Here Comes the Rain Again...

Skier Days: Sara(10), Caroline(3), Susan(0), Charles(2)

Just when you thought it was safe to go on the ski slopes mother nature sends you a big sloppy kiss straight out of the Caribbean.   My personal theory is that they there were not enough hurricanes this year to suck all of the energy out of the warm tropical waters.   You could see this one coming up the coast from a long way away and there was not going to be any avoiding it.  The only good thing about this storm was how quickly it came through.

Sara was actually supposed to have been brought to campus this morning for breakfast and assembly, but we are still getting the hanging of things so I brought her straight to the competition center.  Something to remember for next week.

The rain was still coming down pretty hard when we got there.  While this not to good for the snow,  it does make for some interesting pictures.  The mountain had completed a major construction project the summer before last after a huge rain storm and washout.   It was obvious to see just how well worth it that effort was.

Ski slopes are a friend to erosion and only with the hiking that I have done over the last year have I come to appreciate just how much work goes into controlling run off.  The sheer number of erosion bars, culverts and tunneling that go into avoid environmental devastation is quite impressive.   Most skiers never see these because by the time the show up it is all covered in a thick blanket of snow.   If  you hike off season or make it to the slopes early or late in the season, they become a lot more obvious.

I heard very little from Sara today and buried myself in my work.  It is so easy to get lost in the technology.  You start out on something that you think will be pretty easy, and the solution evades you, until suddenly it all just works.  This happened to me this morning.  I also got to catch up with a fellow Oracle colleague that I had not checked in with for quite a while.   I am excited because a piece of shared code that I had worked on quite a bit a year ago has finally made it out the door.  I then had hours of reading and commenting on specifications ahead of me.

By late morning the sun was streaming through a foggy background and the temperature read in the mid 50s so I opened the windows and let it air out some.   I took a short break mid afternoon and did my run from North Peak to Aurora again. What is amazing is how predictable the human body is sometimes. This run has 500 feet of elevation change and goes along a rugged access road, yet I finished it just 15 seconds faster than the last time that I had run it. Oddly, I felt like I had paced myself and run it more slowly and steadily than the last time. Comparing the two runs was pretty interesting. High-technology is pretty stark sometimes.



Perhaps my perception that this run was easier was because of the sights and sounds of running water that surround me.   Man made and natural streams and waterfalls alike were babbling and singing everywhere.  While I felt taken in by the feeling of nature around me, it was clear that careful civil engineering was at work just about everywhere to preserve the careful balance between man and nature.


I read a few more documents and then headed down to Bethel a little early to pick up supplies for Taco Stew for when the girls arrive tomorrow night.  Sara had gotten much of her homework done but had been procrastinating on her one assignment that was due tomorrow.  She seems to be struggling a bit with the independence and the easy access to media.  The idea was there, but the work was below par.   With a little coaxing she got it in pretty good shape.

In the meantime I got the place all spic-n-span.  Cleaning out the fridge of the leftovers,  vacuuming up all the mud and dust from the parking lot,  running the dishwasher, and doing a load of laundry.   All before bed and another early day tomorrow...