MEC

Yeah, I know, it was an old post. That's why I was wondering if anyone else had thoughts on the matter... Re the fork and other components, I'll have to look at it tonight when I get home and update you tomorrow... I can't remember since it's not my bike, but honestly, the fork is dead and so are the brakes. I doubt they are worth a penny. The frame itself is not damaged, and still produces copious amounts of drool when seen by other bikers. Our thought was to strip it completely (removing the icky stickers) and sell it completely bald. Unless the local shop boys want it, then we'd just give it to them as is.

Oh - that's a good idea, thank you! The google search just gave me some values for new frames, which is not what we have... and someone who mentioned he saw one go for over $1,000 on ebay a while back.

Yeah, but there are none listed. I think it's a pretty rare frame....

Anyone have a clue what an 18" Kona Score frame is worth these days? Other than the decals being scratched to s*#t, it is in perfect condition. (The fork and brakes are shot.) I'm thinking we could get at least $800 (maybe $1000?) for the frame, then my BF could buy a full suspension for his soon-to-be 40 year old ass. Before I call our local shop, I'm looking for some independent feedback. The local shop guys have been drooling over it for a while, so I want to milk them a bit if we can! :) We're loathe to part with it, but considering what it would cost for a new fork, brakes, etc.... maybe it's the best thing to do? Thoughts???

It kills bacteria in your throat and eases the throat pain immediately. Do it three or 4 times a day. If you don't like the Neti-Pot idea (they really do work) you can buy a can of this stuff called "Entsol." It's a saline nasal spray in a pressurized can with a nozzle on the end. It works just as well as a neti pot and is a lot easier to use. Just do it in the shower, so you're not dripping snot everywhere! Specialty drug stores usually have it, or an occasional chain store will carry it too.

I've found that most natural supplements have to be taken for a long (e.g. like at least 3 month) period of time before the benefit starts to kick in. I haven't tried Mangosteen, but I did use Yucca for my knees a few years back after an ortho told me that my knee pain was unavoidable since I had been physically abusing them since I was 6 and started gymnastics. Yucca was a cheap supplement, so I gave it a shot and it worked completely. Now I can hike down mountains without saying "ow, ow, ow" on every downhill step. After one month of taking the capsules, I was pain free.

Thanks Two Ravens for the additional info. I had not heard of Celiac Disease, but after reading Web MD for the last 10 minutes, I don't think it's something that I have, but I'll ask the various members of my ever expanding medical team what they think. I'm all for finding a Chinese Medicine Specialist for myself soon. Ed and I used a veterinary one for our dog after he was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer. (It's common in Shepherds.) Anyway, after a near death experience and subsequent diagnoses, we were told that at best he had a couple weeks or a month to live. (We just wanted him to make it to spring, so we could bury him where we wanted to.) Long story short, I found the Chinese medicine vet and with his help, herbs, Chinese cancer diet and vitamin supplements Hermann made it for another 3 months and died peacefully at home - after the ground had thawed. Our traditional vet was amazed and happily worked in conjunction with the Chinese Med vet, and all of us were happy with the results of his treatment. Now I'm opening another can of worms and possible topic for thread-jacking, but if my Blue Cross/Blue Shield would pay for a Chinese Medicine Specialist, I'd be there tomorrow! I'm a ski bum, (read: "I literally have no money.") so I can't pay out of pocket for medical expenses. I just can't. I quit my high flautin NYC career a while back and left that stress wrapped environment to live in the peace of the Green Mountain State. My overall physical & mental health (and blood sugar levels!) have improved by leaps and bounds since getting out of the city, I meditate from 5:15-6:00am every morning before Ed gets up, I've been a vegetarian for 22 years, and I now bake my own bread and grow a lot of my own vegetables, so it frustrates me to no end that I'm having a new medical issue. I guess that's why I started this whole thread to begin with - I was just wondering if it's an aging thing, or if there might be some physical cause for my memory loss. Now that I've collected all of this good advice and possible physical sources for my troubles from all of you kind souls, I have some more meat to bring to the doctors. I appreciate it trememdously! OK, now to the kid side topic. I hope nobody took my initial response to Boarderboy's suggesting as offensive. I agree, kids are way cool, just for other people. Another side of my personal take on it is that I am not a responsible enough type of person to make it fair to any child to bring him or her into my home. I can barely remember to water my plants, let alone feed and clothe a kid and get him to school. They key here is that I don't want to become that responsible of a person. I know that if I had raised a family, that parental responsibility would have fallen into place and I would have done a fine job of it - but I'm just not interested. I'd rather be snowboarding, scuba diving, surfing, hiking, flying to the alps on a moment's notice, etc. And I'm not patient enough to wait until the kid(s) are out of the house to get back to my former lifestyle. I just made the personal choice to skip that traditional part of adulthood. P.S. BobDea, I'm not lacking in that dept. I live w/my boyfriend. We're happy and healthy in that respect!

EXCELLENT thank you! Since I have nothing to do at work, I'll be sure to work on my mental tune-ups while getting paid! P.S. I just email the link to my 80 year old mom too! She's constantly complaining about not remembering short term stuff. I tell her "Mom, you're 80, don't worry about it. It's OK!"

Wow. Maybe we should now retitle this thread to "FOR WOMEN'S & MD'S EYES ONLY" or something?!?! :) Anyway, this is all incredible info. I actually have had my thyroid tested (history of thyroid disease in my family) and it's all fine, but I have an appointment scheduled with the Head of the Ear, Nose, Throat dept at Dartmouth for early July. I saw a Neurologist there last month, and he felt that I either had a small stroke (I've been a Type I diabetic for over 30 years) or that I have an inner ear problem. I'm hoping for the inner ear problem, since the stroke thing sounds much more scary and less fixable. (FYI, I have low cholesterol and 110/65 BP.) Anyway, he wants to rule out inner ear issues before scheduling an MRI. It's all a bunch of waiting and worrying, but whatever, I'm dealing with it in the meantime. The heart palpitations thing really has me thinking now though. I have been having them like once or twice a week for the last couple of months. I assumed they were stress/vertigo related. I mean, why wouldn't my heart flutter around a bit since I'm so stressed over the world spinning pretty much constantly. My BF is giving me the "this is all in your head" crap, and I have politely asked him to shut the f**k up. Anyway, I'm seeing my endocrinologist at Dartmouth tomorrow for a routine checkup, so I'll ask her, (she is Thai and very cool and into alt medicine too) to order some hormone tests. Why not?

It is about 90% short term loss and 10% long term. I attribute the long term to being over 40 now, and am not worried about it, but the short term thing is driving me nuts. I literally can't remember why I ended up in the living room or whatever, and I have to walk back to the kitchen to figure out that it was my reading glasses that I needed so that I could read the recipe book. Anyway, the more I read about this, the more I think it is stress related. I've had severe vertigo for over 6 months, and it's incredibly stressful to try and function when the world is spinning around you. Driving over 45 mph is next to impossible for me, but thankfully I live in a place where 50 is the limit, so it's not a big deal. Interestingly enough, I have already started many of the memory aid methods you mention above. (Making lists, having designated places for keys, ball cap, etc...) It does help, but I'm really hoping that the cause of my vertigo can be figured out and it (and therefore my short term memory problems) will be vanquished. I'll definitely look for the Lorayne book too. The more that I read about this, the better! Please, more tips are welcome from anyone! I'm finding it really useful just to know that other "not-so-old" people deal with this too.

Ditto! Re fretless vs frets, just go for it and go fretless. Once you realize how much getting rid of the metal opens up your possibilities for creativity, you'll never go back. Since you are an ex bassoon player, I assume you have decent ears, and will be able to deal with the associated tuning issues well (or in a creative fashion). I'm a really critical and opinionated musician though, so take what I say with a grain of salt. :D I just think to myself, why wouldn't somebody want to try to be the best at something that they can be, rather than being the next idoitic guitar hero champ? No frets=more possibilities.

I have brought 2 boards with me on many trans-Atlantic and North American flights and have never had to pay on a major airline, as long as it is winter. In fact, I flew Jet Blue (budget airline) once last season and had no charge since I had all of my clothes in the board bag and no extra suitcase. I use a K2 wheelie bag, and instead of paying for bubble wrap or similar goods, I just pack all of my soft clothing in with the boards for protection, wrapping the boards edges and putting plenty of padding in-between them. A week or 10 day trip should mean that you have plenty of long johns, socks, thermal shirts, neck protectors, gloves, socks, t-shirts, etc to make it good. I always remove my bindings and either wrap them separately or wrap them and put them in my regular suitcase (if I have another checked bag with me). Accessories such as waxing irons, wax, scrapers, files, extra screws I put in my carry on. I just don't want that stuff getting lost or stolen.

OH - I hadn't thought of that either. I've been completely stressed for months, maybe that is contributing to the problem. Actually, I think I did think of it at one point, but since I can't remember anything, I probably forgot! Way to go. These tips and thoughts are useful. Thanks folks! BB, that book looks like just the thing I need. I'll see if our library has it.

I've been reading all of the tech stuff here, I think that's part of why I like this forum, but honestly, I'm not that interested in studying all of the minute details on riding, (e.g. my right knee should probably have been placed 3mm to the right on that last toeside to have made it perfect) - I'm one of those "just go out there and ride" types. My bro is an engineer, he'd probably go crazy reading some of these tech articles - if he knew how to snowboard! :) Anyway, your serious note above is a good thought and one that I had not considered. Since my original posting, I was sitting here thinking about whether my early, rather uh, "psychodelically influnced" behavior was having some long-range effect on my brain, but it's probably something much more mundane such as your suggestion above. Re boarderboy's previous post, I think I have read recently that recently the medical community has discounted ginko as a memory enhancing herb, whereas several years ago they were supporting it. I believe they decided that there was no true evidence to support the claims. But I suppose it can't hurt to try it.

Eeew! No offense, cause I understand that without kids, the human race would be gone in a short while, but I really don't like kids in my immediate vicinity. :D Unless they are over 16 years old and you can talk to them like an adult and stuff. Then they're ok. I'm one of those rare-breed hetero ladies who absolutely never wanted them! They smell bad, eat too much, break stuff, leave boogers and articles of clothing everywhere, and are waaaay too loud. This is my kid, imho, he's way better than the human variety. Unfortunately he passed away a couple of months ago, but there will be a new one in my home soon:

Does anyone else have them? Is this an old person thing? My memory seems to be getting worse and worse over the past year. I've been attributing it to the vertigo that I have had since December, but I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for re-vamping my ailing brain cells. I don't watch TV much, (like about 3 hours a week) and if I do, it's educational TV. The only time I sit in front of the computer is at work, where I am forced to do so. I eat a healthy diet - Ihave a nutritionist and everything. I exercise a LOT, and still my memory declines. My 80 year old mom was visiting me for the past week, and I feel like my memory is almost as bad as hers! Advice for brain exercises anyone?

I thought Head bought Blax? (Am I wrong???) I have a pair of Blax "Heidi" boots, they rock. I'd contact Head and see if there are any old parts laying around....

I truly don't think there will ever be another bass player this talented. Ever. I'm a classical musician with fancy degrees and everything, and I've never heard anyone who can hold a candle to him. I used to work with a guy who is pretty famous contemporary classical/bluegrass/jazz acoustic player, and I still wasn't too impressed. He had consistent pitch problems, which you just never hear with Jaco. P.S. King Crimson - Your moniker represents one of my favorite, imho extremely talented bands of all time.

I guess you'll have to email the bomber administration and ask them to change your User Name! Way to go and congrats!

Yeah, I'll have to do that. I guess I'll wait until October when the pipe guys come back though. The guy that had them here said he got them through a friend, so he had no clue where they were purchased or how to get more.

Ohhhh- those look better, but I'm really looking for a mitten. My fingers can't handle gloves. If you could put me in touch with one of the Sunday River guys who uses the Joka's, I'd love to talk to them. The snowmaker here who told me about them is long gone...

Yeah, I was wondering about getting sweaty hands, but then I realized that my girlie hands are absolutely NEVER hot in the winter. (They are even rather cold right now and I'm inside a 72 degree spa sitting at a desk wearing courderoys and a long sleeved shirt. Seriously, if I touched the back of somebody's neck right now, they would wince at my icy fingers!) Even when riding hard and wearing my Hestra leather mitts with huge gauntlets, my hands are never hot, just comfortable. This is rather silly, because I have this pair of $160 mitts (These: http://www.hestragloves.com/www/live/hestragloves/hgproduct.aspx?treeid=321&shoptreeid=19&ProductID=76) and I almost never wear them because I'm afraid of cutting the leather when I pick up my board. (It's funny, because they came with a tag that says "not for snowboarding.") I almost feel they are just too nice for the abuse they would take on the slopes. So instead I keep going through pair after pair of middle level North Face and Kombi mitts that are Goretex and breathable, but don't bust the bank as much and are trashed by the end of each season. OK, so given my non-sweaty, icy handed, skin-flinty personal situation, I may have to part with $8 and give them a go. I agree that the lack of a gauntlet is a bit worrisome, but if I'm wearing a liner, maybe that won't bother me.... Any other thoughts from anybody? I'd really like to hear from someone that has used them for any purpose. I know this is only an $8 investment, but whatever. I love to over-analyze purchases. :D

82 views and nobody here has an opinion - either informed or uninformed? I heard about these from a snowmaker who swears by them. They are cheap, warm, waterproof and he wears them for work and for skiing. Don't we have any Finnish people on this board who can advise? I'm always looking for a bargain - and am somehow hoping these $8 mitts are the next cheap find for my rather eclectic gear collection.

OK, so I'm at work today, and Bill Knowles (a local sports injury rehab guy) comes in to work with a patient. He sees my sling and offers to take a peek since I still had not been seen by a doctor. He said there is a lot of movement in one of the shoulder joints, a good amount of swelling, and that in his opinion I most likely have an AC joint tear/sprain, aka a separated shoulder. The good news is that he thinks it isn't a really bad one that would require surgery, it probably just will need rest, ice and ibuprofen for a few weeks. Bill actually works out of Vermont Orthopedic Clinic, where my vacationing shoulder doc is, and since they work together he said he'd pull some stringies for me to get in on Monday to see him when he is back. (Gotta love small towns.) VT Ortho Clinic just called and I'm set up for Monday at 9:15 to get a real diagnosis from Doc Gammons. Anyway, I'm much less upset about it now since I hopefully/most likely/probably won't need surgery. :) Thanks for all of your help and advice everyone. I really appreciate it.

Does anybody have any experience with these? http://www.engfilt.com/GLOVES/GLOVES.HTM http://www.baffin-russia.ru/en/products/47/407.html