Red Mountain. The Aftermath.

The trip to Red Mountain ski resort is now over.  Yesterday was a whirlwind of adventure as people took another half day of skiing, packed up the condo, and headed home.  The trip was great fun.  The kids are closer to skiing without help and the sunny/cloudy/snowy mountain was very therapeutic as were the dinners, friends, and hot tub.

This morning we celebrated Auntie’s birthday.  That morning her boots failed, and she was left stranded at the airport in Castlegar with a canceled flight (mechanical failure, not weather).  We feel for you Erin, I hope Finding Nemo and the Vodka helped.   We wish you a happy birthday anyways.

This one last note is about the dinner we had last night at the Gypsy at Red restaurant there at the Red Mountain ski area.  It was perhaps the finest dinner I have had out in some time.  Their Romain Salad with Wasabi dressing was so good, I almost gave up food altogether after finishing it. That would have been a shame since the Cajun Cornish Game Hen was excellent as well.  The menu was excellent; I had a hard time deciding on which Tapas and which Entree to order.  Again, no room for dessert, and the hot tub was a necessary treatment in the Aftermath.

Posted in Day To Day | Leave a comment

Red Mountain. Day 2.

Woof. Last night’s dinner at the Colander was a feeding frenzy. If you find yourself in Trail, BC stop by and order “The Special” (some of the locals call it “The Works”). Whatever the case, it was truly a food frenzy, and definitely an experience not to be missed. Softball sized rolls, endless spaghetti, meaty fist sized meatballs, home style potatoes, oven baked chicken, and spumoni. A good conclusion to the meal is to float in a hot tub and slowly sip wine until all the nooks and crannies are filled.

Today, the day started with slow repetitive use of the magic carpet. With a particularly slippery magic carpet, we had to take off one ski to rid it. Skiing in the learning area is as follows: Take one ski off, waddle up the the magic carpet, float to the top (walking is faster), exit the carpet, take a nose dive when you forget that you only have one ski, roll out of the way from the next victim exiting the carpet, stand up, attach ski to foot, shuffle around all the real beginners gathered in trepidation at the top of the bunny slope, ski down the run (shiff, shiff, basta), repeat until you are ready for the green runs or just green.

Part way through the training session Anna took Mom off to a green run while Ben stayed for more of a workout. Ben is getting better by the run, but still needs some more assistance. Anna can now conquer green runs. The four of us took two green green runs before doing the nachos and beer (hot chocolate for the kids) with the rest of the family.

After lunch Erin, Opa, and Michael took me on a tour of the back of Granite Mountain and the many runs emptying to the Paradise chair. It was good to get out and stretch my ski muscles, but with 360 days of atrophy, it didn’t take long for the legs to transmogrophy to a fleshy-jello hybrid. After three runs to the bottom of Paradise chair and a long run along Rino, I was fully converted.

On other fronts, Opa managed to get his seasons pass to Red Mountain, and Manon continues her lengthy recovery. Michael sneaked Erin’s cake into the condo without her knowing.

Posted in Day To Day | Leave a comment

Red Mountain. Day 1.

It is 9:14 AM. I am sitting at the dining room table in room 102C of the Slalom Creek condos at Red Mountain. We can see the chairlift shuttling skiers up the mountain. The slopes are white and the air is crisp. We have tickets in hand. The rest of the crowd is nearly ready, but with a late start by Anna, we’ve still a half hour.

Yesterday, we struggled through hours of snowy roads making our way from the Spokane South Hill resort to the Red Mountain Ski Area. More snow fell for most of the trip. There, we unpacked into a four bedroom condo, tried to relax for 30 minutes, and then piled once again into the car to get some grub. Dinner was at the Benedict’s Steakhouse where we celebrated Auntie Erin’s birthday. They certainly cook the steaks right there. I had the NY strip with pawns, but a vast majority of the table put away thumb thick slices of prime rib.

The hot tub is just outside on the rear patio. It is separated by a metal gate from three feet of powdered snow. A juxtaposition we exploited fully. We all took turns frolicking in the snow wearing nothing but swimsuits and then diving into 105 degrees of chlorinated heaven. My son and daughter experienced first hand the skin tingle from temperature extremes.

It is 4:30 PM. Today we began by reintroducing our kids to skiing. This is a yearly ritual that they pick up quicker each time. This year, Anna was able to take a green run after a half hour on the magic carpet. Ben can still turn and slalom as he did last year, but this time he picked up stopping using the pizza pie method.

90 minutes of the magic carpet, 3 plates of nachos and 2 jugs of beer, a quick break to get the kids back to the condo, and me and my wife were off to Granite Mountain. It was just 3 lifts and just as many runs, but the sun was coloring the distant mountains as we slid down Rino route. The day transitioned rapidly from teaching kids on the magic carpet to roaming free across snow laden peaks of the Canadian Rockies. Tonight dinner will be at the Colander in Trail, a dunk in the hot tub, and a couple of Advil.

Tonight I will sleep well.

Posted in Day To Day | Leave a comment

Spokane Snow

We’re back in Spokane. The snow is two feet deep and still falling. It’s nice to see it through the large picure windows that line the back of the house. Being from Tucson, snow typically is a distant concept that relatives speak of when contrasting backyards. The kids forayed into the deep snow looking for snowmen and snow forts, but found only pillow-feather fluff that resists becoming snow balls like clothes in an over-packed suitcase.

Today the flakes are lazily making their way to join the multitude of flakes before them. It’s just the way snow would fall on a Hawaiian beach. The wind is enjoyably absent; the smell of green chili pezole warms the air; a christmas tree adds cheer to the house and the kids are crafting gifts and cards with glue, glitter, and colored paper.

Life is good.

Posted in Day To Day | Leave a comment

Mail Merging with Foreign Zip Codes

Microsoft in all its wisdom can make life  really annoying at times.  I use Microsoft Excel to store my addresses.  The Excel people really do make that part of life more convenient.  Importing these addresses into Word Mail Merge has been relatively straight forward using older versions of Microsoft Office.  However, in Office 2007, Word Mail Merge now defines the format of a field on import instead of inheriting the format from Excel.  The unintended result is that Foriegn zip codes come up as a zero when imported.

The error comes when Word interprets your zip codes as numbers and tries to apply this conversion to all entries even the foreign zip codes that contain letters.  When a non-numeric zip code is found, Word cannot convert it to a number and punts by simply replacing the offending zip with a zero.  To remedy this, Microsoft Word allows you to define field formats when importing.  For all the people out there that enjoy wrestling with field formats, quick searches on the web will find directions on how to do so.

However, before you spend a couple of hours trying to format your merged document, try entering a bogus address into the first row of your address book.  Where the zip code should be, enter a string of characters like ‘abcdef’.  Now, when Word imports your spreadsheet, it will convert your zip codes to words instead if numbers and your foreign zip codes will be printed correctly.

This works for all zip codes except ones starting with a zero like New Jersey zip codes.

Posted in Lumps of Coal | Leave a comment

Obamamamamambajamba Kapow.

We, as a nation, have now moved from the status quo that has been bringing to the brink of disaster to a world of hope and change.  I, for one, am proud that we have elected to follow this new path.  Unfortunately, our sinking ship must stay afloat for another 70 days.  January 20 cannot come soon enough.

Posted in Humble Opinions | Leave a comment

Two days to go.

I’ve heard it time and again. People believe that somehow McCain will have a last minute comeback and win the 2008 presidential election. Whether its a matter of last minute changing your vote to the conservative old white guy or bowing down the the McCain jump, democrats are worried that they will lose this election. And with it the hope of a new future.

In 2000 Bush took the election away from Gore. Gore had more votes overall votes in the presidential election (which, of course, does not count in our democratic republic) and, if the votes were to be counted correctly (voter intent), the greater electoral votes. This led to a general malaise amongst my friends, and we often joked about ‘The RNC buying the election.’ Alas, the malaise turned to concern as Bush took the country through a series of bad decisions: Tax cuts, Iraq, Katrina, Stem Cell research, Climate change, Anti-science agenda, and the like.

To top it off, McCain made a startling comeback in the bid for the 2008 Republican Presidential Nominee. This plot (taken from the Iowa Electronics Market website) illustrates the remarkable survival of Senator John McCain (seen in yellow).

Now more than ever we need new leadership, but with all the wrong turns in the past eight years, my cynical side can’t quite let go of the fact that something will go awry.

Posted in Humble Opinions | Leave a comment

Quit your whining.

Man it was cold this morning.

I went out to run, and being used to the 90+ degree days, I put on my light weight running shorts and a thin shirt and let my feet fly.  But this morning it was 39 degrees!  I know, I know, 39 degrees is hot where you come from, but here in the desert it was cooooooold.

When I would run, the cold air would suck the warmth right out of me.  I had to stop running every half mile so I could warm up.   After the second mile I could feel my fingers and forearms starting to numb up.  The last half mile I gave up and walked back.

I bring this up because I just finished watching the Discovery special ‘The Real Superhumans.’  The show details the life of four unique individuals that have superhuman qualities.  One of these people has the ability to self regulate his body temperature.  To test his ability he decided to run a half marathon on a snowy road in 8 degree (Fahrenheit) weather WITH NOTHING ON BUT RUNNING SHORTS.  Not even shoes or socks.  This really chapped my frozen ass.  How can I even show my face after complaining about my cool weather jogging trials when there are people out there dealing with worse just for the hell of it?

Well, hats off to Wim Hof “The Iceman”  While he is saving money on winter clothes, I will be spending an extra $80 for some warmer clothes and $4 for a HOT Starbucks Mocha Grande.

By the way ‘The Real Superhumans’ was a pretty cool show otherwise.

Posted in Day To Day | Leave a comment

The DNC and silver linings.

This week just sucks. It is the third trip to Denver (on business) in just as many weeks. But there is a silver lining on this trip. Unexpectedly, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is in town, but rather than making the trip more hectic with all the people and traffic, it is making it more peaceful.

The DNC has about 50,000 attendees including delegates, visitors, politicians, and the media. These people are filling about 17,200 hotel rooms in the Denver region, and I think they are filling 90% of the rooms in my hotel. Its a zoo … somewhere else.

Each evening the DNC participants go to the convention. This means all the restraunts in the area are nearly empty. Oddly so, I have not had to wait for a dinner table all week. The wait staffs are not overburdened, and the lack of other diners allow for a relaxing and enjoyable meal.

Breakfast was also quiet. It seems that after staying up all evening the DNCers sleep in in the morning. As were the roads and stores and malls during these times. All the typical tourists were replaced with the DNCers and this gave the thundercloud of yet another business trip a silver lining.

I think I’ll schedule more trips during the DNC.

Posted in Day To Day | Leave a comment

My life as a DND character.

Interestingly enough, I liked playing Elven Fighter-Magic Users. Preferably of a higher level than third. But I am sure this internet exam does not lie, and if reality were to crack open, electronics were to fail, and magic were to embed itself into the very essence of reality, then this is what I would be. (Thanks for the link Lise)

You can find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be at http://www.easydamus.com/character.html, courtesy of Easydamus.

I Am A: Neutral Good Human Wizard/Sorcerer (3rd/3rd Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength-14
Dexterity-17
Constitution-11
Intelligence-15
Wisdom-12
Charisma-14

Alignment:
Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them. Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. However, neutral good can be a dangerous alignment because it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Primary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard’s strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.

Secondary Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.

Detailed Results:

Alignment:

Lawful Good —– XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (22)
Neutral Good —- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (26)
Chaotic Good —- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Lawful Neutral — XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
True Neutral —- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (23)
Chaotic Neutral – XXXXXXXXXXX (11)
Lawful Evil —– XXXXXXXXX (9)
Neutral Evil —- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Chaotic Evil —- X (1)

Law & Chaos:
Law —– XXXXXXXXX (9)
Neutral – XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Chaos — X (1)

Good & Evil:
Good —- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Neutral – XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Evil —- (0)

Race:
Human —- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf —- XXXXXX (6)
Elf —— XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Gnome —- XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Halfling – XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Half-Elf – XXXXXXXXX (9)
Half-Orc – XXXX (4)

Class:
Barbarian – (-8)
Bard —— (0)
Cleric —- (-4)
Druid —– (-2)
Fighter — XX (2)
Monk —— (-15)
Paladin — (-27)
Ranger —- XX (2)
Rogue —– (-2)
Sorcerer — XXXXXX (6)
Wizard —- XXXXXX (6)

Posted in Just for fun | Leave a comment