The new iPad 3

Apple announced the newest version of the iPad today.  For most users, I don't think it will really make that much difference compared to the iPad 2, which is already very nice and I happen to own one.  However, from a technology standpoint, the iPad 3 rocks.  Two big things to me:

First, the new screen is off the charts for high resolution.  It has four times the number of pixels as the iPad 2, measuring in at 2048x1536.  This is higher than any laptop I have ever seen.  Most laptop screens have a long side of 1400 or 1650 pixels.  I have a ThinkPad W500 whose screen is 1920 x 1200.  Even a big HDTV is only 1920 x 1080.  Apple managed to squeeze all those pixels into a 9.7" screen.  I would love to see one.  It should be gorgeous.

Second, they increased the CPU to a quad processor, improved the graphics processor, quadrupled the pixels on the screen, added a 4G (LTE) cellular modem, and increased the battery capacity all without changing the price form the iPad 2.

Looks like Apple will continue to dominate the tablet market for a while longer.

A nice day on the slopes

We've received about 30" of snow over the past four days.  The storms have gone and now we have some lovely sunshine. Julie and I went over to Canyons for some powder. It finally feels like a Utah winter again.

Most, but not all, of the little trees and rocks are covered up, making life a lot safer for your skis.

But for some people, fresh powder doesn't mean crap unless you are the first ones to ski through it.  So, after skiing up all the fresh snow on the runs, you head to the trees.  After the trees, you start to hike.  Ski Patrol finished bombing Murdock Peak and dropped the rope.  Immediately people started up the very steep hike to ski some fresh.

To get any real idea of the hike, double click on the picture and then check out the tiny people in the top right corner.  Notice that the top of the hike isn't in the picture yet.  The face they are climbing is a double black ski run.

No one loves the snow more

The resorts got about a foot of new snow, and we got 6-7" here at the house. Jasper was enjoying the fresh tracks.

Another run, this time with more speed.

Fox dive head first into the snow to catch and eat voles.  Jasper makes the same dive but comes up with the chunk of ice I just tossed.  Probably not as filling, but no lack of fun.

We're supposed to get another batch tonight.  Jasper is hopeful!

A legitimate snow day

It certainly wasn't a thigh deep powder day, but at this point in a dry year, we will take anything and everything. They reported 6" in the morning and we got a few more while we were there. 

I went over to PCMR this morning and met up with Doug Drexler.  He's a Mountain Host and I worked with him for three years.  He is one of those trouble making snow boarders. We mostly just lapped on the McConkey lift, where the snow seemed to be the deepest.

Doug ripping it up.  He was on a brand new snowboard and I had to keep pointing out that you really are allowed to turn on those things.  Tough when you are struggling to keep up with someone 10+ years older. Park City can suck that way.

Now we are just crossing our fingers for Wednesday night's storm.

Huntsman Cup at PCMR

Next time you find yourself on the ski slopes whining about how the snow is too icy or that your toes are cold, you really should stop by and watch some athletes that put your whining into perspective.

I stopped by the first day of the Huntsman Cup.  This is an alpine ski race (GS and slalom) with the International Paralympic Committee.  There are three categories for both men and women:  visually impaired, standing, and sitting, and there were competitors from at least a dozen countries.

I enjoy skiing fast and I know the burning muscles and adrenaline pump you can get from a long, fast run down the mountain.  Just the same, I feel like a total underachiever.  Watching these athletes compete is incredibly inspiring.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but if you haven't ever watched a Paralympic competition, you should!

Elk in Round Valley

If you are familiar with Park City, there is a big chunk of land between I-80, highway 40, Kearns Blvd and the Swaner Nature Preserve.  It is a mix of residential, private land and preserved open space.  The open space is known as Round Valley and it is quite the spot for the elk to hang out.

This morning I got a call from Chad Rexroad.  Chad is the one who has taken me on his prep trips for elk hunting season. He told me that there were six nice elk hanging out in the residential area, not far from Round Valley.

Chad has a good eye for spotting elk, and unfortunately, he spotted them a good long ways up the hill.  Rather than getting little tiny elk in the pictures, I drove around to sneak up on them from the top. It's the Elks Club, all men, just wasting their day hanging around.

I wish I could have gotten a better shot, but yes, this elk does have a Magpie (large bird) sitting on his butt.

Here's a close crop from that picture.  The elk seems completely indifferent.

I know its not the time of year for them to be bugling, but when this one tilted his head back I was still hopeful.

And when I said that I "snuck up on them", that is simply a delusional exaggeration.  They probably knew I was coming before I did.  They tolerated me until it was clear I wasn't just passing by.  Then they wandered off where it would be nearly impossible for me to follow them.

Chad, thanks for the heads up!

I wonder why the elk are so elusive, when the moose are so indifferent.

Did you get your flu shot? Jasper did.

Julie and I have always been big fans of getting flu shots.  I know it isn't statistically useful, but we haven't had a flu in many, many years. It seems like such an easy (free) way to avoid a miserable, nasty week in bed.

About 6 years ago, a new disease started moving through the US.  The H3N8 virus is known as Canine Influenza.  If a dog gets this version of the flu, then they get to suffer just like humans.  Remember that there isn't anything to "kill" a virus, so you just let it run its course.  When Jasper got his annual shots at the vet, we decided to add the new "doggie flu shot". 

If you have a dog that is around lots of other dogs, then you should give this some serious consideration.  The primary ways to pass it are dog kennels, dog parks, or anywhere else that dogs gather in a confined space.  At least dogs don't spend much time on an airplane or in an elementary school.

If it's good enough for us, it's good for our pets.

Eliminating your Google History

I did this over a year ago, but for those who haven't and don't really want everything tracked...


On March 1st, Google will implement its new, unified privacy policy, which will affect data Google has collected on you prior to March 1st as well as data it collects on you in the future. Until now, your Google Web History (your Google searches and sites visited) was cordoned off from Google's other products. This protection was especially important because search data can reveal particularly sensitive information about you, including facts about your location, interests, age, sexual orientation, religion, health concerns, and more. If you want to keep Google from combining your Web History with the data they have gathered about you in their other products, such as YouTube or Google Plus, you may want to remove all items from your Web History and stop your Web History from being recorded in the future.

Here's how you can do that:

1. Sign into your Google account.

2. Go to https://www.google.com/history

3. Click "remove all Web History."

4. Click "ok."

Note that removing your Web History also pauses it. Web History will remain off until you enable it again.

If you have several Google accounts, you will need to do this for each of them.

Bruce and Hannah Kahn

Our friends, Bruce and Hannah Kahn were here visiting a few weeks ago.  After leaving Park City, they headed up to the Alyeska ski resort in Alaska. If you want to know where all the snow has gone this year, it's Alaska.  They have had almost 700 inches since October.

Bruce sent me this picture from their visit.  What incredible scenery.  Huge mountains shooting right out of the sea. Alaska is at the top of the must visit list for Julie and me.

I am most jealous of their heliskiing day.  They got six very long runs through the eight feet of untracked fresh snow they had that week.  Just awesome!

The art of forecasting snow

On the 6:00 news last night, they were forecasting the arrival of a big storm. Overnight we should see 6-12" of snow, with something similar during the day Sunday.  You might guess that when the storm is only six hours away, they would be able to predict the results with some accuracy.

Here is the snow in our driveway as of 9:00am.  As always, I use my 60 pound dog Jasper for size reference. However, to show a more detailed view,  I have chosen to use Jasper's right front paw.

Good job weather dudes and dudettes!  At some point they should give up and only forecast the weather that has already occurred.

AN UPDATE:  It's now 4:00pm.  The snow you see above had melted in the blinding sunshine and beautiful blue skies. We've maxed out at 1/8th of an inch of snow.  Even now, you can still get a laugh from the National Weather Service web site. They don't give up.

Late Afternoon: Snow. High near 16. Wind chill values as low as -2. West northwest wind around 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible.