Brain Dump

The gutter company showed up around 4:30 this afternoon. I figured maybe they'd do some quick and easy pieces and come back tomorrow to finish. Nope. They did the whole house and the garage in a hair over three hours. Woo, we have gutters! Unfortunately, with that comes "writing the balance due check to the contractor". Ah well, it was worth it.
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I ordered a few things from Amazon early this week, and the first box arrived. One of those things was a spare flashlight in case my current EDC light goes toes-up. Leatherman no longer produces the Serac series (the S2 is my light), so I got the current iteration of it - the "Monarch 300". It's non-dimmable, single-AAA battery, with a claimed 16 lumens and 2-hour run time. I took it out of the box and the first thing that leaped out at me was "MADE IN CHINA". Damn.

Quality doesn't feel as good as the S2, either, although I can't pinpoint why. It feels bigger and clunkier, but when placed side-by-side, they are within about 1mm of each other in all dimensions.

Beam quality is good, with a faint green cast to it, and a much more focused hotspot than the S2.
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I've been having some issues with the Palm Pre lately. Specifically, when I turn on the mobile hotspot (my internet access at home) it drops the 2-3 bars of 3G service to two bars of 1X service. Not ok. On top of that, it gets hot enough to make touching it very uncomfortable. I went to the local Verizon store today and talked to a tech there. He nodded, said they had had a few reports of heat issues, and the phone was going to be replaced under warranty - and it should be here tomorrow. I am pleasantly surprised - I expected I'd have to argue. Nice.
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Stopped at Lowe's while downtown to speak with the manager. I've been in there a few times looking at doors and door-related stuff, and the guy I've talked to has always been attentive, pleasant, helpful, and not pushy. I know managers usually only hear complaints, but this guy was worth a compliment.
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Came home and made mac'n'cheese from scratch. Used this recipe, but up the cheese: 1/2lb each of sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and swiss, added 1/4c. butter, and a head of broccoli florets. The butter was unnecessary, but the swiss and broccoli were excellent. More bacon next time, too.

I think that wraps it up for tonight...