The Cloffice

Welcome to The Cloffice. This is my office, it is also my closet... Hence the name. There are many interesting things that can be found within the walls of the cloffice. For instance, there is a picture mobile made from an old schwinn bicycle wheel, there is an old schwinn bicycle, there are tikis, there are holy santos, there is weird art like my take on Piccaso's Tete de Toro (mine has bunny ears...), there is a "hot seat" (God help you if you find yourself in the hot seat!)... And oh so much more... Here are some terrible pictures I took with my phone... Come on downtown and visit sometime!

One Foot and One Half.... First Big Snow Weekend!!!!

Photo Number 1: I was skeptical of Vanhilde's winter capabilities... I needn't have been concerned... She goes like a panzer tank in the snow!!!!

Photo Number 2: Big Cottonwood Canyon, Saturday the 13th of December after work... Taken from Vanhilde's command center....

Photo Number 3: Proof that ski instructors stand around more than they ski... A skiing eagle gathers no snow....

Puking and Nuking...

I may be becoming an old salty grouch but I just can't get with this new ski lingo... "Puking" is when the snow is coming down pretty hard, a storm that is steady and socked-in... While "Nuking" is when Ullr (Norsk god of snow) has unleashed his legions upon us earth-bound mortals, resulting in a canyon-closing, avalanche inducing, storm to end all storms... I really can understand the need for the specific differentiation of percipitation... Hell, some Native Inuits are said to have over a hundred different words for snow... So, this is nothing new... BUT, how about a little class? I propose that instead of "puking" we use the word "vomiting" and instead of "nuking" we shall forever more use the word "WMD-ing" in order to avoid offending the upper-crust (of which I hold the dubious honor of beloning).

There now, isn't that better?

Well, okay... Now that I have gotten that out of my system I need to get my skis ready for tomorrow's snow... It is just NUKING in the canyon right now!!!

-Bill

Vanhilde (pronounced Van-hill-da)

A strange feel with each shift, a small puddle of oil wherever we parked, a weird smell from the engine bay, and no $$$ to fix any of it was enough to hurry the idea that we've had for about a year now to sell the 1998 Subaru donated to us by Kath's Mom and Dad in favor of something more camping/ bike hauling/ soon to be new addition (well, additions, we are going all Obama and getting a doggie when we move into our new house late spring/ early summer) to the family friendly... This has come to us in the form of a 1985 VW Vanagon, "Vanhilde."

And while Vanhilde has her quirks to be worked out, she came to us for half what we were able to get out of the subi... So there's plenty to ensure that this vehicle will be on the road for a good long time!!!! Ahhh, I love to wheel and deal!

Here are Vanhilde's stats- She is big, gold, slow, and drives like a mack truck... But we love her for her neo-hippie style, utilitarian practicallity, low cost of operation, and the fine shape she is in. She rides on 16" Mercedes alloy wheels and a set of very nice tires, has upgraded suspension and shocks, comes from California (and so has absolutely no rust! give me a month in the salt and we'll see if that stays the same :)), and has a rebuilt engine and great transmission. The back converts to a queen-sized bed, with the addition of a set of window curtains Vanhilde will make a great camper van.

Ski Season is HERE!!!! Yeah, you read that right...

Obama and McCain, taking a much needed break in the Greatest Snow on Earth (tm)!!!!

3 feet in 5 days= Snowbird's second earliest open date....

BK

Freakin' OUCH! Cyclocross hurts...

I have no idea where I finished today... All I know is that I did, and I am proud of that. The race was in Ogden, about an hour north of SLC, at Fort Buenaventura State Park. The course was wickedly fun, more of a mountain bikers course than suited for roadies... I suffered hard all race, my back in perpetual spasm and my hands numb from the effort and vibrations of the technical but fast route. After my handlebars failed last week and the crash that I had training this week I was nervous at the onset, for good reason... This course just ate my legs alive. But a mere four hours later and I am ready to return next week, mentally at least.
-BK

PS- If it looks as though I am walking in the second photo, it's cuz I am walking... I missed the grab when dismounting and I tripped and spun around, Kath snapped this picture of me after that, good thing there is no audio... *&%^!!!!

It's a bird, it's a plane....

It's Supergirl! Gretchen is dressing up as 'Supergirl' for Halloween this year. It has me thinking of Halloweens gone by.... I remember costumes such as the scarecrow, the plastic-masked Bugs Bunny... I don't really remember the costumes as much as the trick-or-treating... It was marked by one constant from year to year, the pillow case. No bag or plastic pumpkin can measure up to this redneck tradition.

I remember the cool Michigan autumn air, the darkness, the excitment, dumping out the pillow cases to inspect the night's haul, the subsequent search for razorblade laced candy, throwing away the unwrapped treats the old people gave out... Some people even handed out loose change, wierd... We would always cross Cooley Lake Road to the newer subdivision (they had paved streets!!! PAVED streets!!!) because they had the best candy and the most decorations and the most houses, let's face it they had the most everything... But this was the only time of the year that any of that mattered...

Halloween is a spectacullar and strange holiday, but the best thing next to Christmas morning when you are a kid. I hope that Gretchen will have happy memories, she is getting to that point in life when our best memories are made.
-BK