–Went to Black Sails Coffee “warehouse” and got talked into a medium roast coffee (he called it “medium-dark”). He may have lost some business…
–The new portafilter gasket for the Maximatic came in from Orphan Espresso. It is much thicker than the old (original?) one, and prevented the portafilter from locking in. After a LOT of filing and grinding, it works better. Perhaps independent of that (and maybe the actual cause of previous spritzes), the machine really seemed to struggle with my usual 20+ gram dose. I believe I need to (and will) drop down to 18g or so and see how it goes. A coarser grind might also help, although the shots are coming out in what seems like a reasonable amount of time.
–Replaced hearing aid batteries around 8:30 PM.