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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Today was a field day, not a field trip, a field day. Today was on the roof of Dolphin something condos in the Bonita Springs are of Florida. That is South of Ft Meyers but North of Naples. Not much to say about the day, but it was very warm and humid, I realize I am thankful for Denver weather more and more as I travel. I made all my stairs today, going up and down steps in the three buildings that I had to inspect. I am also thankful for my health and fitness, and that I didn’t fall over with heat stroke. See what I did there? I got my “grateful” things in for the day.
The views of the Gulf of Mexico were great as well as some from the indoor water ways.
You can click into both of the above images and look around, yes, there is a roof here, but I am sharing to show that the surrounding scenery is pretty nice. Still miss my mountains, but this has beauty in a different way, One is from the Gulf side and the other from the mainland side.
Got back to the hotel and caught up on all of my email, tags from processors, pricing requests, tags from my manager to review files, and cause of loss requests. While it took me the rest of the afternoon to complete, and most of the evening, I am so happy that I do not have to deal with it in the morning. I can start fresh (see there was positive thought number 4) with the new day.
I am now doing my evening relaxing before trying to get some sleep. I may stay up a little later as I am playing timezone jumping, and I don’t want to be falling asleep in my chair tomorrow evening at home. My flight isn’t until late in the day and I will not be home until about 7:30pm MT.
So, positive day, no complaining, grateful for multiple things, oh—– I missed looking forward to my swim event in June. My shoulder has stopped hurting so I should be able to get back into the pool when I am home and working up on my distance again. I think I may be over training a bit and need to work on that.
Today is a travel day, or should I say “was” a travel day since I am posting this a little late. I got so caught up in some other things last night that I forgot to do my daily post. Anyways, I started my day off as normal, got up, had to wake the dogs up; the time change to Daylight Savings Time is very confusing to them, and did treats and outs. Res really does not like the new pumpkin treats that Jesse made for them.
And after finishing a recording for our new technician on-boarding processes it was time to head to the train and then the airport.
Everything at the airport worked as planned and I had my bag dropped, was through security, and in the gate areas within 30 minutes after Jesse dropped me off. I love flying in and out of Denver. It just works.
Had a nice flight from Denver into South Florida Regional Airport (Ft Meyers) and car pickup was easy.
Got to the hotel, went across the road to “Wings Stop”, they were OK, came back and read for a while, watched TV, and crashed. Wish I had more to add to it today, but really don’t.
Jesse sent me the cutest photograph of Climber doing what she does most of the time, chewing on a rope toy. I have to stop and buy her another one to take home with me for her. Have to find something for Res as well.
My shoulder has been a bit painful today, which did require some adjustment to how I normally carry my backpack when in the airports, and I am crossing my fingers that I do not need a ladder for today’s fun and games. I need to get back in the pool to get ready for the Mountain Swim Series in June. I am doing dry-land workouts until that shoulder stops hurting, which is good for me, but still not swimming. Today, I am thankful for the flight crews and the airport folks that make 3 1/2 hours in a metal tube in the sky a good experience, I am also thankful for the TSA agents who are working without pay, keeping a good attitude and getting us through security, and I am thankful to have Jesse and the pack to get home to when I am done with my travels. And, I was a good person today and maintained my positive attitude and didn’t complain about a thing all day.
Anyways, tomorrow is another day – well today, since this was from yesterday, and we will see what type of trouble I am going to get into next. I will see you all later today (March 10th) with the next update on my world.
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.
Total distance: 7.26 mi 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.
We are melting…… This morning started off with our walk in the park, I took the dogs one at a time as I wasn’t to sure how they would react to the snow and in some spots the ice. They did pretty well. Res found a icy spot and almost fell, but Climber did OK.
The part has a whole different look when it has just snowed. So clean and white.
Came back, had some breakfast and then went to the rec center to get a swim in, I also did a 2 mile walk on the indoor track. I finished up with some weights, I can’t stand lifting, but I am starting to think that might be what’s missing in my routine. Today I only did 1000 yards in the pool because my shoulder has been bothering me, so I figured what the hell, I might as well go up and see what is available for me to work out on. Yup, unfortunately I am going to have to do more of that. I really need to figure out how much of this I can replicate with body weight and band exercises as the gym equipment in hotels is unreliable and I need something that I can count on. I will have to do some research.
I need to make sure that my shoulder is in shape for the Mountain Lake Swim in June. I have been saying all along that the shoulder is the one thing that could knock me out of it. But, so far so good, I just have to back of the pool for a little bit and let the shoulder settle down a bit. I probably need to go to a 3 or 4 day a week swim and work on my dryland on the other days. I do have a tendency to overdo things a bit physically. I am going to be traveling M-W so this may be a good break. I am not sure I will be able to find a public pool near where I will be.
Spent the rest of the afternoon doing some things around the house. Laundry always has to be done, and then Jesse and I put together the new Jackrey backup power (solar and battery) that we ordered. It was only at a 29% charge when it arrived so we set it up in the backyard so that it could charge and then eventually (when the other part shows up) we can connect to the house and test it. I will probably add a few battery packs to it eventually to give us longer time and I would like at least 24 hours of use on battery if needed.
Anyways, Res and Climber are settled in for the evening. I think I got everything done that I needed to get done before next week starts. I do want to update the firmware on my handheld radio, a few new features that I would like to be able to use, including some new APRS functions that I am looking forward to trying.
So, with these photographs of Res and Climber, I let you go. Please stop by, comment, say hello.
