Check out the Heavenly site this morning (Nov. 12). The snow cannons are on, the mountain is white, and the site hopeful they are going to open on November, 17th!
Some people (yours truly) think that may be a little of a stretch: in San Francisco, today, the weather is absolutely gorgeous, with a nice sun warming us at 8:30a, and it looks like it might be a beach day. How can we square that with a mountain run next weekend?
One of those serendipities in life: I had started reading “My Name Is Red,” by Orhan Pamuk. I would read it sparingly, because the writing was incredible and it was a pleasure to just revel on each page; maybe the mystery thriller aspect was not too forthcoming (I find the book still a little on the slow side, of course). In any case, I was about to write wonderful things about the interaction between the original writer (Pamuk) and his congenial translator, a native of Turkey that is to write his first novel.
Continue readingWell, I decided to treat myself to something special, this year – a Custom X. My friend D. has one, and it looked like it could do a lot that my own Cruiser couldn’t. It’s more rigid, but has better torsion flex. The cruiser behaves a little like it doesn’t even have a core!
I went to REI, and they had only the green model. Not wanting to look like a frog on the mountain, I checked Sports Basement, but they had only one Custom X, size 160. Where to find a 156?
Continue readingWould you have guessed how I spent my $150 REI gift certificate? I went to – drum roll, please – REI and bought myself a new pair of boots. What was wrong with the old ones? For one, the lacing system was a pain to deal with: the strings would get wet and then freeze, and I would alternately cut off the circulation in my fingers and then in my feet from trying to tie them strongly.
Continue readingYou know that a politician has become a hallmark when spammers start using their name in subject lines. This is because spammers have to guess some subject that is so common that it won’t trip up the spam filters. So the moment I started seeing more and more Bush spam, I knew that George W. Bush had made into the rare category of iconic that is the man that everyone talks about…
Continue readingThe company that insures my home in Hawaii, Zephyr Insurance, is requesting that I prove that I am living in Hawaii. Hmmm…. That’s kinda hard…. The mail doesn’t deliver in Ninole, I have no utilities, and gym membership is not good enough…
Now the big question, of course, is why does my insurance company care? Ok, I get the part about the house standing empty – but then again, there is currently nothing much to steal there! So, since there isn’t much to steal, there isn’t much risk. Unless someone gets into the house and burns it down to the ground, or steals the posts, what business is it for the insurance company?
Continue readingAfter an absurdly disappointing October season in 2006, things seem to be more reasonable this year. Maybe the 5th of October is a bit early for the first winter fluff, but it’s the first inning in what we all hope is going to be a great season!
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It’s that time of the year again! I am starting to feel the chill in the morning, and the board is looking longingly at me every time I walk through the basement to get to the car… It’s snowboarding season! (Almost.)
This year, it sounds like I am going to be invited over for a Thanksgiving event to Whistler. Remembering how much last year sucked (no snow until mid-December), I am extremely grateful for the opportunity, and I’ll get a chance to tell you all about the wonderful mountains up in British Columbia. Stay tuned!
Looks like the cold season already started: everybody is reporting symptom of the common cold, like persistent cough, sinus infection, fever, headache. The whole nine yeard. This year, the cough seems to be particularly persistent.
Ken, my spinning class neighbor, insisted on coughing in my direction, and I got away with a mild case. Fortunately, my immune system recognized the attacker and reacted right away. I woke up feeling miserable yesterday, and by end of day things had started to get better. Today, working from home on a sunny San Francisco Tuesday, things are fine again. Well, except for the skin on my face, which looks like I am 15 years old again and pimply…
Continue readingSo I was at Trader Joe’, buying raspberries. You know, those red buggahs that spoil within a day if you don’t notice they are molding? Well, I was going through the packages, most of them in advanced stage of rot, and found 4 that seemed passable. The best one had evidently been left out because it had a sizable black beetle in it.
At home, I place the berries in the refrigerator – some of them in the freezer, where they won’t rot – and make a mental note of checking the package out in the morning. I wanted to get the beetle out safe.
Continue reading