On the road again....

Hey, it's that time of year.... I'm on day one of a 5-day trip up the California coastal valleys, with stays in Ventura (where I'm at right now), Pismo Beach, Monterey, and Burlingame. It's a 2-bus trip, Theresa's my co-driver. We get along well, so no problem there. The group is seed distributors, or so I guess. We visit nurseries where the growers can showcase their efforts. Anyhow, it's a short night tonight, so I guess I'd better bail outa here and get my butt to bed! Good-night!

Da wife comes along

Hi, I'm back in Mammoth Lakes, doing my last snow run of the season. It's a whirlwind event, we left Friday night, return Sunday evening. As luck would have it, that coincided nicely with Jacque's weekend, and she was able to join me! Also along for the trip is my new notebook computer, an HP zv6130us. It's an AMD64 3200+ system, 80 GB hard drive, CD/DVD burner, on-board 802.11G Wi-fi, UltraBright 15.8" widescreen display, 128 Megs dedicated graphics memory on an ATI Mobile Radeon chipset. Not too shabby, got it for $699 from Fry's. Anyhow, Jacque and I are having a good time, it snowed last night and most of today, but not a huge amount. Our passengers are campers, they're out camping in this!!! Sorry, doesn't fit my description of a "good time". We leave later today, Sunday, should be home by maybe 2100 or so. Hopefully I will have Monday off, I'm gonna go get a Corsair 1 Gig memory DIMM that Fry's has on sale, for this laptop, to boost the total memory from 1/2 GB to 1.25 GB. Also high on the wish list is a Hitachi (IBM) TravelStar 7200 RPM drive that NewEgg has for $145, to replace the 4200 RPM drive that's currently in there. Spending my cash before I earn it, oh-oh (grin).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

"In like a lion, out like a lamb".... no, this is not an xxx-rated post (grin). It's the way March is looking here in California, and especially in the Sierras, which is exactly where I am right now. Mammoth Lakes, around 7800', and it's been snowing and snowing. Not huge quantities, but steady and consistent. The weather people were starting to worry about our upcoming summer, due to way-below-average precipitation. I don't know where the numbers are now, but it's a certainty that they've improved considerably over the last couple weeks. Even San Diego, which was WAY below normal, has picked up some rain lately. Nothing like the record-setter last winter, but respectable. In the meantime, my chains sure are happy! Here's a picture from out my window, yesterday morning (it looks about the same right now).

Back in the snow

Hello from Mammoth Lakes, CA, where it's supposed to dump, big-time over the next 36 to 48 hours! I arrived in town a few hours ago, finally got everyone dropped and got my room, put the bus to bed (after I chained up...) and now, finally, am relaxing in my room. Got wi-fi here, so that's kewl, although I noticed it seems to be running a bit slow tonight. Maybe there's lots of other people online. I'm showing an "excellent" signal strength.
Anyhow, this is a 6-day trip, so the chains should have plenty of exercise. Unfortunately, if it's as crappy as the weatherman says it's supposed to be, looks like I won't be getting so much exercise. The hotel I'm at has a workout room, and a pool, so maybe I'll avail myself of them. Anyhow, it's gonna feel strange to be away from home for 6 days, although I gotta admit, I'm "missing out" on a whole lot of shuttle and airport transfer runs by being out-of-town. Geez, I'll miss that so much....

Kewl! Unexpected day off...

I'm keenly aware the forecast at work is very busy for at least the next two weeks, with a lot of questionmarks after that. Typically, the first 6 months of the year are quite busy. In fact, typically, the only slow times are *perhaps* some spots in July and August, and usually early December. So, I was happy to discover, much to my surprise, that I had today off! I'm sitting in bed with a newspaper, the laptop connected via wi-fi, and a cup of coffee. Oh, and 9 hours of sleep under my belt (grin). Guess I'll refill the coffee cup, finish up this stuff, and get my ass in gear! Supposed to drop some stuff off at Melissa's, I guess our newest grand-daughter has been giving them fits. She thought it was colic, but the pediatricion says otherwise. He says it's Arabella (at 4 days old) has already learned a "cause-affect" relationship. She wants to suck (like all babies), and, even though she's just been fed, she howls until Melissa picks her up and offers her what she wants. The she latches on, and falls asleep. Doctor says that's gotta end, right now. I had no idea a 4-day-old could actually figure out something like that! Anyhow, in an attempt to help out, Jacque has put together a couple meals, which I'm supposed to deliver today. Guess I'll include that in with my hike, which is near her house....

New Grand-daughter

Little miss Arabella Elizabeth Sullivan came into the world on Feb. 24th, at 10:36PM. Weighing in at 7 lbs, 1 oz, and 18 1/2" length, she let everyone know right away that she wasn't happy with having to leave the warm surroundings she'd just vacated (grin). Her color was good, and she had lots of hair. Mom and dad are both doing well. I have pictures posted here
I'll be updating that page and adding more pictures within the next few days! We now have *8* grandchildren! Here they are:
Tenaya
Breckin
Becca
Aiden
Chloe
Gracie
Jade
Arabella

Good morning! A fairly good night's sleep has left me feeling better, here in Mammoth, although I think a small nap might be in order. Between the noisy heater and the dry air, I couldn't categorize last night's sleep as "ideal". I did get in 2 long walks yesterday, did the "Meridian Loop" twice (about 2 1/2 miles each time). The weather is turning here today, becoming breezy and turning colder. Still not "cold" by Mammoth standards, though. Supposed to be mid-20's tonight, with a high of only upper 20's tomorrow. Then a low in the single digits Wednesday night, but we'll be gone by then. It's a quick turn-around for me, I return Wednesday evening to San Diego, leave Thursday afternoon for Yosemite. Here's the good news; Jacqueline's coming along! She was able to extricate a couple days off of work, and it's a "go" for her to join me. Makes it seem more like a vacation than work (grin). So, needless to say, I'm happy.
I talked to my parents for over an hour yesterday, they're both doing well. In fact, they've both embraced the South Beach Diet, in part because they saw the success that Jacqueline and I have had. My weight loss has been somewhat more spectacular the Jacqueline's, at my heaviest I was ~192, am down to 153 now. That's nearly 40 lbs! I read with interest that the *average* US male is 5' 9 1/2" (that's me...) and 191! (That *was* me...). I REALLY enjoy the added energy and mobility gained through the weight reduction. It used to be hard for me to do 1 Meridian Loop walk, between the altitude, the elevation gain and loss, and my weight. Now, it's no big deal to go twice, and yesterday I was running on "reserves", having gotten a terrible night's sleep the night before. Now that's a major difference. The dividends paid by dropping the weight are worth the effort, many times over. Besides, the South Beach Diet makes it relatively painless. Jacqueline hasn't lost as much weight, but proportionately, she's not that far behind. She continues to whittle away, moving in the right direction. She wants to get to 110 (she's 4'11") and she's within 6 lbs of her goal. I wanted to get to 152, I'm essentially there, 1 more lb to go. 150 will be my "base" weight, the number I don't want to go below. I may actually have to *increase* my carb intake to maintain 150 (grin). That's fine with me, I really miss that sourdough toast in the morning!
I ran the beta of Internet Explorer 7 that's on the Microsoft webpage, and, while I like the new interface (very reminiscent of Firefox), it messed up at least one element of my online experience.... clicking a web link in an email (using Outlook Express) no longer launches ANY web browser, UNLESS you make IE your default browser (pretty sneaky, Mr. Gates....). Well, what that has done is caused me to do something I've been intending to do for some time now anyway... break away from Outlook Express and make Thunderbird my default Email program. The Valentine's Day e-card I sent to Jacqueline couldn't be viewed by her, GRRRR. I'll "fix" the desktop when I get home. I've run Thunderbird for some time as a secong email app, looks like it just became my primary one.

Been a while

Hello again, it's been quite a while since I posted. No particular reason why, just life's little obligations and distractions. I'm in Mammoth right now, about to go get my people at the main lodge, bring them back down into town. More to follow later.....

Watchin' the snow fall

I'm currently in June Lake, CA, a small town nestled against the eastern Sierras, north of Mammoth Lakes. The 21st Century hasn't arrived here yet... 8 TV channels, no outgoing phone calls, cellphone coverage non-existent, but, amazingly, the motel I'm staying at JUST installed wi-fi. Sounds good, hey? Well, it sucks, can't get a decent signal anywhere, I finally found a spot in my room where I could get a half-decent signal. It's on top of the dresser/TV console, about 6 feet off the ground! So, I'm currently standing on a chair, typing this out *grin*. The weather outside is deteriorating, a winter storm's moving in, and I'm having some bus troubles. Nothing major (I think...), but the "Battery" idiot light is on, although my charge rate on the guage appears fine, and the charging system appears to be working normally. Cold weather does strange things to these vehicles. Anhow, we're supposed to leave tomorrow morning, so hopefully it won't cause problems on the way home. Guess I'll be keeping my fingers crossed......

Not too bad a week

Everything is relative, right? This week was looking ugly, with a big shuttle looming large, promising long hours and the usual "no life" scenario. It didn't really turn out that way, however, partially because of the way I was dispatched, and partially because we weren't the "primary" transportation provider. Soooo, it wasn't too bad. I'm watching the AFC playoffs right now, a barn-burner game between the Steelers and the Colts. Steelers were the unfortunate recipients of an incredibly bad call (IMHO), otherwise the game would be all but over. Instead, there's an incredible game in progress. The Steelers had the game won again, but "the bus" fumbled at the 1-yard line, and gave the Colts another chance. Incredible 4th quarter, the Colts are about to try a 46-yard FG to tie the game. My heart rate is about 150!! Oooooh, my, the Colts missed it, looks like Pittsburgh is headed to the AFC finals.

Woo-hoo, weekend off!

Jacque and I have the weekend off together, somewhat unexpectedly, so we're planning a busy day today. Maybe go hiking at Mission Trails Regional Park this morning, followed by lunch at Red Lobster (thanks, Donn & Chuleen), then I'm thinking about us going to see Syriana, with George Clooney. We haven't been to a ovie in a long time. Tomorrow's still being planned.....

Back in San Diego

Here I am, back in San Diego. The trip home turned out to be WAY less of a marathon than I'd feared, although still a long day. I had a day off (hurrah!), then worked a day, then off today (Thu). Tomorrow I have a relatively easy day, just local stuff. Jacqueline and I got out on the motorcycle today, one of the advantages to living in San Diego in January. It was a beautiful day here today, temps well into the 70's.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Here I am, up at Bear Valley, CA. Driving the bus, with a group of skiers, to 7000' up in the Sierras. The nasty weather we were supposed to get arrived shortly after our arrival (thank God) and I was able to drive up without chaining up. However, the trade-off was that, when the precipitation *did* start, it was rain, not snow! UGGGHH! Not fun at all. Yesterday, it finally changed over to snow, and we're supposed to get 14" tonight, 16" tomorrow. The chains will be happy............ Here's a view out the front window of my bus this evening.............

Filled with Fear and Trepidation

Aw geez, here we go...... I'm leaving on an annual trip to Northern California tomorrow morning. The weather, to date, has been just fine, for weeks. It all ends today, there's a major winter storm pounding Northern and Central California right now. I'm going to 7000' elevation, snow level's supposed to drop to 4000' (!). Oh man, this is gonna suck, I can see it coming........

Oh, BTW, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just Kickin' Around the House

Hey, good morning! Just kickin' it around the house today, am LOVING the slow time around the holidays. It's about time we had a slowdown at the bus company! I'm sure there's already drivers worrying and fretting about the suddenly-reduced income right at Christmas, but not this boy! I am going to go hike the mountain this morning, guess it's time to get my ass in gear. BTW, my weight's down to 156 now..... Have a great day!

Life in the fast lane

A month or so ago, I sprung for Cox Communication's "Premier" high-speed Internet service, with an advertised rate of "up to 9Mb/sec". Well, it *was* noticeably quicker, and downloads were faster, but I wasn't quite getting the "kick" I'd hoped for. I looked at my cable modem, and went, "hmmmm, that sucker's about 6 years old now". Did some looking online, and came to realize my modem was quite obsolete. After reading some reviews, I came to the conclusion that the Motorola SB5120 looked like the best bet. Furthermore, I read a posting to a forum somewhere, where a guy said, print off the online ad from Wal-Mart, where they have it posted for $57.57, bring it to Circuit City, have them do the 105% price match, buy the modem for $55, then print out the rebate offer from them for $20 off, and mail it in. Net price= $35! I did exactly, that, it's hooked up and running great, noticed an immediate speed increase. I'm a happy guy..........

The posting below

What's with the tiny print in the posting below? Simple, Blogger doesn't allow cut-and-paste from another application (I now know this...) and I'd typed out the letter in Word, to be uploaded later. I *really* didn't want to retype the entire thing, so I did a "capture" and converted it to a JPG, which I then uploaded. Great, except Blogger wouldn't make it big enough. GRRR, I give up. Read it if you can, consider it a vision check (grin).

Great Cholesterol Numbers

Family and friends are pretty familiar with my battles with my cholesterol numbers, a heredity predisposition I contend with. Well, it's been an up-and-down battle, with me making big efforts to reduce my slightly-overweight body and increasing my exercise, resulting in great results, followed by "resting on my laurels" for a while, getting a little sloppy, eating the wrong food, and watching the numbers creep up again. As mentioned in an earlier post, the wife and I started on the South Beach Diet about 6 weeks ago. We've stuck to it, and my weight has dropped from ~178 to ~160. VERY impressive. Even more impressive were my cholesterol numbers, at the dooctor's office today. Total cholesterol= 132! Amazing! LDL=59 Off the charts! HDL=61, very acceptable, and Triglycerides=60 Incredible! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic, and am reinforcing my need to watch the recidivism.