Seriously way cold

Here in Park City, we get a few nights a year that sneak below zero degrees and then it normally pops right back up.  We may be having the coldest stretch of weather I have seen in 10 years of living here.  This morning is -8 at the house and -15 down at Heber.  It's enough that it's that cold, but it goes on for day after day. Next Wednesday is the first day forecast to surge past 20 during the day.  Damn!

• TodayA 30 percent chance of snow showers after 11am. Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 9. Wind chill values as low as -17. East southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
• TonightA 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 0. Wind chill values as low as -12. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
• FridayA 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 13. Wind chill values as low as -12. South southwest wind 6 to 13 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
• Friday NightA 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 4. Wind chill values as low as -14. South wind 9 to 13 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
• SaturdaySnow, mainly after 11am. High near 15. South wind 15 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
• Saturday NightSnow likely, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 3. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• SundayA 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 10.
• Sunday NightA slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -6.
• MondayPartly sunny and cold, with a high near 9.
• Monday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 1.
• TuesdayPartly sunny, with a high near 16.
• Tuesday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 9.
• WednesdayPartly sunny, with a high near 24.

The first big snow of the year

Two of our three Park City ski areas have opened and Deer Valley opens on Saturday.  This is exactly what we needed to give the ski season a bit of a nudge: over a foot of snow and a week of frigid temperatures.

Of course any time there is fresh powder, Jasper goes nuts.

It was cold enough to generate some frost, but not that much.  I did like how this little plant looked like a tiny palm tree.

There are a number of people who don't think that man can be responsible for climate change.  Really?  This cloud bank stretches for miles and it was created by nothing but the snow making machines at Deer Valley.  Imagine what a 24x7 factory can spew.

Did I mention that Jasper likes the snow?  He is completely oblivious that it is 5 degrees out.

The shapes and textures were everywhere.  This looked like a field of giant mushrooms.

The frost in the Gambel Oaks gave everything a bit of a sparkle.

Starting this year off with a harder Where's Waldog?  Can you find Jasper in the picture?

Another Gambel Oak coated in frost.

If things go as expected, the lows tonight will be 5 below.  I may head down into the Heber Valley to see if the trees all frost over.

End of season elking

I thought Chad and I were done looking for elk this season.  Then I discovered that he had gotten a Cow tag in the hunting permit lottery and was going out looking for one.  The hunting season for bulls is over and they don't give many Cow tags out.  I guess they are just for managing the populations and not letting them get out of control.  Someone has to do the job that wolves and mountain lions were meant to do.

We went out this morning armed only with my camera (no rifle). Just as well.  We never saw a female elk the entire time.  We did see 15 bull elk, all of which were big and quite impressive.  How is it that when you are hunting bulls, you see cows and when you are hunting cows, you see bulls everywhere?  Do elk know the Utah hunting laws?

Sometimes I am very proud of the photos I shoot.  Other times it takes a lot of work and some very nice camera equipment, just to get something very mediocre.  This was one of those days.  The closest we ever got to these elk was about 300 yards.  Some were more like 600 yards away.  It was a very cloudy morning and the sun, were you to find it in the clouds, hadn't come over the hills yet. (We start hiking in the dark)  I had a huge, heavy  500mm lens but no tripod.  The fact that you can tell that these are elk is a tribute to modern camera technology.

During the rut, these bulls are fighting it out for the attention of the females.  Once the sex dries up and the females head off, these guys all hang out together.  Here we have four big bulls heading off up the hill.  Notice that the lowest one has already dropped one of his antlers.  I wonder if his peers make fun of Old Lefty?

The most interesting find of the day came very early.  As we were walking to the secret area where Chad had seen elk before, we stumbled on to this one lying on the ground.  We assumed he was just napping, but elk are very unlikely to get caught off guard.  They are extremely skittish and have sensitive ears and noses.  As we got closer, we realized he was awake but clearly in some form of distress.

We got close enough that I couldn't even get a photo with my telephoto lens.  This was shot with my iPhone.  Our best guess is that he had been shot by a hunter and was close to death.  We planned to report him to the rangers who would come and end his suffering.

We stopped by on our way back to the car and he was still there. However, as Chad got close, he stood up, wobbled a bit, and then trotted on off up the hill.  We checked where he had been laying and couldn't find signs of blood.

So, maybe the sad story has a happy ending.  He was a very healthy, large elk and if he was just getting through some issue like an illness, he will probably survive.  We were both hoping so.

If you've read my blog over the years, you know I haven't had a lot of luck seeing elk when Chad and I go out.  It tends to be more of a nice, hard hike in the woods.  Getting to see 15 big bulls in one day was awesome.

Tree lighting and a bad memory card

We went up to the Montage Hotel to watch their Christmas tree lighting and eat their snacks.  But before we get to those photos, a side issue:

I took a number of photos with my Nikon D800 and had no issues at all.  I put the camera in my car and when I got home to pull the pictures off the Compact Flash card, it was corrupt and reported that it needed to be formatted.  I've never had a single problem with my memory cards before.  While this wasn't some big important photo shoot, I didn't want to lose my pictures.

What to do:

1. Do a "Quick Format" of the memory card so that the systems can see it again.  A low level Format will wipe everything out.
2. Download Recuva, a free disk recovery tool, from http://www.piriform.com/recuva.  It's made by the same company that makes Ccleaner, which most of my family uses.
3. Run it, letting it scan the card.  In my lucky case, it found every single photo, including ones from the last two or three shoots, all of which had been "deleted".

The lesson:  When you have a disk or memory card problem and you think you have lost files, they are probably still there for the taking.  Don't panic.  Don't keep trying to use the disk. Stop and Recuva the files!

Now on to the Montage....

The event starts out by one of the Montage's fire pits.  There were two cowboys leading the group in songs.  Our neighbor Hannah is the one in the black on the far right.

I think the main reason we go is the s'mores and the hot chocolate.  For those who have led a completely sheltered life and don't know what a s'more is, I was happy to find that they have their own Wikipedia page.  A hotel as high end as a Montage at a place as high end as Deer Valley isn't going to have normal s'mores and hot chocolate.  They have delicious flavored marshmallows, homemade whipped cream, and every form of candy and sprinkle you can imagine.

Clearly it made the right impression on Julie and Cathy.  We went to Cabo with Cathy and Chad a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, Chad was on his way home from work and missed the sugar-based festivities.

You can really get the sense that this party is wide open and close to out of control!  I think next year they should have a bar open for mixing with the beverages.

Finally, the lights came on. Feeling the spirit of Christmas, we headed to Blind Dog for a drink and then the Silver Star Cafe for an INCREDIBLE dinner.

The Montage does this up really well and we know that it's mostly for the children.  Just the same, I am not sure I would bring kids there.  After s'mores, frosted sugar cookies (large), and hot cocoa filled with candy, the kids were running around at full speed and bouncing off  the walls.  I am sure they calmed down by midnight or so.

Jasper versus the snowballs

I lack a bit of coordination, but this is my best take.  In one hand I am hucking snowballs to Jasper, trying to put them in a spot so that he has to jump to get them, but not so far that he just runs after them. In the other hand I have my iPhone running the SnappyCam Pro app.

First try... a good effort, but a definite miss.

Looked like he had this one, but it seems to have escaped.  I think he got a fairly good twist in there.

And finally, a clear catch.

It's all about positive attitude

You have to like some people's positive thoughts!  We've had two bad snow years in a row and everyone is hoping for a big improvement this winter.  We would like it for the skiing but we need it to replenish our water supplies.

People throughout Park City put PVC pipes up along the edge of the road so the plows know where push and where to stop.  Otherwise you might find your bushes or lawn plowed into rows for next year's crop.  Most of us use half an 8 foot pipe and that is more than sufficient.  Apparently this guy thinks we are going to have the snow year to end all snow years.  He has 10 foot PVC pipes along his yard.  I'm hoping he's right and those of us with four footers are going to be wondering where the hell they went.

Think snow!

Park City Planning Commission

In Park City, the City Council is the most important and powerful group.  They make the real decisions for what the city does and doesn't do.  They are elected by whatever small portion of the populace shows up on voting day.  The Planning Commission is probably the second most important group.  Our town is so dependent on a mix of:

• Mining history, including it's protected historic buildings
• Winter and summer resorts
• Full time residents
• Tourists
• Non-resort businesses

These things tend to tug in different directions, making it difficult to improve the town for locals, tourists and business all at once.  The planning commission is where a lot of that starts. Planning commission members are appointed by the mayor and the city council.

A few years ago I threw my name in the hat to fill a local planning commission vacancy.  I wasn't well connected and was just settling in as a full time resident.  I wasn't selected and certainly shouldn't have been.  Then a year or so ago, I tried again.  This time I knew more people and more people knew of me.  I still wasn't selected, but this time I was at least a moderate candidate.   Well, third time's the charm. This time I was chosen and I will start my four year term in January.

It should be a great learning opportunity for me, both the details of zoning and the broader happenings and government of Park City.

By the way, this is a PAID position.  I get $100 for each meeting and a pass to the local Park City rec center (the MARC).  Given how many hours the commission puts in, I think I am well below the average new employee at Burger King.

Dragster acceleration is obscene

My friend Doug Drexler emailed me this.  I would point back to the original source, but I think this is something that has been passed around over and over. Thanks to whoever wrote the original.

Ever wonder why a Top Fuel dragster gets a rebuilt engine after each run?  Stay with this - even if you aren't a 'car nut', this is stunning.

• One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500 cubic-inch replica Dodge Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000 HP) than the first 4 rows of cars at NASCAR's Daytona 500.
• Under full throttle, a dragster engine will consume 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second. A fully loaded Boeing 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate but with 25% less energy being produced.
• A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger.
• With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lockup at full throttle.
• At the stoichio metric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
• Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
• Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. Which is typically the output of an electric arc welder in each cylinder.
• Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way thru the run, the engine is 'dieseling' from compression and the glow of the exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
• If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with enough sufficient force to blow the cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half !!
• Dragsters reach over 300 MPH +... before you have completed reading this sentence.
• In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, a dragster must accelerate an average of over 4 G's.
• In order to reach 200 MPH well before reaching half-track, at launch the acceleration approaches 8 G's.
• Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.
• The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.
• THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid for, the pit crew is working for free, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run will cost an estimated $1,000 per second.

Let's now put this all into perspective:

Imagine this...........You are driving a new $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z-06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged, ready to 'launch' down a quarter-mile trip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard, on up through the gears and blast across the starting line, pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH....
The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that exact moment. The dragster  starts after you. You keep your foot buried hard to the floor, and suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally screaming whine that seares and pummels your eardrums. Within a mere 3 seconds the dragster effortlessly catches and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it – from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH.....and it not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the planet when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race !!!!

THAT, my friends.....is acceleration.

Muscle Shoals

I went and saw the movie Muscle Shoals on Sunday.  It is a Sundance-selected documentary about Muscle Shoals, Alabama and how the music studios there had an enormous impact on the entire industry.  Not being aware (at all) about the history of the music industry, I was stunned that this little town was so significant.

The recording studios were the original home of little songs like Freebird and Aretha Franklin's RESPECT.  People who record there include The Stones, Leonard Skynard, Wilson Pickett, Elvis Costello, Bono, The Osmonds, Steve Winwood, and dozens (or hundreds) more.  The number of Gold and Platinum records that came from there is mind numbing.

Watch the preview here:  http://www.magpictures.com/muscleshoals/

But more important, if you get a chance to go see it, please do. It is an artsy movie, so you may have to hunt for it.

Winter seems to be here

I think winter is finally here, for good.  We got about 6" of snow here at the house and they had closer to a foot over at the resorts.  The temperatures were down around 20 and the snow making equipment was blowing full blast.

I had to blow the driveway for the first time.  We have had snow a few times but you could tell that it would warm back up and melt everything. This time it feels like it's for real.  With the house on the market, I can't leave a half foot of snow in the driveway.

Things I have either done or am about to do:

• Clean and put away the lawnmower
• Check the snowblower.  Adjust everything and change the oil.
• Clean all the chair cushions and put them away
• Turn on the driveway snow melt system and make sure it works.
• Turn on the five 220V heat tape circuits
• Get the snow shovels out
• Put the ski rack back on top of the truck.
• Find all my winter and ski clothing.

I wonder what I am forgetting about. This is a non-trivial change.