Kent

Cool commercial....that skier (if it was actually filmed that way) has some serious guts. I've been in enough GS course to know your better off crashing into something that weighs less than you.... Thanks for sharing.

Which point did I prove? Oblivious to what? Examples of what? You're losing me. After posting this and hitting the treadmill at the club, I would like to change my post (but will leave it there). CNN (I think I'm one of the few moderates who flip around to different news outlets) was blasting Obama on many topics. I was rather concerned CNN's ownership had changed. The panelists gave Obama a B-, D, and C for his 1st few months. They pointed out his communication is lacking (sending more troops to Afgan without a clear plan), opposing earmarks during the campaign (but signing off on the bill today) and for the gap in public opinion between Obama's popularity (very high) and his policies (moderate). The gap indicates that there is a risk his approval rating will drop when the policies do not produce results, esp in the short term. I'll search for the video on CNN. Just being fair and balanced....appears some Democrats (or liberals) are open to dishing out some criticism, which is nice to hear.

????????? We've tripled the national debt in 60 days, we've been told by Iran that being "nice guys" won't bring them to the table, violence has increased in Afghanistan, the market has tanked when economists say it couldn't go any lower, umemployment is at it's highest since the Great Depression and the richest investor in the world went public with his doubts yesterday. I do support and pray for President Obama to make the right decisions, yet very concerned when he loses focus of the immediate priorities to spend an insane amount of money of pork projects. Back OT. A characteristic of the Republican party which is unique is that members are self-criticial. Rush, Savage, Hannity, Coulter, Lewis, etc....all have their own views and generally are not afraid to voice it when they go against the party as a whole. I wish the same were true for the other parties, Democrats included. The issues are: Lower Taxes Lower Government involvement / dependence Freedom of choice

Sounds rather similiar to the US Version of the CODP. I was the CODP Alpine Coach and basically had (1) rider - Nik Batko. For those around at the time...they know the drill. Lots of talent, not so much focus on alpine. Won every race he remembered to bring his board and hard boots. Perhaps made a good decision...try to survive racing alpine or make a living in freestyle? IMO...easy decision. Good guy...saw him racing his Dad (also a alpiner) in a triathlon a few summers ago. I still have his Austrailian National Team Jacket he traded at World Champs. If he's lurking, send me a PM and I have your jacket. K

Rush is struggling and he's out of touch with true American conservatism.... Bring back William Buckley with a touch of Colin Powell and a pinch of Adam Sandler.

LMAO....perhaps you need the refresher! :)

It depends on how you define cheaper. It's like saying a bus trip is cheap at 50 cents...yet you don't see that it's subsidized at a price much higher by people who don't use the service. I'd have to look at the data, but fairly certain that no public transportation in the US is profitable, yet taxi service is thriving. Anyhoo..back to healthcare. It's also not accurate to compare healthcare cost of one nation to another because we live in a global economy. i.e. Canada is able to leverage the innovations, treatments, devices and process which have been developed in the US (and manufactured overseas) while taking advantage of their own tax system. If Canada had to stand on its own...the price would be double/triple. So, great for Canada! I'll toss out a kudos for Obama claiming the answer is somewhere in the middle (albiet pertaining to education, not healthcare) last night. You need to fix the existing system and invest, while giving people the option for alternatives. Regardless of the system and cost, people simply need to stop going to the ER to get asprin.......

If ya do a search on PRK or hit wikipedia, you'll find lots of answers. I'm no expert, but my friend is one of the top 5 eye surgeons in the US..so this is coming second hand. "Most" LASIK eye surgeons also perform PRK. Many of them prefer to use the WaveFront machine...which is the same laser as LASIK. It's just a matter of whether you want a flap which never actually heels or your eye to repair itself. I cut and pasted this from a site: Excellent alternative when LASIK is not an option, suitable for those with less corneal tissue, fewer haze outcomes than LASIK, preserves more corneal tissue, no complications of stromal flap possible, less risk of dry eye, effective with pupils large enough to make LASIK difficult, extremely mild pain (“scratchy sensation”), long-term outcome same or better than with LASIK, wavefront technologies may be applied which ensure excellent results, 20/20 vision or better typically achieved. Most patients prefer LASIK because of the minimal recovery. Most docs like PRK because there is less risk of complications. In my brother's case, he was laid up on the couch for 4 days (2 of which were a bit painful), back to work on day 5 and felt no issues after 30 days. Of course, everyone is different. Some are back sooner, some later. Most docs will only do PRK in one eye at a time to compensate for the various recovery time. Cost is similiar or less expense than LASIK, based upon the machines used. Hope that helps. K

http://minuteclinic.com/en/USA/Treatment-and-Cost.aspx Think again. It's going to take 5-10 years, but there are numerous plans already underway to trim the adminstrative overhead of healthcare cost. I'll certainly agree with your assessment that this is where cuts need to me made....yet I'm ready and armed with the data to suggest innovations like MinuteClinic can provide a lower cost / higher value service than the government.... As always...follow the money trail. Competition will bring down the cost....and in Men's Warehouse fashion "I guarantee it"

I'll bite (of course) 1) Inefficient use of money and resources, like the current economic issues are largely based - I'm sure this was tongue in cheek as Bush wasn't given the most pleasant slate from Clinton. The economic mess today is not the result of government. If you want to talk about this one, let's start another thread and more than happy the link to the information. This point is simply that for government to say.....build a snowboard binding, would cost A LOT more than our beloved Fin has provided. Roughly, government spend is 40% higher than if the product/service was produced with competitive forces 2) Lack of price controls, medical in this country is sky high and unobtainable for some - If you think medical cost are high now, imagine how much they would cost if you actually PAID FOR THEM! This one is rather silly. People will drop $299 on an iPhone, but get pissed at a $20 copay at the Doc. 2/3 of Americans are overweight, yet are upset they have to pay minimal for their prescription drugs. Seriously...the cost would be MUCH higher if they were not already being subsidized. Ding-ding...guess what? Once a drug is available generic...the price goes down. Who knew? Heck...LASIK used to cost $4000 eye and how it's 75% less than that. Shocking. If the goverment ran healthcare, the cost would be WAY too high and the service would be sub par. Vist a VA hospital if you disagree. 3) Reduction in civil rights and liberties, yup, things like the DMCA Yes, ask the factory workers in China what they think of their government and political views. After you're done, run down to Cuba and ask how their elections are going. You still haven't answered my (2) questions above...which I'm very interested in. K

Did you ever pursue PRK? After going through the process the past three weeks, they would not recommend LASIK, but rather PRK. In simple terms...it's LASIK without the flap. My brother had PRK and it takes longer to recover...a month later he was happy. It's not a good time for me to take off work...so will be getting my PRK in September. K

Generally speaking.... 1) Inefficient use of money and resources 2) Lack of price controls 3) Reduction in civil rights and liberties

Not really. I encourage you to pop the hood and look under the cover. The biggest "drawback" is simply the Foundation doesn't take on projects it feels that it can't solve, something that the "government" isn't able to pick and chose. World hunger, poverty, education and disease is basically a math equation concerning how many people you can touch in the least amount of time. The results (and process) should also be a wake up call for governments who spend waaaaaay too much money on admin/overhead and not enough directly addressing the problem. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/Pages/our-approach-to-giving.aspx What is interesting about most posts above is that everyone tends to argue their position, while the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Does capitalism have drawbacks? You betcha. Does socialism? A lot of them. Communism? Oh my. There is common ground in the middle...it's simply a matter of creating the proper measurements and controls...and making sure government is accountable.

Dea - Can you answer my 2 question (in your opinion). 1) What is the role of taxes? (i.e. why do we pay them) 2) Do you think Fin should tier his prices, based upon buyer's income? I believe in one of your post, you mentioned you were Libertarian, but I'm not seeing it. Explain. Also...glad you post pix of Haiti. I've been there twice on mission trips. Unlike the people who want to spend other's money on aid, I actually packed my bags and went to help. The problem is that "We" have an entirely different set of problems inside our borders. While it's a shame the poverty around the globe is so high...do you really think our tax burden is responsible for fixing it? Gates has done more to cure world's poverty in the last five years than in 60 years of US Aid. I HIGHLY encourage people to watch this: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/speeches-commentary/Pages/bill-gates-united-nations-2008.aspx Having a GOAL is the proper answer....rather than simply tossing money around without any accountability. Same for the current situation. There's seems to be a lot of ideas on how to spend money, yet no one wants to be held accountable for the metrics/outcome. We need to take the emotion out of politics and insert some good old fashion goals. If you meet them...you get reelected, if not...you're fired. Simple enough. K

My 2 cents is that you must start with the kids...... That takes a bit of time of patience. If you start with the 20 something crew, it's simply too late. So.....snatch up all the short boards you can and start recruiting early. K

It's great you didn't read my post..... The problem with your graphs is that they don't tell the entire story. Since we live in a "captialist" nation, you would think that our tax burden SHOULD BE THE LOWEST. As for the tax rate per income....let me ask you an honest question. If you make over $250k per year, do you really think that you owe the US more money? If so...could you explain to me what you THINK taxes pay for? (Honest question). To me, taxes go to pay the general cost of having a government (military, infastructure, parks, etc). If everybody uses the roads, police service, fire service, etc.....then why would somone who makes more money pay for a larger percentage of the cost? 2nd honest question.....do you feel that Fin should tier the TD3 charge, based upon the income of his customers? So, in order to buy a TD3, you'll need to provide your income statement. My point is that people who make over $250k may very well have a lower tax rate, but the actual taxes paid is larger than lower (under 50k) income earners. K

Why do you say tax burden is low? That's like saying gas is low compared to Euro.....you can't compare apples to oranges as you need to consider the macro economics. i.e. -it's not the price of gas, it's the price of everything else which is impacted by gas. The other challenge with saying the tax burden is low it that 40% of American don't pay it. While they were goofy...Steve Forbes and Ross Perot has this one right. Flat tax on every income is the right answer. No deductions. It mindboggles me that people think the government is smart enough to spend their money for them. I like to bring up the United Way because I'm very passionate about donating to them and also volunteering. There is noooooo way a government program can come remotely close to being as efficent as helping those in need. The same government programs operate on 50% admin cost while the United Way is less than 10%. As for regulation...we can argue until the cows come home. The reality (just like your restaurant example) is that the bad banks go out of business. End of story. But...to be fair and balanced, I do think banks need "some" regulation and support, it's just a matter of how much.

Bob - With all due respect, your post is extremely scary. The reality is that 40% of Americans do not pay ANY income tax, but are able to decide how the other 60%'s money is spent through the election process. 85% of the wealth in the US is now owned by people over the age of 55....some are very liberal and some are very conservative. If the tax burden continues to grow, what do you think will happen? Guess what? If I were 55 and had ample money to spend, I'd pack up and get to a sunny warm place. That is the reality of our current situation....and with aging baby boomers. It should also be noted that in the past 10 years, the job growth has come from small business, not large corporate growth. While everybody is busy pointing the finger at regulation, the reality is that it's the regulation is what created the sub prime policy. Just keeping this thread fair and balanced. While I'm "all for" the stimulus package, it's shouldn't have 25% allocated to non-stimulating programs....as it's only increasing the tax burden for future generations. No job is safe right now unless you work for the government....arrghh.

Read all about it: http://www.saminfo.com/news/article.php?tid=3970 K

It's great marketing. Always follow the money trail.......

There is risk regardless of who is supposed to use it. Kinda like pools. I'm not an attorney, so don't use that as legal advice..... I had half and quarterpipes in my yard growing up (Haro trick team member) and a neighborhood kid got jacked on my ramp when I wasn't around....and wasn't supposed to use it. It was so long ago that I don't remember the legal mumbo....but was decided it was the kids fault for tresspassing and doing something which was dangerous and needed prior thought. My guess is an attorney would have people fill out a waiver, although many states those don't mean beans.... Good luck.

Good point. I edited the post, but never have tried a Wikipedia edit. Anyone wanna take those chores? K

Craig Kelly Take a moment to rip a few turns.... K <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnv7lRKVYDg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnv7lRKVYDg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Cool...I ride (2) centuries or more each weekend...usually solo. My longest solo one-day ride is 235 miles (Katy Trail in Missouri). While I won't do that in 2009, I will do my typical 200 mile summer ride in late June. My 2 cents. If you're a heavy duty tourist (touring bike), you'll bump up to 25 or 28c tires. For me, I just ride one of my road race bikes (Cervelo Soloist or Cannondale System Six). 2 bottle mounts. If it's really hot, I can shove a third bottle in my jersey. I recommend a euro fit full zip jersey. There's nothing funnier than watching a guy try to put gear into a club fit jersey...while it sags to the ground. Keep it tight. I'll bring: cell phone/money in a baggie (2) spare tubes (3) Co2 Co2 pump Patch kit Presta to Schrader adapter (so, if I'm screwed with 3 flats or whatever, I can get air at a gas station) Multi-tool (allen wrenches, phillips, chain tool) 2 Tire Irons (I tape these to the Co2 to keep em tight) 2 PowerBars - Cookies and Cream Road ID (dog tag version) Polar HR (along with my SRM power meter) Zune (if Im riding in the boonies) Sounds like a lot..but really isn't. Fits in (3) rear jersey pockets very tight. For nutrition..depends on the weather. Assuming 60-70s, one bottle of water...the other with Gatorade/CarboPro. The Gatorade/CarboPro is mixed to around 500 calories. I'll stop at mile 40 and 80 at a gas station and refill on water (in both bottles), drink a Coca Cola and eat a bag of pretzels or Pringles (for the salt). If I'm low energy during the ride, I'll eat the PowerBars. For me, I need around 350 calories/hour to keep myself going at endurance pace. 100 mile ride is a bit under 5 hours. Hope that helps! It certainly helps if you can ride city to city and use gas stations rather than doing it 100% without stops. For my (3) key Ironman rides, I'll load up the tri bike with 5 bottle cages, but only to avoid stopping. It looks stupid. K

Before I respond....what do you consider long distance? Road or MTB?