a tiger loose at ZOOMass

HAPPY BIRTHDAY?

2009-02-23T09:29:00.004-05:00

Sunday was the birthday of the master's student with whom I work. Her office mate and I decided to give her a GREAT birthday present: her desk and chair. We were trying to figure out a way to kind of prank her and kind of be nice and this is what we came up with. (I bet she can't guess what we got her!) We were going to wrap her desk and all the trimmings in tin foil, but that has so been done. She isn't here yet, she was gone for the weekend, so I hope she comes in today! I'll update with the reaction when we get it!

REACTION UPDATE!

Unfortunately I was in class when Michelle came in, but she loved it. SOO much so that it is still wrapped, including the chair as much as possible so that she can still work. She has ripped a place for her legs to be and lifts up what seem like YARDS of paper when ever she wants to get into her drawers. I guess we got her just what she wanted!

THE NICEST FAMILY EVER!

2009-02-16T18:55:00.002-05:00

So this weekend I taught the Gelmans. YES THE GELMANS from Regis and Kelly fame. There were many great things that happened, but really they were just fun. There is one story I wanted to share though. On the first day, Misha, the littlest one and I went to the little lift (see red circle) for a quick refresher. Then we met the fam at the bottom of the longest lift on earth (blue circle). Ok, maybe not on earth, but it is long. About a quarter of the way up, Misha says... in the CUTEST voice, banging both fists on the bar, we should be skiing by now. Then about halfway up, again with the banging and the exclamation. Needless to say, we (namely, Laurie and I) got a lot of mileage out of that one!

Oh no, lex, is talking about the weather again! :)

2009-01-28T05:31:00.003-05:00

When the radar screen looks like this:

THE CAMPUS WEBSITE SAYS THIS:

ALERT: The campus is closed today, January 28, due to severe weather. More details on closed and open services and events

So, stay tuned... I'm going to go snowshoeing today... there might be more adventures to report! :)

O GREAT!

2009-01-27T11:02:00.002-05:00

I just read this snipits in an online article:

Drivers of Hummer SUVs were 4.63 times more likely to get a traffic ticket than the average driver, concludes a yearlong study by a company that helps insurers identify risks...But also on that most-ticketed list were the Subaru Outback and the Toyota Camry Solara and Matrix, three cars not known for great speed or expressing the rebellious nature of their owners.

So I get rid of one attractor for another! But what is this about "not known for great speed or expressing the rebellious nature of their owners?" I thought Subaru owners went against the grain? Oh and if you've driven a subaru lately, you would argue with the "great speed" comment; it was the first thing I noticed...vroom, vroom. Thank goodness for cruise control! ;)

A Boston Birthday!

2009-01-25T17:58:00.004-05:00

My mom flew out to Boston Friday night and left Sunday afternoon. A rather short trip, but you only turn 60 once. We spent the weekend in an old Firehouse in Cambridge and rode the T in on Saturday to see the sights. We did almost all the Freedom Trail, saw the Science Museum (and two shows: 3D sharks and roving mars) and several other sights as we walked all over Boston. It was really interesting to see where so many historical events occurred and really fun to ride a subway again. The "T" is really small compared to London or Hamburg, but still fun and convenient. Here is a picture review: enjoy!

Here we are ready for sharks 3D!

(can you believe it: the two people who hate their pictures being taken the most in ONE picture! the moment was so worth it!)

Ok so I have a picture of this "calculator" if you will because of the funny/nerdy story attached to it. As I was looking at it I thought, that is wrong. It said we increase by one person every 14 seconds. Some how that didn't seem right. It was positioned right across from where we waited for the sharks movie. As we waited, I "re" calculated it and as far as I'm concerned it is wrong. I'm going to redo it all nice at some point to check my calculations, rather than on the back of a museum entrance ticket :)! I know... kinda nerdy... but totally ME! :)

Off Roading, Tremblant, new car and Wolves....intrigued?

2009-01-21T06:44:00.008-05:00

I thought I'd catch some of you up on some of the more exciting recent events. Besides working a ton and having fun, there are some exciting details:

First, after the Christmas/New Year's working marathon, a friend and I went up to Canada for a little R and R and to get another friend who is from there to bring her back to Amherst for the Spring semester. Well, for Christmas my mom got me a Garmin (which I affectionately call WOH-VA.... as in Elmer Fudds dog, rover!) I put in the start and end (mount snow and Lavel, a small city outside of Montreal) and got the directions. I faithfully followed them at first, since I had asked for the shortest route I thought i should believe it. Well, let me tell you. In New England, the "shortest routes" include dirt roads. The following two pictures are from the dirt road we ended up on in a State Park that had only been maintained by SNOWMOBILES! Good thing I had a car that would go that way. But it was SUPER fun and really pretty. So, while it added time (not the fastest route) it added excitement and fun to the trip right from the the beginning!

The first full day we were there (there meaning Tremblant) we walked into town and while crossing this really narrow bridge saw this beautiful waterfall. With all the ice formations and the ice mist on the trees it made a small little fall seem so pretty and majestic.

These are pictures of the village and the mountain from afar. The mountain actually has some great pitches on it and great bumps and the village is like a little bit of Europe in North America.Finally, to the good stuff from the trip. Besides a great day of skiing on Monday, Tuesday was the real adventure. All weekend we had been talking about climbing up a hill behind the multimillion dollar home we were staying in. Well, we had sort of discussed going Tuesday before we left, but as we went to sleep we said we were leaving at 9 and I knew that the hike was out, at least with one of the friends I was with. If I had discussed it with the other I think she would have been up for it, but i didn't; I was tired. But when I woke Tuesday morning I thought, HMMMM? I could go right now, and let them sleep and I'd be back in time to go at our scheduled time. SO I got up, got dressed, went to my car to grab my snowshoes, and headed up the hill. IT was about 600 and I had snuck into the other bedroom where my friends were sleeping to grab my friends camera (successfully pulled that off) because I didn't take mine on the trip. I was intending on getting a beautiful sunrise picture. So I decided to follow some deer tracks up the hill, thinking they would find a nice way up I could manage. This hill was pretty steep so I thought I'd use them as pathfinders. I got about 5, 6 minutes into the hike when I actually stopped and looked ahead of me. At which point, I saw three bodies, each with four legs, walking just at the ridge (about 100 yds) ahead of me. I moved around trees, peering as well as I could to get a better look. Then, all of a sudden I saw a BIG BUSHY TAIL pop up on one of them. I admit it, I thought they were deer.... the deer I was following, maybe? UNTIL, the tail. I then hid behind a tree, hoping to "disappear" for a bit so the WOLVES would continue peacefully up and over the ridge. Peering around the tree a few moments later I noticed eyes. It was not quite light yet and in the Eastern Canadian forests it is hard to see between the trees, so I had to take a longer look. Then I noticed, they had TURNED AROUND, and were walking back down the hill! So, needless to say, I "high tailed" it out of there. Sliding and scurrying down the hill to the house as quickly as I could without arousing more interest. I was never scared because all I was thinking was get to the house, get to the house. I did get to the house, but not unscathed. Since i was taking a more direct line to the house and not meandering they way I had climbing up, I had to take a few risks; like jumping over fallen trees. I was successful on all but one attempt; but it only takes one! My snowshoe went into the snow tail in first and my shin came down on top of it. Leaving a wonderful bruise and scrape. Unfortunately, that is my only memory of the wolves: no pictures :(! But every time I make a turn in skiing now i remember those silly wolves, and probably will for the rest of the season. :)

So the trip to canada was the last road trip for Jeepers. Yes, we have finally parted ways. We had to go to the car hospital three times in 6 weeks and I just couldn't afford that anymore. So, with the generous help of my mom I have a new baby. I'm still working on a name, so if there are any suggestions???? It is just almost perfect so there isn't too much character yet to help with the name... but that is a GOOD thing! :)

WOAH what a weekend

2008-12-22T21:01:00.002-05:00

I'm sure I've lost some readers because of my lack of posting, but I'm going to try to be better :). This last weekend was amazing. Friday through Sunday it snowed the lightest snow I may have ever seen. The skiing was phenomenal, but it was COLD!! Then I didn't know the meaning of the word until today... with wind chill, 40-50 below. Good thing I didn't have much to do outside (my lesson no showed me) so I only had to stand outside for a bit every hour, but that was enough. Here are some pics from the weekend and from my drive home so you all can see how nice my "commute" is! Enjoy the winter where ever you are.

Where have I been?!?!?

2008-12-18T11:19:00.003-05:00

Oh that is right... working my little tail off. Well, finals week has finally come to a close today and I still have work to do. But tomorrow I'm off to Mount Snow to start my "wonderful" (ah hem!) Christmas Holiday ski season. We had a horrible ice storm last week that knocked out power to many of my friends (who not all are back online) and we are expecting a big dump tomorrow (got about 4-6 yesterday)! So as a friend says: it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas... yes it does... but this year I'm already super exhausted... I hope I can make it through to January 3rd alive.

The picture is of the ice at Mount Snow the day after the great storm. It made life pretty, but it was rough for so many people.

Woah

2008-11-18T09:50:00.002-05:00

I've been pretty busy with school and work at Mt Snow has started, so there hasn't been much new to post. (oh and I missed a great picture opportunity last week as a pilot subject for a friend's study where I was "markered-up" as much as an EA Sports character...maybe next time!) But i found this and was just as shocked as Tyra was from a survey of about 10,000 teenaged women :):

On average, girls are losing their virginity at 15 years of age.
14 percent of teens who are having sex say they’re doing it at school.
52 percent of survey respondents say they do not use protection when having sex.
One in three says she fears having a sexually transmitted disease.
24 percent of teens with STDs say they still have unprotected sex.
One in five girls says she wants to be a teen mom.
About 50 percent acknowledge that they’ve hit someone.
One out of three teens has tried drugs.

Ok, the second to last one is the only one I can relate too...oops :)!

Offense wins games...

2008-11-06T23:21:00.004-05:00

DEFENSE wins championships!

I AM SOOOOO HAPPY! What a game! I couldn't watch it because (1) I don't have cable and (2) even though a friend of mine bought it to watch online, I couldn't watch for fear of my heart...and I was right. I did watch it on GameCast on ESPN.com, which seems to allow me to pretend it isn't all that big a deal, just watching bars and numbers on the screen. Well, I did care...I wasn't all that happy when they let TCU score 10 points right off the bat, when they couldn't score anything more than a field goal for 59 minutes....when they had a fourth and 5 to keep their dream alive, oh no, I wasn't happy. BUT THEY DID IT! The cardiac kids did it. This year isn't so pretty as 2004 was with Alex Smith and company, but I'll take it. Great job defense! Thank you for holding your own for the last 55 minutes! Take the day off boys and don't look past SDSU next weekend. One game at a time....

WOOHOO!!!!!! GO UTES!

Ok this was good!

2008-11-06T08:10:00.003-05:00

I haven't watched any of the SNL stuff on Thursdays or Mondays or when ever they were on...now I'm wishing I had! :)

This one too!

Parting shot...

2008-11-05T08:03:00.002-05:00

how can FedEx ground go to Hawaii? Doesn't that seem odd to anyone else?

One more THUMBS UP for CA!

2008-11-05T07:47:00.002-05:00

Even though it isn't my city, what happens in Sacramento is important for my home area. The people of Sactown elected former Sun guard Kevin Johnson to be the new mayor. He was a great player, graduated from Sacramento High, and returned to his home to make a difference. I've been slightly aware of the impact he has had with his work as CEO of St Hope, an organization working for the innercity youth. But by a narrow margin, he won the race for mayor, so I hope he can continue his great work. I thought I'd include some of his incredible bio for you all to read... I wish we all could have such choices to vote in to office.

» An individual who can bring about the change this city needs through his strong leadership.

» Founder of the nationally recognized community development organization, St. HOPE.

» Third generation native of Oak Park and Sacramento, CA.

» 12-year veteran of the NBA where he played for the Phoenix Suns and was a 3-time All-Star.

» Graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where he majored in Political Science and Sacramento High School.

» Started, attracted or has planned 20 businesses resulting in nearly 300 new jobs in Sacramento.

» Catalyzed investment and plans for $14 million of economic development in the community.

» Created seven schools educating 1,800 students a year.

» Led 73% of Sacramento High students to be accepted to college last year, compared to the average matriculation rate of 20% for low-income, minority students.

» Secured over $14 million in philanthropic dollars for community development.

Honors and Awards

»John Wooden's 'Lifetime Achievement Award' Winner

»Named the '411th Point of Light' by George Bush.

» Selected as one of the '15 Greatest Men on Earth' by McCall's Magazine (WOW!)

» Recipient of the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award

» Recipient of the Good Morning America Award from Sports Illustrated

» 'Most Caring American' award by the Caring Institute

» Induction into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho, and the Pac-10 Hall of Fame.

Ok so I voted...

2008-11-05T06:50:00.004-05:00

...in a state where my vote doesn't really count for things like president. However, it matters when it comes to making possessing marijuana (an ounce of it) only a $100 fine, saying that abolishing the state tax is one of the stupidest ideas politicians have had in a long time, and getting rid of greyhound racing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I was actually most interested in the results from California, but it confused me. So the purpose of my post...to ask a question, how can a state pass a proposition saying that in the constitution it will say that marriage is between a man and a woman (although it was only a 4% margin) give all 55 electoral votes to a man who wants to repeal the defense of marriage act, an act that says states can refuse to acknowledge same-sex marriages that may be legal in other states? did they see the loophole, that California could be the good guy and have it in the constitution but still have to recognize the unions from those transplants from Massachusetts, or did they just listen to the propaganda and not listen to reality? This makes no sense. My mom said, it isn't supposed to make sense, when I said that to her. I'm not saying I voted for McCain, because I didn't. I actually agree with Nader that our two party system is a disservice to this country...bring back the whig party, let the constitution party have its day, listen to the libertarians...if we insist on labeling people then we better start recognizing that there are other people out there who have really thought about the issues and they know it isn't black and white! So, maybe that is the answer...maybe if the Californians had felt as if they really HAD a choice, maybe the "best fit" wouldn't have been one who will contradict their monumental decision. Next time, I say we give all 10 parties a chance :)!

Another HUH? to file under this doesn't make any sense:
Obviously MA voted for Obama. GIVEN! The governor is dem, the two senators are dem, the 10 reps are dem, but this was the state which BY A LANDSLIDE voted for Mitt Romney...he got more votes than Hillary and Obama combined (I believe Obama pulled it out for the dems, but it was close). Mitt would have won if it had been an open primary...what? I'm not for voting within party lines ONLY but this gets filed under another "people confuse me" moment. Oh and another side bar. Of the 10 house races, only 4 were contested. It doesn't prove well to be a Rep in this state...so how does the Mitt thing happen? yep, I'm confused!

ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Fiscal Impact: Over next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact on state and local governments.

I have to give my applause to the great state of California though. (Just read the wording: there is no mistaking what it says...wow!) [Also, I do know that Florida and Arizona had similar issues on their ballots...and they passed more decisively, but I'm from California and, let's face it, this affects a lot more people in CA than it does in other states...total numbers and per capita; kind of makes this HUGE!] The only time I've been in a state when that question was being asked of us...what is marriage...I was in Utah, where my voice didn't really count. But I applaud the citizens of California for going to the poles and answering that question...both sides of the issue. It divided the state VERTICALLY this time (or look here), it divided families, and I'm sure it divided friends. These are the reasons we vote; this is where change happens, not at the top, but in your house, in your neighborhood, in your state. Thank you all for voting, and whether we agree or not, it is our privilege to voice our opinions...something we need to do more often than once a year, or once every four years!

See I told you!

2008-10-29T18:35:00.001-04:00

This is mount snow from the base as of 2 pm today. :) We're opening November 7th! WOO HOO!

Here comes the snow again....

2008-10-28T21:05:00.003-04:00

Yes folks, the blue is snow..and the red dot is where I live. And NO this isn't at 3 in the morning when it is SUPER cold...nope this is from about 9 oclock. I just got home and noticed the precipitation was a bit different than when I left...yep, you guessed it...SNOW! I know, it is only October 28th...but I'll take it! Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween. Ours won't be white, but I can have dreams of sugar flakes dancing in my head...oh, wait, I'm mixing holidays and weather...I'm just so happy!

Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?

2008-10-22T10:14:00.002-04:00

Ok maybe it isn't THAT much snow, but this is an awesome sight to wake up to...that it is snowing just about an hour and a bit north of me! WOO HOO! If I haven't expressed it on here, I am SOOOOO excited for the snow/winter and this is just one more thing to tease me and keep my excitement high! Welcome, winter...now that the colors are almost gone, I will take all the snow I can get! :)

RISE AND SHOUT...

2008-10-17T09:57:00.003-04:00

...the cougars are OUT! As much as I love my Utes (which has grown since I've left, well, at least for the football team) I am actually sad that BYU lost last night. I wanted another epic game, but this time between two teams who may have a chance at a big payout (even a possible national championship)! Now, it will just be the same ol' rivalry with the added possibility that the Cougars would be out to defeat the Utes just so they don't get the chance the Cougs missed out on...I'm sorry to all my Cougar fans out there, and I'm sorry for all my Ute fans out there who now have to really worry about losing to the Cougs for pride issues, not BCS dreams.

hiking in the woods...

2008-10-13T21:46:00.012-04:00

With autumn arrival, and the wonderful spring/summer rains we had, I knew this year was going to be much better than last year for color. Unfortunately, sometimes cameras can't show what it really looked like. But these are some of the best from my Sunday and Monday hikes with friends. Sunday was with a friend locally (you know a nice outdoor walk on a Sunday) and Monday another friend and I drove up to New Hampshire (a whole 45 minutes) and hiked in the Pisgah State park...JUST WHAT I NEEDED! Amazing views, great colors, no people and even a great dirt road entry that Jeepers got a thrill on! Hope all your autumns are as vibrant and fun as mine has been! (Perfect timing for peak colors and a three day weekend!)

A wonderful fall ride with a few friends and adventures

2008-10-12T15:03:00.010-04:00

Five incidences which made our beautiful ride even better or at least more memorable:
(1) the ride started off with one of our riders getting a flat...and not just any flat. A screw went through her tire/tube and dented her rim. I rode home and got a new tire for her, one man fixed her rim and the other helped finish off the tube replacement, and 45 minutes later, we started off.
(2) It was seriously beautiful ride...see pictures:

(3) Part of our ride lead us to a hike-a-bike section, that on this day and at this time had a TRAIN in our way. Well, when we started down the hill the train was stopped, then it slowly started as we were contemplating how to get on the other side. Then, with only about 15 cars to go to the end, it stopped again. So, you can watch in the pictures what we did (and just as the bikes went so did we!) ;) Oh yea, one of our riders decided to RIDE the train...it was classic.

(4) The ride was so up and up and up, and for 63 miles it was a good tough one, that I was so not ready for.
(5) finally: On a bike path, on which we road for only about a mile, we had a run in with a gaggle of people who had stopped on the path, blocking it almost completely. The two guys had sprinted off in front of us and so we got to watch them approach the group which split when they came close. So we rode on, as the group closed up again. Then they started to part when we came up, but one lady was a bit different in the group. In a very concerned way, she very seriously told us to NOT RIDE OVER THE CATERPILLAR! Watch out for the caterpillar. No seriously, it was a simple black and brown one slowly crossing the path, like the 50 others we had already seen. OK!?!?!? We got about 5 minutes of laughter out of it...so have all my friends I have told...ONLY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS!

Not all apples are created equal...

2008-10-06T07:16:00.002-04:00

So, being in New England, I have learned of the GREAT apple tradition here. Apples are HUGE! (as in big and a big deal) Apple picking is an activity in which many New Englanders participate. A good friend of mine went apple picking (2xs) and returned with so many pounds of apples I can't even start to estimate the mass. So, yesterday, she had her own apple festival. The apples in the picture are only a representation, not NEARLY all of them are shown here. I showed a bit late, but it was seriously an all day activity: making apple sauce, pies, turnovers, the butter will be finished today...and who knows whatelse we were in the process of making. (I was there for 8 hours myself...making the apple sauce, turnovers, and funny objects with the left over crust :)!) She makes these goodies and gives some of the goodies away, but she will freeze the pies and turnovers, uncooked, for a later date. Apparently, even though she makes a dozen or more pies, they don't make it till Thanksgiving :)! I'm sure this year I will help in making those disappear before pumpkin pie time! Another GREAT New England traditional experience...that ends this time in having YUMMIES!

Chasing the little white ball, in the rain, in VT

2008-10-03T06:43:00.005-04:00

On Tuesday afternoon, I got a call from one of my friends up at Mount Snow asking if I could make a foursome on Thursday in a charity golf tournament for a fellow ski instructor who passed away in an auto accident long. Of course I said yes! So, Thursday morning I calmly left my house at 10 o'clock and drove only 1.5 hours to a wonderful course in central Vermont. The pictures in the show are not really capturing EXACTLY what happened, but while the course was wonderful, the weather was less than ideal. You'll notice that the weather goes from sunny and gorgeous to dark and gloomy. Imagine that when it is dark and gloomy it is also POURING! I have never played in such weather. In fact, the mountain across the valley from us (Okemo Ski resort) ended the day with a dusting of snow on the top! WOOHOO! Only fitting for a bunch of ski instructors to be out playing in such weather.

This is a picture of my winning drive. You can see two yellow markers: the one closes to you, the viewer, is the men's drive, and the one about 15 ft back is marking where mine stopped. In scramble tournaments, if you don't know, there are contests within contests, and I think we missed the closest to the pin shot, but this one we didn't, although the story is funny. I was walking down the fairway, thinking, WOW that was a beautiful shot, I might be the longest drive in my foursome. Sure I started about 30 feet in front of them, but wow, wouldn't that be cool. As I approached I was recognizing I was the longest ball in my group, so I was feeling pretty happy, especially because this had happened at one point when a strong, cold cell had moved in and it was so wet I could barely see. We all gathered around my ball when one of the guys said, hey, you have to mark that. Uh, with what, what are you talking about (still focused on the fact that my ball was being chosen for play on a LONG drive situation)...with the long ball stick. Oh, well it is up there about 10-15 feet already...no no, not that one, that one is the men's...you need to go back and get THAT ONE (he points rather dramatically). WAH! I had walked right passed it about 40-50 YARDS back! So, I went and got the WOMEN'S stick and marked my ball with pride :)! Turns out I won, and everyone after us had seen my mark and was VERY impressed. As were the other Mount Snow team, who won the tourney. So that means that 8 of us went and 5 of us left with goodies from the proshop (I got a $35 dollar coupon at the shop!). Hope I get to play next year...I'll mark my closest ball too, because I KNOW I was closer than the woman who won, I just wasn't paying attention! ;)

They might give me a heartattack, but...

2008-10-03T06:24:00.003-04:00

here is something we can "rise and shout" about...sorry, BYU fans, I just had to.

Utah (6-0) is the first team to become bowl eligible this season.

I know it is because the bowl qualifications are soft (6 wins, please!) and because we played on Thursday (hey, I didn't make the schedule!), but that is kind of a cool thing for a little ol' school like Utah to be able to say after beating (albeit after time had expired) the team (Oregon State) who just knocked off the number one team last week, in USC! A win is a win is a win...I'll take it and the becoming bowl eligible first. What about a UTAH/BYU national championship game? Too bad they play each other in league or that could be awesome! GO UTES!

Good idea, bad idea...

2008-09-30T07:02:00.002-04:00

Recently I've been on a kick of watching old animaniacs episode pieces on youtube. A few friends and I have been having fun reliving some of the good old days: rewatching and quoting it throughout the day. Well, I came across this good idea, bad idea that I thought needed to make it on my blog. Enjoy!

I wouldn't normally, but this is too precious not to post...

2008-09-28T22:16:00.001-04:00

Have a laugh on me:

Good bye, Uncle Paul!

2008-09-27T15:09:00.009-04:00

I was incredibly saddened to hear of Paul Newman's passing Friday. I only found out this afternoon and I immediately said, "oh, no, not Uncle Paul." While I loved him in everything I have seen him in, thinking he is pretty dang good looking as a young guy, I also enjoyed his food products and the philosophy behind them. (He started it all here in CT, you know!) But I will never forget the day I was skiing with one of the Redford grandkids because the regular instructor was sick or at school or needed a day off and it was my priveledge to take her place and the Redford was telling me about Uncle Paul. I just said, uh huh, yes, that's nice the whole time, but when I returned to my supervisor who asked how it went, I said, I know I'm new here, but I didn't think there was a Paul in the Redford clan. She said, oh no there isn't, "Uncle Paul is Paul Newman!" So, while I never got the opportunity to meet the man, a very close group of people always spoke of him in the highest regard and he and his wife sounded like wonderful people. I will morn the loss as an old movie fan and as a fan of good people! Good bye, Uncle Paul! May Newman's Own live on as your movies will, as part of your legacy!

SNOW?

2008-09-23T06:30:00.004-04:00

My last post was about how fall has arrived, and the leaves are starting to turn. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pics this weekend. But I woke up this morning and checked out the weather. Warren Miller has been known to use the phrase that some where on the earth it is snowing. And this is true, but LOOK at where it is snowing right now! YEP! RIGHT HERE IN THE US! I don't know why but I'm so excited for this winter, so this little bit of blue that has shown up in the lower 48 is just what I needed to see today! But in the mean time, I'll just keep riding my bike and enjoying the autumn in New England!

WOW, fall is here!

2008-09-20T14:03:00.004-04:00

As some of you may have heard, it is SOO much cooler here: thank you Canada!

So that means it is REALLY starting to look and feel like fall. Some of the leaves are even turning which means SOON I will be able to experience a wonderful New England autumn! And you all know what that means...yep, PICTURES!

When I left my house this morning at almost 11 am it was still 48 degrees outside. Which means I had to bring out the long sleeve jersey on my ride. And I was only going to go for a little ride. Well, the weather was so great and the air so crisp and the trees so great, I had to keep going. And while just under 40 doesn't seem like it is THAT long, I included the elevation profile for you...see, we do have "hills" to work out on here. Notice how one seems to climb quickly on the profile? I tell you, it isn't any different on a bike. One minute you are just cruising along on a nice rolling road, you make a left and WHAM! UP UP UP. I calculated it was probably more than 2000 vertical feet of climbing. YES! Not like Utah, but not bad for New England!The two big humps are through a state forest (the first) and the second is through a very rural area with few people and lots of ponds. VERY PRETTY!

Oh and about school...well, I'm completely in the thick of it and having so much fun. I now stay at school most evenings till 6, working on numerous projects, helping others and just really enjoying what I'm doing. I'm sure sometime soon it will frustrate me, but for now...just loving the ride! :)

Week 2

2008-09-11T18:57:00.003-04:00

Well, my second week of school is almost gone. It is more of the same, with a bit more work. And I think I'm still having more fun than working :)! I started off the semester (as in THE FIRST DAY) with the flu (not stomach) so I've been taking it easy these two weeks so that I can try to get rid of it. Hopefully, I'll do something fun this weekend, but if not...just picture me in front of my computer working on computer programs :)...that is my life ;)!

"staff of the gods"

2008-08-31T22:24:00.004-04:00

As Gustav ("staff of the gods") nears the coast of Louisiana (AGAIN!), the people are being evacuated and FEMA is already in place. This will be a better result, I hope. I'm also impressed with the evacuation of the animals prior to the arrival of the Storm. I saw a clip on an evening news program this evening and I started to cry when the owners expressed how thankful they were for the service. All the animals on this news clip were evacuated in an air conditioned semi and the people were taken in buses, all to the same place and they were each tagged so the owners would be found quickly. I pray these people don't lose their homes and belongings, but hopefully this time they won't lose the animal members of their families. I'm glad we can learn.

What the....

2008-08-31T16:34:00.003-04:00

Just when life was getting better with my computer...I was learning how to program in a language there is no class for and getting quite good at it...I made a boo boo! One afternoon I decided to treat myself to a Sprite and I was happily sitting at my computer getting back to work when I reached for my drink. It slipped out of my hand, bounced and spilled about a table spoon's worth of Sprite on my keyboard. There was no smoke or sparks, but I knew I had to clean it up as fast as possible. SO with water and paper towels I followed the instructions on a website and tried to get it cleaned up. After about 15 minutes of drying, I tried to resume my computering...well, I couldn't get my "s" to work. I cleaned some more...NOTHING. I went to Target that night to get the special compressed air keyboard cleaner...didn't help. SO, I went to bed thinking: what am I going to do? I awoke in the morning after several prayers to try my keys again...YES! I GOT MY "S" BACK! But I had lost the "L"! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! To make a long story short, two days later, it came back as well. PHEW! I ordered a replacement keyboard after I couldn't get my "L" after the first day, but I will replace this one anyway (it was less than $25 dollars for a new one...I can handle that!). Lesson learned: sugary, carbonated drinks are bad for computers, it makes them misbehave; Sprites are not for computers! :O)

I learned something about myself this weekend...

2008-08-31T16:19:00.006-04:00

...I 100% bleed red if cut. WOW, I have been a Michigan fan almost my whole life. I dreamt of getting in there. I was almost jealous of people who I learned had or do attend. I was so excited to go there for my conference last week (so much so I skipped some talks to go just SEE The BIG HOUSE!) And yet, when I watched the game (having to go to a friend's house because I don't have ESPN2, leaving my friends who were watching the BYU game, the reason I was invited over in the first place) I realized, I am a UTE! I was happy to watch my team, my WOLVERINES LOSE to UTAH! It wasn't as pretty as it could have been, but I'll take it. This season is going to be very interesting. Oh it was a great weekend for me for college football too; the Stanford Cardinal won their first game and have a winning record for the first time in what seems like forever, Cal won a big game (and yes, if you know anything about that rivalry, I DO have a hard time chosing every year, but I usually root for the Bears), Sac State won a home game, Cal Poly won a road game, and UMass won its home opener under the lights! WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND! Welcome back college football! NOW, it is too bad I don't have ESPN or ESPN2...oh well, that is what friends are for :)!

Now that the games are over...

2008-08-25T07:38:00.013-04:00

...I'm going to finish up my sporadic Olympic coverage with my top five sports of the summer Olympics. In no particular order:

(1) 10 K open water swim
Yes, I watched every minute of these races (men's and women's) live. They each swim for about 2 hours straight, pulling up to the feed stations and eating/drinking on the fly just like their running counterparts. Absolutely an amazing example of endurance and perseverance. Besides the men's winner from the Netherlands was diagnosed with Leukemia a few years back and fought back to be the swimmer he is.

(2) Triathlon (men's and women's)

Maybe it was just because I like participating in Tris myself, I love watching these athletes compete in Beijing. But please, what is up with the sticky blue carpet they had to ride and run on? The coefficient of friction on their tires was so much higher it caused them to expend a lot of energy.

(3) Flatwater Kayaking!
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0821_SD_CFB_HL_L1097
Grace, power, speed, and water (why have my first three included water?); it doesn't get any better than this. So, much so I had to include a video of the women's K1 final. Just enjoy.

(4) Mountain biking
This was part of the course. A course which had been ripped on by the racers prior to the Olympics after they raced a world cup qualifier there. It was too easy they said. So, the officials made it harder by putting in more drops, rocks and fun things to cross. Well, they got what they wished. Women walked, men dropped out, and people rode away with BIG victories; I LOVE IT!

(5) FencingAnd finally fencing. I have always loved these events, but I got to watch more of it online WITHOUT COMMENTARY! Which I loved. Again, grace and power with a bit of fancy footwork and handwork thrown in. Oh and some jumping and lunging :)! Ancient sport kept new and fresh with technology; same old moves, but a new sound. Besides who wouldn't love the only sport that is played in the dark. Obviously the athletes are highlighted, but the audience is in the dark, just like a play, an artistic and beautifully choreographed play.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: (Mostly because they are sports I played :)!)

I would have put beach volleyball on here, but I don't think any sport that has a rule that women have to wear bikinis should be vilified.

Indoor volleyball is an awesome sport, especially since the introduction of the libero (back row specialist...what I was in High School without the fancy name).

And finally, women's soccer. We all know how much I love this game, but to have won the gold again, even with a keeper who scares me to DEATH, was wonderful and worth my time :)!

So, here is what I want to do: I want anyone who wants to, to tell me what your favorite moment or sport of the Olympics was. It doesn't have to be anything special and it could just be a moment, as I said. I would just love to hear what other people saw and thought.

Final note: Here we come LONDON...

You think with David Beckham as their "spokes person" London's goal will be the football gold? I mean, 119 is a fine goal, but I bet they want one more than any other on their home turf!

SO here is what really happened in Michigan!

2008-08-23T18:41:00.007-04:00

I'm sure many of you have been waiting for REAL pictures, as in pictures with ME in them...here you go:

The three of us drove in a car across NY essentially to Michigan and had a blast! We actually all got along and talked most of the time...11 hours there and about 10 back. Not bad for three PhD students! We didn't nerd each other out!
Oh yes, we ate...mmmmmm cake! Don't worry I split it with two other women. Yes, I'm changing my ways. Remember the time Lex would just have eaten the whole thing and not shared?!?!?!??!?!
Remember, this was a biomechanics conference, so there were some really cool toys...ok there was one. This machine worked you pushing out and coming back in (concentric and eccentric) . I was sore the rest of the conference after my full work out on the first day.

And there was MUCH silliness. I couldn't believe that a sign like this exists. (I mean, what, if the line in the bathroom is too long, do you try the one across the street? seriously!) SO, I of course, had to "attempt" a crossing. :) OH, this is 90 which travels across the state of New York. I mean, why would anyone even THINK he/she could cross a MAJOR highway?

This has got to make you feel better!

2008-08-23T11:19:00.002-04:00

We can all have a bad day, and we are all aloud to have a bad day but watching this really did make me think: wow, maybe I'm not that bad a rider, I mean, look at them! These are some of the crashes at the Olympics by the women in mountain biking. Unfortunately, I think the German rider near the end, the one who doesn't get up for a while, really does hurt her shoulder, but we will not laugh at them, just admire the grace, and maybe remember the times you did something VERY SIMILAR! :) The mountain biking at the Olympics was MUCH better than was hoped for. Anyone up for a trip to Beijing to try it out?

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0822_SD_CMW_MN_L1206

Now this is real sportsmanship!

2008-08-21T10:03:00.003-04:00

Really, if you need a pick me up story, you need to see this clip...

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0820_SD_MUL_AU_CE517

It is almost that time.

2008-08-19T19:53:00.004-04:00

I got distracted today by old SI covers. Some of which I thought I would share because of my desire to get skiing again. I'll put together another slide show soon with another topic! But for now...(Oh, and some of the comments may be best understood by some of my skiing friends, so don't hesitate to ask if you care what they mean.)

There is competitive, then there is this...

2008-08-19T16:44:00.004-04:00

This is a link to a video of the American pole vaulter, Jennifer Stuczynski, getting an earful from her coach after she earned a silver by losing (if you can call it that) to the number one pole vaulter in the world who had to set a world record to win. I hope she fires this coach...what a JERK!

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0818_HD_ATW_HL_L1722

Finally, a gift

2008-08-17T21:12:00.004-04:00

It may be that you can only barely see the rainbow, it wasn't THAT strong, but it was a welcome sight. After all the rain, we finally got to see a beautiful gift. (So I got to a nice little pond as a nice scene for the image, although I lost some of the starkness of the colors.) Trust me, it was nice to see. Oh, and the golden colors on the trees was just from the sun, the "colors" of New England haven't come YET...but this year should be great with all the rain and the coming cool weather. So, stay tuned!

Mishigami

2008-08-11T12:49:00.010-04:00

The name of the state of Michigan, while being named after the lake is a French adaptation of the Ojibwe term mishigami, meaning "large water" or "large lake". WOW! you say. Well that is where I was last week so I thought I'd start off with an interesting fact. Now on to the good stuff. I was there for a biomechanics conference. I'm still amazed at how so many "nerds" in one place could actually be so cool :)!

These first pictures are a few from our trip into and out of Canada. It was supposed to be two hours shorter, but it ended up being over an hour longer because of traffic. Well, because we sat about 100yds from the gate out for over an hour, possibly closer to two...FOR NO REASON. Except maybe for the storm, which you can't see in the bridge picture, to move in on us while we were on the bridge, which you can see in the picture with the two flags as we were on the bridge.
Just as we passed the Welcome to Michigan sign you can see we were once again stopped (it took us forever to get across the bridge in the storm) and while we were just sitting there the bridge got struck by lightening just feet away from us...we were VERY glad to get off that bridge!

Sorry for the "picture" on this video; I didn't realize i wouldn't be able to rotate it. But it is the sound that matters anyway. Listen to the song. I think someone goes in and plays the "clock" for a half hour at noon every day. After one meeting a friend and I came out to this...

..on a state college and everything! :)

The following "show" are just some pictures from around campus!

On Thursday of the conference we had a banquet at the Henry Ford museum. As one might expect, there were MANY cars: JFK's limo, a few older cars, a nice old jeep, but there were some other things as well, like an exhibit on Chocolate, the fastest car EVER, the Oscar Meyer Weiner car, and some nice old planes. For those pictures, just personally request, but I wanted to share my two favorites. Firstly, there was a whole section on bicycles. The picture on the left is a bike with 10 seats. Check out the rear chain ring! I'll take that spot! Anyone wanna try it up Hobble Creek with me some day? The second picture (right) is a picture of the inside of the bus Rosa Parks had her famous ride on. It was there in a section devoted to the American experience and growth as a nation. Sitting on the bus and thinking of the story, one gets a feeling for how far we have come, and how far we have to go.

LIVE FREE OR DIE!

2008-08-02T15:43:00.023-04:00

I mean, really, how could you not just LOVE that motto!?!?!?!?! Thank you, New Hampshire. Now, why would I write that? Well, that is where I rode this morning. You can see the "path" in my new section: Ride of the week (which won't be updated for a bit because I'll be out of town next week, but I couldn't think of anything better to call it...please forgive :)!)

This is just a picture essay of what I saw today...

I love the contrast of these signs. One is nice and has the motto; which may scare someone. The other looks as if it has been there since the 70s and is kind of an after thought. And, yes, that is a FRENCH welcome to our friends from the north!

This is the Ashuelot River I followed the whole time I was on 119 NH. It was super pretty. Sometimes rushing and sometimes calm. It is just south of the Pisgah State park, a place I fully intend on checking out soon!

You may notice the "face" on the NH signage. They are in "remembrance" of the Old Man of the Mountain, a face-like profile in the Franconia Notch, until the formation fell apart in May 2003. My plan was to only ride to Hinsdale, then I saw this sign and I changed my mind. I turned right and stayed in NH, but next time I will turn left and go into VT. Also, check out the house with license plate siding. I wonder what they would have to do to register their house? HA HA HA, just kidding. This is just on my mind because I had to register my car in a new state this week and it was a learning experience.

Ok this is one of my favorite things on this ride (I'll pause to let you read.) As far as I can tell this is a descendant of the Hatfield, not Hadley/Amherst Dickinsons (Emily's family), but I could be wrong. But what a memorial. I love the "other side": poor Asahel, he hung out with the wrong crowd.

LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TODAY!

2008-07-29T21:44:00.003-04:00

Look who got a make over! Jeepers is no longer a Sport UTE! (GET IT?) The names and the animal inside are the same, but the citizenship is different. So long Utah, Hello MASS! I think it looks funny without the orange/blue plates, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Until then, it is kind of exciting!

My ride today...on an almost perfect day.

2008-07-26T16:20:00.003-04:00

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ma/sunderland/871318285845"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;up to the airport&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/ma/sunderland"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Sunderland, Massachusetts&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Is he saying the President of the US is a big ape?

2008-07-25T08:37:00.001-04:00

Stephen Hess, a political analyst with The Brookings Institution, said "the United States is still an eight hundred pound gorilla around the world, and they want to see who's gonna be in the gorilla suit."

HMMM...is there more to this statement than meets the eye?

A different day, a different way...

2008-07-24T20:20:00.018-04:00

I got home from school today and went a different way for my run today. I took my camera along (yes, I ran with a camera) so that you all can see more of my area. At some point you'll probably have a pretty good idea of the 'hood (I still have to go another way to show you all the farming around me). But this was a nice little run that takes us across the street (State route 116) to a bit MORE rural area. Oh well, I guess it shows you HOW rural the area is. This is a great time of year...sure, it is a bit humid/muggy, but with all the storms it is so green. I actually love it with gray skies and the green everywhere!

I didn't think about this until I got home, so the view isn't EXACT, but this is the comparison of a typical view of New England in the summer...one in the sun and one in the clouds. Both are pretty, but I vote for the dark/stormy version! It brings out the green.

I don't know if I've shared this before, but these signs are everywhere (this street I'm on is a one and a half lane road). Some signs aren't this nice though. I think some of them have been up for decades.

A pretty, wet forest in the middle of my run.

YUMMM! What's for dinner? Fungus? Yes, but it is fresh from the forest floor...it is natural and organic! Really yummy! :)

This is the picture that started it all (I actually wanted to get this picture and I didn't want to take my camera home before I went for my run, so I just ran with my camera. Silly, I know.) This tree was a victim from the storm last week, but it was uprooted. The tree doctors came a few days ago and chopped it up and seem to have pushed the stump back almost upright (weird). But I thought the stump was pretty, and that is what started the whole photo show ;)!

The big wind...

2008-07-20T18:12:00.004-04:00

I can hear it now...Lex, stop it, all you ever do is talk about the weather. Well, this one was "big" enough I may be done. A big snow or a deep freeze or a hurricane might change that, but the odd weather news will not be big enough now. The last two days nice storm cells have come through. Well, my neighbors might not think of these things as NICE. The first storm on Friday knocked a few trees down and there was a lot of nature's debris on the roads during my ride. And some of the corn in the fields was bent down. THEN Saturday evening came...it was as calm as could be until a storm cell with a lot of water and a HUGE gust of wind came through. Honestly, it only took a few minutes and one big blow (like the big bad wolf). Trees fell down all over the place, on houses, in the roads, and on power lines. Some trees in the heart of Sunderland were 100s of years old. We didn't have power for almost 7 hours and some western Massachusetts residents were slated to get power back Sunday afternoon. One of the major roads in the area was blocked off because of a tree so my little street became a major thoroughfare. When I noticed the damage out the window, I decided to go around and see if people in my neighborhood needed any help. They didn't (mostly because those who did have trees on their homes or porches weren't home). But I did clean up the streets as I walked...the quiet street I live on that became a HIGHWAY was very cluttered and people were just driving around the branches, clogging up things even more. Many of the crops are bend or broken...I'm interested to see how this affects the local farmers. They have already been depleted from an earlier storm from a few months ago when the plants were young. Finally, and possibly the most exciting, NOAA sent a weather team here to see if this was just a micro burst or a small tornado. I'm pretty sure it was just a micro burst, but to think they sent a team, that is pretty cool! :) Well, I hope all your days are full of sun or rain, but no wicked weather! Oh and BTW, it was 75 and FOGGY when I went to church today...YUCK! :)

If corn has ears, does that mean it can hear?

2008-07-15T13:53:00.004-04:00

So this is a picture of the field from a few months ago with asparagus in it (remember the 3ft tall stalk?) Yep, the corn is coming in. Just a few weeks ago there wasn't anything in this field...just dirt. Now, the ears are coming in and we'll have fresh corn on the street soon. Or well, on the street corner so that we can buy it!

california here I come...or, well, there I was...

2008-07-13T20:15:00.008-04:00

I went home last week, which was nice, despite the fact that the fires and the heat made it look like Wall-e's world come to life and we were told just about every day to stay inside FOR OUR HEALTH! One day, mom and I went to the beach; that was a very nice day. Thought I'd share some pics...
These are some videos and pictures of the "weather"..notice the limited shadows and the darkness...these are all mid-day or late morning, when the shadows should have been really evident. Even the squirrel heeded the warning and found shade.

Ok, better pics now...the pacific ocean! I live 2 hours from the atlantic, but I went to the pacific yesterday! Kinda cool. I wanted to go to the Atlantic when I got off the plane (I was only an hour from it) but I just wanted to go home. But I could have been at both coasts in about a 24 hour period...

Engrish

2008-06-29T07:51:00.005-04:00

Ok, before you think I'm being rude, this is the official name of the type of English some native Chinese speak, and I do mean some because I know that some natives speak beautiful English. I was watching a very funny British talk show last night and I found out that the Chinese are making a concerted effort to change the signage in the country so that the English is better because of the Olympics. I'm sure you have all seen some of the funny pictures from tourists with very funny translations. Many of them have been passed around via emails. Well, this show told me of a website engrish.com which has a whole lot of pictures. SO, I went. This is a sampling of what you might find there. Some of these, seriously, had me crying. There are others there that many of you will find very funny that I deemed inappropriate for this family friendly page; even though they are just silly, innocent mistakes ;)!

I decided to let the signs do the talking and I left my humor out of it (maybe in an effort to show respect for others' mistakes), but please feel free to make your own punchlines.

Ok, I did it...and I admit it!

2008-06-27T20:31:00.005-04:00

I got up this morning, went for a short run, ate breakfast and then went to the 1030 showing of Wall-e. Yes, I am old enough to be taking children to the show but I stood in line with parents surrounded by their little ones and their little ones' friends at the first showing of the day. I have been totally excited for this for a while now. I won't say anything about it, because I bet the less you know the better it will be. I would, however, suggest it to all on that hot day, or the humid day, or the rainy day (kind of like today here); just pick up the kids and enjoy the air-conditioning.

I will say: I can't wait for the DVD! :)

Don't mess with mother nature

2008-06-26T14:47:00.005-04:00

Alright! I finally got this to work! So one night a few weeks ago, we were warned that a really big storm was a-comin'. It was to hit us about midnight (which it did). Well, I couldn't get to sleep, who could with the knowledge that the biggest storm of the season was coming. So, I got online and looked up one of my favorite weather sites and found this moving at us at about 55mph. (I am about where the "e" is in Pittsfield.)

Then I got my camera out...(turn up the volume, it sounds cool!). I like this one because you will see a big flash and a CRACK very quickly after...then you see the camera shake and you hear me laugh. I'm laughing because I was really startled by it and it was funny to me (at midnight remember!)

This vid is a bit longer and has a good one at the beginning at one at the end. And you can see that I have gotten used to the CRACKS...the camera doesn't flinch. You will also hear that the wind picked up quite a bit.

This storm lasted a bit over an hour. We have since then had several storms (in fact, yesterday was the only one in the last ten during which we had NO rain! Now, to me, that is weird, whereas when these videos were taken, it was exciting.)

Well...

2008-06-25T13:12:00.005-04:00

I have no idea who this is, but I thought the picture was priceless! (because of the dog, of course.)

I've put up a few posts recently, but people, NOT MY TOTALLY COOL FRIENDS, random, rude people have put up comments that were not appreciated. SO, I had to delete them. Since then I have found a great way to screen my comments, so only my friends can make their presence known! So keep 'm coming.

But what that means is that I'm back on line...woo hoo. I actually did make two posts that haven't made it because I had some videos to post of my experiences that were too big and they wouldn't load. I've been trying to make them smaller, but that was just taking up too much of my time, so I figured the posts weren't necessary. But this one is...yes, it is the return of the crime update in my area. This one is for the animal lovers out there...

Tuesday June 10th, 6:28am
A black bear seen on Wildflower drive was eating from a bird feeder. At 5:08 om, Teaberry lane residents reported bear cubs in the trees and trying to get at bird feeders. Residents were advised to remove the food source. (and how about staying inside?)

How about some traffic?
The railroad crossing signals on Main street were activated, though no train was coming. (Sounds like a great opening line for a scary movie or book!)

A vehicle parked on the sidewalk on South Prospect street checked out OK. (what does that mean? Yep, four tires, a steering wheel, all windows intact...yep, looks like a car to me Sarge!)

A man crawling in the middle of south pleasant street was gone when the police got there. Three an a half hours later he was located and warned about his activity. (WOW, he must have been a really fast crawler, 3.5 hours later they caught up with him! And what did they warn him about...you know, if you crawl across the street cars won't be able to see you, mister. No really? Or was it about the holes he would get in his pants if he kept doing that and how is mom would get mad having to patch them up again!)

A hole that formed next to a storm drain on Blossom lane didn't appear to be a traffic hazard (you should see the roads out here. I'm sure they say that about all the holes, but motorists may beg to differ! Besides, there are so many, how could they just be worried about THIS ONE!)

Ok how about some disturbances:

lots of people got in fights and were warned to keep it down or they were not found. Many were told at 10:02pm to keep the music down. But this one is my favorite:

Sunday June 15, 11:57pm
A verbal warning was issued by police to Gary Street residents yelling while watching the NBA FINALS! (I have nothing more to say here to make this any funnier!)

Suspicious Activity:
There were a lot of teenagers in places where they shouldn't have been (school's out), but this one is good...
Police warned a woman dropping water balloons onto her friends from and apartment above Ben and Jerry's to stop the activity. (Woah now, we must stop these childish behaviors. I bet her "friends" called her in because they just couldn't reach her with their water balloons.)

ok, here's another good one:
11:34 pm A person playing basketball at wildwood school was gone when police got there. (ok, I think people around here have too much time on their hands...reporting someone playing basketball. Now I know, it can be the first step to drug use, look at the NBA, and that it is late, but come on.)

This place is certainly not void of entertainment. Enjoy!

Adventures in bicycling

2008-06-03T22:12:00.003-04:00

Well, yes, another biking story. (I figure they are better than...so there I was, in my office reading an article. Then I spend a half an hour reworking just one sentence of my IRB proposal. SEE, not so exciting!) So...today I decided to add a bit of newness to a ride I have done several times this spring already. I looked on google maps and found my "path." Well, true to google map form in New England; it was wrong. The road that was such a wonderful plan turned out to NOT have a bridge that crossed over RR tracks. In the yellow circle is where the adventure was. So, being the silly person I am, I passed through the barriers saying the ROAD ENDED, rode to the END of the road, and looked across to the other END OF THE ROAD. Noticing there was a very well worn path down the embankment on my side and up the other, I picked up my road bike, scurried across the double railroad tracks and up the other side. Funny thing: I noticed SEVERAL other road bike tracks in the dirt just as the trail met the road. :)

I wanted to show you guys...

2008-06-02T17:22:00.003-04:00

So we started Mountain BIKE Mondays today. Today was only two of us, but we are hoping to get more involved (one guy said he was coming then said he got hurt this weekend...so maybe next week we'll have three!). But we left from school and took off on our mountain bikes and I just wanted to show you where we went in relationship to my office and my house. It was 12+ miles of which only about 3 were on the pavement. 3334 ft of climbing, GREAT downhills and typically easternly technical! VERY FUN! Oh and it was 77 degrees with a slight 10-13 mph wind...perfect day! Sorry no pictures...maybe next time. Oh and there was this gnarly hike-a-bike section that was on a cliff with major boulders we had to climb over. GOOD TIMES!

OH MY GOSH! You guys have got to see this!

2008-05-27T08:53:00.001-04:00

Another bike ride

2008-05-26T19:15:00.003-04:00

This one is a MTB one though. There is a state park very near to me, through which I usually ride my road bike. This time some friends asked me to join their memorial day fun! WOW, eastern trails are VERY different. Next time I'll stop to take some pictures of the "trails"...they are very rocky, rooty, and hard to see! Very technical and fun.

Spring?

2008-05-21T18:40:00.010-04:00

Spring in New England is not quite...well, dry. It rains quite a bit around here, and usually at the same time I have time to go for a ride :)! Oh well.

I also got a new kitchen floor today. The previous floor was AWFUL! This one is much better, but that may be an understatement! :) Now I would like a new fridge, new carpet, a new
bathroom floor, and some new faucets! :) not asking too much am I? Oh, and a nice area to grow
some veggies!

And finally, there are a whole bunch of "fields" that have shown up recently (see picture). What is going on? Are the people getting ready for something, or are they growing something? Well, it is asparagus time around here and in these "blank fields" the stalks are growing. LOOK at this one: it is a 1.5 foot tall stalk...the new way to eat asparagus: we'll cut it up like a zucchini.

gold medal hotties!

2008-05-20T08:58:00.002-04:00

Ok, so you all know that I'm not into this "who's the best looking" kind of thing. But this is different. On wcsn.com there is a contest for the best looking male and female Olympic athlete. Usually, I would be totally against this, BUT we have a "friend" on the list. I don't care what it is a contest for, since they aren't nude and it isn't all THAT degrading, my competitive side is coming out. If you have time, PLEASE get on and vote for Steve Nyman. Yes, our very own Steve is in the running (this would thoroughly embarrass Scott!). And he is losing (4th out of 6). I vote about twice a day and he only has 27 votes. It really isn't fair because he us up against swimmers and runners and cyclists who aren't wearing winter clothes in the pictures...hello! Although he his beating out a beach volleyball player, who I also think is getting a bum deal because you can't really see his face. ANYWAY, I think we should all get together, pad the ballot box and hand the Sundance Boy a nice "hot" win! If you close your browser and restart it, you can vote again and again and again. The presidential race is, well, all commentary aside...later this year, and you only get to vote once. I would say that when november comes around, no matter who you wish to be in office, you will wish you had as many votes as you could have to make sure of it...here you can and we want Steve to be the winner. RIGHT? :)

http://web.wcsn.com/index.jsp

YES, the semester is OVER!

2008-05-16T18:12:00.005-04:00

WOW, what a semester. With the ski season and qualification exams and regular classes and teaching and other things that I had to do it is a wonder I survived. But I did. I started racing a few weekends ago, and the routes are great. Last weekend I decided to try my hand at the mountain biking scene around here. As you can see the "trails" are pretty crude. There isn't much there to say "here's the trail." This course got really mucky, totally New England like. When I say mucky, I mean like riding through about 8 inches of soupy mud. Fortunately they have hoses for your bikes and for you. Notice how CLEAN all the men were. Well, after 4 laps they were pretty caked on when they got back.
A few posts ago I spoke of this "qualification" exam that was monopolizing my time. Well, we all passed and now I don't have anything OFFICIAL to worry about until I'm writing my dissertation. FUN! So, all I have to worry about is more class work, teaching my classes, working on my fearless leaders research and mine and maybe going to Yale to work with them on some of our projects that we don't have enough toys for. Gotta go to the rich kids who have everything, you know. Oh and don't forget the DCL and racing I have scheduled :)! Should be an easy time here in MA! But it is good to have one year down...now moving on.

Well, I hope you are all well. Sorry for the large break, but that is what happens when one gets a bit busy...what a weird feeling to be THAT busy.

Anyway, happy day to all and hope your spring is all going well. Coming soon, pictures of the beautiful spring here in New England!

Well, it has been a while

2008-04-27T15:48:00.003-04:00

Not because there hasn't been anything to say, but that I haven't had time. I'm busy studying for a big test that actually happens this week. This Wednesday and Thursday I have four hours each day to answer questions that can cover just about anything in my department. As you probably can imagine, I've been really busy trying to learn a little about a lot of things. The weather around here has been summerlike as well, so when I haven't been studying I've been getting some good rides in. The weather turns wet and cold again this week, so my riding may be limited this week. The pictures I've put in are one from a ride a few weeks ago showing how the water just ran off the hills and filled up the river. Soon after that spring started coming. It was weird, not one of the trees had a bud on it, then WHAM they had leaves. Not all of them, but in a few days, after the looming testing marathon I'll get out and take some spring New England pictures! Hope you are all having a great, but weird weather, spring.

Ha-ha-ha-HAA-ha!

2008-04-06T11:45:00.010-04:00

If you can't read that the way I wanted to have it sound, that is Woody Woodpeckers laugh. [now, try it :) for a bit of help: http://www.420dude.com/dudesounds/woody2.wav] I know, "Ok, lex, you've really lost it this time!" Well, not really. I haven't really been doing much besides studying and trying to ride my bike, but last Sunday I had a really cool experience, which happened again this Sunday. Both days I went for a walk. If you can't remember, my neighborhood, if one could call it that, is VERY rural. (so rural in fact, we have learned that UPS considers me rural so it costs more to ship things to me...boo on UPS!) So, going for a walk can be a quiet, nature experience. Last Sunday on my walk I saw two VERY large wood peckers, pecking away at some trees. Larger than any I have ever seen, and I thought they were pretty ugly until I watched them for awhile. WOW, they are huge, the have the coolest talons and they are pretty fliers. So, I busted it home and looked them up. Turns out that they are the type that Woody was typed after: the Pileated woodpecker! Well, I ran into them again today. This is a picture of the big boy tearing up a tree. At one point, both were on the same tree. And I also took a video of him at work.

I'm also including a slide show of some of the other sights of the hood from this morning!

This video is of a really pretty little bird (which you can't see), but the point is not to watch (because it is really boring) but to listen. So turn up your speakers...this is what spring in Sunderland sounds like. The last pretty little whooo whooo whooo is from this little red bird.

For all you bicyclists!

2008-03-29T19:34:00.002-04:00

We struggle with being safe and having fun everyday out on the roads. I know we would all appreciate it if drivers "saw us." I wonder how many people would pass this test!

I want a dog, clap, clap!

2008-03-28T20:53:00.002-04:00

Sometimes when I'm stuck or just done with my school work I take a break and watch youtube videos. Well, I've really been craving a dog so I watch vids with Viszlas. There are some fantastic ones, but this one is BY FAR one of my favorites. Watch this all the way through...this pup is SO PRECIOUS!

US Open Snowboarding

2008-03-22T18:54:00.003-04:00

Today I went up to Stratton to watch the US Open Snowboarding Championship. A friend of mine's sister is Torah Bright (picture on left). If you don't know who she is check out: http://www.torahbright.com/. To make a long story short, she'll pretty good. Which is actually a HUGE understatement! She won the halfpipe today along with Shawn White. (now there's a name most of you will know even if you don't know all that much about snowboarding...he's in a lot of commercials.) It was a cold, sunny day. What was so weird was that it was so quiet. Usually when we watch the X-games it is loud and crazy, not here. It was quiet and just a whole bunch of people watching. The announcer dudes were not helping either. They didn't announce until it was almost too late who was coming, what the score was, and they didn't even announce that Torah won. Uh, she won $100,000 and a new Volvo...it was kind of a big deal. Oh and Shawn (picture below) won $100,000 and a new Volvo too, and there wasn't a big scene with him either. Weird. OH well, it was still fun!

So they came a collecting

2008-03-19T22:49:00.003-04:00

Sorry this photo isn't the greatest quality, but it was taken from my living room through a screen. I was sitting there Tuesday morning reading about genetics and I heard what sounded like a tractor driving in my back yard. Well, guess what, IT WAS! I was so bewildered, so I watched for a minute. Then I noticed all these men running around with buckets. They were collecting the maple sap stuff that is just flowing into the buckets hanging on the trees out back. You can kind of see on the trailer behind the tractor a large reservoirs that is whitish. Well it was about half full when they showed up to these trees and it was about 3/4s full when they left this grove! Ok, so they are obviously making a lot, but I am even more determined to do it next year. Soon, I will have a picture of this large catch basin hooked up to tubes that run from one tree to another that contains a VACUUM pump to SUCK all the maple out by one of these maple syrup stores in VT. It is amazing what people do around here to make real new england maple syrup!

Bike Haiku

2008-03-19T22:43:00.004-04:00

I went for a ride.
It was nice to get outside.
I say, Go bike go!

Well..

2008-03-13T20:03:00.003-04:00

...it's official. We can now stamp ski geek on my forehead. We all knew that I was a "tech head" but now I finally have my reward. I just got done with two very difficult, but fun days at Stratton resort in VT trying out for DCL in the east, and I made it. Here we have two tracks: the examiner track and the clinic leader, or DCL, track. They whipped the slate clean this year and they are starting over on the DCL side. There were 75 team members about two weeks ago and everyone had to tryout again. So, I decided to give it a try and well, I got it. They only took 15 from the north and 11 from the south. The 15 cover: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and some of Pennsylvania. The south covers everything south NY to Virginia, West Virginia. So, there aren't very many of us to go around. In two years, they will have another tryout to add to the group, but for now, it is just us. 26 to cover a lot of ground. We are pretty spread out, which is good, but there is a lot of work to do. FUN FUN FUN. Well, since I've been "playing" for the last few days, I'm sort of behind with school. So, I better get going on my work, but I just wanted to let you all know. YEAH!

Oh my am I tired, and it is only Monday!

2008-03-10T22:27:00.002-04:00

Well, this week has started off with a bang and I know it will only stay this active until Saturday night. So, while I worked like stink all day I took a few minutes before I went to bed as a break. And I found this old show on YouTube I used to watch on my mission at this one old funny member's house. I embedded some of my favorite episode parts. Some of the vids aren't that great, but you should all get the gist! Hope you laugh as I always do. This show "Takeshi's Castle" aired on Spike TV as MXC, but it was funnier in German. A Japanese TV show in German, how much funnier can it get?!?!?!?

Ok that is enough! I better get to bed! :) Enjoy

Call me Ishmael!

2008-03-06T22:46:00.002-05:00

So, we are once again expecting a storm this weekend, but this one is coming from the south (wet and warm) and mixing with coastal moisture (wet and warm). So, I don't expect powder :(! But I thought i would include the snowfall map from accuweather.com. It looks like a whale. They even have articles that talk about how this is a "whale of a storm." But I thought the snowfall map was entertaining! Enjoy.

Look what the trees grew over night

2008-03-03T19:03:00.006-05:00

Yep it is that time of year. Last night I went to bed after my glorious day of church and snow shoeing, slept amazingly well, woke up and looked out the window...WHAT? That was fast. These buckets showed up everywhere in the area, literally over night. Ok, next year March 1st I'm going out to claim MY trees. Seriously I'm going to try this out.

Thanks to Wikipedia:
Traditionally, maple syrup was harvested by tapping a maple tree through the bark and into the wood phloem, then letting the sap run into a bucket, which required daily collecting. (Ok, maybe not, DAILY, do I have time for this....mmmmm, but think of the syrup!)

Vermont is the biggest U.S. producer, with 450,000 US gallons in 2007, followed by Maine with 225,000 US gallons and New York with 224,000 US gallons. (Maybe I should just make some at my friends' houses in Vermont! ;)!)

Maple syrup
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 260 kcal 1090 kJ

Carbohydrates	67.09 g
- Sugars 59.53 g
- Dietary fiber 0 g
Fat	0.20 g
Protein	0 g
Thiamin (Vit. B1) 0.006 mg	0%
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.01 mg	1%
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.03 mg	0%
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.036 mg	1%
Vitamin B6 0.002 mg	0%
Folate (Vit. B9) 0 μg	0%
Vitamin C 0 mg	0%
Calcium 67 mg	7%
Iron 1.20 mg	10%
Magnesium 14 mg	4%
Phosphorus 2 mg	0%
Potassium 204 mg	4%
Zinc 4.16 mg	42%

Here are the nutritional facts on Maple syrup. 3.5 oz, that is about a half a glass of water... that seems like a lot of syrup. Oh well, maybe I just don't like my waffles swimming in syrup. But look at all the zinc and iron. What a lovely way to get your zinc and iron for the day! In the name of getting my minerals, I'll let my waffles swim! ;)

I'll have to let you all know what happens next year; if I get a spot in the maple monopoly!

Also, for those of you who have been anxiously waiting: the new pony has a name. We went out today for a lovely hour 20 minute ride today and it hit me. So, my mountain bike's name is Sir Issac, as in Newton, because when I got him I was working on my thesis and it was Newtonian physics I was using to figure things out, like muscle power. Well, now I think of Euler mechanics. The difference is that Leonhard Euler (pronounced 'oiler') agreed with Newton but rewrote Newtons laws (like an object stays at rest unless acted upon by an external force), which only are valid for particles, to apply to rigid bodies. So they are similar but have different application to the object defined. We derive the Euler equations of motion using the Lagrangian method, so if I am so lucky to get a cyclocross bike soon, I already have a name for him :)! So my mountain bike: Sir Issac, and my road stallion: Euler are going to be very good friends to me. See you get it, they seemingly do the same thing, the wheels go round because you push on the pedals but they have two different applications! OH yes, I am ever so clever.

So what did I do with all the new snow...

2008-03-02T15:31:00.005-05:00

...I went snowshoeing! WOOHOO! It was so much fun. I just thought after church today I would go for a walk in the woods, so I strapped on the shoes and off I went. And ironically enough I was near the Robert Frost trail. I say near, because when it is winter and you have snow shoes on...what trail? I don't need no stinking trail! :)

ok, there is no need to feel sorry for me!

2008-03-01T16:41:00.004-05:00

We got 14" in about 10 hours from 9pm to 7am last night. And it was light and fluffy. Any Utahn would be stoked. No really. I'm not sure yet why people bag on Eastern skiing. We have received 50" in the last week and not one day has been wet and heavy. Look at the pile outside the private ski school building! Today we started at 730am with fresh tracks that no words can describe. Oh yeah, and think about this. As I was walking in to work this morning with some of my friends, it dawned on me, there was something missing on such a wonderful dump morning...it was quiet. No loud bombs going off. We joke about how they should set some off just for the ambiance, but that means that EVERYTHING WAS OPEN right off the bat! So, how great was that! I took a few pics to share: check out my car! I drove up to VT last night before the storm hit. A friend suggested it last night and it was a good idea. So, I just drove up and "barged" in on some friends up there, slept in until 630 and was ready to ski at 730 and I didn't have to fight the traffic and the storm. What a great IDEA! What a great day!

MY NEW FRIEND IS HERE!

2008-02-18T19:31:00.003-05:00

I would just like to show you all my newest friend! I just got it, after a long drive. I haven't taken it out yet, well, because it is winter. But we just had a lovely ride on rollers this evening. I worked all weekend for the Holiday weekend and it was incredible. The people I work with are really fun and the clients, well, they tip REALLY well. Oh, and we have incredible teaching terrain! Our "bunny" slope has LIFT! And we have three magic carpets. Not that I spend much time over there, but it sure makes it nice for those who are. Many people I work with are here in MA and they told me of a new way to get to and from work and it cuts off at least 15 minutes each way, and it is 10 miles less. That is unbelievable. That means I get up there in about an hour...not bad! And it is a beautiful drive, and I'm hoping to do it as a ride in the summer.

Well, when I get a name for the new pony I'll let you all known. I hoped you all had a great weekend!

What PhD students get excited about

2008-02-12T18:12:00.000-05:00

It was like Christmas for me today. I finally got a book I had ordered (see picture) and I went around showing some of my Profs because I new they would appreciate it. Silly I know, but hey, what can I say? A day in the life of a PhD student. And yes it is long, it is 672 pages of really small type font! WOO HOO!

Let it snow, and some more and some more!

2008-02-10T17:41:00.000-05:00

So this week has been pretty uneventful. We haven't seen the sun in over a week, I taught my first week of classes, and I worked way too hard on an assignment that I later found out was only supposed to be a bit of calculation and no writing. ( I wrote 2 pages of text and added 7 tables of data, oops! ) As you can see it snowed yesterday at work. The morning started off as a warm, cloudy day. I taught a group lesson of two adult women in the morning. But get this. If they bought an "adult lesson" then it is only an hour, if you have fewer than three students. If you have three or more, it is two hours. If someone comes up with a "day one/two/three" ticket, it is two hours. If one person comes up with one of those tickets and the other person in your group has a "normal" ticket, you teach a two hour lesson. So confusing, and I'm not sure why, but I can tell you that one hour lessons are hard. It has been so long since I have taught a one hour, and I taught two yesterday. Later in the day I had a one hour private. I had another one hour no show me, but again I got paid for it. FANTASTIC! I had another two hour private as well. So, it was a easy 5 hour day ending in snow, Snow, SNOW!

As I said, it was a totally different day in the afternoon. About 130 it started snowing, and I was thinking it was just windy and cold, and that there hadn't been that much snow. By 430 when I got to my car there were three inches on it and slow moving traffic. It took me almost 45 minutes to get out of the "mount snow" area, about 4 miles from my parking spot (which by the way isn't that far from my locker, which is nice). The snow had begun to pile up on the road and cars were slipping everywhere. The whole time I was thinking how lucky I was to have a Jeep. All those poor people from CT and NY who had Infinities, Hondas, and Toyotas were having a lot of trouble. Ultimately it only took me 2 hours to get home, which is amazing. If you knew where I actually go that would amaze you. Sure it is only 62 miles away and in another state, but it seems like a whole different world. That is just the way this place is, everything you want to do is close, so you can do so many things in a day. Since I work I don't really have a day to go off and explore around here in the winter, but that is ok, I get to drive to Vermont EVERY WEEKEND! We have received even more snow today and we are expecting more all week long. So, president's day WEEK should be fun. Maybe I'll have funny stories for you all.

Oh, I do have a funny story. I was teaching a little girl on Saturday who was really funny and kind of fun to ski with, although I did have to yell, "Sydney, slow down please!" a few too many times for my health. But she loved to hang on the "strings" in the lift lines. At Mount Snow we get a "service" line that we share with the ski patrol. No matter what type of class you have you can use the line. She was a private, so we went in there no mater what, but we would be in there all by ourselves waiting for the lift operator to tell us we could go. I had strategically put her on my right every time, but she could play with the "string" on that side anyway, even though I would ask her not to. On the final ride, the string on the right was down, and I had slid to the left. Being pretty quick, she said I'm going to go on this side this time. I said, no, no, I need you on my right. She said why, there is no string over there? I said, I know, but i need to be able to help you get on and I can only do that with my right arm. She asked, WHY? I told her that my thumb was hurt and that I wouldn't be able to lift her. She said let me see. I told her if she moved to my right I would show her on the lift. We got on pretty uneventfully. I then took my glove off to show her my left thumb all taped up, and even showed her the lovely dark bruise in the crick of my joint. She looked at me and said OH. I asked, did you think I was teasing you? She said (with a sad look on her face) yes, I just thought you didn't want me to play with the string! It was a pretty good exchange, and hopefully she learned that not everyone is teasing her :)!

OH and by the way, yes, I did re-injure my thumb. It totally bruised up and I have lost a lot of my motion. I went to Urgent Care last night and I got a brace for it and a referral to a hand specialist. I won't have anything done until after ski season if anything has to be done, but I'll keep you all updated on the "thumb status." :) But it is true, I've returned to being half a lower life form: no opposable thumb! :)

Mount Snow

2008-02-02T18:53:00.000-05:00

So, I worked my first day at Mount Snow today. It was so windy only three lifts were open. That made teaching at a new resort very interesting. But I made it to the proper terrain for the students AND I didn't get lost. Oh, and I only had to look at the map I stashed in my pocket once :)! As you can see, we might not be tall, but we are fairly big. Big enough to get lost on the first day. I also included some pictures of the drive: an open valley with a dairy farm, the cute little town I turn right to go and left to go home, and the view from one of the peaks I drive over. It was really cloudy and windy so the pictures aren't too clear. When the weather is better I'll get more up.

Thought you all might like to know, too, that Mount Snow is not named because it is so snowy or because we are trying to make our 250 inches of annual snowfall sound any better than it is. In 1953 Mount Pisgah was purchased from Mr. Snow by "Walt" a Russian immigrant who moved to VT to live in the snow. Funny where names come from!

More Mount Snow facts:
Summit Elevation: 3,600 ft (1,100 m)

Vertical Drop: 1,700 ft (520 m)

Skiable area: 768 acres (3.11 km²)

Trails: 135

Snowmaking: 86%

Lifts 19 Total: 4 High Speed Quads: 3 - Fixed Quads: 1 - Triples: 7 - Doubles: 4 - Surface Lifts: 3 - Rope Tows: 1

Trail ratings:

Green Circle (novice): 20%

Blue Square (more difficult): 63%

Black Diamond (most difficult): 17%

Parks & pipes

The Gut: a 460-foot (140 m)-long, 18-foot (5.5 m)-high competition superpipe. The Vermontster: The longest, and most poorly named, terrain park in the East at 4,940 feet (1,506 m) to be installed in the 2007-2008 season. Un Blanco Gulch: The East’s original snowboard park. Jiblet: A specially designed park with smaller features. Grommet: Another specially designed park with smaller features. Au Natural: A terrain park designed from natural snow. (So, I better get my park and pipe skills honed!)

My comment: it has FANTASTIC teaching terrain and the people I work with are very friendly and fun. And while there are no BIG, majestic mountain views, looking out over the famous ridge lines of Vermont which are lined with leafless birch trees right now is beautiful, too. And while I miss Sundance and all its people, sometimes a change of "scenary" is good. To mix it up and get out of ruts is often fun, exciting, and helpful in so many ways! As it appears that so much has changed in my resort, somethings haven't. We are still horribly understaffed (we need at least 50 more people to keep up with the demand), we struggle with no shows (with no notification) and we struggle with being so busy there isn't time for training. Somethings change, somethings always stay the same. ;)

YOU ALL SHOULD COME OUT AND ENJOY SOUTHERN VERMONT SKIING WITH ME! (If for no other reason, but for breakfast before skiing with REAL maple syrup!) :)

Holy SLEET!

2008-02-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

WE got some moisture
today, but nothing white and fluffy...we got an inch to two of SLEET! It accumulated as slush on the roads and made it yucky to walk home from the bus stop. Just thought you all might like to see the sleet we saw today....blech!

OK the pictures are in!

2008-01-31T23:04:00.000-05:00

I promised Christmas Rockband pictures would be up soon. Well here they are! Don't we look like a real rock band...as in we look STONED! :)

Get lost!

2008-01-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I don't always want to get lost, nor do I want others to get lost, but I'm so HAPPY Lost is back on the air. Sadly, it was like a long "lost" friend who came to sit and hang out for the evening. I only watch ONE show EVERY WEEK and this was it. I really hope the writers strike gets over soon so that I can have a whole season to get lost!

Life is funny sometimes!

2008-01-28T21:34:00.000-05:00

So a week ago I was skiing at Snowbird in 17 new inches of snow and today I rode my bike (indoors of course). I went and got all my toys from my great friends who watched my "life" while I was gone. (Boy, I'm a brat, kind of...too many toys.) It is most certainly still winter here so there won't be much riding outside right now, but I'm going to enjoy my indoor time. OH HOW I LOVE THE BIKE!

Movie review? or an interesting occurance?

2008-01-27T17:13:00.000-05:00

Over the break I didn't have much time to do anything, but I did get out to see two movies. One of which was "I am Legend." Well, I thought the movie was just a shock, horror movie and not what I expected at all. (In fact i was kind of disappointed in Will Smith, but the doggie was great and very cute!) Then I decided I would read the book. Sort of backwards because most of the time we read the book then are disappointed by the movie. Had I followed tradition, I would have been severely disappointed by the movie because it deviated from the book SOOOOO much. But I'm glad I read the 1954 novel by Richard Matheson after seeing the movie. It wasn't the best book ever, and it is about some pretty out there ideas of "the end of the world." However, it addresses more of the psychological effects of thinking you were the last man on earth and how the main character deals with the "reality," everything I thought the movie was missing. Oh, and without trying to spoil it, there isn't a Hollywood happy ending like there was in the movie. It isn't a very long book, and if you would like to read a book that kind of keeps you on your toes, has twists and turns and delves into the life of (maybe a spoiler) vampires, you might enjoy this frivolous book.

Well, I'm back home now.

2008-01-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

I had a great time working, skiing, and playing Xbox 360 (mostly Rockband, I highly recommend it)! But now it is time to get back to my real life, which I can't wait for. Here are some skiing/snow pictures from the crazy 5 weeks. There are some pictures floating around of my playing the drums on Rockband, when I get those, I'll post them. But for now, enjoy the pretty pictures.

The plane ride was uneventful except for an hour and a half delay because the first plane we had had a broken door. It couldn't close. I'm glad we switched planes :)!

Well, school, ice storms, and working in VT awaits me this week. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say and a few pics! Have a great week where ever you are! Love what you do, do what you love!

THIS was worth it!

2008-01-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have written, not because I haven't had a lot of fun, but actually I've been so busy and tired. I had a fun time with Jendy and Davin in Connecticut, christmas at Kipper's, working through Christmas week and making a lot of money, losing my voice in the wind and cold for three days, and playing Rockband and NCAA 2008 football. Ok, so maybe I had time to do that but not enough energy to think about what to say on my blog. But after today's TWO runs, I feel rejuvenated! The storm that pounded my mom in California and left "feet" in the Sierra didn't give us THAT much, but it sure gave us enough. The next few days will bring us more snow, but today was great enough to make me happy.

The last day of my first semester.

2007-12-21T22:13:00.000-05:00

Well, the poor Biomechanics undergrads had to stay around for the final time slot of this week to take their final. We had a review session last night and they were really hurting. I tried to help them out but I think I scared them more. So, Brian (my mentor) and I walked down to the testing room, which wasn't in our building, the final schedule is super weird around here. Anyway, we got there with plenty of time for me to sit and chat with some of my students. Then we passed out the test and the scantrons...well we were a few short and Brian ran up to get more, so I stayed there as the kids started the test. As I sat there waiting for one of them to ask a question, I looked at them and I was sad. They were a great class, good people, very fun, and I had a good relationship with them. I am sad to see them go. My first little chickens, off to fight bigger battles! Well, good luck little clucks! Thanks for such a great first semester!

MARS! WOW! and Space violence

2007-12-21T21:25:00.001-05:00

SO I just found this picture, and many more, from the Hubble telescope. This is from the closest pass of Hubble to Mars! AMAZING!

From: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/37/full/

A powerful jet from a supermassive black hole is blasting a nearby galaxy, according to new data from NASA observatories. This never-before witnessed galactic violence may have a profound effect on planets in the jet's path and trigger a burst of star formation in its destructive wake.

Known as 3C 321, the system contains two galaxies in orbit around each other. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show both galaxies contain supermassive black holes at their centers, but the larger galaxy has a jet emanating from the vicinity of its black hole. The smaller galaxy apparently has swung into the path of this jet.

This "death star galaxy" was discovered through the combined efforts of both space and ground-based telescopes. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope were part of the effort. The Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, N.M., and the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) telescopes in the United Kingdom also were needed for the finding.

"We've seen many jets produced by black holes, but this is the first time we've seen one punch into another galaxy like we're seeing here," said Dan Evans, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. and leader of the study. "This jet could be causing all sorts of problems for the smaller galaxy it is pummeling."

I almost forgot.

2007-12-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

Ok the lifts are NUTS at Tremblant. (see previous blog for pictures) All the ones I went on are high speed quads and I have to say, no other quad I have been on is like this. They go as fast as the gondola and you fly into the bull wheel, so fast you don't think you are going to stop. Then it throws on the breaks right before the ramp, but not before you can use all the momentum to get off super fast if you time it right. So much fun!

And the lifts close at 330pm...what? why so early? Well, because we were so far north that it got dark early enough that in order to be safe in getting people off the hill, they have to close early...how cool is that?

Bonjour!

2007-12-19T22:07:00.000-05:00

So, the big thing I did this week was go to Canada! Yes, Canada. I went to Mont Tremblant to go skiing for a few days, during FINALS WEEK, how crazy is that? Well the whole experience was crazy from the beginning. These are some of the pictures I took of the "base" and the hill.

So, lets start off with the drive up through Vermont. Well, I missed the turn off to get to Burlington, which isn't that big of a deal because we could get into Canada another way, it would just take a bit longer. No worries. Until a VT state patrol vehicle followed me for about 10 miles, after he had already passed me. The only way I could get him off my tail was to turn off at Newport VT. That is another story. This little town was where we decided to get food and gas. There was ONE light, completely unplowed roads and no one around at 830 at night. There were very funny people who helped us though, funny in a hick, let's make fun of them kind of way. So, we went out to THE light and "banged" a left and got back out on 91.

Well then we went through a BIG border patrol. I didn't get a picture because the story of crossing was much more hectic. Let me explain. We pulled in about 9 and no one else was there. I pulled out my passport and the guy who was with me had his license. Well, we were asked several questions, and then were told to pull around and "come inside." So, we did. We then were asked several more questions, some of them repeated, probably to see if we would change our answers. We didn't, but they proceeded to check something out. We never did find out, but a half hour later we were allowed to enter Canada. Maybe it was the California drivers license of the guy, or was it the Utah plates of someone who goes to school in Massachusetts with a passport from Germany? Who knows, but that was quite the adventure.
Then we drove down dix ouest (10 west) into Montreal. There wasn't much out there, and it was strangely different from Northern Vermont. Vermont is completely rugged and wooded and right over the boarder Canada turns into flat nothingness. Interestingly the boarder is halfway to the north pole, which I though was cool.
Then we drove through Montreal which was fine because it was well signed. But then when we were driving to Tremblant, the adventure became even more interesting. I didn't know exactly where to get off, I figured that it would be easy to find. HA! There was the "Mont Tremblant" and "Mont Tremblant ski resort" and one came before the other...I'll let you guess which one came first. So, of course, that was the off ramp we took. Well, that road proceeded to drive AROUND Mont Tremblant. There was a sign that said, Tremblant 25 km...no sweat! That road ended and then there was a fork in the road (See the sign, sorry it is fuzzy, it was late and super dark). Notice that it says Tremblant in really fancy print and it was to the right only 3 km and to the left the plain sign says Mont Tremblant is 22 km. Well, after having driven 25 km already we thought for sure to the right was the right choice. It wasn't, although the next day skiing I learned that it was the "backside" or the north side. So we were close, just not where we were to stay. SO we drove 22 km to the left to the ski resort. Well, was that just a normal drive? NO! It was on a dirt road covered in about 4-6 inches of snow with many switch backs and whoopdie dues! That was awesome and at 1200 at night, it just made the story that much better, and becomes one more time I've taken the jeep off road after midnight. But to know that I did it in Canada is pretty cool.

Well, it was cold the first day (-4 F) but the snow was awesome. Then the next day it was a bit warmer (20 F) but the wind made it feel worse than the day before. But again, the snow was incredible. The mountain was big with a lot to choose from. I pretty much skied the bumps all day long for two days...my back is killing me. I know, waah! I got about 50 runs in in two days and, believe me, I'm not complaining, just telling. It was a great two days of skiing in Canada with a great adventure of travels. (Actually, the ride home was void of adventure except for traveling Canada speeds on a country road racing to the boarder in a blizzard...those canadians are crazy drivers.)

Caroling at the OSV.

2007-12-19T21:56:00.001-05:00

The young men and women of the stake had an invite to Old Sturbridge Village to sing. OSV opens around Christmas time at night for Christmas festivities, including caroling. It was really fun, with a lot of fun things to make and do. My driver kind of got lost, ok we got really lost, so we actually missed the singing part, but we still got to take part in the fun.
This is one of two churches portrayed at the Village. This night there was a real choir singing inside all dressed up in red robes for Christmas. I'm glad we weren't part of THAT choir and were THAT late.
This is a large family home in the town square and people were making people shadows all night.
This is where we would have been had we made it in time to sing, by the campfire!

Ok the end result of the storm!

2007-12-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

Ok so here it is, the final pictures of yesterday's storm. Jeepers got a little buried. I've seen worse, but this is pretty good. The box on top sure makes it look as if there is more snow than there is.

In most places the snow was just pushed off the road, this was one of the few places that the snow was just scraped away so we can see exactly how much fell. Just remember, before yesterday there was no snow, so everything you see came yesterday.
This is a little stream by my house. It is starting to freeze over, can't wait for that!This is a local family farm. The field was all corn when I first got here. Notice the corn in front of the barn on the left. If you look in the background you can see the library at UMass.

Another field that was completely bare yesterday morning. Kind of looks like typical New England, no?
I think I know why people only put up wreaths and maybe a few lights, because with some snow every house looks Christmasy.

Even garbage containers and mail boxes look better with snow!

Now those who rest in peace have a blanket of snow!

Finally, I noticed these tracks as I was running along a fairly busy road. They started on one side then started back over on this side. There are signs all over the place that show a snowmobiler...as in, watch for them. Now I get it. There were snowmobile tracks everywhere once I started looking. People were just outside having fun yesterday!

Like I needed another reason to get a dog!

2007-12-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

But this is amazing and I might just have to teach any dog I get to do this. This was the best quality I could find...just watch the whole thing and you'll see enough!

The snow is falling....

2007-12-13T17:23:00.000-05:00

I know you are all probably sick and tired of hearing about the weather, especially the snow. But today is different. We got 12 inches in 4 hours. The world went from an icy mess to a beautiful, white world. In preparation of the snow, UMass closed at 12. So, the class I TA for and my final modeling class were canceled. Well, they were off by about 45 minutes and by 1230 when I left there were about 3 inches on the ground already. This batch was pretty light too, like my first storm. But instead of showing the "snow" I took pictures of the neighborhood. Enjoy!

So I was my house working on one of my finals, making a computer model of a person jump as high as we can, and I looked outside my window and saw this...
Then I put on my really warm new jacket and went for a walk. As I started, three scrappers turned up my street. I stood and watched because I thought they were lining up to clear our road and I didn't want to get in the way. As it turns out, they just use our street to turn around.
This is my house. The front was almost all grass this morning and there was nothing on the roof. When I opened the door to go out, I had a hard time because of all the snow that was piled up outside the door.

As I walked along the road I stopped to take pictures of the decorations. I didn't get a chance to take Halloween decoration pictures, so I figured I had better do Christmas. This neighbor of mine went a bit too commercial in my opinion, but look at the santa and the snowman: they fell over due to the snow. HE HE HE!
Now, these two neighbors are a bit more representative of what people do around here. They maybe put a simple, traditional wreath on their door (which they probably purchased at a local stand, you know, the same ones that sell fruits and veggies in the summer and mounds of pumpkins in the fall) and single candle-like lights in each window.

Finally this is the road in question...no plow s wen t over it today, so it is abou t 4 -7 inches deep. No wonder I didn't go anywhere this afternoon. Here's wishin g you all a wonderful winter day!

What a night!

2007-12-12T21:04:00.000-05:00

So, I ended up staying at school until almost 730pm tonight. I just got into my work and I didn't leave. When I realized what time it was, I jumped up and ran out to catch the bus. Well, I missed the bus by about 20 sec. Had I started jogging once I left my building I would have caught it, but I didn't start until I had already walked a distance. I was so close to the bus I could smell the exhaust. I decided I would jog to the next stop, then the next, then the next, until I saw the bus coming. So, I took off, running along the snowy sidewalks. As I ran, I remembered that late at night the buses come every 30 minutes; during the day, they come every 15. I thought, it takes me 45 minutes to walk to school, so if I run, it will probably take me no more than 30 minutes. That would have meant that by the time I got home the bus would be at the stop where I missed the bus...so off I ran. At one point, I had to cross a busy street, so I stopped to make sure that I could make it across safely in the dark. As I did, I looked up. WOW, one can see so many stars. I realized that I hadn't been outside in a situation to see the sky in the dark since I had moved here. So I never noticed how many stars someone could see out here in Western Mass. We haven't seen the sun for several days now, but tonight is the final clearing before a decent storm moves in so it was gorgeous. So, I'm really glad I chose to run. (I can't wait for this one...could be pretty big!) Oh, and if you were wondering, I made it home and was almost done cooking my dinner when the bus, that I would have been on had I waited, when speeding by. :) Good choice all around!

'tis a sad sad day

2007-12-06T09:05:00.000-05:00

T-Mobile Pulls Out Of Cycling! If any of you would like to read for yourself.
http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-3-12-16633-1,00.html?cm_mmc=Bicycling%20NL-_-2007_12_06-_-News-_-tmobile

But now with T-Mobtile and Gerolsteiner both gone as sponsors, who is this Germany fan going to root for? Oh, maybe MILKA will sponsor a team...now that would be great! Purple cow kits riding in the tour...I can see it now! I love it...now how to get it into action? HMMMMM! :)

Today was an extremely cold start to the morning...single digits. I was talking with someone at church last night and she said this is the coldest start to a winter she can remember. I believe it is a nice welcome for me...welcome to MA. :) But I find it funny because all the computer models said that this was going to be a warm winter, warmer than last winter which was a record warm, with more rain than snow. Well, we have had more snow than rain so far the whole time I have been here, and it certainly isn't warm. So, don't believe everything you read/hear.

A quote to ponder

2007-12-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.

FDR

I fixed it!

2007-12-02T08:28:00.000-05:00

I have been told by a few of you that you were unable to leave comments. Well, my response was always, hmmm, I wonder why? I found out why. Without going into huge detail, I fixed it, so anyone who wants to leave a comment, now can. :)

OH boy!

2007-12-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

Well, the storm that left some white stuff in Utah and CO, that drenched the four corners area and is dumping on MN, is heading this way. There isn't a big "warning", as in, get food and water and hunker down, but it may bring me my first real Nor'easter! I'm pretty excited except for the fact that today is a beautifully sunny day but with the wind chill it is in the single digits. So, I decided today would be a good day to put up my Christmas tree.
I'll be sure to give exciting weather updates if anything exciting happens! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Crime update

2007-11-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

I was reading the Amherst Bulletin again while doing laundry and I read two very funny crime reports. Once again there were only two reports for Sunderland for the week. The first was a DUI, the other:

"Police received a complaint Nov. 23 at 8 am from a North Plain Road resident regarding a neighbor doing yard work too early in the morning."

8 AM? That is too early? Oh boy, busy week again. :)

Other surrounding "crimes" I found funny or at least entertaining:

Monday, Nov. 19th, 10:41pm: People arguing at a Hallock street home were determined to just be having a friendly rivalry while playing a video game. (We'll have none of that fun going on here!)

Wednesday Nov. 21, 10:04am: A woman walking her dog in the middle of Belchertown Road causing vehicles to swerve around her was not located by police. The woman also allegedly made obscene gestures at passing vehicles when they honked at her. (I better watch what I do when cars come close to me, people might accuse me of riding in the middle of the road waving obscene gestures!)

Thursday Nov. 22, 6:09pm: people walking around and beneath a house that will be moved from Kendrick Park were determined to be the people who will own the house. (Beneath the house?)

Nov. 22 Amherst, 3pm: a COW was reported loose on North East Street :) (In Vermont the buses look like cows, and it is called the MOOver, maybe it was just a bus?)

Finally:
Nov. 22, 6:10pm: Loud noise caused by objects dropping on the floor at a Kellogg Avenue home was quiet when police got there. (Well, now I'm surprised no one called on me when I fell off my bike, talk about objects dropping on the floor! :)!)

May your days only be filled with meaningless crimes to fill your nights with laughter!

Today was a good day!

2007-11-30T17:58:00.000-05:00

A bad day skiing beats any great day at school. And today was good day skiing. I will only say it was GREAT! because I was skiing! There were only three lifts open, but the snow was good. Most of it was "man-made" but Mt Snow has new, fancy fan guns, so the snow was light and fluffy...NO REALLY it was! So after one day of skiing here in the East, not much different from Deer Valley. Nice long, open, groomers! Mt Snow is a bit over an hour from my house on a good weather day, YES! This is a google earth map of my "commute" to work. Oh didn't I tell you, I'm working there part time as a ski instructor...he he he. Like I'm going to pay to ski, HA! :) The quiet freeway drive with very few cars and the narrow, curvy road through a few tiny towns to work, that ain't half bad! (I know it is kind of hard to see, but follow the purple line.)

Check out what it says on the first tower after you clear the bull wheel (see picture). I think there should be such a law in Utah. Can you imagine getting the ticket? Failure to lower the bar. HA HA HA
The next pole had a sign that I really liked: (sorry no picture)
Mount Snow Motto: Make it easy. Make it fun. Make some hot chocolate!
Sounds like a great ski day to me...in fact, I'm off to make some right now.

And for my Sundance friends who may be afraid of how much I might miss sundance, one of the three base lodges (and a lift and run) are named "sundance." So, I will be reminded every day I'm at work of my wonderful friends and how I got where I am as a ski instructor. :)

We also....

2007-11-25T16:45:00.000-05:00

...built and decorated a Gingerbread house. My mom brought a ready-made kit will all the trimmings and fixings. Well, you all know me, I'm not going to follow the "instructions", I'm going to decorate it the way I want to. So, I made it look like a cabin should in my mind...snow draped off the peak of the roof, icicles hanging precariously from the eves, and snow billows pilling up outside the house. Well, considering all I to work with was icing, I think you get the image I was trying to portray. Oh, and I did think it looked a bit bland without evergreens flanking the house or a light on inside signaling to the onlooker that someone is home, so I put a red robin on the top (see red speck on the roof?)...so what it was a small ball of sugar...if I want it to be a robin, that is what it is. :)! Me and my imagination...I am a little wacky.

By the way, the chimney is gone...so is the snowman, and I'm thinking about making my way with the roof tonight! YUMMY!

Thanksgiving in New England

2007-11-24T17:40:00.001-05:00

My mom came out to visit for Thanksgiving and we went to Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really good. Everything one would expect for a "typical" meal and MUCH MUCH more. Unfortunately we weren't able to take leftovers home, but it was buffet style so we could eat as much as we wanted to. OSV is a museum village that has buildings and other original "things" from all over New England, brought together to show what it was like in a small town. There were town homes, churches, mills, stores, etc. It was pretty cool to see what it may have looked like long long ago. And it was neat to be in the area where the idea of the Thanksgiving feast first happened.

When one starts off in the main museum area, there are a few smaller exhibits about food and living habits. There was a room that had so many clocks I couldn't count them. I was just glad they all didn't tick...wow that would have been a seriously disturbing room if they had all been ticking.

In the room, it tried to explain why "clocks" were so important to New Englanders and there was a plaque that explained why:

Early New Englanders thought of time primarily as an earthly period between birth and death to be lived in such a way as to reflect the glory of God in each individual. Men and women responded to daily and seasonal rhythms, but they paid relatively little attention to smaller time segments...An hourglass symbolized the relentless and continuous passage of one's entire time on earth, although Father Time with his scythe could cut life short at any moment.

I thought this was an interesting way to think about life.

There were actually two churches in the "village." I'm not sure what denomination the congregation was of the church on the left, but it seemed like a typical New England look. The picture on the right is the inside of the Society of Friends congregation...yep, the Quakers. I loved their simplicity, although it was much colder in there than it was outside. :)

This are views of the village. Which is interesting...add more trees and a bit more room in between the buildings and New England hasn't changed much.

This was an interesting view from the store, but then there was a guy who got in the picture...
These are two pictures of the same bridge by a cute pond. It did make me think, where is Ichabod Crane when you need him? Can't you hear the headless horseman...I can.

"About two hundred yards from the tree, a small brook crossed the road, and ran into a marshy and thickly-wooded glen, known by the name of Wiley's Swamp. A few rough logs, laid side by side, served for a bridge over this stream. On that side of the road where the brook entered the wood, a group of oaks and chestnuts, matted thick with wild grape-vines, threw a cavernous gloom over it. To pass this bridge was the severest trial. It was at this identical spot that the unfortunate Andre was captured, and under the covert of those chestnuts and vines were the sturdy yeomen concealed who surprised him. This has ever since been considered a haunted stream, and fearful are the feelings of the school-boy who has to pass it alone after dark." (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving)

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving...now, let's all pray for snow!!!