Dan

...unless you get a bicycle, or better yet a skateboard! :-)

Don't know if PSU offers on-campus housing for grad students, but if they do, it's worth looking into. PSU is in a great location, and it would be pretty nice to live in that area. Otherwise, I'm with D-sub: craigslist is the way to go.

I went up to Meadows to enjoy the last day of operations. (Side note: I was kind of ticked off to notice that they'd only groomed about half the open runs, but whatever - it's not like lousy grooming at Meadows is anything new.) Anyway, I was riding on Cascade and ran into Bryan (oldsnowboards.com), Mike Tinkler (maker of red-hot plates and custom boards), and Ed (oldsnowboards.com's first and only sponsored rider). (When I caught up to them, they said they'd yelled at me from the chair. Drat, and here I thought I was riding so well that random strangers were cheering for me. Maybe in a few years.) So just to set the scene, these are three guys with something like 50+ years of snowboarding history between them, and I was pretty stoked to ride with them. And then! On our second or third lap together, we're at the top of Cascade, and a teenager skates over on his freestyle deck to ask: <b><i>"Is that more fun than snowboarding?"</i></b> When I stopped laughing, I told him that it <i>was</i> snowboarding, and Bryan suggested that he check out BOL. Hope he makes it over here and that he doesn't mind that I posted this story, but it was too classic not to share.

I'm going to MHM tomorrow (Sunday). I was up on Friday and coverage was still good - better than February. Snow was wet and a little sticky, but that's not a surprise. Cascade was still good fun. Hope to see you up there tomorrow.

Until a few years ago Sapporo beer sold in North America was real Sapporo imported from Japan, while Kirin and Asahi were brewed under license in the U.S. (by Anheuser Busch, I believe). Given that prices for all three kinds of beers are about the same, it's clear that Sapporo was taking a beating on profits, and a few years ago they succumbed: now their N.A. license belongs to Molson, and if you read their labels, they say "IMPORTED" and in much smaller letters "from Canada". (Note: this applies to bottles, but I think those big steel cans of Sapporo may still be imported from Japan.) Anyway, the Molson connection is sad because Sapporo in Japan really is a good beer. Sapporo has a few other interesting beers in the Japanese market as well. When I lived in Sapporo (96-98), they were experimenting with a new high-alcohol beer called Black Star, promptly renamed to "Death Star" in my circle of friends in honor of its alcohol content - around 7% if memory serves, though I admit my memory of the nights spent drinking that beer isn't all that clear. Another good beer from Sapporo that you _might_ be able to find in the U.S. is called Ebisu. (Or do they spell it "Yebisu"? Not sure.) Anyway, it's like a dark lager - a lot closer in flavor to a U.S. microbrew than the other major Japanese beers. As far as I know this isn't licensed so if you find any here it's the real deal, imported from Japan. ...um...not that I'm a beer fanatic or anything.

Bryan - you were riding with "stop sign Mike"? Haven't seen him for ages! Mike, if you ever hang out here, it'd be great to catch up at MHES. I'll probably get up to Meadows one or two days next week too.

I have one of the old <a href="http://kmbs.co.kr/~KMBS/root/img/flowlab/dcs36-m.gif">36"</a> Flowlabs (before they got the current godawful graphics) I'm looking to trade for another board or other interesting gear. The deck has a full set of the premium wheels (the yellow ones) with only one session riding on them. It's been wrecked once - it has some small scuffs but overall it's in good shape. I'll get some pics up later this week. Looking for anything interesting, but a longboard with soft flex or some kind of non-traditional asphalt carving device would be ideal. Let me know if you have any questions.

I've been by Burnside to spectate, and I don't think I'll ever be a good enough pool rider to set foot in that park. It's like the X Games down there - amazing. I may be be able to scrape together enough courage to ask them about garages though. :-) Speaking of Burnside, here's a <a href="http://www.wweek.com/story.php?story=5983">cool article</a> on how current efforts to develop that part of Burnside are trying to incorporate the skatepark. Hope it works out, but it will be tough for them to keep the underground atmosphere when they're surrounded by brand-spanking new lofts and restaurants.

@#$@#%!!! what did I pay for my FlowLab? $150 or something like that...and now they're $50 at Costco. Wow, I guess technology really does drop in price over time.

Gotta second the recommendation for Anthony Bourdain; I read his other book about eating all over the world - think it's called <u>A Cook's Tour</u> and it was awesome. Others... "A Gambler's Tale," Junichi Saga (Also titled "Confessions of a Yakuza"). An amazing biography/autobiography of a Japanese mob boss who was active from the turn of the century to post-WWII. Worth two of that silly piece of geisha fiction. "Stars my Destination" Alfred Bester. You guys have already read this, right? "The Torturer's Apprentice" John Biguenet. Stunning short stories - very sad that his first novel "Oyster" is nowhere near the same standard. "Bombardiers," Po Bronson. Catch-22 on Wall Street. Funny stuff. I know I'm getting old 'cause I kind of like Saul Bellow and I freaking love most everything I've read by Philip Roth. "I Married a Communist" is probably my favorite Roth book. Oh yeah, and anything by Mark Helprin.

Gecko, thanks for the tech tips. New to the game, so I don't know any of that stuff. Dr. Sandman, thanks for your hot tip as well; I'll see what I can do. :-)

Dang, look at <a href="http://www.mammothmountain.com/gallery/image.cfm?id=874">this one</a>: those are old-school hard boots or maybe ski boots too, aren't they?

Reading all the skateboarding threads is getting me excited to broaden my skating horizons a little bit. I've been commuting by longboard on and off for the last few months, but I'd really like to try something new: parking garages. The idea of riding my first parking garage at 30 is faintly ridiculous, but hey, better late then never, right? So, any tips? More specifically, anyone know any suitable garages in the Portland OR area? Any suggestions to help me hold on to most of my skin?

I can't make it on Sunday, but I'll be there bright and early on Saturday. I've been too busy at work to get up to Meadows ever since it started snowing and it's killing me.

Hey Mr. T, what's the word on MHES now that we have actual snow? I think you mentioned we might be on again for May 14/15 (Sat/Sun). Is that set? As things stand now, I might be out of town that week, but I'll rearrange my plans if it means I'd get to play on the Palmer snowfield with da carving crew. Thanks!

D-sub, that sucks - my condolences. Rest assured that those board-stealing *******s will have a tough time riding or selling those boards anywhere around the PnW.

Hey, here's all that late spring snow those Pollyannas at Meadows kept talking about: <a href="http://www.nwac.us/~nwac/products/OSOMHM">13 inches overnight!</a>

I have a flowlab and I agree with the earlier poster that said it was more a skidding board than a carving board. It's really easy to slide the back end around in turns, but I've never felt that I'm carving it. Pretty close to sloppy freestyle snowboarding turns, in other words. It does have a short learning curve and it's a great conversation-starter but otherwise nothing to write home about. At 150 lbs, I can't flex the deck at all, so no pop out of turns. I bought a longboard skateboard last summer from Bryan (old snowboards) and have enjoyed that much much more. Very sweet carving feeling, and much lower rolling resistance than the flowlab (not sure if I need better bearings in the flowlab or what). Anyone want to buy a fairly new Flowlab, only been wrecked once, with an almost-new set of the yellow race wheels? :-)

What do the roadies out here think about this bike? I've found a 2004 in my size w/ Ultegra 9 speed drive train for about 20% off list. Good deal? I'm a cycle commuter/cycle tourist but haven't owned a road bike for decades. Is this too much bike for me, or am I just giving myself lots of bike to grow into? Thanks, Dan

Well, I have to admit that we do call them things like "baggy-pantsed park monkeys" and "Hank Huck and Sally Sideslip." (I love that - who came up with it?) But you're right that we rarely go to the trouble of actually posting a picture. :-)

Hey D-sub, Sorry I didn't get in touch in Bend - I wound up being so slammed (late to pick up the folks I was driving out with) that I didn't have grab your cell#, and then no Internet access in our place at Sunriver. I didn't think there was so much carving terrain at Bachelor that I could miss you, but somehow I did. I was up Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I did run into Greg (big guy, 197 Burner, nice carves) and rode with him for a while. Sunday was a powder day (sort of - about 3 inches if I remember correctly), so I was on a freeride board with plates. Dinged my base pretty bad trying to ride off-piste, but it might have been worth it - it was a pretty good day. Were you up those days? Where were you riding?

I'll be up on Saturday, but can't make Sunday, unfortunately. Anyone else up for Saturday? I'll tune my radio to 13/20 as well. -Dan

Meadows tomorrow 2/17! Hope to see some fellow hard-booters. You will know me by my classic ensemble: ugly-ass teal jacket from 1990+stealth-gray original sin from 1998 or so.

Schweeet! Looks like I can finally bring out the Proton. I didn't think I'd ride anything except my rock board this season. I'll look forward to catching you on the hill this weekend - do you use a 2-way radio? Thanks for the insider tips!

Anyone going to be at Bachelor this weekend? I'll be there Saturday/Sunday - it'd be nice to ride together if anyone's up there. D-Sub, how's coverage at Bachelor? Is there lots of dirt showing, or is it pretty decent? Hope to see some other carvers this weekend!