It wasn’t too long after I kicked off this blog that I tried to use the WordPress app to create new posts but ran into issues when trying to upload pictures. My work around has been to occasionally draft posts on my phone only to later to edit pictures on my PC, add them to the post and publish it. Unfortunately, that process is not user friendly and has kept me from posting even less than I normally would.
Late last week I finally tried again and ran into the same issue, which has persisted – for a LONG time now. I knew it couldn’t still be an issue with the app else it would have reported and resolved by now. So I tried to dig into it and found an error message was shown here…
I Googled the 413 error which reports as “request entity too large” and I found that the default max dimension for WordPress is set as 2560px and there’s a file size limit as well. Both can be modified but I had not done so and my iPhone pictures are 4032×3024 and ~4.5Mb which grossly exceeded the limits mentioned above. Inevitably I’ve now downloaded the Photoshop Express app which allows me to easily resize images.
Now that I’ve figured out the issue and am able to create and publish mobile posts, I hope I’ll follow through and post more often as well! Only time will tell 🙂
The last time it’s snowed in the Florida panhandle was 1989 and I was 8 years old. Now 43, with an 11 year old son and twin 5 year old girls who had never seen snow in person until this week. Not only did it snow, we had record breaking levels of snowfall. The nearby city of Milton, FL got 10-inches of snow! The “official” number that I believe was associated with Panama City was 3-inches. We had that by around 8pm in our back yard and it was still falling. Schools closed Tuesday (1/21) and remained closed through Thursday (1/23) as cold temperatures allowed the snow to stick around for a few days and what did melt would freeze again overnight leaving many roads icy the following day. It was great to see the smiles on the kids faces as they saw the snow begin to fall and were then able to play in it for 3 days! Core memories were surely made!
On January 21st, snowfall began around 3:30pm. The photo below was taken around 6:00pm.
After an epic snowfall, the photo below was taken on January 22nd around 8:45am.
With 3 snow days, the kids couldn’t get enough of it and continued to find snow lingering around in all the areas of the yard that were shaded for most of the day.
https://marvinpeardon.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/MarvinPeardon.com-Logo-Website.jpg00mpeardonhttps://marvinpeardon.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/MarvinPeardon.com-Logo-Website.jpgmpeardon2025-01-24 20:00:002025-02-21 01:54:46Winter in Florida
I’m often inspired by or simply find various quotes to be powerful, insightful, motivational, etc. Rather than randomly scatter them across various social media posts or simply in the Notes of my phone, I figured it would be nice to not only share them but also have them in a singular place. For now, I think the idea will be to update this post and maybe date when I find or share them… so here goes:
Two quotes for today (14 JAN 2025):
Time makes money look cheap.
Victory awaits him who has everything in order – luck, some people call it.
17 JAN 2025:
You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your system.
– James Clear
6 FEB 2025:
If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, then what you want becomes the sacrifice.
21 FEB 2025:
Life isn’t beautiful because it’s perfect. It’s beautiful because of moments. The way sunlight spills through your window on a quiet morning. The sound of rain tapping gently on the roof. The laughter that escapes when you thought you’d forgotten how to smile. These moments are small, but they are proof that beauty exists even in the cracks.
Reference: Inspirational video on social media. Author: Unknown.
You’re here, not by accident, but because the world needs someone exactly like you. Even if you can’t see it yet, your story is unfinished. There is love you haven’t felt, places you haven’t been, joy you haven’t known. Stay, because the world is better with you in it!
Reference: Inspirational video on social media. Author: Unknown.
It wasn’t originally planned this way but I got to a point with my Shop progress where I had the realization that our riding lawn mower, shovels, rakes, other yard tools and all saw dust making tools were not going to be able to call the shop home. They’d inevitably ruin the printers I have. So what to do? Well, build a dedicated space for them.
As with most things, the progress thus far has taken me longer than expected due to so many unexpected things… you know, life! Nonetheless, progress has been made. So far I’ve managed to frame the walls and trusses myself but it won’t be long and I’ll have to call on some help.
If you look closely you may see some loft trusses just above the walls – where there will be a fair amount of storage space!
It’s mid-December now and I’m currently on a work trip. Looking forward to getting back home, being with family and getting back to work on this build!
UPDATE: 15 SEP 2025
I had a relatively well written update about a week ago and attempted to include some pictures but got errors when trying to update / publish the post. I’ll make another post about that later.
As life goes, I could make a million reasons (excuses) as to why I haven’t updated. One of them is actually related to the errors mentioned above and not being able to publish mobile updates which discouraged me from updating. I could have done it from the computer I sit at every day… but I digress.
What I can share is that since I made the original post above I’ve been able to get all of the wall and roof sheathing on, shingled the roof, installed windows, metal fascia & soffit, and started vinyl siding. I’m making good progress and the HOT summer heat is starting to relax just enough that I’m starting to really enjoy being out there again. Here are a couple of updated pictures of the shed as it sits now.
I almost finished this short side but ran out of daylight and was having a hard time seeing marks on the vinyl to cut. I’ll get it done soon!
Shop progress is always a welcomed site to see! There are a variety of reasons that have caused delays in shop progress over the past year but since around February things have started moving forward again. I had been trying to post this update from my phone but have had continued issues with the WordPress app and loading photos for a number of months now without resolution. I finally got around to transferring the pictures to my computer, allowing me to upload them here and FINALLY make this post.
Let’s run through some progress… back in February I was able to get concrete poured to provide a small entrance to the shop’s high-bay door as well as the entry door to the office.
In March I had gutters installed on the shop which will help with water run-off and soil erosion.
Once the rest of the shop is done (i.e. interior finished and moved in) I will likely run the downspouts into the ground and install some pop-up emitters to further reduce any erosion… and I simply think it looks better 🙂
Over the past year, I was not able to find a HVAC company who wanted to tackle the system installation mainly due to the custom build floor trusses and the fact that they had to be cut to allow for the duct work to pass through. I advised various companies that I would cut the trusses if they would simply provide the duct sizing. Long story short, I went to YouTube University and learned how to design my own HVAC system including number and sizes of the vents [registers] and all of the duct work needed. Once that was done, I got to work cutting the trusses to allow for the main HVAC trunk to pass through.
I ended up being able to work with a family member, Uncle Dustin, to get the HVAC duct work installed. If you look closely, the (4) 6″ registers are spaced along the back wall and will provide a nice climate controlled office space!
We’re already going into the 4th week of January and unfortunately this is my first time writing here in ~7 months. It’s amazing how quickly time passes by – there are many quotes that echo the sentiment… The days are long but the years are quick. Time waits for no one. All are true and sadly we can never get back wasted time nor can we buy more of it.
With that said, 2023 was a great year! A lot of great things happened and it also came with a lot of change as well. My business continues to strive and do well – overall gross numbers were down slightly from 2022 but I think we’ve also continued to see an economic decline as well. My day job has remained the same but we’ve seen a variety of personnel changes as our project manager and branch head made lateral position changes, opening up their positions to be backfilled.
I’m looking forward to a variety of things in 2024! I already have a few new product announcements on the horizon and possibly some new services. I’m looking to completely rebrand my local / retail business due to some brand confusion of the current naming. I’m realistically looking to finally complete construction efforts on my shop by the end of the year – ideally late summer.
I really don’t do well with New Year’s Resolutions or just goal setting in general. I know I have plans in place and objectives in mind and I work towards those as much as I can within the bounds of everything daily life likes to toss in the way. However, I recognize that I need to figure out how to do a better job prioritizing time for things like this (documenting) and more importantly marketing and social media sharing in general. I’m looking forward to 2024 and seeing how I can improve not only on this but as a husband, father, business owner, and all the other titles I hold as well. I’m excited to see what I’m able to accomplish in 2024. Let’s go!
If you’ve followed any high-level for sports long enough you’ve likely heard of Dr. James Andrews, who founded the Andrews Institute. Dr. Andrews is a surgeon for knee, elbow, and shoulder injuries and is a specialist in repairing damaged ligaments. Dr. Andrews became one of the best-known and most popular orthopedic surgeons for his work on many high-profile athletes. The Andrews Institute is home to nationally recognized physicians that utilize leading-edge techniques, technology and treatments for each and every patient.
Danielle has had trouble with her right knee for a number of years now. The first time it got to a level of discomfort that was enough to be seen about we scheduled an appointment and drove over to Gulf Breeze and met with Dr. Jordan at the Andrews Institute. Gulf Breeze is about a 2 hour drive from our home, which is well worth the expertise and level of care offered – it’s certainly second to none.
Dr. Jordan met with us, discussed the pain and discomfort, and sent Danielle down for x-rays… which ended up with a prognosis that she had a torn meniscus. Because of Danielle’s age, Dr. Jordan recommended a procedure where he would try to repair the meniscus… basically using stitches to pull and hold all of the torn portions back together with the intent for the meniscus to heal itself back together. This was suggested to mitigate arthritis if other procedures were performed instead. Unfortunately, after a LONG recovery process, it was determined that the surgery didn’t work and the meniscus wasn’t healing back together.
Later, a second surgery was scheduled to clip the torn meniscus. This surgery came with a shorter recovery process and it relieved pain for a while but eventually the knee pain came back. A follow up appointment with Dr. Jordan revealed that there was no cartilage remaining and she was basically having bone-on-bone contact and rubbing as she walked. With the relatively newborn twin girls, further surgery and associated recovery wasn’t ideal either. In effort to push out a surgery date, Dr. Jordan offered cortisone shots quarterly, and suggested an unloader knee brace that was intended to manually shift the knee to relieve some of the pressure.
Not too long after the girls turned 3, and them being lot more self sufficient and just much easier for me to take care of… along with Daniel, work (or time off from the Navy base) and managing Driven By Graphics as well, we scheduled a follow up appointment with Dr. Jordan late in 2022 to discuss a plan to lessen Danielle’s knee pain and improve her quality of life. He advised that he did not perform joint replacement surgeries, which was the ideal surgery for her given the circumstances – we were referred to Dr. Mayes, who specializes in hip and knee replacements.
During the consultation with Dr. Mayes, he offered two options: 1) being a partial replacement but follow up surgeries would likely be required in 5-8 years or 2) being the total replacement. Dr. Mayes suggested the total replacement, stating that the components used are much more durable and rigid than that used in the partial and would last significantly longer.
Today, May 1, 2023, is the day that will be marked and remembered for Danielle’s 3rd knee surgery – the total knee replacement. We had to arrive at the Andrews’ Institute Surgery Center at 6:45am for pre-op preparation. As I finish writing this, it’s now 9:45 and I just received the message that she’s out of surgery and is in recovery. I’ll wrap up in saying that I know the coming days and weeks are going to be tough and likely painful, but she’s a tough fighter and I’ll be by her side to help her through it all! I know she’s looking forward to life on the other side, hopefully being able to walk without pain… being able to follow and play with the kids more freely and so we can travel without being so concerned with constraints from the pain of walking.
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This post is mostly just for me – for my personal record keeping because I am certain I won’t remember otherwise.
On April 18th, 2022 I was playing softball at Oakland Terrace field and hurt my wrist attempting to make a sliding catch in the outfield on a shallow fly ball. I came off the field with a very sore wrist but I was still able to move it. Our team was able to make the 3rd out in the field and I was likely going to be due up to hit in our half of the inning. I pulled a bat out of my bag to see if I would be able to hit… there was no way. My wrist had already begun swelling, the ability to move it was decreasing, and the pain, while not awful, was not subsiding.
After the game, I decided to drive myself to the ER and have it checked out. I figured the best case they tell me it was sprained and put me in a sling to rest it and the worse case I actually broke something. I was 40 years old and had never broken or fractured a bone in my body… but in the hallway of the ER a PA showed me the x-ray on her phone and there was a small fracture on the top of my wrist.
Fractured left wrist
They put me into a temporary split and told me to follow up with an orthopedic the following day. Dr. Goodwiller advised that while fractured, the bone sat right back into place and would not require any surgery. Based on his opinion, we opted not to put it in a cast, but rather use a temporary brace instead. I got to wear the brace for about 6 weeks with checkups every couple of weeks.
But let’s get back to the softball part of the story! While the bone was healed prior to the fall season, the tendons and ligaments were still tight and sore. There was no reason to push the issue and play in pain and/or risk further injury.
This past Friday night (March 3rd, 2023) I went to softball practice and it was the first time I threw, caught, or hit a softball since I fractured my wrist. This was the longest time I can recall that I hadn’t stepped between the lines since I skipped my first year of eligibility for little league – when I was 10 years old. I’ve remained VERY busy with the day job, the side hustle, trying to build out the shop when I can, and spending time with family.
Last night, Monday, March 6th, 2023 was the opening night of our softball season and was the first time I got to step back onto the field and between those lines. While it’s not my personality to socialize with everyone at the ballpark or even with all of the players on my own team, it was great to see familiar faces again and share the common interest that is softball. While my outfield defense was quite rusty and I made mistakes, I went 6 for 8 at the plate for the night and we won both games to start the season 2-0. But most importantly, I got to step on the field and play softball with my brother again. And in those few hours, we were able to slip away from all of the worldly things – away from the media, the politics, the daily stresses, and everything else life throws at us… and just have some fun!
This picture is not directly relevant to the above, but it does capture a moment when my brother and I were able to share the field together.
Water makes up about 60% of our bodies and helps to regulate our body temperature, lubricates and provide cushion for joints, and aids in many other bodily functions as well. Yet there are so many who have limited access to water globally and even fewer that have access to clean water. We’re blessed in the US to have access to so many resources yet, water treatment induces many chemicals into the water supply in order to clean the water… unfortunately those chemicals may not be the best things for our bodies.
With all that said, I decided to do a little research and purchased and install a 6-stage water filtration system including a reverse osmosis filter. This is the one I purchased: https://amzn.to/3lZX89Y
I was able to get it installed a few days ago…
6-Stage Water Filtration w/ Reverse OsmosisFull Filtration System Installation6-Stage Water Filtration Overview
Nothing too crazy here but today’s project was wall mounting this Echo Show 15. It was very easy to install and I think it looks great!
Let’s see if we can be better organized in 2023! We’ll at least be able to get rid of that calendar on the fridge now. Hey Alexa, can you add milk to the shopping list?
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© 2023 Marvin Peardon
