It’s Over, Thanos is a real jerk

So my final weekend of my staycation was just like the rest of it, enjoyable.  On Friday I got weeding and mowing out of the way, making the weekend as chore free as possible.  I had a good time concentrating on doing whatever I felt like working on.  Have I mentioned that my staycation made it absolutely clear that I could retire tomorrow and be absolutely content?

Saturday night we finally got to see Infinity Wars, a movie I have been anticipating forever.  I was fearful of being let down like the last Star Wars movie where mountains of anticipation is met with a lackluster actual experience.  Thankfully, as is most often the case with Marvel movies, they got it right.  The movie was epic and exciting with the just the right mix of drama and humor.  Until we were ordering our water before the movie, I had no idea that there was a part two to Infinity War.  After watching it the reason for a part two was obvious.  Despite a MASSIVE cast of heroes, I thought they did an amazing job of making the movie feel balanced where everyone had their moment to shine in different ways.  There was only one scene where I thought to myself “This is a really dumb way to accomplish this goal”, otherwise I just held on and enjoyed the ride from start to finish.  A+

My last day of staycation on Sunday was just like the rest of it, fun.  We went out for an EUC ride, well I rode while Cindy walked with Sadie and Elsa at North Collier Regional park.  It was a short but enjoyable time in the beautiful weather.

During the afternoon I spent at least a couple hours digging hardcore into my new 3D printer, something you don’t normally expect to have to do when you buy something.  The end result was positive although I went through a lot of negative to get there.

Late in the evening Cindy and I headed out for a quick ride across the street, her on the Segway I2, me on the Msuper.  It was cool cruising during a different part of the day.  I used to do a lot more late day riding but it has tailed off during the last year.

It was a great week off and I look forward to the time where working becomes an option and not a requirement.

 

Commute

Yesterday I used my Monster to go pick up my Tacoma which was in for it’s 20,000 mile service. I hitched a ride with Cindy who had to go to work which got me two thirds of the way there already.  I originally wanted to just ride all the way from home but Cindy felt less worried if I did it this way.  The ride only took around 15 minutes and left me wanting more.

My new 3D printer showed up yesterday.  I took a good chunk of the afternoon setting it up and testing it out.  I was disappointed when I discovered a Z coupler was stretched out and needed to be replaced.  Luckily I just happened to have a spare that I never used.  Swapping it in wasn’t too tough.   The printer has a large build volume which is one of the big reasons I was interested in it.  It has some quirks as well that I am trying to get figured out but I think it will be a great addition to my 3D printing farm.

Today is Friday already meaning my staycation is winding down.  I am planning to front load today with a couple chores that normally would be relegated to the weekend.  I really have enjoyed having a full week off without a MASSIVE project dominating my time.

Complete

Yesterday the roofers were again back bright and early with a reduced workforce since there was only the front facing side of the roof to strip and prepare.  After doing the chicken chores and a few other things Elsa and I headed out to Home Depot.  I wanted to get a new timer for the pool pump.  The old timer switch was so stiff that it actually bent the tabs that are used to turn the pump on and off.

Elsa had her normal up and down Home Depot experience.  She is perfectly content as long as everyone ignores her.  The second someone stops to interact with her she panics and tries to hide.  It’s a weird aspect of her personality that we have not been able to cure with time.  Cindy and I both wonder what happened in her past to make her so fearful of strangers.

Mid-afternoon I replaced the switch.  The design is cool.  I was able to remove the guts from the case mounted on the wall and simply insert the guts from the new Intermatic switch.  I felt a wave of relief when I flipped the switch and the pump fired up as it should.  There was secondary relief as the repair meant that I officially had finished the 15th and last item on my to do list, meaning the rest of the staycation can have a lot more of my doing what I want to do as opposed to what I feel I need to do.

During the day I did a lot of futzing around with the CR-10 which again was being problematic.  I finally got it printing again, cranking out more EUC stand parts.  While Cindy was teaching a class I fired up my web cam for a YouTube live stream.  I wound up streaming for over 90 minutes to only a handful of people but it was still fun for me.

I made an appointment to get the Tacoma in for it’s 20k service although I am about 500 miles from that number.  I figured it made sense to get it out of the way while I’m off.

I’m looking forward to a pleasant Wednesday where I can once again simulate retired life.  Cindy and I started the morning right with a three and a half mile run departing from and returning to Dunkin Donuts.

 

One line left

Yesterday was a good day.  The roofer arrived bright and early and got to work.  It was a large crew of at least a dozen guys.  Before long the inside of the house was filled with the noise of a shingle roof being removed which was a lot of scraping and banging.  Later in the day it was supplemented with a lot of banging and hammering as they re-nailed all of the exposed plywood to bring it up to code level strength.

The workers seemed very efficient and meticulous, laying tarps everywhere to catch any debris, which there was a lot of.  By the time they wrapped up for the day around 2PM three quarters of the roof had been stripped, renailed, and covered with the new rubberized underlayment.  All that remains is the front face of the roof that they are actively tearing into as I type.  After this we have around a week to wait until county inspectors check things out before the metal can be attached.

 

I flew my drone overhead twice yesterday to get a unique high perspective on the work and the transformation as it occurs.  It may be the first time I had the Mavic in the air since the hurricane.

I busted ass on more list items yesterday.  At this point out of the 15 items on my staycation to do list, only one remains, fixing the pool pump timer.  I plan to look at that issue today and hopefully be able to cross it off as well.  Don’t get the wrong idea, once the list is complete I won’t be sitting around doing nothing the rest of the week.  I always have something to do that either needs to be done or I want to do for entertainment, always.  Extended time off at home always makes me feel confident that I could retire tomorrow and not be bored at all.

Late in the afternoon yesterday I found some time to go cruise on my little Mten3 wheel, riding more backwards than forward.

 

 

360 view, Ready Player, Testing the limit

Saturday morning I was up and out the door to get my track run in.  It went ok with the normal “I hate this” feeling the first three laps, followed by “stop whining and run” for the next 8 laps, and finally “I can do anything for two laps” at the end.  The bad thing about only running once a week is it doesn’t ever seem to get any easier.

Saturday was a go day, meaning I had a long list and the motivation to do it.  I wasted little time before heading out to start weeding the yard which then rolled into weed whacking while Cindy got on the tractor to mow.  It felt like my weed whacking muscles were out of shape.  Towards the end of it I had to stop and try to stretch my middle back a few times.

We then took Elsa along to run errands.  I had been waiting almost a month for the big Pinch-a-Penny spring sale to finally buy a new pool vacuum.  My Hayward Navigator was falling apart, literally.  I was a bit disappointed to see that they had sold out of the model I was going to buy but I still got the promo pricing, I just have to wait until Tuesday to pick it up.  We also hit Home Depot where I had a list of several items needed for several different needs.

The biggest thing I wanted to get done was get my security cameras back online in the coop.  Seven of the eight cameras were taken out by palm rats chewing the wires.  I have had replacement cables for weeks but I wanted to make sure that we got rid of the rodents first.  I don’t think they are totally gone but I think the ultrasonic device inside the coop has made them relocate mostly, I have not seen/heard any of them at night when putting the chickens to bed in weeks.

So I first had to pull all of the old wires out which were stapled to the wood in the run.  I used a lot of staples.  I had Cindy help me with installing the new cables.  I decided to use wood screws mostly to hang/support the new cables which would be easier to replace if need be.  I only used the staple gun to attach the cables to the roof near the entrance into the coop.  I decided to use the existing hole that the rats chewed on but I left my big 3D printed nut and bolt in place, mostly covering the wires.  I later added a wire loom around them as well as encasing the hole in expanding foam to further deter future chewing.

During the process we also relocated one of the two cameras that were pointing towards the back to the west side of the coop where we had nothing.  The coop now has a 360 degree ring of vision around it.  Even a ninja would have a hard time sneaking in there without detection.

Saturday night Cindy and I went to see Ready Player One, a movie based on a popular book.  If you grew up playing video games as I did there is pretty much no way you can’t love this movie.  Even Cindy, who is not nearly the gamer I am really liked the film as well.  It was great, a solid A flick in my book, if you are a nerd like me.

We enjoyed dinner at the theater before the movie.  You can really tell the exodus of snowbirds has begun.  It was dramatically less full than the last time we went to the movies a month or so ago.  Cindy was a little grossed out by the lack of cleanliness of the reclining leather chairs.  The arm rests had various sorts of organic matter left on them.  She went out and said something.  One of the managers came in and wiped them down and was genuinely apologetic, saying his staff was going to be getting reprimanded for it.  I imagine it is rather hard to get typical theater employees making minimum wage to be very conscientious about their job duties.

Sunday morning we “slept in” till 7:30 which felt well needed.  After tending to the chickens and paying my bills we suited up for a potentially problematic ride.  I suggested to Cindy that we try riding the big Segway I2 all the way to Dunkin Donuts and back.  The 20 mile ride is far further than we have ever pushed the big Segway and the batteries in there are 11 and 12 years old.  Expecting them to give that sort of range is unlikely, but Cindy was down for the challenge.  We figured worst case it dies and I haul ass home on my Monster to pick her up with the truck.

So the ride out had a lot of headwind.  As we monitored the battery indicator on the I2 we were concerned it was going down faster than we hoped.  By the time we got to Dunkin Donuts it was showing half full which would be cutting it close at best.  I brought the charging cord for the Segway.  We wheeled it inside and parked it near an outlet where I plugged it in, hoping a 30 minute charge session would ensure we make it all the way home.  We pushed back east with 5 bars of battery instead of 4 but that extra bar disappeared a mile or two into the return journey.

When we left I was honestly assuming the I2 would run out of power before we got back.  The unit surprised me and made the trip back with 2 bars showing on the battery meter.  It wasn’t the sort of ride you would want to normally do on the I2.  It’s slower speed made the trip feel really long.  Plus the I2 is most fun when you are going on varied terrain, not endless straightaways.  Of course the journey is on video.

Sunday afternoon an old co-worker and friend of Cindy’s stopped by for a visit.  It was nice for them to catch up.  I mostly kept myself busy doing my stuff, namely 3D printing, video editing and some WoW.  We had a hellacious storm blow through last night, dumping a ton of rain in a very short period of time, temporarily flooding out some areas.  It’s a preview of wet season will contain.

And now with the plugs!

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Check out all my sites!
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Duf 3D YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnqqxnkBqc5ISDQRr0YkiA

Social media
Instagram – @duf67
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Cindy’s YouTube channel – http://youtube.com/fitfarmchick

 

Hanging with Joe

Cindy busted ass on Friday trying to get a lot of chores done so us being gone Saturday wouldn’t be a big deal.  I set the alarm for Saturday morning so we could get up and get the chicken clean up done before rolling out.  We dropped Elsa off at Ali’s so she could spend the day with Sadie.  Since Elsa stayed with them during our last road trip she is very comfortable there and we feel good knowing she will be well taken care of.

The drive across state in the Ioniq was easy.  The smart cruise control the car has makes highway travel simple and safe.  You set the desired speed and the cushion you want behind other vehicles.  If you encounter another vehicle the Ioniq will slow down as needed to maintain that distance.  If you swing out in the passing lane it automatically will accelerate once it sees the path is clear.  The only unpleasant portion of the journey was the last 10-20 miles where we were engulfed in typical stop and go traffic on I-95.  I still don’t see how people can deal with that day in and day out.

We found the college where Maker Faire was being held without issue.  We swung into a nearby parking garage with flat rate $5 parking which is reasonable.  For some reason I assumed the Maker Fare was indoors, it was not.  Only a couple of exhibits were indoors which was fine, although I was glad I dressed temperature appropriate, it was 86 degrees when we left.

One of the things that actually got me interested in going to the event was I saw Prusa 3D printers was going to be there, including the founder, Joe Prusa.  Well the Prusa tent was right near the one entrance.  They had two MK3’s (the next printer I want) printing models as well as a bunch of other examples of things that it printed sitting on the tables.  We talked to the guy working the stand for awhile and I said I that I thought Joe was supposed to be there?

The guy pointed behind me and there he was.  Joe is really a big deal in the 3D printing world.  His Prusa i3 design has been knocked off by many Chinese companies.  Even though he is from the Czech Republic you would think English is his first language.  Cindy and I talked with him for awhile and even showed him the big 3D Widowmaker rifle we made.  I told him I hoped they would have a couple MK3’s available for sale but sadly that was not the case.  Joe did say that the backlog for them is less than it was.  It was taking 3 months to get one, it’s now down to a month and a half. 🙂

That was a great way to start the event and the good vibe continued throughout our time there.  The people working the booths were really friendly and engaging.  They seemed very excited to share information about the stuff they are so passionate in creating.  We saw creativity in many different ways, it was great.  We finished up with a good lunch at one of the food trucks parked outside the venue. Cindy and I both really liked the event and I would be happy to go back again in the future.

So we still had some time left and had thrown the EUC’s in the back of the car, just in case.  We walked back to the garage and suited up for a quick ride down to the Bayside area, a very happening shopping/food district by the water.  It was part of the Port of Miami so we got a good view of several massive cruise ships get ready to depart.  We only rode for maybe a half hour.  It was Cindy’s first time back on one wheel in a couple months so we didn’t want to push it too far.

The drive back was front loaded with traffic, this time getting out of Miami.  Once we got back onto Alligator Alley it was smooth sailing.  Elsa had a great time at Ali’s and didn’t seem in a rush to leave.  We actually wound up taking Sadie back with us since Ali was going out Saturday night and was planning to be gone a good portion of Sunday. We got home before 6PM, it was a testament to just how much you can experience in a span of 10 hours.

On Saturday night we watched Atomic Blonde, one of those movies that was interesting to me but not enough to lay out theater level pricing to see.  If you are looking for a good splattering of nudity, action, plot twists, and just high energy, this film will do nicely.  The ending just nudged into A- territory for me.

So my Saturday run got transplanted to Sunday.  Once again the temps in the low 70’s with humidity made the session feel uncomfortable very early.  I may as well get used to it as there are another 7 months of such weather ahead of me.

Cindy’s big vinyl cutter showed up late last week and she has been testing it out, trying to learn the ins and outs of it.  Although it is without a doubt not a high end cutter in fit and finish, it does work.  In some ways it works better than the Cameo 3, it cuts fast and it’s simplicity is in some ways more appealing.  The software that is included also isn’t as bad as I first thought it could be.  It makes certain types of projects really easy to do.

My 3D EUC store got off to a nice little start, selling three stands in the first 24 hours.  One of them is going all the way to Belgium.  The customer is paying as much to ship the stand there as the stand costs.  It will be interesting to see if demand will continue.

Yesterday afternoon I dedicated a couple hours to sprinkler replacement.  In total I pulled out nine Rain Bird sprinklers that had stopped oscillating.  It was pretty easy to tell which ones weren’t working as there was a narrow swath of green surrounded by brown.  The Hunter sprinklers I replaced them with are supposed to be some of the best so I hope I get many years of trouble free performance out of them.  Despite it only being April 8th it was quite warm in the yard mid-afternoon.

After returning inside I didn’t feel guilty just geeking out in WoW for a few hours.  It’s hard to describe exactly why the virtual second universe I exist in is so appealing to my brain but it’s been my escape for 12 years and counting.

 

 

The small victories, 5 years, Forgot

Saturday morning I got up to do my run.  I knew it was supposed to be cool but I didn’t expect it to be cold.  Well the thermometer in the car read 45 degrees on the way to the track.  I was glad I chose a long sleeve t-shirt to run in.  It took me at least three laps until my internal body temperature started to regulate against the cold air.  The run went as most do, thoughts of quitting early to thoughts of relief as I finish up.

After finishing up chicken chores and weeding we headed out with Elsa to run some errands.  One of the things we picked up was a new strainer basket for the pool pump as well as a new hose for the inline chlorinator.  It is a hose that connects the chlorinator to the return water feed.  I have futzed with this hose several times over the years.  It is installed at an odd angle and has a tendency to want to collapse on itself, making it useless.  I have replaced it already a few times only to have it collapse shortly thereafter.  After some careful manipulation of the support spring and hose I think I finally have it as it should be.  Even though it was a very minor repair, I was able to skim some satisfaction from finally getting it installed right.

Cindy and I made plans to go to Seasons 52 to celebrate our five year anniversary. I had tried early in the week to get reservations but the time block between 3:45 and 8:15 was booked solid.  We decided we would just go there and hang at the bar to wait for a table.

When we got there at 5:30 the lot was already quite full.  We went inside fully prepared to wait, awhile.  We did not realize that Seasons 52 had a similar layout to Carrabas.  The right side of the house is the formal dining room where the reservations are held.  However around the bar on the left there are a booths that are first come first serve.  They were all full but there was only one couple waiting for one ahead of us. We wound up sitting down after 10 minutes or less, an unexpected outcome.

Our dinner was very good.  Cindy and I both cleaned our plates and the little miniature desert shot glasses we ordered.  It was probably one of the more expensive dinners for two but it was a special occasion worthy of the effort.  We both left amazed that we somehow managed to complete the dinner in roughly two hours, travel included.    Saturday night we watched the Tom Cruise version of The Mummy.  It was entertaining enough and had an ending that I definitely did not expect.  It was a notch below what I normally get out of Tom’s movies but I’d still go B+ overall.

Sunday was a beautiful morning.  Cindy and I went to North Collier Park to ride around, her on the big Segway I2, me on the tiny Mten3.  Not far into the ride I heard a loud beep come from my wheel.  I looked down and saw the battery indicator was not full, which it normally would be.  I quickly realized that I must have forgotten to recharge the wheel after I rode it to Dunkin Donuts a couple weeks ago.  The battery level indicator showed about half full so I thought I would be fine for our ride.  I babied the wheel for another two or three miles but the beeping soon became incessant so we had to cut the ride short.  Even with the abbreviated ride we had fun.

The rest of our Sunday was laid back.  I had a number of 3D prints cooking and Cindy was hard core into her crafting.  I also got several hours of time in WoW which was fun since the week prior had little time for such activity.  We emerged from the weekend happy with how it flowed and looking forward to the next.

 

 

 

Blueprint

If it was possible to create a blueprint for how I would like most weekends to be it would be like this past one.  The weather was perfect with cool mornings and pleasantly warm afternoons with an abundance of blue sky.

Saturday morning I got out and resumed my running program after a two week hiatus due to illness.  Although the act of running three and a half miles was difficult as expected, it was offset by the sense of accomplishment afterward.  The cool air temps in the mid-50’s definitely was beneficial.

When I got back Cindy let me know that I managed to catch another one of the palm rats, bringing my total to four.  As with the others I drove the little annoying bastard a couple miles away and let him loose into the undergrowth to fend for himself.  I know there is at least one more adult in the coop area.  If I can catch him I will finally feel ready to rerun the wires for the DVR system.

My new routine of making sure there are no mice in the coop when the door is closed seems to be a solid plan.  Before when I had the coop door on an analog timer I was never quite sure when it would close.  The end result was most of the time I put the chickens to bed the door was still open and would close later.  Well if a mouse entered during that interim it would spend the entire night chewing on whatever it could to get out.

A couple weeks ago, when I installed the new wi-fi router, to replace the mouse damaged one, I also installed a Wemo smart switch on the coop door.  I now know exactly when the door closes and I make sure to go out there after that happens.  When I tend to the chickens I now include probing all possible mouse hiding spots with the broom handle to make sure none are inside the coop.  That, paired with the ultrasonic rodent repellent we put in there seems to have kept the inside of the coop pest free.

Saturday after completing some chores Cindy, Elsa and I headed out for a long errand run, stopping at something like a half dozen places along the way.  One of those places was the office to swap out a failed hard drive.  Another was Tractor Supply, a place we only have been to a couple of times.  Despite being a lot smaller than Rural King, I liked their selection of several things more.  We finished up eating lunch outside a pizza place where Elsa chilled under the table while we enjoyed a good slice of pizza.

I got notice that Patrick’s birthday gift was delivered.  I sent him the Segway S1 that I bought at Christmas.  It was sort of my plan all along to give it to him.  It is a cool little wheel that will be good for Pat and his girlfriend to learn on.

Saturday night Cindy and I watched Dark Tower, our latest rental.  I remember when the movie came out a lot of people that read the book were not happy with the film adaptation.  Since I never read the book, I did not have that bar to measure it against.  To me it was entertaining although a bit strange to see Matthew McConaughey play the villain. I’d give it a solid B rating.

Sunday morning we slept in, for us, to almost quarter till 8.  Mid-morning Cindy and I headed out to the Naples Greenway with the big Segway I2 in the back of the truck.   I discovered that transporting the Segway is a two person job, at least when it comes to loading.  The unit is somewhere around 120 pounds which I normally could throw around pretty easily, the issue is the size and design of the I2 makes it damn near impossible to one man it as there is nothing to really grab on to.  I can manage to lower it from the truck myself but I utilized Cindy to help me load it at the Greenway.

Our objective for the ride was to locate the new bridge that connects the Greenway to downtown Naples.  It was Cindy’s first time riding the Segway I2 out in public.  She was conservative at first but soon got adept at leaning into turns with her entire body.  We found the new bridge and it was very impressive, a beautiful and long structure.  It spills out at what will be an awesome resident park in the near future called Baker Park.  It connects to the newly renovated Central Avenue.

Central now is very bike friendly with large and clearly marked bike lanes.  We decided to ride all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.  It felt great to be able to ride all the way to the beach using bike safe routes.  On the way back we ate lunch at The Bowl.  We both had all fruit concoctions that consisted of acacia berry, bananas, granola, honey, hemp seed hearts, blueberries, and a couple other things.  It was very good.

The ride was much longer than I expected and the used batteries on the I2 performed much better with Cindy at the controls.  The slower speed and her lighter weight only consumed three bars of battery life out of eight.  We both really enjoyed the ride and would like to maybe actually spend some time on the beach the next time we do the same route.

Late afternoon Sunday I got out and washed my Tacoma.  I finally got around to applying some paint sealant that was highly rated on Amazon.  On the bottle it claimed how you could do a complete vehicle in 10 minutes!  Well although it was less labor intensive than conventional wax, I still busted my ass for at least 45 minutes applying the sealant to the Tacoma.  You only work in small sections, first applying with a circular motion followed by back and forth to finish up.  Since it is a clear product, it is annoying to try to determine where you stopped and started since you have no wax haze to guide you.  I guess the first time the truck gets wet will determine how good the product is.

The rest of Sunday was spent editing video, creating 3D projects, and playing some WoW.  It really was a great couple days and was a reminder that I could seriously retire and never have to worry about being bored.

 

Extra day, Mouse warfare, i2, Communist

I had Friday off and I went into it hoping to get all of my intended chores knocked out ahead of the official weekend. I did the chicken work, weeded, weed whacked and mowed which consumed a large portion of the day.  We also went and picked up Sadie to visit for the weekend which Elsa was absolutely thrilled with.  I also spent some time cleaning up my workbench which was getting very cluttered.  It’s amazing how much better you feel when shit is nice and tidy.

Later in the day I was out in the coop, intending to fix my existing WeMo smart switch out there as well as use another one to control the coop door movement.  So part of reconfiguring the switches is to connect to the wifi network I have out in the coop.  I looked at my phone and saw that the coop wifi was not showing up.  I looked at the router on the shelf and see no lights. WTF.

So I immediately suspected the mouse was to blame as it has already destroyed all the wires for the dvr cameras.  Sure enough as I traced the power cord I came to a damaged portion that was chewed on. I was pissed.

Earlier I had just gotten done installing a huge plastic nut and bolt I 3D printed to plug up the hole the DVR wires used to come in.  I had it plugged with a big cleaning rag and the mouse managed to chew it up and destroy it as well.  So I had to run out and buy another wifi router.  I mounted the new one on the wall, hoping it will be a less accessible target.

Later in the weekend I discovered more mouse damage.  It chewed out a big area next to the bolt and I found an area down low on the other side of the coop it was chewing on as well.  I got some expanding foam to fill the new damage but this was out of control.  So you can imagine my mood when I checked the interior coop cam on Saturday night and saw the little bastard running around.  I dropped everything and headed right out there.

So I closed the coop door behind me.  My intent was to capture but not kill the mouse (palm rat).  Well I spent a good 15 minutes chasing this thing all around the coop.  I did not have anything good to catch him with so I was trying to use an empty chicken feeder, trying to get him trapped inside of it.  The effort was futile and it eventually scurried out a crack in the door.  However I did at least learn where all of his hiding places inside the coop are.

The main problem is the mouse getting trapped inside the coop once the automatic door closes.  Once that happens he spends the entire night chewing on whatever he can to try to get out.  So one part of the solution will be me doing a full sweep of the coop when I put the chickens to bed, making sure no rodents are camped out before I close the door.  The other remedy is trapping/removing the animals.

It would be very easy to put down glue pads or some other lethal device to take out the palm rats.  However, despite the damage and hassle they have caused us, I am hard wired to not want to harm another creature unless it causes physical harm to me (ie mosquitoes, fire ants).  I purchased two more of the live traps.  I successfully caught three of the mice so far but the mechanism on the existing trap seems to be screwed up now.  I also bought one of those ultrasonic pest repellents that I have hooked up in the coop.  It’s frequency is supposed to be very unpleasant to rats/mice so hopefully that will be another reason for them to look elsewhere to homestead.  This is a battle that has been going on for months but I still think I can win the war.

Saturday my main project happened once the rain started during the afternoon, installing a dash cam/mirror combo in the Prius.  There have been tons of times that something happened on the road where I wished I had a dash cam.  Last week I decided to finally grab one that incorporated a dash cam into the mirror.  The unit straps onto your existing rear view mirror for easy installation.

The unit includes a rear view camera.  The Prius already has a back up cam but I decided to install the second camera so I could record my rear view as well.  The most challenging part of the install was finding a way to mount the rear camera and run the wires up to the head unit.  I had to drill a hole to make it happen but it is in an inconspicuous spot.  The unit seems to work well and has a large 7 inch touch screen incorporated into it.  The only annoyance was the mirror in the Prius was already on the loose side, strapping the dash cam on top only amplified the problem.  I bought a generic mirror later in the weekend which is better, but still not as stable as I would prefer.

I was surprised when this video generated a very angry comment from a viewer.  He was apparently very angry at all Prius owners although I am not sure why he would actively seek out a Prius video if that is the case.  I responded as I normally do to ridiculous comments, I thanked him and encouraged him to like and subscribe. I am all but certain this guy has  Trump bumper stickers adorning his vehicle.

Saturday night Cindy and I watched Dunkirk, a movie Cindy had wanted to see for awhile.  I am far from a World War 2 buff but I never heard of the Dunkirk scenario in France.  All you ever hear about is the Battle of Normandy.  Assuming the depictions in the film were historically accurate, it seemed like just a nightmare scenario.  It just amazes me that despite the repeated lessons of horror and depravity that war teaches us, we continue to engage in it and even seek it out, in many cases to simply fuel the military industry that demands it. Anyway, it was a good A- movie and a somber reminder of how awful war is and the bravery of those that have to engage in it.

Sunday morning the rain had stopped, leaving behind a decent day.  It felt odd waking up after the time change at nearly 8AM.  I had originally intended to try to resume my running this weekend but decided to give myself one more week of recovery.  I still have subpar energy/endurance and coughing and blowing nose fits are still a thing.

I got out on my Mten3 in the morning, doing the ride to Dunkin Donuts on the tiny 10 inch wheel, something I had talked about doing for awhile.  It was a lot more challenging than doing the same route with the Msuper or Monster, which are both much bigger and more stable EUC’s.  The small form factor of the Mten which makes it so adept at tight turns and riding backwards can also make it a bit shaky at higher speeds.  Two weeks ago Katie found that out herself when she developed a high speed wobble on hers that caused her to crash.  I kept my speed down, somewhere close to 15mph, about 5mph slower than I would travel on my bigger wheels.  I had Cindy meet me there with the dogs so we could go run errands afterward.

Late in the afternoon I went out solo on the big i2 Segway, taking it out onto the roads for the first time.  I rode it to the school and back, a round trip of about 7 miles.  The 12.5 mph top speed was something I ran into quite often but as the ride progressed I got better at cruising just under that limit to decrease the tilt back.  You really feel like you are wheeling around on a two wheeled tank.  It makes a lot of noise so you don’t have to worry about unexpectedly sneaking up on someone, they will definitely hear you coming.  I am hoping next weekend Cindy and I can do a tandem ride with her on the i2 and me on one of the EUCs.

I am hoping this upcoming week marks the end of illness for both Cindy and I.  It just isn’t fun.

And now with the plugs!

Ender 2 on GearBest EU Plug – https://goo.gl/v5bNRG $159 USE COUPON – “Enderen”
Ender 2 on GearBest US Plug – https://goo.gl/v5bNRG $159 USE COUPON – “ENDERC”
AnyCubic I3 MEGA – US WAREHOUSE – https://goo.gl/BKwhEu $329.99 USE COUPON – “I311GBUS”
AnyCubic I3 MEGA – CHINA WAREHOUSE – https://goo.gl/BKwhEu $315.99 USE COUPON – “I3MEGA”

CR-10 on GearBest – https://goo.gl/6M9DHi use coupon – GBCRUS
CR-10S5 on GearBest – https://goo.gl/3295a6
CR-10S on GearBest – https://goo.gl/rFztnC
GearBest US Warehouse specials! – https://goo.gl/nvL8uF

Get free cash back for stuff you are buying anyway – https://www.ebates.com/r/DUF391?eeid=28187

Esun Cleaning Filament – http://amzn.to/2zP3qwW
Creality Cr-10 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2w7yqIF
Dagoma Neva 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2hYNjoV
FlashForge Finder 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2sCllp7
Hatchbox white PLA filament – http://amzn.to/2rrIfMt
ESun white PLA filament – http://amzn.to/2sBRv42

The gimbal I use – http://amzn.to/2lJbZCa
My GoPro camera – http://amzn.to/2kkBUmJ
GoPro foam windscreen – http://amzn.to/2maDI2B
Selfie stick – http://amzn.to/2mJTJLL
Segway MiniPro – http://amzn.to/2lddTNt
Segway S1 – http://amzn.to/2A8CkQQ
DJI Mavic Pro – http://amzn.to/2kpV4Tk

My EUC protective gear
Killer 187 Wrist Guards – http://amzn.to/2p8y9m9
Triple Eight Helmet – http://amzn.to/2p8uuoH
STX Elbow Pads – http://amzn.to/2oNMrYJ
Killer 187 Knee pads – http://amzn.to/2oYtAHw

Looking for Gotway, Inmotion or KingSong electric unicycles?
Go here for free shipping! – http://ewheels.com/eucarmy

Check out all my sites!
http://eucarmy.com
http://duf.net
http://dufisthenics.com
EUC Army YouTube – https://youtube.com/eucarmy
Duf 3D YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnqqxnkBqc5ISDQRr0YkiA

Social media
Instagram – @duf67
Twitter – @duf67

Cindy’s site – http://fitfarmchick.com
Cindy’s YouTube channel – http://youtube.com/fitfarmchick

 

Reading plates, it’s ALIVE

So during my lunch on Monday I decided to go to Costco to pick up my new glasses.  I figured an hour would be plenty of time.  Well silly me forgot we are in the sweaty, stinky part of snowbird season.  The parking lot was nearly full, despite it being the middle of a Monday.  The optical department was equally full.  I had at least 10 old people ahead of me.  I looked for some “express” spot to pick up glasses but they evidently had no such thing.

I waited patiently by the large screen TV’s and was surprised they have once again raised the bar on monster screens.  I gawked at an 82″ behemoth set, wow.  Finally my turn came.  The clerk got out my glasses and handed them to me to try on.  Slipping them on for the first time was sort of surreal.  All that stuff that I have just become accustomed to having distortion was now suddenly laser clear.  Wow, it was a bit disorienting to be honest but I confirmed the glasses are doing what they should be and took off.

I wore them to drive and found myself constantly testing myself, reading license plates, small text on signs, and billboards, all things that used to be blurred beyond recognition.  It was very cool.  The drawback is if I need to see something close to me it is now blurry, requiring me to flip the glasses up to see it.  I don’t really mind wearing the glasses and being able to have the world more in focus is a good feeling.

So since being given the dead Segway I2 I have been spending time and money getting the stuff required to bring it back to life.  Last week I received a used set of batteries.  Yesterday I received a brand new key for the unit.  I wasted little time before testing the combo out to see if the Segway was indeed functional.  I smiled as I heard the unit come to life.  A quick step on a footpad and I was wheeling around the house, very slowly.  Of course I needed to go outside.

One thing I immediately noticed was the mileage on the wheel. This thing was made in 2011 yet the odometer shows it has a grand total of 24 MILES on it. Wow, I knew it was hardly used from the description our friend gave us but this thing is basically brand new.  There are people that have 10,000 miles or more on their Segways.

It became obvious the wheel was locked in “beginner mode” that limits speed to a paltry 6MPH.  It was not clear immediately how to unlock that restriction so I just rode around as is.  Even with the restriction it was fun.  This thing is so substantial it feels like you are driving a vehicle, a very heavy duty vehicle.   I quickly took it into the back yard and had fun tooling around.  I let Cindy on it as well for a quick test, she had no problems acclimating to the controls.  It is definitely a more total body movement to control the Segway, you can really lean into it in all four directions, depending on your speed.

Just as the sun was going down I finally figured out how to bypass the speed restriction, unlocking the full 12.5mph top end.  Man, what a difference.  It is really fun.  I can’t wait to take it out to some of our riding spots to see how it goes.  I suspect Cindy will be riding it more because of some of her physical issues right now but I look forward to having a blast on the grandfather tech of the electric unicycles I love so much.

And now with the plugs!

Ender 2 on GearBest EU Plug – https://goo.gl/v5bNRG $159 USE COUPON – “Enderen”
Ender 2 on GearBest US Plug – https://goo.gl/v5bNRG $159 USE COUPON – “ENDERC”
AnyCubic I3 MEGA – US WAREHOUSE – https://goo.gl/BKwhEu $329.99 USE COUPON – “I311GBUS”
AnyCubic I3 MEGA – CHINA WAREHOUSE – https://goo.gl/BKwhEu $315.99 USE COUPON – “I3MEGA”

CR-10 on GearBest – https://goo.gl/6M9DHi use coupon – GBCRUS
CR-10S5 on GearBest – https://goo.gl/3295a6
CR-10S on GearBest – https://goo.gl/rFztnC
GearBest US Warehouse specials! – https://goo.gl/nvL8uF

Get free cash back for stuff you are buying anyway – https://www.ebates.com/r/DUF391?eeid=28187

Esun Cleaning Filament – http://amzn.to/2zP3qwW
Creality Cr-10 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2w7yqIF
Dagoma Neva 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2hYNjoV
FlashForge Finder 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2sCllp7
Hatchbox white PLA filament – http://amzn.to/2rrIfMt
ESun white PLA filament – http://amzn.to/2sBRv42

The gimbal I use – http://amzn.to/2lJbZCa
My GoPro camera – http://amzn.to/2kkBUmJ
GoPro foam windscreen – http://amzn.to/2maDI2B
Selfie stick – http://amzn.to/2mJTJLL
Segway MiniPro – http://amzn.to/2lddTNt
Segway S1 – http://amzn.to/2A8CkQQ
DJI Mavic Pro – http://amzn.to/2kpV4Tk

My EUC protective gear
Killer 187 Wrist Guards – http://amzn.to/2p8y9m9
Triple Eight Helmet – http://amzn.to/2p8uuoH
STX Elbow Pads – http://amzn.to/2oNMrYJ
Killer 187 Knee pads – http://amzn.to/2oYtAHw

Looking for Gotway, Inmotion or KingSong electric unicycles?
Go here for free shipping! – http://ewheels.com/eucarmy

Check out all my sites!
http://eucarmy.com
http://duf.net
http://dufisthenics.com
EUC Army YouTube – https://youtube.com/eucarmy
Duf 3D YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnqqxnkBqc5ISDQRr0YkiA

Social media
Instagram – @duf67
Twitter – @duf67

Cindy’s site – http://fitfarmchick.com
Cindy’s YouTube channel – http://youtube.com/fitfarmchick