tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:01:44 +0000Corgis Yoshi and Trek have their very own training diary (See the links section). This is for everything else.http://www.frap.org/Blog/nondogblog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)Blogger390125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-2638942095284845763Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:15:00 +00002010-03-11T17:23:17.295-08:00I've been trying to lose another 5 pounds and i'm suddenly getting my wish and I'm not sure I'm at all happy about it. I'm having one of those GI related problems (actually not the big D), and even though it's not particularly painful, the anxiety it causes has made me lose my appetite and I forget to eat. I fortunately can eat and do when I remember to but I don't snack inbetween meals much http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/03/unplanned-weight-loss-is-disconcerting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-5446371256683601748Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:43:00 +00002010-03-01T19:02:18.065-08:00In my continuing quest to get off of junk mail lists.Valpak puts the removal instructions in the smallest type possible on their envelope.but the number they post 1-800-676-6878actually encourages you to use their website.Both methods are a complete pain, but seem to work.Entering the numbers listed after the phone number will get you to the removal part of the phone tree:1-800-676-6878, #, 2, 2,http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/03/getting-off-value-pak-junk-mail-list.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-6758775891659150270Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:59:00 +00002010-02-25T16:22:27.715-08:00I grew up in what I'm am just realizing now (funny how that works), a kid's paradise. I had animals, property to run around on (and work on which I hated then of course), and an orange grove.It's gone now. Gone the way of most orchards and the property now hosts Yorba Linda McMansions, which I peek at with Google Satellite views in Google Maps and Google Earth. I truly and very literally can'thttp://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/02/hidden-costs-of-cant-go-home-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-4113135194527218348Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:04:00 +00002010-02-21T00:20:10.171-08:00Sometimes when I finally notice something it seems so screamingly obvious, I wonder how I've been missing it for years.It was actually a snowboarder who pointed this out to me. I'd been noticing that the snowboarders always seemed to be holding their boards up after a run while they waited for their score - particularly showing the underside. Then I noticed that one of the boarders was making http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/02/look-carefully-at-my-sponsors-skis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-7473447496941834794Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:34:00 +00002010-02-18T22:47:39.308-08:00So I'm noticing this Olympics that I pretty much know most of the big names in skiing and snowboarding, and if you tune in even just a little in between Olympics you will recognize names. Last year I wound up at Northstar and the weather was pretty miserable, so the only thing fun to do was go watch the snowboarding competition. And tonight's snowboarding competition was pretty much a replay ofhttp://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/02/traveling-world-to-compete-with-same.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-8879683196177619213Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:28:00 +00002010-02-15T20:52:14.126-08:00One excellent way to start a religious, superstition-laid argument is to ask how many keys should be on a automotive keyring - the idea was that if there was too much weight on it that the ignition switch could wear out. Well, pretty much a whole bunch of things we once knew about cars is now outdated. The fastest way to stop a car with anti-lock brakes is not to carefully feather the brakes, http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/02/how-many-keys-on-keyring.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-3997205168084821165Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:32:00 +00002010-02-04T13:47:55.967-08:00Less so these days, but something that I still see is people locking/arming their car by pointing the keypad at the car, and of course the car (usually) dutifully responds, just like pointing the remote at the TV. But the thing is your car is not a television. TVs have infrared sensors that detect the signals from the remote. Your car has no such sensors and imagine how crazy it would make youhttp://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/02/your-car-is-not-television.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-1322212163586552423Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:42:00 +00002010-01-29T22:05:48.409-08:00Avalanche Tranceivers and their use.As I do some research I'm noticing that specific details on avalanche rescue are a little scarce. That may be deliberate as you really need to take a class, and practice practice, practice. I'm going to focus specifically on exactly what I learned and am going to leave a lot of the other detail out.Tome of basics are listed here:http://beaconreviews.com/http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/using-avalanche-beason-to-locate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-1618709281383729442Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:40:00 +00002010-01-29T22:08:07.136-08:00I'm in a position I've never been in before, and it's pretty strange for me.Because the blog entries are individually searchable some redundant information first:I attended an avalanche class where to get to certain places I needed to ski on terrain that was beyond my skiing ability.I was basically in the position of having to either snowplow or side-slip down to where I needed to be and I also http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/weirdness-of-minor-emotional-trauma.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-6319319527461987018Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:15:00 +00002010-01-29T16:46:29.616-08:00Still reeling from my avalanche class. I loved it but was put on terrain that was above my skill level and that seems to have messed me up some (though the class itself was great and I still need to write more about it in time.)Given how much trouble I had with skiing on difficult terrain and how I'm not willing to move to the mountains since my life is here and I like it and I pretty much http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/snow-grieving.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-5747694444374472233Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:43:00 +00002010-01-27T11:49:51.021-08:00I really do need to stop bemoaning my lack of skiing skills and start writing down what I actually learned which had nothing to do with skiing.The class held by the most fabulous Babes in the Backcountry (http://babesinthebackcountry.com)The instructor was actually one of the Avalanche Forecasters at Squaw which was quite the coup.It was aboutWhy do we need to learn about avalanches?In what http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/avalanch-course-pt-i-basic-overview.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-8821979687201549200Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:08:00 +00002010-01-26T22:22:49.374-08:00I took a 4 day avalanche class in Tahoe and I'm still a bit reeling from it.the vague details are:I attended a 4 day avalanche course put on by Babes in the Backcountry (http://babesinthebackcountry.com) where the instructor is one of the Avalanche Forecasters at Squaw Ski resort. this is actually multiple blog entries but in short.Drove to Tahoe in a storm (with chains)Spent part lecture time http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/avalanche-class-some-sketchy-details.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-4960884358065343734Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:16:00 +00002010-01-17T23:45:08.979-08:00Ski resorts use a colored system to grade their runsEasiest is a green circleIntermediate is a blue squareAdvanced is a black diamondExpert is a double black diamondI am an intermediate skier and I'm finding that there are many varying difficulties of blue. In fact I've often seen described "easy blues" and "harder blues." and the real trouble is that the degree of difficulty can vary on the http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/skiing-varying-shades-of-blue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-9123421074105393038Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:45:00 +00002010-01-13T09:47:49.685-08:00I went by Trader Joes on a mission. We have some Trader Joes gift cards and Terri wanted to know if there was something special we could get. Do you know how much fun it is to walk in looking for something expensive?So right now$11 gets you 2 Dungeness crabs$13 gets you a large hunk of uncured ham (she's on her own there, but I dutifully reported it)$11-12+ gets you a significant quantity of http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/trader-joes-quest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-7305689163012855785Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:24:00 +00002010-01-03T22:52:53.672-08:00This is a follow up to my blog entry about the famous Callanish Stoneshttp://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/callanish-standing-stones.htmlI mentioned that while the main attraction was amazing, it's a total blast to locate some of the more obscure standing stones in the area that are associated with the main one ("Callanish I"). There are over 10 and the quest for Callanish V had us having a grand http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/callanish-stones-follow-up-quest-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-4052011999984029888Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:18:00 +00002010-01-03T17:19:38.665-08:002010 is Twenty Ten, not Two Thousand Ten. (Someone alert They Might be Giants as we need a song like "Istanbul, not Constantinople") I don't know who decreed that (Emily Post Inc.?), but it's caught on and, if you think about it, it makes sense as it's how we always refer to dates in the past.How do you say 1972? Nineteen Seventy Two.When was the Norman Conquest? In One thousand Sixty Six? I http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/its-twenty-ten.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-8729608891062650127Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:07:00 +00002010-01-03T10:16:04.882-08:00In Sept, I was agonizing about what to do with my thriving orange tree that produces some seriously sour oranges:http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/09/life-and-death-in-garden.htmlI haven't done anything with the tree as it's honestly not high enough of a priority, but when it calls attention to itself by having a huge crop of oranges that not even the squirrels will eat (I found one on the thrown onhttp://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/inedible-bounty-of-oranges.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-1319851278344020868Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:42:00 +00002010-01-02T19:13:26.425-08:00Like a lot of people, I and my partner at the time wanted to buy a house, but the ones we could afford were not in areas that we liked, so we took the time honored route of buying a fixer, and trading sweat equity in order to get into a nicer areaThat paid off handsomely, which was actually not the reason for this house purchase. It's one of those emotional decisions that, for once, worked in myhttp://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/dyi-home-improvement-means-not-have.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-2838509156399191683Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:23:00 +00002010-01-01T18:00:49.540-08:00Happy New YearSpent a couple of hours at the gym and surprisingly I recognized at lot of of the people there. Guess it's going to take a little while for the New Year's Resolution Crowd to get here.I've been ill for the past few days so it was really nice to get out and moving. First did my favorite: RPM which is a stationary bike class and is an invitation to try to kill yourself while cool http://www.frap.org/Blog/2010/01/treadmill-experiments.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-5060830387843689639Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:09:00 +00002009-12-29T21:01:35.783-08:00I have a thing for rocks, and I've been happy to discover that there are a lot of people throughout history who have also had a thing for rocks. And having a thing for rocks and art done with stone leads one on all sorts of fun adventures.But it's not just rocks really. It's the people behind them. I love stone circles and other monuments and I love the things I learn along the way simply by http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/callanish-standing-stones.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-2556796544773930143Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:07:00 +00002009-12-29T20:33:04.138-08:00I don't know about other people, but when I start working out possible plans I totally jump in with too many feet way too early before I've had a chance to really think about it. Then reality hits and those feet get cold. This is annoying as it makes me look like a flake though I usually make myself follow through unless I have a really good reason. This time I signed up for an avalanche http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/my-name-is-jump-gun.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-945485025767787467Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:02:00 +00002009-12-23T11:25:13.353-08:00If you watched the most recent season of Survivor (I love the scenery and I love fantasizing about being one of their puzzle/game designers which means I get hooked into the drama and I've stopped worrying about any psychological damage that that might create. :)ANYWAY, if you were watching this time you likely remember that a chicken escaped and there was much comedy of them trying to catch it http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/how-not-to-catch-chicken.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-1457448248316643850Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:07:00 +00002009-12-17T23:24:18.658-08:00There's a book out talking about the "Blue Zones" which are areas where the population stays active and often lives to be 100 years old.Places like Okinawa, Japan and Sardinia, Italy are not surprising and they have been previously noted, but also mentioned is Loma Linda, California.Really? I never could have predicted that.Loma Linda is located here:I've been there, it's not terribly notable http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/loma-linda-blue-zone-more-like-smog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-8119974821936437524Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:23:00 +00002009-12-17T16:23:49.229-08:00The thing that drives me nuts about accidents where everyone involved dies is that there's a huge story that is doomed not to be told except by conjecture.There are enough clues in what we know so far about the most recent Mt. Hood tragedy to imply something dramatic happened. On Friday Katie Nolan, Luke Gullberg, and Anthony Vietti set off on a winter climb of Mt Hood in perfect conditions at http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/mt-hood-one-mans-heroic-effort-to-save.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6035513.post-458252002808538244Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:51:00 +00002009-12-17T10:10:53.067-08:00[This is the second entry on this subject]So a friend and I were discussing devices to locate someone. I was pointing out the limitations of Avalanche Transceivers, and she was suggesting the SPOT personal locator beacon (PLB) that uses GPS technology (http://findmespot.com others listed at:http://www.rei.com/category/40002203). to be fair it's a lot more than just a PLB and you pay for that http://www.frap.org/Blog/2009/12/locator-devices-maybe-its-time-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ellen)0