Budha walks up to a hotdog vendor and says "Make me one with everything."
(It's not as bad as: If Ella Fitzgerald married Darth Vader she'd be Ella Vader.)
[This concludes my fury of LJ updates. I'm spent, so don't expect anything for a while. :) ]
Monday, February 27, 2006
Yes I know the way to San Jose
I'm in San Jose this week for work. Normally I'd be quite happy with that, but the weather is so amazing in Colorado right now that it's hard to leave. It's 60 degrees and sunny in Fort Collins, and San Jose is supposed to have rain the entire week. :( I'm hoping the Colorado weather holds up until I get home so I can go for some good rides next weekend.
Ghia Update
I've been at a standstill with my Ghia since I got it started in January. I can get it to run, but the only way I can get it to stay running is if I close the choke all the way. As soon as I open it even a fraction, the RPM's start to drop and eventually the car stalls. I tried everything I could think of - timing, valves, points, fuel mixture - but still I couldn't figure it out. It's really frustrating when something that simple can still stump you.
The one thing I hadn't tested was something that occurred to me early on in the debug process, but it was difficult to test when I couldn't keep the car running. Consequently, it slipped my mind as I tried to track down other gremlins. I was reminded of it last week, and finally tracked down the demon that was keeping the car from running (I hope). It was an air leak where the manifold bolts to the cylinder head. It turns out that the gaskets that I used don't have the best results. I've purchased some new gaskets, and the next time I get the chance I'll install them. The sad part is that I have to pretty much tear the engine compartment down to replace them.
The one thing I hadn't tested was something that occurred to me early on in the debug process, but it was difficult to test when I couldn't keep the car running. Consequently, it slipped my mind as I tried to track down other gremlins. I was reminded of it last week, and finally tracked down the demon that was keeping the car from running (I hope). It was an air leak where the manifold bolts to the cylinder head. It turns out that the gaskets that I used don't have the best results. I've purchased some new gaskets, and the next time I get the chance I'll install them. The sad part is that I have to pretty much tear the engine compartment down to replace them.
Weekend Rides
(For those who complain that I haven't updated my LiveJournal in a while, hold on 'cause here it comes)
It was nice to get the bike off the trainer and do some riding outside again this weekend. Saturday morning was a little chilly in the morning, but I bundled up and went out anyway. It wasn't a very nice looking morning, but I was still happy to be outside. Of course, the sun clouds went away and the sun came out at about the same time I was wrapping up my ride.
Sunday I got a little smarter, and waited until it warmed up before heading out. I wore leg warmers, arm warmers, light base layer shirt, and a wind vest and it turned out to be just right for the conditions. Just before I got to Carter Lake I saw a pack of 15 riders coming up behind me. I decided to slow down and get in their draft and see if I could hang for a little while. I got dropped by most of the people on the climb up to Carter, but I stuck with my pace and ended up passing several people that popped once they got to the top.
It was nice to get the bike off the trainer and do some riding outside again this weekend. Saturday morning was a little chilly in the morning, but I bundled up and went out anyway. It wasn't a very nice looking morning, but I was still happy to be outside. Of course, the sun clouds went away and the sun came out at about the same time I was wrapping up my ride.
Sunday I got a little smarter, and waited until it warmed up before heading out. I wore leg warmers, arm warmers, light base layer shirt, and a wind vest and it turned out to be just right for the conditions. Just before I got to Carter Lake I saw a pack of 15 riders coming up behind me. I decided to slow down and get in their draft and see if I could hang for a little while. I got dropped by most of the people on the climb up to Carter, but I stuck with my pace and ended up passing several people that popped once they got to the top.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Olympics
I've been enjoying watching the Olympics lately, and one of the great things about the games is that I can watch curling. I know it's probably not the most exciting sport in the world to most people, but there's something interesting about the strategy involved and the slow deliberate nature. Growing up I used to catch a curling match occasionally on a Canadian channel, but aside from the occasional match on ESPN2 that I'll accidentally stumble upon the Olympics are one of the few times I see it on American TV.
I would have to say the worst thing about the Olympic coverage is ice dancing. Enough already. I have no idea why this is an Olympic event. Of course, you could probably say the same thing for curling (which pretty much equates to Canadian bowling).
I would have to say the worst thing about the Olympic coverage is ice dancing. Enough already. I have no idea why this is an Olympic event. Of course, you could probably say the same thing for curling (which pretty much equates to Canadian bowling).
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Discounted lift tickets at Breck and Keystone
I saw this blurb on a website recently:
Ski for only $35 at Keystone and Breckenridge with a discounted lift ticket. Do you know somebody with a season pass for the 2005-2006 ski season? A very little known fact is that if your friend renewed their pass back in the SRPING of 2005, they have up to four $35 passes to purchase for the 2005-2006 ski season. However, if your friend did NOT renew in the spring of 2005, this offer is not valid. Ticket window clerks are not forthcoming with this information because it does not immediately come up on the computer screen when they scan the pass holders season pass. The season pass holder must ask for a “$35 buddy pass”. The ticket window clerk will then verify the purchase date of the season pass and issue a $35 lift ticket for use that day. These discounted lift tickets are ONLY valid on the day of purchase, so make sure you do not buy them ahead of time for your friends or try to sell them.
Ski for only $35 at Keystone and Breckenridge with a discounted lift ticket. Do you know somebody with a season pass for the 2005-2006 ski season? A very little known fact is that if your friend renewed their pass back in the SRPING of 2005, they have up to four $35 passes to purchase for the 2005-2006 ski season. However, if your friend did NOT renew in the spring of 2005, this offer is not valid. Ticket window clerks are not forthcoming with this information because it does not immediately come up on the computer screen when they scan the pass holders season pass. The season pass holder must ask for a “$35 buddy pass”. The ticket window clerk will then verify the purchase date of the season pass and issue a $35 lift ticket for use that day. These discounted lift tickets are ONLY valid on the day of purchase, so make sure you do not buy them ahead of time for your friends or try to sell them.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Jackson
I returned to work for one day last week (which sucked) and then we packed up for our trip to Jackson Hole, WY. Monday and Tuesday evenings were a flurry of activity to get our gear ready after the yurt trip. We had to wash all the ski gear, pack our stuff for the week, and wax wax wax. Doing 2 pairs of skis and a snowboard took a while but Petro was able to help out and put the wax on while I was at work. We finished up the rest in the evening. I got up early on Wednesday morning so I could run power wires in Christine's car for the radar detector. It was a royal pain, but proved to be very worthwhile as we had a couple close calls with the Wyoming State Patrol radaring on I-80 (but fortunately we didn't get pulled over).
We were pretty unlucky with the snow on this trip. It had snowed quite a bit in the previous weeks, but there was no new snow while we were there. Plus, it was super cold (10 below in the mornings), which made most of the snow pretty hard in the mornings. I took a lot of spills on my snowboard the first couple days because I couldn't get a good edge into the snow. Mostly, it was due to my lack of time on the snowboard this year. I need to take it out around here and fuss with it some more to get comfortable on it again. I took out my skis for the third day, and had a much easier time on the hard stuff. Despite the lack of snow, the mountain is still great. The mountains in that area have a different look and feel about them than the ones around here. One of the most striking things is how steep it is. There's a lot of fast groomers as well as steep bump and glade runs.
Dining guide:
If you're ever in Jackson, check out the Snake River Brewing Company. We stopped there multiple times for food and/or beer and we were never disappointed. The food was great, and the prices were better than most places.
We ate dinner at the Silver Doller one night. Eh. That about sums it up. The food was decent, but I don't think it warranted the high price. The Moose Drool Brown Ale was really good though.
Pearl Street Bagel Shop: Big thumbs down. We went there for breakfast on Saturday and were thoroughly disappointed. They don't toast bagels! Who ever heard of a bagel shop that won't serve you a toasted bagel. Plus they didn't really hasve any breakfast-y items and their bagels sucked. Christine and I both got raisin bagels, and I think there was a combine 3 raisins between the two of our bagels. Don't go.
Shades Cafe: Christine, Jessie, and I walked around town Saturday morning (because we wanted to wait for the mountain to warm up) and stopped at Shades for brunch. We still needed some breakfast after that awful bagel shop experience. This place was pretty good. I had a breakfast burrito and Christine had something with spinach and tomatoe that looked healthy.
Mangy Moose: This place is the apres ski bar of choice at the resort. We sat down for and enjoyed the ambiance with some nachos and beer. Worth checking out if you feel like hanging at the mountain for a while.
View from the top of the gondola
Big plate of nachos at the Mangy Moose
And, of course, a stop at Little America
Monday, February 13, 2006
Yurt
I'm quite overdue for updating my LJ, but now seems like a good time to catch up.
My old roommate, Petro, flew in on 2/4 from New York to spend some time out here snowboarding. After picking him up from the airport we went to REI and Wilderness Exchange in Denver to do some shopping. I ended up getting a warm puffy down jacket to take with me to the yurt. Petro ended up getting nothing but an upset stomach. I don't know if it was altitude sickness, but when we stopped at the grocery store in Fort Collins he opened the car door and left a spot on the pavement. All was well after that, and we got together later in the evening with Nathan and Julie (our other two yurt companions) to finalize our plans.
Petro trying not to puke
Sunday morning we drove up to the Colorado State Forest and were greeted by lots of nice new fluffy snow. It was beautiful. The ski into the yurt was easy, but a little lengthy. We stopped at the yurt long enough to drop off extraneous gear and then headed out to make some turns before the sun went away. Petro had a tough time because he was on snowshoes, which is inherently slower and more work. We didn't get a lot of skiing in, but we had some fun coming down through the deep powder in the trees before heading back for dinner.
Petro getting stuck in the snow
The evening consisted of fire building, drinking, eating, and playing Uno. I was pretty glad to have my new down jacket on Monday morning when I woke up and the temperature in the yurt was 20 degrees. I spent the morning getting the wood burning stove going and making some water for breakfast. It was a slow moving morning while we all thawed out, but eventually we got out in the snow to make tracks. We found a nice run through some trees. Petro had some difficulty again, because his board wasn't designed tostay above the powder when the rider is carrying a backpack full of stuff. Bummer for him, because he kept sinking in and it's super tough to get back upright in a situation like that. Nathan and I had some fun though. We both found some ledges to jump off of (and subsequently tumble in the snow upon landing).
Christine trying to stay warm
Nathan taking a leap
After a tiring trek back to the trailhead we jumped in our cars and headed home to watch the Superbowl. Since we were in the yurt on Superbowl Sunday, I Tivo'd the Superbowl so we could hold what Petro dubbed "Superbowl Monday". It was good fun, and we managed to avoid having anyone tell us who had won. It was great being able to fast forward through the repeated commercials and that awful site at halftime. And, of course, the best part was that the Steelers won.
My old roommate, Petro, flew in on 2/4 from New York to spend some time out here snowboarding. After picking him up from the airport we went to REI and Wilderness Exchange in Denver to do some shopping. I ended up getting a warm puffy down jacket to take with me to the yurt. Petro ended up getting nothing but an upset stomach. I don't know if it was altitude sickness, but when we stopped at the grocery store in Fort Collins he opened the car door and left a spot on the pavement. All was well after that, and we got together later in the evening with Nathan and Julie (our other two yurt companions) to finalize our plans.
Petro trying not to puke
Sunday morning we drove up to the Colorado State Forest and were greeted by lots of nice new fluffy snow. It was beautiful. The ski into the yurt was easy, but a little lengthy. We stopped at the yurt long enough to drop off extraneous gear and then headed out to make some turns before the sun went away. Petro had a tough time because he was on snowshoes, which is inherently slower and more work. We didn't get a lot of skiing in, but we had some fun coming down through the deep powder in the trees before heading back for dinner.
Petro getting stuck in the snow
The evening consisted of fire building, drinking, eating, and playing Uno. I was pretty glad to have my new down jacket on Monday morning when I woke up and the temperature in the yurt was 20 degrees. I spent the morning getting the wood burning stove going and making some water for breakfast. It was a slow moving morning while we all thawed out, but eventually we got out in the snow to make tracks. We found a nice run through some trees. Petro had some difficulty again, because his board wasn't designed tostay above the powder when the rider is carrying a backpack full of stuff. Bummer for him, because he kept sinking in and it's super tough to get back upright in a situation like that. Nathan and I had some fun though. We both found some ledges to jump off of (and subsequently tumble in the snow upon landing).
Christine trying to stay warm
Nathan taking a leap
After a tiring trek back to the trailhead we jumped in our cars and headed home to watch the Superbowl. Since we were in the yurt on Superbowl Sunday, I Tivo'd the Superbowl so we could hold what Petro dubbed "Superbowl Monday". It was good fun, and we managed to avoid having anyone tell us who had won. It was great being able to fast forward through the repeated commercials and that awful site at halftime. And, of course, the best part was that the Steelers won.
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