Archives 2018

So I hit the ground of my nine day staycation with both feet, literally, starting off early Saturday with 13 laps around the middle school track.  My legs felt dead and heavy for most of the run.  I also had a sharp pain that gradually mellowed in that same spot on my right side that hurts during dragon flags.  I finished the distance, which is all that mattered.

When I got back Cindy had already cleaned the chicken coop which was nice.  I jumped right into weeding the property.  After finishing up I ate breakfast and started on the first of many small projects of the day.  I wanted to set up my new Pentair Dorado pool cleaner.  I made a video out of it although there wasn’t really much to the process.  The most impactful part of the video is the appearance of the pool at the start and how it looked three hours later.  The bristle design of the vacuum scrubs as well as sucks, something my Hayward Navigator could never do.

I also shot a video outlining the install of my super cheap $28.99 security camera I bought to replace a dead one.  The camera mounting hardware sort of sucked and only allowed you to adjust the angle of the cam EITHER left/right OR up/down, but not both.  In some situations that could be a real problem but with where I was putting the camera a downward angle was all that was required.  The 1080P picture quality was good, superior to the 720P camera it replaced.

So AFTER I finished these two projects I constructed my to do list which had a total of 15 items on it.  Once we got back from a late morning Home Depot/Dunkin Donuts ride with the dogs I just started digging into projects left and right.  None of the projects were massive, it was just a collection of things that I have been on my “need to get done” list for awhile but had not for one reason or another.

I changed the oil on the Prius, installed new seat covers on the Tacoma, did some 3D printing work and a number of other things.  By the time Saturday ended I had knocked 6 or 7 things off the list.  I thought that was a good total for one day.

Sunday morning Cindy and I did our second Dunkin Donuts ride in as many weeks.  However this time Cindy was on her road bike instead of the Segway and I was on my Msuper.  We carried a FAST pace for most of the ride, averaging over 20 mph for a lot of the time and even touching 25 mph briefly when Cindy wanted to race.  It was a fun ride for sure.

I dug back into the list, knocking off items as much as I could.  One sad task was cutting down the apple tree that has been part of our property for well over a decade.  Hurricane Irma partially uprooted the tree.  It was already not in great shape but it never recovered after the storm and was totally dead.  I had a tinge of sadness in my heart as I cut it to ground level and drug it to the fill pit to be unceremoniously tossed in with all the other organic debris.

By the time we left for dinner I had only three items left on my staycation list, all of which I hope to knock out today.  Sunday night we went to Cheesecake Factory for Cindy’s neice’s 18th birthday.  All of Cindy’s local family was there so it was me and five females.  I had a couple Miller Lites to take the edge off and the end result was a good time by all.  I don’t think I had patronized the restaurant for around three years, when Katie turned 21.

This morning the roofers arrived bright and early and are currently unleashing hell on our old roofing material.  The house is one big noise factory with somewhere around a dozen guys busting ass above us.  The company we are using is expensive but good, really good.  I am looking forward to a life under cool, durable, and reflective metal for the foreseeable future.

Time to get back to work!

So today I finished the last of my medical requirements for being a half century old, getting my physical at our on campus med center.  The visit included a urine sample, EKG, sex organ exam and of course the dreaded DRE, although out of the four times I have had it done this was probably the least uncomfortable session.  I managed to stay calmer than is the norm with most doctor visits, I didn’t detect any sweat building up on my back.  The nurse practitioner that did the physical was nice and we laughed our way through anything that could be potentially awkward.  I also had them give me a tetanus shot while I was there since with work around the house I quite often will cut or stab myself with metal objects.  I don’t believe I have had one since moving to Florida nearly 18 years ago so I was looooong overdue.  It feels good to have all required medical procedures behind me.  I should be in the clear for the next two years.

I am looking forward to my staycation which begins tomorrow.  I do not have rigid schedules for things I want to do but rest assured there are a lot of things I will be knocking out.  We also should have our old roof ripped off and prepped for metal by this time next week.

I shot another 3D printing video last night, enjoy.

So I get to jump through my last age required hoop tomorrow by getting a physical, the last requirement I have for our insurance program based on my age.  Of course getting the colonoscopy a few weeks back was the more invasive, disruptive, and disgusting requirement but I don’t enjoy physicals either.  Really pretty much any medical situation is something I would always avoid if at all possible.  I just don’t react well to being poked and prodded.

After tomorrow I am looking forward to taking an entire week off.  It will likely be the only extended time off I can do in the next 2-3 months because of our large application project at work.  We are basically ripping out the systems the office has run on for the last 20 years and replacing them with a cloud based solution.  I also picked this week because our roof replacement project is supposed to commence on Monday so I wanted to be around for that as well.

I look forward to the staycation.

On the way home last night I picked up my new pool vacuum cleaner from Pinch-a-Penny.  I didn’t set it up yet as I want to do a proper unboxing/review video for it.  You will find that once you have a YouTube creator mindset, every thing you do gets analyzed for it’s viability as content.  I’m not saying that is a good thing, but it is definitely a thing.

Speaking of content I also shot a video outlining my latest issue with my CR-10 that I am fixing with money instead of the time and frustration to troubleshoot it in depth.  I have been having symptoms of a partial clog in my hot end where a print will start normally but will fail after a short time period.  In the past I went through almost a month of f’ing with the printer until I finally fixed it by replacing the entire hot end assembly.

When I did it back then it was still annoying because I had to splice/solder the new part into place which I honestly didn’t do a very good job with.  They now have plug and play complete hot end assemblies where you just unbolt the old one and bolt in the new one, no soldering required.  I ordered two.

The CR-10 and the AnyCubic I3 are my only printers that are big enough to print the large side pieces for the EUC stands.  Having the CR-10 out of commission really limits my ability to make the stands so I wanted to make sure the problem was fixed, the first time.  I also pulled the trigger on ANOTHER 3D printer, no, not a Prusa I3 MK3, a Jguarora A5.

This printer has a print area that is the same size as the CR-10 on the X and Y planes and only a little shorter on the Z axis.  I like it’s sturdy frame and compact design where the control box is integrated into the main body instead of being it’s own stand alone box that consumes space.  I know a few people that have these and they have been very happy with them. It seems like a printer that is very similar to the AnyCubic I3 Mega which I love with a bigger build area. As part of this plan I will be moving my Dagoma Neva to my office at work where it can print projects and be a good conversation starter.

Yesterday a pile of metal showed up in the front yard, the new roofing material had arrived!  The work is scheduled to begin next week but if the timeline I was told is true, the metal won’t actually be secured to the roof for at least a couple weeks due to inspections having to be done by the county once the old roofing is stripped and the new underlayment is put down.  Either way it’s exciting to finally be taking the first steps to “untarping” our home.

I have been dealing with a situation that in some ways reminds me of my prosecution by the National Park Service via YouTube for flying a drone in Yellowstone a few years back.  I can’t say much else but rest assured I will have plenty to say in the future about it.

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.