For Fun! | Be Brave Not Safe

May 13 2015

To Invest In A Pool, or Not?

To be clear, the jury is still out in my mind as to whether a pool is an investment, or not. I guess we’ll find out when it comes time to sell our house.

In the meantime…

Back in the late ’90’s my wife REALLY pressed me on getting a pool. While it sounded nice, I wasn’t yet fully convinced. We were still having fun with our young tikes running around the yard with super-soakers and playing in the sprinkler.

Over time, though, this got old. So, in the summer of 2001 we pulled the trigger and purchased an above ground (18′ x 33′) pool. We “rationalized” the expense with the following statements:

It would save us money vs. going on vacation. Reality: This is NOT true 🙂
If we have such an attraction in our yard the kids would be more apt to hang out here (under our purview) than someplace else (thus “reducing” the potential trouble they could get into).
It would be a lot of fun, right in our own backyard!

After 14 years of pool ownership (and being the family “pool boy”) I can tell you first hand that the latter 2 statements above are 100% true and good reasons to get a pool. However, doing so does NOT save ANY money. Instead, it represents a whole new category of expenses, including:

The increased electricity usage to run the filtration pump
The chemicals needed to keep the pool clear and balanced
The equipment which corrodes and/or otherwise breaks down and needs to be replaced
The water to fill it each year (after the thaw and when evaporation takes more than Mother Nature puts in via rain). We are fortunate to have a well, which provides free water. However, when you need to put in 10,000 or more gallons it is safer to have a water truck come by for the fill-up to avoid draining the well.
The TIME to maintain what I would consider an ongoing science experiment 🙂

What do I mean by a science experiment? For pool owners, you know!

On one day the pool water may be absolutely crystal clear and beautiful. Turn your back and the water is dull, cloudy and milky green.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME ?!?! I thought I was following the prescribed regimen to the “T”.

Off to the pool store with a water sample. Always an experience…

One of the local pool supply companies is managed by what we call a “Pool Nazi.” This guy cuts you NO breaks. We ask what we “think” is a simple question and he hammers on (thinks he is teaching about) the proper care and feeding of a pool to maintain the perfect pH balance, etc.

And, regardless of the pool supply store you go to for a water clarity issue, you’d better have room in your vehicle as they are going to LOAD YOU UP with lots of chemicals. Cha-ching!

That said, once you dump the chems into the pool (according to their carefully prescribed directions) the pool invariably clears within 24-48 hours. This process has been required “at least” once a year for us…

As you might imagine, an above ground pool is more of a temporary structure vs. an in-ground pool. Even so, with good care, it can last for many years. Assuming this, we put in a very nice deck to enhance the backyard experience.

Due to the HEAVY snowfall this year our pool liner failed us. We observed this several weeks ago as the winter cover and snow on top slowly descended into the pool, until it was laying on the bottom. This wasn’t a total shocker, since pool liners are typically only warrantied for 10 years and we got 14 out of ours.

At time of writing, Daigle Servicing Company (NOT the company with the Pool Nazi, mentioned above) just completed the installation of our new liner. And, I would highly recommend them.

While we still need to do a bit of spring cleaning, it is pretty much lit-up and ready for swimming. Although, if you jump in right now you’ll get an ice cream headache as the water is frigid 🙂

Once we sell the house I’ll let you know if this “investment” served as an attraction or deterrent to would-be buyers.

All the best!

May 12 2015

3 Comments

For Fun!, Inspirational

Never Unclip!

4 years ago I was driving home after a mountain bike ride, with my “old” dependable Trek hard-tail (a bike with front shocks and no rear suspension) hanging off the bike rack, of my wife’s Suburban.

For some reason I decided to stop by my favorite store (Goodale’s Bike Shop) to see if they had anything I couldn’t live without…Perhaps new gear: something to make me go faster or look cooler on the trail 🙂

It didn’t take long before I was gandering at the bikes, just to see what the latest features and functions were. I spotted a Trek Rumblefish, Gary Fisher signature edition. Gary Fisher is the apparent “official” inventor of mountain biking. I’m not entirely sold on that (Gary being the inventor of mountain biking) because my friends and I were riding our modified 10-speeds in the woods back in the 70’s. So, perhaps WE invented the sport.

Anyways…

The Trek Rumblefish may not be the highest-end bike, but it is up there. It is a full-suspension beast with disc breaks (front and rear) and 29″ wheels. You REALLY notice the difference when riding rough terrain with 29″ wheels as it is much easier to traverse obstacles (rocks, logs, roots, etc.).

Here is a picture of the Rumblefish, after beating on it for the past 4 years…

Pride and joy 🙂

The feature I initially struggled with was the clip-on pedals I was “sold”, along with a pair of accompanying clip-on biking shoes. The “science” is that with clip-ons you become more “at one” with the bike as you leverage both the upward and downward motion during pedaling vs. the typical downward-only motion with flat pedals.

All good…Until…

The challenge is that once you clip your feet into the pedals you must be VERY aware of when it is time to unclip!

For example…I’ve been biking for MANY years and haven’t really taken that many wipe-outs (vs. miles ridden). My first summer with the Rumblefish changed everything. My “wipe-outs” didn’t increase, but I did have numerous spills. These spills consistently occurred when I’d come to a sudden stop and needed to put my feet down. Not being used to the clip-ons, my feet frequently remained stuck on the pedals and I’d tip sideways. This happened in the woods (which isn’t bad, as it is typically a soft landing) and on the pavement (painful!). After a few weeks I wondered why my elbows were aching…

As a result I bought elbow pads. The sideways spills no longer hurt, other than my pride, when there were witnesses 🙂

After that first summer I was able to ditch the elbow pads and, while I still occasionally do the sideways fall (like on today’s ride with my son Aaron), they have become infrequent.

My brother Roger (also has a Rumblefish) and I have an ongoing competition, when we ride. That is, we always want to perform as good as, or better than, the other guy. We have put a lot of miles on our bikes together and are pretty evenly matched.

Last weekend we had a ride scheduled with our cousin-in-law (Pat), at Yudicky Farm, in Nashua. Click here for a map of the Northern portion of the trail system, even though many of the trails we hit were newly developed and not yet documented.

My brother and one of my sons were potentially going, until they determined they couldn’t, after-all. So, I arrived at the trailhead to meet Pat. After explaining it would be just he and I, he said he invited a friend to join us. Sounds good!

Shortly after, a truck pulled up with 2 guys Pat had ridden with in the past. They too had high-end, full-suspension bikes and all the gear: helmet, semi-clear sunglasses that protect the eyes but aren’t too dark so you can see in the woods, gloves, Camelbaks for water and misc. gear. In addition, they had “armor” which consisted of shin and arm-pads.

Uh-oh, I thought, these guys seem a little more serious than Pat and I (they have body armor). This is going to be an experience…

Off we went. Pat and one of the other guys brought dogs so they suggested they hang back so as not to slow down the other 2 of us. So, we start with me 2nd in line as we hit the singletracks (mountain bike trails that are only about a foot wide), enjoying the experience of flying through the woods. All good, until I was getting a bit winded…So I slowed down and everyone passed me. No worries, I can swallow my pride. At this point, I’m really missing my brother 🙂

That was pretty much my position for the remainder of the ride through some FANTASTIC mountain biking terrain, which included numerous switchbacks, man-made bridges, obstacles and jumps. I’m not afraid of much, and I traversed many (but not nearly enough) of these obstacles.

For example, something like this bridge, isn’t bad at all.

However, I skipped the bridge that looked “something like” the one below, although the one on our trail was quite a bit longer, with a couple of corners to navigate as well…

Our 2 armor-bearing friends gave it a shot. The first made it with no trouble. The second, wasn’t so fortunate. As he was crossing the highest point (~4 feet above the ground) his front wheel came off the log and he went straight down, over the handlebars. After confirming he was ok, we continued down the trail.

I then asked the rider, who successfully crossed the bridge, if he “unclips” when traversing such obstacles. The reason (I would, at least) is that if you begin to fall you can at least attempt to land on your feet. Remaining clipped-in you simply don’t have that option (as observed by our friend taking his face-first plunge).

His response: “No [I never unclip]. It is like other things in life. You need to have belief that you are going to make it.“

Zowy, a great life-lesson while on the trails.

Wow, I’m thinking, these guys are at an entirely different level than me.

It didn’t end there…We were now entering the area of the trail system with some pretty LARGE jumps. Our 2 extreme riders let Pat and I know when the jumps were coming up so we could go ahead and stand-by to watch them. After observing their successful and impressive jumps I realized I’d probably be ok doing “some” of these, but I was too spent by this time and decided to “live another day.”

After about 2-hours we completed our grueling, 10-mile ride. I was happy to get home, hose myself off, eat and lay down for a while.

As I shared this story with my Dad he said: “Well, you know, you ARE almost 51.” Hey, hey…Go pound sand 🙂

Roger and I shall hit those trails soon and we’re going to take some of those jumps.

In closing, like many things in life: Never unclip – have belief that you are going to make it.

See you on the trails!

Apr 27 2015

The Future is Here – Get Some!

With much anticipation related to the Apple Watch I visited our local Apple Store, with my eldest son and wife, on the first day it was possible to try one on and take it for a test ride.

To be honest, my key reservation was that I thought it was going to be a big, unsightly device on my wrist. Kind of like my Timex Expedition that has a number of features / functions (altimeter, barometer, chronometer, compass, stopwatch, etc.) in addition to telling the date and time (in multiple timezones). When I first put that one on my boys called me Buzz Lightyear. I certainly didn’t want to go through THAT again 🙂

To my delight, the Apple Watch comes in 2 very reasonable (non-gaudy) sizes! That was really all I needed to see. The rest of the tour, provided by the awesome Apple employee, was simply icing on the cake. I was hooked. He asked if I wanted to place my order now. I declined, because I wanted to think “at least a little while” about it.

My wife, son and I then went out to dinner. After just a little thought and conversation I decided to pull the trigger and ordered it from my iPhone. I chose the larger size in the blue sport model. Within 5 minutes my son had ordered his (the black sport model).

We were immediately notified that our watches would ship end-May, early-June. Not too bad, considering what we had read about the “possible” wait time.

Much to my surprise, I was notified by Apple on April 24, that my watch would be delivered on April 27. My son’s watch is still scheduled for end-May, early-June. Looks like I’m going to get a jumpstart on him 🙂

We aren’t sure why this happened. My guesses are that it is because the blue sport model isn’t in as high demand as the more conservative black model and/or because I have a business account with Apple and they prioritized me accordingly. Either way, works for me.

As I drove up to my house on the day of the scheduled arrival the UPS truck happened to be at the top of our driveway, and the driver was walking towards our neighbor’s house. I’m thinking – he must have already delivered my watch. Time to play (I mean learn how to use my new productivity tool). On entering the house I hollered to my wife, who I could hear doing something upstairs: “Hey there, did they deliver my Apple Watch?” Her response: “No.”

“Really!?!,” I exclaim: “The truck is at the top of the driveway!” She then responds: “Didn’t hear the doorbell ring.”

Man, I think…Don’t you even care about me? 🙂

I run outside…Did they leave a note on the kitchen door? Nope. How about the front door? Nope. At this point, I’m about to chase down the UPS truck – I’m here, I’m here!

Realizing this probably wasn’t a good idea, I reserved myself to the fact that either it will be delivered by another UPS truck or maybe my wife is playing a trick on me. Upon going upstairs I ask: “Come on, did they deliver my watch?” She cracked up. There it was!!!

As I’ve written before, unpacking a new Apple product is like opening a box of fine jewelry. Only in this case you get something truly functional!

Within just a few short minutes I had it lit-up, connected to my iPhone and integrated into my life.

One of the things I had read about the Apple Watch, which some were complaining about, is that you now will receive numerous alerts on your wrist and it becomes a major distraction.

Like most things in life, it doesn’t have to be this way. People: take control of your Apple Watch!

There are very simple settings that you can use to control what, if any, alerts you receive on your wrist. So there!

Why, some might ask, do you feel you need one of these devices? A few reasons:

Productivity – A primary area in which my consulting firm works with our clients (mid-to-large corporations) is on increasing operational efficiencies (productivity improvements). And, when we can show a client how to shave even a few seconds off an individual transaction it can literally save them thousands upon thousands of dollars. Time = money. The same holds true in our personal life. That is, I am ALWAYS looking for ways to shave even a few seconds off the things I do multiple times a day so that I can focus on the more fun and productive aspects of life. Examples, with the Apple Watch, which I’m aware of after having it in my life for a mere 4 hours:
1. When my phone rings I must either pull it out of my pocket or find it on the counter to see who is calling. With the Apple Watch I just glance at my wrist and accept or decline the call. And, I can even take the call ON the Apple Watch if I choose, and talk to the caller through the watch.
2. When I receive a text I can glance at my watch (vs. hunting down the phone) and respond via the watch. This includes custom responses I can set or I can provide my response via voice and hit send.
I can see it!!! My “old” Citizens (solar-powered) watch is pretty nice but I can’t see the date. My contact lenses have been failing me recently 🙂 And, this makes me realize that “old” watches are now merely jewelry vs. the Apple Watch which adds productivity to my life.
I plan on remaining technically savvy – I want to keep ahead of (or at least “up with”) my kids for as long as possible, when something “makes sense.” The Apple Watch truly makes sense to me. 15 +/- years ago Timex tried out a “semi-smart watch”, although it wasn’t called that in those days. It offered functionality (wasn’t called an app then either) that allowed you to create appointments on your computer. Then, you’d press a button and the computer screen would transmit an image (just snow to the human eye). You’d then hold the watch up to the computer screen and it would download your appointments to the watch. Within 5 minutes I decided to return that one. The technology was FAR from being ready…
Health and fitness – I already use my iPhone to track mountain bike rides (distance, duration, top speed, etc.). With the Apple Watch I can now track my heart rate. In addition, I can set an activity monitor / prompter as a reminder to move about during the day (for those of us who happen to sit in an office for long periods of time). I’ll be turning that off soon, once I go on this year’s summer break 🙂
iPhone = Server / Apple Watch = Client – While it may not be entirely there yet, it is coming! And, to be clear, it isn’t a watch issue. The apps need to catch-up. Said another way, there are MANY apps I can now run from my wrist with my iPhone in my pocket. The iPhone is doing the “heavy lifting” and the watch is the user interface. There is so much potential here it is unbelievable. And, I know I’ve not even scratched the surface yet with what the current possibilities are.
And, finally…I own Apple stock and am doing my best to promote their products. Which, is not hard to do. If you are a “user” you know exactly why they are the largest company from a market capitalization perspective (currently at $772 billion). An article I read today on Yahoo! Finance (“Here’s how much Apple earns more than everyone else“) provides stats that clearly demonstrate Apple took in more revenue in recently reported quarters than Exxon-Mobil, Wal-Mart and Microsoft – COMBINED! People LOVE their products.

So, that’s it for now, based on the last few hours. I’m looking forward to day-1.

I’ll report back at some point in the future if/when there is anything material to report.

In the meantime, place your order. This is NOT a passing fad. The future is here!

Be Brave Not Safe

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Category Archives: For Fun!

To Invest In A Pool, or Not?

Never Unclip!

The Future is Here – Get Some!