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.
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.
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.
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.
