What a day! It was the first day of Daylight Savings Time for 2026 so everyone lost an hour of sleep. My awesome body alarm got be up normal time, about 6:45 or so in the new time, which does go along with my waking up around 5:45 standard time. Of course the dogs were all confused, Res looked at me like I lost my ever beloved mind. Climber was like, “Cool!! Let’s go”.
I came downstairs, did the morning snacks and outs for the dogs and then sat down and had my cup of coffee. I did have to do a quick check on my work email to make sure none of the techs that had appointments today needed anything. Then I finally had time to do the firmware update on my handheld radio that needed attention. That is not an easy thing to do so I was putting it off until I could find some time to do it. I am still not sure it is working properly after the update, I will need to figure that out in the next few days.
I spent a few minutes catching up on social media. The photograph in the front of today’s post came up in my memories. These are always neat to see, but a little sad as well. Each of the dogs in the photo were part of our original pack, from right to left we have Ranger (Army Ranger), standing over Peanut (BL Merry Go Round), then we have Mindy (Puzzle Patch) laying down, then Lady (Midnight Lady) is in mid-stretch, and Leona (Dazzle Leona Lee) just being Leona. Peanut was Jesse’s dog, Ranger was everyone’s dog, Mindy was most definitely mine – Mindy and I had a connection that went beyond anything I ever experienced. She alerted (with no training) an any health issue, and she also knew the moment my plane touched down in Florida and would go lay by the garage door waiting for me. Lady was probably my dog, she remembered me from her farm days, and Leona was just Leona. She was a sweet dog, but really just lived her own life. She was attached to her sister (Lady and Leona were litter-mates).
After Jesse got up I went and took the dogs for their walk, I did lone walks today. Res got a little over a mile and a half. I think he may have scraped a toe in the yard this morning and I think it was starting to bother him. Climber actually took me on a walk, she knew exactly where she wanted to go and I did have to provide some guidance to make sure she didn’t get too crazy with her wants. We did almost 3 miles, and she was fine when she decided that it was time to head home.
After I got back with them and had breakfast I decided to go out and do my own walk/hike to see what I could find after our snow. It was challenging in some places because some sidewalks were not clear so I had to walk on the curb or the edge of the road. But, I went down to the Toll Gate Trail and walked 7.27 miles. I didn’t push it and did OK. The goal was to get some vertical elevation in as well as catch up on my steps. I was going to walk to the rec center and spend some time in the gym, but after I saw what a nice day it was outside I decided to just stick with the hike and go longer than I normally do.
Max elevation: 5661 ft
Min elevation: 5483 ft
Total climbing: 434 ft
Total descent: -428 ft
Average speed: 4.01 mi/h
Average cadence: 56
Average heart rate: 106
Average temperature:
Total time: 01:55:52
In one area the trail crosses near a little dam and the ducks are already in the water looking for food.
After I got home from my walk FedEx received the second part of our Jackry battery backup system. It has a different plug that I need to figure out how to adapt to the generator connection that is connected to the house transfer switch. I need the 30Amp 240V from the photo below, I think I will need to top outlet (the one that says AC 120V/240V 30A). The plug itself is rated for 50Amps which is what the problem is. I may have to add a second outlet for the battery system, I really do not want to do that though, it’s really not the right way to do it.
Jesse is going to let them charge over the next two days while I am out of town, we can charge from the solar panels but it is a time consuming process, but as Jesse put it, “The sun is free – plugging it in costs me money.”
Then I got a notification in on my phone reminding me to check into the hotel. I like the digital keys and if I check in in advance I usually get a digital key and don’t have to deal with the front desk. The issue is that even though Hilton advertises this as a feature for the high reward club members, the local hotel has a choice not to use it. They claim “software issues are preventing it” but the reality is that they want to swipe your credit card locally instead of charging it through corporate Hilton. Well, when I went to check in I was informed by the AI robot that the digital check in could not be processed. So, I chatted the hotel and was told, pretty rudely I might admit, that the hotel does not do digital check-in and I can check in at the desk when I get there. So, I saved the company 100.00 for my stay and changed to the Holiday Inn Express that is actually a little closer, and canceled my Hilton reservation. I actually prefer IHG hotels, but have been using Hilton more due to the digital keys. Oh well, I am slowly re-evaluating that.
I did spend a little time working this afternoon, I had to finish some app testing for our upcoming app release and it’s a good thing I checked because I did find some problems between the iPhone version and the Android version. I have to send some videos and screen captures to my manager so that maybe he can get it fixed. It’s not a major deal but it will cause the results from the two app versions to be different in a time where we are trying to keep things uniform. I tested the Electrical Service Panel, Electrical Wiring, Electrical Outlets, Water Heater, and the Refrigerator workflows. I know, I am not supposed to work on a Sunday, but I am running tight on creating training material and now I have enough that I can finish some work on my flight tomorrow and that makes me much less stressed.
And we had a good shrimp/salmon/rice dinner and I finished packing for my trip tomorrow. I always end up over-packing by a day or two, but I never know when an extra day is going to be added onto my trip. I am also now trying to be a little more careful on job sites so I am taking work-boots with me now. And, I am taking my resistance bands so I can do my workouts in my hotel room.
Before I forget:
Looking Forward: I am on track for my June 14th Mountain Swim event. I know not to push it with my shoulder and I have other endurance activities I can do to stay on track.
Staying Positive: Still doing good on staying positive about things. Everyday there are little hurdles to go over, but there are always good solutions. It’s just a matter of finding them.
Things I am Thankful/Grateful For: My health, which is for the most part really good, and I am still working on getting back into shape after some pretty severe issues. Jesse, who is always here and takes care of me always, and The Pack when I am traveling. And having a good job with some really great team members.
Anyways, we are all here for the evening, relaxing, and getting our minds ready for the upcoming week. I hope everyone has a good evening and I will see you tomorrow.
