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Another approach would be to install BTS springs and swap out the springs for each type of riding. I don't suppose they fit on UPZ boots though.

If you can find them, there is a Blax/DSM/Line model that uses a Head shell and has an adjustable lean wheel in the back. It works really well. The boot is fairly soft (softer than my Raichle 225s) but supportive. Very nice boot. There's a size 29 in the classifieds right now.

My nose-folding episodes happened when I was being aggressive and driving hard into the turns - almost diving into them. It's fun to ride like that but I'm not going to do that anymore when the snow is soft. So if you ride more balanced and smooth, it likely won't happen.

West. Etobicoke.

These are old Rossignols that I'm offering to any racers under the age of 16. They are pretty solid with cast aluminum base plates. Mild cant built into each binding. Screw-type adjusters. Fits my daughter's MP26 boots with lots of room for smaller or much larger boots. There's a little plastic ear on the heel plate that stops the rear bail from dropping down. This ear broke off on one of the bindings (see photos). The only problem it causes is the rear bail doesn't stay upright. If I were to keep these, I would investigate trying to move the intact plastic ear from the front binding to the back since you are in and out of the rear binding more frequently. If you're under 16, trade you for a t-shirt from your school, size medium. If you're local, pick them up for the low cost of a 4-pack of Guinness (to be purchased by your parent, of course). If you're over 16, these will cost you $25. Oh and you have to pay shipping.

Justin: Thanks for the advice. I might just do that. Did I also mention that my wife is a bit psychotic too - about a crap and pee on her Persian rugs? That's why I'm looking at stealing someone's fully house broken and trained adult dog (half joking). I just noticed your location. Are you really in Ottawa? What did you do with all your guns?

I owned those exact googles until I cracked them in a recent spill. It took me a while to track down a new pair. If I knew your dog owned a pair, I might've worked a trade with him.

I love dogs and my daughter works me over every day to get one. But, I know nothing about training them and am afraid to get or create a bad dog. My brother's dog is psychotic. If you try to touch his toys or food, he tries to take your hand off. My Dad's old dog was the best. Trusting and loyal. So how do I make sure I end up with the latter and not the former? I thought the best thing is to find an adult dog that has to be given up for some (non-behavioural) reason. But where do you find those? Rescue dogs make me nervous. Pound dogs even more so. It's not like I can return a dog. At least I wouldn't want to. Any advice?

Good advice Vlad. If I take all my bindings off, then that creates another storage problem. Looks like I have to start hoarding shoe boxes. Hey, anyone make a nice binding rack?

Lots of discussion on storage regarding loss of camber, temperature, racks, etc. Didn't find anything about bindings. I think loosening is a good idea. One of the reasons I leave mine on is the fact that I forget the binding settings over the summer. I suppose a piece of masking tape with the settings written on it would solve that.

Does leaving the bindings on your board over the summer aggravate binding suck? I have a couple of boards with mild binding suck and these are boards where I almost never remove the bindings. Just wondering if it's a coincidence.

Just wondering, who is "he"? An Austrian friend told me the Kessler company is owned by a wealthy family with little interest in profit, just doing it to be involved in the sport. He didn't think they were really hands-on.

I don't know why I fell into that habit. I guess because skiing is spelled with two ii's, I started spelling skiis the same way. I'll stoop noow.

Fashion and perception is a big factor in equipment choice. Always has been. If you don't think there's any posing happening on the ski slopes, then you're not paying attention. In the good old days, it was all about length. A skier would proudly proclaim "I ride 210s" and then skid around the blue squares until he could quit at lunchtime. Same thing goes for race skiis. So many people were and still are riding race skiis when they really should be on something softer. So when I see a specialty product in an environment where they don't belong, I tend to be skeptical. Are they doing it because it's trendy or is there a legitimate reason to be riding super fat skiis on groomed Eastern trails? Since I've been threatening to buy skiis for 2 seasons, I'm wondering what's up with the fat skiis and twin tips. My teenage, non-skiing son keeps telling me to buy twin tips which makes me immediately suspicious. I guess I'll have to try out a demo set to see for myself. And let's not fool ourselves, there's a lot of alpine snowboarders riding stuff that's too long and too stiff.

What's up with all the guys riding twin tips and fat skiis when they are not park riders and there is no powder? I see guys in the East all the time with skiis that look fat enough for Utah powder. Are they that versatile or are these guys poseurs?

I'm with you Joel. What other product can you buy that is designed, ridden, raced, hand-made and inspected by the owner himself? Plus, as you say, so reasonably priced. As a bonus, we here in Southern Ontario have the luxury of talking shop with Bruce on a regular basis. Just can't beat that.

I just don't see a rosy future for this couple: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17817285/?GT1=9145

How is this for red-neck ingenuity? That's a full sized window air conditioner powered by a gas generator mounted on the bumper. Spotted this near Destin, FL while on vacation last week. <IMG SRC=http://www.taylorkim.com/images/aircon.jpg>

Make sure you use the slow-cure epoxy not the 1 hour stuff. To damaged areas, I apply it sparingly and then hit the area with a heat gun. The heat thins the epoxy and draws it into fibres and core. Let it cure at least 48 hours before riding.

There's an AOS event called RBC Riders on at Centennial Park in Etobicoke on Saturday, March 10. AOS resources are stretched a bit thin this weekend so if anyone can come out to help, it would be most appreciated. Setup is 8:30-10:00, race will take a couple of hours, then break-down. If you have kids between 8-14, enter them in the event. It's a sling-shot style SBX event. It's going to be pretty mild so a great intro to SBX.

http://www.sgsnowboards.com/ I think what you've got there is a Sigi Grabner SG Race. If it's good enough for Sigi...

Chris: Does this mean you're no longer the President of the Virus Fan Club? HK

You should send this guy an email and direct him to extremecarving.com. That'll open his eyes. The body position in that toeside photo is just brutal.

Be fast, you know how these SAC deals go.

Chubz: Dude! The hostility! Got a good laugh from your backpack comment. I see guys with backpacks and camelbacks around here and it makes me chuckle. You need a drink of water, there's a fountain in the lodge 10 metres from the bottom of the run.