Journeys 3.1

On a bike ride with a friend, we stopped at this statue of Thomas Lowry, best known for overseeing the early growth of the Twin Cities streetcar system. Our house was in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis. My friend grew up in Lowry, Minnesota, a town that owed its existence to the Soo Line Railroad, which was founded and led by Lowry.

On my cycle ride: spoon, cherry, and Basilica. ​The Basilica is currently undergoing restoration work both inside and out.

Worked on the design of a minimal LEGO Technic finger, version 1.0, using a flexor tendon to bend the finger and an extensor tendon to straighten it. Along the way, I learned I had to prevent hyperextension to keep the joints stable. Designs I’ve found online seem over-engineered and contain too many parts: after all, it’s a model. Now I need to build a refined version with an eye toward eventual automation.

I wandered the aisles of Whole Foods seeking a jar of preserved lemons for a cod recipe Dwight found in Cook’s Illustrated. “A bit posh,” I thought, but played along. When I suggested he make them himself, it was clearly a bridge too far. A Google AI search identified the Global Foods aisle as a possibility, but the shelf was empty. Fortunately, a nearby stocker reached into the dark recesses of the shelf and pulled out the final jar.

Walked over to Chloe, a French-style bistro, for lunch with friends. The building was once a tractor factory, now repurposed as a hotel with two restaurants. The face sculpture is fashioned entirely from welded bicycle chains. Toward the back of the photo, an atrium cuts up through five floors, letting in natural light.

Built a gentle adventure around the #2 bus route which runs every 10 minutes near our home. The route takes in some wonderful institutions as it travels through the U and across South Minneapolis. Today: Northrop (cuppa in the cafe of this U auditorium), Weisman Art Museum (architect Frank Gehry), eye clinic (used a credit to replace lenses in my sun glasses), Minneapolis Institute of Art (took in an exhibition by Kenji Nakahashi who loved diagramming, categorizing and coding).

Simple tonkotsu udon at Kinzō between medical appointments at the U. Campus is a bright place to be: art exhibitions, student energy, reminders to keep perspective. Cycling to and from keeps things feeling normal.