Visual diversity, Fill prep, Oak & Stone, New way
As mentioned previously, after work on Friday I headed to Sugden Park to get my run in. The temps during the day had dropped with the arrival of a cold front. When I got there it was down to around 65 degrees which is pleasant to run in. The gusty winds that came with the front weren’t as pleasant to run in but hey, you can’t have everything.
I completed two circuits of the 1.5 mile course giving me similar distance to my track runs. The mild elevation change from the front of the course to the back made the effort level a little higher than I am accustomed to but that’s a good thing. The run was much more visually interesting, completing two laps that circled Lake Avalon instead of 12 laps around a soccer field. I can see me opting to run there more and more in the future.
Saturday in addition to normal chores I worked on doing more prep for the scheduled delivery of fill on Tuesday. I disconnected more of the fencing around the chicken yard so the dump truck should be able to back in there. I also marked the sprinkler heads in the yard so the truck does not drive across them. I also wanted to relocate one of the sprinklers by the garden because it was in a bad spot.
I grabbed my shovel and carefully started excavating around the existing head. The plan was to use a longer section of flex pipe to move the sprinkler out of harms way. As I was removing earth I cringed when I heard the unmistakable SNAP of sprinkler pipe breaking. I was pissed. Evidently when I made this joint 10-15 years ago I was out of right angle fittings and instead used a T. To cap that unused section of the T I had a small section of pipe with a cap on it, that is what I broke.
So I took stock of what PVC fittings I had and then headed to the hardware store to grab some more along with high strength PVC cement. My intent was to try to put a fitting OVER the T joint, with it’s own cap. I primed and glopped in a ton of cement as the fit was not super tight. I was nervous when I applied water pressure it would blow apart but it actually stayed intact when I tested it the next day.
Saturday night Cindy suggested we try out a new restaurant that opened up in our area, Oak and Stone. Ever since it opened a few weeks ago I have seen large crowds as I drove by. Going on a Saturday night was going to mean waiting for sure. Wait we did, a little over an hour in total. Luckily O & S has a beer wall system that makes passing the time more enjoyable. You can get a RFID wrist band that is tied to your credit card. You then go to the wall of 48 beer taps, hold your band to the sensor and dispense whatever beer you want which is measured and charged by the ounce. It’s a very cool system that Cindy and I both enjoyed, me with my Miller like IPA and her pineapple cider which was real tasty.
Like I said the place was packed, and the energy level in there was great. It almost reminded me of the good vibes I used to get from the Naples Carrabbas, which we waited 5 minutes to get seated at last Saturday night. When we finally got seated via text message we were assigned a waiter with a great personality who was attentive. Cindy and I both enjoyed the food as well. It really was a homerun experience and I look forward to visiting Oak and Stone regularly in the future.
On Sunday we once again had some good weather with temps in the 50s early and around 80 later. I got out on my new MSX to ride the Logan Blvd extension, a new north/south roadway into Lee County. It was a unique opportunity because the extension was not being officially opened until today meaning the fresh asphalt served as a super wide, car-free, bike lane. It was cool to explore the roadway on the roughly 16 mile ride. I am really enjoying the MSX.
I spent the rest of my Sunday video editing, cleaning up the hobby room, and tying up some remaining loose ends. Over the weekend I did print an amazing light saber 3D model. It prints as one piece but includes a collapsible “blade” as part of the design. With a strong flick of the wrist the blade shoots out of the hilt and then can me pushed back inside. It is really cool, I have printed three of them so far.