cambridge has started curbside recycling recently and i've already collected a large bin of organic trash. the weird thing is it doesn't smell at all, despite all the banana and orange peels, lettuce hearts, sunflower shells, eggshells, used paper towels, and teabags i've thrown inside. it also hasn't attracted any insects but it's still early in the season that bugs aren't out yet. it's kind of a shame that i can't use all this organic waste myself, but i don't have enough space in the backyard to set up a compost bin, plus it would also rats as i live in a fairly urban area. i've noticed a good part of my trash is organic matter. now that i've been separately out my trash, i don't seem to need to throw out my regular trash as often, maybe every 2 weeks or so. however, now my regular trash has a terrible smell because i threw out some chicken breast packaging a few days ago.

my epica citrus juicer arrived shortly after noontime. i was very excited and couldn't wait to play with it after i finished eating my prosciutto egg english muffin sandwich for lunch. it's a lot taller than my braun juicer, but looks sturdier and has the necessary heft. i noticed the spout was detached and i couldn't figure out how to attach it after a cursory look, so i consulted the manual. the manual gave no instructions on attaching the spout. so i gave it a closer look and realized to my horror that the spout had actually broken off, two screw hole mounts on the main plastic receptacle where it snapped off. maybe i could superglue it back, but this was unacceptable for a brand new machine. it was strange that the juicer arrived in its retail box, normally it'd be packaged in another box with some packaging bubbles. and the box itself had a few puncture marks, which might've explained the damaged spout, but everyone else looked normal.

the quickest course of action would be to return it and buy a new one; since it had free 1-day delivery through amazon, i could have another juicer as early as tomorrow friday. but i heard epica has good customer service (their appliances have lifetime warranties) so i called up the company instead to see if they had a better solution. i got a service representative would asked for my amazon order number, which seemed strange, because i didn't order directly through epica but rather from a 3rd party amazon vendor, but the rep was actually able to pull up my info anyway, knew my address at least. the rep said they could replace the broken spout free of charge, but it'd take a few days to arrive. i told her it'd be quicker if i returned and replaced the juicer via amazon, and she said it was my decision, so i opted to do that instead. after ordering another epica juicer, i printed out a return mailing label and taped it to the box i was returning. before i packaged up the broken device, i did try it out briefly, pressed down on the reamer as it was plugged in. it rotated well, good torque, and was quieter than my braun juicer. low noise is one of its advertised features, not something i was specifically looking for, but appreciated nevertheless. it almost seems too quiet, as i associate loud noise with a more powerful motor. hopefully i get a better unit tomorrow so i can juice the 10 navel oranges still in my fridge.

at least today we produced more electricity (38.30kWh) than yesterday but it was not a record day and we didn't break 40kWh. an upper 30kWh average is still pretty good; the amount of clear sky to produce more than 40kWh is simply unrealistic. maybe if we lived in the dry desert, but here in new england with our multi-variable weather and being so close to the ocean, there are always clouds in the sky. a perfectly clear day for the entirety of the day is rare.

i ate my leftover beef stew for dinner, along with some roasted asparagus with garlic (20 minutes at 400°F in the oven) and a glass of chocolate milk. for dessert, some blood orange slices followed by half a dozen cream puffs. i blame the cream puffs (i am increasingly lactose intolerant after all), but it could've easily been any number of things i had for dinner, as i suffered through several bouts of explosive diarrhea the rest of the night.