Local websites?

January 27th, 2009

I wanted to start a list of local websites.. that is local to the  mountain community that we live in.

The site I really like to use is http://www.pinecam.com.  This site has a good deal of information, classifieds, community calenders and links to local resources including the local fire districts. There are also scanner threads that have local traffic, fire and forest fire information. They also have links to web cams in the area including Bruce’s here on Rare-air.com.  Check it out, you will find something for everyone.

So post other Pine/Conifer/Baily 285 corridor websites here!

Dave Mazza

Techie Talk

Missing Dog - Charley the Yellow Lab - UPDATE - Charley Found!

January 19th, 2009

Update - 3:30 Jan 19th - Mary Ann found Charlie wandering around our property… smelling kind of skunky. Happily Charley and Edie had a happy reunion!

Bruce

———————-

Edie Stevenson has lost Charlie the Yellow Lab this Sunday. He went outside for a break and did not return. Here are his details:

Charley Stevenson
90 pounds

If located contact:

Edie Stevenson
13647 Kuehster Rd.
303-697-6114
720-480-2963 cell

Critters, General Discussion, Neighborhood

2008 Year in Review

January 7th, 2009

You Know You’re From Colorado When…

January 2nd, 2009

Happy New Year!

You have absolutely no recognizable accent.

If the humidity gets above 25%, you consider it “muggy”.

You only go to Central City when friends are in from out of town.

You think 5-points is a ghetto.

You never plan a picnic between 3:30 and 6:00 in Spring or Summer months.

If it rains more than 2 days straight you compare the weather to being in Seattle.

You voted for higher taxes to fund Coors field, but voted down taxes for public transportation.

You have a broken windshield.

You carry your $3,000 mountain bike on top of your $500 car. (Or it could be a TV show)

You think “South Park” is a place to stop for gas on your way to Buena Vista.

You have a business degree and are frying burgers at a McDonald’s in Vail.

You have a flat tire in your refrigerator and your garage.

You own a big dog named Aspen, Buck, Cheyenne or Dakota that wears a bandanna.

You cast out your fishing line while white-water rafting.

You’ve never seen the tourist attractions in your own city.

You think a pass does not involve a football or a woman.

You are 82 years old and take up snow boarding.

Your real Y2K fear was running out of Celestial Seasonings tea and trail mix.

The entire top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.

You personally wouldn’t pay $10 per head to drive up Pikes Peak unless it was the only mountain on earth, but you tell all our house-guests to do it.

You get depressed after one day of foggy weather.

You think that formal wear is ironed denim.

North means “mountains to the left;” south is “mountains to the right;” and east and west are where all those damned liberals keep moving in from.

You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels “sticky” and you notice the sky is no longer blue.

You consider a three-piece suit to be a pair of shorts, a sweatshirt and Birkenstocks.

You see your East Coast relatives now more than when you lived there.

You think gun control is a steady hand.

You can run up 10 flights of stairs without huffing and puffing.

You’ve stood on solid ground and looked down on an airplane in flight.

You know what the “Peoples Republic of Boulder” means.

You’re a meat eating vegetarian.

You think the major food groups are Boulder Bars, tofu and Fat Tire Beer.

You’ve been tear gassed in a riot to celebrate your local sports team’s victory.

You can drive over a 12,000 foot pass in 4 feet of snow, but can’t get to work if there are 4 inches of snow.

You know the correct pronunciation of Buena Vista.

When you visit friends at sea level, you can drink a case of beer and not get a buzz.

Your car insurance costs more than your car.

You have surge protectors on every outlet.

April showers bring May blizzards.

You see someone riding a Harley in a snowstorm, and you look closer to see if it’s anyone you know.

“Timberline” is someplace you have actually been. Many times.

You know what a “Chinook” is. You know what a “rocky mountain oyster” is. You know what a “fourteener” is. But you don’t know what a “turn signal” is.

A bear on your front porch doesn’t bother you nearly as much as a Democrat in Congress does.

Your golf bag has a 9-iron, a 3-wood and a lightning-rod.

People from other states breathe 5 times as often as you do.

Thunder has set off your car alarm.

A sudden loss of cabin pressure is not a big deal.

“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads!”

You know where Doc Holliday’s grave is.

You can recognize the license plates of all 50 states on sight.

Driving directions usually include ‘Go over ____ Pass…’

You’ve used “checking for ticks” as an excuse to get someone naked.

You’ve gone skiing in July. You’ve gone sunbathing in January. They were both in the same year.
You get a certain feeling of satisfaction from knowing that California and Texas are both downstream

You know the elevation of a town, but not its population.

You never pack away your coat and sweaters.

You can name only two people you know who were actually born in Colorado.

You call tumbleweed “groundcover”.

You love your Broncos, your Avs, your Rockies, Nuggets - well you can’t have everything.

You or someone you know plays golf 12 months of the year.

You don’t have AC in your home, but you use it in your car all winter long.

If it snows in the morning you expect it to be gone by lunchtime.

You can name the states that make up the Four Corners.

You know what and where the Continental Divide is.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Colorado.

General Discussion

Do You VUDU?

December 17th, 2008
VuDu

Last year I kept asking my self why I was paying DISH TV a hefty monthly fee for the privilege of watching commercials on so many of the channels?  I seem to remember that when this pay for content thing started back in the dark ages, the idea was to pay for channels you could watch without commercials.  Somewhere along the way commercials have showed back up and now they have it both ways.  The Cable/Satellite providers not only get subscription fees from the user, but also advertising income from the advertisers.  Not a bad deal, huh?

II hate the idea of paying for a service that feeds me commercials.

This motivated me to search out other ways to watch movies and TV on my terms without the commercials.  I found a very cool service called VUDU - www.vuvu.com that has no monthly fee and is best described as a online video store in you home.  I can now choose from over 12,000 movies and counting plus other cool content without leaving the house… some are offered in HD and other in HDX which is their version of Blu-Ray.  It does require that you purchase the VUDU box and you will need a good high speed Internet connection - 2 MPS or better.  You can rent or purchase movies from the comfort of you cozy couch.

Hit the link to find out more and tell me what you think.

www.vuvu.com

Techie Talk

Neighborhood Internet Service Providers

December 17th, 2008

I know that finding a good High Speed Internet Service Provider can be be a   challenge in our mountain neighborhood.  Since we don’t’ have DSL or Cable which provider do you use?  Are you happy with them?

Let us know.

Neighborhood, Techie Talk

Winter Showed Up!

December 17th, 2008

This week winter finally showed up here at the lodge. According to the Rare Air Lodge Official Weather Station - http://www.rare-air.com/weather.htm - the low for this winter of -3.6 was recorded December 14th at 10:00 AM. We received 16 in. of snow several days before that.

Denver officially recorded a record low 3 days in a row with the lowest being -18 . Since our elevation is 3000 ft. higher than Denver, the inversion caused our temperature to remain a full 15 degrees warmer. This is not uncommon during winter months.

General Discussion, Neighborhood, Weather

Weather Records for 2008

December 16th, 2008

The weather station at the Rare Air Lodge keeps track of all sorts of records. Here are the results for 2008:

General Discussion, Neighborhood, Techie Talk, Weather

Want Your Own Weather Station?

December 16th, 2008

I often get asked how difficult it is to start a weather station to keep track of your weather.  There are many options to choose from, but it doesn’t have to be difficult to get started.

Step 1 - Purchase a weather station.  A good place to start is http://www.ambientweather.com/.  If all you want to do is keep track of your own weather just get a basic home station and you are done.  If you want to publish your weather on web then it is more complicated.  I just noticed there are many new stations since I purchased the one we use at the Rare Air Lodge and some have the ability to do this without a PC.

We currently use the Oregon Scientific WMR968 - http://www.ambientweather.com/wmorscwiprwe.html .  It is very easy to use and setup because all of the outside sensors are wireless. If you look on eBay you can find it for under $200.

Step 2 - If you want to publish to the web you will either need a PC with weather publishing software or one of the new internet weather stations with the software built in.  We currently use software called Weather Display Live and Weather Display for our weather station.  If you are just getting started I would recommend using Virtual Weather Station to get your feet wet. You will need to have a website to publish and create your weather page.

Step 3 -  Publish you weather station Data to Weather Underground.  This is a fantastic site and I recommend you check it out even if you don’t setup a station.  They will capture and publish personal weather station data.. display it on a Google map… capture webcam images with a daily archive and so much more…. and it is free.  Be sure to go to the webcam link and choose Colorado to see the Colorado live webcams, then check out webcams from all over the world.  Very cool.

So, this can be very easy or as complicated as you choose to make it.  There are many online sites to help along the way.

Perhaps there are others who have a weather station… let me know and we will post the information on the blog.

Techie Talk, Weather

Happy Holidays!

December 16th, 2008

Wishing everyone and their family a very happy and safe holiday season!

General Discussion, Neighborhood