Our World

Month: March 2026

  • Day 079 of 2026 – March 20th

    Day 079 of 2026 – March 20th

    Today started off as most others did. Got up my normal time, let the dogs in and out and in and out. Climber must have had an emergency, she never goes out twice in the morning. Res was having a good morning, he woofed at me to hurry up in the bedroom before I brought them downstairs, there may or may not have been a play-bow involved. As I said, he was having a good day.

    After I found out I forgot to set the timer for the coffee maker last night and started that, I worked through my email and got the rest of the project in Visio I was working on yesterday pretty much done for the first version. I was happy with the initial version. I know I am going to have to make some changes further down the line, but that’s OK. Everyone including my manager expects that. My boss is one of the best I have ever worked for, provides guidance when needed, will tell me if I mess up, will tell me if I do something great, and is more likely to take a hands off approach unless there could be legal consequences to material made public, all of which I appreciate.

    I got out for my lunch break about 11:00 and went and did a 7 mile walk today. I am having trouble getting my 10K steps per day in without spending a bunch of time with walks. I will finish this month doing it this way but am going to change things up in April and do smaller walks as breaks. If I do 4 walks around the park I can get my 6 miles or so in. I am also still considering the rec center walk with a swim in the middle, but I have to have enough time in the day to do that. I am trying very hard not to drive places if I really don’t have to. The price of gas has gotten ridiculous again.

    I got to see my Prairie Dogs again at the bottom of Power Line Trail. There are hundreds of them out here just sunbathing and looking our of their holes and digging more tunnels. They are so cute.

    Total distance: 7.04 mi
    Max elevation: 5646 ft
    Min elevation: 5461 ft
    Total climbing: 461 ft
    Total descent: -461 ft
    Average speed: 4.64 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 124
    Average temperature: 30.5
    Total time: 01:33:16

    I am taking a day off next week and am going to go explore Red Rock Park. That should be fun, I know many years ago my brother took me there when I visited him, but I have not had a chance to go back since. And, it really is not that far from the house here, drive out in the morning, spend most of the day, and then home in the afternoon. There is a hike I want to do there. I really do need to get back into the pool as well because the Mountain Swim Series keeps getting closer.

    I may next week trade off some swimming for my steps also, I am not sure yet, I need to talk with my PT tomorrow. There is a chance that I will also decide to hold off another week or so to give my shoulder a chance to heal a little more. I really messed it up when I was shoveling snow that last heavy snow we had. It was too heavy for the snow blower and we needed to make some space in the back yard for the dogs. This last snow we just left it. I really wanted the water on the lawn and we are going to be under some serious water rationing this Summer. A little bit concerned about that.

    Back to work for the rest of the afternoon. I was able to finish most of my pricing, I have one large pricing project left that I would like to get done by Monday, but if it goes over a bit it won’t hurt anyone. It’s a two claim in one project, one for electrical pricing, and one for the HVAC pricing. The electrical pricing will be the difficult one as I have to work from photos and an adjuster’s documentation. It is so much easier when I can go to the site and see it as I am pricing it. The HVAC file is easier as it’s based on sq ft and use of the building. I’ll get it done.

    Anyway, I am here watching the Aves on TV playing Chicago, hockey is the only team sport I will watch. Unfortunately ticket prices are so expensive I can’t afford to go see them live. TV has to do. And, I am watching the dogs nap. Not sure how long that will work.

    And Jesse just got home from Costco, he only had 4 items in the shopping bag. Sort of amazing, and with that I think I am going to call it a day. Tomorrow I have a PT appointment in the morning, and then I am going to go for my Saturday walk and explore a park that I haven’t had a chance to explode yet, and then I am going to maybe go to REI or Sketches and see if I can find a decent pair of hiking/trail shoes that won’t break the bank. And then this weekend I have a bunch of other things I want to get done around the yard.

    Goodnight all! See you tomorrow.

    Day 079 of 2026 – March 20th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions
  • Day 078 of 2026 – March 19th

    Day 078 of 2026 – March 19th

    Started off the day at my normal time, getting up around 6:30am and letting the dogs out and giving them their treats, and then watching them do their post snack, pre-walk morning nap while I was having my first cup of coffee and checking my email for anything urgent. It started off as a pretty calm day, and pretty much remained that way. It was already about 50 degrees this morning.

    I took my lunch about 10:30AM [I work on an Eastern Time schedule so it was 12:30PM ET] and went out for my long walk/hike that I am trying to do every day. My stride length is so long that it takes about 6.25 miles to get my 10,000 steps in. Then anything extra I walk during the day is just excess. On my walk today I saw the cutest and friendliest whippets, 3 of them and one of them looked a lot like Peanut and jumped up and gave me a few kisses.

    Then I saw some geese in one of the creeks, it looked like one of them is the fun police sitting up on the bank and overseeing the children.

    Then I finished up by heading up the hills on Power Line trail and back to the house. Took a little longer than I wanted to, but I will make up the time later in the evening by catching up on some training and procedural documentation that I am trying to get done. Wasn’t a bad hike at all, reasonable time and some elevation.

    Total distance: 6.46 mi
    Max elevation: 5657 ft
    Min elevation: 5509 ft
    Total climbing: 407 ft
    Total descent: -407 ft
    Average speed: 4.35 mi/h
    Average cadence: 58
    Average heart rate: 119
    Average temperature:
    Total time: 01:30:45

    I sat back down at my desk and spent another four hours getting my work done. At around 2:30PM I cam back upstairs and started letting the dogs out and in for their sunbathing time while I was working on email, pricing, and document review. It’s going to be really tempting this Summer to setup a table outside that I can work on while supervising the dogs in the yard. Anyways, both Climber and Res enjoyed some outside time. Climber has a leash attached to her because we are still working on “yard manners” when they are out together. Climber likes to get Res worked up and at time it gets wild enough that we worry about vet visits from someone falling. We don’t think they would ever go after each other, so that is not the concern. Anyways, they enjoyed their outside time.

    After some out time they had their afternoon walk in the park, about 1/2 a mile and then it was time for dinner (for them and then us) and relaxation time for everyone except me. I still needed to do my resistance band workout to try and get my shoulder stronger so that I can perhaps eventually stop having this shoulder discomfort/pain that I am having.

    I am still looking forward to Mountain Swim Series starting on June 14th and I really need to get back into the pool for a little bit. I am considering combining my walk and pool time tomorrow by driving down to the rec center doing a 3.2 mile walk to meet my Garmin walking challenge for March and then swim for 20-30 minutes and then continue on with my day.

    This afternoon we broke temperature records and it isn’t even Spring for another few days.

    And I think that will be it on my computer today, I am trying to cut back on screen time before bedtime. Today was a good day, there was no reason to complain about anything. I was able to solve several problems, I was able to use past skills in my current position. I never thought I would use Visio again, and yet, I spent a few hours this evening re-learning Visio. The biggest change is that now it’s a web version rather than the desktop version I was always used to. I didn’t forget that much which is a good thing. So, not only am I grateful for the nice weather, my health, my ability to judge my own fitness, Jesse, Res, and Climber, I can be thankful for things I taught myself years ago that keep coming back in my current role.

    Goodnight everyone and I will talk to you tomorrow.

    Day 078 of 2026 – March 19th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions
  • Day 077 of 2026 – March 18th

    Day 077 of 2026 – March 18th

    What’s this? 80 degrees in Aurora, CO at 4:40pm MT in the afternoon? We are almost breaking records today. Started off this morning when I got up around 45 degrees. Has slowly increased all day.

    I was able to take a nice 6.5 mile walk for my lunch break today, it was a perfect day for it as it, my little Prairie Dogs were out enjoying the nice weather and warming their bones.

    These guys are brave, the do not care at all with anyone walking near them on the path. It’s sort of awesome to see, but makes you wonder also. They are all over along the Power Line trail.

    Total distance: 6.64 mi
    Max elevation: 5639 ft
    Min elevation: 5499 ft
    Total climbing: 531 ft
    Total descent: -529 ft
    Average speed: 4.43 mi/h
    Average cadence: 59
    Average heart rate: 121
    Average temperature:
    Total time: 01:31:18

    I am still not getting into the pool, this is concerning me a little bit as I am 12 weeks away from the Mountain Swim Series, but I do want to talk with my physical therapist at my Saturday appointment before I really push it with the shoulder. Right now I have a mild aching sensation, but I don’t want this to get painful again. I am working on my endurance and leg muscles with the walking I am doing, but my shoulder and upper body strength is a problem. Most of swimming is with upper body and my shoulders get a real workout.

    I spent the rest of the day doing pricing research and answering questions from technicians on an upcoming release that is coming out soon. I will probably work a few hours this evening on tech support issues. I am finding something out that I knew, but have not really taken into account in recent years. Technicians do not read email anymore. They just don’t. If the email includes instructions they skim it but they do not actually read it. I am also finding out that text messaging is the quickest way to get someone’s attention. That seems to work every time. If I can’t get hold of them via text message they are not going to respond. Very few technicians deal with phone calls, and that sort of makes sense. It’s an interruption while they have their hands full. A text message they can usually answer fast while they are doing other things, but a phone call is distracting. Now, having said that, some of our older techs appreciate the phone call over email and text. All things to keep in mind when working with 3-4 different generations.

    There are several things that I have gained skills on in the past that make my job easier: I can find just about anything on the internet because I know how the search engines work; my education in education allows me to provide training and coaching when possible, and also know when to give up; and over the years I have significantly grown in my ability to not react when pushed, twenty years ago I am not sure I could do the job I am doing now. These skills are all ones that I am thankful for.

    This afternoon Res and Climber got some outside time.

    Res loves being outside and Climber is learning to like the outside world. She is still a little “????? What’s that noise???? Nope, let’s go in!!!” And, I still can’t really let her and Res out at the same time because she tries to annoy him and get him to run, she is a little faster and can take turns much more sharply than he can. We worry about him getting hurt as he is just a little older, a little more uncoordinated, and a little slower to turn and stop than she is.

    Also, Res is giving us a little problem with his food. We are not 100% sure what is going on, but I think he is going to need a check-up one of these days just to make sure nothing major is wrong. We honestly are not sure if he is having stomach issues, nothing bad is obvious going on (at the end of the cycle), or if he is just being picky. His teeth and gums look good, he eats the good stuff. We have never had a dog as picky as he is, and a male Greyhound as well normally is not that picky about food.

    I spent some time this evening doing my resistance band workout that I am supposed to be doing every day. It’s supposed to take 15 to 20 minutes but it takes me longer because I can’t remember what some of the exercises are. But, every little bit is supposed to help. Today’s workout looks like;

    And with that our day is basically over. I am going to sit here and read a little, and eventually call it an evening. Today was a positive day, nothing bad happened, just life, nothing to complain about. Goodnight all!

    Day 077 of 2026 – March 18th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions
  • Day 076 of 2026 – March 17th

    Day 076 of 2026 – March 17th

    Had an early start for the day. Someone booked a 7:30am conference call (it’s OK, I try to work on Eastern Time and it was 9:30am at our offices). So, we got up at our normal weekday time and I let the dogs out, gave them their morning snacks, and then got myself online. Spent a few minutes just scanning my email and any messages that came in earlier in the morning. And then it was time for my call. Not bad, I had 3 items to go over, the others had 2-3 items, each and we were done in 30 minutes or so.

    Spent a good portion of the morning re-testing an our app as some additional problems had been found in the testing process. That was fun. Yup, there is a problem and it is not new to this release. I didn’t even know it was an issue, sort of surprising that no one told me about it.

    I was able to get out for a long walk today, but my shoulder is still bothering me overnight especially. I do not want to put more stress on it, but I have to figure out a way to get some more exercise in with to burn some additional calories. My weight is not going down. I am thinking about taking 30 minutes every morning before everyone is up and at it to do my resistance band workout. And then during my lunch break I can do my outdoor workout (or swim if my shoulder improves) and then I can maybe make some progress. I am going to start running out of time for the Mountain Swim Series on June 14th. But, as I talked with Jesse about today, and I will have a similar conversation with my Physical Therapist on Saturday morning for our appointment, I have to draw a line on further damaging that tendon that is rubbing on a bone spur in my shoulder.

    Total distance: 5.09 mi
    Max elevation: 5684 ft
    Min elevation: 5562 ft
    Total climbing: 651 ft
    Total descent: -648 ft
    Average speed: 4.19 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 109
    Average temperature: 25.9
    Total time: 01:13:53

    I digress, it was a good walk, and I made it about 2 miles through my 5 miles before someone called me to ask me questions about a boiler. If figures. And for this person I never not answer. Rest of walk was nice, the weather has come up to about 70 degrees today, big improvement from Sunday and Monday.

    Late this afternoon we had asked the painters that did the interior of the house to come out and quote us on all the exterior trim work. We really want to get rid of the brown of the house and move to a burgundy for all of the trim that we have used in the past. It has looked great on houses in the past, it really looked good in Hartford and Willington. We did not do it in Florida as it just didn’t fit the house, but here in Aurora I think it will look really good. It is a little more money than I wanted to spend, but the alternative is Jesse and I spending a lot of time on ladders and we are both getting a little old for that. And, they are going to pressure wash the whole house as a part of this.

    I did the walks this evening so we could stay on schedule and Jesse stayed with the estimator for the painters. The park was nice and snow free this evening. What a difference two days make.

    Sunday 3/15/2026 Park
    Tuesday 3/17/2026 Park

    We are still getting used to the Denver weather, the temperature swings are wild. Snow one day, gone the next. The dogs do not mind, Res will get some outdoor sunbathing time tomorrow.

    So, today was a good positive day. Nothing to complain about, thankful for weather, Jesse, my health, and the dogs. Especially my office assistance Res, and then Climber who keeps me on my toes and will cuddle and play, I really need to take her outside for some ball time. And, while there is a little bit of a setback, and I am making some alternate plans just in case, I am planning for the Mountain Swim Series starting in June.

    So, with that, the day is over and will say goodnight and see everyone tomorrow.

  • Day 075 of 2026 – March 16th

    Ended up with a busy day today, started off first thing this morning while I was getting up, getting the dogs out, and trying to grab a first cup of coffee. It turns out that the someone in our IT department released an update for the app that our field technicians use before the official release date, about a week early and it was not ready. What can you do? For some reason it has worked for me perfectly all the way though the testing cycle, including in the field. So, they are going to have to try and fix the issues.

    I finally got out for a quick walk someplace around mid-day and got about 2 miles into my 4 mile loop when I got a message from my manager asking me to take a trip to Tampa, FL this afternoon through Wed. Well, all things are possible so I double checked on budget, got my flight booked and hurried back to the house to get packed. Sent my manager the new budget numbers and he bounced it by the client, nope, they may not need an inspection after all. I guess the Spring Break travel costs may have made them think twice. That’s OK.

    Didn’t get my whole workout in today. I need to get back into the pool, but my shoulder is still bothering me a bit. But, maybe tomorrow will be the day.

    Total distance: 3.37 mi
    Max elevation: 5614 ft
    Min elevation: 5517 ft
    Total climbing: 211 ft
    Total descent: -206 ft
    Average speed: 3.99 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 105
    Average temperature: 20.7
    Total time: 00:51:44

    Spent the rest of the afternoon working on work stuff and then also spent some time finally getting the APRS weather uploads to work properly. Yes!

    https://aprs.to/station/KO4YAW/weather/current

    Finally, after evening walks and dinner I had to do my recertification for the National Weather Service SkyWarn Spotters program. That was a two hour training course that I think is well worth it. It’s a good reminder of what to report, what not to report, and how. Safety matters.

    Interesting stuff. This is a better presentation than the first one I did with SkyWarn in Florida.

    Anyways, busy day but a good day. I am going to wrap things up here for the day.

  • Day 074 of 2026 – March 15th

    Day 074 of 2026 – March 15th

    Got up this morning to a gift from the “Colorado Snow Gods” and found about an inch or two of snow all over the place. Given that it was 80 degrees yesterday and is going to be warm again tomorrow, I am not that worried about shoveling it. The ground was warm so under the snow there is some ice to deal with. The dogs went out, had a great time running around in the yard.

    After Jesse got up I did walks, one at a time. Res, once he got over being cold, had a good time playing at the end of his leash in the snow.

    Climber, the puppy that she is tried to pull me down a few times, but I did walk off the path a little bit to take a look at little stream that runs through the park. We’ve been here about a year and a half now and I have yet to walk over and look at it.

    Of course Climber wanted to go swim, but that wasn’t going to happen in this lifetime. She then decided it was a good time to do zoomies at the end of her leash. I got her home, did a little backyard cleanup and then had breakfast. The snow does not help me get some of the things I had planned on getting done today done as I did want to do a few things in the backyard.

    I spent some time trying to figure out what was wrong with the CAT control for one of my radios. It seems there was a version upgrade that was causing me all sorts of grief. So, once that was figured out it seems by Yaesu FT-710 Transceiver is working again. Let’s see if that solves some of the issues I have been having. I still need to resolve the issues with the antenna, but I now have a plan for that as well, that will be taken care of once I can get a post in the ground to help support my tall antenna. I am going to post my configuration files on the KO4YAW menu at the top of this site for anyone that wants them or cares.

    And once I figured that all out I finally figured out how to get the packet bulletins to show on this WordPress site. Hey, there are some neat things in the packet bulletins, no advertising, and some really good information. You just have to find it in the groups. Take a look at the group page and see what you find: KO4YAW Packet Bulletins

    I am on a roll! I also fixed the API scripts from Weatherflow that handles our Tempest Backyard weather station. That is AWESOME news because now my APRS weather information is being sent out properly.

    I will probably figure out a way to create a weather routine for this blog as well. I also need to re-solder the antenna connection for the VHF/UHF radio, Climber pulled it down the other day off the desk and it tore the end off the antenna cable. I suck at soldering so I may ask Jesse to do that for me.

    Did the afternoon walks, fed the dogs and then it was time for our own dinner. We had some excellent veggie and beef stew. Good thing we have a few extra days for lunch.

    Tomorrows plans, I have work (of course), I really need to try to get back into the pool. If work is not too crazy I am going to try to vanish for an hours lunch break. I really want to get some longer swims in for the Mountain Lake Swim series in June. Today was a pretty good day. I got some things done that were bothering me and I kept running out of time to do it. So, what am I thankful for today? Well, my health, living in Colorado – Florida has gone crazy, the pack (Res and Climber), and Jesse for always being there.

    Day 074 of 2026 – March 15th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions

  • Day 073 of 2026 – March 14th

    Day 073 of 2026 – March 14th

    It was a nice Saturday, not only with what I was able to get done, but it was a beautiful day in general. I got up a little later than normal, around 7:15am and did the morning routine with the dogs. First Res goes out while Climber scavenges for any left over crumbs of bones from last nights snacks, and the Res comes in and Climber goes out.

    I was able to spend a little bit of time reading and catching up on my personal email. It’s never ending and when Jesse got up we had another cup of coffee and then I took Res our for a solo morning walk. I like taking them individually at least once a weekend so that we can work on leash manners and I get a little time with each of them so I can get a better idea that everything is right with them. Res did about a 2.5 mile walk. Of course about a mile away from the house he did not feel like walking anymore.

    Total distance: 2.67 mi
    Max elevation: 5655 ft
    Min elevation: 5560 ft
    Total climbing: 281 ft
    Total descent: -275 ft
    Average speed: 3.72 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 96
    Average temperature: 26.7
    Total time: 00:45:51

    Once I brought Res back from his walk it was Climbers’ turn. She gets a little longer walk, the goal with Climber is to keep her motivated and also try to tire her out. Nope, you cannot tire an overgrown puppy out. But, I tried. Climber did about 3.2 miles with a bunch of hills.

    Total distance: 3.08 mi
    Max elevation: 5648 ft
    Min elevation: 5556 ft
    Total climbing: 400 ft
    Total descent: -390 ft
    Average speed: 3.61 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 95
    Average temperature: 27.8
    Total time: 00:53:42

    After I got Climber home we had a great breakfast and then it was my turn for my longer walk/hike. I decided not to do the pool today because my shoulder still didn’t feel all that great when I was laying on it this morning. So, I parked at the rec center and went East along the power lines up into the Aurora Highlands. The goal was to get some hill work in as I am trying to build endurance. I did the no-name trail, swung up along Commerce Drive, and then back down to the rec center. About 6.3 miles total, which wasn’t all that bad. I was not going for speed on this one, I was trying to figure out hydration. It was the first time that I carried my Camel Back since about five years ago. I think it helped.

    I am still working towards the Mountain Swim series that is now 13 weeks out. My shoulder is the great unknown at this point. It is a 2 mile swim and if my shoulder can not handle that in advance I may not be able to do the swim. But, let’s stay positive for the moment and continue to get into shape for that. I need to lose 5 more pounds. Today’s weigh in was at 221.3 pounds, with 7.3% body fat (I am doubting that number), 195 pounds of muscle, and about 60 pounds of water. My BMI is still a little high, around 27.8, but I am not a fan of BMI, I think it keeps people too skinny. I am just about at my best weight, as I said, 5 more pounds down. I am not all that worried about it, but I would like to be able to fit into my wet suite.

    Yaw:213.07106,Pitch:-8.703760286169942,Roll:2.4701494816793974
    Yaw:167.99226,Pitch:-30.760468995375312,Roll:-1.30971783888333
    Yaw:249.27217,Pitch:-3.1414844455062347,Roll:-2.012562484599414
    Yaw:237.41953,Pitch:-0.5940134223635406,Roll:-2.028460242879362
    Yaw:47.578976,Pitch:-6.033408448402616,Roll:-1.124493634013504
    Total distance: 6.61 mi
    Max elevation: 5770 ft
    Min elevation: 5550 ft
    Total climbing: 714 ft
    Total descent: -696 ft
    Average speed: 4.17 mi/h
    Average cadence: 57
    Average heart rate: 119
    Average temperature:
    Total time: 01:37:25

    After my walk I did need to go to Lowe’s real quick. I had to get a converter to go from the output of the Jackrey solar batteries which has a 50 Amp Range style plug, to the generator connection plug that under the electrical panel. The voltages match, the phases match, but for some reason Jackrey came out with a plug style that you can only connect a range to. I just do not understand why they didn’t go with a true twist lock type connection.

    This evening Jesse fire up the flat top for the season and we had hamburgers for dinner along with a pasta salad. The burgers are always so good when they are done on the flat top outside. Jesse grills them, then puts onion on the top, covered with cheese. By the time it is done it is all melted together and so good. Add some pickles and barbecue sauce and it gets better.

    And with that the day is over. I did get a chance to try and figure out what is happening with my amateur (ham) radio station, I am just having all sorts of transmit audio issues. I am starting to think it’s a permissions issue. I cannot write to any output port. Reading works pretty will but writing (output audio) is just a problem. The thing that drives me nuts is that this all used to work, I think I am going to have to fire up the old server and see what I did differently. I am not 100% sure I have all the old configuration anymore, but I can try.

    The antenna extender poles arrived today so we may be able to fix the UHF/VHF station. The antenna is too close to the roof and I can’t get the bottom spokes the way they are supposed to be. We will see if that fixes the APRS side of things. (APRS stands for Automatic Packet Reporting System), it is based on packet radio, but has a lot of additional functionality. The older packet operators hate it, but it is one of the fastest growing parts of ham radio. Short messages with location that digital repeaters can forward.

    Now it is time to relax and watch some TV and catch up on some Internet Things. Like this blog post. See, a positive day, things to be thankful for, and continuing to work towards an upcoming event. Not a bad day.

    Before I leave I want to share some photos from our backyard. While it is going to be really cold tomorrow, the Spring flowers, the crocuses and lilies are starting to come up. It’s going to soon be time to fix the irrigation system, and make the changes I want to make this year.

    Day 073 of 2026 – March 14th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions

  • Day 072 of 2026 – March 13th

    Today started off as normal, up before the sun came up, let the dogs out – they go out by themselves or I would be refereeing a game of chase, in the dark, in a yard with raised planters, rocks, retaining walls, and steps. Yup, not happening. So got them all taken care of, then sat down for my morning “stroll” through my to-do list, email, and pricing requests.

    After Jesse got up and I was able to spread out at my desk I got a rather large pricing project done and submitted. That one was a major hurdle as I was not sure if I had enough information, but I did. Then I spent the rest of the day on various work stuff. Jesse had some appointments this afternoon so I went out after work for my walk.

    I really did not get a chance to do a hard workout as I am still feeling my travel a bit. I think I am either going to go swim tomorrow or I am going to go up the the higher trails off to the east of the rec center and get some hill workouts in. We will see what I feel like in the morning. The photograph above is from the power line trail looking off to the West. I like the mountains.

    Total distance: 3.26 mi
    Max elevation: 5652 ft
    Min elevation: 5557 ft
    Total climbing: 330 ft
    Total descent: -331 ft
    Average speed: 4.03 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 100
    Average temperature: 25.4
    Total time: 00:49:20

    Anyways got back from my walk and it was almost time to take the dogs for their evening walks. It was a nice day in the park today, a little windy but still nice. We are supposed to get up in the high 70s tomorrow, but then Mother Nature has a surprise for us on Sunday (or so the weather people are telling us). We need rain. We really need rain.

    Had Pizza for dinner, frozen pizza, but Jesse adds toppings and spices to it so it turns out good, and they are a good cheap “cheat” meal. Jesse had to run to Costco after dinner since he will not go on weekends, they are just too busy. So, I am sitting here going through my personal list of emails and spam, and writing a little about today.

    Climber is laying down trying to take the fur off one of their toys, and Res is pretending that he doesn’t want to jump in and help her. Oops. that didn’t last long, they are now both napping.

    Yaw:239.80942,Pitch:-29.904538412241227,Roll:-2.4066560509069745
    Yaw:288.28818,Pitch:-27.773142221115727,Roll:8.577604263201202
    Yaw:324.31003,Pitch:-27.321376618992097,Roll:2.084974320164349

    I spent some time today trying to figure out a training plan for the Mountain Lake Swim series in June. I think I can do it but I am not sure that I am going to be able to follow someone else’s training plans. I think I messed up my shoulder by trying to break the routine I know and understand. I need to get back in the pool and get back into the routine again. It’s been a week out of the water and that kills my stamina. I also think I have lost the water weight that I gained while I was traveling this last week. I always put on between 7 to 10 pounds when I travel and this trip was no different. Came back 7.5 pounds heavy, but thankfully I have already lost all but 2 pounds and I figure those will be gone tomorrow.

    Today was a pretty positive day, nothing to complain about, and I wrote about a future event and expressed my thankfulness for my health, Jesse, my dogs, and where we live. And especially when we moved.

    Day 072 of 2026 – March 13th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions

  • Day 071 of 2026 – March 12th

    It was a very busy day today. Started off the day having to wake the dogs up, they seem to have gotten into the habit of sleeping in late, and I also think the time change is messing with them. Got them downstairs and did there outs and snacks. Res is not pleased with his modified treat diet. He looked at me with the “where’s the beef” look when I gave him his apple and pumpkin treats.

    Spent all day working, it was extremely busy today and I was unable to get a lunch break today. Lot’s of Cause of Loss determination requests, pricing requests, and quote/invoice review tasks. I end the day with one left to do and that one is going to take me a while. I ended up spending an extra 3-4 hours this evening on my tech coaching tasks. Some of them were pretty urgent so I am happy I looked.

    Anyways, I guess Climber must of heard me mutter that I needed to clean my desk, so she “helped” out. To bad it wasn’t my desk that I work at she cleaned off. Yes, there were sparks. No dogs got hurt in the cleaning effort. And, best of all she knew she messed up because I walked upstairs a while later and she had put herself in her crate with the door open. I didn’t even have to do it.

    Yup, that’s one of my ham radios laying on the floor with all of it’s accessories. The blue bed, that is where Res was laying right before Climber apparently got hooked on a wire as she was someplace she didn’t belong. He ran upstairs, fast. I guess I can look at the positive side of this, I needed to put some wire ties up anyways. This could be a weekend project. Not really sure yet.

    Anyways, I don’t have too much more to say for today. Sort of a boring day other than work. Tomorrow I am going to try to get outside for an hour, I also want to try and get on some resistance band training done. I have to get my shoulder in somewhat better shape so I can do somewhat good during the June 12th Mountain Swim Event. I plan on getting back into the pool this weekend.

    Day 071 of 2026 – March 12th

    18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA
    Get directions

  • Day 070 of 2026 – March 11th

    Day 070 of 2026 – March 11th

    And today is going to be a short post, it is a travel day. I headed to the airport around 10AM this morning and it was a good thing I did. The traffic getting to the rental car facility was extremely heavy, took me 1 hour to go 3 miles once I got on the access road. After that the entire airport experience was not all that bad. There was a ton of construction ongoing and this was backing up traffic. It’s a good thing I have a tendency to be at the airport way early, as if I was one of those last minute flyers I would have never made it.

    Anyways got through bag drop and TSA in a reasonable amount of time and was able to get a bunch of work done while waiting for my flight. The flight so far has been good. The food was good as well.

    Let’s see if we are on time and actually get into the gate OK. We got in on time, luggage was somewhat quick, and I am home.

    That’s going to wrap it up for the day.