Tommy D

I'm biassed a bit, but I would recommend rescuing an American Pit Bull Terrier. They are great dogs which meet all your criteria: Smart, high-energy, athletic like you wouldn't believe, and with the bad, and undeserved, reputation they have, it's likely nobody would dare enter your home. The only downside is I think NH has BSL (unfortunate, and targets way too many breeds, not one...) So you'll have to look into that. I have 3, (two mutts and a pure) and have fostered 10-15 over the last few years, so if you would like to learn more, shoot me an email or PM. Here are my dogs. A comment on short haired breeds: I have to put jackets on my dogs when we hike in the winter, otherwise they get too cold. Keep that in mind if you plan a lot of winter activity.

Hey, what's "Buttonholing?"

Bravo! I was there only about 5 years ago; I went from being on skis for 23 years to snowboarding. Yes, I was humbled. Suddenly, pistes that I wouldn't even notice on skis were the steepest, most challenging slopes ever! :D Today, I am rockin' the carves (but still have a long way to go yet.) A couple comments from my point of view: 1. Binding setup makes a HUGE difference. Either do a lot of research before setting them up yourself, or have somebody help you set them up and evaluate your riding. Learning will be a lot easier and faster with proper setup. It was frustrating trying to learn before I found a good setup. Basically, I optimized my position on the board so that I was working with it, not fighting with it. 2. Ski boots: they are okay for learning (I learned in old rossi race boots), but as soon as you have the means, treat yourself to proper snowboard hardboots. They flex in all the right places that stiff ski boots don't. It's like a different world, and helped my riding a lot. Yes, definitely! The sensation of a great carve is way better than it looks. Get out there and carve; it was one of the best things I did to rekindle my love of sliding on snow.

What's it like at Big Sky? Beautiful. Unfortunately, I was there during a bad winter for good snow, but the mountain is HUGE, with all kinds of terrain. They may have expanded since the last time I was there (1998), but there wasn't much to the night-life. However, the vistas and terrain more than made up for the lack of night-life. Have fun. If you get the chance, I strongly recommend hitting up the Bridger Bowl in Bozeman. Bring a deck suited to pow bumps and trees though.

Whew! They probably had some scratches or corrosion on them, and the shop was looking to make a quick buck. :lol: I know sometimes the bushings fail, but the bars themselves? You made a good choice, especially with taking those turns extra hard. I make sure to do that at least a few times per trip, just to make sure everything is in working order.

Well, that's my question though. Does she go through customs in Calgary too? Calgary Airport is setup such that all international flights go through customs before departure. I've never heard of going through customs during a layover; international inbound and outbound flight terminals are typically the same terminal, so if she clears customs once, why should she need to go through it again? Unless... (Yes the light is dawning ...) her flight from Calgary lands at a LAX domestic terminal, then she needs to transfer to an international terminal to leave the US. IE - Calgary customs clears her for entry to the US, and then the LAX customs clears her for entry to NZ. Oh well, it's a long trip, for sure, and I don't like waiting at customs at all. It took me 2 hours to get through customs in Calgary. :( EDIT: Allee, we posted at the same time. I'll make a note to self not to fly through LAX if I can avoid it.

WHAT??? What on earth were they replaced for? I've never heard of that happening unless the car is in a wreck and the bars are damaged.

You don't go through customs in Calgary? Last time I flew out of Calgary, I went through customs there, not when I landed in MSP (Mineapolis) or BDL (Bradley-Hartford, CT). Seems strange to me that you'll be doing the customs thing in LAX, after already being cleared in Calgary.

Nice! I love that track; It's a lot of fun in a car. Must be more fun on a bike!

If not a scan, how about a summary of what this is all about?

Hey, now that you have a shiny new bike, you won't be riding that BMW much. I'll be happy to ride it for you so that it doesn't feel lonely and neglected. :lol:

Cliff: What's up!!! That 695 is SWEET! How's the Multi?? I still don't have a bike, but with fuel prices, I'm about to start pimpin' myself out so's I can get one! Tex: There's a Ducati dealership in Danbury: http://danburybmw.com/

I have a Savage X. Lots of fun. I'm new to the hobby, so I'm learning a ton of new stuff. It's rather addictive, and I want to spend more and more money on it.

If you are on the east coast ... I have demo'd Donek gear at the Starting Gate at Stratton. Of course, there are enough carvers up there that if you ask nicely, they may have an Axis (Or other gear) for you to try. If I had one, I'd let you try mine. IIRC, the Madd crew will let you demo gear at Stratton, or other nearby areas?

My garage gets very humid ... When it gets that musty-moldy smell, it is usually because of some carpeting or other "unwrapped" fabric that has been sitting in the garage for too long. So, throwing that stuff out helps a lot. I suspect now that you've cleaned, your smells will go away. If I leave the garage open during a nice day, it tends to air-out on its own. So, basically, keeping the garage clean, and keeping any fabrics sealed in plastic containers helps a lot. If only I could seal my garage-cat and litter box in plastic... I have no experience with floor drains, but some of the other advice above seems sound to me.

That's wicked! Where do I sign up? I'm not much into watersports, but I'd certainly give it a try. However, I can hear the politicians/bureaucrats/couch-commando-doo-gooders rushing to put the kibosh on such a sport. (You know, all the folks who want to protect everyone else from having fun at something new and unique and dangerous.)

Gosh. This is a tough one. Initially, I was thinking I'd like to be an instructor. I have all kinds of experience teaching friends how to ski/ride, and instructor experience in other sports. The feeling of satisfaction when the student "gets it" is wonderful. Definitely something I enjoy. But, there is also the possibility of standing around on bunny slopes all day dragging them little groms around. Don't know if I want to be a baby-sitter ... but if they were old enough to be enthusiastic .... or if I were teaching advanced classes ... Then, I considered patrol. I think somebody mentioned first tracks. :lol: Sure there are perks/drawbacks here too, but at least I wouldn't be stuck on the bunny slope, baby-sitting. But then again, I might be stuck with other "chores" that aren't too-fun. But I might get in a lot of skiing, and fun-chores too. And then there is the whole fun + work /= funwork thing. When I'm on the slopes, it's my time to relax, and forget about the real world for a while. I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it. Back in high school, I was on the ski team. Sure it was fun hanging out with the teams, etc, but after a while, it felt like work to me. Yeah, I got a tonne of snow time (50 sum-odd days that year!) but I noticed that it was taking away from skiing: I wasn't skiing for me anymore, I was skiing for the team. Personally, I like skiing/riding for me. Soul-carving, if you will. Sure it's great to help somebody out (Instructor/patrol) occasionally (It's a nice tangent to break up the slope time), but I don't want that to be the focus of my slope time. EDIT: With this post I am now an ALPINE ACE!!! Yay me! :p

D'oh! ! ! I forgot about the fog and nightlife. Yep. Best to stay away. No nightlife and too much fog! Oh, don't mind the friendly locals! They'll show you their powder stash's before you know it, but you don't want that. Also, the restaurants in town are very good, but they are a short bus ride away, and that's no good either! Nevermind the beautiful views (IMHO, the best I've ever seen, compared to Whistler, Panorama, Colorado, et al...) but you don't want to go to Big. :lol: Actally, I thought Banff was really cool! I didn't get to hit any of the local resorts, but the town was definitely very nice(And beautiful with that postcard charm. And Calgary isn't far! A friend of mine did the drive from Seattle to Banff in about 13-14 hours, which beats flying, in my mind. If you've got all kinds of time, I suggest hitting up Big Sky/Bridger, then moving north to Big Mountain/Panorama/Banff. (Or reversing that, even!!!) But you'll be happy with anything in Montana/BC. (Glacier Natl. Park is GORGEOUS!!!) The first chance I get, I'm going back to Big Mountain. Yessiry! Big Mountain!

Definitely hit up Big Mountain!!! The carving there is wicked. The grooming is sensational. And the crowds are ... I don't think Big has ever seen a crowd. Big Sky and Bridger are also good spots to hit.

Ride the Edge. Definitely the best as far as being a commercial for alpine goes. However, it was tough choosing between what my favorite video was versus what was the best commercial. "Rip It" had me laughing out loud, and "The Anniversary" was so true. :D Although, I loved them all: Anything with carving related content is better than no content at all. Well, almost! Good lookin' on Bob's video too.

Again here, it's all a matter of personal preference. I have both, and ride both, but for parking lot carving(Where I spend 95% of my time) I prefer the Seismics. I use 45/30 degrees, front and rear, with Flashbacks. I did try a 45/45 combo, but the back felt like it wanted to walk around the front. This year, I'll put on those Grippins that have been collecting dust. It sounds like you are going for Randalls, but if you do get some Seismics to try out, make sure you get some heavier weight springs. I use Red springs for my weight/style, but I would think you will need purple, or thereabouts. If I were doing higher speed stuff, the Randalls win in my book. However, I have not swapped out the stock Randall bushings, so I cannot comment on how they ride 'modified' at slower speeds. Lonerider talks about the Seismics wanting to snap back to center ... During transitions, they are very fast returning to center, but I have no trouble holding a deep carve. In fact, that's one of the reasons I didn't like the Randalls (Stock bushings): They felt too imprecise and sloppy for deep carving. That said, Lonerider makes a very good point about trying gear: Relatively speaking, skate gear is cheap. Try out a bunch of stuff and find out what works for YOU. I have a whole bunch of extra Seismic truck parts sitting around from finding a setup I liked. Just like in any sport, everyone has their own preferences and desires. What works for one person won't work for the next. Most importantly: Have fun. :)

I've got a Loaded Pin, Flex 4. Yes it is soft, but at sub-150lbs, it is just perfect for my weight and style. I would like to try a stiffer board, but don't see the need; it would only come in handy if I were going faster. Contact Loaded, that's what I did. But at ~250ish, I think the Flex 1 is right up your alley. IIRC, flex 1 is for anybody over ~180lbs? Go for it. What wheels/trucks will you be using? I've used Randalls and Seismics: Both offer very distinct ride/turn qualities, but for me, the Seismics win. But I don't bomb hills, I carve them at sub 15-20mph.

When I fly, I have a K2 soft wheelie bag that holds snowboards and 2 pair of skis. This bag is reinforced with plastic inside under the boards, and has tiedown straps inside the bag, and out. Once the gear is in there, it doesn't move. As an extra precaution, I put old rag t-shirts over the tips of the snowboards, and protect the ski bindings with towels. Finally, I wrap ducttape around the bag where the outside straps are as a preventative measure just in case the buckles break, and to further secure the gear inside. I've flown that way several times, and I've not had a problem yet. Just make sure to leave your zippers exposed so the TSA can inspect inside if they need to. Just a few weeks ago, my gear got the nifty TSA sticker "Inspected by TSA." :D Oh, I also agree with curb-side (Or SELF check-in!!!) check-in. A good tip helps too. I'm almost certain one of my bags would have been overweight (even with the gear spread into my snowboard bag) on the trip out, but it wasn't weighed. :) If I was overweight, it would have been a simple matter to pull my heavy ski boots out and carry them on. If you can/want to, definitely carry your boots on the plane. This year, I didn't, but I did use my girlfriend's other checked allowance for a bag with 2-pair of snowboard boots, and that worked out well. I travelled with 2 boards, and a pair of skis, and 3 pair of boots. Next time, I think I'll drive. :p

Yup! I saw all those racers. Most of them were on softies, I didn't see any on hardboots. Going through the lift line one morning, I heard "Oh oh" from one of the racers when he saw my gear (And my friends). His buddy said: "Relax! They aren't racing." I switched all week from skiing to snowboarding and back again, but I was carving while the racers were racing. I was ripping some nice turns under the Champaigne lift on Friday too.

I have been using 3* cant/lift disks on TD1 bindings. I'll probably try 0* disks to see what it feels like.