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i went to belmont this morning to reinstall the windshield. i rode the windshield-less honda shadow spirit motorcycle last night for the very first time and it felt weird, like something was wrong. installing the windshield would also give me the chance to take some measurements, figure out which national cycle windshield i have so i could replace it. riding the motorcycle this morning wasn't so bad. the extra visibility when i don't have a windshield felt like i was flying on the road. it actually felt safer because i saw everything, no obstructed view.

national cycle makes quick-release windshields; unfortunately that's not the one that i have. reattaching the windshield was a little difficult, it's really a two-person job: one person to hold the windshield, the other person to screw in the bolts and spacers. it took a while but i finally got it mounted (using two similar sized combination wrenches, one metric, one english), leaving my t-shirt completely sweat-soaked afterwards from the heat.

next i went to work on the char broil barbecue grill. i wanted to remove the burners so i can check if they can be cleaned or need to be replaced. i thought it'd be easy but like the windshield, it turned out to be very difficult; in fact it was impossible because i couldn't remove any of the screws, all of them baked stuck. i sprayed with WD-40 but they still wouldn't budge and i didn't want to risk stripping the screws so i didn't try to force it, letting the lubricating oil soak in longer.

after watering the garden, i returned to cambridge. i had a yogurt for lunch. in the afternoon i watered the back and front yard. i also cut the old rubbermaid trash can in half so the garbage truck can take it tomorrow. i then went to market basket to pick up some groceries, including a rotisserie chicken, half of which i ate when i returned home.

i measured my motorcycle windshield. i thought it was the N2210 wide frame touring windshield, but it's actually the N2220 narrow frame custom windshield. the retail price for a new N2220 is $210, not including the mounting brackets (which i already have, but those cost an additional $105). but national cycle also sells replacement windshield screens, which costs about half the price of a full screen. i can get the same screen, or go with the low boy variant N2221 ($115), which is about 5" lower but means i don't have to look through the shield but rather over it, which is the preferred configuration. i knew national cycle windshields were top of the line (polycarbonate instead of cheaper acrylic), therefore they're the most expensive. but i didn't realize just how good they were until i saw a youtube video comparing national cycle windshields with generic acrylic ones. they're virtually indestructible, at one point in the demo they shoot the windshield with a handgun and a shotgun, while the acrylic shattered on impact, the national cycle polycarbonate withstood the damage.

in the evening i took the other half of the rotisserie chicken and made chicken stock out of it. i then used the broth and made myself some rice noodles for dinner.

while fiddling with an ESP8266 board, i accidentally dropped it onto my computer, where it nicked the screen, leaving a small but noticeable mark. fortunately it's at the bottom of the screen and not very noticeable, but i notice it. it kind of looks like a dead pixel. it's just something i'll have to live with, i think most people wouldn't even see it.