I mentioned last weekend that I was trying to replace the flushing components in the toilet upstairs. The problem I ran into was that I couldn’t spin the nuts off of the bolts in water tank; the metal used in the bolts was softened by all those years of submersion in water, I guess, and not even some strategic spritzes with Liquid Wrench helped.

I mentioned it to our superintendent at work (who was in the process of installing his own bathtub, which made my problem seem tiny), and he suggested using a hacksaw. I ended up using just a hacksaw blade, over a couple of sessions, to cut the bolts between the base of the commode and the tank.

It wasn’t fun but it’s done! We have a freshly refurbished can upstairs. I did the same for the downstairs bathroom years ago. So I can log another home repair to my spreadsheet. Regarding said spreadsheet, I just started it today to keep track of when I service or repair something so I can remember how long it’s been since I tangled with a wary structure, appliance, or some other thing that awaits my attention.

I do a lot of these things in part to save a buck, and to avoid the hassle of trying to find someone to come out and do them for me. I feel like most of my home repairs have a very imperfect version of doneness, as I’m not the handiest of fellas, and always have something in mind I’d rather be doing. But you can’t argue with feeling a sense of accomplishment having fixed something yourself.

Next Friday is another visit to New Brunswick to visit Aaron. I found a host of places to try for dinner, including some intriguing Portuguese joints. I’m second guessing not trying one of those spots (not that it’s too late) because I met a couple at a party last night, and she was from Sayreville. I not a teleologist but I do find such moments of serendipity intriguing. I think we’ll enjoy the Metuchen Inn, though. Looking forward to the visit and the inevitable stop (stops?) at Stokelan Winery.

Do I have to tell you that we’re enjoying some spritzes in this fine fall weather? Rhonda is toasting up some nachos to accompany them using some leftovers from the week.

I hope you’re doing something that resonates with you from toes to dome. We only have this moment: the past is gone, and the future lies, uncertainly, in the moments, days, and years ahead.

Kagi Search

I’ve been curious about Kagi search since reading about it on Daring Fireball and listening to an interview with one of the developers. I’ve been using Duck Duck Go for a while, and Google, too, and the AI results I get with the latter really have started to bother me. I decided to try Kagi’s trial tier, and while not exciting by any stretch, I found myself very happy with the results I was getting, and when the generous demo bank of searches wore out, I couldn’t see myself going back. It seems a little wild to pay for a search engine, but as with RSS readers, the value proposition is hard to resist.

Path Finder

I’ve been trialing the Finder replacement Path Finder by Cocoatech for years now, but I never found a reason to purchase a license. It popped up on Bundlehunt so I bought a few for my Macs. It’s an interesting twist on the Finder. One of the features I really like is how it displays labels in a window; it’s much less subtle than the Finder, which I like, especially in looking at a folder organized using the Johnny.Decimal system, which I’m currently half-assing. I also really like the Path Navigator feature. Tahoe’s Finder enhancements have been welcome, though. I has a great Yoink-like feature, called the Drop Stack, that lets you move files without opening multiple windows.

How Andre Agassi Beat Boris Becker

Andre Agassi was a rock star American tennis player who was divisive in terms of his fan base, but was always fun to watch. He evolved, from tennis rebel to statesman, during his career. This video is great, from the tennis angle and from the how-do-I-get-better angle.