Author: Matt (Page 15 of 23)

Hitting the Books Again

1/24/2006 / Matt

I’m back in the groove wearing a “student” hat again. Pressing on towards the Masters degree. I took last semester off which was a nice break but it put me behind schedule a bit. This semester includes two GIS classes which both happen to be programming oriented. This is technically a good thing since I’m already fairly adept at programming and should be able to breeze through. Although, I am finding my skills are a tad rusty. The courses cover Object-Oriented Programming in C# and Relational Database Management Systems for GIS.

The C# (pronounced C Sharp) programming language is a much more modern version of the original C which I used back in the late 80’s…wow… what a scary thought…that was nearly 20 years ago. Side-trip down memory lane…. I even had hair back then! Anyways… it’s really the same old stuff just with different words and slightly different methods. It seems to have gotten more “foofy” and less technical.

Largely I think it’s because it’s very “Windows” oriented. But it’s still fun to build something from scratch and actually have it do something. If you want some sort of idea what all this GIS stuff is… take a wander over to GoogleEarth and download the free viewer.

Then take google earth for a spin. Plug in the address of someplace you used to live or went to visit. You’ll see a good example of what “Geographical Information Systems” can do.

I am fortunate to work for a company that believes education is important and provides a tuition reimbursement benefit. In fact, they upped the annual benefit from 3K to 5K this year. I would be pretty foolish not to take advantage of it.

Here’s a little code to glaze your eyes over….

// This is the callback function for TcpClient.GetStream // Begin to get anasynchronous read. private void DoRead(IAsyncResult ar) { int BytesRead; string strMessage;

try { // Finish asynchronous read into readBuffer and return number of bytes read. BytesRead = client.GetStream().EndRead(ar); if (BytesRead < 1) { // if no bytes were read server has close. Disable input window. MarkAsDisconnected(); return; } // Convert the byte array the message was saved into, minus two for the // Chr(13) and Chr(10) strMessage = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(readBuffer, 0, BytesRead - 2); ProcessCommands(strMessage); // Start a new asynchronous read into readBuffer. client.GetStream().BeginRead(readBuffer, 0, READ_BUFFER_SIZE, new AsyncCallback(DoRead), null);

} catch(Exception e) { MarkAsDisconnected(); } }

Detroit Iron

1/20/2006 / Matt

Josh has a new toy. A 1972 Chevy K5 Blazer. This was your basic SUV back before the word (acronym) was even coined. The K5 Blazer, not to be confused with the later Blazers (glorified station wagon), was a rugged, 4-wheel drive, off-road vehicle based on the venerable full-size Chevy pickup truck. Shorten up the bed a little, chop the top off and you’ve got the basics of the K5 Blazer. Sort of like a convertible pickup truck.

The nice thing about Colorado is there are still specimens of these around and they are not all rusted out. The one Josh found was a little rough on the inside but basically a straight truck with a lot of potential. Originally a basic green color, it currently sports a primer gray paint job. Equipped with the stock 350 cu-in V8 and a 3 speed automatic transmission it has plenty of power for getting around in these rugged mountains. This one has already been “lifted” to give it more ground clearance.

The motor needed some help to get it past the emissions test. What started out as a simple tune-up evolved into a rather protracted event ending with a rebuilt carburetor, electronic distributor, oil pan gasket, and valve adjustment. It reperesented several days/nights labor but the end result was worth it. It runs much better now, doesn’t leak oil, and it passed the emissions test.

Of course, this is only the beginning. These sort of projects turn into big money pits if you let them. But, working on old cars gets in your blood and the rewards and sense of accomplishment are in the “doing”.

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Buffalo Meadows – Backpacking Trip (Long w/lots of pics)

1/13/2006 / Matt

Last fall Josh and I went on our first backpacking adventure into the wilderness. I’m a little delinquent in getting this trip report out but… better late than never. The area is known as the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness and is located at the southern end of the Mosquito Range. It is a small wilderness area of 43,410 acres and is the only designated wilderness in the Mosquito Range. We had completed an earlier car camping trip to the area in July and enjoyed a pleasant stay at the edge of the wilderness area. See this article for a report.

We liked the area so much that a return trip was deemed essential. The top of the peaks looked as though they would provide a magnificent view of the Collegiate Peaks (Continental Divide) to the west and Josh was particularly interested in composing a panoramic of the mountain ranges. Labor Day weekend looked promising…..Ronda was planning a trip back to Iowa leaving us boys to play.

In the interim Josh began building a special purpose offset-bracket that would allow his camera to be rotated on the tripod without changing the focal point of the images. He bought some scrap aluminum plate and designed the approriate distances/angles, cut it out and smoothed it down, drilled and threaded the holes, and I put the final bend on it with a sheet metal bender at work.

Gear was another issue. Neither of us had an approriate sleeping bag, a backpacking stove, or various other “lightweight” items like cooking pans. These things take on a whole ‘nother perspective when you have to haul them in on your back. Our last excursion to the area was a good training event though. Lesson learned… it get’s COLD up there at night. Those summer-weight sleeping bags just don’t cut it. We are fortunate that we have a local REI Outdoor store. We both found good deals and I picked up good bag for Ronda while I was at it. I bought a neat little stove that uses several kinds of fuel and a nylon tarp too.

Josh already had a nice backpack he had purchased a number of years ago. The only thing I had was an old-school external frame pack we found at a garage sale for $2.00. I decided that despite it’s rudimentary design there was no reason it wouldn’t work for this trip. We knew we had too much to carry… the camera gear (both of us took our cameras, extra lenses, and Josh needed his big tripod) , the food, water, tent, sleeping bags, and so on. Sure enough by the time we had everything stuffed in or strapped on each of was was toting a little over 50 lbs. I was a little apprehensive about the weight given my previous back surgery but the packs are supposed to transfer a majority of the weight to your hips so I figured one can only but try… Continue reading

Christmas Tree Hunt

12/3/2005 / Matt

This Christmas we went out into the National Forest to find our Christmas tree. No…. we’re not vandals defacing public property…. this program is sponsored by the Forest Service. For 10 bucks you can get a permit to cut down your own tree. There is a designated area (approx. 8,000 acres) and it is a popular event. There was a steady stream of vehicles going in and out of the area.

We bought our permit at a temporary station setup in Woodland Park. Smokey Bear was present and we waved to him. We followed the line of vehicles up into the forest and drove a few miles down the road. There was plenty of snow on the ground from several earlier snowstorms and it began to snow quite heavily as we reached a good stopping point. We parked along the road, put on our hats and gloves, grabbed the saw and headed out into the forest. Despite the number of people out on the same mission we only saw/heard one other group the whole time we were in the forest.

Abby loves to play in the snow and she was having a gay old time. Josh and Kristina got into the spirit and chased her around and wrestled with her. We didn’t have to go far before we came across a good selection of smaller trees and began the dubious process of selecting “just the right one”. Somehow, my philosophy of “that one will do” never seems to work out. But, after venturing a bit further we found a nice tree nestled in between two larger trees that seemed “just right”. I sawed it down while Josh and Kristina continued to look for theirs.

I started dragging our tree back through the snow and was joined shortly by Josh and Kristina who had found a nice smaller tree for their townhouse. We made it back to the Jeep and tied both trees to the roof. After cleaning all the snow off the Jeep we turned it around and headed for home. This looks like a Christmas tradition that will continue. It was a lot of fun for all.

Windshield Time

11/27/2005 / Matt

The Thanksgiving weekend ends this evening and we’ve had a full day to recover from the whirlwind trip to Iowa. Ronda, Kristina, and I left early Wednesday morning and made the 11-hour drive back to Des Moines where we stayed with my folks. We enjoyed a nice dinner out that evening and celebrated my birthday.

During the next few days we visited a lot of family and friends, ate good turkey dinners, and overall had a very pleasant time even if it was a bit rushed. Thanks to everyone who made it an enjoyable experience! We headed back on Saturday morning and had an uneventful return journey.

Kristina has recently moved back to Colorado. She and Josh are sharing a townhouse about six blocks from our house. She is working “temp” jobs while hunting for a good full-time position. It is really nice having the whole family together again.

Next weekend we are going up into the Pike National Forest to cut down and bring home a Christmas tree. The Forest Service has certain areas designated where you can do that.

Overall, things have been pretty quiet lately so there is not a whole lot to report on.

Josh Projects

11/1/2005 / Matt

We’ve been working on a few projects with Josh lately. A couple of weekends ago Josh and I decided to tackle a couple of problems with the cooling system on his Lincoln. The heater did not work and the engine would overheat if pushed very hard.

A little research on the Internet narrowed the no-heat problem down to an interior temp sensor located under the dash pad. This turned out to be easier that we expected. The dash pad came off with just a few screws and the part was easily replaced.

The overheating problem was thought to be a combination of a plugged and leaky radiator plus the water pump was suspect. We decided that a complete overhaul of the cooling system would be the best bet. More work than we wanted but an efficient cooling system is not optional when driving in the mountains.

As always, the job becomes more involved than it seems like it should be. Everything was connected to the water pump and had to come off. But, once we had everything out of the way we discovered a couple of contributing factors to the problem. A previous owner/mechanic had installed one of the little hoses connecting the water pump to the heater lines backwards! This created a kink in the hose which restricted the flow considerably. We fixed this and also replaced a rusty fitting on the other heater line that had been leaking.

Everything went back together nicely and Josh now has heat on these colder mornings plus he can drive up to the top of Pikes Peak now.

Another project that Ronda is helping Josh with is the restoration of an old RCA radio that they found at a garage sale earlier this summer. Josh has been rebuilding the innards of the radio and now is working on restoring the cabinet. Ronda is the resident expert in this area and is assisting. Some repairs were made to the walnut veneer and now the surface refinishing is taking place.

Autumn Adventures

10/9/2005 / Matt

Yesterday we were hiking through the foothills enjoying 75 degree weather and sunshine. Ronda, Josh and I got in some serious cardio-vascular exercise over in North Cheyenne Canyon during what turned out to be a four-mile excursion culminating in one of my famous “shortcuts”.

The trail starts out at the summit of High Dr. and ascends up the side of Mt Buckhorn. High Dr. is open from May to October to vehicular traffic. Key word being “to” not “through” October. as I had recalled. We had to park in the Gold Camp Trailhead parking area and hike up High Dr. before we could actually start our hike. The trail (667) across Mt. Buckhorn delivers some very nice views of the Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, and the wide open prairie beyond. The trail becomes Jones Park trail as you leave Mt Buckhorn and continues across an un-named ridge towards Mt Kineo. It was at this point that “the shortcut” came into my mind.

Going back the way we came was the original plan, however, we were three miles out and the sun had already dropped over the mountains to the west of us. Having become familiar with the geography of the local area, I knew that the Seven Bridges trail was at the bottom of the canyon to our left, and that if we could get down to it we could shave a good two miles off our return trip. The only thing between us and the Seven Bridges trail was about 900 feet- 900 feet down, that is.

Now 900 feet is not really all that far, about three city blocks, but it takes on a different perspective when it’s down. Or another perspective… Des Moines, IA is approx. 860 feet above sea level.

Ronda begins narrating this story….I was not sure whether to trust these two Rambo types and their ‘yee ha – let’s go down the mountain’. Matt has taken me on some interesting and very challenging off trail adventures but to his credit, he has never gotten me lost, so I relented. I have learned that my tax dollars got both of my guys some awesome field survival skills.

Now understand that standing at the top of a very steep incline and looking down has NEVER been my cup of tea. Jumping off a loaded hay rack is my idea of enough height so this view of almost straight down for 900 feet was bit beyond my comfort zone. It is one of the reasons I have not ever really considered downhill skiing, the thought of standing at the top of a steep incline on a mountain and realizing the only thing between me and the bottom is a long ride on a couple of slim pieces of wood or acrylic. Not my idea of a good time. I was soon to learn that my perspective was ALL wrong!

We advanced a small distance across the trail from the high rocky point that this capital decision was made and began the apprehensive (on my part!) descent down. We followed an animal trail that Matt found which worked its way across the the incline, crossing an open scree field very carefully. (We later regretted this decision) The whole mountain is a scree field, actually, but covered by pine needles and grasses so it is possible to navigate carefully. At the point that we had decended approximately 200 feet, Matt decided it was time to go the more downward route. This is where our new sport initiation came in! Now mind you, I said that the whole mountain face was scree. If you are unfamiliar with scree, it is loose granite about the size of pea gravel. We have found that even on Pikes Peak, there are ‘rocks’ appearing to be granite rocks that when touched fall into pieces in your hand. Now imagine a mountain face covered in pea gravel. You are going to just turn and hike down it at a 45 degree angle. NOT!

Hence our new sport. —Scree Sliding. I think there is actually a name for it other than what we deemed it but ours helps you to visualize how we got down that 900 feet in about 15 minutes. Matt led us down. At first, we were all trying to keep our balance and catch trees as we went by to stop and catch ourselves. Before long (not soon enough!) we realized that just surfing the scree and flowing down the mountain was the real way to do this. That was where the ‘yee ha’ comes in!

Josh graciously stayed with me and made sure I didn’t roll down the mountain. He held my hand at one point to help me balance and give me confidence. It was then I caught his technique and realized if I relaxed and flowed with the scree, I could surf it down. I lost my balance at several points and ended up ‘sledding the scree’. Whoo hoo! As long as you missed the trees and bigger rocks, which we did, it was a grand time. Alot of the rocks moved out of the way as there is nothing to hold them in place. It was an awesome ride to say the least, leaving us wanting to go back up the mountain face and come down again. We wished we had not passed by the first open scree flow that we found and carefully maneuvered over but just plunged into it. Needless to say, we will not shy away from another opportunity to Scree Slide a mountain face. I think that skiing or snowboarding may now be in my future as that was just too exhilarating to not do on a fairly regular basis. I think Matt has turned me into a rush junkie! He’ll be sorry!

This Scree Sliding experience took us right to the edge of the North Cheyenne Creek, which was a beautiful mountain stream surrounded in trees turning a lovely golden hue. My photographers got busy shuttering away all along the creek. Abby was so thirsty, dusty, and hot that she immediately layed down in the stream. It was a great hike back to the Gold Camp Road along the stream with many photo opportunities. Everyone was in heightened spirits. Truly a great hike!

Hopefully, you will get to see some of the pictures here soon as they are going off to be developed tomorrow. Matt just couldn’t wait to post this story so you will have to endure a pictureless story. We were all a bit jazzed by the adventure for sure and ready to share. On the way back we hit one of our favorite eateries, Jack Quinn, in downtown Co Springs for some hiker nourishment. Highly recommend, and when you come for a visit, don’t let us forget to take you there. Fun Irish pub with FAB food and Celtic music. We never planned to be gone on a 6 hour adventure but all were grateful for the fun and ready to call it an early evening as we rolled into the drive long after dark.