jonbass

I have enjoyed watching Halak play for a while. I have to admit that I was rooting for Montreal even though I picked Washington in the pool I have going with my wife. Win-win! I am glad for Rask in Boston but I have to admit that I kind of wish Thomas was doing better. He is a great story, coming into the league later in life and working hard.

It kind of depends what you want to do with it. If you are wanting to ride off road at all, you will probably want a 24" because 20" are pretty slow. 20" unis are pretty standard to learn on if you are on pavement. I think 16" unis are built mostly for younger kids.

I find it interesting to read the different articles of this incident. The way each one is written give a different feel as to who is more responsible and the reader comments definitely reflect that. I find it hard to really get an understanding of fault in this. Without all the information or being a witness it is really tough. I hope the boy is alright and hasn't developed a fear of the hill.

Just because you gave a warning doesn't mean it was appropriate. You could have made your point without using that picture.

Unicycle! :):p

Awesome! He is staying with you and turning the whole time.

Unfortunately rationality often goes out the window when people discuss via the internet instead face to face. There's something about being anonymous.

Sigh.... I have to stop cheering for the losing teams. My Blue Jays look like they are in for a long season. I sometimes wish they were in a different division from the Yanks and Sox. I need a back up team to cheer for.

I am sorry to hear that BlueB. I hope that you will cherish the value of the times you had with him. My prayers are with you and their family.

I don't usually get involved in stuff like this but I just felt like chiming in. It's probably a dumb idea.... I joined BOL because I was interested in getting back into hardboots and there is no other online forum where I could get the info i needed. I wanted to say thanks to all the people who helped me get back into the sport. I had an amazing season and I feel like I am carving better than ever in many ways (Considering my decrepit body :p). I am fairly new to the forum and I avoid giving advice (Unless it is on unicycling ) because I think there are some people here who have a huge knowledge base and are very generous with their knowledge. I came to this forum to learn about hardbooting and I hope that I will be able to get the info I need without having to wade through debates that take the focus away from hardbooting. i don't think it is any better or worse than softbooting, it's just that I came here for a reason. I am thinking of getting some softies too next season so I will be looking for info from somewhere... You folks are great and I hope we all continue to support the great sport of snowboarding. i feel pretty lucky to be back. I have to admit that the debates are kind of entertaining. They keep me online when i should be doing useful things...;):D

Totally! :):D

Starting in a tight space like a kitchen might create more problems than solutions. you are too worried about doing damage to actually ride. ;) It is ok to use a small space just to get a feel for how the unicycle balances under you. I am a big fan of using a railing or something you can grab onto with ONE HAND to start off as opposed to a wall. I think the sooner you free up your hands the sooner you can use them to help your balance. Once the ice was melted, I used an outdoor skating ring. The boards were just about the right height for my hand and the ground was smooth pavement. Before you just try to pedal away, take a bit of time holding onto the railing and pedaling the wheel around so you can get a feel for how the unicycle moves. It is all about controlling the wheel with your legs. It feels like the uni is going to roll away from you right away but you can control that with the pressure your legs are putting on the pedals backwards and forwards. Trying to balance on the unicycle without pedaling is actually much more difficult than pedaling it. I also think that it is better to pedal away from the wall right away once you are committed to start riding it. This is my own theory though, based on hearing about people that spent a lot of time pedaling along a wall using for slight balance help. Open space is good! I also think that it helps to wear a lot of protective equipment to start. There's nothing like a pedal in the shins to wear down your confidence. Helmet, shin/knee guards and gloves are what I use when I am trying something new. Some people like wrist guards too. If you feel more confident, you will commit that last bit of balance to the uni. The main thing is to remember that you are pedaling the unicycle under you to keep your balance. If you are falling forward pedal faster, if backwards put some back pressure on the pedals. I described it before but I will do it again because it is the way that understand it. Unicycling is basically falling forward and pedaling the uni under you so start with pedals level. Lean forward so that you are falling forward and then start pedaling. jon

No one really uses a suspension seat post as it takes away from your ability to control the wheel under you. Most good unicycles have a fairly cushy seat and if you get a trials or mountain unicycle, it will have a fat tire that gives you some suspension. The Nimbus brand from unicycle.com is very sturdy and economical. The main thing to think about is whether you will be doing tricks and hopping on it. If you are, then I would suggest getting a uni with a ISIS splined hub and cranks because they are quite a bit tougher. I am quite heavy and I've never bent a pair even after doing drops. It is probably easiest to learn on a 19/20" or a 24". 19" is a trials style wheel and is used for trials/street with a trials bike tire. 20" is the size for freestyle and people use bmx tires for the most part. 19" and 20" are sometimes used interchangeably so be aware. 24" unis are often used for technical trail riding. Hope that helps. :)

I'd love to try bike trials but it looks way harder than unicycling! :D Is it very expensive to get into? How do you get started?

What is it that connects bulldogs to board sports? It seems like there are a lot of skateboard riding bulldogs too. They are pretty stocky so they must have good balance but they really seem to enjoy riding boards. My dogs would freak out. Dogs rule! :D

Sorry I get carried away sometimes. A theory class would be very valuable but you may not learn everything you want in regards to bass playing. I would suggest that you find a bass teacher with some jazz knowledge who would be willing to focus on theory for a bit. They will be able to apply it to the bass which is what I assume you really want. Ask some specific questions and we can probably answer them too.

This is a blues progression but with a minor sound. You are playing up and down the first 4 notes of minor pentatonic scales starting with the root note of each chord. You are outlining the flattened 3rd of each chord so this more like a Bb minor blues. If you played Bb minor7 and Eb minor7 chord with this and played an F7 (it will work because the b3 is a note in the blues scale or you could add a #9 - same thing sorta) for the five you could have minor swing blues. Instead of repeating the root note, try going down to the Ab at the end of the pattern. This should give it a bit more movement.

Awesome. You will have a lot of fun. it takes a bit to start but keep with it. Start by a railing or something you can use ONE HAND to hold yourself up with. Pedal along the railing a bit to get a feel of the way the wheel moves under you. Start pedalling away from the railing as soon as you can. Think of it like you are falling forward and then pedal the wheel under you. unicyclist.com is a great source of info. Have fun!

If you move this pattern across a string and also play the same pattern across the string and up 2 frets you have a walking bassline for all the chords in a basic blues chord progression.

Haha. I'm a music teacher so i spend a lot of time explaining things. I haven't been on any guitar forums. I go to Talkbass every once in a while when i want to find some info.

I'm a jazz bassist. Call me Jack is right about how helpful theory is when building bass lines. Walking bass lines essentially outline the chords as they change through a song while keeping a steady beat. 1) The first skill you need is to identify the notes of a chord. Once you can do that, you can start to create lines that move from one chord to the next. Just use chord tones, start with the root and play the chord tones R,3,5,7 of each chord in a short chord progression. Then find a simple chord progression that changes chords every 4 beats. Start with the root on beat 1 and play chord tones on each beat. On beat 4, try to land on the closest chord tone to the root of the next chord. Do this slowly allowing yourself time to think. 2) The second skill you need is the ability to identify how the chords you are playing relate to the key of the song or section of song. This means knowing what those numbers and letters mean when people say thing like iim7 and V7. This is crucial because it helps you know what notes you can play between the chord tones to make the walking lines more linear and smooth. The main progressions you should understand are A) iim7-V7-I B) I-IV-V C) I-vim7-iim7-V7. These are essentially talking about chords starting on different notes within a key. Example - a iim7 is a minor seventh chord starting on the second note of the Major scale. If you are in the key of C, a C major scale is CDEFGABC. The iim7 in that key starts on D (The second note of CDEFGABC). Dminor 7 which has the notes DFAC. If that isn't clear, here is another explanation. ;) (These are in major keys but you can also find examples in minor keys. It gets a bit more complicated). Once you understand these, you can start adding notes between the chord tones to get to the next chord in your walking bass line. This will take a bit of work but there are some great online resources explaining chord progressions. Once you do that you can start trying to land on different notes of the chord on beat 1. 3) A third helpful skill is to transcribe basslines that you like. If it sounds good to you, you will want to play it. If this is difficult you can use something like the Amazing X Slowdowner to slow the song down. If you find books with transcribed basslines, make sure you can find the recordings of the songs so you can hear how they sound. Certain lines will become familiar. A book I still go back to from time to time is Mike Richmond's Modern Walking Basslines. It essentially goes through blues and other typical jazz song forms using a variety of changes showing a variety of walking lines. It then adds some of the tricks like triplets and skips to the lines. It doesn't explain the lines at all but it is a compilation of different ways to make it through basic and some advanced changes. I haven't looked at some of the other books on that page but they seem like they may provide some of the info you need as well. I hope this helps a bit and I'm not being confusing. I'm often confused myself! :D Learn your chord tones. Learn how the chords relate to the key of the song. Copy basslines that other people have played. Those are the basics. If you have any questions feel free to email me as well. Jon

I'm not sure. How many seasons are there? I haven't followed the seasons as much as watched episodes here and there. Sometime I'll have to sit down and watch right from the start.

Yes. That's the tax. i think it was on CDRs and mini discs too. I don't like that you can only use a song that you buy on itunes on a certain number of computers or copy it a certain number of times but i guess they are just trying to protect themselves from legal action from the recording industry. I see both sides of the piracy thing. i teach a media literacy unit to my older music classes. The majority of my students honestly do not see anything wrong with any form of piracy even after being presented with the side of the artist and other people in the industry. i am a performing musician and I have done a little recording. I do want credit for what I feel is mine. I do not feel that the credit and the money is always going to the right people in many instances. There are a lot of people involved in the steps from conception of idea to a CD on the shelf or MP3 on itunes. Where does the money go? I think the industry is often more angry at the small labels and artists who are cutting them out and doing it themselves. I think this is becoming the new model. The only problem i see with it is what happens when people don't pay for what they get from the small artists? I think the thread jack is my fault with me always raving on about the money going to the wrong people! :p :rolleyes: you're innocent! The Bradcolbow thing is so true! Add Mac and linux incompatibility into that mix.

Nice! i haven't seen that one before. I definitely need a zombie plan.

Actually, didn't CDs even go up in price for a bit due to some tax that was supposed to go to the recording industry or was that just recordable media. I have actually been expecting there to be more change in music and movie industries as piracy has become easier but they seem to be staying the course for the most part. I find I buy a lot of music on itunes. It is so easy and quick and CD stores tend to stock more popular music. You can find almost anything on itunes. It's all fine until you get your credit card bill. ;)