Category ElectricUnicycles

I started off Father’s Day weekend with a run at the track despite my lower body still dealing with aching knees and a few other pains.  The air was thick with humidity and I felt like just finishing the distance was the primary goal.  It reflected in my pace which was the slowest I have logged in a couple months, oh well. I was pretty wiped out by the end of it.

So since I got work done on Thursday that meant I didn’t have to do quite as much as normal this weekend. Of course that meant I still found other things to do as that list never ends.

Mid-morning we took the dogs on a ride to Tractor Supply to get chicken supplies.  On the way back we dropped Sadie off at Ali’s.  Her and Shugs just got back from a trip up to Sea Isle City New Jersey with Ali’s parents.  For around a half decade or so I used to go to SIC with my first wife’s family so I was very familiar with it.  It is a great little place and in some ways reminded me of Rehoboth.

Mid-afternoon Cindy and I did an impromptu ride to the swamp, me on my Msuper and Cindy on her mountain bike. It was a cool little trip.  I was excited to see that they have replaced roughly half of the decking for the rotting boardwalk with the trex style composite wood which should last forever.

So we made plans to go to The Warehouse to eat dinner for Father’s Day.  Shortly before we were ready to leave I let Elsa out to go to the bathroom while I closed up the chicken area.  As I walked back up to the house I called Elsa over and stopped dead in my tracks.  She was covered in dirt. But I realized it wasn’t dirt, it was actually sludge.

Earlier in the day I dumped one of the rain barrels that was dry rotting.  In the bottom of it was a collection of black disgusting sludge that I stupidly didn’t hose away.  Elsa evidently found the smell of this substance intoxicating and decided to roll around in it.  I couldn’t be mad at her, she looked so proud of herself.

So even though we were both all cleaned up and ready to leave we had to give Elsa a tag team bath by the side of the house, trying to not get ourselves too dirty in the process.  It was quite the funny situation.

So despite being open for nearly a year, Cindy and I have never frequented the Warehouse before.  It is the closest upscale restaurant in our area.  We had heard good things about the place from others.  We walked out of there echoing the same feelings.  The food was great, the design of the space was cool and modern, our waitress was extremely friendly and attentive, and the restaurant was immaculately clean.  Hell as I was sitting there somebody was walking around cleaning the baseboards.  We will definitely be back.

The movie we went to see was Ocean’s 8, something Cindy said she wanted to see.  I liked all the other movies in the Ocean series so I was fine to see this one.  For whatever reason I was really sleepy which did not help my enjoyment of the movie.  It was a good flick although I would not rate it as highly as the originals.  It definitely does not benefit from the theater experience and can be enjoyed just the same at home as a rental.  I’d give it a solid B.

Sunday morning I took off for another EUC ride, this time on the Monster.  The plan was for Cindy to meet me at Dunkin Donuts with Elsa and then she could walk Elsa around while I rode with them.  Well the first part of the plan went well, the ride to Dunkin Donuts flew by quickly.

I wore my new full face helmet for the ride.  I wanted to see how comfortable it would be now that the full effect of Florida summer heat is on us.  The answer was, not bad.  As long as I was rolling the airflow through the helmet kept me comfortable and the big long visor kept the sun off my face.  When I was sitting still waiting for Cindy to come out with coffee it got a little warm. I did discover one big drawback with the helmet, I can’t drink coffee while wearing it.  Almost every ride video you see of me will involve me drinking coffee during it so I will need to plan accordingly.

I talked to my dad during the afternoon.  He appreciated my Father’s Day gift, a pair of those wrap around sunglasses old people wear that go over your existing glasses.  Even though it was really a gag gift dad actually will wear them because they do serve a practical purpose and look a little ridiculous, a combo he can endorse.

Late Sunday afternoon I hooked up with Marty, an EUC buddy of mine who lives in the LA area.  We are going to be doing what equates to an Electric Unicycle podcast, at least testing it out.  We wanted to test out the logistics before we do the official launch next weekend.  I used Skype for us to do a two way video call and then broadcast that window out to YouTube.  There are a few bugs to work out but I think it will work out pretty well.

Even though I have known Marty via our EUC connection I never actually spoke to him, until yesterday.  We had no issue going back and forth about stuff.  I actually talked to him for around an hour on Skype BEFORE I started broadcasting.  He has some good ideas for the content of the show which I think I will more or less his thing while I concentrate on the technical aspects.  If you want to see how our test run went look below.  I streamed for almost two hours which is crazy.

So after working today I have the next two days off which will be dedicated to testing the Ninebot Z10 which is scheduled to be delivered to the house today.  It should be a fun and busy couple days which will involve me driving all over the place to test the wheel in various conditions/locations.  See you Thursday.

Yes you saw nothing from me late last week because I was at the tax certificate sale. It was boring but ran efficiently.  There was something noteworthy on Friday that I will cover more below.

It was a weekend full of both worthwhile and frustrating moments.  On Saturday morning we set an early alarm but not to get up and run as we normally try to do.  This alarm was so we could go out and clean the chicken coop before heading down to Lowedermilk Beach for the Wear Orange event.

Wear Orange is a national movement whose goal is to actually do something about rampant gun violence outside of the meaningless “thoughts and prayers” that are dumped out on social media after each national gun related tragedy.  The movement is not about abolishing the second amendment.  It’s about enacting common sense gun laws that are actually enforced, a cause I definitely support.

So anyway, the Naples chapter includes Susan, a friend of mine from the running club.  She knew I flew drones and asked if I would be willing to use my drone to film a video of something they planned on the beach where the event participants would spell out GUN VIOLENCE.  She thought it would be cool to capture it from above.

We got on site a little after 8.  It wasn’t long before Cindy and I started helping Susan’s husband George, who I served on the running club board of directors with for years, lay out the letters on the beach.  George and Susan had put a lot of planning into this.  He had the a drawing sketched out ahead of time that we used as a template.  He brought a bunch of dixie cups that we used as human markers.  Basically wherever there was a cup, that was where we wanted a person to stand.  It was a good plan.  Laying out the template took more time than I expected.  Certain letters like G’s and S’s are especially challenging to get right from a ground perspective.

So we got back up to the pavilion in time to hear a couple of the speakers for the event.  They were compelling, touching and impactful stories of how gun violence affected their lives and what they are doing about it.  It was then time for the beach portion of the program.  As everyone headed toward the beach I tried to get my drone in the air.  I had some issues that had me worried for a bit.  The GPS in the drone flagged me as being in a “caution” area as I we were not that far from the Naples airport.  I had to acknowledge the potential risk of doing so and it took me several minutes to get through all of the prompts to finally allow me to take off.

By the time I got airborne the crowd was pretty much in place.  It took a bit of fine tuning for me to get the shot where I could see everything well.  Despite the considerable wind at the beach the Mavic Pro held position flawlessly.  Under Susan and Cindy’s direction the participants went through the routine and I think it turned out pretty well on video.  It certainly wasn’t marching band precision but for a first time I think everyone did great.

So let me fill in the blanks with the Prius.  On Friday after stopping for coffee on my way in I turned the car back on and was immediately presented with the “red triangle of death”.   This is an error condition that typically means something very serious is wrong with the hybrid power system.  More often than not it means your battery has a problem.

I have sort of been waiting for this to happen.  The prior owner told me the battery had been replaced once right around the 100,000 mile mark.  Considering the Prius now has almost 215,000 miles I figured it was only a matter of time until the batteries went south.

The reason this is a dreaded occasion for a typical Prius owner is because of the potential repair expense it represents.  A dealer can easily charge you $4000 for a brand new battery pack.  Considering our Prius is probably not even worth $4000 that didn’t make any sense.  Thankfully over the years an alternative solution to this problem has evolved.  There are a number of companies that specialize in swapping out Prius batteries with rebuilt packs at a much lower cost than new.  Sure you won’t get the lifespan of a new pack but depending on your situation that may not be a big deal.  For me, I am looking at getting a Chevy Bolt in the next year or so, so I don’t need a 5 year solution.

So anyway a quick search online revealed a number of companies that do this.  I landed on battery4prius.com  This was a company started in California back in 2009 but have since opened another location in Homestead, just across the state from us.  In addition to installing rebuilt batteries, they offer door to door service where they come to you and do the swap which is super convenient.  The cost for this is not awful, only $145 to come to Naples.

So after work on Friday I contacted them.  The cost for a battery warrantied for one year or 20,000 miles was $750 plus the travel charge.  Resolving the issue for less than 25% of what a dealer would charge sounded good to me so I booked an appointment.  I was surprised when he said a guy could come out on Sunday, great.  Ok, let me get back to chronological order.

So when we got back on Saturday I wasted little time before jumping on the tractor after lunch.  The rain, which is FAR ahead of normal amounts for May has made weekly grass mowing a necessity once again.  The positive is at least the property looks green and healthy again instead of brown and dead.  After mowing we headed to Home Depot.

As I was mowing I was thinking about Cindy’s RV and how it is going to survive in the back yard during rainy season.  I came up with the idea of parking it up on some patio stones to keep it off the water soaked ground underneath.  At the store we found some very large 20 inch square pavers that I thought would work out well.  We also got some smaller pavers to put in front of the entrance to the RV as a landing.

When we got home we wasted little time before setting it up.  We hooked up the Tacoma to the 26 foot camper and first pulled it away so Cindy could mow down the grass it resides on.  I then did a loop around the back yard and returned to the parking spot so we could pull the RV up onto the pavers. The weight of the unit cracked a couple of the blocks as we drove across them but they were still functional.  It was weird, just adding the couple inches of height from the pavers made the entire RV seem significantly higher. This simple addition should make the RV  more stable during wet season and keep the tires from being in constant contact with the soggy ground below.

Later in the weekend I enjoyed a Zima in style.

So Sunday I found myself aggravated.  The Prius battery guy had originally said something about the installer being able to come earlier in the day which I said was ok, however the guy never followed up with me so I assumed we were back to original 12-2 time window.  I was hesitant to leave the house all day because I didn’t want to miss his arrival.

I had to do an impromptu tractor repair during the day.  Cindy agreed to mow the back section of the yard.  After I filled the tractor up and was working inside she came and got me, saying the tractor wouldn’t move.  WTF, I just backed it out and it was fine?

So after sitting on the Craftsman and verifying it was screwed I went back inside for a bit.  I was already frustrated about the Prius guy, diagnosing the tractor in the 90 degree heat was not something I felt like doing, but it had to be done.  So I went back outside and pulled off the deck, hoping to not see a shredded drive system above it.  I had already replaced the pulleys and drive belt once before.  I actually caught a break this time, the belt had just slipped off a pulley which I popped back on in 15 seconds.

While the deck was off Cindy gave it a thorough cleaning as it was encased in green organic material.  After she was done it revealed the mower deck is starting to fail, a byproduct of the cheap stamped metal they make them out of.  There were a couple holes in it, one almost golf ball sized.  I actually had this same problem with my old Cub Cadet mower.  The bigger the hole gets the more problem it creates as it allows grass clippings to fly up onto the pulley system, making a bigger mess.

I “fixed” it for now by cutting apart a section of aluminum gutter and then pop riveting it over the holes, creating a barrier.  Like I said, I have run into this before and I know my repair at best will only buy me some time before the entire deck would need to be replaced.  However by the time that happens I am hoping it might be time for a new tractor as well.  I’d love to find a somewhat affordable tractor with a welded deck but they don’t seem to exist.

Well 2PM came and went with nobody showing up.  I sent texts and left voicemails asking what the deal was and received no response.  I was very frustrated and around 5PM had given up on them showing and agreed to ride wheels to the grocery store with Cindy.  Wouldn’t you know it, literally 5 minutes after we left I get a call from the 305 area code.  It was the installer.

This was not the owner of the company I had been communicating with, this was one of the guys that does the work.  I asked him if he was the guy that was supposed to be on site by 2PM?  He said he was.  He said he told his boss that he was running behind schedule around noon but for whatever reason this was never relayed to me.  Well we immediately turned around and headed back to the house.  We literally passed the installer on the way out, he said he saw us on the wheels and thought it was bizarre.

The guys doing the work was a 24 year old kid and his dad.  Jonathan was also a full time HVAC student but also works at Wal-mart and installs Prius batteries on the weekends.  Just hearing that made me immediately soften the edge of the anger I was feeling about the situation.  I respect hard work.  He was very apologetic that I was not told about the delay.  He told me that they can actually get the battery replaced in less than an hour which was shocking.  When I looked online about the process of changing the battery it was described as a 3-4 hour job.  Jonathan said it took them longer when they first started but like anything in life, the more you do it the more proficient you become.

They backed up those words, the original battery was pulled out of the car in 25 minutes or less and in another 10 minutes they were doing some initial testing.  They had some issues with some connections that they had to address but after doing so they had me take the car on a solo test drive and all seemed well for the 10 miles or so that I tested it.  I returned, paid them and felt very fortunate to get the problem addressed quickly and without spending 4k.  Jonathan told me if I had any problem to let them know.  His good attitude totally turned what was a negative situation into a positive one.

Of course you know what happens next.  On my drive into work today the red triangle of death returned. The symptoms now are different however.  When the failure occurred on Friday the car drove horribly, only running on the anemic gas engine.  Today after the light popped back up it actually still drove normally and the battery itself appears to be functioning as it should.  I suspect this is a re-occurrence of the same connection problem they saw yesterday.  I have a message in asking for remediation.  I guess we’ll see how solid that warranty is.

If you have Netflix, check out Evil Genius.  It’s four episode story of one of the most bizarre crime stories I ever heard of.

Yesterday was a good day.  The roofer arrived bright and early and got to work.  It was a large crew of at least a dozen guys.  Before long the inside of the house was filled with the noise of a shingle roof being removed which was a lot of scraping and banging.  Later in the day it was supplemented with a lot of banging and hammering as they re-nailed all of the exposed plywood to bring it up to code level strength.

The workers seemed very efficient and meticulous, laying tarps everywhere to catch any debris, which there was a lot of.  By the time they wrapped up for the day around 2PM three quarters of the roof had been stripped, renailed, and covered with the new rubberized underlayment.  All that remains is the front face of the roof that they are actively tearing into as I type.  After this we have around a week to wait until county inspectors check things out before the metal can be attached.

I flew my drone overhead twice yesterday to get a unique high perspective on the work and the transformation as it occurs.  It may be the first time I had the Mavic in the air since the hurricane.

I busted ass on more list items yesterday.  At this point out of the 15 items on my staycation to do list, only one remains, fixing the pool pump timer.  I plan to look at that issue today and hopefully be able to cross it off as well.  Don’t get the wrong idea, once the list is complete I won’t be sitting around doing nothing the rest of the week.  I always have something to do that either needs to be done or I want to do for entertainment, always.  Extended time off at home always makes me feel confident that I could retire tomorrow and not be bored at all.

Late in the afternoon yesterday I found some time to go cruise on my little Mten3 wheel, riding more backwards than forward.

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.

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

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

Saturday morning I got up to do my run.  I knew it was supposed to be cool but I didn’t expect it to be cold.  Well the thermometer in the car read 45 degrees on the way to the track.  I was glad I chose a long sleeve t-shirt to run in.  It took me at least three laps until my internal body temperature started to regulate against the cold air.  The run went as most do, thoughts of quitting early to thoughts of relief as I finish up.

After finishing up chicken chores and weeding we headed out with Elsa to run some errands.  One of the things we picked up was a new strainer basket for the pool pump as well as a new hose for the inline chlorinator.  It is a hose that connects the chlorinator to the return water feed.  I have futzed with this hose several times over the years.  It is installed at an odd angle and has a tendency to want to collapse on itself, making it useless.  I have replaced it already a few times only to have it collapse shortly thereafter.  After some careful manipulation of the support spring and hose I think I finally have it as it should be.  Even though it was a very minor repair, I was able to skim some satisfaction from finally getting it installed right.

Cindy and I made plans to go to Seasons 52 to celebrate our five year anniversary. I had tried early in the week to get reservations but the time block between 3:45 and 8:15 was booked solid.  We decided we would just go there and hang at the bar to wait for a table.

When we got there at 5:30 the lot was already quite full.  We went inside fully prepared to wait, awhile.  We did not realize that Seasons 52 had a similar layout to Carrabas.  The right side of the house is the formal dining room where the reservations are held.  However around the bar on the left there are a booths that are first come first serve.  They were all full but there was only one couple waiting for one ahead of us. We wound up sitting down after 10 minutes or less, an unexpected outcome.

Our dinner was very good.  Cindy and I both cleaned our plates and the little miniature desert shot glasses we ordered.  It was probably one of the more expensive dinners for two but it was a special occasion worthy of the effort.  We both left amazed that we somehow managed to complete the dinner in roughly two hours, travel included.    Saturday night we watched the Tom Cruise version of The Mummy.  It was entertaining enough and had an ending that I definitely did not expect.  It was a notch below what I normally get out of Tom’s movies but I’d still go B+ overall.

Sunday was a beautiful morning.  Cindy and I went to North Collier Park to ride around, her on the big Segway I2, me on the tiny Mten3.  Not far into the ride I heard a loud beep come from my wheel.  I looked down and saw the battery indicator was not full, which it normally would be.  I quickly realized that I must have forgotten to recharge the wheel after I rode it to Dunkin Donuts a couple weeks ago.  The battery level indicator showed about half full so I thought I would be fine for our ride.  I babied the wheel for another two or three miles but the beeping soon became incessant so we had to cut the ride short.  Even with the abbreviated ride we had fun.

The rest of our Sunday was laid back.  I had a number of 3D prints cooking and Cindy was hard core into her crafting.  I also got several hours of time in WoW which was fun since the week prior had little time for such activity.  We emerged from the weekend happy with how it flowed and looking forward to the next.

So despite me approaching the end of two weeks since I started getting symptoms, I am still trying to shake the last vestiges of illness.  At this point I am left with random nasty sounding coughing fits, nose blowing and a general overall decrease in energy levels/reserves.  Cindy has been in bad shape all week, missing work, and at times being able to hardly function.  She is improving as well but still has a long way to go.

Last night Katie stopped by, we showed her the big Segway i2.  She took a few spins around the front yard and seemed to have fun although I know she would probably get bored compared to the speed and agility she has become accustomed to with her Mten3.  I was a bit more aggressive with my riding, doing some hard S-turns up and down the driveway.  Even though I only ever skied once, the motion really reminded me of slalom skiing.  I’m looking forward to us taking the big PT out somewhere this weekend to see how it goes.

So during my lunch on Monday I decided to go to Costco to pick up my new glasses.  I figured an hour would be plenty of time.  Well silly me forgot we are in the sweaty, stinky part of snowbird season.  The parking lot was nearly full, despite it being the middle of a Monday.  The optical department was equally full.  I had at least 10 old people ahead of me.  I looked for some “express” spot to pick up glasses but they evidently had no such thing.

I waited patiently by the large screen TV’s and was surprised they have once again raised the bar on monster screens.  I gawked at an 82″ behemoth set, wow.  Finally my turn came.  The clerk got out my glasses and handed them to me to try on.  Slipping them on for the first time was sort of surreal.  All that stuff that I have just become accustomed to having distortion was now suddenly laser clear.  Wow, it was a bit disorienting to be honest but I confirmed the glasses are doing what they should be and took off.

I wore them to drive and found myself constantly testing myself, reading license plates, small text on signs, and billboards, all things that used to be blurred beyond recognition.  It was very cool.  The drawback is if I need to see something close to me it is now blurry, requiring me to flip the glasses up to see it.  I don’t really mind wearing the glasses and being able to have the world more in focus is a good feeling.

So since being given the dead Segway I2 I have been spending time and money getting the stuff required to bring it back to life.  Last week I received a used set of batteries.  Yesterday I received a brand new key for the unit.  I wasted little time before testing the combo out to see if the Segway was indeed functional.  I smiled as I heard the unit come to life.  A quick step on a footpad and I was wheeling around the house, very slowly.  Of course I needed to go outside.

One thing I immediately noticed was the mileage on the wheel. This thing was made in 2011 yet the odometer shows it has a grand total of 24 MILES on it. Wow, I knew it was hardly used from the description our friend gave us but this thing is basically brand new.  There are people that have 10,000 miles or more on their Segways.

It became obvious the wheel was locked in “beginner mode” that limits speed to a paltry 6MPH.  It was not clear immediately how to unlock that restriction so I just rode around as is.  Even with the restriction it was fun.  This thing is so substantial it feels like you are driving a vehicle, a very heavy duty vehicle.   I quickly took it into the back yard and had fun tooling around.  I let Cindy on it as well for a quick test, she had no problems acclimating to the controls.  It is definitely a more total body movement to control the Segway, you can really lean into it in all four directions, depending on your speed.

Just as the sun was going down I finally figured out how to bypass the speed restriction, unlocking the full 12.5mph top end.  Man, what a difference.  It is really fun.  I can’t wait to take it out to some of our riding spots to see how it goes.  I suspect Cindy will be riding it more because of some of her physical issues right now but I look forward to having a blast on the grandfather tech of the electric unicycles I love so much.

And now with the plugs!

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Creality Cr-10 3D printer – http://amzn.to/2w7yqIF
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STX Elbow Pads – http://amzn.to/2oNMrYJ
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Looking for Gotway, Inmotion or KingSong electric unicycles?
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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 all day Friday I felt absolutely awful after the colonoscopy.  Based on the symptoms which included fever, chills, and debilitating body aches, it became clear to me that this wasn’t a cold I was fighting, it was the flu.  My energy level was just non-existent, watching TV was too much work, seriously.  I went to bed that night feeling miserable, luckily it seems my fever broke sometime during the night.

On Saturday I was far from normal but at least I could function, even doing some normal chore stuff without having to take a 2 hour nap in between.  It felt good to at least have regained some level of functionality.  I got some 3D printing in, some WoW, and we watched a Hitman’s Bodyguard Saturday night with Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson.  It was funny as long as you aren’t a prude.  I am pretty sure the word MF’r was used triple digits in total.  It was B+ for me.

Sunday morning my improvement continued from an energy perspective however I still had awful coughing fits and my red, sore nose continued to require regular blowing.  Unfortunately as I was improving Cindy was sliding downhill.  She obviously has whatever I have, only a day or two behind symptom-wise.

I actually felt good enough to go out on an EUC ride late morning.  The weather yesterday was just about perfect with temps in the mid-70’s with low humidity.  It felt so good to just be out cruising around after feeling so shitty for the last 3-4 days.

I have been having the check engine light on the Prius come on a couple times in the last week or so.  My code reader indicated it was an error code that has to do with the coolant control valve.  A quick internet search revealed this is a common failure in the 2nd Gen Prius.  A video search revealed it was something that looks to be somewhat of a hassle but doable by someone with my mediocre mechanic skillset.  I ordered a genuine Toyota part which I hope to install next weekend.

During the afternoon I got around to hanging up some stuff for Cindy in the office for her crafting.  I 3D printed a bunch of roll holders to hold her Cameo vinyl rolls.  I also printed these cool hexagon shaped storage cubes that we mounted on the other wall.  You can add as many as you like to create a cool geometric looking storage grid.  Finally we added a light over the top of her Cameo.  Of course it is no ordinary light, it’s a Philips Hue bulb that you can voice control with the Echo.

I’m hoping my return to good health continues to accelerate.  It seems once a year I come down with a knock me on my ass sort of illness, hopefully I will be in the clear for the rest of 2018.