ski trip

On Tuesday, reports of a foot of fresh snow were heard in Seattle. Good news, to be sure, but not compelling. By Wednesday, another foot had fallen and snow was predicted through the night on Wednesday. Jen rented us skis. The snow and was still falling heavily on Thursday morning.

Even before we started  climbing up the pass, the snow was falling like nothing I’ve ever seen. I grew up in Northern Michigan, in the heart of the snowbelt, where words like lake-effect and whiteout are common. Michigan has 4 of the top 15 snowiest cities in the lower 48.*  I’ve seen a lot of snow but I can’t ever recall seeing snowflakes 3″ wide. They accumulate so fast they had been closing the pass daily for avalanche control.  

This is also the fist time I’ve been skiing in bounds, on the runs, in snow above my knees, and occasionally up to my waist. On the runs! Snow so deep it begged the little boy in me to get a good run and cannonball into it. Snow so deep that when Jen fell in, all I could see was her hat. Snow so deep that the momentum lost by carving a single turn stopped me dead in my tracks. 

What a day. 

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thrill issues

Dude. Dude. Focus Dude. Dude. Oh, he lives! Hey Dude!

…what happened?

Aw, saw the whole thing Dude. First you were like whoa (excited), then you were like woah (surprised), and then you were like woah (going limp).

…what are you talking about?

You! Mini-man, takin on the jellies, you got serious thrill issues Dude. Awesome.

AT&T account secret

I have a mobile phone number based in Michigan. I live in Seattle. I have a Seattle mobile as well. I wanted to merge them both onto a single AT&T Family Plan account. Quite a few AT&T reps told me it couldn’t be done without changing my numbers to both be in the same “business area.” 

I wanted to keep both existing numbers. So I persisted. The magic incantation is “NBI account.”  Tell the first AT&T rep you speak with you want to transfer a line to an account. Or activate a new line, or whatever you need to do for your 2nd line. When you get to someone that is supposed to be able to help, ask if they are authorized to do NBI accounts. If not, ask for someone who is. If they don’t know what that is, hang up and try again. 

I didn’t get anyone helpful through AT&T phone support. But at my local AT&T store, the manager exclusively has NBI account access. He set me up with a NBI account, dropped both lines into it, and put them on the family plan. I have an AT&T Family Plan with two lines, one in Michigan and one in Washington.

a non-obvious reason for living in more Arctic climes

#1. Genetic defects.

About 10 years ago I had a tonsil infection that required removing them. Since I was already an adult, this was uncommon enough that my insurance company required me to get a 2nd and 3rd opinion. Both ear-nose-throat specialists concurred and my tonsils were removed. Both specialists noted that I have a deviated septum that could be ‘repaired.’

I had lived 25 years without knowing it, but it explained a few things. I breathe much better in cold weather. The colder the better. The cold air contracts the membranes in the sinuses allowing me to breathe easier. The cold air helps the sinuses drain better and I get fewer sinus infections in the winter. The cold morning air also helps clear out my sinuses when I have a sinus infection. Like it did this morning on my ride in.

I can’t stand being around smokers. It’s not the smoking I abhor, if you wish to take yourself out of the gene pool early, more power to you. It’s having plugged up sinuses for 12 hours that I object to, simply because I was near you.

My body adapted.  I breathe through my mouth and nose at the same time when a canal is blocked. Even a slight reduction in my ‘normal’ breathing necessitates this and I do it without thinking about it. This is more pronounced when my body is working, such as during this mornings ride. After 1/2 hour of riding, the canals were wide open and fully cleared. 

I can breathe freely. (for now)

Happy Valentines Day

We celebrated Valentines Day on a rock wall. Several other climbers were jealous of my personal cheering squad as I scooted up the rock walls.

But I wasn’t the only one getting cheers. Once we discovered the right technique for her, Kayla had a lot of fun climbing up, and down, up and down the wall.

Tomorrow, there’s a good chance I’ll be wearing my crampons at the top of Mt. Si. It’s been a long time since they’ve been buckled to the bottom of a pair of boots.

Microsoft SYNC phone integration

Surprise surprise. Microsoft SYNC doesn’t suck. It is far from perfect, but it is one of my favorite Fusion features.

It did not start out that way. I became acquainted with SYNC when the car salesman tried to show me how easy it is to sync with my Bluetooth equipped phone. When he resorted to the manual, I politely steered the conversation elsewhere. When he got busy filling out paperwork, I skimmed the 78 page manual and paired my iPhone and uploaded all my contacts.

Then I tried to use the voice activated calling feature. “Call Jennifer Simerson,” I would say. And it would pick some other person from my 548 contacts and start calling them. Grrrrrrr. Finally I figured out that the sync process was a bit retarded. Microsoft’s NIH syndrome keeps them using reference implementations of  standards like OBEX and SyncML. They write their own, get it badly wrong, make some fixes, and eventually arrive at something usable. They weren’t there yet when my car left the factory.

After calling the wrong party a couple dozen times, I finally deduced that when it imported my contacts, it mapped them all last name first. And it also included middle names. If a contact had a middle name, I could not call them without saying their middle name in the voice command. After a few days, I figured out how to call home, “Call Simerson R**** Jennifer.” 

Then I discovered the version 1.2 update. Duh, it’s from Microsoft. Of course. It needs an update! I downloaded the update and installed it but it didn’t help. Days later, insight struck. It’s from Microsoft. You can’t just install it the update. You also have to reboot! So I performed a “Master Reset” of the SYNC system. Then I re-paired my phone to it and had it sync all my contacts. Voila! All my contacts synced properly. I can call home by saying, “Call Jennifer Simerson.” 

The handsfree functionality works superbly. Talking while driving is now fun and much safer. I predict that in another decade, every car will have this functionality. My kids will be hard pressed to remember a car that didn’t have phone integration built-in.

SYNC also supports text messaging via Bluetooth, but it doesn’t work with the iPhone. Yet.

Fusion features

“The Fusion rides and handles very well, again thanks to the sound Mazda platform. Steering feel is fine, brakes are excellent, handling is good, but limited by the 16-inch tires.”– Orlando Sentinel

I took a test Fusion from the dealership over to a nice wet freeway ramp with a 90 degree entrance. I aimed for the inside of the curve under wide open throttle, trying to bust the tires loose and drift across the lane. The Fusion grabbed hard and true and we launched out onto the freeway without a hint of tire slippage. Inside, Jen let out her ‘there he goes again’ sigh while I and the car salesman wore big wide grins.

The traction control system worked so perfectly that I didn’t even notice it. Except that the tires never broke loose. I briefly considered turning off the traction control so I could  have a little oversteering fun. But it was so unobtrusive and effective that I left it in control. 

Having driven my Fusion for a week, I still love how it handles. It brings back fond memories of driving a Miata. Minus the wind and road noise.

“Overall, the Fusion is engaging.  It tracks steady and true on twisty roads and flatters the driver in a way that the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry can’t.”  — Road and Track.

Where my SHO and Jetta both had very predictable oversteer, the Fusion is wonderfully balanced. There is no tendency towards over or understeer. I suspect I’d have to turn off the traction control to achieve either. The steering wheel is incredibly responsive. There’s no slosh and no twitchiness, just a subtle anxiety to act upon my intentions. The car holds straight and true through the curves without even a hint of body roll. The Fusion longs for that next twisty stretch of road.

“The Ford Fusion we recently tested didn’t rocket to 60 mph with any urgency, and didn’t have the most dramatic styling, but the Fusion still left everyone who drove it thoroughly impressed.” — Motor Trend

Unlike Motor  Trend, I got the V6. Unlike the Sentinel, I got the 17″ wheels.  The Fusion doesn’t have the catchy appearance of some cars so there was no love at first sight. But it didn’t take long for us to be “thoroughly impressed.”