Author: cmolnar

  • Day 055 of 2026

    Day 055 of 2026

    And today was just another work day, while traveling. These days typically follow the same patterns. First, I get up, have a cup of coffee and log into work. I do a quick browse through my email and my tickets/tasks that have already come in, are past due, urgent, or need immediate attention due to the urgency of a file. Then, I take my laptop with me to go have breakfast downstairs.

    Home2 Suites usually has a pretty good breakfast selection so I can usually find something good and something that works within my diet. Today was an everything bagel with fried egg, 1 slice of bacon, and a slice of Swiss cheese. Each sandwich was around 400 calories, and combine that with coffee by breakfast was right at 926 calories. The goal was around 700, but I am still OK.

    After breakfast I went and did my morning inspection at another hotel nearby. It’s one of the chains that I do stay at, but I learned the lesson a long time ago, no matter how much I like the hotel, do not stay there the night before you do an insurance claim. That particular lesson was taught to me when a desk clerk figured out who I was, got the manager, and they put my into a room without any air conditioning in the middle of a Miami, FL Summer day. I think they felt it would help sway my opinion that their maintenance department actually did something. In this case the manager was awesome, probably would not have done that to me, and had a valid loss. Everyone knew they had a valid loss but they were wanting to verify repair vs replace.

    In this case, as toasty as it was, it will probably be a replace.

    Once I got done with the inspection and submitted my findings I realized that I was very close to the Rosen Aquatics Center. This facility used to be part of the YMCA, but during COVID the Y almost abandoned it. During COVID the Y just about lost everything, they really screwed up when they did not allow “traveling” members to travel. So Mr. Rosen purchased the facility to keep it open. I used to swim here about once a week or so when we lived in the area. It was almost a 40 minute drive, but when this pool is setup in Long Course (50 meters) it was well worth it.

    This was the training home of Rowdy Gaines and many other future Olympians and would have been a loss to the community not to have it any longer. Anyways, $10.00 poorer for a day pass, I was able to get my swim workout in. I had to give up at the 2000 meter point because I was starting to worry about how much work was accumulating, and I had taken my one hour lunch break.

    I was happy with it, would have liked to do another 1K to get myself to 3K in one session, but I really had to get back to work.

    Spent the rest of my afternoon working, and then had some dinner, came back and read a little, listened into a net on one of the repeaters locally, bunch of old guys talking, and then uploaded my greyhound-data races for the last two weeks.

    Now just sitting around watching TV, writing this blog post, and trying to plan tomorrow’s travels. At least on this trip I did not have a massive travel change and I am headed home tomorrow.

    I think this is goodnight for the evening. I will see you all tomorrow.

  • Day 054 of 2026

    Day 054 of 2026

    Climber was a lot better this morning. When I got up and let her out of her x-pen (yes, she is in one at night) she attempted to race me down the steps. There is still a little limp, but I really think she is just sore. She loves her walks and perhaps she had a little too much walk yesterday. Anyways, got up with the dogs and did our morning routine: outs, snacks, and then Res goes back to bed, Climber stays downstairs with me. As today is a travel day, I had to get my stuff together. I did most of my packing last night, but I still need to do the cords, the power adapters, and try and figure out if I forgot anything.

    Jesse took me to the A-Train and then that is my ride to the airport. Takes me less than an hour from leaving the house to get to the airport, luggage dropped, through security, and to my gate. I love flying out of Denver. Once all the required stuff was done I was able to walk the terminal and get my steps in for the day. I forgot to start my indoor walk activity so I guess the time does not count, the steps will.

    Flight boarded and we almost go out on time. Minor delay when they had a hydraulic indicator up front, but that was resolved in 15-20 minutes. I like when things are resolved quickly.

    We are now probably an hour or so out of Orlando.

    Arrived in Orlando about an hour late. Took another hour to get my luggage, and then it is off to the rental car lot and then the hotel. I have absolutely no idea why GPS took me the way it did back to the hotel, but I saw some new areas of Orlando that I have not seen before.

    Anyways, I am in for the evening, so I am going to say goodnight, and tomorrow is another day.

  • Day 053 of 2026

    Happy Sunday! Happy USA Hockey won the Gold Day! First time since the miracle on ice in 1980, in 1980 the NHL did not participate in the Olympics, this win was complete with NHL players on both teams. This did not make it less impressive, congratulations guys!

    Started off my day with a few cups of coffee and then taking Res and Climber out for their walks. Res wanted to go further this time and I let him, but we had our normal problem with him getting about 50% through the walk and he wants to give up. Anyway, we finished, he did close to 3 miles.

    Total distance: 2.65 mi
    Max elevation: 5653 ft
    Min elevation: 5564 ft
    Total climbing: 157 ft
    Total descent: -153 ft
    Average speed: 3.55 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 91
    Average temperature: 21.9
    Total time: 00:47:47

    Once I got Res back home Climber was raring to go! She was carrying on so bad we had trouble getting a leash on her. I did a slightly different walk with her today, but when we ended back up on Power Line Trail with her Prairie Dogs she knew exactly where she was and almost walked herself home. She acted like I was holder her back. She did over 4.75 miles.

    Total distance: 4.73 mi
    Max elevation: 5657 ft
    Min elevation: 5522 ft
    Total climbing: 334 ft
    Total descent: -314 ft
    Average speed: 3.79 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 98
    Average temperature: 21.1
    Total time: 01:18:10

    Jesse and I had breakfast (well, brunch) and I finally had a chance to get to the Central Recreation Center for a swim. I had really wanted to get a 3K yard swim in, but the pool was very crowded and I had to share lanes with other swimmers, and that always causes problems since I swim breaststroke and that is a very wide stroke compared with freestyle. At least I didn’t kick anyone. I did get 2K yards in, I am happy with my workout overall.

    When I got back we had a little problem, Climber got up and was very wobbly and was limping a bit, actually a lot, and her back was arched pretty badly. We worked with her a bit, I went over every bone, every joint, and everything I could think of. I was finally able to get her onto a leash and walk her around the backyard. We made the decision not to take her to the ER Vet as she was acting a lot like Leona when she would hurt her back and neck. Jesse and I talked about it and decided that we would give her a carprofin and see how she was in the AM. I think she will probably need one more carprofin tomorrow afternoon and then she will be fine.

    I think her a little over 3 miles yesterday and 4-1/2 miles today may have been a little much for her, I bet her muscles are hurting her a bit. We will see what it looks like in the morning.

    I had to pack for my trip tomorrow as I had to list the number of bags I am dropping at my check-in. I decided that I was going to break out “Big Bertha” – the largest suitcase we have in the house and was going to try to do one bag. It worked, I am right under 60 pounds, I am allowed 70 pounds per bag. The reason I want to go to one bag? It’s getting to the point that two bags are really rough to handle sometimes. Of course I may curse that decision when I have to lift the thing into the back of a rental car.

    We decided that at the afternoon walk time that Jesse would take Res and I would stay home with Climber. She slept through the walk, and was ready for dinner. I did have to lift her food bowl up a bit for dinner because she was having issues stretching her neck that far down. It’s almost like she ran into something, but neither of us saw what she ran into. This is going to be a “crate rest and leash walk” type of injury.

    She was slightly better at our 9pm out time, and she is now resting in her crate. She will be handled very careful over the next 48 or so hours.

    I spent some time with my Packet Radio station today. It has become abundantly clear to me the packet station on this property will not work. We are in a topographical hole in with the neighborhood around us. I am also starting to wonder if there is a connection between the radios and some of the growling Res has been doing at night. The timing almost makes sense, he growls early in the evening about every 10 minutes and that is the time period of the beacon systems on the station. OK, the radios are off for now as I just cannot figure out how to resolve this issue. The real answer is a very tall antenna, but let’s get real, that is not possible right now.

    Anyways, that’s a wrap for tonight. Tomorrow is a travel day and we will see what comes up.

    Anyways, it’s that time of the evening to say goodnight, and I will see you all tomorrow.

  • Day 052 of 2026

    Day 052 of 2026

    I was happy to be home yesterday, I was wiped. I don’t have that much a problem when I am traveling and everything goes smoothly, but when things don’t go well, I start stressing out. Not much I can do about it, it is just the way it is. But, after a good night of sleep, I got up at my normal time with dogs, we all did our normal morning routing which includes coffee for me and some treats for the dogs. We only do our feeding in the evenings and the all get a small snack in the mornings.

    After Jesse got up I took Res out for the first walk, we did about a mile and a half. He smelled just about every clump of grass along the way, but we made it.

    Total distance: 1.62 mi
    Max elevation: 5619 ft
    Min elevation: 5562 ft
    Total climbing: 116 ft
    Total descent: -110 ft
    Average speed: 3.31 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 92
    Average temperature: 20.8
    Total time: 00:31:20

    Next up was Climber. Climber really likes her long walks and she is adventurous, so we go and “explore” ares she has not seen before. She seems to like the adventure and appreciates it in ways Res really doesn’t. Res has a tendency to want to go and then about 50% through the walk he starts acting like “are we there yet….. I don’t want to walk no more”, but Climber wants to go and will finish her walk.

    Total distance: 3.65 mi
    Max elevation: 5693 ft
    Min elevation: 5573 ft
    Total climbing: 255 ft
    Total descent: -262 ft
    Average speed: 3.43 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 95
    Average temperature: 19.9
    Total time: 01:08:07

    After we had a brunch I decided to go visit Ham Radio Outlet. I am dead set I am going to figure out the satellite and DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) repeaters. I have sort of decided HF radio in my area just is too difficult with all the noise, so I am going to start trying some alternatives. I bought three things over the last few days:

    1. An Any Tone AT-D890UV Radio
    2. The Arrow Antenna (portable) 146/437-14WBP
    3. A carry bag for the portable antenna

    I sort of hesitated spending that type of money, but I haven’t spent that much over the last year on a hobby, so I decided to do something for myself. My YouTube earnings will pay for it in the next few months. And…. I deserve it.

    Spent time this evening setting up the radio and copying my programming over from my GD77 radio, I also was able to import some additional repeaters and things for Colorado, Southern Wyoming, and the Four Corners area. I was going to start setting up Orlando, but I may do that next week while I am in Orlando. But, I really ant to figure out the Satellites next. There are so many features on that radio I am not sure I will ever use them all.

    I also had to get the laundry done from last week, I am traveling again for 3 days (2 nights) this coming week and I need to do my packing tomorrow. I will need to go through my tool bag and clean up TSA’s usual mess, and then change some items out because next week is a fire investigation of an HVAC system and I think I packed for an electrical inspection on my last claim. Slightly different set of tools required.

    Jesse has started to go through a book that I found on one of my trips last year to Portland, OR. I had the chance to visit Powell’s Bookstore and found a book named DIY Hydroponic Gardens and it has all sorts of information on successful hydroponics. We really believe this is how we are going to have to grow most of our veggies this year. Water is going to be a real issue this next Summer and hydroponics allow us to control water use and not loose a lot into the soil or areas that we don’t grow things in.

    In other houses we have had great success with hydroponics, last year we expanded things a bit and had some growing pains, but we think this is how we are going to have to do things moving forward. Weeding and water is much better with hydroponics. We will see…..

    I think that just about wraps up the day, I did not get a chance to go swim today, I am going to go do that tomorrow, but that was OK. I also don’t think I will get the 10K this weekend or the 15K that is the challenge for next weekend on Garmin Connect, but I am flat out of time. I really want to get the swim challenges done for the month, those are more important to me than the run challenges. Decision made. Have a great evening and I will see you all tomorrow.

  • Day 051 of 2026

    Day 051 of 2026

    Today started a little early. For some reason I woke up around 5:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  So, got up and started my morning routine.

    Spent about 4 hours working during and after a quick breakfast. Then had to head out to the airport. I really shouldn’t have rushed.

    Snow!

    We were delayed. The inbound flight could not land due to visibility. He circled for a while and then had to go to Grand Junction to refuel. Then due to the large number of aircraft being diverted to Grand Junction it took them a while to de-ice and get back in the air. I did want to add the shout-out that I sent to United.

    Hey! I just want to shout out to the Captain who operated flight UA352 from Montrose to Denver this evening. Yes, it was delayed due to weather, but it was nice for him to be at the gate, with the gate agents, keeping everyone informed of the incoming flight status. He was updating more frequently than the United app and the screens in the airport was, it was nice and I know he didn't have to do that.

    I also watched when he helped several frustrated passengers from his and other United flights in similar situations with trying to figure out timing of connections in their apps and he looked up a few schedules for them on his own phone. Again, he didn't have to help, but he did. The agents were swamped and he made a difference to a few people risking missed connections.

    So often United is criticized, employees such as this deserve to be recognized. United is my hometown and go-to airline out of Denver.

    Finally boarded and waiting for the rest of the people to finish boarding. We are now 3 hours late. Thankfully this is a very short flight, a whole 36 minutes.

    Made it. As I said it is a very short flight over from Montrose to Denver, if it were summer I would not have flown it, but Winter is another story. Even with the flight delays i am still better off than driving it.

    I am now waiting for baggage under the watchful eyes of one very tired….. alien. YES! Paying homage to the alien works! Mine were the first two bags off the belt. That is a first. Success!

    Down to the train, train to 63rd and Gateway Park Station.

    And Jesse is there to pick me up for the ride home. I can take the R line closer to the house but when I have two bags with tools it gets a little heavy to do the on/off the light rail side of the world. The A-Train is commuter rail with high platforms.

    Home to excited dogs and a weekend off. I was able to get all of my work done prior to leaving from Montrose. All in all, even with the weather related travel delays, it was still better than a drive. We are having Chinese for a late dinner – I am having my beef and broccoli and then it is time to relax.

    I am going to leave it here and say goodnight and see you tomorrow.

  • Day 050 of 2026

    Day 050 of 2026

    Today was a decent day. After yesterday’s weather delays and other such issues I was lucked out on several fronts today.

    Got up around my normal time of 6:20-6:30am. Did my normal morning routing of starting my coffee, and getting logged into the work system. Went and had breakfast, I always like Holiday Inn Express breakfasts, usually have egg white and veggie omelets, I broke down and had some bacon today as well. That’s probably not good for my diet. At all.

    After my breakfast I sat down and answered a number of processor questions, and talked with a few techs that I have been trying to reach. All good stuff. And then around 10am MT I had to leave for my appointment, it was an interesting two hour drive through the mountains. This is where I say I lucked out. The rental car they gave me does not meet Colorado’s traction law requirements for Winter travel. It was not 4 wheel drive and I did not have chains in the car. I was very fortunate that the mountain pass was clear and not slick. Also, Colorado for some reason does not believe in guardrails along their roads. So, narrow shoulder, 200FT drop. Don’t slip off the road or your car will need wings. I guess it’s the Darwin principle. Survival of the fittest?

    Anyway, I saw some beautiful scenery in both directions. I did not stop too much on the way going, but I made a few stops on the way back. Here is one panoramic view that I wanted to share. I did not bring my drone on this trip, it was just too much to carry, and it may have been a little too windy to use it anyways. Click into the photograph below and look around.

    By the time I was on the way back the sun had been on the road long enough to clear things up. Here are my travel photos for the day.

    By the time I got back to the hotel it was about 4pm. After that I did have about two hours of work left to do, just because I am in the field my office work does not cease to exist. Got that mostly done, the only thing I did not get around to was making a bunch of tech phone calls and doing some follow-up on open support tickets. I try not to call the techs too late in the day, and time-zones are a thing.

    No workout today. I tried to get on the treadmill, but honestly I HATE treadmills, and they never seem to be calibrated properly. The speed is weird, and the belts usually slip. In my mind this is a good way to get hurt. I much prefer to be outside, but darkness and timing didn’t allow it. I am looking forward to spending some time in the pool on Saturday or Sunday.

    On other news, last night I broke down and ordered myself a new hand-held radio. I have decided that most of the high frequency ham radio communication from our property in Aurora is impossible. I have started to explore the world of Satellite communications and it is really starting to intrigue me. My handheld radio will not properly do Sat work as it is only half-duplex, I would need two of them. One to transmit on the up-link and one to receive on the down-link. The experts in this area of amateur radio work told me about the only full-duplex handheld radio on the market today that will work. They are in short demand, but I was able to find one, new (amazing). and it will arrive on Saturday. More as I learn more. This may be a series of pages rather than posts.

    So, I am done for the day, tomorrow I fly home, weather willing, and then I have the weekend at home before I head to my next destination on Monday. Have a good night everyone.

  • Day 049 of 2026

    Day 049 of 2026

    And today is a travel day!

    Got up this morning and had some time with the dogs and the ln caught up on my email and everything else that is part of my morning routine.

    Started getting tech phone calls shortly after I started on my first cup of coffee. The had my “oh shit” moment that I was going to cut it too close for my flight. So I rushed and got it together for Jesse to take me to the airport a bit earlier than planned.

    I really don’t mind wandering around Denver International Airport as there is always some new artwork and sculptures to see. Today was no different.

    Anyways, I wandered around and found a few quiet places to stop and get some work done to keep up with the office work. Got my 10000 steps in as well before leaving Denver.

    Best feeling in the entire world when you get to the gate and your plane is arriving.

    Boarded in time. Backed away form the gate. And Parked for an hour. It appears we were delayed to allow the many private jets heading to the same airport to land on time. There is something WAY wrong with that picture… we are a schedule flight…. private jets not a scheduled flight. I guess they have more money.

    The flight into Montrose, CO was very bumpy, and now that we are on the ground we are waiting for planes to de-ice in front of the two gates available for United at this very small airport.

    And now we have been sitting here for about an hour and a half waiting for a gate. Actually waiting for them to de-ice plane after plane while waiting for a gate. The Captain id getting very upset with the station manager because he hmsays he could get into another gate if they would push the departing planes back a little further when de-icing them. This is the longest wait I have ever had on a taxiiway.

    Still waiting

    Finally, at the gate. And to add insults, this is gate 4.

    And now I wait for baggage at belt 1 of 1. I think they have 1 employee offloading the baggage, loading the next flight, and then bringing the baggage to the baggage claim.

    Finally got my bags and got out of the airport and to the hotel Was able to cheek in with no issues, nice desk clerk. Got a decent room and was able to walk out right behind the hotel and get some food at Safeway right behind me. Dinner was some broccoli and cheese sauce, a turkey pot pie, and then for desert I got my standard batch of blueberries. I also picked up a bag of “Skinny Pop” to munch on during my drive tomorrow.

    I did have to catch up on all of my open work support related tickets, so I set up my office away from home. People laugh at my but I like my 65″ monitor. Makes it real easy to see issues in some of the photographs I need to review.

    Anyways, while today was stressful from a travel perspective I really can’t complain. I think it would have been much worse driving over 7 hours, and it would have been a little more than that because of the Winter weather. I do not have 4 wheel drive and I think it would have been worse.

    Goodnight all and I will talk to you tomorrow. I am hoping I get some decent photographs of my travels, and I will share as I can.

  • Day 048 of 2026

    Day 048 of 2026

    Hello all!! Busy day today with some closure as well. I received a phone call that Gizmo was ready to be picked up. I took an early lunch and went and brought her home.

    The cycle is complete, all my promises are kept, she is partially home with her pack, and her spirit is re-united with the bridge pack. Hopefully I will see them all in the future. But please, not too soon.  The candle flame is out, the candle is put away hopefully not to be  used again for many more years.

    Got back home, spent the rest of the day working, got a lot done. I finally have my head above C level. Allstate files keep me very busy. Finished off what was in my queue and then escaped for an hour.

    I did get out for my 4.5 mile (or about) jog/walk. I only label it as a run on Garmin as I try to separate that from my dog walks ans indoor walking at the airport.

    Total distance: 4.46 mi
    Max elevation: 5685 ft
    Min elevation: 5554 ft
    Total climbing: 902 ft
    Total descent: -917 ft
    Average speed: 4.25 mi/h
    Average cadence: 57
    Average heart rate: 107
    Average temperature: 18.7
    Total time: 01:05:08

    Not a bad walk, and I found this on one of the roads.

    Aurora is starting to move these around town. And this is a really good location. Capture all the people leaving the base in a very big hurry at the end of the day.

  • Day 047 of 2026

    Day 047 of 2026

    And the candle still burns. Gizmo is not home yet, this is tradition. I still feel bad that after she went to sleep for the last time I did not stay and spend my 10-15 minutes with her – I have always done this with the previous pack members, but this time I really wanted to remember her purring, not her silence. I really pray that she was not aware that I left. I have always stayed because I am afraid there is still some brain activity and a sense of awareness, this time I just couldn’t. I hope the Dr did not think less of me for not staying.

    Onto other things. After last week today was much calmer and I was able to get some other work done besides answering Cause of Loss Determinations (COLDs) all day. The ones I did get were valid and needed to come to me. I spent a ton of time today trying to get hold of technicians and other people I needed to talk with. Some successful and some not, but valiant effort.

    I did get out for a break mid-day and went for a pretty long walk. I am trying to get hills into my workouts (have a challenge from our healthy choices system at work). I need 60 more floors of “up” to meet the challenge for this month.

    Total distance: 4.9 mi
    Max elevation: 5682 ft
    Min elevation: 5566 ft
    Total climbing: 350 ft
    Total descent: -333 ft
    Average speed: 4.12 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 108
    Average temperature: 24.7
    Total time: 01:11:24

    Anyways, didn’t have the heart rate issues on this one, but I was not trying to push myself either. Res wanted to go with me but I made him stay home.

    On the Pack News, Climber is pissed off at me. I tried to get some eye drops in her eyes and she wasn’t having any of it. She yelled at me, it was like I was killing her. I gave up. Jesse for some reason is able to do this stuff, but she really fights me. We think she is having some allergies making her eyes itch a bit. Res could really care less.

    Climber and Res do have the right idea though. It’s after dinner nap time.

    Anyways, they have the right idea. It is time for me to say goodnight and I will see you all tomorrow. We have some exciting travels coming up.

  • Day 046 of 2026

    Day 046 of 2026

    What a day! First, the Candle Still burns for Gizmo. It will remain lit until she comes home, it’s a tradition that we do for all of our Angel pack, when we have to say goodbye the candle is lit and stays lit until they come home.

    I did take her unopened food and cat litter bag over to the donation spot for they Aurora Pet Food Pantry (Part of the Denver Food Bank). If she can help at least one pet stay with a family that is struggling for food I will be more than happy to donate. I will eventually take her cat tree over and maybe her litter box, but for the moment the food was the most important thing to pass on before it went bad.

    On happier news, started off the day with a little down time to have my coffee and once Jesse got up I took Res and Climber for their walks. Res always goes first and gets a longer walk on the weekends. We did just over two miles. Then I took him back to the house and took Climber back out. Climber got a long walk today, she did over 4 miles.

    Total distance: 4.28 mi
    Max elevation: 5667 ft
    Min elevation: 5519 ft
    Total climbing: 440 ft
    Total descent: -430 ft
    Average speed: 3.77 mi/h
    Average cadence:
    Average heart rate: 102
    Average temperature: 24.5
    Total time: 01:12:22

    And it didn’t even tire her out! She was going going going going……. And when we got home she decided to run the stairs.

    After Jesse and I had breakfast I went back out to Cherry Creek State Park and did another jog. It was supposed to be a 2min run / 2min walk training tempo, but unfortunately my heart rate dropped significantly about 3 miles in. Of course that means I was 3 miles away from the car, so I just walked the rest of the way. As I went around the reservoir I noticed the water level is the lowest I have ever seen it. It is probably going to be a very interesting year for boating. The water is very low.

    I made it back to the car and wrapped things up. I did sit there for a few minutes and finished my water and tried to figure out what was happening with my heart rate. I don’t think I will have any answers until the cardiologist take a look at the cardiac monitor I am wearing for the next 4 days or so. I am starting to wonder if I am going back into aFib and my watch and heart rate chest strap doesn’t know how to interpret it.

    Total distance: 6.55 mi
    Max elevation: 5622 ft
    Min elevation: 5566 ft
    Total climbing: 514 ft
    Total descent: -507 ft
    Average speed: 4.31 mi/h
    Average cadence: 58
    Average heart rate: 92
    Average temperature: 28.3
    Total time: 01:36:03

    Anyways, I am done for the day, tomorrow is another day. Good night all!