Sleep, shaved, shoot it again, solved sort of, surveillance, sopping wet, historic loss

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 3:45 AM.  Even though this race was on the small side and geographically closer to my house than most we needed the extra time to make sure the dogs adequately attended to their bathroom needs.  Since this was a first year race, I also wanted to make sure I was on site early to give me some extra time to deal with unexpected issues.

We did not have to use as much of our equipment as we normally do since the pavilion we used for registration had a bunch of lighted, covered, picnic tables which worked out great.  The biggest issue with the race logistics was the finish line was a far distance from the pavilion where post race awards were handed out.  This is never a good layout, making posting results on site and making corrections as needed a real pain in the ass.

For this race I once again used my GoPro to capture the finish line video.  Using a slick feature from RunSignUp, I am able to display a link to each runner which takes them directly to their finish on video.  Having video of the finish line also allows me to use it to reconcile errors.  I actually was able to reference the video later to confirm a finishing time for somebody whose timing device failed. All in all the event went well.  If the event continues next year we now have a few key changes in mind that could be made to make it even better.

When we pulled back in the driveway after the race the guy that painted the pool deck was already there waiting.  The original intent was to have him “fix” the various spots on the deck where the paint was coming off.  However I already knew before he showed up that wasn’t going to be an ideal outcome.  Even if I was ok with him just slapping some paint on the spots, the deck was too damp and dirty to paint anyway.

I started to make my case for something more extensive than a quick touch up to be done.  The guy had a long list of excuses he fed me, saying that moisture can cause what I am seeing and also pool chemicals could be partly to blame as well.  He scratched a couple of the affected spots and commented that if the paint was really bad it  would be coming up with his nail.

I calmly listened to his excuses but kept hitting him with the same, indisputable counter point.  The front landing of the house which was painted at least 5 years ago using the same process supposedly as was done on the pool deck has no paint lifting off.  I backed that up with my neighbors pool deck which was painted by Rhinoshield a few months before mine.  His deck still looks perfect.

After hitting him with this again and again as I pointed out spot after spot all over the deck where small specks of paint were gone he finally agreed that the best course would be to repaint the entire deck with one more coat.  I was happy to hear him agree however the next challenge will be actually getting it to happen.  We need to get out of this miserable cycle of constant precipitation before anything can be done.  That means I’ll be lucky to get anything done before November hits.

Cindy and I worked outside in the very wet yard to take care of what we could.  It was so wet that mowing the grass didn’t even enter my mind as a possibility.  I just hate when things get this wet.  After getting the stuff done we headed out with the dogs for some errands.  The first stop was Petco which was a treat for the girls.  They loved nosing around the store.  I spent over $100 there, the bulk of it being spent on two items, a set of pet clippers to give Nicki a hair cut and an inflatable “cone”.  Once in awhile we catch Nicki rubbing her surgically repaired eyes.  The last thing I want is for her to undo the work.  If we find her doing it anywhere close to what she did before this inflatable, easily removable, more comfortable device will be slapped on her.  It would only be for her own good.

The next stop was Costco where Cindy and I became totally drenched running from the van to the store in a torrential downpour.  Entering the highly air conditioned environment after being soaked gave both Cindy and I the shivers as we walked the aisles.  The main reason for us going there was to grab a pair of boots for the the backyard that Cindy had seen when we were at the store a couple weeks prior.

We then headed from there to Sam’s Club, an odd one two punch since both places are warehouse superstores.   I was at Sam’s to get a security DVR I had seen there before.  No, this was not for my homestead, it is yet another bit of technology I am incorporating into our races.

When I was at the RunSignUp conference one timer mentioned how he uses a security DVR to capture the finish line.  He uses the video both for runners and for himself as a timing safety net.  If there is a finish line timing question a security DVR makes it very easy to go back and reexamine a runner’s finish without disrupting the existing live recording.

I bought a Samsung four camera unit.  I probably will only utilize two of the four cameras on race day, one facing either direction of the finish line.  I set the box up at home over the weekend and played around with it.  It worked well as a makeshift chicken cam.

Saturday night we skipped our customary trip to the theater to catch up further on our X1 DVR content.  We have finally watched the backlog of recording we accumulated.

Our Sunday was very busy.  It started off with a trip to the track.  While I ran a sweaty 5K around the track at an 8:55 pace Cindy walked the school grounds with the dogs for awhile before speed walking the track herself.  We went from there to CVS and Dunkin Donuts.  At both places I sat in the van with the girls while Cindy ran in.  At both places it took a very long time, for different reasons.

The rest of our morning was very busy.  While I was washing Cindy’s Prius she was trying to shave Nicki herself in the backyard.  It was difficult to get Nicki to stay in a good shaving position and work the shaver at the same time so I came to assist.  I kept scratching Nicki’s ears which kept her standing, making it easier for Cindy to buzz off more hair.  What didn’t make it easy was the sun and humidity baking us. Both Cindy and I were sweating buckets.

By the time Cindy was done there was black hair piled up everywhere.  We followed up with an outdoor bath administered via the hose and a bucket of soapy water.  Nicki looked younger after the haircut.  The shaggy coat she has developed since being put on thyroid medicine ages her.

Cindy worked her ass off all day long.  In addition to Nicki’s spa treatment she did more housework, cooking, baking and another workout to supplement the time at the track that morning.  Her energy level is something to be admired.

I kept busy until the Eagles came came on.  It was disappointing game and a historic loss.  No team has ever run a punt back for a touchdown, returned an interception for a touchdown and blocked a punt for a touchdown and lost the game, until yesterday.  The Eagles somehow managed to pull it off.  As good as special teams were, the offense was equally inept.  Except for late in the 4th quarter the offense did NOTHING, literally not putting a single point on the board for the game.

The defense did some stuff right obviously with the interception and applying pressure on the QB almost the entire game.  However even with that pressure they still found ways to give up big yardage both on the ground and in the air.  The Eagles secondary, which seems to be called upon to be in man to man coverage quite often just is not up to the task.  I saw the Eagles pass defense is rated 30th in the league, only two spots from the very bottom.  They are just not good enough.

The patchwork Eagles offensive line just does not appear good enough either.  They again allowed Foles to get smacked around far too much and seem totally incapable of run blocking.  I can  not believe that LeSean McCoy has had back to back horrible games as he has.  You can tell how frustrated he is. Being 3-1 at this point of the season is great in the big picture but some of the warts that we have been seeing make me worry about how the season will unfold going further.  If the defense remains this porous and the offensive line does not get better at protecting Foles and giving McCoy a lane to run things could unravel pretty quickly.

Over the weekend I was able to solve my Rubiks Cube, twice.  I created a one page cheat sheet that I still refer to for certain parts of the solve.  I can get two layers and the top cross on the third layer on my own.  Of course the goal is to be able to do the solve without any crutch being used.  I’ll keep practicing.

We have been getting poor sleep since dog sitting began.  Last night was probably the worst.  The dogs started making noise around 3.  I got up and let them out and went back to bed.  Nicki continued to make a fuss off and on for another 90 minutes although the reason was not clear.  Needless to say I will be dragging tonight.