Archives April 2018

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.

Having a YouTube channel means dealing with idiots on the internet, it’s unavoidable.  This comes in the form of comments on videos.  I actually don’t get a lot of terrible comments but when I do I pretty much treat each and every one exactly the same, “Thanks for the insightful, well thought out, and helpful comment.  Please don’t forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!”

I find this response stops most trolls in their tracks as they instantly realize their words will not have the effect they desired.  Oh here is the comment, received last night on an old video where I change the tires on my Tacoma and have the truck slip off the floor jack in the process.

Casey Ruff 13 hours ago
you’re a fucking failure you cunt faced twat

So our only white chicken, Kristen, was not acting normal yesterday.  I had noticed the night before that she may have “pasty butt”, a rather disgusting scenario where the back end of a chicken gets clogged up with dried “organic matter”.  Not only is it gross but it can also be lethal if not cleared.  Cindy is the one that does all the leg work when this comes up, I usually just serve a support role.

Cindy said Kristen did not want to come out from under the coop, even for treats which is a big warning flag.  She eventually got her out by using a hose and then worked on cleaning the hens backside.  When I came home I noticed Kristen was back under the coop and still not responding to me like she normally would.  I asked Cindy if we could try cleaning her some more with me helping to hold her so a more thorough inspection could be done.  Kristen was pretty calm as petted her softly while saying sweet chicken things to her.

Cindy saw some pieces of stuck on broken egg back there.  It seems like possibly an egg broke on the way out, dried, and caused the problem.  Cindy worked diligently cleaning things up.  I was worried that when I went to put the chickens to be that Kristen wouldn’t be up on the perch but she was.  This morning I checked again on the coop DVR to verify she was still doing ok.  Cindy said this morning Kristen seemed to be doing well and was out and about with the other birds.  It’s things like this that make me nervous about leaving the hens to go out of town for an extended period of time.

My 3D stands are selling well.  Last night I had one person order three stands, the last three of the the newer 2.1 models I had.  I may wind up putting some of the stands I am using for my own wheels up in the store if I can’t keep up with demand. 🙂

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

Last night I got the idea to do a video illustrating the strength of the 3D printed stands I am selling.  I set up one of the stands and placed each of my wheels on it and one of the Minipro’s.  The weight range started at 25 pounds and topped out at 55 pounds for my big Gotway Monster.  As expected the stand performed just fine, as I knew it would since I have been using these for over six months to store my wheels in the hobby room.

However I wanted to really test the stand with something I had never tried before.  I wheeled over the big Segway i2 and carefully placed the 105 pound unit on the stand.  It held it without fuss.  I really had no idea if this would work.  105 pounds is almost double what I previously tested with.  Anyway I thought it made for an interesting video and I will include the video in the product description on the store.

I got some disappointing news that the first stand I sold arrived intact but doesn’t really work for the wheel the customer has.  He has a KingSong model wheel that has an odd configuration for it’s foot pedal hinge, different than the four other brands of wheel I have tested the stands with.  The hinge makes a normal stand too narrow to support the wheel safely.

I felt badly about this oversight on my part, I assumed all EUC’s were pretty identical when it came to pedal hinge design.  I made a new version last night with side supports that are each 8MM wider which should give a larger/wider support surface.  I plan to print and send it to him for free.

I have a couple 3D projects I need to try to work on tonight, it’s a fun way to keep my brain engaged.

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

Last night Katie stopped by to pick up her mail and some packages that were sent to the house.  She brought her two dogs with so it quickly became a crazy scene in the back yard when Elsa joined them.  Bowser and Elsa were running around like maniacs.  When I came out to see them Bowser charged me excitedly at full speed.  If I did not quickly spread my legs apart he would have taken me out at the knees, he is a big moose.

After they ran themselves tired we hung on the pool deck catching up with Katie.  She is showing some interest in living a healthier lifestyle which of course Cindy embraced enthusiastically.  I found for myself that actually thinking more about my health and wellness was a very gradual thing that started kicking in my mid to late 20’s.  Over time I just slowly started changing my eating habits.  Did you know that up until my late 30’s I used to have apple sauce with every meal?  I used it as a condiment, mixing it with every food imaginable.  One day I realized it was basically just pure sugar and little else and I phased it out.  I have repeated this process many times since, eliminating formal staples of my diet as I became more conscious of my eating.

Of course the biggest change was when I decided to become pescatarian shortly after Ali and I separated.  But even that change wasn’t all that awful.  Once you get past the initial feeling of missing that food you really adjust quickly to not having it, at least I did.

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.

So yesterday a huge box arrived. It was the large format vinyl cutter that we ordered last week for Cindy.  It has a 34 inch width capability and looks like a plotter that is used to make blue prints.  The price of the unit was not a ton more than the Cameo that Cindy has been having so much fun with.

So last night Cindy and I worked on putting the unit together which basically meant assembling the stand and attaching the cutter to it.  It became very apparent that this was a made in China product with sparse directions that are written in poor English.  It took some time to interpret them correctly but eventually we got everything together and feeling solid although it’s reliance on self tapping metal screws is a bit odd.

So once it was together we attached it to the computer and I installed the software.  The installation went smoothly but getting the cutter recognized in the software did not.  It just wouldn’t work.  When I went online to look for answers I instead found other people complaining of a similar problem, they never could get the cutter to talk to the software and many of them wound up returning the cutter for that reason, great….

I went as far as to install the software a second time on Cindy’s laptop and had identical failures.  I was about ready to bag it for the night but decided to dig around a little more.  In the connection properties for the cutter I had selected USB which seemed logical since it was hooked up via, USB.  However when you would try to detect the cutter it would just throw a cryptic error.  Well just for the heck of it I decided to set it to serial and picked the COM port the driver created.  Bam, it worked.  Cindy and I were relieved that we got basic communication established before going to bed.  It’s no wonder so many people returned it.  If it took me an hour or more of futzing to find the undocumented resolution, the likelihood of the average person doing the same are very slim. I look forward to see what Cindy is able to do on this monster machine.

We have an unexpected road trip that popped up a couple days ago.  I just happened to get a notice on Facebook that the Miami Maker Faire was this weekend.  Maker Fair was started by Make Magazine, which I get, several years ago.  It is all about creators that do so in various ways including robotics, 3d printing, fabrication, RC, and much more.  I threw out the idea to Cindy and she was all in.

So we are making a day trip of it, pulling out tomorrow morning relatively early and returning in the evening.  Ali and Shuggs agreed to watch Elsa for the day so it should work out perfectly.  As much as I enjoy my normal weekend routines it’s nice to abandon them here and there.

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

So from being just an idea on my head Tuesday evening, 36 hours later my 3D EUC store is pretty much ready to open.  In that amount of time I have installed/bought the Pro Version of the WordPress store plug in, bought, installed, and configured a SSL certificate on the site, created a Stamps.com account to make shipping easy, and have had four of my five printers spitting out parts.  Of course all of this is on the assumption that people want to buy the stuff we are producing, hopefully that assumption is correct.  If you want to see the store you can go here.

For payment options, I have two.  People can either use Paypal or a credit card directly which is sort of cool.  I was able to set up the credit card processing using my Square account which I already had.  So this will be an interesting experiment to see how it all works out.  Obviously this needs to be a positive cash flow operation.  I’ve already got to sell probably 20 stands just to break even on what I spent to get it all set up.

Last night I installed the cargo bars for the Segway I2 that I ordered last week.  The bars are extremely light weight yet feel very strong at the same time.  Installation of them required removal of three screws, replaced with three longer screws and a washer.  It should make transporting the transporter much more doable for a single person. Of course I documented it.

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

Ever since I started 3D printing stands that Mathias designed for my electric unicycles I have gotten positive comments about them from the community online, including interest in possibly purchasing them.  I have been printing out some updated designs, replacing some of the originals I made.  At this point I have almost a half dozen spares.

Well last night out of the blue I decided to look at store plug ins for WordPress, which is what I use for eucarmy.com.  I quickly landed on something named WP Easy Cart.  Even the free version had everything I would need.  The software seems to be the right mix of simple to set up for basic needs while being able to add features if you are building a real storefront.  I was quickly able to add a few listings and allow customers to pay for the items with Paypal.

One of the trickiest things to deal with is shipping costs.  For that reason I am only shipping to the continental US for now.  Based on how things go, and demand, if any, I may ship elsewhere if I can find a way to do it with reasonable cost.

Like I said this is entirely experimental.  Cindy thinks there are a number of things that I have 3D printed that could be sold and she has been making a ton of sellable items with her Cameo 3.   I guess we’ll see how it goes.  As I left the house this morning I had three of my five printers cranking out EUC stand parts.

When I was driving back from the gym yesterday I found myself getting annoyed, as I often do with moronic behavior by other drivers.  I randomly started singing an obscenity filled song in tune with what was playing on the radio.  Once I got back I remembered how my dash cam records audio.  Last night I ripped off those segments of the footage to hopefully add to a dash cam compilation in the future.  I played the clips for Cindy, it made her laugh out loud, hard.

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

So my three day weekend flew by as is often the case.  I was off Friday to take Cindy for her colonoscopy.  I felt badly for her having to undergo the same disgusting prep I had only a few weeks prior.  She did better getting the Suprep down.  She refrigerated it and drank it through a straw, two tricks I did not try.  Of course it’s disgusting no matter what you do but it seems those two changes allowed her to get the stuff down faster than I could.

Her procedure was two hours later than mine so we had most of the morning at home.  I tried to be proactive and got out to do the chicken chores and the weeding around the house to give me one less thing to worry about over the weekend.  On the way to the endoscopy center I grabbed a coffee to help tide me over since we were going to eat lunch after Cindy’s appointment.  I spent most of the time in the waiting room playing Hearthstone on the iPad while it was getting done.  It helped the time pass by quickly.

When they said Cindy was out and in the recovery room I went back and hung with her.  She was crying which is not an unusual reaction when coming out of anesthesia.  There were no polyps removed but a couple biopsies were done to hopefully nail down the source of some long standing issues Cindy has had.  We got out of there about 2:30 and headed straight to BurgerFi, the same place we ate after my colonoscopy.  They have some amazing quinoa burgers.

While we were sitting there we got quickly annoyed by a bunch of young guys that were getting ready to leave.  Well it was one in particular that annoyed me, the idiot kid with a shitty old BMW that apparently has no exhaust on the car.  It was RIDICULOUSLY loud and not in a cool way, it sounded horrible.  He was rev’ing it in the parking lot repeatedly.  I gave them some stink eye and was a couple more revs away from confronting them about it directly.  I already had my speech made up in my head where I would inform them I was going to ask them to knock it off nicely, once.  After that it wasn’t going to be very nice.  Thankfully they left but you could hear the car that sounded like a lawn mower on nitrous from a mile away.

When we got home Cindy was wiped out and took a nap.  I continued my pro-active mindset and hopped on the tractor to mow.  It was an ab-lib mowing session that did not follow the conventional and systematic path around the property.  Because of the arid conditions there was only growth in certain patches of the yard so I just zig zagged around trying to knock them down so an overall uniform look was returned to the property.

After I did that I finally decided to take a serious look at the sprinklers.  From the looks of the grass it was clear some were not operating correctly.  I ran each zone for a few minutes to observe their performance.  A bunch of them were jammed and no longer oscillating.  I made the mental commitment to address it sooner rather than later.  What is the point of having a sprinkler system that is ineffective?

Saturday morning I headed to the track to get my run in.  There was a dramatic difference in the temperature compared to only one week prior.  Last week it was a brisk 45 degrees, on Saturday it was 70 and humid.  The higher temps definitely made the 30 minute session feel longer.

So doing the work around the house Friday cleared the slate for me to do, you guessed it, more work on Saturday.  Much like the decision to finally address the sprinkler issues I also decided it was time to reapply the white paint to the coop roof, an annual effort to make the coop not absorb as much heat.

From ground level I could tell a lot of paint was stripped off by Irma but I couldn’t tell just how bad until I got up on the ladder.  It looked terrible which I was surprised by because last year I went all out and applied a full coat of primer followed by a couple brushed on layers of paint versus spray paint.  My extra work seemed to make no difference whatsoever, there was paint peeling up everywhere.  At first I was knocking loose the big chips with my hand but that immediately caused another issue.  The chickens thought paint chips were snacks.  I had to chase them away and then had Cindy help clean up what we could and rinse the rest into the dirt.

The old paint still had lots of loose spots but I just said hell with it and slapped the primer on heavy. Next year I’ll have to do better surface prep with my Shop-Vac on the roof with me.  Although it has not rained in several weeks, right on cue it started to rain about 20 minutes after I finished the primer.  Luckily the rain did not appear to cause much damage.  During the afternoon I also went around and marked each problem sprinkler with a flag.  Right now I have a total of eight that seem problematic.  I bought Hunter sprinkler heads to replace the Rain Birds that are in the ground right now.  Hunter has a good reputation, the Rain Bird’s I installed originally just jam up far too often in our environment.

Saturday afternoon I also got around to doing an updated tour of our chicken coop set up.  It has now been around three years since we built the coop.  There have been a lot of changes and modifications since that time as we addressed problems and learned what worked best for us.  If you have a spare 20 minutes to chill out, check it out.

Saturday night we watched a Netflix rental that Cindy wanted, Megan Leavey.  It is a true life story of a woman who served as a Marine dog handler.  She was deployed over in Iraq/Afghanistan and was responsible along with her dog Rex for sniffing out many bombs and munition stockpiles.  She was injured over there and received a Purple Heart.  Anyway the movie is touching and pulled at my emotions as most any animal related story will do.  I’d give it a wet eyed A-.

I did a mod to my CR-10 over the weekend, adding a 12 inch LED light to the top of the frame to provide great lighting for the printer.  When I relocated the CR-10 to that side of the room my lighting was pretty weak, now the light that is normally used for under cabinet illumination, lights up the base of the printer like a baseball stadium.

Sunday was Easter and April Fool’s day at the same time.  I don’t recall the two ever aligning in the past.  Easter has always been the minor league of holidays for me.  Hell you don’t even get a day off for it.

We got out on the wheels mid-morning, combining it with my need to drop off used oil at AutoZone.  The ride included long boring straightaways on sidewalk combined with some fun bike path wheeling along with some off roading as well.

Cindy is really getting adept at controlling the big I2 Segway.  The wheel is quite capable on and off road.  During one part of the ride she swung down into a low area with high grass and the machine didn’t miss a beat.  It has a ton of power.

Before our Easter dinner I was again out with a ladder at the coop, applying six cans of plastic compatible spray paint to the roof.  Just like the primer, I laid it on thick.  It will be interesting to see how it holds up.

Our official Easter celebration was very small.  Cindy made a nice dinner but only her mom could join us so we only took up a small portion of the dining room table.  Cindy’s mom is very socially active so we got up to speed on the in’s and outs of the local senior singles scene.  There is no way I could imagine myself being anywhere close to as social as her mom is at that age but she seems to really enjoy it.  It’s all about finding and doing things that make you happy, regardless of your age.

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