Hooked on mountain biking!

When we purchased our new mountain bikes three years ago, we thought we’d take them mostly on local roads or on bike paths; that is on the asphalt. That’s actually what we first did, but very quickly, we found these roadways rather crowded and a bit boring. Also, one day, I almost got hit by a car driver who failed to see me as I was crossing in front of him. This is pretty much how we graduated to single-track riding. At first, we found it difficult as it called for a great deal of concentration and coordination, very similar to what skiing requires. Now we love it; except for the weekends, there are hardly any other users on these trails and besides feeling safe, we’re in the middle of nature with few reminders of civilization. In addition to these winding, single-tracks, we’ve also experienced slick-rock riding down in Moab, Utah. Finally, the greatest bonus is that we feel totally rejuvenated because the few riders we see are generally well under 40 years old!

Still Palming…

As an early Palm Pilot adopter, my addiction to the PDA device has been hard to shake over all these years. So when my M130 failed to hot-synch, instead of trying to download some new USB drivers, I decided to shop for a replacement. I had always thought of going with a Treo, that jack of all trades, but didn’t feel like paying for all the recurring costs that come with these so-called “smart phones.” In addition, I loved “graffiti” the Palm’s hand writing feature and didn’t see my big fingers hunt and peck on a minuscule keyboard. Besides, I hardly ever use my cell phone except when I go out of the house as a “just in case" convenience. Of course, when we go out of town, we generally forward our land line onto our cell phones. At the end, I was ready to go with a T-Mobile Blackberry with internet and email access when I stumbled on the Palm T/X that does everything my old Palm did and then some, plus lets me now surf the web whenever I find myself in a wireless hotspot. Skeptical at first, I have been positively overwhelmed by the device as soon as I set it up, the same way I was ten years ago when I was introduced to my first PDA!

Thinking of Thule boxes

“Kilometre Zero”is a movie about the ethnic conflict between Kurds and Iraqis in the context of the war between Iraq and Iran in the 1980s. Funny at times, the movie shows, among others themes, the return of Iraqis “martyr” bodies to their family via a fleet of Toyota taxicabs, each carrying one casket on its roof. That image made me wonder about the effectiveness the delivery system and I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between these many caskets and the Thule boxes that we see atop of cars driven by active folks. Does that mean that when I pass away I'd like to be buried in my Thule box? Probably not as I'm considering cremation, but when you compare the cost of a roof box to the cheapest Costco product, a Thule box is both a cheaper and classier alternative that ought to be considered by die-hard sportsmen…

Hard to say hi!

During our morning run or whenever we hike or mountain bike, we encounter a wide variety of folks, from school kids, to moms walking their babies, adults of all ages and a few seniors. What’s remarkable is how younger individuals in general, and kids in particular, don’t know how to say “hello.” Perhaps, greeting someone has become old fashion or is just no longer part of the home education curriculum. It could also be that normal communication has fallen hostage to cell phone chat, email or instant messages. Another reason could be that from the time they start walking and speaking, kids are admonished “not to talk to stangers.” Whatever the reason, it’s become quite clear to us that the Beatles’ song “Hello, Goodbye” is definitely passé!

More red...

Over the past two or three days, red spots have started to invade the mountain. These are the mountain maple leaves (Acer spicatum) turning bright red just ahead of the aspen trees, which with the pine trees constitute the bulk of the forest show their golden yellow colors. For the moment, there’s only red to announce the Fall season, although in certain spots some shades of yellow are starting to form in the aspen groves. The timing of fall colors varies vastly from year to year. I have seen fall colors appear on the third week of August. This year is rather late for Park City. I’ve never been quite able to understand how photosynthesis really works and how a dry and sunny season (this summer) impacts the speed at which leaves turn. I’ve built up theories but not seem to really work. Does anyone know?

A simple coat of red…

As we were repainting our living room after some of the changes we just made into our living space, we decided to create some contrast by painting a wall panel in a striking “autumn maple” red. The original wall was beige and even though the paint salesman told us that applying this color would be challenging (long drying time, among other issues) he failed to tell us to first apply a dark (red) primer. So I went applying one, then two coats with not much good to show for it; after the third coat, things were not getting significantly better, so I called the company and was told that without that dark primer I was looking at about… five coats! Next time, I’ll know; isn’t it great how we learn something new everyday?

Just in time

After Charlotte left for California, we had to refurnish her bedroom and recently went to RC Willey, a major western furniture store owned by Warren Buffet, to get a new bed. After getting over the sticker shock (bedding has become quite expensive these days), we arranged for delivery that was scheduled for this past Thursday afternoon. Late morning that day, the driver called us and said that we should expect delivery between 1 and 3 pm. Around 4 pm, we were still waiting, so I called the store’s customer service department and spoke to Cami. She tried to contact the delivery guys on their cell phone, but to no avail. I asked her what she thought of the way they had not called to tell us about their delay, but she only could make excuses for them. At about 4:45 pm, I called her again and received the same muddled answer. I then escalated my call to Alex, her supervisor. I asked him if he thought my time was valuable and if these guys were behaving in ways consistent with their company’s goal, and after a false start, a light came up and he started to agree with me; finally, he apologized profusely on the delivery crew’s behalf. I made him understand that I needed a redress of some sort and promised to call me back with a solution. As the delivery truck pulled by our house, Alex was on the phone and said he’d send me a store gift card. Better than nothing, but what a piece of work!