Lossless HD Music Streaming 30Mar19

It's a spring break weekend so I've been checking the NCAA hockey and basketball playoff games as well as catching some lax on TV - rather than skiing on ice. Yet I did also up the ante on my lossless HD streaming capability after reading of Qoboz as the highest quality service available (I still might trial it). They claim that for some titles they can stream 24bit/192KHz lossless... that's amazing. The key is whether the UHD library is significant and not upsampled from CD-quality; I bet that library is pretty limited. I happen to have some 24bit/96KHz material and checked that I can stream it full on from my COS-based server remotely to the Nest... you betcha - full rate from COS based file server through to my DAC in Summit.

UPDATE 31Mar19
I trialed Qobuz and got very few hits on some desired artists - mainstream ones are OK but others, not so much. I also streamed their hi-res stuff which only amounts to the most recent releases and then it mostly means just CD quality (16 bit / 44.1KHz). On rare occasions 96KHz or very rarely 192KHz are available but wholly insufficiently to warrant subscription - meh; I cancelled. Here's their UI playing Jenny Lewis's latest drop in CD quality... I think that's the maximum quality available from the web player. The second image shows their native app actually playing the same track at better quality (24bit / 48KHz), and it was better.

Homage To The Legend & Mind F*ck TV 29Mar19

With loss of access to Arapahoe Basin via my Epic Local Pass next season, Dave Sheldon, Sean Pieri and I hit the legend today as homage to our loss. We'd hoped for more snow but then hoped for more sun as we skied a number of mainly groomed runs on ice, all over ABay - what an awesome spot. The day got real sketchy when the light was flat and we were skating on icy bumps. The snow is coming now that we are off the mtn but I doubt I'll brave a spring break weekend right now.

The 2nd part here are tips on good TV series I've been watching. Stuff that is a real mind f*ck but is very good IMO. 1st is another offer on FX from Noah Hawley (Fargo) called Legion. It's the story of some telepaths roaming the astral plane and includes the always awesome Aubrey Plaza. Next I'll highlight another mind f*cker called American Gods on STARZ. Here we watch the old gods and some new gods compete for the beliefs of humanity in America. Both of these are worthy. I also finished the latest season of OA, created & written by Brit Marling, who also stars, with her oft collaborator Zal Batmanglij. Once seeing OA I dove on all her work and most offers are very good (and well rated) SciFi. OA is a mind f*ck on Netflix.

Just Browns And A Hard Hike @ The Williams Fork 27Mar19

With a gorgeous spring day forecast I set out for the Williams Fork (late AM to avoid an early coldness). This time of year there are huge Colorado River rainbows migrating up the Fork to spawn - and I was primarily seeking them. Unfortunately I saw no 'bows, nor even any real spawning signs. I did trudge through 10" of snow and slush into, out of, and along the Fork on this day. It was one of the most grueling hikes I'd ever done due to the conditions of post-holing or sliding... and that's saying something as I've hiked a lot. What's more, a number of others had done it too - probably thinking as I did that we'd see the big 'bows. I fished the entire length of the Williams Fork and it was pretty low and a little off color but nothin'. It feels we are ~10 days behind "normal" fishing activities - at least on higher elevation rivers, even the tailwaters. It might be that the low 60cfs flows provide insufficient cover for the big 'bows so they're doin' their business elsewhere; it does seem flows were higher last year in March than now. Nonetheless I caught plenty of the smaller browns on mayfly nymphs as a bit of solace. Plus it was gorgeous while in there.

Hardly Electronic - The Essex Green 23Mar19

I was excited to find a new release from The Essex Green after a 15 year hiatus. My appreciation for pop sounds and NYC musicians are on display here. It's been out for 8 months so I'm not timely but at least I got there. I can buy stuff on Bandcamp cost effectively and get good .flac files. The entire album is good but click the dancing ladies image to listen to their leadoff track and go from there. Mostly very happy sounds like the Beatles or Beach Boys.

Gear & Beer For Whacky Weather 22Mar19

The increased wackiness of our (and everyones') weather, and likely increasing risk of hail on the north side of COS led me to consider hail mitigation for the camper. Sure I could claim it on insurance if it got irreparably damaged, I just couldn't replace this gem with anything like it. So, for $100 all in, I put a "hot tin roof" on the E1 for when it's in storage, as my spot is outside. It's decent 29 gauge corrugated galvanized steel so should be the protection I seek... 4 panels and a couple of ratcheting tie downs and I'm good. It will lengthen my retrieval time of the camper but not considerably.

For this install, during Craft Beer Week, I've paired the Space Camper Cosmic IPA, which seemed appropriately named, from Boulevard (KC, MO)... good (4.1 from me); it's a light blonde, very lightly hazy but juicy IPA at 5.5% ABV. Definitely worth a taste.

Also for the weather and as a "fix" for the Crusher's need for a new battery system to run the fridge and lighting I'm using more, I replaced the regular starting battery with a dual purpose (starting & deep charge use) AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery. I could've gone to a dual battery setup but the more expensive mod didn't seem worth it in this older vehicle. Nonetheless, the keen sealed non-maintenance Odyssey battery I chose was not cheap at $300, but it should cycle well with the fridge's needs while always delivering the CCAs needed to turn the Crusher's V8 over. My trips this year will put the car multiple days off the grid and I need some assurances.

To pair with this fine gear I returned to Colorado for a yummy NE IPA from WeldWerks aptly named Juicy Bits. This is a light golden, hazed out concoction of citra, mosaic & el dorado hops served in a 16 oz varsity can. This scores a very good 4.5 from me for a 6.7% ABV brew... way to go Greeley.

Somewhat forced by a pending trip of top biker mates to the Colorado Plateau, I added an extension to my bomb-proof Thule T2 hitch-based bike rack. This'll take the hitch  load to 4 big bikes in the back - and obviate the need for me to crawl on the roof of the Crusher or deal with thru axel adapters for bikes that enjoy that front end stiffness. Unused as yet and a limited use model but yeah - sweet.

Mating with this rig are two brews less worthy of note. Gone Tomorrow (3.0), is just that, Odyssey did not make hazy happen well enough with this "session" version, else I would've mated it to the Odyssey battery of course. And further, though decent, the FieldHouse Don't Drink The Juice (3.8) may be aptly named.

The Shit Show 21Mar19

I went to the PT a bit later in the morning as that's when things had turned on previously on recent outings there. I was shocked on arriving at the Nature Center dirt lot... there were 13 cars with more streaming in behind me. I took the photo and left immediately. What just happened? I went on to the State Pk area and found a just slightly less crowded lot; I ate lunch and then caught some smaller fish before departing after just 100 mins to do alternative errands back in COS. Sheesh.

So Cool I'd Almost Listen To EDM 19Mar19

Sylvan Esso @ NPR Tiny Desk...

Snow On The PT 19Mar19

I lost a couple of nice cutbows at the Nature Center on the PT due to fumbling I guess, in the cold & snow this AM. Flows recently increased to ~200cfs which should be perfect, but added turbidity and cold was not conducive to a great outing. I did manage to land a 17" holdover out of Valco, along with the stockers. Brown and red midges were the ticket. It was actually kindof crowded and I saw a raft-based fisherman for the first time ever on this water. 

Springtime In The Rockies ~ The Movie Mar19

Here's a little movie with skiing and fishing the Rockies in near springtime. Plus a pic of "the pile" at the Nest.

Happy St Pat's Day ~ Oro Grande Views & Brews 17Mar19

Kala & I set out from Tenderfoot TH off #151 and enjoyed awesome views across the reservoir ot our homestake at the base of Buffalo Mtn/Gore Range/Eagles Nest Wild. Wow what a great day.

After recovering from the outing  we hit Baker's and shared an afternoon with excellent corn beef and cabbage (2nd to last plate) and many of Cory's fine brews... hosted by the brewer himself at our station - GR8 outing.

Breckenridge Chill Day 15Mar19

I was fortunate to ski with some mates on Breck's several hills this day. Including Sean Pieri, me, Dave Sheldon, and Bob Riefstahl. I wore the new Nano-Air with a -3° temp departing the Nest and forecast high of 20°. It was so successful and warm and even too much by the PM when even at the top of the mtn overachieved at 28° and sunny. The AM was fraught with crusty tops left from warm snowfall and very low overnight temps - even my Liberty driver boards were being deflected. I convinced the team of an early stop at Sevens, which led to an afternoon of warmed and nicer moveable snow off Kensho and Falcon. We had a blast bombing all across Breck from Pk 6 to Pk 1 catching very leftovers to ~18K vert and ski-in, ski-out accommodations from Sheldon's time share at Pk 9. Of course we stopped at Broken Compass on the trip home and I really enjoyed their Snow Pine DIPA DDH named Whacky One Off (I know right, pretty lewd, but tasty). We even toured Alexander's new townhome place in north Breck... it was good to see Chris & Bill.

Bob Watching Sheldon

Sheldon Standing Off The Lift

Skiing The Heavies 13Mar19

Well I finished irys Networking's taxes and was able to get to Summit after the concert and before the bulk of the blizzard. So, I thought I'd ski it of course. Lines were nill in the blizzard but the weather was an issue. The initial warmth made the 9" of fresh snow very heavy - still a blast but a lot of work. I skied Keystone and got many new tracks - here I'm celebrating then biffing on Blackhawk. The wind too was an issue, at times I couldn't even descend on Starfire as the uphill wind held me in place, while the spindrift pummeled my face. Springtime in the Rockies.

Wheatus @ The Bluebird 12Mar19

The Wheatus concert was awesome. He brought the whole band, which he did not do last time I saw him. The funky bass dude was full fretless that sounded cool (rocked my belly); really great was the new drummer Madden Class (Little Pepper). Of course it’s mainly about Brenden Beresford Brown who was excellent, sings higher than Neil Young, and made keen 4 part girl harmonies with his backup singers. I am waiting for a new Wheatus album to drop and they did play a metal-heavy new song that'll be there. We're lucky, this is only the second time Wheatus has played Denver.

The venue was good but not great; acoustically could have been tighter. DC Pizza beforehand was good.

Doughty was the headliner and OK but downtempo trip hop isn’t my fav style - he was like a beat poet - plenty of supportive fans though. Some of the Wheatus members backed him and BBB was awesome on lead guitar while Madden was really punchin’ it for his raps and Matthew played some space sampler thing for him.

Here's my fav Wheatus song, The London Sun, that I captured from the show (PW: GR8F1sh). It wasn't my mobile MD studio recorder - which I should remember to bring henceforth; it was just and iPhone so sorry about fidelity. It was very fun live, as was most of the 1 hour "set" - a lot from the Valentines album.

Wheatus - The London Sun @ Bluebird Denver

More PT Action 11Mar19

I hit the PT again today. Flows are still way down and fish are readily visible when spawning or otherwise. I was targeting bigger feeding fish and got good results out of the Nature Center, mostly on midges (grey vinyl KF or Awesome midges). I had 1/2 dozen good size cutbows on but didn't land them all. I don't know whether it was the take and set on the small flies, my early season skills or what. Nonetheless, a very nice outing including a 21"er and a thicker 20"er. The fish are gorgeously colored heading into the spawn and some males are beginning to sport the kype jaw. I went to Valco in the PM for lunch but didn't do much there - I didn't spot as many fish or as many redds. But again in the big weir hole I caught my fill of stockers before departing.