Agility Dog Jumps - Easy & Cheap!

 

Had a thought to get Sonoma (border collie) back into her agility training at home. Looked around on the Internet and found quality jumps in the range of $50-60 each plus $15 shipping. Wow. I know I wanted quality, stability and long-lasting
construction, but $70 for a PVC jump toy? Went down to Lowe's and bought a load of 1" PVC, bunch of T's, endcaps & cement --- this couldn't be that hard.

I had the whole design going in my head. I wanted to start off with a set of fixed height jumps. (These are easily converted with a set of jump cups to adjustable jumps) So, I used a handheld PVC cutter, Sharpie and a measuring level, and I quickly built my first jump. I didn't cement anything yet in order to make proper design adjustments.

 




Calculating the retail cost, each jump used the following:

(8) - 1" PVC T's
(6) - 1" PVC Endcaps
(3) - 48" 1" PVC
(4) - 4" 1" PVC
(4) - 12" 1" PVC
(2) - 20" 1" PVC
(2) - 8/12/16/18" 1" lengths (depending on height you want)
(1) - 7 pieces of various colored Electrical tape.

Total cost -
PVC T's - $4.24
PVC END - $2.40
PVC PIPE - $3.60 (3 x 9' length of 1" pipe per jump - approx $1.20 each pipe)
ELEC TAPE - $0.26 (amount used prorated)

Grand Total - $10.50

Much nicer than most jumps I have seen being sold, and so much cheaper to boot!
I built 4 of them and boy, it was a smashing success! She did incredible on them.
Video to follow soon! :) Go SONOMA!!! :)

Finally Done

 

All I can say is WOW! Months of planning, preparation & configuration all came down to our large Datacenter migration project this past weekend. Overall, it was an amazing success and absolute tribute to the highly skilled, motivated and dedicated personnel we have working across all teams within our IT Dept. The arduous preparation could not blunt the brutal 36+ hour straight shift we had to pull to get the Datacenter where it needed to be after the arrival of trucks on Friday evening. Trying to work, think & make sound decisions in a hectic environment that hovered continuously around 55F was not an easy nor enviable task.



GPS Track from ATL to Montgomery, AL (Spot GPS on Truck)

So finally after nearly a year of site planning, construction & execution...the Datacenter is in production & another chapter of challenging tasks has been written. Cheers

Photo Album

I uploaded a few of my 15,000 shots to a new photo album that I am trying out with Google/Picasa - I am still working on my own website design (www.andysmothers.com) and I hope to have it finished and updated soon.

Nothing grand, but if you want to check it out ---

Click here

Reading List --- Technical Books (O'Reilly Nutshell)

For all my geeky friends....
Email me for a link to the series of all O'Reilly technical books for your perusal.
:P

Seeing the path for what it is...

Note to self:

Andy,
Look up, look down. I am high in the mountains, I am low in the valley. I am sad, happy, indifferent & excited. What I have failed to understand until my dream last night is that the path is what it is, it is rocky at times, it is plain smooth, it is comfortable and even comforting, but none of that matters.

The path is the journey....in all of its variations.

Don't wince, whine nor wonder about the emotions you feel at any particular time.
Learn to be balanced all of the time. Learn to live with inner joy & quiet strength.
Anger, fear, violence... are just as impressive as happiness, rebirth & safety.

Why? Because it always changes, it constantly changes. Nothing remains the same.
Just as darkness always comes each evening, The sun also rises each morning.

So each moment is nothing but transient.
Be calm, be present in all things.

Good Days!

I feel good --- broke free of my melancholy moments of late and decided to go out this morning and help a friend in need. Friend of mine had to install a new liner in his pool and what else to do on a Sunday morning when the temperature is like 100F? After raking sand smooth, putting in a soft fabric, then the heavy vinyl liner, we worked on the new PVC piping for the drain & clean-out valves. All in all a pretty successful day and it was so hot, when filling the pool we checked it about 3-4" to smooth out some wrinkles, the water temperature was actually 106F!

It is nice to break away and help someone...simply for the sake of making someone's life a little easier, perhaps a little better. Plus it makes them feel that they owe you something down the road..... LOL, J/K. Good to have great friends and feel better for getting out there and helping.

Need to get back with volunteer work again, I miss all of that work I did after some difficult times in 2005 after my divorce, the ending of an painful relationship, and certainly after Katrina. It enriches your soul to give without reservation, to serve others is the ultimate calling of duty & love.

Anyone else need a pool liner installed? ;)
LOL

Empty Path....

I saw one of my sisters pass by the other day in her car as I was leaving my subdivision, and I waved. Time stopped briefly. In the midst of that simple gesture, I quickly felt that things have changed and time had taken its course on our relationship. Time has its way of teaching you both the importance of each passing moment as well as revealing the growth or subsequent decay of your relationships. Moments from the years of laughter, fun, anger, sadness, joy & sorrow that I recalled sharing with my sister entered into my head in a blazing rush.

I chalked it all up to another failed relationship, another loving sibling partnership that had been tarnished beyond recognition. Perhaps by my own hands or the influence of others, I cannot keep track of the difference that it makes anymore --- determining whose fault it might have been, whose hands are still stained, who said what, when, & how those words might justify the feeling of exile. How those words could even matter, how those words reveal the true fragility of our relationship in the first place.

These days I feel emptier than usual. Both at work, home and on my journey. I am cognizant that each step is not going to lead you to a beautiful mountain overlook, nor a calming rustling stream, some sections on your journey are just going to be walking over mundane flat land without a tree of shade, a rock of shelter, nor a valley of serenity. I go through the motions, the emotions of trying so hard to keep myself positive, motivated and passionate even in spite of the raging judgment, condemnation & solitude that I feel from those at work and elsewhere in my life.

I plan on going out today and doing some backpacking, or geocaching & just finding something in nature, the only true constant source of balance in my life, to bring me back. Bring me back to something more peaceful, more renewed, more richly rewarded. Each step with purpose of overcoming those who have let you down, learning to be a better person, to forgive those who have lost sight of the simplicity of life, lost sight of the magic of being alive for one more day.

It is easy to get discouraged with life at times, to feel that you are undervalued and perhaps giving too much of yourself is the root of your own failure, the rationale for the depth of the pain that you feel. But it part of my soul, part of my essence to always care, always carry the passion for the activities that I participate in. Always love and miss those who are both here and not present in my life anymore.

For now, I just continue to walk this journey....seeking out its purpose.
I apologize for the solemn nature of this post, but it is how I feel this morning.