Snow, finally

Friday at Brighton was actually not bad. Not powder pounding by any stretch, but enough to have some freshies. The snow showers continued through the night, then web reports brighton had 8″ over the day, 12″ total. So the debate this morning was to hit Brighton again, or pound PowMow which reports only 3″. In the end, anti-crowd has won out. We figure all of Utah is going to be at Brighton as it reports the highest snowfall, it’s been over a week since last snow, and it’s the weekend. We had a good day at Brighton so figure give PowMow another chance.

Breakfast mayhem

Man, there’s all the kids here. Thankfully it families not school group so they weren’t running up & down the halls. Making late breakfast today quite chaotic. No new snow and its a holiday so we’re taking the day off from riding to avoid crowds. Slim chance of maybe  a dusting over crust in the forecast today. Slim. Maybe they’re forecasting is good as Hawaii where last week there was that 90 percent chance of rain day, but it ended up being a beautiful ride night? Unfortunately they’re pretty good forecasting here.

Hill Aerospace Museum

Beer Is Good – Moab Brewery Dead Horse Amber Ale

yes, there are breweries in Utah. Pours clear medium amber with medium head. Floral hop aroma and initial flavor, but not overpoweringly strong. The hop carries over into a bitter but then a nice nuttyness finishes. Fairly light mouthfeel. This is actually a pretty nice drinking ale where the hop doesn’t overwhelm and offend me.

maybe it because it’s a half day of snowboarding beer therapy, but this gets a solid 3 out 4 monkeys.

Sunday sunny sunday

forecast is for it to get cooler today. We’re not in any rush, it’s not like conditions are stellar or get better. Just finishing the typical freebie continental hotel breakfast at 9:00 this morning. Prob going to see how things are at Solitude.

Can you say, "tracked out!"

Sno-not

The Fab & I arrived in SlC uneventfully today to be greeted with sunny 60 degree weather and dishearteningly Sno bare mountains.

we visited a couple stores. Highlight so far I thnk was lunch at siegfried’s. Flight to seatac was so fast only got a couple hours of fitfull sleep. Having trouble staying up, time for power disco nap.

Beer Is Good – Affigem Blond Ale

Picked this Belgian Ale up in the little ethnic grocery adjacent to Olive Tree in Kahala. Pours a cloudy bright yellow with strong head. 7% ABV puts it on the stronger side and you can detect some of the aroma. It’s fairly strong on hops, yet not flowery. It has a brightness and suggestion of citrus, without actually tasting of any citrus. It has a medium heavy mouthfeel that is offset by the carbonation that strongly persists. No roast flavors or much nut. The suggestion on bottle is to serve at “cellar” temp, and it does seem to mellow if you let it warm a little after pulling it out of fridge.

A pleasant and slightly buzz inducing pale ale. 3 out 4 Belgy monkeys.

Beer is Good – Sam Adams White Christmas

Season from their winter variety pack. Pours a cloudy bright yellow, small head. Citrus aroma with the spice presence, but unidentifiable. Fair amount of astringent without a lingering bitter, hint of grain in the finish. Medium mouthfeel.

Pretty nice winter wheat. 3 out 4 wheat monekys.

Not yet undead

Ok, added a gallon of gas, full charge on battery, reconnected the cut AFM wire. Cranked it over and it ran better for a hair longer, long enough to hear the awful clanking noises from then engine. Sounds like the bottom end of this engine is toast. My thought are bearing(s) have gone. The top end is working enough to get compression and to run, but the bearings are toast and causing grindage on the crank where it doesn’t want to turn. I’m not sure why it dies when I try to give it throttle though. I suppose to confirm I should pop the spark plugs and try turning the crank by hand to feel it.

Beer Is Good – Sam Adams Old Fezziwig

From Winter variety pack, Old Fezziwig Ale, pours a deep amber, medium small head. Not a very strong aroma, hint of the roasted malt. The roasted malt carried over into the flavor. It’s a spiced beer, but it is very subtle with it, if I didn’t read it, I would never have guessed. There is a little warmth, but I would have attributed it to alcohol, although at 5.9% ABV this beer isn’t particularly high. It’s pretty crisp, the carbonation and medium bitterness middle giving it that and then the finish has a medium mouthfeel.

A pleasant beer. 3 out 4 winter monkeys.

It Lives?

After ignoring the Celica All-Trac in the garage for months, I finally spent the day messing with it. My earlier cursory looks at it determined that the engine would spin and show compression, albeit reluctantly with a weak battery. I did not see the engine check light come on though so I was suspecting an electrical problem with the ECU. So today I took the dash apart. There was a bit of a mess from the stereo install, alarm install, engine fan switch, and turbo timer. Wait, what’s these dangling connectors? It wasn’t plugged in. I removed the turbo timer thingy and plugged the connector into its OEM connector. I then started taking measurements at the ECU. It was receiving power, odd. The check light was not working though. No continuity from the ECU to the fuse. I pulled the instrument cluster. WTF, there’s no bulb?! Continue reading ‘It Lives?’