For the last couple months, I’ve been pulling mediocre shots with the espresso maker, fast and barely manageable at even the finest grind. It coincided with a new batch of beans, but persisted through various batches and roasters; maybe I’d changed my technique? It got even worse a few days ago, impossible to pull a tolerable shot; it turned out that the grinder’s burr had gotten unseated and was producing coarser and wildly-inconsistent grounds. We overnighted a new housing for the burr, and everything is great again.
Went over to good friend Nathan’s house for the first (or zeroth) session of an RPG that’s finally getting off the ground.
Ant update: We’ve continued to see a few scouts. Yesterday, Meghan caulked over some small cracks under the sink and behind some drawers. We’re now waiting to see if this has helped.
Finished reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers, a novella that I made short work of. I realized, several years ago, that I should be as kind to myself as I try to be to others, something that is very hard for me. This book is, in part, about that.
The bambina was down with a bad cold, and now I’ve caught it, though so far not as bad as she had it.
Finished reading Permutation City by Greg Egan. Lots of things to like, e.g. digital clones living in a hacky simulation that is more than an order of magnitude slower than the real world. The special relativity section of my brain rebelled against one significant plot point (though I’m not sure I understood it correctly). Very strong Philip K. Dick vibes from the story.
Nasty smoke today — yellow sky, bits of ash in the air — but it’s supposed to clear out tomorrow.
Ant update: Bait traps knocked them back in less than 24 hours. Since then, we’ve seen a few sporadic visitors — we’re not out of the woods yet — but things are okay for now.
The kids had successful first days of school.
After considering and dismissing a repeat of the walk along the shore from downtown, I walked from Husky Stadium along Lake Washington to Seward Park and then up to Othello Station: 3½ hours, 10¾ miles.
Went to a Magic event with the dude; we both had fun.