Hospital census zero for the first time in memory. That gives me a taste of the fall when I pull out of St. Francis Hospital and will have considerably more flexibility to my day, not to mention earlier returns home and more productive evenings at home. For now this is a novelty, a temptation to loaf but an opportunity to catch up or maybe even move ahead. My desk is a mess, the ABIM renewal has gotten behind and my car could use some new oil. It's all about priorities. It's also a chance to start moving into the things that allow me to become a sage.

Last evening I went to a Beth Shalom shiva minyan. There was some fear that a minyan would not materialize as the passing of a very wealthy member would siphon off some of the usual attendance. We got good attendance. The rabbi was not there, following Sutton's Law, I presume. A congregant conducted services while I worshipped in my usual way and observed in my usual way. Some differences were quite apparent. First, despite the early hour, they started with maariv instead of mincha. I do not know if the baala tfilah could repeat a weekday amidah. At maariv, the baala tfilah did stuff with a tune only. There were the usual English readings and while I read familiar Hebrew at a good clip, she moved on before I could finish which implied to me that nobody was really reading the silent parts with any proficiency. The service was designed to be familiar but not to enhance capacity over time, which I think to be the ultimate downfall of the conservative movement and the product differentiation opportunity for akse, though I'm not optimistic of our baalebatim appreciating that.