We had a just a skiff of snow last night. It was just enough to coat the driveway and leave tracks when I drove the car over it on my way to work this morning.
This afternoon I went to shovel it and there wasn't enough to shovel, so I brushed it. I got my shop brush out and was able to move it off the driveway. Why, you ask, is this significant.
Well for those who are not privileged enough to live and ski along the Wasatch front, this my friends is the "Greatest Snow on Earth". That isn't me boasting, it is actually emblazoned on our license plates.
This snow I moved was so light and so cold that it hadn't melted all day and I was able to brush it away without a bit of effort. Even if I had a few broom fulls of show piled up, it came off the drive without leaving any trace.
24 inches of that white gold makes all thoughts of doing anything but calling my ski buddy up at 7:30 in the morning and telling him I'll meet him at the mouth of the canyon, disappear. This assures us we are standing in our skis less than 5 deep when the chair lift opens. That is the way to start a powder day.
Over the summer we forget how wonderful skiing here in Utah is. We forget the days when we can glide through the deep powder down a 60 degree slope as if we are floating through the air. It seems almost effortless. You have to stop at the bottom just to admire your tracks, but not too long, there is always another run to make before it gets tracked out.
It has been said "there are no friends on a powder day". That means you just ski, until you can't move, you don't wait for anyone. It is even better if it is still snowing. That means only the diehards are there, and it seems there are more and more of them every year.
I always tell people from out of town I ski only when the conditions are optimum; it snowed last night at least a foot, the sun is likely to peak out between the clouds and it is a weekday. Any other time is just warming up.
When we do get those days, and there are a number of them here each year (Alta gets over 700 inches of snow each year), your mind is on nothing else. Your heart races as you hurriedly assemble your gear and you can't get breakfast down quick enough. If it is really dumping you put the gear in the car the night before and you take a bagel and a cup of coffee with you.
So as we brace ourselves for another storm tonight I can only hope that it will be one of those epic ski days tomorrow. And if anyone at work wonders where I am I tell them I have something wrong with my eyes - I can't see myself going to work today.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Number Seven
You may not know it yet and you will all find out soon directly from the pregnants, particularly since no one reads my blog, but we are going to be grandparents again, for the seventh time.
Our son and his wife came over last night and they, along with their 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter (sorry 3 and 1/2 as she often reminds us) told us they are going to have a baby. We are ecstatic.
The really cool thing about grand kids is that you can love them without having to do any of the discipline and any of the hard work of training or educating. You just show up with open arms and say stuff like "You are wonderful" and "You can have all the candy you want if you ask your mom".
The other really wonderful thing about being a grand parent is seeing the wonderful people our kids have become and the wonderful partners they have chosen. I really do have a wonderful life.
Our son and his wife came over last night and they, along with their 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter (sorry 3 and 1/2 as she often reminds us) told us they are going to have a baby. We are ecstatic.
The really cool thing about grand kids is that you can love them without having to do any of the discipline and any of the hard work of training or educating. You just show up with open arms and say stuff like "You are wonderful" and "You can have all the candy you want if you ask your mom".
The other really wonderful thing about being a grand parent is seeing the wonderful people our kids have become and the wonderful partners they have chosen. I really do have a wonderful life.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Had A Great Day
We had Bubby (our youngest Grandson) over last night. It was wonderful to focus on one at a time. He was very comfortable at our house and didn't want to go home in the morning. It was great scooting along the floor with him on my back, watching Thomas the Tank Engine for the millionth time and snuggling with him. They grow up so fast.
I then went to the garage and fiddled with my KLR. My hands are dirty and scraped, I really didn't do anything and I was in the cold most of the time, but I really enjoyed it. There is something really satisfying about tinkering with a mechanical device. The motorcycles has really replaced my waning desire to work on cars. They are fun to ride and they do need some simple maintainence on a regular basis. It is something I can do without a menchanical engineering degree or a lot of sophisiticated tools.
It was a good day.
I then went to the garage and fiddled with my KLR. My hands are dirty and scraped, I really didn't do anything and I was in the cold most of the time, but I really enjoyed it. There is something really satisfying about tinkering with a mechanical device. The motorcycles has really replaced my waning desire to work on cars. They are fun to ride and they do need some simple maintainence on a regular basis. It is something I can do without a menchanical engineering degree or a lot of sophisiticated tools.
It was a good day.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty
Breaking News - Your Cat May Not be as Lazy as You Thought
Let me start out by saying I am not a huge fan of cats. That said I still think this article in the front section of the Salt Lake Tribune (My Favorite Paper) is a lot funnier than it was intended to be.
The article describes a study of 50 cats fitted with cameras that had their activities tracked while their owners were out of the house. The article draws the conclusion from the camera pictures that the cats were't as lazy as originally thought because they spent only 6 percent of their time during the study sleeping.
The rest of the time was spent interacting with other pets (12%), climbing on chairs (8%), looking at TVs, DVDs or other media (6%), hiding under tables (6%), playing with toys (5%) and eating or looking at food (4%). The most time consuming CATegory (sorry) was looking out of windows at 22%.
First of all that only adds up to 69%. What did the cats do for almost a full third of the time that wasn't recorded? Maybe the study monitors (probably old ladies) were sleeping? Secondly if I was looking out the window, looking at TV's DVDs or other media, hiding under tables or eating or looking at food you could safely say I was being lazy.
I think I need a cat nap.
Let me start out by saying I am not a huge fan of cats. That said I still think this article in the front section of the Salt Lake Tribune (My Favorite Paper) is a lot funnier than it was intended to be.
The article describes a study of 50 cats fitted with cameras that had their activities tracked while their owners were out of the house. The article draws the conclusion from the camera pictures that the cats were't as lazy as originally thought because they spent only 6 percent of their time during the study sleeping.
The rest of the time was spent interacting with other pets (12%), climbing on chairs (8%), looking at TVs, DVDs or other media (6%), hiding under tables (6%), playing with toys (5%) and eating or looking at food (4%). The most time consuming CATegory (sorry) was looking out of windows at 22%.
First of all that only adds up to 69%. What did the cats do for almost a full third of the time that wasn't recorded? Maybe the study monitors (probably old ladies) were sleeping? Secondly if I was looking out the window, looking at TV's DVDs or other media, hiding under tables or eating or looking at food you could safely say I was being lazy.
I think I need a cat nap.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Is That Senator Roberto Bennettito?
Today the paper announced the withdrawal (a week after he declared he was in) of Fred Lampropoulos in the race against our three term republican stalwart Robert Bennett. Fred L. (I had to look to spell his name the first time, I'm not going to keep doing it) isn't a lightweight, he has made millions in the medical devices industry and I am sure along the way paved a very nice path for his good name in the greater Salt Lake City community.
There are a couple of scary things about this. First, Fred L. said he has "business commitments that prevent him from seeking the GOP nomination". Does that sound a little fishy? I would have thought that a CEO of a multi-national corporation would have checked his calendar before making a public commitment to something like running for senator.
The second thing that seems scary about this is that Fred L. isn't the first local celeb to bow out. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff (I had to look at how to spell his name also) declared himself a candidate for Robert Bennett's senate seat and then dropped out so he could be with his daughter through her tough personal crises.
Now I don't wish any ill will toward the AG's daughter and I think that is noble for him to put his family first, but doesn't it sound like the caliber of reasoning put forward by Fred L? Something that you can't really check up on and maybe they should have considered before declaring their candidacy?
I'm not saying that our esteemed senator is handling things like a mafia turf war, that's how politics is handled back East. In fact if I want any kind of professional success in this great valley I insist I am not saying anything of the kind.
At well over 6 feet tall and weighing less than a pee wee football player, Robert Bennett doesn't have the swagger or presence of a Suprano. He doesn't walk around with sun glasses on inside or have an entourage of "associates". In fact I don't think Utah Woolen Mills even knows what a "Gambini Style" suit is.
But I do want to be on the safe side. So, just to be clear - any inference that you may draw from this blog that could possibly be construed as casting an unfavorable light upon Mr. Bennett is purely your own paranoid delusion and you are solely responsible for its content.
I think I'll move to Bolivia and leave no forwarding address.
There are a couple of scary things about this. First, Fred L. said he has "business commitments that prevent him from seeking the GOP nomination". Does that sound a little fishy? I would have thought that a CEO of a multi-national corporation would have checked his calendar before making a public commitment to something like running for senator.
The second thing that seems scary about this is that Fred L. isn't the first local celeb to bow out. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff (I had to look at how to spell his name also) declared himself a candidate for Robert Bennett's senate seat and then dropped out so he could be with his daughter through her tough personal crises.
Now I don't wish any ill will toward the AG's daughter and I think that is noble for him to put his family first, but doesn't it sound like the caliber of reasoning put forward by Fred L? Something that you can't really check up on and maybe they should have considered before declaring their candidacy?
I'm not saying that our esteemed senator is handling things like a mafia turf war, that's how politics is handled back East. In fact if I want any kind of professional success in this great valley I insist I am not saying anything of the kind.
At well over 6 feet tall and weighing less than a pee wee football player, Robert Bennett doesn't have the swagger or presence of a Suprano. He doesn't walk around with sun glasses on inside or have an entourage of "associates". In fact I don't think Utah Woolen Mills even knows what a "Gambini Style" suit is.
But I do want to be on the safe side. So, just to be clear - any inference that you may draw from this blog that could possibly be construed as casting an unfavorable light upon Mr. Bennett is purely your own paranoid delusion and you are solely responsible for its content.
I think I'll move to Bolivia and leave no forwarding address.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Republican Dialog, London Fog, Dopey Dog and Ule Log
I had a few things rolling around in my head for the past few days so I thought I would clear them all at once.
I was in a bookstore and saw this title "How Obama, Congress, and the Special Interests are Transforming . . . a Slump into a Crash, Freedom into Socialism, and a Disaster into a Catastrophe . . . and How to Fight Back. Aside from the obvious "This is all those liberal, commie, Obama lover's fault" bent to this book it struck me as funny that it was on the "Bargin" rack with a 50% off sticker on it because either it wasn't selling well or the economy had affected book sales so badly that everything lost value. I choose the first.
Speaking of choices, I went to my favorite coffee hangout (not St@&%ucks) and ordered a London Fog. The girl hadn't heard of it so I wondered if it was a popular as I thought. For those who haven't heard of a London Fog it is an Earl Grey Tea bag steeped in a half cup of boiling water and then you pour a half cup of steamed soy milk over it. Its creamy and spicy and hot, delicious for these cold days. It doesn't even need much sugar.
I was on my run yesterday and I hit a dog. I wasn't in my car, I was jogging by the side of the road when a big lab saw me from his yard and ran at me perpendicular to my running trajectory. The weird thing was he just kept running. He T-boned me so I essentially kneed him in the side. He just looked up at me and ran back to his yard. He isn't going to live long if he tries that with a car.
The last bit of random information I want to impart on you is that the present value of all the items in the holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (you know "on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . a partridge in a pear tree') is $87,000. Someone keeps track of this stuff and claims it is a measure of the economy to view the cost from year to year. Of course this year the value is up from last year. Great, another thing to worry about. Besides not being able to afford them, and the obvious "its just a song" things could get messy with the twelve lords leaping, eleven ladies dancing, ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming, eight maids milking, seven swans swimming, and six geese laying and all the other stuff.
I was in a bookstore and saw this title "How Obama, Congress, and the Special Interests are Transforming . . . a Slump into a Crash, Freedom into Socialism, and a Disaster into a Catastrophe . . . and How to Fight Back. Aside from the obvious "This is all those liberal, commie, Obama lover's fault" bent to this book it struck me as funny that it was on the "Bargin" rack with a 50% off sticker on it because either it wasn't selling well or the economy had affected book sales so badly that everything lost value. I choose the first.
Speaking of choices, I went to my favorite coffee hangout (not St@&%ucks) and ordered a London Fog. The girl hadn't heard of it so I wondered if it was a popular as I thought. For those who haven't heard of a London Fog it is an Earl Grey Tea bag steeped in a half cup of boiling water and then you pour a half cup of steamed soy milk over it. Its creamy and spicy and hot, delicious for these cold days. It doesn't even need much sugar.
I was on my run yesterday and I hit a dog. I wasn't in my car, I was jogging by the side of the road when a big lab saw me from his yard and ran at me perpendicular to my running trajectory. The weird thing was he just kept running. He T-boned me so I essentially kneed him in the side. He just looked up at me and ran back to his yard. He isn't going to live long if he tries that with a car.
The last bit of random information I want to impart on you is that the present value of all the items in the holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (you know "on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . a partridge in a pear tree') is $87,000. Someone keeps track of this stuff and claims it is a measure of the economy to view the cost from year to year. Of course this year the value is up from last year. Great, another thing to worry about. Besides not being able to afford them, and the obvious "its just a song" things could get messy with the twelve lords leaping, eleven ladies dancing, ten pipers piping, nine drummers drumming, eight maids milking, seven swans swimming, and six geese laying and all the other stuff.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Arkansas Cops
I'm back to ranting again.
I read in the paper this morning where an Arkansas cop was fired because he didn't activate his camera on the stun gun when he tased an 11 year old girl. AN 11 YEAR OLD GIRL!!!!!
Are you kidding me? The cop was called to the home because the mom couldn't get the girl to do her homework and the girl was getting belligerent. OK so she was kicking and screaming. OK so she ended up kicking the cop in the goolies. But if you can't get an 11 year old without a gun under control without tasering her maybe being a peace officer is not the job for you.
The really sad thing about this is that he was fired because he didn't follow procedure, not because he used a taser on an 11 year old girl without a gun. The really funny thing is that the mom called the cops because she couldn't get the girl to do her homework.
I don't know if the Arkansas chamber of commerce has thought of it but maybe they could use the tag line "Come to Arkansas where you are safe from unruly 11 year old girls who don't do their homework". It really is different down there.
I read in the paper this morning where an Arkansas cop was fired because he didn't activate his camera on the stun gun when he tased an 11 year old girl. AN 11 YEAR OLD GIRL!!!!!
Are you kidding me? The cop was called to the home because the mom couldn't get the girl to do her homework and the girl was getting belligerent. OK so she was kicking and screaming. OK so she ended up kicking the cop in the goolies. But if you can't get an 11 year old without a gun under control without tasering her maybe being a peace officer is not the job for you.
The really sad thing about this is that he was fired because he didn't follow procedure, not because he used a taser on an 11 year old girl without a gun. The really funny thing is that the mom called the cops because she couldn't get the girl to do her homework.
I don't know if the Arkansas chamber of commerce has thought of it but maybe they could use the tag line "Come to Arkansas where you are safe from unruly 11 year old girls who don't do their homework". It really is different down there.
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