We were in Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago and picked up some beer – a six-pack of Fat Tire, and an experimental bottle of Coffee Peanut Butter Porter. The six-pack is well on its way to needing replacement, but we hadn’t found a suitable occasion for the Porter until this evening on a Zoom Happy Hour at Shir Hadash. There will be other Zoom Happy Hours, but this will be the Porter’s one and only visit to our house. I guess I should have read the smaller print on the label that said “peanut butter powder and lactose“!

When Apple announced the new M1-based Macs a couple of weeks ago, I was intrigued, but unsure about what to get when the time came. In particular, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to replace the MacBook Pro in my office with another one or a Mac Mini. I don’t need the portability (that machine hasn’t left the office in well over a year), but having a second screen has been very useful. And I wanted to wait until I could see some reviews and get a discount from a friend at Apple.

My friend at Apple pinged me yesterday and said that the new M1-based machines were available at friends-and-family discount, so it was time to make some decisions. I was still torn about what to get – so we’re getting an Air and a Mini. The Air will replace Diane’s 6-year-old MacBook Pro (it is very unlikely that she’ll ever run a workload that would cause the Air to throttle down, so there was no need to buy a Pro), and the Mini will go into my office. And if I find I really want a second screen in the office, I’ve got two weeks to swap the Mini for an Air (or use Sidecar to drive an iPad, or buy another monitor).

The TV I’ve been ogling came down another $100 in today’s paper, but I think I may have spent enough on electronics for this week already!

Diane read Torah and I led Shir Shabbat services this morning – it was a nice way to spend the morning, but next time, I may take advantage of the offer to have someone else run the Zoom meeting and the screen sharing.

The weather was nice this afternoon so we took a walk a little earlier than we usually would – as we were crossing the footbridge over Ross Creek, I heard a voice calling “David!”. It was Jeff Ringgold, who had been my improv teacher a few years ago; he was walking his dog. He’d moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago, but this was the first time we’d crossed paths.

He told me that his theatre, American Improv Theatre was taking a different approach to performing during Covid. Instead of doing the typical Zoom show, they were going audio-only, calling it the “Golden Radio Hour”, and that they had a show this evening on Facebook.

We tuned in and enjoyed it – doing improv via audio-only offers some opportunities that a Zoom show (or an actual in-person show) wouldn’t. It also puts a bit more of the burden on the audience, because there aren’t any visual cues to help keep the characters and locations fresh in our minds.

The show (and their previous shows) are on their Facebook page; tune in!