Douglas E. Berry

One Burning Man ends, and another begins. It is the circle of dust.

Sun, 08 Sep 2019 00:30:35 GMT

A busy day at Offhand Manor. We had several post-burn tasks to attend to. Because this damn thing never really ends.

First, we took all all the recycling to our local place. We're allowed to take all the cans from Rosie's Bar (the day bar we run as part of M*A*S*H 4207) home. That and our on recycling from both our personal consumption during Burning Man and the stuff that was at home got us $51.55. Not a bad payoff.

Next, we stopped in at Home Depot for a third 55-gallon storage box. These are the longer version of the now-ubiquitous black boxes with the yellow lid. We found that they are the perfect size to store horizontally in Darby's bed. Last year, we had two, dubbed the Sun and Moon boxes (holding our solar panel gear and our shade structure, respectively.) The third is the Earth box, holding not only all the kitchen gear but pretty much all our miscellaneous gear with room to spare.

This is going to make loading/unloading so much easier in terms of load planning and finding things. The Sun and Moon boxes will be practically empty after camp is set up, and can be used to set a borer for our space or stored under the trailer. The Earth box will have everything else. We also looked at an adjustable height folding table as a new place for our cooler. I like the idea as it would both isolate the cooler from the ground and make the task of draining meltwater into our garden watering can much easier.

As an aside, we can't just dump water on the playa. Clean water, like cooler melt, can be disposed of by sprinkling it over a large area. Being able to do this daily will again make our packing process that much easier. Graywater is another issue, and we mat make our own evaporator to deal with the liter or so of graywater we generate daily.

After escaping Home Deport, we went to kshandra's office/warehouse where our gear is stored in the offseason. There we two goals here: move items into their appropriate spaces and build an accurate inventory of what we had and where it was. Several items were coming home for cleaning, for example, or would be stored at home until it was time for loading. Having an accurate inventory makes life so much easier in the long run. Next spring, when we're starting to get ready, we can look at the inventory and know what we have already.

The work went we quickly, with a few breaks of course. I was really pleased that we could fit the bag containing our rolled-up camp table into the Earth box. My theory is the fewer things out in the open on the truck, the fewer things to worry about losing to a pothole bump or a thief.

Then Darby got a much-needed bath at Rotten Robbies. They recently installed a LaserWash 360 system and it works great. I was impressed, even the headache rack came out clean. There is still a mountain of mud in the truck bed, but I'll deal with that. Also, Darby's passenger seems to have a seal leak.

Finally, we had to go shopping. We cleaned out a lot of old food before we left, and the larder was rather bare. I avoid most of the impulse buys, and can I say I'll be happy when the IPA fad goes away?

One big piece of shocking news. We may be selling the Free Trailer Beowulf. We've decided that a purpose-built toy hauler or work trailer, with both a side door and a rear ramp would probably be better for our needs going forward. So if anyone is interested in a small teardrop trailer, or knows a potential customer, let us know!

We did this all today because tomorrow night we're seeing Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony tear down the Chase Center right after they finished building it.

comments

Writing, Walking, and A Whole Lot of Cheese

Sun, 29 Oct 2017 23:15:52 GMT

Once again, I've been terrible about writing. Considering that NaNoWriMo starts Wednesday (making this a perfectly good time to panic) I've not gotten into the rhythm of writing. That needs to change, and it will change. Even if it's total drek, I'm going to pump out words every day.

The nice thing is that this year I really have a feel for the book I want to write. I have an outline for the three main plots by chapter, a good list of characters, both flesh and starship, and I for once know not only where I'm beginning and ending, but where the road between those two points lies. My goal is around 2,500 words a day, which is doable if I use the tools at my command. I am using Scrivener to organize things, I have voice software so I can just say what's in my head and clean it up later, and I'm using LibreOffice as my main word processor.

The goal is 50,000 words in November. That works out to 1,613 words a day, well short of my personal goal. So as long as I'm somewhere in that range, averaging around 2,000 words each day, I'll be more than happy. I'll be exhausted, and end up with an utter mess of a book, but I'll have it done and ready for the edits and second draft.

The final goal is, of course, publishing the book, most likely through Amazon. If I sell a hundred copies, I'll be ecstatic. The dream is enough interest to prod me into the second and third books I've got wandering around my head, but let's pass this hurdle first.

But I still have some preparation to do, a little more research, a few hours with my Astrogator's Guide plotting the path home for Task Force Kirpan. It's going to happen, I can feel it.

One of the tools that will be helping me is a new FitBit Kirsten bought for me at REI yesterday. I had been wanting one that monitored sleep patterns (I can be a restless sleeper) and we saw that the Flex 2 model was pretty cheap. Among other things, it prompts me to get up and walk every hour, 250 steps. Which works out to a few laps in our driveway. That kind of break can recharge the brain and make it easier to re-engage with your work. Since I tend to get lost sitting here, having that buzz on my wrist helps.

The REI trip was only part of what has been an epic weekend for us. Friday night, we tooled on up to San Mateo for dinner at The Melting Pot. They were having a tenth-anniversary special that made the meal affordable, although I still wish I hadn't look at the check.

This location is inside the San Mateo CalTrain station, and the small booths combined with the rumbling and whistles of passing trains made it feel like we were dining on a train ourselves. We started, of course, with the cheese. It wasn't on the original special, but how can you do fondue without a cheese course? We chose a garlic and herb mix, and it was divine.

Then came the meat course, filet mignon, chicken, shrimp, and portions of ravioli. For this, we kept it simple with the "coq au vin" oil in the pot. The goodies came with some amazing dipping sauces. The best part? The special was an unending supply of this course. We devoured most of what was delivered and asked for more steak. Because meat.

The one odd part of the meal was my beer. They had Beck's NA on the menu (and had to run to the store to get some after I ordered it!) which I had never tried. Decent non-alcoholic beer, but it had this distinct apple flavor to it, which I had never encountered in any beer, regular or NA before. It wasn't bad, but odd. I mentioned to Kirsten that with all the food being consumed I could have probably had a Budweiser without much risk.

Then came the chocolate. Oh, dear Halford, the chocolate. Again, letting Kiri choose since she's a bit more into chocolate than I am, we had a dark chocolate and Bailey's Irish Cream mixture. Dead. Dead and gone to heaven. The mixture was creamy and smooth with that great little bit of the dark chocolate. Naturally, I got some in my beard. You can't take me anywhere.

Great place, check them out if you're on the Penisula and want a nice dinner.

But having consumed enough food to feed South Sudan, we needed to walk it off before heading home. A brisk walk around the train station enjoying the oddly warm evening and homeward. We can only afford to do things like that once a year or so, but it is so special when we can.

In other news, the 49ers are now 0-8, the worst start in franchise history. We knew this was going to be a rebuilding year, but this is horrid. 0-16, live the dream!

comments

Thirty Day Song Challenge Day Eight: A song about drugs or alcohol

Sat, 01 Jul 2017 17:42:33 GMT

Yeah, I took a few weeks off. I'm disabled, I get to do that.

comments

7-Up in a Dirty Glass

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 00:28:31 GMT

When I was about 6 years old, my family went on a Mexican cruise on the old S.S. Spirit of London. Being unbearably cute, I owned that ship. Being heavily into my Cowboy phase (which was immediately after my Joe Namath phase), I would slide up to any of the bars on the ship and in my best (adorable little) drawl order "7-Up. And put it in a dirty glass."

It seems I'm back to that order now.

A few weeks ago we went to the birthday celebration for my sister's girls. I fully expected to come home with something, and wasn't surprised. I've had a a bad immune system for twenty years. But things kept getting worse. I couldn't eat. I felt like there was an obstruction in my gut. Ensign Wheatbiscuit* was having the time of his life with the waste disposal controls. I couldn't sleep. Finally, Last Tuesday, kshandra and I drove to see my doctor. I asked for a hospital admission. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I loath hospitals. So you know how bad off I was.

In the ER they set me up for labs and gave me morphine. I actually slept for the first time in days. The decision was that I needed to by admitted for no other reason than my Potassium was dangerously low. This has happened before, and can easily kill you.

I won't bore you with hospital stories. It sucked, and Kiri came close to strapping me to the bed at one point when I hadn't had anything by mouth for close to 48 hours. But we did get a diagnosis:

Acute Alcoholic Pancreatitis

I'm not an alcoholic; Hell I've got an open bottle of Jack Daniels that I haven't touched in years. I just like beer and wine, and have been drinking fairly consistently since I got to my first duty station in the Army. For the record, that was January, 1985. I stopped getting shitfaced after I woke up with a tattoo. But years and years of a few beers a day, wine with dinner... they've added up.

So, as of last week, I'm on the wagon. I've been doing some reading and even one can of beer can now leave me in agony. Not worth it. I'm not happy that this wasn't my choice, but I'll deal.

There was one funny thing. I still had about 8 beers in the fridge. I heard one of our twenty-something neighbors leaving and popped out. The conversation went like this:

"Hey, you guys drink Budweiser?"

"Well, man.. we don't really.."

"Stop. Let me put it this way. I just got out of the hospital and can never drink alcohol again. I've got close to ten ice-cold Buds. I can either give them to you, or pour them down the sink. Now, do you guys drink Budweiser?"

"Oh, sure.. love it!"

Sometimes you have to frame the question correctly.

But where from here? We've informed our camp at Burning Man that I will not be partaking, and that if anyone slips up and offers me a beer not to feel bad about it. Thanksgiving will be alcohol free, as will all other such events. We're working on a lower-fat diet for me, and one that focus more on snaking when needed, as I'm still not really good with full meals. Lots of poultry and ground lamb, lots of soups, and even less beef than I eat now. Sadly, I've never cared for seafood.

Overall, I'm good. This is a big adjustment, I mean I've had a beer can in my hand for a long time, but I'll make it.

But I swear, if there's an after life I expect to be greeted with an ice-cold pint of pale lager and a double pepperoni, sausage and garlic pizza. With Parmesan Twists, slightly underdone.

* For the uninitiated, I've described my body and its troubles by describing myself as this vast steampunk device, complete with brass and teak control room and a very, very British crew. Ensign Wheatbiscuit has been running amok for years, obsessed with the Solid Waste Controls, but causing trouble wherever he goes. I found it a kinder way to explain my latest illness with going into too much actual detail.

comments

We've already had an amazing weekend

Sat, 20 Jun 2015 22:40:49 GMT

( And it's still Saturday! )

After the show, we traveled to Oakland where a friend of Kiri's had offered us a place to sleep for the night, so we wouldn't have to drive all the way home and have her have to come back to SF the next day. This nice lady had very friendly dogs. I was pleased.

( Welcome to the ORG. Be one with the ORG )

So far, a great weekend, and now I'm resting.

comments

A good night out with bonus cancer.

Tue, 05 May 2015 23:19:12 GMT

A night of revelry!

( This got long )

comments

Changes and Done.. it's Random Shit time!

Thu, 19 Jun 2014 21:47:07 GMT

Been a while since I've done one of these.

Recovery is proceeding apace.

Aphasia is still a major bitch.

I've now added peripheral neuropathy to my woes.

Mostly in my left leg.

Been given lidocane cream for that.

Spent this morning at the DMV renewing my license.

Yeah, that sucked.

But it's done.

In other news, I'm really enjoying my writing class.

See previous entry for my first attempt at a short story.

I'm cutting way back on beer for financial reasons.

It's a luxury, frankly.

Had to let my Anticoagulation Nurse know, since changes like affect how I absorb the Warfarin.

But this will work well with my other big change.

If I get a story idea, no matter when, start writing.

The story I just posted came to me as I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep.

Still twitchy about Burning Man.

The Giants are currently sucking badly.

Pull out of it, guys!

comments

Hark! A meme!

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:28:19 GMT

Meme: Comment to this post and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random. Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.

From kath8562, I got:

Wine Wine has actually been part of my life since childhood. My parents enjoyed good wines, and we were all taught at an early age how to properly sample a glass. I'm not really a connoisseur, but have learned enough to understand different varietals, viticulture regions, and the importance of the terroir on the final product. When drinking, I p[refer good reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir. I dislike overly sweet reds. Not a huge fan of white wines; when I do drink them I prefer extremely light, crisp wine like a good Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. I do need to try to sample more local vintages from the Livermore and Santa Cruz Mountains AVAs

Army Ah, the best of times, the worst of times. I had a lot of fun in the Army, saw some amazing places and things, and grew quite a bit. Unfortuantly, my own demons caught up with me. I am still amused that the one job skill I came out of the service with is being an expert janitor.

Color I never really developed a good sense for color. I'm terrible at matching things, tend to wear black and darker colors simply because I know they match (mostly) and leave all more complicated matches to those with a more refined taste. My favorite colors are black, orange, and red.

Party It's funny, but I rarely really have a good time at a party unless I'm running it! Being in a group of people, many of whom I know only slightly or not at all, really sets off my antisocial tendencies. But, if I'm the one running around to make sure that everyone has a drink, and that the chip dip hasn't run out, I'm able to enjoy the party a little more. A big part of this is my utter inability to remember faces. I may have known you for years, and still not recognize you. I do miss the Traveller parties we used to throw at Baycon.

Monster For me there is only one monster: Reed–Sternberg cells. These are the monsters that lurked in my body for years, turning my own lymphatic system against me. The monster that turned my body from being me into being The Thing that I was locked in battle with. The monster that still plague my nightmares almost 20 years later.

comments

I thought this was my day of rest?

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:30:36 GMT

Done today:

Took out a ton of garbage.

Bagged laundry for an Oasis run/donation (last night and tonight).

Cleaned our front porch area.

Wrote an outline.

Did three loads of laundry (last one in dryer currently).

To be done tomorrow

Take laundry in to Oasis and to the charity drop off.

Go by Orchard to get shelving units for Kiri

Go to library so Lenore can get a library card.

Clean and re-stack our storage boxes.

Drink beer.

comments

Where in the world is...

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:35:17 GMT

... ~~Carmen Sandiego~~ Doug Berry?

Now that I've got that song stuck in your head, I can tell you that I've been fighting the worst cold/allergy attack/bronchial yuck I've had in a long time.

So bad that I've been using the codeine-laced cough syrup I got a while back.

Which is now gone. I haz a sad over this.

But things finally appear to be improving, slightly.

Other than that, been working.

I did get a comped membership to Baycon.

Unfortunately, with my work schedule and general ill-health, I was only able to make a few hours on Friday and Saturday.

Still good to get out and see people.

Niece Prime is making me feel like a slacker.

She puts her resume up on Craiglsit, and is getting hits immediately.

Already interviewed for one gig, and is out right now confirming a writing gig for a furniture shop.

Paid by piece, but still, getting paid to write!

Which only reminds me that I'm really not doing what I need to do to write.

So from now on, one hour - minimum! - of writing daily.

Even if it is complete and utter crap, get it down on paper/screen.

In addition I'm going to start carrying my note pad in my backpack.

Should I eventually sell something, I'm buying a corduroy jacket with leather patches on the arms.

To wear to my first Worldcon as a Hugo Nominee.

Also will need a bubble pipe.

Note to self: Make sure jacket will go well with either the Campbell Best New Writer tiara or the SIX TIME HUGO LOSER t-shirt.

Giants are doing.. okay. Over .500. but a lot of questions still to be answered.

I am out of beer. How did this happen?

comments

Another night at Offhand Manor..

Tue, 15 May 2012 05:06:47 GMT

Me: "I just spelled proletariat right!"

Kiri: "And how much have you had to drink?"

Me: "Enough to spell proletariat right."

comments

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:01:14 GMT

It's really amazing the number of big changes we and our friends are going through. We have friends moving from places they've lived for years, kids we knew as babies becoming adults, Niece Prime coming to live with us, Kiri addressing her health needs and food issues.. it's a whirlwind.

For the most part cancer survivors depend on stability. We've had enough shocks and roller coaster rides. We want a nice happy rut. But I'm oddly pleased at all this change. It means that life is in fact going on. That I can weather such changes makes me hopeful for the future.

This revelation brought to you by Budweiser™, the King of Beers.

Budweiser is a trademark of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc, St Louis, MO. Please drink responsibly.

comments

Just another night at Offhand Manor

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:05:02 GMT

Me: "I have a plan."

Kirsten: "Getting drunk?"

Me: "That train has sailed!"

comments

OK, this is awesome.

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:45:01 GMT

Great legend, gave me several adventure ideas.

The beer looks pretty good as well.

http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/trois_pistoles/product#/history

comments

Finally living the dream

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:51:13 GMT

Years ago, when serving in the Army was still a dream for me, the Army had a recruiting slogan: "The U.S. Army. We do more before 9AM than most people do all day." Once I was actually a soldier, I realized that the copy should have read "We waste more time before 9AM than most people waste all day", but the basic idea of getting and doing things was pretty sound.

Which brings me to today. I recovered from the Mongolian Death Yuk yesterday (a brief phone call with my doctor confirms that there is a nasty stomach virus making the rounds) and started cleaning. Today? I left the house about 0900.

Picked up the recycling from Earthbaby.

Got cash for Darby's DMV renewal.

Took all the recycling to our recycling place.

Renewed Darby at the AAA's DMV desk (that thing alone is worth the price of membership)

Dropped off old clothes in a recycling bin.

Went to the library and picked up A Traveller's History of Venice and Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne.

Got a haircut at the awesome barbershop. Seriously, for $14 they not only mow my head, but trim my beard, my eyebrows, and do touch-ups with a straight razor. I feel now shame in dropping a $20 and saying "keep the change." These people are awesome.

Quick raid on Smart and Final for beer, salsa, and chips.

All done in 3 hours.

Oh, by the way.. anyone local want a six-drawer dresser? If you help me load it into Darby, it's yours. We also have a huge TV set that is free to anyone that wants it.

comments

A feast was had!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:00:29 GMT

Home from feasting at La Fondue.

Oh, my God. NOM

We started with the cheese course. We had the 4 Cheese (Ementhaler, Gruyere, Fontina Surchoix, Champagne) option, with bread and various veggies to dip. I could have been happy there, but we had a Yelp deal that gave us the Le Freak C’est Chic. This meant our meat course had everything they had to offer:

Garden Vegetables

Bronze Turkey

Wild Boar

Chicken

Tiger Blue Shrimp

Alligator Tail

Swiss Chicken

Pacific White Shrimp

Black Angus File Mignon

Chicken Japonaise

Tuna Saku

Colossal Shrimp

Teriyaki Sirloin

Sea Scallops

Dungeness Crab

Spiced Fish

Himalayan Beef

Lobster Tail

Pacific Live Catch

Free Range Buffalo

Wild Antelope

Savage Duck

Kangaroo

Kobe Wagyu

Fondue Chinoise Cheddar

Free Range Venison

Fondue Chinoise Swiss.

Probably missing a few there. I tired almost everything, and with six glorious dipping sauces everything I tasted was awesome. Add in a bottle of Kenwood 2009 Yulupa Cabernet Sauviginon and we had a glorious meal. So amazing that we barely had room for the chocolate fondue with champagne. I'm honestly amazed that Kiri and I were able to walk out under our own power.

This was a $300 dollar dinner that we got for about $140 including tip. Well worth it.

comments

Just created a community

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:24:48 GMT

http://wineaux.dreamwidth.org/

Please spread the word. It's for anyone who enjoys wine.

comments