Riding: Check
Working: Check
Working more: Check
Eating: Check
Sleeping: Sometimes
Life is good. Busy with many, many plans. Finally organized myself and created a Design 5 "to do" list. 47 items that need attention. Good to have all of these items out of my head and on to paper. Time to get out the red pen and check some items off.
Jenny and I have made some fun plans for this summer. First exciting trip is to Moab. We are going over Memorial Weekend. Two and a half days in Moab should be epic. Going to do one big mtn ride and one big road ride. Also two smaller rides with Jenny. I think she is more excited than I am because she has been there and loved it. I haven't been so I don't know what I am missing...
Second fun trip is to MN (for me). Going to see my brothers new daughter who is due in late June. Time with Ben, Erin and Gretta and then some Troy time at the cabin. Bringing my pooch Mario to MN to introduce him to the north woods. He may live there someday so I need to make sure he likes it.
Jenny is spending her July in Alaska, without me. She is leading a hiking trip for NOLS and isn't allowed to carry human and canine baggage with her. Oh well...
Our last fun trip is to the Beartooth Wilderness where we hike each year. Not sure of the route yet. The trip will be four days over the labor day weekend.
Biking is going swimingly. Power is increasing. Time on the bike is increasing. I think it takes me about an hour to warm up on a road ride. This is really frustrating since my friends like to hammer out of the gate. Pain for me, fun for them.
No pics. Too bad for you!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Getaway
Jenny and I needed some R&R so I surprised her with a trip to Chico Hot Springs. We took off early Friday morning and headed to the Paradise Valley and drove directly to Mill Creek. This is a beautiful east/west valley that sees a lot of logging so there is a great network of roads criss crossing the mountains. We skiied uphill for almost two hours before we took a break. We packed cookies and hot chocolate and enjoyed the views (with Mario of course). We had the entire drainage to ourselves and didn't see anyone until the last ten minutes of the trip, near the trailhead.
After the ski tour we checked into our cabin at Chico, donned our swim trunks and hit the hot spring pools. The air was very, very cold so the pool was very, very steamy. There were not many people around yet so it felt like we had the pools to ourselves. Very quiet and relaxed.
We ate dinner at the Chico Lodge. Jenny had a 4 oz fillet and a 4oz Mahi Mahi. I had the rack of Lamb. Both were amazing. I topped it off with a fresh baked apple crisp. Jenny had a flaming tower of maringue, set on an orange filled with chocolate and vanilla ice cream infused with orange stoli. We found it interesting that they serving a flaming tower of desert inside of a 120 year old lodge with ancient drapes and woodwork...
Jenny discovered that our cabin had a magic tub that shot water jets and bubbles out of its sides. I didn't see her the rest of the evening...
Saturday morning was another big ski tour day. We spent the late morning / early afternoon touring in Emmigrant Gulch. We again had the drainage completely to ourselves. This erea sees no logging and the mountains are much more rugged, despite being only 5 miles south of Mill Creek. We skied on a mine road that was cut in more than 100 years ago. There are three abandoned mines about 11 miles back, near the tops of three different peaks. We skied about 4 miles back to where the roads head straight up the mountain sides. We feasted on more cookies and hot chocolate and watched Mario fall asleep sitting up. It was his third day in a row of major ski trips and he was worn out.
After skiing was again dipped into the hot springs and at some bar food. We finished the trip off with dinner at the Rib and Chop House in Livingston. Great trip!!!!
Today I got out with Ryan for some faster paced training on the skis. We were out for 3.5 hours in the Bozeman Creek Drainage. I burned 2300 calories which meant a guilt free enchilada eating contest this evening.
Monday, January 04, 2010
6 months later...
Bozeman, we have a problem....
Not really. How can I complain about going on a 40 mile road ride on January 4th with a great friend and training partner? Ryan and I put in some time on the tarmac on Sunday. Quiet roads, blue sky and no mechanicals.
The last six months have been good. Design 5 has been gaining clients and we beat our first year goals and we still have two months to go! We are opening up our marketing campaign to MN so we can spend more time at home. Anyone in MN need landscape design, planning, graphic arts, presentation materials, or anything creative from two talented folks in Bozeman? Check on us at www.design5landscapes.blogspot.com or on Facebook at Design 5 Landscapes!!!! We have a website coming soon as well...
Bike racing in 2009 was almost non-existant. I did three cross races and absolutely sucked wind in all of them. Oh well. What's unfortunate is that the only weakness I can point to is my bike handling. I need to practice, practice, practice! I did make a breakthrough discovery with tire selection. I rode tubular clinchers this season which made a huge diference with handling and grip. "Discovery" isn't right. My brother has been beating me over the head, trying to get me to ride some good cross gear. He has been on tubulars for two seasons and can't believe I was rolling on clinchers. I am slow to change. So, I now have two sets of tubular wheels for 2010. One set of Ultegra tubulars and one set of Zipp 303s. Even so, these nice wheels won't do anything but lose fabulously if I don't seriously improve my handling skills. Timid McGee on the race course.
On the upside, this year was one of the most fun on the mountain bike! The Trek made it through the season without any mechanicals and I flatted only once. I felt like superman in August and was firing on all cylinders on the dirt. Ryan and John were great riding partners and I hope this coming season is as fun. I registered for Leadville 100 and have a couple of connections for getting in... Let's hope they work. I am very excited for it and have set the goal of sub 9 hours. Ryan and Drew are registered as well and everyone is in full training mode.
Christmas was fun and busy, despite having "no plans". Ben and I hit Theo Wirth on the Pugs. That was a real blast and wish we had more time to spend churning snow.
Jenny and I ate a ton of food, enjoyed some time in St. Cloud, went to museums, saw the Bodies exhibit at the MOA, had a sushi blowout at Origami, gorged at Cafe 128, ate Blucys at the Blue Door, swallowed House of Pizza with recklous abandon, sipped on some great Belgian White ales, at approx. 40 peanutbutter / hershey kiss cookies, ate one pan of my moms nut roll bars, hung out with Tomas and my sis, helped Jim and Nancy with a landscape plan, signed wills, visited Granny Franny, saw Mike "The Godfather", watched South Park, went to Avatar, visited the MN Zoo, got my sisters car sideways doing only 20mph, hung with the Hawkins, drove my dads tractor, set up my parents new TV and hardly slept at all.
Hope this finds you all well!
Not really. How can I complain about going on a 40 mile road ride on January 4th with a great friend and training partner? Ryan and I put in some time on the tarmac on Sunday. Quiet roads, blue sky and no mechanicals.
The last six months have been good. Design 5 has been gaining clients and we beat our first year goals and we still have two months to go! We are opening up our marketing campaign to MN so we can spend more time at home. Anyone in MN need landscape design, planning, graphic arts, presentation materials, or anything creative from two talented folks in Bozeman? Check on us at www.design5landscapes.blogspot.com or on Facebook at Design 5 Landscapes!!!! We have a website coming soon as well...
Bike racing in 2009 was almost non-existant. I did three cross races and absolutely sucked wind in all of them. Oh well. What's unfortunate is that the only weakness I can point to is my bike handling. I need to practice, practice, practice! I did make a breakthrough discovery with tire selection. I rode tubular clinchers this season which made a huge diference with handling and grip. "Discovery" isn't right. My brother has been beating me over the head, trying to get me to ride some good cross gear. He has been on tubulars for two seasons and can't believe I was rolling on clinchers. I am slow to change. So, I now have two sets of tubular wheels for 2010. One set of Ultegra tubulars and one set of Zipp 303s. Even so, these nice wheels won't do anything but lose fabulously if I don't seriously improve my handling skills. Timid McGee on the race course.
On the upside, this year was one of the most fun on the mountain bike! The Trek made it through the season without any mechanicals and I flatted only once. I felt like superman in August and was firing on all cylinders on the dirt. Ryan and John were great riding partners and I hope this coming season is as fun. I registered for Leadville 100 and have a couple of connections for getting in... Let's hope they work. I am very excited for it and have set the goal of sub 9 hours. Ryan and Drew are registered as well and everyone is in full training mode.
Christmas was fun and busy, despite having "no plans". Ben and I hit Theo Wirth on the Pugs. That was a real blast and wish we had more time to spend churning snow.
Jenny and I ate a ton of food, enjoyed some time in St. Cloud, went to museums, saw the Bodies exhibit at the MOA, had a sushi blowout at Origami, gorged at Cafe 128, ate Blucys at the Blue Door, swallowed House of Pizza with recklous abandon, sipped on some great Belgian White ales, at approx. 40 peanutbutter / hershey kiss cookies, ate one pan of my moms nut roll bars, hung out with Tomas and my sis, helped Jim and Nancy with a landscape plan, signed wills, visited Granny Franny, saw Mike "The Godfather", watched South Park, went to Avatar, visited the MN Zoo, got my sisters car sideways doing only 20mph, hung with the Hawkins, drove my dads tractor, set up my parents new TV and hardly slept at all.
Hope this finds you all well!
Thursday, July 09, 2009
What's tha haps
I don't remember a lot of what has happened since the last time I blogged. So, I will just start where I am now...
Heading to MN tomorrow. The BRO is getting married on the 18th. My lovely wife left this morning to drive home with her dad. They are shuttling my road bike home with spare wheels. A friend of mine called for pointers on how to get his wife to drive his bikes around the country while he flies...
This coming week is sure to fly by. Saturday AM road ride with brohonzzle then an evening full of grilling and beer swilling. I have received notice that several people are concerned by the idea of overindulging in barley pop and then riding bikes through the cities. I agree. Outcome to be determined...
Sunday I am accompanying my wife and Liz to the cabin to two days in the north woods. Think I will leave the road bike behind and focus my energy on catching fish and grilling hot dogs.
Back Tuesday for the Tuff Ride. I am scared...
Wednesday is Donut Ride. This is a ride from Highland Park through dowtown Minneapolis, to the Lakes, to Minnehaha Parkway. Stop at Mellow Glaze Donuts for a time-out. This is where I proposed to Jenny so she is really looking forward to the ride.
Thursday Mtn Bike race at Buck. Last mtn race I did was in St. Cloud two years ago. Mike knows how well I did there...
Friday is party night at Gasthous (sp?).
Saturday. Wedding!
Sunday. Recovery ride and grilling.
Monday back to Bozeman.
In biking news:
Managed to shave a full minute off my best time up Hyalite Canyon.
New Zipp 303's are f***ing awesome.
Scored second place at the Beartooth Pass TT. 22 miles, 3,700 ft of climbing.
Strong is building me a new ti cross frame as I am not too psyched with the one I have now. I love the 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Garmin-Slipstream pint glasses showed up today. There are going to make me much faster.
Ben checked out a BMC Pro Machine from Quality for Jenny to ride. Full Super Record and Easton tubulars. 13 pound super bike. Will I be able to get jenny back on her Salsa???
Heading to MN tomorrow. The BRO is getting married on the 18th. My lovely wife left this morning to drive home with her dad. They are shuttling my road bike home with spare wheels. A friend of mine called for pointers on how to get his wife to drive his bikes around the country while he flies...
This coming week is sure to fly by. Saturday AM road ride with brohonzzle then an evening full of grilling and beer swilling. I have received notice that several people are concerned by the idea of overindulging in barley pop and then riding bikes through the cities. I agree. Outcome to be determined...
Sunday I am accompanying my wife and Liz to the cabin to two days in the north woods. Think I will leave the road bike behind and focus my energy on catching fish and grilling hot dogs.
Back Tuesday for the Tuff Ride. I am scared...
Wednesday is Donut Ride. This is a ride from Highland Park through dowtown Minneapolis, to the Lakes, to Minnehaha Parkway. Stop at Mellow Glaze Donuts for a time-out. This is where I proposed to Jenny so she is really looking forward to the ride.
Thursday Mtn Bike race at Buck. Last mtn race I did was in St. Cloud two years ago. Mike knows how well I did there...
Friday is party night at Gasthous (sp?).
Saturday. Wedding!
Sunday. Recovery ride and grilling.
Monday back to Bozeman.
In biking news:
Managed to shave a full minute off my best time up Hyalite Canyon.
New Zipp 303's are f***ing awesome.
Scored second place at the Beartooth Pass TT. 22 miles, 3,700 ft of climbing.
Strong is building me a new ti cross frame as I am not too psyched with the one I have now. I love the 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Garmin-Slipstream pint glasses showed up today. There are going to make me much faster.
Ben checked out a BMC Pro Machine from Quality for Jenny to ride. Full Super Record and Easton tubulars. 13 pound super bike. Will I be able to get jenny back on her Salsa???
Friday, May 08, 2009
Do you ever get tired of...
hearing about this economy...these troubling times...due to the economic slowdown...the meltdown....the crisis...the bad credit...the liquidity problems...the golden parachutes...the capital needed...the stress tests...recession proofing...the recession...profit taking...deal seeking...these economic times...
I am ready to vomit. If everyone would just turn off their stupid TVs and stop listening to inflamatory pricks like Savage, Ingrahm and Limbaugh we might all be better off. No one knows what to do, so deal with it. Stop bitching, it doesn't help anything. It's so easy to be critical. We are all professionals at that.
If you are going to argue about the realities of global warming at least know the basic tennants of the argument. I work around a bunch of people who shit on every Democrat / liberal / independants name every time it snows. So much for global warming, huh? Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle... I don't consider myself a crusader, an eco-nazi, a peacenik, a granola, a greenie or even much of a liberal; but I do consider logic and reasoning to be the building blocks of discussion. At least have a clue before you open your mouth and spout off. And racist jokes aren't funny; grow up. Everyone is different, deal with it.
Went around town today and handed out flyers for my new company to architects around town. Some people were genuinely interested and some people just politely smiled through their teeth and showed me the door. I hate being that guy...
On the upside the new team kits arrived a couple of days ago. I like the new design (since I created it) and the gear fits really well. I liked the process of working with Hincapie. The are easy to work with, the design process was easy, you can do any number of colors you like for one price. The downside is that one price is steep. Jersey and shorts for $176.
Biking is not going well this year. I have been too tired to bike most nights and when I do get out and ride I go hard. Right now I really only have a two hour tank and when I hit that mark I am empty. But I guess being able to maintain 170 bpm for 1.5 hours is still ok. Last weekend the GAS boys put the leather to me and made me suffer. Doing 2000 ft of climbing at 18-20mph is NOT easy. At the start of the third climb I waved the group past and limped home. This weekend should be good for riding. The goal this year is to be good middle of July...I have time.
I am going to try to get some office time at the home theater job. I want to set up a complete Autocad library and start to make our drawings look pro. We need to distinguish ourselves from the competition and I think this is one way to do it. I think we should show that we are on the same playing field as architects. Architects convey their thoughts and ideas through drawings and we can do the same. Hopefully less wire pulling for me and more time on the computer.
Well, I am out of finger strength. Little bit of rant in there. Hope all is well !
I am ready to vomit. If everyone would just turn off their stupid TVs and stop listening to inflamatory pricks like Savage, Ingrahm and Limbaugh we might all be better off. No one knows what to do, so deal with it. Stop bitching, it doesn't help anything. It's so easy to be critical. We are all professionals at that.
If you are going to argue about the realities of global warming at least know the basic tennants of the argument. I work around a bunch of people who shit on every Democrat / liberal / independants name every time it snows. So much for global warming, huh? Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle... I don't consider myself a crusader, an eco-nazi, a peacenik, a granola, a greenie or even much of a liberal; but I do consider logic and reasoning to be the building blocks of discussion. At least have a clue before you open your mouth and spout off. And racist jokes aren't funny; grow up. Everyone is different, deal with it.
Went around town today and handed out flyers for my new company to architects around town. Some people were genuinely interested and some people just politely smiled through their teeth and showed me the door. I hate being that guy...
On the upside the new team kits arrived a couple of days ago. I like the new design (since I created it) and the gear fits really well. I liked the process of working with Hincapie. The are easy to work with, the design process was easy, you can do any number of colors you like for one price. The downside is that one price is steep. Jersey and shorts for $176.
Biking is not going well this year. I have been too tired to bike most nights and when I do get out and ride I go hard. Right now I really only have a two hour tank and when I hit that mark I am empty. But I guess being able to maintain 170 bpm for 1.5 hours is still ok. Last weekend the GAS boys put the leather to me and made me suffer. Doing 2000 ft of climbing at 18-20mph is NOT easy. At the start of the third climb I waved the group past and limped home. This weekend should be good for riding. The goal this year is to be good middle of July...I have time.
I am going to try to get some office time at the home theater job. I want to set up a complete Autocad library and start to make our drawings look pro. We need to distinguish ourselves from the competition and I think this is one way to do it. I think we should show that we are on the same playing field as architects. Architects convey their thoughts and ideas through drawings and we can do the same. Hopefully less wire pulling for me and more time on the computer.
Well, I am out of finger strength. Little bit of rant in there. Hope all is well !
Monday, March 30, 2009
Shripping the Gnar
Sunday was an epic day at Big Sky. Knee deep for four hours straight on the back side of Lone Peak. For some reason people don't ski the Shedhorn lift. You can do 16 minute laps and hit fresh turns every run. Hit a few spots that were wind loaded and thigh deep. Most of the turns were shin deep and plenty of face shots. Probably my best day in the last three years. I don't think anything will beat the winter of 05/06 when we skied knee deep on 9 weekends.
Spent all night tonight working on Design 5. We are learning a lot about the professional printing process. Been a bit more of a struggle than I anticipated getting our business cards done. I have a lot to learn...
I have been a little frustrated that things haven't been moving more quickly on the new business front. I was venting to Jenny about this yesterday and she assured me that we are making progress. She reminded me that I am working more than 50 hours a week right now and that I can't expect to have energy all of the time. It's also a coincidence that my father in law just sent me some articles about starting a small business while still working full time. Funny how these things work and how peoples timing is sometimes uncanny.
Peace out...
Spent all night tonight working on Design 5. We are learning a lot about the professional printing process. Been a bit more of a struggle than I anticipated getting our business cards done. I have a lot to learn...
I have been a little frustrated that things haven't been moving more quickly on the new business front. I was venting to Jenny about this yesterday and she assured me that we are making progress. She reminded me that I am working more than 50 hours a week right now and that I can't expect to have energy all of the time. It's also a coincidence that my father in law just sent me some articles about starting a small business while still working full time. Funny how these things work and how peoples timing is sometimes uncanny.
Peace out...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Stuff
Long week of work. Boring.
Rode the trainer for 1.5 hours last night. Played Elder Scrolls the entire time. Makes the time go really fast.
Out on the road for 4 hours today. Ryan, Randall and I took it easy most of the time and did two intervals at red line pace. After splitting off from those guys I hooked up with the Bozeman Masters Velo crew for another ride to the west. They were feeling fresh and headed west into the wind. I rode with them for 45 mins before returning home. By the time I got home I was almost in the complete Bonk zone. I looked at my watch and it said I had a 155 heart rate average. So... I worked way too hard today and am feeling it now.
Tomorrow is Design 5 day so just a couple hours on the trainer in the morning and then it's computer time for the rest of the day. We are heading to Borders to get a book on Adobe Illustrator so we can nail our marketing layouts...
Mr. Anderson and Kyia are in town so I am going to try and hook up with them on Monday or Tuesday evening if they are free. Big snow on the way and they are hoping to take advantage.
Another slow week of work coming up. Not much on the radar so I feel that my time is either limited there...or... I will be doing crappy busy work until things pick up. I volunteered to take some time off but that hasn't worked out so far. I could really use some time to focus on my new company but Avitel seems content to pay me for busy work...
Rode the trainer for 1.5 hours last night. Played Elder Scrolls the entire time. Makes the time go really fast.
Out on the road for 4 hours today. Ryan, Randall and I took it easy most of the time and did two intervals at red line pace. After splitting off from those guys I hooked up with the Bozeman Masters Velo crew for another ride to the west. They were feeling fresh and headed west into the wind. I rode with them for 45 mins before returning home. By the time I got home I was almost in the complete Bonk zone. I looked at my watch and it said I had a 155 heart rate average. So... I worked way too hard today and am feeling it now.
Tomorrow is Design 5 day so just a couple hours on the trainer in the morning and then it's computer time for the rest of the day. We are heading to Borders to get a book on Adobe Illustrator so we can nail our marketing layouts...
Mr. Anderson and Kyia are in town so I am going to try and hook up with them on Monday or Tuesday evening if they are free. Big snow on the way and they are hoping to take advantage.
Another slow week of work coming up. Not much on the radar so I feel that my time is either limited there...or... I will be doing crappy busy work until things pick up. I volunteered to take some time off but that hasn't worked out so far. I could really use some time to focus on my new company but Avitel seems content to pay me for busy work...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Headbangers Ball
Lots O Riding this weekend. 2.5 on Friday with JT. Conversation speed for two hours then a couple of seriously difficult intervals before a 20 minute cool down.
Saturday JT and I met up with the Bozeman Velo Masters squad. JT and I both figured it would be a nice rolling day at an easy pace. It ended up being 3.5 hours of smashing heads against brick walls over and over and over... This squad of guys in the 50+ age group can F***ing hammer. I have no idea why I was surprised but I ended the day with a lot more respect for this crew. Of course my own ego got the best of me and I spent the entire ride proving I was the strongest and ended up with two cramping calves at mile 68. I know these guys are over 50 but it was some of the most difficult interval riding I have done in years... At least I am riding well. Really looking forward to getting in some racing. Next week is the first official race in Missoula. Just a 45 mile training race but the big boys will all be there.
Today I got out with John for a little over two hours. Today was the perfect recovery ride. Good conversation and no hammering.
Jenny has also been out on the bike the last three days and is ready for the end of winter. The last few days have been awesome. The sun has shone each day with highs in the upper 50s. Tomorrow it's back to the grind but this weekend should help smooth the transition.
Saturday JT and I met up with the Bozeman Velo Masters squad. JT and I both figured it would be a nice rolling day at an easy pace. It ended up being 3.5 hours of smashing heads against brick walls over and over and over... This squad of guys in the 50+ age group can F***ing hammer. I have no idea why I was surprised but I ended the day with a lot more respect for this crew. Of course my own ego got the best of me and I spent the entire ride proving I was the strongest and ended up with two cramping calves at mile 68. I know these guys are over 50 but it was some of the most difficult interval riding I have done in years... At least I am riding well. Really looking forward to getting in some racing. Next week is the first official race in Missoula. Just a 45 mile training race but the big boys will all be there.
Today I got out with John for a little over two hours. Today was the perfect recovery ride. Good conversation and no hammering.
Jenny has also been out on the bike the last three days and is ready for the end of winter. The last few days have been awesome. The sun has shone each day with highs in the upper 50s. Tomorrow it's back to the grind but this weekend should help smooth the transition.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Update
Work: Working home theater full time. The past couple of days I have been at an airplane hanger working on theater gear. The owner of several Montana banks has a huge hanger at the Bozeman Airport with a house inside of it. It's about a 2,000 sq.ft. house with a bedroom, huge office, 3 bathrooms, two living rooms, a huge poker table and a great kitchen. We were swapping out some theater gear. I took time to admire his float plane which is the largest single engine float plane money can buy. Also checked out the Bell 407 helicopter. His jet wasn't there, but his Bugatti car was. One of only 12 on earth. Amazing what money can buy... Also a spare $75K Escalade parked in the corner...
I have a few more leads for my new company so things seem to be going well on that front. Going to pursue a few projects in the Spanish Peaks so I am excited.
Also, still working Fridays at Bechtle Architects. Suddenly I am working 60 hours a week... Weird to go from unemployment to very busy...
Biking: Been on the roads two days a week now and then gym time the rest of the week. 2.5hours on Sunday. 9mph into the wind, 35 with the wind... Today I did the stair mill for my tempo workout at the gym. 10 min warm up, 40 min @ 170 bpm, 10 min cool down. I was sweating all over the equipment and for some reason people weren't hopping on the mill next to me... wonder why?
Other: Jenny and I had an awesome ski day last Saturday. Two days after a major storm and we still skiied powder all day on the backside of Lone Peak. I love Big Sky for that reason. Worth paying the money to feel like you are all alone.
Jenny has also been getting into the backcountry on her touring skiis. She and her sister and a couple of friends toured into the Mill Creek Drainage in the Paradise Valley. They had a killer warm day and had fun with the dogs.
We bought our plane tickets to get to MN for my brothers wedding. Looking forward to spending 10 days at home!!! Biking, partying and networking are all in the plans.
Also, I am sure that many of you heard that a half block of downtown Bozeman blew up. It's amazing that only one person lost there life since it was at 8:15am on a weekday. Went down to see that blast and it's sad how much that hole impacts the feel of downtown. I found myself feeling very sad for our little town. I love downtown Bozeman as it really feels like a small town and a great community. Apparently, there was an underground crack in a service line and the gas seeped through the dirt and filled the basement of a downtown art gallery. When the manager arrived in the morning the gas exploded and instantly destroyed three buildings. Then one more building burnt to the ground and a fifth was deemed completely unstable from the blast wave. Windows were blown out for three blocks around and the fire burned for two days. They haven't made much progress clearing the wreckage and only one side of mainstreet is open past the site. Very sad.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Weekender
Only worked for a few hours yesterday and then took off for the day with Jenny to play outside. We went up to Bridger Bowl to ski but cars were parked almost to the highway so we decided to go hiking instead. We hiked up Grassy Mountain for about 45 mins and enjoyed the views. The dogs were happy to be outside and were whipped and tired during the car ride home.
Today I got out for 2 hours on the road bike for an easy spin with Ryan. The sun was out but the temp sat at 30F. Should have known not to ride the roads today since it snowed 12 inches only 36 hours ago. Icey bike but no harm done.
Tonight we are playing it low key, making dinner and maybe heading out for a beer.
Jenny bought some ski boots and poles to go with the CC touring skis that my brother sent out for us. We are heading to Bohart Ranch tomorrow for some time on the snow. Looking forward to a hard workout on the hills...
Today I got out for 2 hours on the road bike for an easy spin with Ryan. The sun was out but the temp sat at 30F. Should have known not to ride the roads today since it snowed 12 inches only 36 hours ago. Icey bike but no harm done.
Tonight we are playing it low key, making dinner and maybe heading out for a beer.
Jenny bought some ski boots and poles to go with the CC touring skis that my brother sent out for us. We are heading to Bohart Ranch tomorrow for some time on the snow. Looking forward to a hard workout on the hills...
Home Theater
Some people think I just hook up DVD players and TVs at my job. This is partly true. But for the next two months (if I am working here that long) I will be stuck in a rack room with one other installer working on hooking up a system. This is one of the biggest systems in the US and costs more than ten times what my home is worth.
The pictures below show the progress made in the last two weeks. It doesn't seem like much for 80 hours of work but we have to run one wire at a time and cut each to a custom length. If we didn't it would just end up as a rats nest of wiring and would be impossible to service in the future.
The top two pictures are of the amplifier rack for the distributed audio for the house. There are 18 16-channel amps. There are 200+ speakers in the house plus subwoofers so the system needs a lot of juice. Each channel gets a Left and Right RCA cable, a Left and Right Speaker cable and each amp is connected to the Network with a Cat 5 wire.
The bottom picture is a fully switchable 256 channel audio matrix switcher. There are only 3 of these systems in houses on earth. One is in the Ukraine (oil magnate), one is in the Middle East (oil magnate) and the one here in Big Sky (hotel magnate). This little baby costs 250K and is most commonly used in millitary applications like NORAD where you need to distribute audio and video to hundreds of TVs. Anyway, the switcher lets you send any source to any speaker independently of every other speaker. What this means is that in this house, every single audio zone can play a different source at the same time.
Geeky post but I thought you might like to see what installers really spend most of their time doing.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
time for a new post i think
It's only been a month. Stop hating on me. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
OK. So....
Hmmmmmm....
Home theater work is as busy as ever. We actually scored two new 16,000 square ft. jobs in the past week and a half. Wealthy people have money. If you have $100 million in the bank and you lose 40% of it would you change your lifestyle? Probably not.
Bechtle Architects is picking up steam so it looks like I may be back at the firm for 30 hrs a week. That would be really nice.
I am starting my own company. Design 5. My articles of organization and operating agreement should be filed next week. It's going to be official. And I have three clients!! Yes!!!
So.... If you know of anyone who needs any landscape planning, landscape architecture work, planning work or project installation oversight... CALL ME!!! 406-600-0342. Available for projects in MN and MT.
No tires on the Zipps yet. I am waiting to see if there is a MN connection for rubber...
I am sick right now. That's no fun. Was almost 53F today and I sat on my ass. Oh well.
I spent the last two weekends at the Human Performance Lab at MSU. Dr. Seifert was conducting a study for a sports drink company. I was paid $250, pizza and four other meals. The study was conducted in three parts. First part was a VO2Max test. My max has gone down 6 points, to 56. I should see significant improvement by the end of June with proper training. The first Friday I showed up to the lab, was weighed naked, pissed in a bottle, handed that steamy bottle to a guy with gloves and then had Dr. Seifert shove a large needle into my arm so they could draw blood for the next 4.5 hours. After being prepped I went into a room with nine other bikers and started to bike on my bike set up on a trainer. The company bought two new 42" LCD tvs for the study so we watched Tour highlights. The point of the study was to lose 2.5% of your bodyweight in sweat and then drink it back. It took me 1hr15mins to lose the weight then I had 20 mins to drink three full Nalgenes of water. That sucked. Then I just had to sit around. I had to have blood drawn, pee in a bottle and get weighed every 30 mins for the next 3 hours. After that you get to eat pizza and then take off. I repeated it again last weekend. That's it. Money in the bank. I don't know what the drink was because no one could say anything unless Dr. Seifert and Dr. Heil get favorable results. If the top secret drink didn't help hydrate better no one will ever know it existed....
Jenny and I booked tickets to Las Vegas for early May. I have never been there. We found a screaming deal through Allegiant air. Three nights hotel, airfare and two tickets to Cirque de Soliel for $215 / person. Not bad...
Next trip to MN is in July for my brothers wedding. I looked at the schedule and I think I can make it to 4 bike races. Marty RR, Hopkins Crit, Dakota Crit and Black Dog. Depending on the plans maybe the Tour of Granite Country RR (if they let you only do one stage...)
Peace out....
OK. So....
Hmmmmmm....
Home theater work is as busy as ever. We actually scored two new 16,000 square ft. jobs in the past week and a half. Wealthy people have money. If you have $100 million in the bank and you lose 40% of it would you change your lifestyle? Probably not.
Bechtle Architects is picking up steam so it looks like I may be back at the firm for 30 hrs a week. That would be really nice.
I am starting my own company. Design 5. My articles of organization and operating agreement should be filed next week. It's going to be official. And I have three clients!! Yes!!!
So.... If you know of anyone who needs any landscape planning, landscape architecture work, planning work or project installation oversight... CALL ME!!! 406-600-0342. Available for projects in MN and MT.
No tires on the Zipps yet. I am waiting to see if there is a MN connection for rubber...
I am sick right now. That's no fun. Was almost 53F today and I sat on my ass. Oh well.
I spent the last two weekends at the Human Performance Lab at MSU. Dr. Seifert was conducting a study for a sports drink company. I was paid $250, pizza and four other meals. The study was conducted in three parts. First part was a VO2Max test. My max has gone down 6 points, to 56. I should see significant improvement by the end of June with proper training. The first Friday I showed up to the lab, was weighed naked, pissed in a bottle, handed that steamy bottle to a guy with gloves and then had Dr. Seifert shove a large needle into my arm so they could draw blood for the next 4.5 hours. After being prepped I went into a room with nine other bikers and started to bike on my bike set up on a trainer. The company bought two new 42" LCD tvs for the study so we watched Tour highlights. The point of the study was to lose 2.5% of your bodyweight in sweat and then drink it back. It took me 1hr15mins to lose the weight then I had 20 mins to drink three full Nalgenes of water. That sucked. Then I just had to sit around. I had to have blood drawn, pee in a bottle and get weighed every 30 mins for the next 3 hours. After that you get to eat pizza and then take off. I repeated it again last weekend. That's it. Money in the bank. I don't know what the drink was because no one could say anything unless Dr. Seifert and Dr. Heil get favorable results. If the top secret drink didn't help hydrate better no one will ever know it existed....
Jenny and I booked tickets to Las Vegas for early May. I have never been there. We found a screaming deal through Allegiant air. Three nights hotel, airfare and two tickets to Cirque de Soliel for $215 / person. Not bad...
Next trip to MN is in July for my brothers wedding. I looked at the schedule and I think I can make it to 4 bike races. Marty RR, Hopkins Crit, Dakota Crit and Black Dog. Depending on the plans maybe the Tour of Granite Country RR (if they let you only do one stage...)
Peace out....
Friday, January 23, 2009
Forgot one thing...
Project bike. Arrived in the same box as my new wheels. Hopefully rolling this spring...
Catching Up
Let's talk about Christmas... Fun, tiring, fattening. Perfect. Spent time in The Cloud, The Cabin and in The Cities. Ate my fill of sushi twice and chowed down on Bravo once with Sean who I haven't seen in....years. The cabin was awesome. Jenny specifically requested that we shoot guns, drink beer, ice fish, hot tub and eat good food. We did them all in classic, over indulgent style. Jenny prefers the .44 magnum pistol to the .22 and wasn't quite ready to fire the Howitzer that my brother refers to as a "rifle".
It's the time of year when I start to talk about cutting back on beer, dropping weight and increasing my training hours on the bike. Well, I am doing it all again but this year I don't expect to do any better than I did last year. Seems that I can train my butt off and still not do any better than the guys who start April 1st. Hopefully my new hoops will help.
Lot's O Changes coming soon. Starting a small design business, maybe getting a Project Management job, maybe starting a Home Theater and Automation design position or maybe just losing it all... who knows?!?! Time will tell...
Monday, December 22, 2008
Make it snow
She just wanted to make it snow. Is that so wrong?
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/88ca2e8d42/sorority-girl-just-wanted-to-make-it-snow-from-that-happened
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/88ca2e8d42/sorority-girl-just-wanted-to-make-it-snow-from-that-happened
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Not much..
...to report. Weather has been incredibly cold and nasty. No outdoor activities for me. Unless you count pulling home theater and automation wire in a 20,000 square foot duplex...
Past week has seen some time in the gym, a few more cans of food at the Food Bank, office party (bowling and drinking), and a play at the Ellen in downtown Bozeman.
This evening I took the Madshus skis out of storage and went through the multi step process of waxing. Ended up doing 6 coats to get them ready. Should be good to go. I don't really trust my waxing job so a trip to Revolution is in order.
Also am getting my ride laced with some new wheels. Zipp 303 custom builds and a set of HED Ardennes. These should endow me with the ability to win races without watching what I eat or training. At least that's what the ads claim... In the end I can probably score the trophy for Biggest Poser. Yes!
Hope to see some folks in Cloud Town on the ski trails... Anyone up for a few loops? Ben? Mike? Kris? Kyia? Crash? Pat? I will be the guy crossing his tips, falling down and generally displaying very poor form. Can't miss me...
Past week has seen some time in the gym, a few more cans of food at the Food Bank, office party (bowling and drinking), and a play at the Ellen in downtown Bozeman.
This evening I took the Madshus skis out of storage and went through the multi step process of waxing. Ended up doing 6 coats to get them ready. Should be good to go. I don't really trust my waxing job so a trip to Revolution is in order.
Also am getting my ride laced with some new wheels. Zipp 303 custom builds and a set of HED Ardennes. These should endow me with the ability to win races without watching what I eat or training. At least that's what the ads claim... In the end I can probably score the trophy for Biggest Poser. Yes!
Hope to see some folks in Cloud Town on the ski trails... Anyone up for a few loops? Ben? Mike? Kris? Kyia? Crash? Pat? I will be the guy crossing his tips, falling down and generally displaying very poor form. Can't miss me...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Stuff(ing)
Turkey Day is coming up and the temperature is going down. We purchased our Hutterite turkey and we will be sharing it with some friends up at the Big Sky condo. Big Sky is also supposed to open the day after Thanksgiving. Our Frequent Skier cards give us free skiing for that weekend so we may venture out on the slopes. I am sure there will be only a couple of runs open.
For the first time in my adult life I took some of my money and bought food for people who are less fortunate. Jenny and I bought two turkeys and two complete meals and dropped it off at the Gallatin County Food Shelf. I read in the paper that the food shelf has seen a 30% rise in use in the past 6 months. When we stopped by I was impressed by the size of the operation. Two huge warehouses stacked with huge bins of food. It was also depressing to know that all that food wasn't enough to meet the forecasted demand for the next few months. The past few months have brought a lot of change for Jenny and I and the economy has meant that we have dramatically changed our lifestyle. Though we are secure and safe it has made me realize just how easy it is to go from flush to broke. The older I get the more it's sinking in that there are so many people out there working their asses off for very little income. I feel that since I am doing OK then I have a responsibility to share some of my luck with people less fortunate.
Hope all of you are doing well during the Turkey season and I wish you all the best for your friends, familys and jobs!!!
For the first time in my adult life I took some of my money and bought food for people who are less fortunate. Jenny and I bought two turkeys and two complete meals and dropped it off at the Gallatin County Food Shelf. I read in the paper that the food shelf has seen a 30% rise in use in the past 6 months. When we stopped by I was impressed by the size of the operation. Two huge warehouses stacked with huge bins of food. It was also depressing to know that all that food wasn't enough to meet the forecasted demand for the next few months. The past few months have brought a lot of change for Jenny and I and the economy has meant that we have dramatically changed our lifestyle. Though we are secure and safe it has made me realize just how easy it is to go from flush to broke. The older I get the more it's sinking in that there are so many people out there working their asses off for very little income. I feel that since I am doing OK then I have a responsibility to share some of my luck with people less fortunate.
Hope all of you are doing well during the Turkey season and I wish you all the best for your friends, familys and jobs!!!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
3 oh 3 and other news
New wheels are in my future. First pair of tubulars in the form of Z I double P.
Racing yesterday was brutal. I haven't gone hard on my bike for over a month. Jumping right into a race was stupid. But, I finished and I am glad I did it. 8 laps on a really fun course. Mud, barriers, two run-ups and a fun crowd. Lap one I almost threw up twice. Litterally heaved a couple of times. Lap two I promised myself I would drop out when going through the start/finish. Lap three I recommitted myself to dropping out. After lap four I figured I was half way and may as well finish. Just rode my standard race solo time trial. I finished second from last and I guess that's about as much as I expected.
Jenny and Mario were out cheering me on and that helped. I was battling for last place with a Muleterro rider and that ended up being fun as the crowd got into our back and forth racing. At least I was smiling while suffering and providing entertainment for a fun crowd.
My interview with Shealy and Company went well. Wade and I are getting back in touch a month from now when we will discuss the next step in the job process. So for now it's back to home theater in the Yellowstone Club...
Sunday, November 09, 2008
No Soup for You!
But there is soup for me. My wife made the most awesome, home-made lentil and sausage soup. I am going to eat that soup like there is no tomorrow. She rocks!!
No pictures
Ended the last post saying pictures would follow. I lied. No pictures of the ride up Hyalite. Was fun though.
Weather here has turned decidedly chilly. I have been working in the Yellowstone Club for the last week and a half and it's snowed every day up there. Little over two feet sitting on the ground now. This week we are finishing up a job with 12 50" flatscreens. Not too shabby.
Started back at the gym last weekend. I am super psyched and focused for this coming bike season. I know that most people haven't finished this season yet but I have been done for a while. I gained 7 pounds and that's all I am going to let happen. Last winter I gained 22 pounds between November and January and that sucked!
When I hit the gym last weekend I was feeling pretty strong because I have been biking a decent amount despite not racing. I saw a scrawny guy put up 940 on the leg sled and it got my ego going. While I couldn't put up that much weight I did make it through 4 sets at 780. What I couldn't make it through was work two days later. My legs were so f***ing mad at me. I had to climb ladders and stairs all day and I swear that I haven't had that much excersize induced pain, ever. I have since calmed down and just done my low weight, high rep workouts. I feel like doing some CC ski racing this year so I have been doing upper body workouts for the first time since college.
I saw John Seifert at the ski swap yesterday and I am meeting up with him at the end of the month for testing. Also participating in a study. Nothing like getting paid a pile of cash for riding a bike for two hours.
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