Bloody hell: I’ve been wrestling with the lawnmower for a couple of days now. I put a new deck belt on because something wasn’t working, and I noticed it looked pretty chopped up. That didn’t entirely solve the issue, and I came home from running a couple of errands to find Rhonda trying to mow with the clutch slipping off.

I got the clutch back on after some struggles in the blazing mid-day sun, but there’s still something up with the deck belt again. I’m gonna have to fart with it again in the very near future.

I reprised the excellent smoked baby back ribs and spareribs meal from Fathers Day; Rhonda was out running some errands earlier in the week, and found ribs on sale at one of the local butchers. She made Cooper sharp mac and cheese to go with. Tonight: the competition barbecue chicken thighs once again.

Tomorrow I’m taking a half day, and Rhonda and I are rolling over the bridge to Philly to see Tomahawk and the Melvins at Union Transfer in Spring Garden. I’ve never been to Union Transfer, and I’ve never seen Tomahawk, despite being a fan for the last twenty years. We have a five pm rez at Osteria, which is Marc Vetri’s pizzeria and casual dinner spot. It’s gonna be great I think.

Rhonda painted the deck stairs and railings this week. She used a Sherwin-Williams paint that really looks good. Is thick a way to describe paint? I’m not sure. But it looks great.

I regret missing last Sunday’s installment of Sunday Serial. I had a lot of fun on Saturday night with some old friends, and writing wasn’t even on the radar.

Foam Cannon

I used a foam cannon that I got from my dad some time ago for the first time today; Aaron and a buddy used it earlier in the week. I had to find the correct parts to connect it to my pressure washer, but it’s all connected and working now.

It was a lot of fun to foam up the cars and let the foam sit (the luxurious word in the car entertainment space is “dwell”) for a few minutes before rinsing them off. I was hoping that this would allow me to skip a formal hand washing, but the results were not that good. I’ll add this as a step before a good hand wash, and as an intermediate wash between hand washings.

303 Convertible Top Protectant

Back in the summer of 2003, I traded in my Ford Contour for a gently used 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder. It was my first convertible car and I developed some neurotic anxiety about caring for the top. I used a specific Raggtopp cleaner and protectant back then in the hopes of extending the top’s life. I’m not nearly as anxious about Miata’s top, but I do think it wise to care for it to the degree that I can. In southern New Jersey, the summers are dry and hot, and there’s a lot of sun for a car to soak up. And I don’t have a garage, so winters will be rough on the top for sure.

To this end, I applied 303 Convertible Top Protectant after a good wash and treatment with 303’s cleaner. I’m looking forward to seeing beaded dew on the top in the morning.

PasteBot 3

PasteBot is one of my favorite clipboard history munger utilities for the Mac. I came to it via the iOS version, which has long since ceased to exist. I remember Merlin Mann raving about the iOS version, which compelled me to try it.

Version three moves to a modern take on subscription apps: you pay one price for the new version, and subsequent years will net you new updates that have dropped for a reduced price. Bike uses this model, but perhaps Agenda made it famous.

I’ve been looking hard at my subscriptions lately, being a little more fastidious about whether I really use the subs I have, and cancelling ones I don’t need. But PasteBot is a good app, and one I use a lot.

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