Author: wsf (Page 18 of 29)

–Bread book I ordered yesterday on eBay came today. eBay fulfilled by Amazon is pretty amazing. It would be nice if you knew in advance which items would ship this way.

–Spent some time (re)organizing watch stuff. As usual, I discovered things I had forgotten I had. Time to start selling.

–Tim McKrain (Omega Addict) called. He actually finished building out the two Watchco Seamasters I sent him, and will ship soon. He said the delay was due to cancer. The cost was $700 per watch–which includes the movements. Really looking forward to these.

–Bought a Rolex 14060 from Menta Watch last night; it shipped today. Tritium dial, described as (and looked) unpolished. Kind of redundant, but it’s only money…

–Sent the 5513 to Phil Ridley so he could (hopefully) install the minute hand properly.

–Missed out on a really nice red Submariner on eBay. Winning bid wasn’t much higher than my max, but (of course) one never knows how high other bidders’ snipes were.

–Mowed the lawn.

–Green Samsung S10e came in. Better in some lights than others. Like the black one, the SIM tray is not perfectly flush. Tried to sand down one of the trays, phone would no longer see the SIM. Ordered a replacement SIM tray.

–Rolex VC (1978) clasp came in. Took some doing, but I managed to swap it onto a 93150. Good thing I ordered two of the rivet pins…

–A neighbor named Bill George dropped by and chatted about grinder/buffer. Heard I was into watches, and later dropped off two fake Rolexes (quartz) from the ’80s. One is trashed and without bracelet, the other is not bad, with a two-tone bracelet. I’ll put batteries in and figure out what to do with them. Bill is moving to Arizona–so much for that budding friendship.

–Neighbor boy Ryan (12ish) dropped by to retrieve tennis ball that had gone over the fence. Seems like a nice kid, based on four seconds of conversation.

–Tried to get rid of some grayed-out files in iCloud storage; gave up. Moved to Microsoft OneDrive. Took a long time to get the Art folder uploaded, but I finally did and the app seems pretty bulletproof–syncing is automatic, for example, and files are easily accessible in Finder under OneDrive. 100 gigabytes for $2/month. Probably not enough space for all my movies; I think those are fine on the thumb drive. Syncing may not actually be all that necessary: it’s so easy to access/edit files like Contacts and Humor on OneDrive, there’s no need to keep copies on the Mac. Same with the Excel files for Shave, Watch, etc., which I never kept on the Mac anyway, but instead edited them on iCloud. It might be useful though if I add something to Books or Old Friends on the Mac to have it auto sync in the cloud. Although as I think about it, syncing may work only for files that already exist on Mac and cloud. Will test.

–Got bagels at Noah’s.

–Went to Jack’s Urban Eats for dinner.

–Succeeded in getting insert and bezel off of a Squale 42mm GMT. Replaced the ceramic insert with an aluminum Batman insert. Works fine, but not exactly a knockout watch, especially given how many Squales I’ve destroyed chasing this dream.

–Went back to large group on Maximatic. Portafilter insertion is fussy with small group, but worse is that the small group somehow causes these really long slooshes from the exhaust valve.

–Went to Bel Air for milk, dessert, cheese.

–FU5 is starting to make a mess of my face. I really don’t understand it: there’s a huge lesion (for example) above my right eyebrow–a place that bike helmets and hats totally shield from the sun. Where are these things coming from?

–Went to Home Depot, then Lowe’s for a Christmas tree. Got a 7′ Asheville Pine at Lowe’s. Lunch at McDonald’s in the car.

–Replaced hearing batteries around 4 PM.

–Thanksgiving: HoneyBaked ham, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry jam, crescent rolls, fired Brussels sprouts. Really good.

–Took the Sea-Dweller apart to look into sticky date wheel. I didn’t do much, but managed to get it back together in decent shape. It passed several tests (changing the date while running on its own, as opposed to when I’m rapidly moving the hands). We’ll see.

–Spent a LOT of time looking into 1978 93150 bracelets for the 1680 which is so complete it came with a “big crown” SWIMPRUF tag!). Put an offer in at eBay on a VC (1978) clasp that lacks a “93150” stamp. Possible it’s from a 9315, but I found (and saved) several no-stamp VC clasps that were undoubtedly 93150s.

–Took Grace to the dentist on Sunrise–and missed a FedEx delivery. Apparently she doesn’t want to drive ever again.

–Went back to the white iPhone SE 2020. The battery on the Samsung S10e just seems to drain too quickly, even when the phone is inactive. I don’t know what’s going on–I tried to delete/disable all non-essential apps.

–Took a shower. Used the Black Mamba razor. Looking at blade position in the razor, it’s painfully obvious why all Wolfman razors are so aggressive. The Mamba has such a tiny gap and steep angle it looks like it wouldn’t even shave. It does fine.

–Went with Grace to Barnes & Noble to get the latest Jack Reacher and America’s Best Mysteries (now America’s Best Mystery and Suspense Stories, with a new series editor). Grace got a puzzle for Rick.

–Got a Papa Murphy’s pizza for dinner.

–Went to Folsom farmers market, got mandarins, broccoli, squash. Then Bel Air for apples, milk, cream, dessert.

–Discovered by accident that Kirill Yuzh had tried in March 2021 to sell a Rolex Sea-Dweller on Rolex Forums for $18,500. Luminova hands and insert pip, really worn case. I bought the same one from his website in September, with non-glow hands and pip and a recut case (all via LAWW) for $20,000. Answers once and for all the question of whether LAWW does laser welding to restore cases: they do. I asked Rolliworks to “crisp up” the crown guards on my 1680; wondering if they’ll weld or just polish a bit. I’m hoping to catch James Hyman, who will be replacing luminova with color-matched no-glow lume in the hands, and get him to touch up the small brown spot in the 9 o’clock hour marker lume. I’m also trying to restore the 5513 that RSC refurbished to its vintage state. These could end up being a couple of killer watches.

–Again played with phones. The new white iPhone SE (Coconut Battery App says it was built in October 2021, though this is extremely unlikely) is a really slick piece now, but I STILL revert to the Samsung.

–Rubberset brush came in. More pitting than I had hoped. Working on it.

–Pundits say Biden won’t run in ’24 (too old) and Kamala Harris has terrible approval ratings. Trump vs. Buttigieg here we go…

–Picked up HoneyBaked ham–along with several other folks.

–Played with watches/bezels a bit. Decided I’ll be selling the 5512 as is. Before long I’ll need to choose between 1680 with original dial and bezel, color-matched hands, crisped-up case and complete full set; 5513 with replacement gilt dial/matching hands/tritium service bezel, great case and almost-full set; and Sea-Dweller with stellar dial/bezel, probable color-matched hands and recut case (plus trippy “Original Helium Escape Valve” caseback).

–Ordered a white iPhone SE. Did some battery testing and, at first glance, it appears the Samsung battery goes down faster than the SE battery–correcting for SIM presence. Could be other factors involved, could be my imagination. I’m just so torn over Samsung (great build, good earpiece volume) vs. iPhone (smaller form factor, hearing aid-friendly).

–Started fluorouracil treatment.

–Feeling better, somewhat.

–Finally got the ceramic insert off the Squale bezel. The grip solvent really did loosen it up so it spun freely in the bezel, but I had to break it to get it out. Bonus: with the insert gone I could view the spring that retains the bezel, and even remove it intact, so the bezel itself could then be removed. Problem 1: There was a tiny piece of rubber inside the case after soaking in solvent, which looked suspiciously like part of a stem gasket that had melted. Problem 2: Neither of the 2 (TWO) replacement inserts I had bought came close to fitting in the bezel. The inserts were about 38mm, while the bezel was closer to 37.5mm. And the ceramic inserts don’t bend for fitting.

–Still feel like crap.

–Took a shower and shaved with the LA Shaving Soap Company BBS-1 razor. Harshest shave ever. Crap.

–Got bagels at Noah’s.

–Bottomless portafilter for the Maximatic came. I had a super-hard time putting (and adjusting) a spring in the groove that would keep the basket from falling out. Now it’s really hard to get the basket out. Shouldn’t matter, as I rarely need to take it out anyway. Had a fear the portafilter wasn’t going to go in with the basket in place, but finally sort of got the hang of it. All good now.

–Squale black 30 Atmos Ceramica came in. Movement is spot on, dial is glossy and gorgeous. Hour hand is really small, which was my complaint with the Mondia Batman. Watch case was so severely dinged up I put a groove in it trying to polish stuff out. Another one bites the dust. I put the movement/dial into my Squale Pepsi (version 1), and it looks nice. I have the ruined case soaking in grip solvent to test for removability of the insert. The black insert is nice, so I’d like to be able to get it out intact, but I don’t think that’s going to be possible. I suspect these things are snapped in, in addition to being glued.

–Did a load of laundry.

–Went through my watch bracelets. I’d forgotten what I had. (a) Omegas that look about as good as 1450s, albeit with straight end pieces; (b) a really nice Gay Freres Kon Tiki; (c) a 2001 Rolex from a Daytona, really scratched up–I need to send that out for polish, as it ‘s beyond my skills; (d) an Omega 1035 near-NOS–came with a couple of straight endlinks, and I only have one proper 630 endlink. I bought one on eBay, couldn’t find another, tossed it (or lost it), bought a second one on eBay from the same guy, haven’t seen another since in many months of looking.

–Sold my 165mm Shig kitaeji santoku at KKF in 5 minutes.

–Finally getting the Samsung S10e dialed in (heh heh). Beautifully-finished hardware, and I’m zeroing in on a nice setup.

–Epiphany: I used to think Rolex bezel pearls had thin (older) or thick (newer) metal surrounds. After looking at hundreds, and a bezel I bought thinking it was older, and my after-market bezel pearls, I now realize older ones have NO metal surround. It looks sort of like a surround because it’s clear plastic that sits above the bezel surface and shows the silvery metal beneath. Eureka!

–J-knife came in. Cherry branch handle is absurdly large–my fault I guess, for having exaggerated my hand size. Knife is okay, but not thrilling.

–Took a quick bike ride to the Folsom light rail parking lot. Found the mother of all long-acorn trees. Loaded up.

–Played with phones.

–Niello called. For the second time, I couldn’t answer on the Samsung. It answers Grace’s calls fine, but not “outside” calls. Can’t find a reasonable app that will call me so I can experiment with this. Called Niello back to find out about the Mini Cooper. “It’s being built this month, and we’ll have more info next month.” Great.

–Played with phones. Turns out: to use earphones on the Samsung, you have to plug them in while the call is connected, not before. It does work if you turn your hearing aids off (mechanically) before making a call, but that’s a little drastic. Doesn’t even work if you plug in earphones, start a call, then hit “speaker.” Call will come out of the speaker until you unplug/replug the earphones. Grrr….. I may look for a quick way to disable/enable HAs in software.

–Google Pixel 4a came in. It feels bigger than the Samsung, the back feels (and is) plastic, and it seems to me to come with a lot of factory apps installed. I didn’t even bother setting it up all the way to see if it (for example) would work over earphones without the gyrations mentioned above. Bummer. I fear the Samsung 10e is the last phone (a) of reasonable size (b) that’s all glass and metal (c) that doesn’t have five large camera lenses on the back (d) and that works with hearing aids.

–Fiddled with watch bracelets.

–Continued playing with the Samsung. It’s pretty much perfect now. It apparently doesn’t allow me to set in advance how calls are routed, but does seem to “remember” the last choice and use it. Should be okay, if I can figure out how to bring up the audio screen and switch to speaker (say) when the hearing aids aren’t sufficiently clear.

–Took a shower. Tried the last feasible head on the Wolfman titanium handle. Nope. Felt like a lawn mower and caused a bleeder. Maybe I should try to trade one of my heads for a super-mild head. I don’t know.

–Bergeon medium satin wheel came in.

–Apple iPhone 13 Mini came in. Off-putting in every way. Obtrusive cameras, sharp edges (I’m spoiled by the Samsung), no wall outlet charger, etc. Big disappointment.

–Mondia Batman came in. Very nice, better-finished than Squale perhaps (and perhaps made by Squale).

–Got a Papa Murphy’s pizza for dinner–pretty darn good.

–Played with the Galaxy S10e a bit. Still couldn’t get it to stream a phone call I initiated to the hearing aids. Not sure what the issue is, though I’m suspecting the hearing aids themselves are limited.

–Tried to organize watches/cameras a bit for eventual sale. Did a showdown between the Sony AR7 and the Leica Q2. The Leica won. The lens on that camera is astonishing. A preview I saw of the Smart 3D app (while I was reinstalling the HAs) showed, in addition to All-Around and Restaurant, settings for Music, Outdoors, and maybe more. I’m sure I had Outdoors (at least) on a previous set of HAs. We’ll see what happens with the Pixel 4a. I really don’t want to delve into (and spend another $3k on) the arcane world of hearing aids.

–Slow day, not much happening. Did find a machine called the Tremblr which seems sort of compelling.

–GOT THE HEARING AIDS CONNECTED TO THE SAMSUNG S10e AND SMART 3D!! As usual, reddit gave the only hint: turn off nearby bluetooth devices before pairing. Whenever I had tried before, I always had the iPhone nearby with bluetooth and Smart 3D running. Duh. Turned off the iPhone, went into bluetooth FIRST on the Samsung (which is the opposite of what internet wisdom says), quickly paired the hearing aids, and when I started Smart 3D it picked them up instantly. Unbelievable. Now I have an iPhone 13 Mini and a Google Pixel 4a coming that I don’t need. Can’t have too many phones I guess.

–Got a haircut from my favorite (Samantha) at Supercuts, Greenback at Hazel.

–Maximatic with the thick gasket that I sanded down gave a tiny hint it was leaking, so I went back to the thin one. That will work. Questions are (a) how long before it compresses too much to be useful, and (b) will it require a dose even lower than the 14g I used today. We’ll see.

–Tried to get Kirill Yuzh to drop $300 from the price of a 16610; no go. He did sell the GMT however and wired the money today. I found what MIGHT be a nice 14060 at a random jeweler in Miami. “Fully serviced,” it says. We’ll see.

–Ground off Wolbrook logo from ugly oversize “vintage” dive watch beads of rice bracelet. Tried it on Helson Sharkmaster, but spring pins/lug holes wouldn’t line up. Put a Squale BOR on the Helson instead; looks great.

–$200 Batman bezel insert came in. Definitely different from the $20 insert I have (which has a couple of tiny nicks in it), and certainly not worth $180 more. Not sure what I’ll put either insert on. The most appropriate would be a (discontinued) Squale Giramondo GMT: right size, Mercedes hands. There’s only available–at chrono24 for $1,000+. Maybe.

–Played with the two portafilter gaskets again. The thick one (OE) really is too thick, and the thin one (Cerini) really is too thin. I put the thick one on the belt grinder for a while, and now it’s perfect: portafilter locks in just past six o’clock. I’m praying that my uneven grind job will be compensated for by the pliability of the gasket.

–Took a shower. Tried the Wolfman again: titanium handle, WR2 satin head, custom 1.20mm gap. Got a couple of non-self-healing chin nicks. Guess I could try ONCE more with a .80mm WR1 head. I don’t want to lose the titanium handle, but the nicks are getting old.

–Black-dial Omega Constellation came in. Not perfect, but darn nice. And the accessories: box, original receipt from 1964 ($600 Hong Kong dollars), warranty in envelope, AND the COSC certificate!

–Portafilter + gasket came in from Cerini. Very strange: the new portafilter (theoretically identical to the one I mangled) works with both gaskets. It moves .5″ with the thick gasket from Orphan Espresso, and 4″ with the thin gasket from Cerini. The thin gasket seems to be the same as the gasket that came in the 54mm grouphead–from Cerini. It may be “correct,” but that’s the one that started leaking unless I really whanged it over. I’m going with the thicker OE gasket for now. That the portafilter goes in at all with this gasket suggests that the previous portafilter (also from Cerini) had different lugs, which I had file down to get things working. I think the OE gasket will be fine, especially as it wears in. Further: a 15g dose of espresso was hitting the dispersion screen seriously with the thin Cerini gasket. Hopefully this won’t happen with the OE gasket since the portafilter isn’t going in nearly as far.

–Polished the Squale Batman case to a fare-thee-well then put it back together. Noticed (a) the date number 2 was only halfway in, and (b) the watch wasn’t running. Tried all sorts of things, but it’s dead. Tossed it, kept the bezel.

–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final.

–Bought an iPhone 13 Mini, after hours of trying (and failing) to get Android to work with Resound. It works with the Phone Clip, but that’s less than ideal (cannot control wind noise, for example). Was ready to pay $1,029 on eBay, then did a quick google search and found one for $729 at Apple. I’m pretty sure most of the stuff I buy on eBay is just not sold elsewhere (older watches, phones, cameras, etc.), but it sure doesn’t hurt to check.

–Made appointments at Rite-Aid for flu and COVID shots.

–Got the new Samsung S10e running. Turns out NO android phone works directly through hearing aids–you always need an intermediate device, like a Phone Clip (Resound) or AirComp (Phonak). I hooked up the Phone Clip. It paired, and after some fiddling I got it to work. Seems louder than the iPhone (both through hearing aids), but we’ll see. Also seems loud enough just with speaker, but that’s an N of one.

–Chopped up some branches for greenwaste and firewood.

–Sent Lee Elliott another $1,000. What a train wreck…

–Went to the Folsom farmers market for corn, squash. No mandarins yet (“they’re turning color now”).

–Barbecued some Bel Air pork chops. They were a little dry, and corn was a little chewy. Okay, so it’s the official end of barbecue season.

–Got pool shock at Leslie’s, apples/oranges/cheese/decaf beans at Raley’s, quarter-pounder at McDonald’s, sesame bagels at Noah’s.

–Squale blue/red GMT came in. Red is nice, but hands and dial markers (to my shock) are again gilt (gold). I put in an offer for a Mondia GMT in Italy. Looks to me like Squale might even make it.

–Wolbrook new “old style” dive watch came. I was wowed in the photos, but it totally left me cold in person. Too big, unbalanced, I don’t know. Seems like that’s the second time that’s happened recently.

–38mm “Batman” bezel insert came in. Has a nice “wet” look, but colors aren’t spectacular. Haven’t tried hard yet to fit it in (mangled) Squale bezel.

–The absurdly overpriced Rolex 14060 I bought on eBay from Japan ($19,000+) was rejected by the authenticators because they didn’t receive the “pamphlets” shown in the listing (the listing showed a Rolex warranty–was that also missing?). Seller tried to talk me back into it, but I declined. Whew! Gorgeous watch, but $5,000 too much.

–Stouffer’s for dinner. Good stuff. The new Marie, I guess.

–Mowed the lawn; swept up outside; trimmed some dead branches.

–The Squale blue/red GMT I bought on eBay yesterday shows as “out of stock” on my watch list, but doesn’t appear under “completed” or “sold” listings. Strange.

–Roasted some Brazilian coffee from Sweet Maria’s. Went from dark to burnt really fast.

–Bought a Wolfman titanium handle (plus razor and stand) and a vintage black-dialed Omega.

–Soaking a Squale watch in golf club grip solvent to see if I can easily remove the bezel insert. Tried to remove the bezel with the Bergeon tool and the new “gripper” tool: no dice. Those things are absurdly tight. Best bet MIGHT be the four-blade tool used very carefully to avoid bending the insert. Problem: that tool scratches things. Solution: polyimide tape. Maybe. [Edit: nope. Ended up destroying another case and bezel. There was a hint the grip solvent was working, but to change an insert would likely require drilling it in order to have something to grab on to to pull it off. The fit seems tight, even if the glue has been softened.]

–Rain stopped. Pool is actually too low now, after Grace’s panic draining.

–Made pesto pasta for dinner. Yummy of course.

–Squale Dark Knight stopped running. Took the movement out of the case then returned it. Best I can figure, what happened was I hadn’t perfectly replaced the stem before, so all it likely needed was stem jiggling. Anyway, seems to be fine now.

–Took a shower. Finding the Tabac a tad flowery, but not bad. The Gibbs razor continues to excel.

–Swapped the Squale watches back to original. Turns out all 40mm Squales have matte dials, whereas the 42mm watches have glossy dials; glossy is far better. I’ll keep the Batman and Dark Knight, sell everything else.

–Went to Panera for lunch, then Food Maxx for apples and oranges (no tangerines).

–Squale GMT Tropic came in. Great bezel, but dial was underwhelming–so I swapped it with the Dusky dial. Much better. Don’t know what I’m going to do now with the Dusky.

–Got some rain. Rain cricket says .5″, but I doubt it.

–Got a call from the Gun Range. The Python I ordered from Sportsman’s Warehouse a few months ago came in. Went there and filled out the paperwork. Back in ten days to pick it up.

–Mr. Poopy Butthole “action” figure (from Rick & Morty) came in. Pretty cool.

–Made baguettes. Not bad, but not the best. Super-easy recipe, though.

–Got bagels at Noah’s–and got the senior discount.

–Compared (again) Leica C-Lux and Lumix to Leica C. The C is fierce competitor for its size, but the bigger ones with monster zoom still edge it out.

–Played with watches a bit. Actually succeeded in swapping hands on a Squale Batman.

–Went to Black Sails Coffee “warehouse” and got talked into a medium roast coffee (he called it “medium-dark”). He may have lost some business…

–The new portafilter gasket for the Maximatic came in from Orphan Espresso. It is much thicker than the old (original?) one, and prevented the portafilter from locking in. After a LOT of filing and grinding, it works better. Perhaps independent of that (and maybe the actual cause of previous spritzes), the machine really seemed to struggle with my usual 20+ gram dose. I believe I need to (and will) drop down to 18g or so and see how it goes. A coarser grind might also help, although the shots are coming out in what seems like a reasonable amount of time.

–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 8:30 PM.

–Ate lunch at Beach-Hut Deli, met Grace at Bel Air for big shopping.

–Successfully removed/replaced bezel on Squale Batman. Bezel still came loose at an angle (had to pry it the rest of the way with a screwdriver), and insert likely would have broken if it had been ceramic instead of aluminum. I cut a bit off the decagonal spring, which made it much easier to press back on, and I did not replace the click spring–I would have needed at least four hands. Works fine now, though bi-directional.

–Squale Dusky came in. Not mind-boggling, but nice.

–Took a low(ish)-light photo of a Beretta with the Lumix and noticed that ON1 put a slight vignette on it. Tried again with the Leica C-Lux, 109, and Q2: all the same. Absolutely mind-boggling–the software won’t open any Leica file perfectly. Downloaded Capture One (again) and found it (a) opens everything perfectly, and (b) has a nice and easily-customizable interface. Choppy sliders were the problem, and they are better with hardware acceleration turned off. Go figure. Anyway, I bought it for $300. I guess you get what you pay for.

–Made pesto, then made pasta with pesto for dinner. Good stuff.

–Went back and forth with a dealer on a nice Rolex 5513. He only takes wires, I only use PayPal. No go.

–Cleaned up outside; harvested (and ended) Holy Mole and basil plants.

–My slowness of learning continues to astound me. Turns out the Squale Batman came in aluminum AND ceramic bezel inserts, and was 42mm (I can’t really handle anything over 40).

–Squale Batman came. Case has some dings, hour hand has a spot on it, dial has a major dent near the date window. Watch was said to have been serviced, and runs at 0 s/d and 0 beat error, so wondering if the dent was related to service. Hard to imagine though. It’s 42mm (for some reason I was expecting 40), so wondering if I should buy s new 42mm GMT and try to swap stuff around. Bezel insert would be the killer, of course.

–Had lunch at Five Guys, then to Safeway for apples, oranges and dessert.

–Took a shower.

–Rode the Innerlight in a winding path to the entrance of the Folsom South Canal at Sunrise.

–Grrr…played with photo editors some more, found that ON1 and Affinity both showed vignetting on (I believe an older) RW2 file. ACDSee was fine with it, and (as I already knew) has much smoother sliders than ON1. I upgraded to ACDSee 7 for Mac. Still can’t save jpeg’s at 100% by default, and it seems to lack a ton of stuff ON1 has, but smoothness and “opens anything” count for a lot to me.

–Looked online for a Panasonic Lumix TZ200 (same as Leica C-Lux, except it’s RW2 raw files can be opened by most photo editors). They’re $850 (and sold out most places), but Mike’s Camera in Sac had one for $650. I went and bought it, only to discover it had no battery. I’ll take it back Monday when they’ll have another in from a different store. Meanwhile, I put the C-Lux battery in and indeed all my editors would open RW2 files. I’m pretty much settled on ON1.

–Mysteries at eBay. A scenario that fits the observations (though unlikely): Joe Blow hacks my account, buys a $4,000 Squale from excessxpress and refuses to pay–So excessxpress blocks my account. When I try to make an offer on a different excessxpress Squale, I hit the block. And tonight, looking again at eBay Squale Batmen, I see a $3,000 excessxpress watch with an eBay message at the top saying “You bought this item.” Uh, no. I did buy a used Batman a day or two ago from a completely different (private) seller. So: my hacked account bought and reneged on a Batman, so (1) excessxpress blocked me and (2) eBay thinks I bought a Batman from excessxpress. Or something like that.

–Went to the post office to pick up the Bergeon bezel tool. Sellers had put insufficient postage on the package, so I paid it and recouped it from them. Tool is fine, but it still won’t touch a Squale bezel. I spent a while working on a Blu-Ray with the four-bladed tool and finally got it off–with a broken aluminum bezel insert. Terrible, terrible design. I did pull the (Mercedes) hands off for potential use on another Squale.

–Got the brakes adjusted on the InnerLight. Silent, but without a huge amount of “pedal.” And, as someone said on a bike forum, these rotors don’t seem to stop nearly as fast as (say) Avid rotors. Hoping for improvement with pad sanding, rotor break-in, etc.

–Squale Dark Knight came in. Nice, but it needs sun to really shine. Strangely enough, there’s only one other reference to this on the web: A guy in Singapore sold the “one and only” one of these in July 2019, close to the date on mine. Mysteries abound.

–Took Grace shopping to Safeway on Folsom.

–Mowed the lawn.

–Camera lug protectors came in, three weeks late.

–Played some more with photo editors (for maybe the fifth time). They either (a) don’t open RWL files (Leica C-Lux), (b) don’t have a very customizable interface, or (c) run slow and choppy. RAW Power is the only viable Lightroom alternative. It opens everything and is highly customizable–it’s just a little wonky in separating out RAW processing from standard processing.

–Took a shower and shave. Gave up on Lisa’s lavender and the vintage shave sticks: Bigelow rules.

–Rode 18 miles on the ARP with Tom Elken. Exhilarating but tiring.

–Updated the razor database a bit.

–Air quality has been really bad lately–high 120s. Supposed to get better (along with cooler) tomorrow.

–The new disc rotors came in for the InnerLight. Spent hours trying to get them working. Turns out these two-piece rotors have rivets that interfere with protrusions on the brake pads; I found that out after a whole lot of useless tinkering trying to adjust the height of the caliper. I ground down the protrusion, and it works, but (a) the rivets have some nasty scuffs on them and (b) one brake pad has a protrusion ground down. Could get new one-piece discs, new pads, etc. Crap.

–Tried to remove bezel fromSquale Batman. Destroyed bezel and case. Looking for a better bezel remover. (The three-jaw Bergeon just popped loose when pressure was applied. The four-jawed screw-type started to pull off the bezel, but wouldn’t finish and marred the case.)

–Squale GMT Ceramica Pepsi came in. Fine, but nothing special.

–Went to Sunrise farmers market for Crazy Gringo meat pies, peaches, jam.

–Polder gram scale came in. Seems cheaply built, but it should be fine for coffee beans.

–Paid State Farm homeowners policy bill of $1,736. Seems like a lot.

–Devon’s Jewelers called. Service estimate for the Rolex 1803 is $1,300; they would sell me a new bracelet for $11,000. The estimate said “The current bracelet is not appropriate for this model Rolex.” To me, that sounds like they’re saying the bracelet is legit. Yes!

–Changed thermostats from cool to heat.

–Put a new brake cable on the InnerLight. Turns out it was the wrong cable (Road instead of Mountain), but I don’t know if that explains all the problems I had. Ordered a Mountain cable set from Amazon. The front disk, which appears to be pretty flat on the truing stand, looks like a warped LP on the bike. I don’t understand, and may order new discs too.

–Walked to Bel Air after dinner for dessert and sundries.

–Went to Shingle Springs (Cameron Park) for the farmers market and the Crazy Gringo. Ordered some meat pies for Friday pickup, bought some tomatoes, salsa, jam.

–Rode the Johnny Cash Trail with Tom Elken. Mighty hilly.

–Bing redirect virus seems to have hit again. I deleted Chrome and reinstalled it. I then spent a LONG time deleting years-old passwords and updating the list. Wish there were a cleaner way of doing this. Would try Safari, but I don’t think the paywall bypass hack would work there.

–Took Grace for big shopping at Food Maxx. Half the customers were maskless.

–Played with InnerLight brakes. Probably a mistake. Ended up (a) using a rasp to enlarge the bolt holes in the front brake housing so I could more accurately center it, and (b) fraying the inner brake cable, necessitating the online purchase of a replacement. Crap.

–SamuraiStuart suji came in. It’s okay, but handle is weird (fat and tapered) and blade is nothing special. Will toss. Konosuke HD suji also came in, with Stefan handle. Handle is good; blade required lots of cleanup with Scotchbrite belts to be acceptable. I guess Kono HDs are in fact stainLESS.

–Lost day.

–Rode the canal on the InnerLight. Tough upwind, easy down.

–Made a pizza for dinner. Insanely thick/bready crust.

–Bought a tritinova dial on eBay from Italy last night. Will put it on the 5512 and see how it goes.

–Took a shower, took a shave. Martin de Candre Agrumes scent (lemon) is a little too artificial. Fougere was fine, but I suspect I’ll end up with something British like vetiver or lavender.

–Our friend Travis from Aztec Solar came out to fix a leak. Found a couple more. As before, he was puzzled by apparent inability of strong pump to move water to top of panels. Played a bit with the pump control. Don’t know if he really changed anything. He said “No charge, under warranty,” so I gave him $40, which he appreciated. [edit: Got a bill on the 28th from Aztec for $119. I’m sure Travis knew they would be sending a bill–he would have had to tell them “time on site” so they could calculate charges. Jerk.]

–Finally found “dehaze” in Lightroom. Yay!

–Mailed off Noah’s gifts and the Rolex 1680.

–Put gas in the Honda.

–Rode the Humbug Trail in Folsom with Tom Elken. Nice day, but lots of folks walking the trail.

–Changed hearing aid batteries at 6 PM.

–Went to Noah’s Bagels for…bagels; got milk and cream cheese at Raley’s.

–iPhone SE 2016 came in–0 cycles on the battery (phew!). Got it set up.

–Takamura Uchigomo 210 gyuto came in. Needed some cleaning, but now it’s nice.

–Mowed the law.

–Tried to test the Mares regulator sent to me from Germany by mistake. Because it’s European (I believe) the fittings don’t match. Don’t know what I’ll do with it–Pauli’s Tauchshop hasn’t responded.

–Took a shower. My birth-year razor (forgot what model it is) worked like a charm.

–Bought lots of stuff at Folsom and Sunrise farmers markets.

–Fair Oaks Chicken Festival moved from downtown to Fair Oaks Park. We learned this when we went at 11 AM; we also learned that it would start at 3 PM. Had lunch at Five Guys, came home.

–Replacement Weishi Timegrapher came in. Seems Fine.

–Cooler weather is here–for a while, anyway.

–Took Grace to Folsom for ultrasound and mammogram. Had “breakfast” at Peet’s; bought floss/Noxzema pads/shampoo at Target.

–Went to Orangevale farmers market for tomatoes, squash, peaches. Still no Salsa Chick.

–Went to the dermatologist. Was seen by a PA, not an MD. BUT it was the most thorough exam I’ve ever had, and she froze a sunspot and a couple of barnacles (seborrheic keratoses) free-for-nothin’.

–Barbecued some turkey burgers/corn/potato slices. (1) Turkey burgers were better on the indoor grill, where (I theorize) they get hotter and more charred, tasting less like thawed turkey. (2) Note to self: don’t use russets for barbecuing; they came out dry and mealy.

–Rode the canal with Tom Elken.

–Grace noticed a spouting leak in the solar panels; Aztec will be out the 24th. That’s like the third (at least) leak.

–Took a swim; took a shower.

–Mowed the lawn.

–Cleaned up a wee bit.

–Took Grace shopping at Bel Air.

–Left hearing aid battery died at 5 PM. Replaced both around 8 PM.

–Went to the Sunrise farmers market for Honeycrisp apples; the vendor selling them last week wasn’t there. Got some tiny Fujis and some Sunsprite pears from (possibly) the same vendor we frequented last season.

–And dot’s about it.

–What a day. Spent 2.5 hours at Verizon trying to get Grace’s phone activated. Seems there was a pending order (probably my first of several) that has to be canceled before activation. Should be any day now…

–Took a shower. Things are better…and it RAINED last night.

–Took Grace to Sutter Roseville Medical Center for a blood draw; took my 1803 to Devon’s for them to send to Rolex.

–Made turkey burgers for dinner on the inside grill. Good stuff.

–Took Grace’s watch (which I messed up) to Ivanov’s.

–Took a swim.

–Rolex 1680 came in. Nice.

–Took a swim.

–Slow day. Took a swim, watched Dr. Blake.

–Went to Chalk It Up. Chalkers were a little sparse, but lots of viewers. Ate a hot dog.

–Heard from Kirill Yuzh. He presented decent evidence that the 18k rivet bracelet on the Rolex 1803 is at least partly fake. And apparently the buyer of the 5512 is questioning the authenticity of the rivet bracelet on THAT watch (I had forgotten there was a rivet bracelet on it). Whatta buncha crap…

–Pruned and fertilized plants in the side garden. Clementine is actually showing signs of growth, after a year or more.

–Pool STILL 83, too cool for swimming.

–Rolex 1803 came back (buyer in Italy questioned authenticity of bracelet, so Kirill Yuzh had to take it back). After looking at a fair number of similar bracelets, I believe this one is genuine.

–Naomi from Verizon called. After a hangup and a recall so she could reboot her computer, the line went dead (probably our fault) and she hasn’t called back hours later. I fear she may think we quit in disgust. Who knows?

–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 7 PM.

–Spent hours trying to activate Grace’s iPhone. Seems I might have messed up by trying to activate several times with the wrong Total Wireless account number. Finally got an account number (which bore no resemblance to any number I’ve ever seen) and maybe her phone will be working tomorrow.

–Crap.

–Went to ST Strawberries for…..strawberries. Six baskets, $14.

–Took a swim.

–Rode around El Dorado Hills with Tom. Kinda wiped me out. Must ride more.

–Took a swim; took a shower.

–Went to Noah’s for bagels, Peet’s for decaf beans.

–Tried to go to (two different) McDonald’s for lunch; both were fenced off for remodeling. Ate at Burger King.

–Took a swim.

–Took a swim. Water was too warm at 87 (set for 86). Dialed it back to 85. Air is a little less smoky; sun is a little brighter.

–Barbecued turkey burgers, corn, squash. Tasty.

–Swapped SIM from iPhone to Samsung Flip. Was able to install Resound app and it found hearing aids, but couldn’t pair with them. Put SIM back in iPhone, then got 14 messages saying I had been unregistered from Verizon. What?? I was able to re-register, but I wish I knew what was going on. This didn’t happen when I swapped SIM from SE 1st gen to SE 2020.

–Went to Verizon on Olson to cut through the transfer maze. Got a phone number for porting; I doubt that this is published anywhere on the web. Called it and got Dena, whom I could actually understand. She said Total Wireless had already started the transfer, and the delay was because Verizon didn’t want to go live before I had a SIM, which they thought was coming Monday. Dena expedited things and we’re all good now. iPhone SE 1st gen is kaput. It had battery issues last night, seemed charged this morning, but I cracked the glass when trying to close it back up seamlessly after playing with a connector. Don’t know if I’ll order another or not.

–Had dinner at Il Forno Classico. Very good. Stopped by Bel Air for corn, tortilla chips, dessert, etc.

–Again too cool to swim–just (84 at 3 PM).

–Played with phones a lot, to no avail.