Dry run
Tomorrow I will be getting up way too early to pack up the truck and head off to a 5k. I plan on setting up all the timing equipment and computers so we can do a dry run of the system. I only have 3 chips available to use for the test but it’s better than nothing. It will be a good way to determine how much time I need to get everything set up as well as how difficult it will be to capture day of entries on the computer.
One of the fencing guys that gave us an estimate called yesterday saying he wanted to know if there was anything he could do to earn our business. So I called him back and ran the scenario by him where we buy the materials and he installs it to see what they would charge me just for labor. He came up with 3k, which would bring our total costs down from around the 6k range to the 5k range but it still wasn’t good enough. If he would have said 2k I may have went for it.
I plan on doing another treadmill 5k today. Next weekend I am hoping to do the treasure run in Fort Myers Beach. I ran this race two years ago. It was the only race I ever ran by myself, Ali was too sick to run. It was BRUTAL as the race takes you back and forth over a bridge that is the highest point in Lee County. When I crossed the finish line in just over 25 minutes I was totally exhausted and collapsed on the grass right outside the finish line. It may have been the most physically exhausted I ever felt. So why would I want to put myself through that sort of torture again? I guess because it’s hard. Ali is planning on running it with me this time although I think we probably will just run separate races to lower the frustration level for both her and I.
Part of doing the a fence install, if you want to be legit about it is to get a permit to do so. We have all the paperwork to apply for the permit. I am a bit concerned though that when a code inspector guy comes out he would be witness to things we have already done without permitting like the field around Nicki’s area, the shed, the sprinkler system and the grading in the back yard. I am worried that we could be opening up Pandora’s box.
It seems like the cats are intent on disproving my statement that the silica litter is a miracle product. Steadily over the week the box has smelled more and more like cat piss. I believe this is because of the way the cats, especially Buttons piss in the exact same spot each time, overwhelming the crystals in that area. Plus the robotic rake that goes through the box does not reach to the very bottom of the tray so I think the crystals aren’t being mixed up to the degree they are supposed to per the instructions on the bag. So last night as I held my breath , I scooped out a bunch of the piss soaked. ammonia smelling crystals and dumped some fresh stuff in. I am going to rake the stuff by hand at least once a day, maybe twice to make sure things get stirred up enough. As I was working on the box Buttons came in , acting like she was ready to piss some more. I looked over and said to her in a very menacing and callous tone “Please die….” She ran away.
I have been on a Roomba rampage this past week. I have four, count them FOUR Roombas on the way to my front door. WTF I am thinking? Have I gone robot-mad? Nope there is a method to my madness. Two of them will be replacing my aging Discovery Roombas, one of which needs a new circuit board. The other two Roombas and their associated accessories will be parted out and sold as such on ebay. By doing this I can easily recoup twice what I paid for the units. It’s easy money, at least in theory. I’ll report back on the success of my venture.