Flying Under the Radar

No wonder I've had a quiet week! My phone's been off for six days! I so rarely turn it off, that I never remember to turn it back on! The 3+ year old Motorola Razr V3m has been on since November, and I turned it off last Friday at the Miller Park Boat Ramp on Tomales Bay when the battery was too low. The phone repeatedly shrieks a warning when the battery gets low...my ears can't take it...besides, there was no cell service there anyway.

I figured it out today when I got an e-mail from SturgeUrge's Dad, SteveO! Seems I missed Jerry Otto's Fish Camp! SteveO was trying to get in touch with SturgeUrge...fat lot of help I was...I replied with the name of the campground they're at, adding that Jerry said he had to go into town to get a cell signal...

So, without interruptions, I've been productive this week...and I had fresh dungeness crab every day until Wednesday!

I took in all the Giants' games, and watched the Tour de France Preview. It's going to be an epic three weeks of bicycle racing!

I resisted the urge to upgrade my iPod Touch (3rd Generation) to the new iOS 4 software...it's the same operating system as the new iPhone 4 uses, and it enables multitasking along with 100 other new features.

Back in February, I got stung when I upgraded to Apple's latest iTunes version, and thrashed daily using my crippled iPod until I found the path to return to the previous version that returned things back to normal...in May! I thought computers were supposed to simplify our lives! Computers were going to make us into a "Paperless Society" they said, too. I own three printers today, and my hand-me-down all in one does triple duty as a fax, scanner, and copier at the Ancestral Digs now.

I wasn't taking any chances this time around, so after working in the Diggins, and shopping at HomeDepot today, I went to Apple's iPod Touch Support Forum to reconnoiter. Sure enough, the new update was playing havoc with iPod Touches...even the latest Gen3 units. After the whiz-bang upgrade, battery life plummeted by half. 165 posts in just one of the discussion threads...everyone whining at Apple. Glad I missed it...multitasking can wait...new tech disaster averted...

Out back in the Ancestral Diggins, I've been making progress. I finished plumbing a new irrigation circuit, made up some soaker hoses, flushed the lines, and began installing the soakers in their raised beds.

My basil sprouted, and the last of the privet branches went into the green waste can. I mixed up 48 cubic feet of planting mix (1.77 cu yd). The gladiolus and tiger lilies are blooming, and Dad's roses are rallying after the Black Spot Siege.

Tomorrow, I turn the water off for an hour or two, and do some serious re-plumbing. I'll be digging more raised beds, and planting some squash and herbs. There's a geranium and a begonia to move, rhubarb to cut back, and sunflowers to sow.

That'll fill the morning...after a shower I have another tech battle to fight. My new HDMI Switch (the Replacement Unit) was defective out of the box, so I'll be "interfacing" with MonoPrice Support before they RMA it, I box it back up, and hit the UPS Store, again.

No rest for the wicked! Did you know that it snowed in New Hampshire Thursday? Mt Washington 6228 ft It didn't stick and turned to rain before any measurable accumulation.

Plan B, Again

I got an email from Jerry Otto this morning:

Hello TruckeeDave,

"As you know the fishing was non-existent. Water flows and temperatures were
off and the fish were lethargic to say the least. I fished for a total of
about 2 hours in 11 days. I caught nothing. This was the first time in about
3 years I was skunked in Markleeville.

I have several contacts in the area that will call when the fishing
conditions improve. I will keep you and SturgeUrge in the loop and I hope to meet
you up there soon."

Tech War
So I played along with Samsung Support today...I downloaded the firmware update, and installed it. meanwhile I discovered that my AV Receiver had Optical Inputs, and got the cable from my local hardware store and...voila! The Blu-ray Player lights up my subwoofer!

I don't know if it was the Firmware Update or the new Optical Cable...but It's good to go now! I watched three movies on Blu-ray tonight..."North By Northwest" "Gladiator" and "Master and Commander" ...great shit Maynerd!

I haven't let Samsung off the hook...they're still on my shit list...I am after all "settling" when everything possible on the player isn't up to snuff...but there's enough to keep me happy...

I Win

OK, here's the Wednesday Night/Thursday Morning After Action Report.

I did it! I puttered about the DaveCave all day, stayed awake all afternoon, and fell asleep sometime during the 11 O'clock News! I did not wake up at 0300...instead I was roused by the alarm clock at 0600!

The snow stopped falling and the skies parted, revealing bright blue hues that illuminated the new snow and began the thawing/melting cycle. All this before noon.

All morning I toiled away...picking up, doing dishes, recycling, snapping a few more pictures of the CorduroyPlanet Beachball. For lunch I made Sausage, Olive and Mushroom Pizza (with homemade crust, natch). I heard the Truckee snowplows go by twice, so there's another berm to blow.

The weather continues to throw monkey wrenches into my well oiled plans. SturgeUrge and I were going to Plan B Friday...the tides were ripe for sturgeon fishing...the weather? More suited to World Championship Kite Flying!

I've been trying to gather some fishing intel since Sunday. It's been a frustrating, fruitless task because nobody is going out fishing because the winds have been off the hook, Small Craft Warnings for everywhere we'd like to fish...and the forecast says they'll stay off the hook through Saturday.

Making the most of it all, I'll get the chores done around the DaveCave before I head down to the Ancestral Digs. I'll spend the week catching up with chores down there, before heading back uphill for Jerry's Fish Camp-Take Two. SturgeUrge and I plan on sturgeon fishing Monday.

This year, I'm planting some tomatoes, squash, and melons at the Ancestral Digs. Basil and arugula lead the parade of herbs. Also on the docket...building a new center console and bait tank/reversible pilot's seat for my Boston Whaler. More camping at the coast means more time in the boat...and more dungeness crab on the table! Halibut fishing should bust open in San Francisco Bay in May. We're hoping we'll see the winds abate in May and June so we can get out on the Pacific for some Wild Chinook Salmon, too.

There's plenty of carpentry to do as well. SturgeUrge is overdue for a new front deck, some kitchen cabinetry tweaking, and some siding on the back of the house...and a new parking space is called for, too.

At the Ancestral Digs, there's some electrical to upgrade, some phone and data lines to upgrade, plumbing, irrigation, and some fence repairs...drywall...painting...

Gee, I'm already tired just writing it down! I need a nap!

D'oh! I'm not going there...none of this "one step forward, two steps back" stuff this year. I'm going to win the BodyClock War! This year, I've gone with "Shock and Awe", and I'm rallying from my early setbacks...I won my first skirmish last night, I'm gonna ride the momentum into Victory Circle!

Props and thanks to my Landlord, who blew the berm when he got home from skiing while I finished writing today's post! Thanks Mr Conductor!

Springing Forward Again

First Night
It's Sunday night...I woke up sans alarm clock at 4PM. I didn't fret over getting a few more winks, because I don't have to work another Graveyard Shift until the 2010/2011 Ski Season begins.

On tap this week is Jerry Otto's Fish Camp. SturgeUrge and I are joining Jerry and the boys for his annual Camp-Out Kickoff near Markleeville, on the Eastern Side of the High Sierra. Typical of an El Niño year, a late Winter Storm is forecast to plague us through the week.

The inclement weather won't amount to anything compared to my battle to reset my Body Clock! Twice a year, I throw caution to the wind and voluntarily reset my body's internal clock when I opt to become a Graveyard Groomer every Winter, and a normal person every Spring. Bad weather may have us cooped up in our tents, but catching up on my reading won't be all bad...though it's just gonna be more procrastinating...

You see, resetting my body clock is easy in the Fall...go to work at midnight, and you come home and collapse...instant reset. Spring's reset has always been more dodgy...

Tuesday 0300
I was up all day Monday once the alarm got me up at 0600! I spent the day Spring Cleaning the DaveCave...I've got company coming Tuesday night, so I'm finally making time to clean up a year's worth of clutter! The DaveCave has become my "Closet Away From Home" since I've been summering at the Ancestral Digs...so easy to let stuff pile up...add a new Laundry Center Project (halfway completed) and suddenly I'm a Hoarding Reality Show on DiscoveryHealth!

I laid down with the internet and a cocktail around 7:30PM and woke up at 0130 when the wind associated with the oncoming snowstorm rattled everything on the front porch. I poured out the melted drink, and I threw on some long pants and shoes and scurried upstairs to put the pickup into the garage before the precip started. It's an hour and a half since I got up and the winds are really starting to thrash out there.

Are they ever! The top of Slide Mountain El.9650, is showing 90 gusting to 120, while the top of Squaw El.8700, shows 60 with gusts to 100+ Wild and woolly, yet still dry...aaaand this brings me to "the moral of the story" as the old cartoon chestnut used to say. It's now 0320 and I'm wide awake...alert even...

So begins my annual "Battle of the Body Clock" wherein I usually surrender going in...muddling about in my newly earned freedom, sleeping "on demand" and taking a month or so to "normalize" my sleep schedule, chalking it up to: "I earned it"

Jerry's Fish Camp starts Wednesday for us, It could be just the ticket for this BodyClock reset dealio...stay tuned.

11:30AM Tuesday
SturgeUrge called, he was just off the phone with Jerry. Wiser Heads prevailed, Jerry has been at Fish Camp all week, and has been doing tons of fishing...and zero catching, so he suggested that we come over for the week of the 9th to the 12th. I heartily agreed (anything to drag out the Spring Clean Up! I told SturgeUrge that I wouldn't be surprised to see the next El Niño -fueled winter storm to blow in about then!

99 Down and 2 To Go

I did some bonehead estimating and came up with 99 shifts so far this season...I'm sure it's accurate...give or take 10%! I am fully infected with Short Timer's Disease now.

I'm bidding Hero Snow adieu until next season. I woke up this afternoon and looked at the Remote Sensors...not good, unless you're thinking Golf, Gardening, Tennis, or Suntans.

Today's afternoon High was a full 20F higher than yesterday. Last night, Jeweler and I searched the Mountain from top to bottom looking for a patch of the Hero Stuff...none found, but you could deem it Hero-Like compared to the boilerplate we'll be dealing with tonight!

It's damn hard to keep your mind in the game when you get to this point in the season...two nights left, and post-season plans start taking over your thoughts!

I clicked on to Reno's AFD. Not to confirm the doom I face on my Mountain tonight, but to see if next week's "FishCamp" will get snowed on...damn, it looks likely at this point. SturgUrge and I were invited to Jerry Otto's Annual Fish Camp this year. These legendary Camp-Outs are Jerry's annual outdoor season kick-off. We fished Baja with Jerry a couple of times in the Spring over the years, and that's when we became aware of his Fish Camps.

This year Jerry is making camp in time for the Sierra Stream Trout Opener. We'll be pulling into Camp mid-week for (Hopefully) fun in the Sun and some stream trout fishing. It'll be good to catch up, I haven't had a face to face with Jerry in a couple of years.

The streams are likely to be running high next week...there be more time to chew the fat than anybody called for, but getting out with the Boys is always too much fun.

Tonight I'm downloading plenty of Podcasts to keep my mind occupied...it's gonna be a Grinder tonight. We'll be earning it...in spades.