Low-Fat Microwave Pork Rinds // Work // Bike stuff

Surprisingly tasty! Gene had a bag that be picked up at Ukrops in Fredericksburg; they crisp up nicely in the microwave, are a bit more difficult to time properly than popcorn since they're not cooking audibly, and are significantly healthier than most popcorn--a 1.5oz serving has only 60 calories (20 from fat) and 2% of faily sat. fat! Also, they're tasty. :) We also had a discussion of other snack foods, including the apparent godliness of warm Krispy Kreme donuts. I've only ever had room-temp boxed KKs, so apparently I'm missing out--but as I understand it, there's a KK factory within a couple miles of my house, with fresh warm donuts all the time! :)

I forgot my ID badges at home, less than a day after getting them, so I got to wear a "Visitor - No Escort Required" badge until lunchtime when I went home to get them (and to eat lunch.) Morning was pretty boring--not much to do in the lab at the moment--but the hour before lunch and the 3 hours after lunch were spent assembling more Lookouts. Apparently, I'm more knowledgeable about their assembly than most of the techs I was working with, which is interesting because I only learned how to assemble them earlier this week. :)

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If the weather between here and VA Beach for the weekend is as hot as it was this afternoon--mid-90s--I'll have to spring for lighter motorcycle gear before then. ... Weather.com indicates it'll be about 10 degrees cooler.. we'll see.
I also want to get at least a replacement thumbscrew to reattach one of the windshield supports for my bike, and possibly a new, clear windshield because I'd like the look better. Now, to find a Yamaha dealer around here..

That was some remarkable greenery.

The front lawn, in the past few weeks of rain and then sun and heat, had grown a bit wild, to the tune of 10-12" high. Since the homeowner's association mandates <6" grass or they cut it for you and charge you $25 for the service, I opted to mow it.

However, mowing it has a prerequisite of getting the lawnmower from the backyard shed to the front yard, either through the house or through the back gate and around--I choose the latter. However, if I thought the front yard was bad.. well, the back yard has been increasingly awesomely overgrown for quite some time now--it's only been mowed a few times in the past year and a half, and well, some of the weeds were taller than the 6-foot fence. Most of the yard was well over a foot, much of it 2-3 feet or more. In fact, it was overgrown to the point that I would've been wading through it just to get to the back gate with the lawnmower.

So, I decided to test the mower's mettle on this short jungle. It fared remarkably well for a little electric mower, though it still took many passes to hack it all down. Halfway through, I stopped and took a picture--and called my dad back* during the break--so that you all can see just what I was dealing with. (Only Melody truly understands at this point. ;) I then finished and started raking, Nathan arrived and saw what I'd done, paid me $5 for his lack of workout Tuesday night, and then ordered pizza for us. I proceeded to string-trim the edges and rake more, mow over the lawn again, and then mowed the front lawn that was my original intent. (During this mowing, I popped the circuit breaker, which apparently supplies the front-hall sockets, kitchen, and family room. :P) Also during the mowing, I met one of the neighbors ( former coma patient with a plate in his head, and a formerly-thoroughly-broken hand) and their adorable beagle puppy Molly. :)

* Dad got the clutch slave cylinder assembly, which will require removal of the transmission to replace--a multi-day task, to be sure--so we'll start that tomorrow evening, and work on it more Sunday afternoon after I get back from VA Beach.