A Missed Opportunity, Impulsive
Yesterday as I was flipping through email I came across one from Royal Caribbean notifying me of a big discount on several upcoming cruises. Since we returned from the cruise I have had lingering fond feelings about the experience so I clicked on the link to see the deals. As I was digging around I saw they had a four night Key West/Nassau cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale. The rate was good and when I saw it covered my birthday a light bulb went off, another birthday cruise! Much like many purchases this year, this idea came out of nowhere.
Cindy was teaching a class so I couldn’t discuss the idea with her right away. I stepped through the reservation process all the way to the final payment screen. When I talked to Cindy she was surprised by my idea but said she had to check on the dates and if Katie could do chicken duty. If I would have gotten a “yes” from Cindy before leaving for the gym we would have a reservation booked right now. Instead my session timed out during lunch and Cindy raised issues related to Katie’s work schedule and her own.
So as of now nothing is planned although Cindy was looking at options last night online. She would prefer to do something that doesn’t impact Katie’s work schedule. I told her I really liked the idea of doing it over my birthday which is not flexible, like work schedules or babysitter options. The added passing of time since the idea came rushing to the surface may cool my desire to pursue it further, we’ll see.
Although the cruise impulse did not come to be yesterday I did make another snap purchase, the MMU2 upgrade for one of my Prusa printers. MMU stands for Multi-Material Upgrade, in other words it allows you to use multiple types/colors of filament in a single print. Most of my Prusa stands I make have a contrasting color for the letters. This is done manually where the print job stops, I change the filament and then it resumes again. With this add on I can have up to 5 colors of filament loaded and the printer will seamlessly switch between them, opening the door to some really amazing prints.
This add on comes only as a kit so it is going to require some more patience sapping construction work but I am hoping the end result is worth it. With all of the 3D store sales, all of this stuff is paid for out of my Paypal account which doesn’t touch my normal budget whatsoever so that made the decision even easier to justify. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
I finished up the prototype model I designed for the skateboard company. The owner was thrilled with the end result and is coming to check it out today. I suggested that if the logo was painted in a contrasting color it would look sharp, he agreed. I think Cindy will take a shot at doing the paint work. If the Prusa MMU upgrade works as I hope, that contrasting logo can be printed inline without skipping a beat.
This weekend the grass needs a full mow and weed whack which I’m not looking forward to. We are now into November without having our first appreciable cold front. I don’t recall this EVER happening since I have lived here. Normally around mid-October we will have our first nighttime temps that touch the 60’s. It has not happened yet and the last time I checked the extended forecast it is not even on the horizon. It better happen some weekend this month as I need to target a cooler day to tackle the oppressive and body destroying tree trimming annual task.
The Halloween decorations will come down prior to the yard work. It was great that all the Trick or Treaters last night got to to enjoy them. Who am I kidding, nobody showed up, just like the last decade, oh well.