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caulking the edge of the faucet fixture didn't stop it from leaking. so late last night i also caulked the gap between the faucet head and the base. when i turned on the water this morning, there was no more leaks. it seems for the time being i don't need to replace the faucet.

i hung up the clothesline in my backyard deck before washing a few small area rugs by hand in the bathtub. 2 of the rugs are from the guest bedroom, which are too big for the washer. i never cleaned them before because they've always been dirt-free - that was until bram my last roommate who likes to wear his dirty shoes inside the house. he left some muddy shoe prints who i managed to removed with a stain stick before giving the rugs a scrub down with some liquid detergent and a cleaning brush. i also washed the bathroom carpet. that one is small enough that i can throw it into the washing machine, but the rubber backing has started to flake off so i decided to wash it by hand instead.

later i hung up the rugs outside to dry. it might take more than a day but fortunately we have a string of dry weather for the next few days. i might leave up the clothesline afterwards to dry some clothes outdoors (save a few dollars by not having to run the dryer).

close to noontime i rode my bicycle to central square for the annual cambridge caribbean parade. i locked my bike at the intersection of mass ave and main street, then walked to the end of river street to the parade staging area. i watched the start of the parade from there (a bit after 12:30) but decided to walk up back towards central square.

i shot entirely with the telephoto. since i've been to this parade a few times already, it wasn't that important to document everything. instead, i had the freedom to be more selection, to try and get that perfect shot, or be creative. in the end however, i just shot randomly.

the nice weather was the main problem. the cambridge carnival has a terrible route, traveling roughly west to east up river street. when the sky is cloudy it's not a problem, but when the sun comes out, it illuminates the backs of the parade people, leaving their faces in shadow. i knew this so shot very little from river street, or if did, i'd try shooting towards the east.

mass ave was better, with the route now roughly traveling south. but the buildings on the southern side of mass ave cast tall shadows that left half the street in shade. the trick was to stand in front of a short building that'd cast the least amount of shadows.

from central square i walked to main street, then hung out around mass ave for a bit, waiting to see if there was anymore parade coming down. when i saw the end of the procession (marked by the street sweeper trucks), i got on my bike and continued eastward down main street towards kendall square. once again, the lighting was all wrong, combined with tall shadows from the nearby buildings. i waited along windsor street taking a few more photos before leaving a bit more 2:30.

at the intersection of beacon and washington, i took a photo of the knit graffiti in front of the biscuit cafe. i should've captured it weeks ago, when it was still in good shape. now after being in the elements, it was hardly recognizable, and i actually couldn't find it at first.

after a quick shower, i took the motorcycle to belmont. my father was in the bedroom watching a motorcycle touring show (of western china), my mother was in the living room knitting another beret for my godmother. i watched the federer-djokovic match, disappointed that federer lost when it looked like he was on the verge of winning. are we witnessing the waning days of the once might federer? i hope not. he seemed to be a fan favorite, much to the annoyance of djokovic, who couldn't help but notice the crowd were cheering more for federer. now that roger's out, i have zero interest in watching the rest of the US open.

after dinner we watched a 9/11 documentary on the national geographic channel. i was waiting for my sister to complain since normally she hates all documentaries and never much cared about current events (especially if they're depressing or sad), so i was surprised that she seemed to be genuinely interested in the program. all this week i've been trying to avoid watching any 9/11 stuff, just to keep away from reliving those painful memories, although i did see a documentary on how they killed osama bin laden. the national geographic program had some footage i'd never seen before, like videos of people jumping out of the towers (i'd seen a few before, but i didn't realize there were so many, and they had audio of the bodies hitting the ground). they also had some recordings i never heard before, like the cockpit messages.

i came home around 9:00, the weather chilly enough that i rubbed my bare arms whenever i came to a traffic light stop to stay warm. for the first time in months i actually yearned for a warm jacket. i'm definitely taking down the air conditioner next week. autumn is a'coming!