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day 2 of the sourdough bread starter required that i dump out half and then add half a cup of flour and half a cup of warm water. i'm still a few days away from having my viable starter, but i'm operating under less than ideal conditions. besides the lack of warmth, i'm also using bleached all-purpose flour (unbleached is better). but if our ancient forebears figured out how to make bread this way, i'm sure i can do it too.

around noontime i went to market basket to pick up some french bread pizza ingredients (most importantly, a long loaf of french bread). i was in the 12 items or less line and noticed a woman standing in the same kind of line but with her 40 items or more. when the cashier told her this was the 12 items or less line, she looked up at the sign sheepishly and said, "oh really?" i couldn't tell if she was putting on an act or maybe she's never shopped in a supermarket before.

after some oatmeal for lunch followed by a smoothie (yogurt + frozen fruit + juice + ginger), i went out for a run in the afternoon. one problem with solo running is not pushing myself hard enough; as soon as i get just a little bit tired, i slow down to a walk. i used to think it was just an endurance issue, but i can't remember the last time i ran non-stop. that should be my goal. on the final half mile to the finish line, some football player decided to run along side me for some reason. running etiquette says you either pass or stay behind. naturally i found it annoying so i picked up my pace to a sprint. a minute later the football player was back, catching up and running a little further ahead. by then i was done with running, too spent to get further involved in a pissing contest with some teenage athlete.

when i returned home i was going to go back out to the mt.auburn cemetery to look for owls, but it was already too late, with the cemetery closing at 4:30.

i managed to take care of some other errands though. i bought a used replacement chrome-plated rear brake pedal for my motorcycle from ebay. the part itself was just $8 (brand new it would've cost $80), but shipping and handling cost $13. there was a similar but newer item being auctioned, but i forgot to check up on its progress and the deal expired on thursday.

i called comcast's retention department threatening them with the possibility that my parents might switch over to verizon FIOS if comcast can't lower their cable/internet bill. the woman i was talking to sounded like she couldn't be bothered with my request, and dropped "sirs" like they were f-bombs. she wasn't telling me anything new and some of the things she said were contrary to information i already read online, so i didn't know who to believe. we finally arrived at a deal where she could reduce the bill to $60 for 6 months (versus the $100 it is now). when i told her i needed some time to think about it, she asked, "so, do you want this deal or not?" i told her verizon FIOS was offering an $80 internet/cable deal for 2 years, and that's with faster internet and HDTV cable. she told me that deal wasn't real, but i'm not sure how she could even come to that conclusion since she doesn't work for verizon. basically, my phone call to comcast's retention department assured my parents switching over to verizon FIOS. nevertheless, comcast or verizon, both services are kind of a ripoff.

in the early evening (6:00) i got a call from somebody selling some PC3200 computer memories through craig's list. i wrote the person earlier today saying i'd be interested, and the guy was getting back to me. since it was still daylight out, i asked if i could come by and pick them up now. he said sure, and gave me his address in roslindale. after staring at a map for a few minutes, trying to memorize my route, i left on the motorcycle. it took about 40 minutes to get there, cutting across kenmore square and jamaica plain. temperature was 52 degrees and i could see my breath. the only part of my body that was cold were my hands, and my eyes watered up whenever i was going fast. when i got close to the correct address, there was a man yelling my name from the street corner - my dealer! why he didn't just wait at his house i don't know, maybe didn't feel safe making a deal in his home, although doing it out in the open on the street seemed just as sketchy. and was he standing on the street corner this whole time? anyway, $40 for 2x 1gb PC3200 memories, which i'm going to install on that computer i recently gave to my mother (she says it's too slow).

the ride back was colder, and i put my hands in my jacket pockets whenever i pulled to a stop. there was a pretty sunset and i was tempted to stop to get some photos, but i also wanted to get home as soon as possible. i stopped off at a bank to cash a final check from client B before getting back.

as advertised, i made some french bread pizza for dinner. two halves were too little, and 4 pieces was too much. the first two i made had pepperoni and mushrooms. i used bread from the tip, which is narrower, that's why i didn't feel like i had enough. the next two i made had pepperoni, olives, and some fennel seeds scattered within the tomato sauce.