New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again people, another year has passed, and a new one is upon us. How did that happen? Let'’s see here… One year ago, I had just returned to California after having had a very successful job interview and job offer from my new (and now current) company and was beginning to prepare for the arduous task of preparing to move some 1200 miles here to Cody. The year 2004 was no picnic for me, and it wasn't going to take much for 2005 to be a much better year, so I didn't bother making any New Year'’s Resolutions outside of just having a successful move. The move was of course successful, even though getting my car to Wyoming proved to be somewhat of a fiasco. The transport company couldn't get their shit together so I wound up flying out to San Jose and picking it up, which was cool because when it came to Wyoming, the trunk was full of wine.

This year, I have decided to make a couple Resolutions.

1. Meet More People -– Yesterday, I got myself a membership at the local recreation center, which is quite nice for a little town like Cody. The reason to join the rec center was not for the sole intention of getting into shape, but because since I have lived in Cody for nearly a year now, I have met only a few people outside of work. When I lived in that shitty little town in Indiana, I met a lot of interesting people at the rec center there who surprisingly weren't white trash like what comprised most of the population in that town. I figure that if I was able to meet some cool people in Washington Indiana, I should be able to do the same here.

2. Biennial Flight Review - It is time. I have to do it. I was looking at my log book the other day, and the last time that I put any solo time in there was on September 23, 2000. The last time that any dual time was put in was on November 2, 2002. (interestingly, that dual time was signed off by an old friend from college who is a professional pilot now, we flew a 2001 Cessna 182 that day, San Carlos to Watsonville and back, talk about a $250 burrito at Zuniga'’s) The last few trips that I have made to Western Colorado for work would only take about 2 ½ hours in a Cessna 172, as opposed to 9 hours of driving, so there is a good reason too. Yes! I can do that under Part 91.

So, there you have it. Two very good, very doable New Year's Resolutions. I will keep everyone posted on how I am coming on it.

Sometimes, I even amaze myself...

An old friend of mine sent me a surprise Christmas Present that showed up yesterday... It's an Oshizishi Wooden Sushi Press. Basically it's a little wooden box that is shaped like a long rectangle that you use as a die for building a California Roll. Wow! Such a simple little thing! But oh the results... I made rolls utilizing sliced cucumber, carrot, and avacado. I also made some rolls with Philly Cream Cheese, and Smoked Salmon (Lox of course). Sometimes, I even amaze myself...

What a week...

Last week I took a road trip to Colorado and Utah for work to visit a few the airports that we provide engineering and planning services for. On the way I checked on Rawlins WY (RWL), Craig CO (CAG), Meeker CO (EEO), Rangely CO (4V0) and Vernal UT (VEL). When I got to Craig last Monday afternoon, it was just beginning to snow, which wasn't a good thing since my reason for being there was to inspect and measure cracks in the asphalt pavement that comprises the apron there (the apron is the area where planes park and are usually tied down). Luckily the next morning it wasn't too terribly cold, and once the snow was plowed, what little was left behind on the ramp quickly melted away.

The visibility was poor that morning, and since the Yampa Valley Airport in Hayden (HDN) is only about 15 nautical miles away CAG, CAG gets used as an alternate quite often. After I got done going for a ride around the airport with the airport manager, a Piper Navajo came roaring in and a DHL truck sped up to it to transfer some packages. I was sitting inside of the FBO at this point, and in walked the pilot of the Navajo. He told me he diverted here because the visibility was 4 miles and at the same time was 1/2 mile and wish at Hayden. Freight Dogs (pilots who risk their lives flying dangerous single pilot IFR in airplanes that are demanding to operate all the while making not more than $15,000/year) are always interesting to talk to. These guys usually have a lot of time on their hands at odd times throughout the day, so they are usually very well read and up to date on the latest news of the day. That morning in about 5 minutes I learned all about corruption in city government in Chicago, as well as about the airline that had the Grumman Goose that crashed in Florida last week.

I also go to see an old friend in Rifle Colorado the other night. This fella was my flight instructor while I lived there, and we became good friends in spite of this! It was great to see him, and he said something to me that really meant a lot.

"You look a helluva lot better than the last time that I saw you."

The last time that Mark had seen me was about a year and a half ago while I was still living in San Jose, during the time when I was going through all of the BS with my exgirlfriend, as well as all of the other crap that was going on in my life at the time with work and my personal finances. Suffice it to say, I was a MISERABLE person. So, it was great to hear him say that to me.

Then the weather changed! All of our snow is gone! No White Christmas this year... In spite of that, Christmas was great. I made Christmas Eve Dinner at my Mom and Dad's house. I made a pot of Cioppino, which turned out pretty damned good. I even amaze myself sometimes!

Seven-Five-Eight-Quebec-November

Seven-Five-Eight-Quebec-November is a 1980 Cessna R172K Hawk XP... It lives at the Craig-Moffat County Airport in Craig, Colorado... Word has it that she hasn't moved or flown in many years, which is a shame. The one thing that is hardest on an airplane above all else is to leave it sit. It is one thing to see an old Bonanza, or an old Cessna 310 sitting and rotting away on a ramp somewhere. That is at least understandable since it usually costs way more to bring some of those back up to airworthyness than they are worth. But to see this thing sitting and rotting brings a tear to one's eye, a Hawk XP is a serious mountain capable airplane, since it has a constant speed propeller and a Continental 195 HP IO-360 on it in place of the 160 HP Lycoming that a regular 172 of this vintage would have had on it. From what I was told, the owner is some obstinate son-of-a-bitch who lost his medical years ago, but yet won't sell it. People like that make me sick.

You get what you pay for!

On Tuesday evening, I made the trip back up to Billings to pick up my new suit. I could have waited until Saturday, but since I intend to wear said suit that evening at a Holiday Extravaganza, I decided that I would just get the trip overwith that night instead of rolling the dice on the weather. After I collected the suit from Dillard's, I decided to go check out the other sushi house in Billings, Na Ra Sushi. It's a simple little place in what I am sure is a remodeled gas station by it's general location, the size and layout of the parking lot and the location of the restroom within the restaraunt. I sat at the bar, which I think is wise in a sushi bar being 1200 miles from the ocean, that way you can see the fish that they are serving right in front of you. I ordered Maguro, Hamachi, and a Philadelphia roll. The peices of Nigiri were huge! Both the Maguro and Hamachi were almost a little more than a mouthful. (Mind you it is considered very very bad etiquitte in a Japanese restaraunt to not put the entire peice in your mouth). The Maguro was perfect, very fresh and it had that beautiful deep maroon color to it. The Hamachi was, well, it was edible. I have definitely on the edge, with a little bit of a fishy taste to it. Now one thing that has always amazed me about sushi grade fish is that it lacks the fishy smell and taste that normally accompanies fresh raw fish. Hamachi always has a little. This had more than usual! The Philidelphia roll, well usually when most places put out a Philidelphia roll, it's rice, seaweed paper, Philly cream cheese and good smoked salmon like lox that you would put on a bagel. Well not at this place... Rice, seaweed paper, cucumber, and smoked salmon. Smoked salmon sliced from a salmon steak... It was very disappointing... Edible however, but disappointing... It was a little cheaper than the other place downtown, but with sushi, you get what you pay for! You know where I will go next time!

Comparing Dollars TO Tin Donuts...

My previous post has garnered quite the attention, and has caused me to think about it a bit more... Because at first thought, what comes to my mind when I think of differential speed limits is I-5, those long lines of cars trying to pass the trucks that are going slower. But when you start really thinking about it, as my good friend has pointed out, you can't compare the two. While the amount of traffic on I-80 is great compared to what is on US 14 between Cody and Sheridan, or on the road between Cody and Billings, it is still no where near what is going through the system there in the Golden State. I have looked over all kinds of data recently comparing traffic counts between Wyoming and California, and to be honest, it is like comparing a row boat to the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth the Second. Here are some good order of magnitude type numbers, they aren't exact, but the order of magnitude is what is important.

Population of CA: Roughly 34,000,000
Population of WY: Roughly 480,000

CA average vehicle per lane mile: Roughly 800,000
WY average vehicle per lane mile: Roughly 300

See what I mean? Can't compare it. Doesn't make sense to. I have only made myself look like an arrogant idiot by trying to relate the two. But, I am a big enough man to take a step back and look at something from the other direction.

If I had stopped to think about it a bit more before writing about it, I probably would have written that differently, or quite possibly only written about the parking structure at UW. Even if trucks are going slower, there still aren't enough of them to impede the rest of the traffic through Wyoming. It will undoubtedly make things safer, by only increasing the time to traverse the state about an hour. Small price to pay for a little bit of extra safety for everyone. I'll admit it, I drive too fast sometimes, I try to do it only when it is safe to do so, but the fact of the matter still remains, slower speeds are safer. Like it or not... (and as a driver of a BMW, I don't like it, but there isn't anything that I can do about it, but come to the harsh realization that I too should slow down)

As for the city councilman in Laramie, I think I know why he has the position he does on this subject. During the summer of 2004, there was a terrible pile up on I-80 between Laramie and Cheyenne that claimed many lives and hurt a lot of people. The pile up was so terrible that there are people that are still unaccounted for, meaning that they burned up in the fires that ensued after the accident. That section of I-80 was closed for several days while the mess was removed and the investigation was conducted. I am not sure what the actual outcome was, but the fog and limited visibility was definitely the major contributing factor. This scared a lot of people thoughout the area when it happened, and I can see why they would be for lower speed limts for trucks. So I take back what I said about the councilman being an effing idiot.

The bottom line is this everyone, I am not anti-trucker, I am not pro-trucker, I just want everyone to be able to make it home at the end of their trip.

Dollars to Tin Donuts I tell you!

I read in the paper this morning that there is a City Councilman in Laramie, Wyoming who is urging state lawmakers to lower the speed limit for semi-trucks on state highways. This Effing Idiot has obviously never driven Interstate 5 in California between Sacramento and Los Angeles. California has different speed limits for trucks and cars, and not only does it increase the congestion, but in my opinion, it makes the likely hood of dangerous and deadly vehicular intercourse far, far greater. This bill has already been tried once before, but thankfully, the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Wyoming Trucking Association were able to keep it from happening. The Federal Highway Administration says that there isn't any difference in accident rates between states that have differential speed limits and those that do not. But let's look at it this way though, we have all been out there on the roads lately, and road rage isn't going away, I only see it getting worse. It's even happening in rural Wyoming. Some of the worst road rage I have seen has been on I-5, and what contributed? Long lines of cars trying to pass trucks that's what. Of course in California, people don't understand that the number one (left) lane is for passing and not for traveling in when you leave an urban area. Lowering the speed limit for trucks will only contribute to road rage, which makes the road more unsafe for everyone, because lets face it, some people out there, well, their heads aren't on straight when it comes to such things.

While I am talking about something that is related to Laramie, I gotta bring up the new Parking Structure that MUST BE BUILT at the University of Wyoming. It's been a long time coming, and the time is now, it will only become more expensive to build it the longer they wait. Governor Freudenthal is even pushing hard for it, he knows that's it's time to put up of shut up, as they have been trying to get it done for the last 20 years. The state finally has the money to do it, and it will only enhance the University environment. They keep talking about how they want to be a big time University, it's time to act like it! Face your problems and fix them! Parking can have only gotten worse since I graduated in 1998. They keep talking about student retention at UW, and how they need to do better. Laramie is a brutal place to live, to say the weather there is terrible is being nice. To say that there isn't much to do in Laramie is an understatement. Well, the way that I see it, they get all of these kids to go there, then they have to deal with those factors, and then on top of that, the parking sucks, I mean really sucks! I'd rather try finding a parking spot in San Francisco! All of these factors together, well, it makes you think about why you are really there. For me, well, I couldn't afford to go anywhere else, and to be honest, the UW College of Engineering is a good school (I put us ahead of the diploma factories in Palo Alto, CA and Lafayette, IN, yes, I am talking about Stanford and Purdue), so that is what kept me there. But what if your Mom and Dad have the $$$$ and you are in the College of Business or, GASP, getting an A&S degree there?? It would be damned tough to stick around. I have read that the new structure will be built on the site where the old Ivinson Hospital is located. Good! Get rid of it! Historical my ass! While they're at it, let them finish demolishing what's left of Fraternity Row. No one will really miss what's left over there. I'd bet Dollars to Tin Donuts that the previously mention city councilman is probably one of the ones who is opposed to this new structure. Dollars to Tin Donuts I tell you!

Time to do the other one...

Years ago (OK, it was 9 years), when my Fraternity closed it's doors, I rescued a set of speakers and a receiver from the bar room. The receiver is a really nice Sony ES series that was made in the way early 90's before the advent of surround sound. Sometimes I wonder where it came from, and if it was obtained through honest means... The speakers, I know for certain, were. We picked them up from this stereo shop in downtown Laramie, they were used, and they had been in their basement for who knows how long. We built these monstrous shelves to set these speakers on up high so that it would be tough for a some marauder to come in and swipe them (a common occurrence in the Greek system). The shelves had to be beefy, because these speakers speakers are heavy, they're Bose 501's built in 1977. Recently, the right one started making funny noises, and couldn't produce bass without reverberating horribly. So I hopped online to see if I could come up with a new driver for it. What I discovered, was something that as Johnny Carson would say "I did not know that!" You can get a kit to re-edge a speaker, as the foam edging between the cone and the frame is what wears out. I took it apart, and sure enough the edging was completely crumbled. I cleaned it all up, glued the new one in, put it back together, and it sounds great!!! Not bad for speakers that are nearly as old as I am! Now I can piss of the neighbors by playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons or some Blue Six or some Sinatra or U2 or Big Audio Dynamite or Felix Da Housecat at high volume once again! Time to do the other one...

Red Truck

Red Truck - you can't go wrong with a wine that has an old International Truck on the label. Binders kick ass.

I'll be back!

Today, I decided to take a road trip to Billings to finish off my Christmas shopping and to purchase myself a new suit. My old suit... I got it in 1997, the semester that I was doing my senior design project. I used to be deathly afraid of talking in front of large groups of people, and I figured at the time if I had a new suit to wear the day of the design presentation, it would make me feel better and not be as nervous. It worked! December 9, 1997 myself and the 3 other members of my design team made our presentation to some architects, engineers, and the owner of the project. Design Symposiums were also being held that same day for Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical, Architectural and of course Civil Engineering (hey that's me!), so there were of course many other engineering students there. My best friend was also in the audience that day. He's a good man.

It was all down hill from that day forward with the ending of my college career. Finals were NOTHING compared to having that presentation out of the way, even though my team didn't win the presentation. (another team was selected, who knew nothing about designing curtain walls, but put together a better presentation, their design sucked and their lead guy couldn't answer any questions about it, further more, that idiot was dumbfounded as to why it was important, that poser may have his Master's now, but I know that I am a better engineer than he will ever be). However, I did get an A on my Senior Design Project. What was it you may ask? It was a warehouse expansion for Sierra Trading Post. To this day, I have a hard time spending my money with them, since this project kept me awake at night.

I digress, back to shopping and my trip. It's funny, when I lived in the Bay Area, people driving BMW's were usually the asshole drivers. In fact, one day, my good friend, the one who was there the day of my senior design presentation, and I were test driving a used 99 323i at Stevens Creek BMW, the salesman who went with us, well, he was quite proud of the Asshole Driver BMW stereotype. However, in this part of the world, the preferred automobile of the Asshole Idiot Driver is the Pontiac Grand Prix. If someone does something stupid, or passes when they shouldn't or puts the traveling public's life in danger, chances are they are driving a Pontiac Grand Prix, with the fog lights on of course, because that's cool don't ya know. I had one such encounter this morning (and of course the car had Wyoming County 9 license plates). Don't get me wrong now, not everyone who drives a Grand Prix is an idiot, because here, as in California, or Colorado, or Indiana, or Idaho, or anywhere else I have been, there is plenty if stupidness to go around! OK, and I am not perfect either. >:-)

I got fitted up for a nice new suit at Dillard's, which is dark, dark, dark blue. I also purchased a purple shirt and a red tie to go with it. Woo Hoo! Then I of course had to go to Cost Plus to pick up a few bottles of vino. Red Truck, Ravenswood Zin, and a surprisingly, they had Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Dry Riesling. Bonny Doon is a vineyard in Santa Cruz, just over the hill from where I used to live. Oh yeah! Right next to the Rimrock mall, there is a Cadillac dealer, they had a red CTS-V on the lot. I stopped to check it out. You know, as much as I love BMW and most European cars (except Audi and Saab, they both suck IMHO), I really like the new Cadillac's, they have come back from the dead in the last few years and brought out some really sweet new cars. The CTS has really grown on me, and the new STS is REEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLY sweet. It's good to see them getting the picture and going back to rear wheel drive. Anyway, the CTS-V is a CTS with a 400 horse power LS2 6.0 litre V8, similar to what is in a Corvette, only available with a 6 speed manual transmission, the way it should be for such a performance car. Who would have thought? Using the word Cadillac and the word "performance" in the same sentence. GM, in spite of failing miserably with cars among their other marques (except the Corvette of course), is getting it right with Cadillac. They are the only one of the US auto makers that can even hope to contend with BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Infiniti and Jaguar. Lincoln is an effing joke. There was hope in 1999 when they intorduced the LS, but they didn't improve upon it. There was hope when it was available with a 5 speed, but of course, they only put the Getrag 5 speed behind the V6 that was available in the car, as one magazine put it, the V6 that was put in the LS was like asking a boy to do a man's work. Lincoln, in typical Ford (and US automaker fashion for that matter) fashion put all of their R&D into SUV's, and let the LS get stale. I have read that it will be put out of it's misery very soon, since they have introduced, GASP, an all new car called the Zephyr, with the Detroit mandated boring doesn't handle for shit front wheel drive. It's 1988 all over again! I know, I know, they brainwashed everyone into believing that front wheel drive was better for winter conditions, but a modern rear wheel drive car that has stability control and a good set of tires on it will feed a front driver it's lunch. You know there was a time when I was a die hard Ford man. It's true, I was. I also really hated GM for a long time. I mean I reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaally hated GM. But now, I see the US automakers on a more level field, and I put Diamler-Chrysler and GM way above Ford. Chrysler is out there kicking ass with it's new LX cars, the 300C, the Magnum, and the Charger. But what has Ford got? A new Mustang that they decided to leave the independent rear suspension out of? Something is wrong when Ford puts independent rear suspension under the rear end of the POS Explorer, but won't do it to the Mustang. Sure, it sells like hotcakes, but they're not going to get guys like me out of their BMW's and G35's and CTS's and CLK's with a car that has a solid rear axle in 2005. Hell, the Thunderbird and Cougar got independent rear suspension back in 1989, why can't a 21st Century Mustang have it?? Bill, I hope you read this, so that you know that one more of your former faithful is not happy with the Blue Oval, and will not be back.

Food! I went to lunch at this place in downtown Billings called Sweet Ginger. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Sushi! It's quite a bit more expensive than it was out in CA, but that's to be expected since they have to fly the sushi grade fish in. I had Sake, Maguro, and a smoked salmon roll, washed down by a Saporo. Damn that was good. $30 for lunch... You can't go wrong. I'll be back!

-1 is crisp!

As everyone knows, lately, it has been colder than hell here in Wyoming, and throughout the Rocky Mountain West. This morning when I got into my car, the thermometer read -11. Tonight, it's supposed to get that cold again, but, tomorrow our daytime high is supposed to around +19.

Anyway, even as tired as I am of being cold, I am getting even more tired of thinking about it, and listening to myself think about it. So, it's time to toughen up. No more bitching about my car not having heated seats. No more complaining about my cold office (I did bring in a heater, so that helped). No more bitching about being cold in bed (I think that I am going to break down and buy a heated mattress pad). It's time to toughen up! No more bitching about the cold! I moved back to Wyoming, and the cold comes with the territory, like it or not!

This evening, I needed to get paper towels, and I really didn't want to drive out to Walmart, or go back up the hill to Kmart. There is this new Dollar Store that just opened up about 3 blocks from me, so I decided to walk there. Sure it was cold, but I needed that. A few minutes with my Eddie Bauer Down Jacket, my polar fleece hat, some Seirus gloves, and my iPod. Ahhhhhh... -1 is so crisp!

'Tis the season

I love mixing cocktails... One of my favorite simple cocktails is Egg Nog and Captain Morgan, even though it's way over on the sweet spectrum, it's something that you don't have all the time. Problem is, Berries, my big kitty, loves Egg Nog, and even more so when there is spiced rum involved! He likes to lick the inside of the tumbler, and when he gets to the point where that long tongue doesn't get anymore, he sticks his paw in the glass and then pulls it out and licks that. Big kitties like their cocktails too... 'Tis the season!

Ahhhh....

The little house that I live in has a wall furnace in the living room. A few days ago, the pilot light started to go out when ever it would kick off, so I replaced the thermocouple at the discretion of my land lord. Well, it cured the problem with the pilot light going out, but another, more dangerous problem revealed itself... While eating dinner all nice and toasty warm, I heard the thermostat kick the gas on... Which wasn't followed by that satisfying "woooooooosh!" of the gas igniting... I quickly noticed after a few seconds what was happening, and I got up to walk over to the thermostat and turn it off, but as I stood up, the gas finally ignited - WOOOOOSH! I jumped back stumbling over the chair in front of my computer as a huge tower of flames headed for the ceiling. They were gone just as fast as they had appeared... I collected myself, and checked to see if I still had my eye brows and all of the hair on my arms. Slowly, Will and Berries peaked out from around corners, Will from around the refridgerator and Berries from the bathroom. So for the last few days, I have been living with electric heaters going to keep the chill off, but today, the plumber came to fix it. Once again... I have heat... Ahhhhh...