Climbing Mexico's Mountains: A Week-Long Adventure with Russ

[russ_watters]

I've been in Mexico on business for the past week, so I haven't been around much (dunno if anyone has noticed a reduced post rate...). I had off yesterday and attached is a pic of the mountain I climbed (with my boss and another coworker - I'm on the right). We went up through the center of the cross and straight to the top from there. I didn't think we'd be able to go beyond the top of the cross and there were times I wished I had a safety line. Great adventure though. We found an easier way down - on the right side of the mountain.

I'll probably be here another week.

Adios!

-Russ

 

[arildno]

Don't work too hard, russ; we need you in tip-top shape when you return.

Have a great stay!

 

[hypatia]

Its a fun place to explore, hope your enjoying the fine weather...its snowing here in Michigan

 

[Arctic Fox]

What part of Mexico are you in, Russ? I'm looking for a place to live down there in about two years - trying to gather any information about the country...

 

[1123581321]

What part of Mexico are you in, Russ? I'm looking for a place to live down there in about two years - trying to gather any information about the country...

not hard to tell why you want a place in mexico, you live in murmansk

 

[Moonbear]

Hola Russ!

Okay, now that I've exhausted all the Spanish sentences I can construct with proper grammar, I'll return to English. Hope you get a little more play time while there! Have fun! Wow, you guys have a good looking crew there!

You picked the right week to be there since we just got a fresh blast of cold air (light flurries last night even :yuck:) after being teased with hopes of summer for a week. Your neck of the woods is probably getting that horrid weather today.

 

[Danger]

attached is a pic of the mountain I climbed

Mountain...? Good grief, man... the town that I live in is built on a hill 3 times that size. Regardless, hope you're enjoying yourself to the max. Next time you go, remember that I'm still flexible enough to fit into a large suitcase.

 

[Clausius2]

I've been in Mexico on business for the past week, so I haven't been around much (dunno if anyone has noticed a reduced post rate...). I had off yesterday and attached is a pic of the mountain I climbed (with my boss and another coworker - I'm on the right). We went up through the center of the cross and straight to the top from there. I didn't think we'd be able to go beyond the top of the cross and there were times I wished I had a safety line. Great adventure though. We found an easier way down - on the right side of the mountain.

I'll probably be here another week.

Adios!

-Russ

We see you do strange business inside a cross of a mexican mountain. Russ, are you involved in some strange dealing with natives?.

BTW: you remind me to some pop singer with these glasses...

 

[Evo]

Don't go falling off any mountains, we need you here.

 

[Moonbear]

BTW: you remind me to some pop singer with these glasses...

Hmm...yeah, Russ, we want to see your eyes. You had sunglasses on in your member photo thread photo too. :tongue:

BTW, what was the height of the mountain? It doesn't look like much more than a big hill in the picture, but I have no idea how far you're standing from the base of it.

 

[SOS2008]

That looks cool--what great experiences to have. You have been missed--nice to know you'll be coming back!

 

[Clausius2]

Hmm...yeah, Russ, we want to see your eyes. You had sunglasses on in your member photo thread photo too. :tongue:

Maybe he doesn't have eyes. He's an alien!

 

[Moonbear]

Maybe he doesn't have eyes. He's an alien!

:rofl: I can speculate all sorts of things. Maybe he's horribly cross-eyed, or has a glass eye that stares in a disturbing direction. Or maybe he's just in Mexico partying too much and they are all bloodshot. (See Russ, you better show your eyes or we're going to have to spread horrible rumors about you). :tongue2:

 

[russ_watters]

What part of Mexico are you in, Russ...

Chihuahua (4 hours south of Texas, halfway between the oceans). Its a great little city. I had in my head a picture of how people describe Mexico City (which I also have not been to) and its nothing like that at all. Its relatively affluent, clean industrial, and just plain beautiful. It'd be a nice place to live for a few years.

Mountain...? Good grief, man... the town that I live in is built on a hill 3 times that size.

BTW, what was the height of the mountain? It doesn't look like much more than a big hill in the picture, but I have no idea how far you're standing from the base of it.

Attached is a pic taken from my hotel room. My guess is its about 1500 feet vertically. Hey - I'm from Pennsylvania, anything over 500 feet is a mountain. It took about 1:15 to get to the top.

Also, by popular demand, an unrelated photo of me with no sunglasses. Its the only one I have on my laptop. And if you guys beg enough (or complain too much??), I'll post the pic of me with no shirt on

----------------------------

Now - let me tell you guys about my day. I'm a week into this trip and today I was really hoping to get started on what I'm here to do. My purpose here is simply to balance the airflow in the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system. It should take about a week. All it takes is measuring air flowing from each diffuser (vent) and adjusting it via a damper (valve in a duct). Computer controls on the air handler (big fan) make sure the total airflow of the system is constant, so I only need to adjust each damper once. Simple.

The basic problem is that the constuction isn't finished, so none of the computer control is in place. So while we're adjusting the airflow at each diffuser, the flow properties of the entire system change and we have to manually adjust the whole system via some large system control dampers. And its taken a week to even get to the point where we could do that. We've had a host of small-medium problems.

Today's problem was that we finally thought we were ready to balance the system and manually opened the four large system control dampers. The actuators (motorized controllers) were in various states of existence (there, not there, partially installed and hanging unsupported, etc.), but there isn't any computer to control them anyway, so we manually opened them, which wasn't all that easy since they weren't finished being installed. It pretty much took all morning (there were some other minor issues to deal with too).

Upon returning from lunch, we slowly ramped-up the speed of the two air handlers feeding this system. My boss would say later that doing it slowly was a general precaution and he didn't have any real worries about it. Well, as we ramped up the speed, the ductwork made more noises than it should and eventually, we heard some fairly loud popping noises - the sound of the ductwork bursting at the seams, possibly one of the dampers that didn't have an actuator slamming shut, possibly damaging it. As it turns out, while we were at lunch, someone completed the installation of 3 of the 4 damper actuators and in so doing, closed the dampers. The fans built up the pressure in the ductwork, and the ductwork burst.

Had we just switched on the fans at full speed (two 15 horsepower and two 50 horsepower fans), like we had every reason to believe we could, they may well have blown apart the ductwork so violently that sections of it would have fallen from the ceiling. As it was, my boss had to climb inside a duct to inspect a damper that we thought may have been damaged.

On Friday, we laid out a schedule that had us starting on Sunday. Now, two work-days into that schedule and we are precisely two days behind. Oh, what surprises await us tomorrow...

 

[Evo]

Attached is a pic taken from my hotel room. My guess is its about 1500 feet vertically. Hey - I'm from Pennsylvania, anything over 500 feet is a mountain. It took about 1:15 to get to the top.

It did look steep. It looks much bigger from a distance.

And if you guys beg enough (or complain too much??), I'll post the pic of me with no shirt on

Do you need to even ask? Post it! :tongue2:

Sorry, this is as far as I got, now I will read the rest.

 

[Moonbear]

Also, by popular demand, an unrelated photo of me with no sunglasses. Its the only one I have on my laptop. And if you guys beg enough (or complain too much??), I'll post the pic of me with no shirt on

Can't you SuperMentor types approve your own attachments? *taps foot* :uhh: Where's Evo?! *taps foot some more*

While I'm waiting, what was that about a picture without a shirt? Oh, wait, before or after getting tanned? I don't want to be blinded by glowing skin.

Sounds like the job is progressing at a perfect pace to enjoy the scenery a bit longer. I think you did that on purpose to get an extra couple of days in Mexico after I told you there was snow you were missing. :tongue2: Spring returned again today, so you don't have to break anything else to avoid returning. :tongue:

Ah, I see Evo has arrived.

Oooh, the rugged look! Hey, you definitely shouldn't hide your eyes behind sunglasses so much. (Nifty how you have that little planet just levitating over your palm there too.) Yep, got to see the shirtless photo now!

 

[SOS2008]

Umm, the scruffy bad-boy look (that Moonbear is into, uh-huh). More pics, less cloths, yeh! :tongue2:

 

[Moonbear]

Umm, the scruffy bad-boy look (that Moonbear is into, uh-huh). More pics, less cloths, yeh! :tongue2:

I do like that look! Actually, what I really like is the guy who can pull off the scruffy bad-boy look as well as can clean up really nicely when he has to (for work or going out for special occassions).

 

[SOS2008]

I do like that look! Actually, what I really like is the guy who can pull off the scruffy bad-boy look as well as can clean up really nicely when he has to (for work or going out for special occassions).

I know, I took notes earlier...we are in different states though, so no worries about "friendly fire." :rofl: Ah, you can still come out and float in the pool...for a visit...

Russ - More pics, less clothes!

 

[russ_watters]

While I'm waiting, what was that about a picture without a shirt? Oh, wait, before or after getting tanned? I don't want to be blinded by glowing skin.

Hey yeah, we could do before and after pics. Ya know, you'd think with all my supposed intellect, I'd remember to bring sunscreen...

As for tanning, no - I don't really tan. I'm either white, bright red, or dark red (followed shortly by white again).

Today went better. We had some luck finally doing what we came to do. The project is still such a mess though that my boss wants to stay until its finished (he packed for 3 days and may end up being here 3 weeks). I may be coming home this weekend - someone has to watch the store.

 

[cronxeh]

Hmm.. Russ, do you happen to work for GE?

I was fixing my fluorescent lamp today, and it had 'Made in Mexico' on the side, and I thought about this pic you posted..

Come to think about it, ME's usually do this kind of thing..

 

[Moonbear]

Hey yeah, we could do before and after pics. Ya know, you'd think with all my supposed intellect, I'd remember to bring sunscreen...

Ouch! :rofl:

As for tanning, no - I don't really tan. I'm either white, bright red, or dark red (followed shortly by white again).

I know how that is. I can still accomplish getting a sunburn with SPF 50 on! Well, they say that the SPF means that's approximately how much longer you can stay out in the sun than without sunscreen without getting sunburnt, so I guess SPF 50 increases my sunburning time from about 1 second to 50 seconds. :tongue2:

Today went better. We had some luck finally doing what we came to do. The project is still such a mess though that my boss wants to stay until its finished (he packed for 3 days and may end up being here 3 weeks). I may be coming home this weekend - someone has to watch the store.

I can understand his feelings on that. Yeah, sure, of course he sends you home while he stays in Mexico for three weeks. What a sacrifice. Packed for 3 days, huh? Hopefully he's not one of those guys who thinks 3 days of clothes means one pair of pants, 3 pairs of socks and shorts, and 2 t-shirts.

 

[Danger]

Hopefully he's not one of those guys who thinks 3 days of clothes means one pair of pants, 3 pairs of socks and shorts, and 2 t-shirts.

What's with all those extra shorts and sox and T-shirts? This must be a girl thing...

 

[Moonbear]

What's with all those extra shorts and sox and T-shirts? This must be a girl thing...

Most guys I know who are gainfully employed (as opposed to still students) have been trained to wear fresh socks and shorts each day, and since they can't be bothered to wash them, that means bringing as many pairs as there are days to the trip. Pants seems to be able to last 3 to 5 days. I wasn't sure about T-shirts. They are in a warm climate, you might need to change the t-shirt after working all day and before going out at night.

Oh, the girl thing...I don't do it very well because I like to travel with everything in carry-on when I can, but it would look something like this for a 3 day trip:
6 bras, 6 pairs of panties (just in case you need to shower in the middle of the day, you don't put the same underwear back on); oh, 3 of each is regular cotton stuff, and then the other 3 of each are the pretty, lacy stuff, just in case you meet someone...though this number might increase if you have both light-colored and dark-colored outfits, so need both black and white and some other color-coordinated choices.

Then there are 3 pairs of cotton socks, 3 pairs of trouser socks, 3 pairs of knee-highs and 3 pairs of pantyhose.

Then for each day of the trip, you need a workout type outfit (sweat pants and or shorts and a t-shirt), and a bathing suit. You need a daytime outfit, both short-sleeved and long-sleeved and long pants as well as shorts and capri pants, because you just don't know what the weather will be like. Then an evening outfit, that's dressier than the daytime outfit, for going out to dinner; black slacks and a nice blouse. Then you need to bring along some party dresses in case you head out to the clubs. Oh, and all of these outfits require different shoes: tennis shoes, running shoes, walking shoes, pumps in at least two different colors, slingbacks, flip flops. Then there are the matching purses, and the jewelry. Oh, and there's a whole separate bag of just cosmetics and hair care "products." And never mind that the hotel will have soap and shampoo, you have to bring your own because you don't want to use something that might not be just right for your hair and skin.

Like I said, I'm not very good at the girly thing. I pack for a weekend trip and everything fits into a duffel bag that I throw together the morning I'm leaving, while my friends will drag along 2 suitcases worth of clothing and other "stuff" that they started packing a week in advance of the trip.

 

[Danger]

Most guys I know who are gainfully employed (as opposed to still students) have been trained to wear fresh socks and shorts each day, and since they can't be bothered to wash them, that means bringing as many pairs as there are days to the trip. Pants seems to be able to last 3 to 5 days. I wasn't sure about T-shirts. They are in a warm climate, you might need to change the t-shirt after working all day and before going out at night.

You're entirely too civilized for me... :tongue:

 

[cronxeh]

*snore* Ha! Bringing as many socks as there are days in a trip.. dream on, sister!

 

[Moonbear]

*snore* Ha! Bringing as many socks as there are days in a trip.. dream on, sister!

As I said, those rules apply to those who are already gainfully employed. For students, you're lucky if they even pack a change of underwear. Afterall, when one side gets too yellow, you just turn them inside-out and keep wearing them, right?

 

[cronxeh]

I have no comments available at this time

 

[SOS2008]

Since Russ' thread has already been thread-jacked (no one to hold down the fort) I tell my men just to be sure there skivvies match the floor, 'cuz that's where they're going to go and going to stay! :tongue2: :rofl:

 

[Danger]

I tell my men just to be sure there skivvies match the floor, 'cuz that's where they're going to go and going to stay! :tongue2: :rofl:

I love you more with every comment you make. :tongue2:

 

[cronxeh]

Danger are you sure its not one of those midlife fetishes of yours.. where women push you around, you don't get any dinner, and in the end you say thank you and make sure you wipe clean your feet whenever you leave or enter the female's cave territory :rofl:

 

[SOS2008]

I have no comments available at this time

Let me get my hand-held MRI machine out here...hmmm, uh-hah, oh man, no way, how could yo...holy... When did you have time to do all that?

 

[russ_watters]

Packed for 3 days, huh? Hopefully he's not one of those guys who thinks 3 days of clothes means one pair of pants, 3 pairs of socks and shorts, and 2 t-shirts.

Honest to god - his one bag was the smallest gym bag you've ever seen. I refuse to even speculate on what was inside. He did, however, buy 2 pair of jeans and 3 polo shirrts a couple of days ago - and the hotel has a laundry service. But I have seen him wear the same polo shirt 3 days in a row before for no particular reason.

Since Russ' thread has already been thread-jacked (no one to hold down the fort) I tell my men just to be sure there skivvies match the floor, 'cuz that's where they're going to go and going to stay!

No response possible.

Attached: a taste of my hell...

 

[Moonbear]

But I have seen him wear the same polo shirt 3 days in a row before for no particular reason.

Does one require a reason for that? Though, I've also known guys who appear to wear the same shirt several days in a row, but it's actually that they own 3 of the same shirt...they liked the first one they bought (or a woman told them they looked good in that shirt or color), so went back and bought a few more. After a few days, you can usually tell if it's the same shirt by whether you can still breathe while in the same room as the wearer of the shirt.

 

[Danger]

Danger are you sure its not one of those midlife fetishes of yours.. where women push you around, you don't get any dinner, and in the end you say thank you and make sure you wipe clean your feet whenever you leave or enter the female's cave territory :rofl:

Midlife my ass! I've had it since I was younger than you.

Let me get my hand-held MRI machine out here...hmmm, uh-hah, oh man, no way, how could yo...holy... When did you have time to do all that?

As I said, the outcome is dependent upon the intent of the operator...

I've also known guys who appear to wear the same shirt several days in a row, but it's actually that they own 3 of the same shirt...

I do that a lot. Even two apparently very distinctive shirts (brown/red knit with cream turtleneck inset) are duplicates of each other. I have at least 2 of most of my favourites.