i made good time because i got there in just 20 minutes. because of the coronavirus there are less vendors, but the fishmonger and the raw oyster bar were both back. there wasn't much to be had, and i was only there for 20 minutes. i left with 2 pineapples ($3), 2 boxes of blueberries ($2), 2 boxes of strawberries ($3), 6 fuyu persimmons ($3), 2 hachiya persimmons ($1), 5 cactus pears ($2), and a bag of grapes ($2).
the clouds overhead got darker, it wasn't a good sign. while i was about to leave, it started to rain. not a light drizzle, but something more substantial, the kind of rain that makes you go inside so you don't get soaked. i had no choice but to bike home in the rain (wasn't sure when it'd stop). i didn't mind since i could dry off once i got back, but the combination of rain plus face mask made my glasses fog up something fierce and i could barely see. a few times i had to use my fingers and windshield wipers. luckily it was warm (70's, i only had my t-shirt), otherwise it'd be even more miserable. the rain soaked through my jeans, making them feel heavy and stick to my legs. after a few minutes in cambridge the rain stopped but i was already drenched, could feel the water squishing in my shoes. it took me a bit longer to get back home, 25 minutes this time. i stripped out of my wet clothes and ironically took a hot shower after just being in a cold shower.
i wanted to replace the macbook pro battery today. first step was to drain the old battery, lessen the danger of it exploding while i'm removing it from the laptop. the old battery can hold a charge for about 1-1/2 hours. once it went down to 0% and my macbook pro automatically went to sleep, it was time for surgery (5pm).
the ninjabatt replacement battery ($45) i got came with two screwdrivers: an apple proprietary pentalobe and a normal hex. opening up the macbook pro was very easy, just remove the 10 pentalobe screws at the bottom of the laptop. the thing i saw immediately was swelling on 4-5 of the 6 battery packs. i never noticed any weird bulging on my macbook but the battery definitely needed to be replaced if they're in this condition. i also noticed how dusty it was inside the computer, particularly the fans. i brought the computer close to the back door and blew out all the dust with a can of compressed air. back at the table, i then worked the computer in detail, removing more dust.
once all the dust was cleaned up, it was time to remove the battery (or batteries in this case). the way ifixit and OWC does it involves taking apart most of the computer. i believe they do this because the acetone they use to remove the glue can damage some of the plastic components. however, the way i was going to remove the battery packs was to use some string, and i don't even use any acetone. 
jut so happens last week i found some nylon string out on the street, perfect for the job. i started with the battery packs on the outermost edges. the nylon string didn't seem to work, so i got some waxed dental floss. the floss worked a little better, but i still couldn't cut my way through the glue. the floss must've loosened the adhesive at least, because once i went back to the string, it was much easier the second time. so that was my technique, using the string first, followed by floss, then back to string. i coiled the string/floss around my hands so they wouldn't dig into my fingers as i "sawed" my way through the glue. later i put on some gardening gloves but it was already too late, because i noticed blisters on my fingers.
i worked slow and deliberate, periodically touch the lithium ion packs to make sure they weren't getting warm and about to explode. eventually i managed to detach all 6 battery packs. i then spent some time with alcohol and cotton balls/swabs to remove the remaining adhesive packing left behind on the computer. this is kind of an unnecessary step, since nobody sees this area anyway, but i did just so i could have a clean surface to work with.
i got out the new battery and aligned it. the connector cable had these strands of stiff wires that i bent into shape in order to fit in the recessed area of the computer. once i was satisfied with the position, i removed the adhesive film and put the battery in place. besides the new adhesive backing, the battery was also held in place but two hex screws (hence the other screwdriver). i screwed back the bottom of the laptop and flipped the computer over. i heard two snapping sounds which made me nervous, but i think macbook pro was just settling back into place.
i fired up the power and it gave me a strang icon warning that seemed to say "plug in the computer." when i plugged it in it started up just fine. when i checked the battery status, it was already at 98%, and the system seemed to read it fine, so i'm not sure what that warning was about. maybe the first time you put in a new battery, it wants you to use a charger as well for safety reasons. i watched as the battery slowly charged to 100%.
i then put the battery through the calibration protocol: charging it 2 hours, unplug it, let it drain down to 0% and let the computer go to sleep, wait 5 hours, recharge the battery again.
for dinner i boiled some frozen homemade chinese dumplings. i love dumplings and want to learn how to make them from my parents so i can make them myself and not be dependent on them to make it for me. homemade is way better than any store bought frozen dumplings. i like dumplings that have thick skins, so it's like eating noodles.
i ate while watching the second episode of the good lord bird on my macbook pro. i pulled the charge cable to begin the battery drain portion of the calibration. i noticed after an hour of use, it used up 20% of the battery (this with the screen on full brightness). that means a fully charged battery can be used for 5 hours. i don't know if that's good or not, but certainly better than what i had before, which was 1-1/2 hours maximum on battery power. i think new macbook pro batteries last 10+ hours on a single charge. another thing i noticed after replacement the battery is how quiet my macbook pro is now. i think that had less to do with the battery and more to do with the fact that i clean out all the dust. dust probably had a negative effect on the old battery as well, causing the processor to run hotter, which in turn caused the fans to run more frequently. now it's super quiet, i guess i got used to having the fans always be running on the laptop.
i finished watching bullets of justice (2019), a bulgarian-kazakhstan post-apocalyptic scifi horror action film. set in american after WWIII where big-human hybrids called "muzzles" have taken over the world, farming humans for food. somehow they managed to get danny trejo to play a smart part as the father of rob justice, the main character. words can't describe how twisted the movie is, and every few minutes there's something shocking onscreen. the ending's kind of stupid and out of left field, the film should be enjoyed for what it is, not to think too hard about it and make sense of plot holes.
this seemed to be a week of fixing things. yesterday it replacing the thermocouple on the cafe furnace. wednesday was rewiring the cafe nest thermostat and replacing the upstairs apartments honeywell thermostat with another nest thermostat. tuesday was about self repair, as i went to the hospital for my gastroenterologist appointment which turned out to be the wrong day (actually right day, just the wrong year).
i started to get a low battery warning on my macbook pro starting before 1am. i watched as the capacity decreased from 7% to 2%. it stayed at 2% for almost 15 minutes before the computer went to force sleep because it was out of power. now i leave the computer like this for 5+ hours before recharging it fully.