Reading August 2023

• 8/31/2023: The Hanging Tree.  Book 6 of 9 of Rivers of London.  By Ben Aaronvitch.  2017.   304 pages
• 8/30/2023: The Hanging Tree.  Book 6 of 9 of Rivers of London.  By Ben Aaronvitch.  2017.   304 pages
• 8/29/2023: The Hanging Tree.  Book 6 of 9 of Rivers of London.  By Ben Aaronvitch.  2017.   pages
• 8/28/2023: The Hanging Tree.  Book 6 of 9 of Rivers of London.  By Ben Aaronvitch.  2017.   304 pages
• 8/27/2023: Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. 2023.  256 pages
• 8/26/2023: Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. 2023.  256 pages
• 8/25/2023: Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. 2023.  256 pages
• 8/24/2023: Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. 2023.  256 pages
• 8/23/2023:: Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan.  2013.  352 pages.
• 8/22/2023:: Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan.  2013.  352 pages.
• 8/21/2023: Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan.  2013.  352 pages.
• 8/20/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/19/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/18/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/17/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/16/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/15/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/14/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/13/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/12/2023: Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right by Matthew Dallek.  2023.  384 pages.
• 8/11/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/10/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/9/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/8/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/7/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/6/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/5/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/4/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/3/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/2/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.
• 8/1/2023: Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White.  2023.  448 pages.

Reading July 2023

• Extra Book: The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw by Patrick F. McManus.  Holt Paperbacks Reprint, 1990.  192 pages.
• Very Garrison Keilor.
• 7/31/2023: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen.  Random House Graphic, 2020.  256 pages.
• from Hamline University
• 7/30/2023: Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith, Chronicle Books, 2022.  192 pages.
• 7/29/2023: Best Science Fiction of the Year 6, Terry Carr editor.  Del Rey, 1977.  388 pages. Second half was MUCH stronger than the first half.
• Bicentennial Man by Asimov was my favorite. 
• 7/28/2023: The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker [author] and Marcus Kwame Anderson [illustrator], Ten Speed Graphic, 2021.  192 pages.
• 7/27/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/26/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/25/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/24/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/23/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/22/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/21/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/20/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/19/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/18/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/17/2023: Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, Number 5 in the Rivers of London Series.  2014, 325 pages
• 7/16/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/15/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/14/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/13/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/12/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/11/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/10/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/9/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/8/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/7/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/6/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/5/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• 7/4/2023: Myth America: Historians Take on The Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past, Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer. 2023.  400 pages
• American Exceptionalism
• Founding Myths
• Vanishing Indians
• Immigration
• America First
• The United States is an Empire
• The Border
• American Socialism
• The Magic of the Marketplace
• The New Deal
• Confederate Monuments
• The Southern Strategy
• The Good Protest
• White Backlash
• The Great Society
• Police Violence
• Insurrection
• Family Values Feminism
• Regan Revolution
• Voter Fraud
• 7/3/2023: Rivers of London Vol. 3: Black Mould by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, Titan Comics, 2017.  128 pages
• 7/1/2023: Rivers of London Vol. 1: Body Work [Issues 1-5] by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, Titan Comics, 2016.  130 pages
• 7/2/2023: Rivers of London Vol. 2: Night Witch [Issues 1-5]  by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, Titan Comics, 2016.  130 pages
• 7/1/2023: Rivers of London Vol. 1: Body Work [Issues 1-5] by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, Titan Comics, 2016.  130 pages

Reading June 2023

About 46 pages a day not including the graphic novels?  Although props to Gord Hill for some really great reading [Milk Wars was just weird, and DC Pride was more of a fan fic excursion, although I enjoyed it].  Oh...no...I missed a book.  A moment...forgot Lost at Sea, so closer to 62  pages/day.  Nice.  I'm already into my first books for July. I have a surprising amount of non-fiction queued up.

Black Tudors was enjoyable, although it was summed up best by black denizens of Tudor England lived basically the same lives as white denizens of Tudor England: in London, in the countryside, poor, not-so-poor, adventurers, not slaves.  It approached it via ten case studies/lives.

• 6/30/2023: The Destroyer of Worlds: A Return to Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, 2023, 320 pages
• I enjoyed it, but Lovecraft Country actually works better as a standalone imo.
• 6/30/2023: Lost at Sea: the Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson, 2013, 496 pages
• Collection of his articles + add ons from The Guardian.
• 6/29/2023: The Antifa Comic Book: 100 Years of Fascism and Antifa Movements by Gord Hill, 2018, 112 pages
• 6/28/2023: Black Tudors: the Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann, 2017, 384 pages
• 6/27/2023: Black Tudors: the Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann, 2017, 384 pages
• 6/26/2023: Black Tudors: the Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann, 2017, 384 pages
• 6/25/2023: Black Tudors: the Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann, 2017, 384 pages
• 6/24/2023: Black Tudors: the Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann, 2017, 384 pages
• 6/23/2023: Atomic Habits by James Clear, 2018 - bailed after about an hour.  I HATED this.  Hated the writing, hated the pace [I guess that's part of the writing], hated the anecdotes.
• I'm pretty much on board with this post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_iek97Ef6Q 
• 6/22/2023: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury, 2023 - read the first 67 pages, but I just wasn't getting into it and had to switch.
• 6/21/2023: The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book: Revised and Expanded by Gord Hill, 2021, 144 pages
• 6/20/2023: Milk Wars, DC/Young Animal, 2018, 224 pages
• 6/19/2023: DC Pride 2021, DC Comics, 2021, 141 pages
• 6/18/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/17/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/16/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/15/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/14/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/13/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/12/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/11/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/10/2023: Broken Homes, Rivers of London Book 4 by Ben Aaronovitch, 2013, 336 pages
• 6/9/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/8/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/7/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/6/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/5/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/4/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/3/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/2/2023:  So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• 6/1/2023: So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, 2016, 336 pages.
• Getting a little dated as it was on the cusp of Gamergate and more.

London: Day 6

Day 6 was a slightly more relaxed day.  We had theater tickets, so we stayed downtown.  Jen and Aeryn went to the war rooms, where I'd been before, so I decided to meet them closer to the theater and hopped between bars.  This was the last bar I was at.  I think this was the day Jen and Aeryn saw the conspiracy guy near the horse [soldier] museum and grounds get arrested.

Here's some of that rain that never let up.  I managed to get one of the few outdoor spots where I could lean against a wall, so my table and beer got wet, but not me.

Sort of a neat photo of my table.  I like it because it shows how much rain came down.

We were headed to the Adelphi for Back to the Future: the Musical.  It was highly amusing.  I don't want to spoil anything.  They lean into the science fiction part.  In some ways, more like a Universal/Disney ride than a play/musical.  Reminded me a lot of the Posideon's Fury attraction at Universal.

While I was running around before the show, I found Maple Leaf and Covent Garden.  Aeryn had a bit of a melt down during ice cream at Covent Garden.  I think we can officially list Day 6 as the day Aeryn wore out.  Ironically, no matter how much I slow down my pace [of things to do, and literal] it's still too fast for my family.  I think we basically covered half the ground I did when I was a college student when I visited for half the time.  New things energize me. I didn't go in the Maple Leaf during this day, but we did catch it several days later when Jen and I hit another play.  It is a very....sweaty....smelling bar.

Reading May 2023

I went to all that trouble to reset my base reading pace at 30 pages per day, and then I hit over 50 pages per day anyway.  Roughly 2400 this month [May], even with 14 days of vacation at the start of the month.  Reading Whispers Underground while touring London....best idea ever.

• 5/31/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/30/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/29/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/28/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/27/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/26/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/25/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/24/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/23/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/22/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/21/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/20/2023: The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage Into the World of the Weird by Dan Screiber, 2023, 368 pages
• 5/19/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/18/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/17/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/16/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/15/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/14/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/13/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/12/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/11/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/10/2023: Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch, 2012, 432 pages
• 5/9/2023: Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex by Rachel Feltman, 2022, 336 pages
• 5/8/2023: Constance Verity Destroys the Universe [Book 3 of 3] by A. Lee Martinez, 2022, 304 pages
• 5/7/2023: Constance Verity Destroys the Universe [Book 3 of 3] by A. Lee Martinez, 2022, 304 pages
• 5/6/2023: Constance Verity Destroys the Universe [Book 3 of 3] by A. Lee Martinez, 2022, 304 pages
• 5/5/2023: Constance Verity Destroys the Universe [Book 3 of 3] by A. Lee Martinez, 2022, 304 pages
• 5/4/2023: Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction by various.  Read the first 200+ pages out of 528.  2022
• 5/3/2023: You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, 2021, 240 pages
• 5/2/2023: The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar, 2022, 240 pages
• 5/1/2023: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir, 2021, 216 pages

Books, Bicycling, and Beers 2023: Summary

This is a work in progress.  I realized maybe I should drop the dates and breweries and posts and maybe the books in a table.  Otherwise I'm likely to lose track of what I'm up to when it comes to trying to remember where I've been.  I think I'm at 16 [as of 6/5/2023].  That's a hell of a clip given I was on vacation outside the country for two weeks.

Date	Brewery	Mileage	Book	Link
6/3/2023	Venn Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
6/1/2023	Metronome Brewing [and Wabasha]	40	Sugar	Link
5/31/2023	Wild Mind Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/28/2023	Wandering Leaf Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/26/2023	Modist Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/22/2023	Omni Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/19/2023	Nine Mile Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/15/2023	Grog in Bath	40	Sugar	Link
5/3/2023	Ineffable Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/2/2023	North 20 Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
5/1/2023	Arbieter Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
4/28/2023	Wooden Ship Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
4/24/2023	Inver Grove Heights Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
4/14/2023	Urban Growler Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
4/18/2023	Bricksworth Brewing	40	Sugar	Link
4/21/2023	Baldman Brewing	40	Sugar	Link

Books, Bicycling, and Beers 2023: Venn

6/3/2023 - Venn Brewing.  Thank you - last one for a while and I'm all caught up.  I'm not caught up on UK vacation photos, but now I can get back to a better pace.  I love the dogs at Venn. There are always a ton of them wandering around.  Arbeiter is dog friendly as well, but Venn seems to attract so many of them.  This guy was insistent that I provide belly rubs.  He was part of a wedding party and wearing his own tux.  Super cute.

Reading Sugar about how awful sugar has been for humanity and eating a giant, monster cookie that traveled up into south Minneapolis from Eagan just like me.  I think the cookie factory is at the far end of Diffley by Trail Stop Tavern, a stone's throw to the south of Thomson Reuters.

Venn is one of the closest breweries to me, but this was a long ride.  I pedaled along Minnehaha Creek and did the lakes loop, all the way around Bde Maka Ska [Lake].  About 40 miles total.  I was trying to get my timing right so I was at Angry Catfish cycling right around 4:00 p.m. as they were showing off a new line of bicycles and serving FREE root beer floats and beer [Voodoo, no sneaky extra local brewery this time].  I didn't buy a new 4000 dollar bicycle.  But I did lust after the many bicycle packs. I've got that new road bike and I don't want to drop a rack on it, so adding a stiff pack and underbar pack might be the ticket to allow me to use it for brewery tours as I HATE carrying a book in a backpack/bike bag.  I think I spent a full five hours of my afternoon on a bicycle, drinking, shopping tour.  There are worse ways to spend a day.

Books, Bicycling, and Beers 2023: Metronome [and...Wabasha...sort of]

6/1/2023 - Metronome Brewing in downtown St. Paul, near CHS Field.  Are you getting the impression I'm spending a little bit too much time at breweries? I am.  I think I'll be slowing this down a little and targeting something breweries further out.  It's weird to spend so much time bicycling and having a mid-ride beer that I'm deeply behind in blogging about where I went.

Rained on me on the way to Metronome.  Not too bad.  A few spots on the way had obviously barely missed me, but when I got into downtown at the bridges it drizzled on me.  Fortunately I carry dry shorts and bike jerseys dry fast.  I picked Metronome for 6/1 because they were donating part of their beer sales to the Pride celebration/activities for Pride month. I had a lot of options, but Metronome seemed optimal because Sarah Morris was playing at Mears, and I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone.

The bartender there talked bicycles with me for quite a while.  Great guy.  That's a fun brewery.  I'm reading Fordlandia about Ford's company owned rubber town in Brazil.  Crazy book.

I sent this photo to Aeryn.  They played oboe before bassoon.  They still hate it when we say that bassoons are simply big oboes.

If you get a chance to go there, seems like there's constant live music [a group was setting up while I was there] and the mosaic on their wall is amazing.  The bartender said that there had been another brewery there previously that had tile art on the wall, so they hired the same artist to come in and tile over his own work.

After Metronome, I headed over to Mears Park to see Sarah.  And have some mini corndogs, an ice cream cone, and another beer from Wabasha Brewing.  So I'm going to add them, even though I wasn't reading anything different.  But the ad hoc nature of getting a Wabasha beer from so close to their brewery during live music....I'll call it a tacit check in the box.

Sarah's funny.  She was wandering around the park during the previous act eating a big salad out of a tupperware bowl, moving from place to place.  I believe she's setting up merch here.  Her mom or grandmother was her official merch rep for the event.

I had a great spot, but when I went to get a beer a woman and her boyfriend sat down AND MOVED MY HELMET TO TAKE MY SPOT.  Asshats. I sat nearby, but my other spot was better/shadier.  The boyfriend kept hitting his elbow on my bicycle that was leaning against the rock.  He'd glower at me, but I'm absolutely certain if you steal a cyclists spot while s/he's getting a beer, you deserve to be hoisted on your own petard.

Great music.  Great venue.  HUGE turnout.  The park was packed.

Books, Bicycling, and Beers 2023: Wild Mind

5/31, Wild Mind in Richfield.  Although this is more appropriately Books, Bicycling, and BREWs 2023.  It was too early in the day for beer.  But like Venn, Wild Mind doubles as a coffee shop before 4 p.m. weekdays, so I went with a cold press instead.  Great thing about this ride was, I was getting a little beer-ed out, so coffee was a nice alternative, although it doesn't really have a brewery "character" to speak of.  Cold press is pretty much cold press. And, the flooding was finally down enough on the Minnesota river that I could pop across from Eagan to Bloomington and Richfield on the Old Cedar Bridge.  Cuts soooo many miles off rides to the near north side of the river, particularly as I start to head West.

My sister gave me this book.  Ronson' Publicly Shamed isn't as quirky as his Men Who Stare at Goats.  It's all about internet shaming/et al and it feels a bit dated given it's about ten years old [as far as shaming instances] now.  Still, mostly makes you wish you lived in Europe/UK where you can have info killed/forgotten if you want to.  I saw a PERFECT example of this at work the other day on No Rolls Barred where a professional card counter was banned from a casino and, while he suspected it was for characteristics related to card counting, they hadn't told him.  He know electronic surveillance was part of their set up, so under GDPR he asked for the digital records to see how they'd decided to ban him.  That's a cool use of that law.

Books, Bicycling, and Beers 2023: Wandering Leaf

5/28 Wandering Leaf.  I had NO idea this place existed.  They're not even fully installed in their mall yet as the outside patio is still under construction.  This was amazingly close to home.  Still about an 18-19 mile round trip, but just a hop across the Hwy 5 bridge at Fort Snelling and I'm there.  Closer than even Venn.

Today's reading.  Dystopia time.

They've got a very cool plant vibe.  Reminds me of the new coffee shop [Curiouser] that went in recently down in Apple Valley.  Gives it a real great ambience for a mall.

And their board game selection was excellent.  I didn't know Trash Pandas came with so many bananas.  Like some board game Hausu.  But there were a number of non-starter games, more than I've seen anywhere.  Only thing that made me sad was I dropped my odometer when I went to put it back on my bike.  Fell less than three feet, but landed right on the edge and cracked.  I could live with it, but I suspect it'll be a huge problem if I'm in the rain, although even then I can just transfer it to the protective plastic baggie I keep in my bike bag.  I looked it up.  They're repairable, although if you do it through Garmin they swap you for a refurb on the cheap.  I'll have to work my way up to that.  I'd like a stiff bike bag for the back of the rackless road bike first, so we'll see where I feel my priorities lie.

Books, Bicycling, and Beers 2023: Modist

5/26 - Modist Brewery in downtown Minneapolis.  This was a good choice.  Particularly if you like to go to breweries where most of the people are more attractive than you are.  Although perhaps that applies to all of downtown.  I love the ride along the [Mississippi] river up past the Stone Arch bridge and into town.  So much to look at and so many people to see.

Reading the second Lacey Lamar and Amber Rufkin book, which is really the first.  I liked the second better because it expanded more fully to other family and friends.  But they were both well worth the read.

Sank might be amused to know I ended my trip to Modist by buying their THC gummies on a whim.  Very good.  No after taste.  Although I didn't chew one mid bike trip.  That feels crazy.  But I did try a 5 mg at home.  And nothing.  I know that's not uncommon.  Then I did it again.  And nothing.  Then I went to 10, nothing.  Again.  Again.  The last time I coughed once.  I suspect I slept better as I took them in the evening, but I'm five tries in without an effect. Someone else said that perhaps it was simply a bad batch and took a 5 mg.  It was obviously NOT a bad batch.

I was sort of ambivalent, so I'm not sure I'll continue with the experiment, despite the big leg bruise and intercostal strain.  I'll wait for something more consistent before I add a new vice.

I love Modist.  Great beer.  LGBTQIA+ [see the colored flag that looks like someone hung up Minnesota backwards on the right].  Great breeze.  The photo above was inside, but I quickly moved to an open table outside with a little shade and was in heaven.