Underwear Model

This kid has some pretty sweet moves! But, whats with the underwear? Calvin Klein might be in his future, if he can turn that mini keg into a 6 pack.

Just a moving tip

Just a tip for the  next time you move. If you move to an area that is still stuck in the 80's aka still has a dude hangin on the back of the garbage truck that stops and actually dumps your garbage this would be ok.

But, since we don't have that here anymore, these people are in for a surprise when they come home to find out that they still have to break down 50 more boxes. Glad its not windy today, those boxes would just be in a neighbors yard.

TURN IT ON!

In an effort to blog about something other than backcountry skiing or cycling I was thinking of some childhood memories. I thought they would make good blog stories. So, today I bring you the story of the Swamp Cooler.

I am sure many of you if not all of you grew up in a house that used a Swamp Cooler as its main source of Air Conditioning. In Utah, it worked pretty well 75% of the time. If it was Humid it didn't work so well. Some draw backs were sometimes your food would get stale from the extra humidity, loud, really cold right by the vent and not so cold further away, gettin it up and going. This post will focus on the last one. 

You see, at my house growing up, I had 3 older siblings. The closest of which was 4 years older than I. This basically meant that as soon as I was old enough to take on certain tasks, they were immediately passed down. Enter the Swamp Cooler. I cant remember exactly how old I was when I took this task on but Im guessing maybe 9 or so. The time would come to get the coolers up and running at some point in May usually. 

My dad would get a bucket, a screwdriver and a wrench. It didn't matter what kind of wrench either. My dad would get the ladder out, carry his bucket with his screwdriver and his wrench in it with the hose in the other hand. Now, to this day I have no idea first hand what went on up there I just have my reflections of being at the bottom. That is inside working the controls of the unit. Water was going everywhere my dad made his way up to the roof while I waited patiently at the vent where the controls were. Our controls were old school. You had pump, a hi and a low along with off of course. 

And it begins. My dad would start yelling. OK TURN IT ON! Im seriously laughing while I type this. I would turn the pump on. OK TURN IT OFF! BANG BANG BANG. I am not sure if this is what the wrench was used for or the screwdriver. OK TURN IT ON AGAIN! I could hear water running, BANG BANG BANG. TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! OK, JUST WAIT A MINUTE! We didn't have Itouch's or any of that cool stuff to kill time. I just sat there, waiting for my next instructions. OK! TURN THE FAN ON LOW! click, click, TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! In a slightly panic voice. BANG BANG BANG! This would go on for what seemed like hours, realistically probably 20 minutes. Luckily for me, we had 2 swamp coolers. All in all it took maybe an hour or so. Every year, those coolers cranked up and kept our house coolish. I got to the point where I could figure out if we opened the hall closet it increased the airflow into the bedrooms. Awesome. I miss those days. Any time I bring up Swamp Coolers at a family function we all start laughing. Its a good time. TURN IT ON!!! We are so spoiled nowadays. 

Enough

Ok, enough is enough. This wacky Spring has left my waistline in a more round shape than I would like. Yes, I will blame it on the Spring weather. Not going to blame it on candy, cake, ice cream, cupcakes, chocolate, fast food etc. Its the Spring weather and Im stickin to it!

But, enough already! My mid-section looks the same now as it did back in January. Plump. Now, I am sorry Lindy (my wife) I know I am not supposed to talk about my weight or being fat with a pregnant lady in the house but I cant take it anymore. Aside from PCPP (which Im not even sure I will ride this year) and the Draper ICUP, I don't have any events to train for with the exception of a newborn baby due in June. Im worthless.

So, I am going to make an attempt at droppin this weight. I have about 8 lbs I would like to get rid of. Theres more there to lose but 8 would get me down to where I was last Spring. I was pretty happy with 172. There it is, I have atleast 1 month left maybe more before baby Betty gets here. Thats long enough right?

How am I going to do it? Well, for starters I will but cutting out the aforementioned things that I am not going to blame my plumpness on. I will also ride my bike as much as possible, drink more water etc. There is also some new 1 track bein cut in Draper. Although that 1 track won't help immediately but every time I drive home I will be able to see it. That will motivate me.

Balloons and the Human Sign

Most of you know I work in the Construction Industry, more specifically New Homes. I have been doing this for over 10 years now and over the years I have ran across some interesting characters. I have worked in Springville, West Jordan, Layton, Syracuse, Murray, South SL, Sandy. Each city has its own sign ordinances. Some cities we can put signs up, others we cant. Its kind of a pain in the ass.

In Syracuse, they wouldn't allow offsite signs or weekend directionals. So, we had a giant 6-8 ft A Frame sign that was out in this field that we had to knock down to lay flat each night and put back up each morning. Sounds easy enough except when theres a foot of snow in the field and the sign now weighs 2x as much. Oh, we also got to use balloons. The builder I worked for at the time (national builder jackass's) had these gigantic balloons. We blew them up in the model stuffed them in our car and drove out to put them on the sign. Problem was, the static in the car would cause the balloons to pop. Did I mention these balloons were gigantic? I remember the first time one of these balloons popped in my car. Thought I had been shot at, needless to say I had to make a run to get some new underwear. This was a daily ritual. I think those popping balloons took years off my life.

In Springville, we couldn't even do the above. So, we hired a human sign. Some dude or lady would come to my model on the weekends pick up our giant hand held sign drive out to the corner of the busy street and hold/wave the sign. This brought out some interesting people. I was just going through some old pictures and found these.

You see, they had no idea how big the sign was and they came unprepared to drive the 4 blocks out to the main street. I can't tell you how many times I found the sign propped up against the car and them napping inside. Easy job I suppose. Stand on the street, hold a sign, wave at people, listen to some tunes? No, tough and tiring job, must take a nap. There was the pale skinned dude who came to be my sign in the hot summer month of July. No, he didnt have sunblock and after a day in the sun holding the sign he came back and had the worst sunburn. I am pretty sure the 40 bucks he made that day was not worth it. 

There have been several others, but these pictures made me laugh and it brought back some memories. 

Ya know, Dug might just be right with this one! There is absolutely nothing that I could possibly add to his extremely thorough review of Diet Coke. I mean, I hate the taste of regular diet coke and have always opted for Coke Zero or the original Coke. I have recently stopped at the local Chevron and mix half Coke with half DC w/Lime. Yum. Yes, I just typed Yum. Anyways, I bought a 12 pack and tried it straight up today and the results were still Yum. Now, this doesn't mean I will discard my other soft drink choices but this is definately something that will be added to the mix.

On anther note, we hit up Scotties again Friday morning early for some recycled powder. I say recycled because it had been ski'd out heavier than we all had thought, plus the wind was blowing from the opposite direction that the avy forecast said it was. There was still really nice snow up top in the bowl and in the trees to the west of the main Scotties shot. Still a great morning. Only downside was, I left my poles behind. The wind knocked over my skis and my poles in the parking lot. I put my skis in the back then pulled my soaking wet undershirt off because I was freezing, then the wind kicked up again so I threw on another shirt and made a b-line to the car leaving my trusty old bent poles behind. Heard a rumor that someone may have picked them up but we have yet to be reunited. Hopefully the poles they picked up are indeed mine, if not I guess I have an excuse to get some new ones.

Mouse no more

It came to my attention that I had a little critter hitchin a ride in my car for who knows how long. I have had the seats down for quite some time now for  my skis to fit. I put the seat up the other day and saw remnants of a little critter. I mean, if I was a mouse, it may not be a bad way to live. Endless food supply thanks to a snackin 4 year old ridin around. Its warm for the most part. Atleast its warmer than it is in the garage. I have not figured out how said mouse got in the car but I have my theories. I do know however, how said mouse got out!

I set up 3 traps in the car. 2 on the shelf under the back seat and one on the floor. Filled the traps with some crunchy peanut butter. Sidecar-I really, really hate setting up snap traps. Its one of the worst jobs as a homeowner. Im usually just waiting for them to go off in my hands. Hate that!

So, after less than a few hours I checked the traps and sure enough! GOT ONE!

Now I just hope the little bastard didn't have a friend hidin out in there. Don't want babies runnin all over. That would be bad, very bad.

Took the car to the car wash the next day to vacuum out the little bastards crap, put some air freshener in and its good as new. Well, at least as new as a 7 year old car can be.

Plumbing and the Internet

Our 2nd bathroom bathtub has not been working for several months now. It works it just puts out scolding hot water. Not real conducive to giving kids baths. Not to worry, we have other tubs and thats what we have been doing for said several months. I got a wild hair up my ass and decided I would try to fix it today. First, I had to figure out how to take the thing apart so I could figure out what was wrong. I basically needed to replace the valve. I needed to figure out how to take the valve out so I could take it to Home Depot and get a replacement meanwhile, learning how to put it back together once i have the part. Ya follow? Good, because Im not sure I do. Took about 45 minutes to get the thing apart. Would have taken half that time if the valve didn't get stuck half way out. Warning, this is NOT a tutorial.

These are the steps I needed to complete.
1-turn the water off
2-take the fixture apart to gain access to the valve
3-NOT lose any of the parts
4-take valve out (easier said than done)
5-take valve to Home Depot to purchase the right valve
6-return home
7-clean out valve
8-lubricate pipe (everything is better with lube right?)
9-slide valve back into place
10-put all valve pieces back together
11-turn water back on to test prior to fully assembling the fixture
12-test complete
13-reassemble the fixture
14-clean up
15-Give Hannah a hi 5 for a job well done.

Of course Hannah was there to tell me I was doing a great job and to tell me that it was O.K when I was getting frustrated. She's so good at giving encouragement.

Here it is all taken apart

old valve

new valve

lubrication

halfway put back together for testing

my helper, actually she spent most of the time fartin and stinkin up the bathroom. She did hand me some tools though. 

All put back together

Hannah was so pumped that it was all fixed that she wanted to take a bath. The internet gave me just enough knowledge to get the job done. Thank you whoever invented the internet. Wasn't it Al Gore?

Handy

I got tired of my ski stuff laying all over the garage on the floor so I decided to do something about it. I didn't get out as much last year so it wasn't that big of a deal, I was able to put my stuff away and it didn't lay all over the garage. Maybe I have more gear now? Who knows. I had an open wall and a spare 2x4 so I drilled it into some studs and got some hooks at Lowes and went to work. First I had to find my drill, then I had to charge the battery. I can't remember the last time I used it. My motivation would have to wait until the battery was charged. Damn!

Here is what it looked like before-

Here it is after one battery died. It doesn't hold a charge much. I think I got this drill as a wedding present 12 years ago. Might be time for a new one at some point.

I added a screw at the far left so the skis would slide out and fall over. This comes in handy for a few reasons.

And here it is in all its glory!

Next up would be a shelf over the top to store gloves, goggles etc. Maybe next year. I only have so many handy matches to burn in a year.

On another note, got out this morning with Dug, Steve, Tyler and Dugs 12 year old Holden. We headed out to Pink Pine Ridge. Thats a cool area to ski, we found pretty good snow up top on the n/e slopes. We got in 2 quick laps. Holden killed it on the up and boy that kid can ski. 12 years old! I wish I started skiing before I turned 19. Oh well. Can't turn back time!

Tough Guy

So, I have been lucky enough to get some new gear lately. Partially due to some ffb winnings and partially due to a generous offering from my mother for Christmas and my Birthday. I thought it would be fun to give a review of some of those things. Not that anyone will care what my opinion is but someone might. Right?

Todays review will be on Flylow "tough guy" Gloves

Now, I am fully aware that Rick did a post last year about some similar gloves but after I read his post last year I thought to myself, would those really work as well as he says they will? So, I decided to look for something similar after a few tours this year where my hands were sweating. I usually used my ski gloves I bought from REI several years ago. Removable liner inside, leather exterior that came up on the forearm with a elastic closure. Typical ski glove. Works ok, I just seemed to get hot sweaty hands. 

I finally found a pair of gloves and they were cheap, 28 bucks so I thought what the hell, I'll give em a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. My hands were cold at first (they always seem to be) but after a few minutes of climbing they warm up. They are waterproof, I have good dexterity, so far they seem pretty durable but at 28 bucks you could buy a few pairs and still not spend near the amount of a nice pair of ski gloves just like Rick said last year.  

So, after a few tours with these gloves I am very happy with the purchase. If your hands get sweaty and wet while out touring you should try these out. If you don't like them you can give the gloves to me.

Elk jerky

If only I had a gun, and nobody was around. Guess thats called poaching.

This heard was just below Montreaux at the bottom of Suncrest. Not too often you see a heard of Elk that low.

An open letter to snowplow drivers (revised)

Ok ok, you have made your point. I have made a big, big mistake. In a previous post I said some harsh words about snowplow drivers. I am a grown man and I know when I have made a mistake. So please, please accept my deepest apology from the bottom of my heart. I really didn't mean it when I called you a dick. I especially didn't mean it when I gave you the the finger as I drove by.

I really appreciate all the work you do to clear our streets and make driving safe. The occasional snow bank is acceptable. I only ask that you try your hardest to pile the snow somewhere other than my driveway. I worked really hard to clear the driveway this morning only to come home this afternoon to this.

This photo makes it a little difficult to tell just what was left behind your massive snowplow truck. Here, maybe this is a better shot?

Is that clear enough? Whatever I did to make you upset I am truly sorry. Maybe next time your out and about you would like to stop in for a cup of coffee or some tea perhaps? I could even make you some hot chocolate if thats your flavor. I would even leave a thermos out front for you so you could continue the hard work in clearing our neighborhood streets. You just say the word. Leave me a comment and we will talk this out. I am confident we can come to an understanding.

As a measure of good gesture, I want you to know that I did not throw any snow into the street while I was clearing my driveway. I also cleared a path to the fire hydrant that is on the corner.

As you can see, I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. Lets make up. My back can't take anymore. My body is shattered. Truce?

An open letter to snow plow drivers

Dear Snow plow drivers,

Winter has arrived and I know you guys are excited. Lots of snow to plow, piles to make, cars to cake with thick sludge, garbage cans to knock over, people to cuss at for driving too close, people to cuss at for parking their car on the street, coffee to drink, etc. Yay! Its a fun time. While I do appreciate all the work that you do to clear the roads lay the salt down (although my street seems to be LAST on your list) etc.

I have a small bone to pick with you. Last year I looked the other way when you piled snow on my park strip that was nearly 10 feet tall. Mind you there is a vacant lot right next door that you could pile snow on till your hearts content. But no, you just kept on piling. Normally this would not bother me, but the salt that you use kills the grass and all other living plants. This basically means that I have to re-sod my park strip every year. I am sure that you don't realize what a pain in the ass it is to scrape up dead grass, go to the yard store to get enough sod to lay on my park strip. Surely if you did you wouldn't be such an ass.

This year, you have taken it to a new level. It seems that you are just f&*^in with me now. Not only are you piling the snow on my park strip again but you have also been piling the snow in front of my driveway. Now I can appreciate the fact that you feel the need to give me a core workout but seriously, im not that fat. The first time I laughed. The 2nd time I laughed less, then you did it a 3rd time. I didn't laugh. I cussed. alot. This last storm was super heavy wet snow. My snowblower does not work well with slush. I think you know this. I came home last night to find a 3 ft snowbank in front of my driveway. Wet, heavy, slushy snow. After much work, I finally cleared my entry to my driveway. My back hurts, my arms hurt and Im pissed. Next time I see you, your gettin the finger instead of the neighborly wave I have been giving you.

Merry Christmas DICK!

Worst Hurdler Ever!

This one's for you Dug!

After a nice ski day with Dug Friday (save that for another post) we went to dinner at Training Table. We went at 5 because I was starving! Anyways, I had to relieve myself so I went to the restroom and was confronted with this.



sorry bout the photo, I couldn't get it to rotate

 Right off the bat when you open the door, if someone is at the urinal, you are violating a man code. Terrible. It felt awkward to pee knowing that at any moment the door would swing open, just missing you as they scoot by you to wait.
Terrible, just terrible. After reading several of Dugs posts about public/work bathrooms. I cant NOT go into a bathroom without noticing things that seem off. Thanks Dug!

Is it wrong that I think this is funny?

Because if its wrong, I dont wanna be right.



It is pretty cool that she finished though!

Must see inside?

I was driving around today trying to find the X-mas light place that stores our lights. My plan is to pick them up to see how much of our house I can cover with our old lights and then decide what to do. First, I had to find the place. As I was driving around, I saw this house "for sale". It immediately made me start to think about all the tough houses I have sold over the years. I dont know that any of them would top this. I have sold a double wide trailer the day before the  listing expired, I have sold a house and closed 2 days before foreclosure, I have been "paid" in appliances from a short sale. I have sold a house that was rented by a Vietnam Vet hippie that was always rockin his guitar and a doobie everytime I went over. He was actually pretty funny dude. I have sold the SAME townhome 5 times before it closed. You get the picture. There are some tough sells out there. This one ranks up there.


Must See Inside!

This house has a detached 2 car garage.

Also comes with a "Treehouse" or a guest house. I bet  you are thinking to yourself right now, whats the catch? The catch is, thats I-15 right there! You are directly next to I-15. There is no on-ramp near by so you don't even get the convenience factor of being that close. Tough listing there.

I thought it was funny, am I the only one?

Huh?

This is an actaul phone call I had yesterday:

To protect the innocent, lets call her Mary. Mary lives in this community.

Me-Hello
Mary- Oh hi Nate, this is Mary from the neighborhood.
Me-Hi Mary, what can I do for you?
Mary- Well, I just noticed that all my interior doors have locks on them? I have been here over a year and just noticed.
Me- yep, all the interior bedrooms and bathrooms have locks on the door knobs.
Mary-Hmm, where is the key? I tried my house key but it doesnt fit.
Me-You tried your front door key?
Mary-Yes, but I couldnt get it to fit.

So, in my head I am thinking to myself wow, am I really having this conversation?



Outside of the door, using a special key to unlock the door




Front door



A key that wont fit in the hole of the 1st picture.

 Me- usually they leave they key to the door above the door on the door trim.
Mary-What does it look like?
Me- Its kind of hard to explain. Get a chair and look on top of the door.
Mary-Oh, I found it!

Lets hope Mary figures things out.

To wear or not?

This has been rattling around in my head for awhile now and since the snow has been flyin around I thought it was fitting. I have worn a helmet while riding my bike since I was a kid. Yes, I was the ONLY kid in the hood that had a mother insist on my wearing a helmet. I hated it! Especially since the helmet she bought me was HUGE! Seriously, it was big and I felt lame that I was the only kid that had to wear a helmet. Well, the others came around shortly after a friend fell going down a hill nearby and would never be the same after. HAHA, jokes on them now. I set a trend. Anyways, Im getting sidetracked.

The helmet I had as a kid ranked up there with this one Riessen was sportin on our night ride last week. Sorry Riessen!

I guess what I am saying is I have worn a helmet while cycling since I was a kid. I havent been on a ride without my helmet since. Brainbucket is always there.

Skiing on the other hand well, I guess its still a newer concept. I have worn a helmet while skiing for the last 5 years or so. Its still not like cycling where most everyone wears a helmet unless your name is Sly. I would say above average amount of people where helmets while skiing but not all. I had this conversation with Dug last year while skiing. If I recall it went something like this:

Me-So Dug, you where a helmet while you ride your bike right?
Dug-Yea
Me-Is there a reason you don't wear one while skiing?
Dug-I don't really have an answer for that.
Me-What? You dont have an answer?
Dug-No punk, leave me alone.
Me-Is it like Old School?
Dug-Did you not hear me?
Me-A little sensitive here?
Dug-swung his ski pole at me.
Me-I shut up after that.

I may or may not have added some to that conversation. But, it got me thinking. A brain injury is a brain injury no matter if your skiing or cycling.

Exit question:

If your a cyclist and you wear a helmet AND you ski. Do you wear a helmet? If so, why? If not, why?

Time to dig my ski gear out!

Many reasons! No matter the season...

I love where I live. I love the fact that I can roll out from my garage and be on these trails in less than 5 minutes. I don't care who you are, its some good stuff.

Sundays ride was one of those rare rides when the flow is just about perfect. I felt the presence of Jesus, I just followed his line. 

Let the Indian Summer continue....Snow will come soon enough. 

Also found out....... Hannah's going to be a big sister to a little brother or a little sister!