiser event for the Siouxland Renaissance Festival. We missed it the last couple years due to severe weather – travelling across southern Minnesota and South Dakota in a blizzard is Not Recommended. I’ve been through a Dakota(s) blizzard – I wanted RADAR! It might have been the year before, I am no longer sure, that I missed it due to illness. Anyway, it had been a while and health and weather finally did not conspire against attendance.

There was beer, wine, and of course mead. There was a very good meal. There was entertainment. And there was a silent auction. I purchased a strip of six tickets for five dollars and dropped the half of each into the various jars for the groups of items that were of any interest to me. I enjoyed the compnay and a couple drinks, and then bought another six tickets and dealt with those as well.

After the meal and a couple different entertainers, the drawings were held. It was a rather odd night. One lady won one of the groups… and a few drawings later, had a stroke of luck again. She was, however, not alone. I had the good fortune to win one of the groups I had a ticket in for. And, a while later, won another. See why I said I don’t have the bits that make up an Improbability Field Generator?

Thus, we have a tea infusor, a teapot (I already have a kettle), a couple cups, and some other service items, including a nice wooden serving tray. Also some tea (I’ve been told all the Earl Grey is mine), and a pan of an all too tempting dessert.

Also, there is a sturdy wooden box (not a chest, but close enough) that held a few pirate-themed videos, and a couple bottles of wine, amongst other things. Yes wine. Other auction groups had the rum, and as one of the rums has a reputation for a strong banana flavor (neither of us are really fans of banana), we do NOT feel we missed out.

“Rats don’t moo.”

Last weekend $HOUSEMATE and myself attended the Siouxland Renaissance Festival yet again. We haven’t missed one yet. I was sort of mixed up in it from the start or before. When someone posted, “We’re thinking about starting a faire in the Sioux Falls area…” on a now defunct web board I replied and wound up chatting in-person with those who became the founders. The first actual lets-get-this-done meeting resulted in more organization in a few minutes than many places manage in ages. Yeah, though I am not a genuine participant (I do not get in such a pass, though I perhaps could due to one bit I help with) it is my ‘home’ faire. Yeah, it’s out of state and a good drive away, but… there is a feeling of “We’re having a party, come on.” that the Big Name faire in the state of residence lacks. That one? It’s like paying an expensive ticket fee to walk around a mall.

Saturday

In years past I had hung out at the Mythical Garden when it was going on – a sort of sub-event that doesn’t fit the renaissance theme as such, but it’s something and it’s there and allows an even bigger break from alleged reality. The first few years it was around, I just hung out and provided some small support. A few years ago they were missing a character and I offered to step in and wound up as one of the Mythicals (anyone NOT see that coming?) for the next few years. This year the fellow running things found a full complement without me. I had said that I give an open offer for this, but I will not stand in anyone’s way if they would rather. And really, the younger (and thinner, more fit…) likely have an easier time of things. So I was asked if I could be do the crier bit to draw folks in. Someone more forward and more vocal did that, but I did hang around and provide support (handler/tender/lookout). There was a fellow already there for that, but he’s, shall we say, easily distracted. And I know from direct experience what it’s like to do that stuff. Overall, it went quite well. The heat was… potent. One fellow did feel the start of heat stroke coming on and bailed out to the ‘green’ tent – and, after a medical check, said he would do what he could about things but if he couldn’t manage it the next day, well, I might end up in his spot.

After that, and even though I was not performing, I made a point of getting hydration and electrolytes. And then some food. And only after that did I check out the beer and mead. One beer was of interest and it was alright. The gal serving the mead warned that the new one was too easy to drink and rather dangerous. She was not kidding. It was gone before I noticed. Decided not to repeat that one.

Chatting with some of the vendors was quite interesting. There are durable goods from last year (or earlier still) still in service. I probably added at least one sale not mine to a worker in ceramics. And a soap maker who knows me (and $HOUSEMATE) made a point of doubling up on the one scent we agree on in a positive way. Paid off for them, as I bought half of that supply.

Another vendor noticed that the display of walking sticks she had, from another party, was short one and there had not a been a sale of such. She was observant… or the taker was.. uh.. something, for he didn’t leave the area nor even bother to remove the price tag from the stick and was discovered fairly quickly. The walking stick was recovered. A lecture of sorts was given (and, I overheard some, given in more detail again later). I wound up taking a few photos, and showed one to the folks at the gate later. If he took one thing, he might have tried taking another.

And then, almost done for the day, I watched a bit of an act. In one part, one of the two performers pretended to fear the upcoming bit and did some “I’m audience, not performer” shtick and the bit called for her to claim she was not a cow. Now, if that wasn’t a cue to moo, what was? So I did. It seemed to take folks by surprise, but they went with it and did well. I later asked if that had been a problem and was assured that it was not, but was also thanked for asking about that.

After the faire, friends and family had a good meal at an Indian restaurant, and a rather potent nightcap back at the motel. Other than the cane incident the only issue was I hadn’t had any caffeine since breakfast. I wound up making coffee in the middle of the night to try to avoid a withdrawal headache.

Sunday

I first stowed a few things in the Mythical’s ‘green’ tent, figuring I’d do the same thing I had on Saturday since the fellow who had had the heat issues assured me he was up to it again. But as time went by, someone else kept not appearing. I had a suspicion I might wind up more involved.

The performers whose act I’d mooed for/at were out and about and I talked with them a bit, asking if I should or should not repeat that. The answer wasn’t a solid yes, but not a solid no either. More on the order of, “We won’t hate you for it.”

Running into one of the folks running some of the festival, I showed the photo of ‘Stickie’ and was told I had to show that to $SOMEONE and could I wait a bit while the party was summoned? I could. And then showed a photo and explained things.. and wound up forwarding the image. I doubt ‘Stickie’ showed up again, but they knew who to watch for. “We appreciate your looking out for the faire.” Well, he was screwing up my faire. Doesn’t make me feel very charitable toward that party, no sir.

And back at the Mythical Garden they had just gotten word that the fellow they were waiting for couldn’t make it. So it was time for a quick costume change so I could step in – again. And yes, the handler was too easily distracted or caught up in his own world (make of that what you will) and had to be reminded a couple times to tend to the characters. Overall, however, it went well. As the fellow I replaced was obviously younger, when asked about his whereabouts I could give a simple let-them-fill-the-blanks-themselves reply that it seems he found a lady friend and… well, easily distracted youth. This worked out rather well: an absence explained without need of detail.

After that, more hydration and electrolytes (they sent the medical type to check on me this time. Evidently I looked worse than I felt) it was time for a proper meal. And then caffeine. And, after a while, mead not of the insta-gone variety though all of what I eventually tried over time seemed to be easy-drinking. More wandering until it was decided it was time to go, with a couple purchases on the way out. And I saw the act that got the moo was starting, so watched that.

And this time the moo seemed to be contagious as perhaps a fifth of the audience joined in! The performers then exchanged a few cattle puns before continuing. I found out later that when I was not there, one of them at least said ‘moo’ at that particular point. That had not happened, I am told, the day before. At the end of the act, after the tips were collected or mostly so, one rambunctious kid got a quiet little lecture about when the performers say to not run around (this was NOT just quietly leaving, but jumping up close when stuff was flying about) that jumping up close is a Bad Idea as it can cause all sorts of trouble. That over, a girl asked about the rats (part of a different act). “They’ll be here soon, but we are not the rat people.” I chipped in, “Rats don’t moo.” and got a laugh, a reply of, “Right! Rats don’t moo!” and a high-five.

And then was a trip home, that I do not recall as since I was not driving, I slept much of the way. It was quite a good weekend. I spent very little time online at the motel, and didn’t read anything on the Kindle app on the phone, as I expected I would do a bit before sleeping. It was quite a contrast to the last gathering I attended where the ebook of the time was generally more interesting than the event itself.