Pat Donnelly

Check Orbitz a couple of times a week and you may get lucky?. We booked a mini van in April for Feb and the base rate was $280. In late August I shopped again and Advantage (http://www.arac.com/) was offering a mini-van for a base rate of $175 wk/unlmtd mileage. I noticed the $175 offer only lasted a few days. Checked today and the "base" rate was $610. If you luck onto an affordable rate then book it as car rentals can be cancelled in advance without a charge but in most cases they will not protect a cheap rate if you want to change your date.

Look for a link to a preview: http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/tvschedule/sneak_previews.html Willy, photos did not turn out too well.

http://search.ebay.com/prior-alpine-downhill-madd-bomber-rac-carv-freecarv-hardb-catek-donek-coiler-F2-prime-speed-slalom-GS-plate-renntiger-virus-physics-hard-burner-alp-rack-racks-sweatshirt-jacket-mouse-lamar_Snowboarding_W0QQcatrefZC3QQfromZR10QQsacategoryZ21247QQsatitleZQ28priorQ2calpineQ2cdownhillQ2cmaddQ2cbomberQ2cracQ2aQ2ccarvQ2aQ2cfreecarvQ2aQ2chardbQ2aQ2ccatekQ2cdonekQ2ccoilerQ2cF2Q2cprimeQ2cspeedQ2cslalomQ2cGSQ2cplateQ2crenntigerQ2cvirusQ2cphysicsQ2chardQ2cburnerQ2calpQ29Q2dQ28rackQ2cracksQ2csweatshirtQ2cjacketQ2cmouseQ2clamarQ29QQsocolumnlayoutZ3QQsorecordstoskipZ150QQsosortorderZ1QQsosortpropertyZ1

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/29/MNGO5EVSM24.DTL

http://www.jobwerx.com/news/Archives/ge_silicones_biz-id=947538_927.html

http://flickr.com/photos/soopahviv/20635900/in/photostream/

Jack Johnson followed by Rilo Kiley October 8 Former surfer Jack Johnson has long been a hit at summer music festivals with his mix of folk, blues and hip-hop. He performs songs from his newest CD, In Between Dreams. Rilo Kiley fuse indie-pop and alt-country together for a sound that emphasizes their emotional, playful lyrics. Highlights include songs from the band's newest CD More Adventurous. http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/tvschedule/index.html

For a pre-order that is.

copper mountain four pass . . . search them on ebay, they are available. But then you can also purchase 4-packs (legitimately) on-line for Loveland 4/$99 http://www.skiloveland.com/shopNew/page/season_pass.htm#4paks

SAM Magazine--Donner Summit, CA, September 9, 2005--Joining several ski areas across the country, Boreal Mountain Resort will devote all of its slopes to freestyle terrain for the upcoming season. In total, the area will spend $700,000 on the new terrain, which will include 100 rails, jumps and funboxes, as well as a 450-foot-long superpipe that will be serviced by a new Zaugg. The resort also purchased two more grooming vehicles for the park. The all-mountain terrain park, the first in northern California, will offer features from each of its nine lifts, both day and night. The resort was also quick to point out, however, that it will retain "its traditional downhill terrain, as well as beginner offerings."

We saw the show two weeks ago and it were most excellent. The crowd was on their feet the entire time Jack was on stage. Will post a photo once the film is developed. General admission was different but we arrived early and sat just off center, 6 rows from the stage.

Bryan, If you are going to fly then you might be better off with a SporTube http://www.sportube.com/pages/home.htm We have the a pair of double ski tubes which are longer than the snowboard version; dimensions are shown on their web site. We usually arrange a mini van rental so we can pitch and go upon arrival. "Northwest (airlines) recommends hard-shell cases when checking your ski equipment."

Perhaps this link may help: http://club-ski.web.cern.ch/club-ski/snowboard/tutor/virbas.html If you could have someone shot a video clip of you while riding then post it here for comments or suggestions .

http://www.advantagerentacar.com/ Labor Day weekend sale - Weekly rate on a Dodge/Plymouth mini-van in Feb 2006 is $189 (base rate) w/unlmtd mileage. When I checked a few months ago they were quoting $329 per week (base rate) for the same vehicle/time period.

Posting in the classified section on Carveboard's site.

http://www.hoodrivernews.com/News%20stories/69_outthere_3.htm

Summit Daily News August 13, 2005 ASPEN - Mirror, mirror on the ski town wall, who has the priciest season pass of all? It all depends upon how early in the season you buy the pass of course, but it would appear that Sun Valley or perhaps Vail is at the top. Sun Valley will charge $1,775 for an unrestricted pass for next winter. Vail won't announce its price until September, but last winter it charged $1,649 for a comparable pass. Jackson Hole is at $1,595 and Aspen is at $1,579, although both prices will soon rise. And on down the line: Telluride at $1,375, Deer Valley at $1,345, Park City at $950, Steamboat at $925 and Crested Butte at $768. For bottom feeders, there are all sorts of deals, even at many of these same ski areas. Vail has 10- and 20-day passes, while Jackson Hole has a pass called the Weekend Warrior. The smaller ski areas, in contrast, almost give away their passes. At Snow King, a small ski area located in the town of Jackson, the season pass costs all of $99. Aspen trolls for skies in the Denver market ASPEN - It's a three-and-a-half hour drive from Denver to Aspen, with turnoffs for 12 ski areas along the way. Still, Aspen sees some Front Range skiers - and hopes to see more. Last year the Aspen Skiing co. introduced a seven-day Classic Pass, at a cost of $179. The pass was intended as a counter to the Colorado Passport, which allows unlimited access to three ski resorts in Summit County plus 10 days at Vail, Beaver Creek, or both. This year, the price has gone up to $219. "Our Classic Pass was very successful in the Front Range, as well as the (Roaring Fork) valley," David Perry, senior vice president of marketing, told The Aspen Times. He would not divulge how successful the pass has been, but the Times said he clearly feels there are more customers to tap from the Front Range. However, he did say that the average purchaser of one of the Vail Resorts passes uses it nine times; he did not give comparable figures for those purchasing Aspen's pass. Another record month at Eisenhower Tunnel EISENHOWER TUNNEL - Interstate 70 just keeps getting busier and busier. During July, 1.1 million vehicles traveled through the twin tunnels, making it the busiest month since the first bore opened in 1973. Despite the weekend-clogging of ski season, summer remains the busiest time of the year at the tunnel.

Here is the latest offering and I am told this is an awesome unit. Our local dealer received four of them last week and they sold within five days. Suggested retail $1,999 http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE42A10

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20050803/NEWS/108030024

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20050727/NEWS/107270027

The HD "tube" we have had for about 7 months is a Sony - 34" Widescreen XBR® HDTVKD-34XBR960 and it offers an excellent picture. If you go this route then I would suggest upgrading your DVD player with Sony's latest HDMI (high def module interface). Sound - be carfeful on ceiling firing floor speakers if you have a suspended ceiling then the tiles will absorb the sound. The wife's like the little speakers but I say it is hard to beat a set of 42" towers. Check out Costco for their sub-woofers . . . you may want two for extra kick but the wife may not like seeing the pictures on the wall moving when the effects kick in. I bought a KLH (sub-woofer) from Costco a few years ago but the last time I looked they were offering a slightly better product at a reasonable price. Also, when we went HD we dropped Dish and went back to Comcast so we could get the national networks in HD. Check out the picture quality during standard (non-HD) broadcasts as the picture quality may not be as good as what you might expect from an HD set.

http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=9549&topic_id=1

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20050715/NEWS/107150046

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | June 30, 2005 A federal jury found yesterday that Sarah Walker, an aspiring model and ski instructor, was mostly to blame for a skiing accident at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., and refused to award her any money for injuries she said had derailed her modeling career. ''I think it was a matter of wrong place, wrong time," said jury foreman John Sheehan of Walpole, who was surprised that a skiing accident had evolved into a federal case. After two hours of deliberations, jurors found Walker was 95 percent responsible for a collision with Megan Lowry, 16, of Boxford, on Jan. 27, 2003, while Lowry was only 5 percent at fault. Earlier, US District Magistrate Judge Robert Collings dismissed Walker's negligence claim against Lowry's parents, Nancy and Daniel Lowry. Walker, 25, testified she was skiing down an expert slope when she came over a crest and collided with Lowry, who was crossing the trail while skiing with her parents and two brothers. Walker, who suffered facial and leg injuries that left her with a scar on her face and a limp, said that Lowry failed to look before crossing. But Lowry's brother, Christopher, 14, who was snowboarding behind his sister, testified that Walker was airborne and skiing very fast at the time of the crash. Daniel Lowry said the jury's verdict ''confirms what we knew all along. [Walker] was skiing recklessly that day. As much as you feel sorry for her injuries, they are of her own doing." Walker voiced disbelief that jurors found her 95 percent responsible. ''I don't think it was fair," she said. Jurors refused to award money to Walker, who had signed a modeling contract three months before the accident and testified she can no longer get work as a model because of her injuries.

Career derailed, model alleges By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | June 29, 2005 It was so cold that Monday morning in January that Sarah Walker, a 23-year-old ski instructor and aspiring model, had an expert slope to herself as she skied down Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., practicing her jumps. But as Walker came over a crest on the Board Park trail, she said, a 14-year-old girl was skiing across her path, leaving her with no chance to avoid a violent collision that she said has changed her life. ''All I saw was somebody darting in front of me," said Walker, who couldn't remember the collision on Jan. 27, 2003, but recalled fumbling in the snow for her front teeth, which had penetrated her lip and been knocked out in the fall. Her knee cap was also fractured. While skiing accidents rarely end up in court, Walker filed a negligence suit against the girl, Megan Lowry of Boxford, and her parents, Daniel and Nancy Lowry, that is being tried this week before a jury in US District Court in Boston. The Lowrys counter that Walker is to blame for the accident because she was skiing too fast and went airborne before the collision. Walker alleges that Lowry, who had been skiing on another trail, is at fault because she should have seen Walker coming down the trail and yielded. She is seeking damages for her injuries, as well as for lost income for her failed modeling career. The accident, according to Walker, has ruined her chances of modeling by leaving her with a scar on her lip, a limp, and low self-esteem. After Walker's lawyers finished presenting their case yesterday, US District Magistrate Judge Robert Collings dismissed Walker's claim that Lowry's parents were negligent, noting that they were on the slope supervising their children at the time. Jurors are set to hear final arguments in the case today, and then begin deliberating over whether Megan Lowry was negligent. Taking the stand yesterday, Lowry, a slender, soft-spoken teenager, now 16, said she was knocked unconscious for several minutes by the collision with Walker and told jurors that she couldn't remember what happened. But, she said, she was an advanced skier, who always looked uphill before crossing a trail. Her brother, Christopher, now 14, who was snowboarding behind her, pointed the blame for the accident at Walker. He testified that as he was about to follow his sister across the trail, he looked up and saw Walker come over the crest with her skis about 5 inches off the ground. ''She was going really fast," said Christopher Lowry, adding that Walker was airborne and ''then she landed and she crashed into my sister." The boy's testimony contradicted that of Thomas Sutton Jr., a skiing expert from Lincoln, N.H., who was hired by the plaintiff. He testified that based on incident reports, he believed that Megan Lowry caused the accident and that Walker's skis didn't leave the ground before the two collided. Walker, who is in her second semester at Cleveland State University, studying business marketing, testified that she had completed two jumps on the slope but that she was not in the air when she collided with Lowry. Boston lawyer Evan Slavitt, who represents Walker, told jurors during opening statements, ''The responsiblity was on Megan to avoid the collision." But the Lowrys' lawyer, Lawrence J. Kenney Jr. of Boston, told jurors, ''The first rule for skiers is to maintain control. Sarah Walker . . . chose to go airborne and lost control." Walker testified that she had signed a one-year contract with the Dynasty Modeling Agency in Boston three months before the accident, but is no longer able to get a job because of the scar on her face and her inability to stand for long periods or wear high heels. ''I just don't look the same," said Walker, who broke into tears. However, Walker acknowledged during cross-examination that during the three months that she was under contract with Dynasty before her accident, she had not been offered any modeling jobs. Joseph Freeman, the owner and director of Dynasty Modeling agency, agreed that although he believed that Walker was ''a good, solid model" who once had the potential to earn $10,000 to $20,000, he no longer believed she could make it in the business.