Saturday, January 15, 2011

Checkin' In

I'm between sleep shifts. Thursday night's shift looked to be a grinder from the outset...freezing rain made the highway treacherous, and the piste difficult. Call it "Candy Coated" with a cream-filled center...I called it diabolical...

Swing shift said the skies cleared around 9PM and the mountain set up shortly thereafter.

After negotiating the glacier that has transformed the shop road and parking lot, actually getting out onto the mountain was a relief, though slow going.

My crew shone brightly, and we made the best of the Sow's Ear we were dealt...we did everything on the Work Orders with some changes, and were off the hill before the lifts turned...Silk Purse! No small miracle given conditions!

When I woke up this afternoon, I did a little tech housecleaning...It's been just over a month since I got my new Naked DSL hooked up at the DaveCave...still no bill in the mail or in my inbox...I called AT&T twice before I actually spoke to a human...

As I suspected, my bill had been mailed to the DaveCave, where I don't receive mail service. Everything about setting up the DSL service has been screwed up from the get-go...After the first week of snafus, I had to cancel the whole shebang and start over! Now, with CS Agent Jason's help, I may finally have everything straightened out...I'll know when my bill arrives next week...

Friday, January 14, 2011

Thanks, I needed that!

Finally a whole day's sleep!

Out early Thursday morning, I went straight home and collapsed. I woke up at 4:30, watched the weather and got up to check my pickup's window, (I thought I left it open a crack)

I was raining however lightly...window was secure...they say memory is the first thing to go...

I launched iTunes and went back to bed...woke up at 8PM, checked the alarm...smiling, I rolled over and closed my eyes again...I woke up 10 minutes before the 10PM alarm.

Fully rested up...I'm looking forward to tonight's shift...I'm trying not to think about the rain...fresh podcasts to listen to...lox and cream cheese on a garlic bagel, M&M Peanuts, and a banana in my lunchpail, and a thermos of French Roast...gonna be a good night!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Revelations

Not the Bible book...no tablets from on high...just some ah-ha moments from my world this week...

I've been enduring a long two week siege from my chest cold...so I'm extra weary every day...fortunately, Mother Nature gave us a break in the weather, no new snowfall all week...less snow shoveling, more shuteye time...plus my fever broke after a week.

Then this massacre in Tuscon Saturday lit up the TV and radio with the non-stop drumbeat of partisan politics...four endless days of (dare I say it?) Vitriol...arrrgggghhhhh!

Let me up...shut up...just another crazy person who shot up a bunch of innocent bystanders while trying to kill the object of his twisted stalking mission...the shooter snapped when the congresswoman didn't give enough credence to the shooter's concerns about the lax attention to grammar by the Federal Government!

I, like most Americans was relieved when the polls closed on the first Tuesday in  November...the cacophony of the almost endless Campaign reaches the pain threshold about a week before Election Day.

The overwrought politicking in the wake of the Tuscon Massacre brought me straight back to the peak of the campaign caterwauling...not a place I'd voluntarily return to.

Time Out!
Enough of politics...I can't take it anymore!

I had a revelation at the the fuel dock the other morning.

I was chatting up the Vehicle Maintenance Boss, Nick. I said the new pumps and motors had my old BR350 running like a cheetah...Nick said the pumps and motors weren't new, just the splitter box and track belts were renewed in the off-season...What? I'd been hearing about the "new pumps and motors" all season!

My good ol' BR350 has nearly 9000 hours on the clock, but it's running like a thoroughbred! This tractor is the best cat I've ever driven, and I've run more than a few big hearted groomers in my time!

Last night, even with less than Hero Snow conditions, running my old BR350 was a pleasure...my crew did it in spades overnight, too...extra trails galore...no machine woes, good skiing today, and we were off the hill an hour early.

So it was revealed to me that my cat is still delivering despite it's advancing age...once again politics reveals itself as America's Favorite Blood Sport...damn the yin and yang revelations...I need another nap!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

It's Snowing!

I chatted with my landlord this afternoon...it's a funny circumstance in that we live on the same property, and our respective Front Doors are but 25 feet apart, and this is only the third conversation we've had face to face since I returned on Thanksgiving Eve!

We were commiserating over the sad state of our driveway...we're going to start referring to it as Antarctica! LLord asked if I remembered such a protracted siege of very cold weather...I thought the last time we had this long a Cold Snap was back in the late 80's...I was living in a subdivision east of downtown Truckee, and driving a '74 Power Wagon back then. I parked inside my garage, but it was so cold that I had to keep a droplight running all day under the hood so that the engine oil would stay fluid enough so the 318 V-8 would turn over and start every night at 10:30PM!

California's All Time Record Low Temperature was recorded only a mile from my garage as the crow flies, at Boca Dam...-45°F! Off hand, I don't remember how long ago that frigid benchmark was set, but I want to say it was back in the 1920's if not in the late 19th Century!

Well, thankfully this Cold Snap can't hold a candle to that one back then...oh, we've had a few mornings below zero out a the Airport (where the Official Truckee Weather Station resides), but the rest of the Town usually runs 10°-15° warmer than the Official Temperature.

So far, todays snow is looking pretty much like an on and off again deal. I watched two Noon News Shows from Sacramento...neither broadcast featured weatherfolks gushing over the next system...just a lot of hedging and weasel-words...and my old favorite "virga".

There's plenty of echoes on the radar images, but the underlying airmass is very dry and absorbs the precip before it reaches the surface. Reno's AFD talks about the dry air and the atmospheric mixing that isn't quite happening yet...the forecasters go on to reduce the amount of precip in their forecast update.

The remote sensors show temperatures down overall from the last week...no afternoon highs above freezing since Saturday...It feels warm up on Antarctica, but it's just the cloud deck keeping the lid on, and the lack of any breeze to speak of...So...

I get to look forward to another great week ahead!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

And Friday Makes Three

Our streak of "good nights" continues. Friday's smooth shift brings the streak to three in a row.

Out early Saturday morning...high clouds in an otherwise blue sky...gotta love that good ol' Hero Snow!

As forecast, temps were down 6°F Saturday afternoon...more Hero Snow tonight!

Sunday Update:
Hero Snow didn't disappoint. Out early again. My big 2-day weekend begins. First up...sleep through two NFL playoff games...