Teeth of the Storm

While as impressive as this snowfall looks in the distance (about 3 miles) it really just looks like this on the inside of the maelstrom........

Normally this view has mountains in the background. Looking closely you can see specks of snow coming down as Mini and I enjoy the weather :)

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Just a little frosting on the the top

As the last of the clouds cleared off (and over) Mt. Jefferson, which overlooks the mine site, the sun was able to shine down of the first frosting of the season.

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First Flake of the Season

And no, the flake is not yours truly regardless of a vocal, but still minority opinion :) Woke up this morning to a few flakes floating through the quiet of a Sunday morning. Nothing sticking of course, but it won't be long.

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Anarchist Cookbook

Now that catchy title should get me some hits from Homeland Security :) Actually just got some decent wicks in from the "specialty" store so I was filling some jelly jars with soy based paraffin and a few different scents for candles. If this combination works well, I'll move into using some colorant too.

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Rural Runway Jet-setting

On a recent morning drive to work I saw activity at the small air strip next to the neighborhood where I, and most of the mine employees live. A small jet, the little white splotch, had landed to drop off visitors. The runway is exceedingly small---perhaps a narrow mile of unlit runway so the pilot must be braver than most to drop a jet onto the tarmac at dawn's early light.

Failure Mode

I've mentioned before about the hundreds of prisms lining the wall of the open pit. Each one is continuously tracked by scanners placed around the rim. This series of plots shows a particular area that had been scheduled to fail in the next week or so but has accelerated to the point where collapse is at anytime. All employees and equipment (except for the suicidal prisms) have been moved out of that area of the pit awaiting the all clear to return to work.

Dusty Rose

I've practiced a little with the Lumix the past week. I took this photo of a rose a bit past it's prime and "adjusted" some of the elements for the washed out effect.

Finally saw a Gators game in HD

Wildcats fans must be estactic with the play of their team against a flu striken Florida squad. Pay no attention to the score, the fans may take solace in that it was a moral victory---kind of like the one Tennessee prided themselves on last week :)

Had my cake and ate it too

A few kind souls kept track of a date this past week and dropped a cake off on my desk this past week. No candles but all things considered, we are a Safety First culture here :)

I, robot broken am I

The poor little guy is defintely not on par with WALL-E or his girl EVE but typically does his part to keep the floor spotless. After a recent run, he began going in small circles and a teardown ensued to discover the problem. Easy fix, bad left wheel module and he'll begin making his rounds again.

Go Green----Home Water Filtration

A companion blog demonstrated how they save some $ by filtering their own tap water instead of buying bottled water. I use a filter also for the same purpose---filling water bottles. Out here in the high desert you don't realize how much water you lose because perspiration evaporates so quickly due to low humidity. Also, the area is known to have some elevated arsenic levels in the water so just for peace of mind I use the filter. Rasputin I'm not!!

A Justin Wilson Special

I watched a lot of Justin's cooking shows on PBS and enjoyed the endless humorous banter while he showed audiences how to cook cajun style---and of course he always sat down at the end of the program to eat his meal with a glass of red wine...

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I'm glad for you to hear me...I "garontee" it :)

"Footy prints on my desert"

Yosemite Sam would never have guessed that the "footy prints" in the desert could be made in a freshly cut lawn. Most plants seem to love it here if you water and fertilize them.

Daybreak over the valley

Had to go topside to check on my swamp cooler over the weekend and was waiting on Sol to break up over the mountain peaks to capture this shot. Quite a bit of light before daybreak but the sun can't be directly seen sometimes for up to 30 minutes after the official sunrise time due to the peaks---and of course just the opposite for sunset.

The reason for the rooftop adventure.

Right before the Mothership dropped out of the clouds....

Had a storm front blow over the valley Saturday evening from the west and this is the backside of the storm looking east. Interesting boiling formations of the clouds that I'm sure have some "natural" explanation......

How did you watch "The Game"?

I do not have national network televison out on the high plains so have to be creative when watching legacy network programming. I managed to watch a quite a bit of the Tennessee vs Florida game thanks to a loser Tennessee fan who streamed his webcam. I had to get another audio feed because of all the whining he was doing during the first half. He finally turned the cam off just after the Gators scored again after halftime.....definite loser fan :)

It's Great Grandfather was a Brownie

For many reasons, quite a few of my posted photos are of questionable quality. Some operator error of course, but many because of the use of a camera phone with it's necessarily tiny lense. Arriving late yesterday afternoon on my desk was a sweet little Lumix. Needless to say, operator error will become a much bigger player for poor photos in the future :)

Sunny Days

Other blogs have been under the weather lately, both figuratively and literally, but out here on the high plains it is sun shiny days :)

Gear Ratio

I did the heart transplant on our pool cleaner last week and got to take apart the old one for a look-see. Water turbine driven (top), with a highly ratioed output shaft (bottom right) rotates a multi-lobed cam that engages a small check valve.

Lake Mead and Hoover dam

Came in from the southeast to Las Vegas yesterday. South end of Lake Mead and the Hoover dam were visible. Hard to tell from this shot through a dirty window but the new bridge is nearing completion just downstream from Hoover dam.