Ice, Ice Baby

The forecast for today was not looking good -- wintry mix through the night and the switchover to rain wasn't expected until after 9AM. If things progressed as expected, a delay was pretty much guaranteed.

It was posted long before the 5AM cutoff MCPS has for such announcements.

MCPS schools and administrative offices will open two hours late today (Feb. 7) due to emergency weather conditions. We will reevaluate at 7 a.m. More information at https://t.co/3UJVLWkg2H

— MCPS (@MCPS) February 7, 2018

I reset my alarm, and tried to go back to sleep, hoping that just maybe, we'd get lucky and have a closure. I woke up several times just before seven, constantly checking both Twitter and the MCPS website. There was nothing.

Just after seven, I was committed to dragging myself out of bed and seeing just what Mother Nature had thrown at us, when I glanced at Facebook. Helene had posted a lamentation about the lack of MCPS update, but replied to her own post saying it was now a closure. In disbelief, I went to the MCPS page, and saw the announcement.... which surely came across as post-dated to say it had been posted at 7AM exactly. I know I'd been looking at the website at 7AM and 7:05AM, and there was no such announcement visible.

Update: MCPS schools are now closed today (Feb. 7) due to emergency weather conditions. Administrative offices remain on a two-hour delay. Details at https://t.co/3UJVLWkg2H

— MCPS (@MCPS) February 7, 2018

It kind of bothered me that MCPS waited until seven to say anything, but I'm sure they made the right call. At 8AM, a truck evidently slid off the road in Rockville and into a storefront.

Pickup truck slides across parking lot and into Rockville bakery.

More in link: https://t.co/oahDkevF6z pic.twitter.com/nTtoxFLhE0

— The MoCo Show (@TheMoCoShow) February 7, 2018

And later in the day, Pat texted me to say that a Southwest jet had slid off the runway at BWI!

At least it wasn't too serious, photo by Patrick Griffith

While I had some work related things I could have done, especially getting some sub plans in order for next week, I opted to just not do much of anything. I played a game on my phone. Then I went to DuClaw at Arundel Mills for lunch (after driving up MD170 to see the Southwest plane). Actually, going to DuClaw was kind of embarrassing; between the weather and the day of the week, evidently, I was the first customer of the day, at noon!

DuClaw has several new offerings out, so I had to try them before deciding on a regular pour

I really like their reborn turkey melt with avocado. It's quite tasty. 

When I got home, surprisingly, Pat was already home. He started his new job at Menzies Aviation this week, but it's primarily been training stuff. He's been giving me quite a ton of stories about the millennials that are also going through the training, who can't quite figure out that videos are for learning and there just might be a quiz afterwards, and some who don't understand "working hours" mean you shouldn't plan to help a friend move or go play basketball when you are expected to be at work. 

Anyway, I finished up today by bottling the honey beer that I started three weeks ago. It should be just shy of 8% ABV, and tastes pretty sweet right now. I'm excited to taste the final product. 

It's a dark lager, but tastes very light

Two more days this week, then an extended weekend because I'd originally planned to be in Orlando with Pat at the Matco Tools Expo. I already had a sub and it's my birthday on Monday, so I decided I'd still take off. I just don't know what I'm going to do yet. :)

Snow Day Brewing

We had an unexpected snow day today! I mean, it wasn't totally unexpected. After all, snow was forecast, though the timeframe for the precipitation kept changing. When I left work yesterday, it was forecast to start just after the evening rush hour, and stop in the early morning, before 7AM.

By the time I fell asleep last night, that had changed to "starting after midnight" and "ending mid-morning." Okay, so you're telling me there's a chance of a delay?

I actually woke up before my alarm, and I was annoyed initially as I tried to go back to sleep. Then I thought, maybe I should check the delays? Lo and behold, there was an MCPS delay!

MCPS Schools Opening Two Hours Late January 17, 2018; Administrative Offices Opening On Time

— MoCoSnow (@MCPSsnow) January 17, 2018

So, I reset my alarm (to Pat's annoyance), and once it went off again, went through my normal snooze, snooze, snooze (again, to Pat's annoyance) before finally getting up and starting to get ready to go in.

After brushing my teeth, something made me check the interwebs again....

Urgent Update: Due to unsafe road conditions affecting school transportation, Montgomery County Public Schools is now closing schools today, January 17, 2018. Administrative offices are open on time. Day care programs in school buildings may remain open as scheduled.

— MCPS (@MCPS) January 17, 2018

Whoa. That was completely unexpected (and Pat was completely unamused).

So, after moving the WRX out of the way so that Pat could do his route, I puttered about for most of the morning before deciding to do something useful. I took down the holiday decorations (finally!), then pulled out some ingredients I'd bought from Maryland Homebrew a few weeks ago and embarked on brewing a honey beer I'd concocted.

The wort tastes very sweet. I'm hoping that the honey retains some of its special flavor through the fermentation, but it'll be okay if it doesn't. For those that don't know, "meadowfoam" honey tastes of marshmallows. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks!

As for tomorrow.... some people are already talking a delay, but I'm definitely not holding my breath. Obviously, though, stranger things have happened.

BTW, if you don't mind subscribing to my YouTube channel while you're watching, I'd appreciate it.

Wandering in the Snow

Yesterday, I awoke to surprising news -- Montgomery County closed schools!

I thought we'd maybe get a delay, but didn't anticipate closure with the bulk of the "bomb cyclone" storm being off the coast. The Eastern Shore was supposed to be hammered, but anything on the western shore of the Chesapeake wasn't expected to get much.

So, that notification of closure when I checked my phone at 5:30AM was a pleasant gift. I went back to sleep and didn't get up for another few hours. :)

Snow all up in my grill

While Pat headed out to his tool route around noon, I puttered around and didn't do much of anything until I had to head over to my audiologist appointment for my first followup. She didn't tweak anything, but I go back in two weeks to make another report. At that point, I might get a new program to counteract the too-frequent tinnitus in my left ear. Depending on how that goes, I might not actually need the right side device. 

$5500, but at least they also act as wireless ear buds and as a hands-free device

I've had them for two weeks now, and I'm still meh on them. I guess they are doing what I need them to do, but I'll wait and see how things go at the Caps game on Sunday and at my own hockey game on Monday. 

So, after the audiology, I figured I'd run some errands until Pat returned home so that the WRX wasn't in the way in the driveway. I grabbed a bunch of bags of clothes and stuff that we'd had sitting around forever, waiting for someone to take them to Goodwill, and after I dropped them off, I decided that it was time to wander. 

I went to my usual go-to spot off Ilchester Road, only to find that they are doing some kind of construction on the Patapsco River crossing and the trailhead is closed. Sad, I parked the car, and contemplated what I wanted to do, as it was very brisk and near sunset. 

the car is filthy; it'll get washed at some point, I guess

I decided to head back towards Montgomery Road, but turned left onto Landing Road, since I knew it had to parallel the river. Sure enough, only a mile or so down the road, I encountered a trailhead. I parked, and started wandering through the cold, still forest for about a half-mile before I turned around to come back. When I actually looked at the trailhead information, I learned that it's the Cascade Falls Trail, and that it is a loop. Depending on which part of the loop you take, it's either 0.9mi or just over 2mi. It can also link up with the trail I was trying to use (Grist Mill Trail). 

I got a few interesting photos with my phone before I left. It was bitterly cold, so I didn't linger too long, and my gloves aren't tech-gloves, so anytime I wanted to take a photo, I had to expose my fingers. That wasn't fun. 

This stream was amazingly not frozen over

There was this random area that was decorated with ornaments. Maybe there was a wedding or something else out here recently?

The trail was easy to find.

Little bird tracks everywhere

Sunset snuck up on me

 It was a short interlude, but it was needed. I have to do this more often. My psyche demands it. 

In Like A Lion...

Wow. March sure came in with a bang this year.

While I got to sleep in, I also got to make the first moves towards prepping a car for this year, as I made the trek over to IAG Performance in Westminster for a meeting with the owner about this year's sponsorship. I came in with an open mind, knowing that all aspects of the automotive industry have been feeling the effects of the downward economic spiral.

The first thing JJ wanted to know was what all was entailed in a move from D-stock to E-street prepared, so I had in hand a printout of the SCCA ruleset with everything allowed, and we went through it, piece by piece. As we did so, he scribbled down notes to himself with regards to parts and vendors he could talk to. At one point, we went back out to the showroom to look at wheels, and to get some weights on the wheels, so we could compare them to the weights on the rims I have been using.

In the end, it looks like the WRX will be in ESP for 2009, though, like 2008, not right away. I'm also in talks with Vorshlag Motorsports for some AST-coilovers, while waiting to see what the final input from IAG is. Should be an interesting season, as the Camaro drivers will hopefully not realize what hit them.

And then I can spend 2010 prepping the Camaro. ;)

Frozen Tundra

Schools are closed again today. Last night, the dreaded wintry mix laid a crust of icy goodness on top of the snow.... and more importantly, glazed over the roads. I'm just surprised MoCo waited until 4:50AM to announce it. There was sleet and freezing rain in Anne Arundel at 10:30 last night, so I know it was no better in the DC area.

With the weather, the AI meeting last night was cancelled, which meant that Pat and I could watch the Bruins game live instead of on DVR-delay. Marc Savard took an iffy high-sticking penalty seconds into the play, and Mike Green scored just as Savard left the box. It was a good start, despite a terrible interference call on Chris Clark just afterwards. Clark was pushed into Bruins netminder Tim Thomas by one of Thomas's own teammates, and the referee decided it was Clark's fault. Fortunately, the penalty killers did was they were supposed to do, despite Steckel being scratched. A bad pass later by Ovechkin netted Shawn Thornton his fourth goal of the season, but an interesting turn of events with :20 left in the period saw Tomas Fleischmann attempting the Alexei Kovalev "skating on top of the puck" manuever (not intentionally, but that's what happened), fall down, and Michael Nylander able to make the quick shot past Thomas to put the Caps up 2-1 going into the break.

A power play in the second period allowed the Bruins to tie it up, and there was a derth of scoring in the third. Trying to fire his team up, Donald Brashear engaged in some fisticuffs with the Bruins's Bitz, and both were awarded coincidental fighting majors for their performance. Then, with about six minutes left, when everyone knows that the next score is likely going to be the game winner, Alexander Semin gets a weak cross-checking penalty. Was it in retaliation for the stick-in-the-throat towards the end of the second period? Who knows. But it put a lot of pressure on the PK unit, and fortunately, they came through for the team. Overtime it was.

The first minute of overtime looked very solid. Then came the Backstrom hooking penalty. Yeah, Backstrom. The PK took to the ice again, and the first minute was good. Then, the unthinkable... Bruin David Krejci makes a cross-crease pass, Shaone Morrisonn in position... the puck goes between his legs, hits a skate blade, and deflects into the net. Theodore didn't have a chance. :(

The good? Overall, Theodore looked good in goal. Ovechkin, despite a hard fall into the boards (brought about by a hook from Zdeno Chara), seemed uninjured in his return during the third period. He wasn't happy about being told to go to the locker room though (presumably for observation/evaluation). Karl Alzner was paired up with Jurcina again. Sergei Fedorov had an amazing play to keep the Capitals alive in the second period.

The bad? The penalty killers are still struggling. The power play had six chances and couldn't connect on any of them (though the Mike Green goal was essentially a PP one, since Savard had only just been released from the box and was not in the play yet). The team looked lackluster when Ovechkin went to the locker room with five minutes left in the second -- this was a real problem, considering they were on the power play, and if anything, seeing their top player hurt should have shook them up to play even harder.

A couple of days off, then the Red Wings come to town. The Caps can play with the big dogs when they put their minds to it. Let's see how this East/West matchup goes.