Murphy's Roommate

Well... Overnight 12 hr shifts are not good for me. Knew this going in, but they needed a warm body, and I've been able to do some good. I'll take it. It is thinking about snowing in Colorado Springs today, nothing where I'm at but I know Pike's Peak will look amazing in the morning! - Murphy's Roommate

Time to keep swinging at this. Going onto overnight shifts, so that will be a challenge. But I got enough caffeine to kill a small elephant for the team, so we should be rocking hard. The local gaming group is running a few single shots. First character was thrown into the void when presented with a Deck of Many Things. Next character is a homage to Bardbarian. Deciding on gnome vs dwarf. We're running the rules mostly in theatrical mode, so over the top, impractical characters are preferred. - Murphy's Roommate

Bardbarian - What is this battle vest you speak of? - Murphy's Roommate

Great to see you! Glad you made progress last year and looking forward to seeing more this year! - Murphy's Roommate

Wow, last week was a doozy. About nothing went right, and it was gloriously high stress. The refrigerator and washer that were supposed to be delivered on Saturday, got shifted to 1 Feb. I'll be cancelling that order and find a company that can fulfill an order when they agree to. And of course, international events did not help. That was last week. This week is going much better. Monday went fairly well, and hopefully today finishes out reasonably well. Bardbarian - I enjoy cooking. I just lack a refrigerator right now to store raw materials and then leftovers. And outside is not consistently cold enough to be used as an icebox, nevermind the animals. Oddly enough, excluding comfort eating, I don't really get hungry when I fast. I've been watching this for inspiration when I do start cooking again. Apparently I do not know how to properly insert video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knNkD1afpik Darkfoxx - beyond the litany of fail with the appliances, pretty amazing! The wood stove and chimney effectively failed inspection today, which I am very thankful for! I'd rather know about a problem than accidentally burn down my house. Turns out the previous tenant ran the stove too hot and actually warped some of the internals. And the pipe coming off the stove is on its last legs. Yes, it will cost money to replace, but I'd rather have known good equipment than gamble some worn out stuff won't reduce my house, my stuff, my dog, and I to ashes. The driveway is slowly getting plowed down to dirt again, I have a delivery truck coming soon and we'll see if they get stuck! - Murphy's Roommate

Awesome! I may make cold showers a side challenge for myself. I was in the habit once of finishing my showers cold, and that ended up pumping me up for the day. A simple act of will to assert myself before I faced the day. Great idea! And looking forward to seeing how you rock this out! - Murphy's Roommate

Title pretty well says it all. This 5 week challenge is devoted simply to eating right. The goal is to intermittent fast 6 days a week, eating only between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. I figured I should take my lack of food around the house and turn it to my advantage. Instead of grubbing for food on the way home, I can get a decent meal at work for breakfast and lunch, and keep it at that. Simple, measurable, and achievable. Game on! - Murphy's Roommate

Dear Nerds... The high mileage road trip went very well. The highlight was wrangling a 7000 lb vehicle at 75 mph through Texas Hill Country. Normally, this is not an exciting experience. Given my lack of suspension, and that the front end is loose as a goose, I shook, rattled, and wobbled in a, stimulating, manner through a few hundred miles of fun. The other highlight was pushing through New Mexico as the sun went down, Rocky Mountains to the left, and a stunning pink hue to the sky. I feel it went very well. In spite of having over 200k miles on the odometer, the Excursion performed flawlessly. I did have to force an entrance up my driveway through a snowbank, so that came up aces. It did work out safely Manarelle - thanks! I did not return with another dog. In all honesty, when I visited the kennels, I wanted to take nearly all of them home. A couple were just serious biters, they'd hit without provocation, and I can't have that. Thankfully, the adult in the room (not me) understands matching a dog to a home and is working on finding the right dog for me. Working dogs are a breed apart, exceptional in drive and disposition, so getting it right is critical. I appreciate his discretion and the heart it takes to find the right dog for the right home. Washer/dryer/ad nauseum will occur shortly. SaraKingdom - concur across the board. I'm just working on going from feral bachelor to semi-feral. Some small trappings of civilization around the place won't hurt. Much. Chainsaw. Check plus. It will be a gym in itself, with a 15 lb powerhead. And yes, I carry a tourniquet daily and set out an emergency medical kit every time I use power tools. Plan for failure, and then work like mad to not fail. It should go through the pine I have out here like butter. Bliss 🤩 Stay frosty out there - 2020 is our year! - Murphy's Roommate

Well, good news. I found a cache of clean laundry buried in my stuff. Now I can wait for after Christmas to get the washer/dryer/fridge! The local Lowes has a wait list to 5 Jan to get such things delivered. And while I do have a vehicle with vast cargo capacity, the simple joys of unloading a 250 lb washer by myself are oddly unattractive. It has also been well below freezing as of late, so a refrigerator is not as critical as it would be in the summer. Internet is online, going the satellite route was not as expensive as expected, but creates a half second lag to even the most basic tasks. Next up is the Texas roadtrip. I'll be packing the beater and checking it twice, good chance I'll hit weather one way or the other. Zero degree sleeping bag and some form of bedroll are just the beginning. - Murphy's Roommate

The last challenge culminated with starting the move into a new house. This challenge will be... Washer, Dryer, Fridge, and Internet. Rumor has it adulting involves clean clothes and food preparation. Those appliances will help with that, even though the logistics will be an annoyance. Internet is awesome, but I live in the middle of ever loving nowhere, just where I want to be. This will involve satellites, which entertains me. Second road trip: headed to Texas to see family. Time to see if my beater will make the trip. Bonus points if I get stuck somewhere and get to function check my ability to shelter in place. And I may, low probability, come back with another dog. Weapons Check - I have to take down 5+ trees that are danger close to the house. The area I'm in has a tendency to catch fire, and trees are great at catching houses on fire. Even better, we get epic snow, so trees also fall on houses. The goal is to acquire the appropriate tools the remove a tree and turn it into firewood. January will be the great felling. Lastly, I have been incetivized to try Murph this Memorial Day, properly scalled. Starting the 11th, look for pushup, squat, and pullup notes. 2020 is going to be a wild ride, I'm just trying to close 2019 out hard to warm up for the madness. - Murphy's Roommate

Well, i think I'll mark this challenge as a win. I'll finish moving in the first wave of stuff today, then I fly cross country to my parents, to pick up a car and a dog, and drive back to Colorado. After that, and visiting family for Christmas, I'll finally get the rest of my stuff from storage and finish moving in in January. I wonder what my next challenge will be? - Murphy's Roommate

Well, this is odd. I actually succeeded at a challenge item. We successfully got the house to closing, and the ink is dry on the paper. Naturally, we closed during a small blizzard, because Colorado. Onwards and sideways. - Murphy's Roommate

One of the easiest things is to get him in touch with a local HAM radio club. Have him sit in on some club meetings, and then, he is in business. If he wants more info, or wants me to dive into something for him, I'm glad to help. - Murphy's Roommate

Foam rolling, check. Almost decent eating, check. Tried doing pushups, I need to get my shoulder sorted out. Time to work my way back in. - Murphy's Roommate

And it looks like I will close on time. That'll do, that'll do. Sometimes, life is pretty good. - Murphy's Roommate

Well, you cracked about 80% of the code of life right there. I wish I had written that. Especially the last part. For your entertainment, I've been with the same organization for 18 years, slowly worked my way up the food chain, through I think 4 moves in the US and 2 overseas moves, and I still have room to improve with my career, I still have to labor for success, and life is still messy. Oh, and I wish I knew what the other 20% was. - Murphy's Roommate

House is chipping away, foam rolled this morning, and slowly struggling towards eating reasonably well. Not perfect, but forward motion. I like it. - Murphy's Roommate

darkfoxx - The funny thing is El Paso county has about 5000 HAMs here in Colorado. HAM radio is just a hobby right up until it isn't, and suddenly it is the only game in town. I was always interested but not really motivated until we had some bad fires out here. I evacuated when I couldn't see the sky anymore, at 1 p.m., in the summer. The official notification came via cell phone 30 min later, but if I had been listening to the radio, I would have been much more aware. Now, it is a really fun capability for going off roading, traveling across the mid-west, and general geekery, but the real point remains the motto of HAM radio "When all else fails." If your father is still around, or anyone else reading this, it is a wide open hobby, good for everyone from the most sedentary of couch potatoes to ultralight hikers going after 14'ners in the back country. We've got folks on oxygen whose bodies can't get around well, but they reach out to foreign countries every night over HF. On the flip side, some really fit folks hike some big mountains to come up and chat with folks just because. There are satellites on orbit carrying HAM radio repeaters, people bouncing signals off the moon to talk with people on the other side of the world, hand built microwave frequency experimenters and off roaders running cheap factory radios to keep in touch. There are global networks of transmitters and receivers monitoring the state of the ionosphere to help us figure out which frequencies are open, and regional networks of repeaters so we can rag chew about silly stuff, or communicate in an emergency. Well, that is probably more than anyone ever wanted to hear about HAM radio. Good news is, maybe I planted a seed that gets someone into an awesome hobby later. 73's - Murphy's Roommate

Good news - still here, house is moving forward, may even close on time! Bad news - looks like I got the plague. This year's flu seems to have a stomach bug component with all the traditional annoyances. The next week may be a bit rough, but there is only one way through. I am tentatively allowing myself to dream of HF antennas, home improvement, and cutting down trees (fire mitigation, the area had a bad fire a few years ago). Not in love, just letting the mind wander. In other news, I went to a HAM radio club meeting. They discussed supporting a non-profit doing some endurance sport events in the Colorado Springs area, which is actually pretty fun. I've done it for the Falcon 50 before up on the Air Force Academy, and while you are practicing for a disaster (accounting for racers is the same as accounting for casualties...) it is good clean fun in the outdoors. My good deed for the century is volunteering to move some food around this Thanksgiving, mostly because I'll get to play with radios while doing it. I'll try to be more active, work seems to win pretty hard some days. - Murphy's Roommate

Overall, I agree, with caveats. I don't let myself fall in love with things, even houses, so I try to stay for even keeled when it comes to home buying. No deal is so good I can't let it go... That said, I think we're all moving together to a good answer. Seller gets a good deal, buyer gets a good deal, we both walk away happy. This was a challenging week for work, but I've been more resilient than in the past. I'll take it. - Murphy's Roommate

That is great - I'm curious to hear your opinion and if it gets you into paragliding! - Murphy's Roommate

"Cooking" tonight. It was a rough day at work but I'm working on bouncing back and not letting it get me down. The local supermarket sells pre-set food, like chicken slices wrapped in bacon and covered in bbq sauce. Place in oven at 425 degrees, flip after 15 minutes, for a total cook time of 30 minutes. As I'm still in flux, I don't have tongs to flip them, but I do have a multitool! Adapt and overcome! - Murphy's Roommate

I've been shipping away, I get out for walks on most evenings now that the temperature isn't 70+, and the burning death cancer star is going away sooner and sooner. The Seller was very reasonable about the inspection objection, so the deal is going forward. Time to get some foam rolling in and keep enjoying life! - Murphy's Roommate

Great! I assume you're the type that loves reading about what you want to do? If so, there is a book called the Powered Paragliding Bible, and while not cheap ($40), it is a depth of information on the sport and may guide your decision making. I've been reading and re-reading it to make more informed decisions regarding the sport. - Murphy's Roommate

Sorry for the slow response - powered paragliding is only cheap compared to buying your own plane! As a comparison, you can get a used Cessna is 50k plus, a used ultralight aircraft for under $20k vs one powered paragliding company offers package deals brand new (wing, motor, cage, harness) for under $9k. Training will obviously vary in price depending on who and where. The other price considerations are you don't have to pay for a hanger, you don't need a pilot's license, and you can put a paramoter setup on your trailer hitch and fly from a variety of places. Fuel isn't AV Gas, just regular gasoline and 2-stroke oil. There is a powered paragliding group out in Falcon, CO that I will start talking to and getting more info over the next few months. Hope this adds some options! - Murphy's Roommate