Now this is some fall weather we’re having! Rhonda and I were happy to get to Bellview after a couple of weeks away. It was packed but we found an iron table near the arbor and packed own provisions. The live music featured a drummer I know personally, and the singer/guitarist is Aaron’s former history teacher.

It’s spritzes while the ribeyes soak in the sous vide tank for a spell.

I have some research to do for our next journey up to see Aaron in a couple of weeks. I also decided to try to fix the leaky toilet in the apartment upstairs, but I can’t get the nuts spun onto the bolts that hold the tank on to shake loose. I hit them with some liquid wrench, so here’s hoping. If that doesn’t work, it’s time for delicate grinder wheel surgery.

Dipping into these kinds of projects always cause me some anxiety: I’ve fixed my share of household problems, but you’re only as good as the last thing you fixed. It’s like a domestic booby trap: one of these days, you’re gonna bite of more than you can chew. I guess it’s all in how you look at things.

Underbrush Gum

I’m generally immune to the bespoke infomercial reels on social media selling products, with one, and now two, exceptions: William Painter sunglasses, and Underbrush Gum. With William Painter, they had a comedian name James Schrader star in breezy, smart commercials for their brand, and they were engaging in the way that the Dollar Shave Club’s ad campaign was. I ended up ordering a pair of the Williams Painters, and I still rock them to this day. I have two pair, in fact.

Underbrush’s commercial is more serious, but I was sucked in by the hand-cut gum and the claim that it can reverse decay. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I wanted to try the gum.

One person who tried a piece said, “I don’t think I’d chew that again,” and Rhonda said it smelled like bug spray on my breath. I’ve enjoyed it, though, and I’m happy with how long both the flavor and texture last chew after chew.

Michael Caputo’s Six-Color Apple Stickers

I saw these on Reddit I think, and it scratched an itch I’ve been carrying for a while now. I’ve always loved the six-color apple logo, as a Mac user since 1993, and an Apple II users since I was a little kid. Only the Studio and phone were spared the sticker treatment.

The Shacket

Whilst trawling Marshalls for things to wear, I found “The Shacket,” which is basically a flannel shirt designed to be worn with an undershirt, and cut straight at the waist, to be worn untucked. It’s a portmanteau of shirt and jacket, which I appreciate in the vein of the spork, and which has generally been reserved to ladies fashion (a la the skort).

I really like the cheap-o shackets I got, and have been looking for the right weather to wear them: we’re not so formal as we used to be at work, and to be frank, I’ve ignored the dress code in favor of my own sense of what looks good. The line between what looks good vs what’s appropriate is fine, to be sure, but I reserve the right to make my own decisions, because I can. I don’t dress like a slob, and serially strive to look composed even when casual.

Anyway, I was thinking about wearing one of the Marshall’s shackets last week, but I never did. I made up for it today, though.