Jack M

I don't suppose you were in Sarasota last weekend...

http://www.carvingcup.com/en/carver.html That looks pretty cool, however even though I'm so used to carving my snowboard without poles, I think I'd feel really weird skiing without poles in my hands!!

Okay, then I'll adjust my statement to say If you don't know how to carve your skis, you don't <i>fully</i> know how to use your skis.

Wow. All skis have sidecut. A sidecut is meant to be carved. If you do not know how to carve, you do not know how to use your skis. Just like if you don't know how to carve your snowboard, you don't know how to use your snowboard.

For anyone who grew up on an Atari 2600 or similar, the "Virus" email is a must see tour de force. Sheer genius. "Couch Patch" is another good one (doesn't require Atari experience).

Agreed. Scenery totally works. I think Return of the Jedi is probably the apogee of pre-CGI special effects. Check it out. There's one particular scene that made special effects history - during the big battle at the end, in one moment (like 3 seconds) we see a view out the Millenium Falcon's cockpit and there are something like 300 individual space ships swarming around. All without computers, iirc. Unfortunately Lucas is totally under the CGI spell.

That's kind of my outlook on CGI in general. A CGI movie that is pure CGI and is supposed to be a cartoon like Toy Story or Incredibles is totally fine. It works. But trying to pass off a CGI character as a real character just doesn't work. I'll take the muppet Yoda over the CGI Yoda any day. I also felt like the whole point of Polar Express was "lookee what we can do with CGI!!" Oh yeah? Well it sucked. A hand painted cartoon would have been better.

I thought Gollum was played by an actor with motion sensors all over his body which created a wireframe for the CGI people to work from.....? Surely they looked at the actor to get the lighting just right.

Yes, didn't you catch it at the end when Dokoo and Palpatine meet up and twirl their moustaches because everything is going according to plan? Did you also notice in episode 2 that Dokoo was overseeing the construction of the Death Star by those bug people? Dokoo organized the separatists so that Palpatine had an excuse to create the clone army to keep the republic together. Crushing the separatists will win him more power in the senate. This will ultimately lead to him becoming emperor. Then when the Jedi say "hey, a minute wait you", he'll turn the clones against the Jedi. Then in episode 4, he disolves the senate, giving conrol to the regional governors who answer directly to him. I'm guessing that the people who hated episodes 1 and 2 didn't pick up on these plots within plots. But honestly, I'm not a nerd. Really.

I <i>really</i> think this is a non-issue. People ride what they want to ride. The only way 3-strap bindings limit you is for tweaking airs. That's it. If someone is determined to become a good pipe/park rider, they'll take off the 3rd strap when they want to ride pipe and get good at it. If not, they can ride their 3 straps all the time and not miss a thing.

The image of 3-strap Catek Freerides is giving me visions of a custom 24cm wide Axis....

Did you bolt the 3rd strap to the highback? I would think that with the hook going down to the binding base, you wouldn't have to bolt the strap to the highback. In that case, it would make a nice, easy retro-fit kit that could be mounted non-destructively.

Umm, yeah, pretty much exactly what I had in mind. Except I'd extend that hook down to the heel cup on the binding base. Is this a home-job or can you buy this as a kit? More details, man! Thanks!

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6248

Lonerider, yes I agree you had a rare experience starting with a responsive setup like clickers - it's pretty similar to mine in that I spent a lot of time in 3 straps before hardboots, thus our transitions to hardboots were natural. Burton's original highback binding was one piece. It had no hinge, and the highback cupped the back of your leg - wrapping nearly half way around it. It was a big hunk of black plastic, hence the Darth Vader nickname. Later, the Burton "Flex" binding had a hinge, but also a locking mechanism with a pseudo-adjustable rubber forward flex piston doohickey. The idea was that you could ride with the highback locked or unlocked for more versatility. The Flex highback also cupped the leg. Both the original and the Flex offered way more forward and lateral support than any 2 strap binding ever has. The Flex became the Torque, but by that time I was in hardboots. I never rode the Torque, but I believe they were even stiffer and provided more lateral support than the Flex. Burton carried a 3 strap binding as late as 1998, iirc. By then it had morphed into a regular freestyle type binding chassis with a 3rd strap thrown on as well as their now defunct "one-strap". The one-strap was apparantly Burton's response to Flow - it was basically the toe and ankle straps married together into one funky looking slab. If someone were to build the Torque today, they'd probably be perceived (and dismissed) as hardboot hybrids. Which is why you'll probably never see them again. A pity, but that's the snowboard market. I personally see a market for an add-on 3rd strap for current 2 strap bindings. This would allow people to see what it feels like to actually tip the board up on toeside with their shins, and become acquainted with the alien concept of binding <i>response</i>. I think this is the missing link between hardboot and softboot riding. It would surely be a cheaper, less risky, and less daunting way for a softbooter to see if they might like hardboots. PS - hey, whaddya know, here's some Torques on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=21248&item=7152718234&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Hey, great minds think alike, right?? :D

Yes. My first board (Elite 150) had 2-strap Burton "Darth Vader" bindings. When I got my second board (Safari 165) it came with the same bindings but with 3 straps each. At first I took the 3rd straps off because I figured I was used to 2 straps. After a while I got wise and figured 3 straps would give me more control and might help prevent the dreaded BBB (Burton Binding Blister). When I put the 3rd straps back on it was a night and day difference. I realized what a sucky snowboarder I had been, and that it was time to get serious. 3 straps definitely paved the way to hardboots for me. It was such an easy transition to go from 3's to HB's. Nowadays we hear from newbie after newbie coming here from softboots and often they're like a fish out of water, back to square one almost. It should be the other way around. Going to hardboots should be a step forward, not a step back.

Lonerider, have you ever used 3 strap bindings? I'll never forget the first day I went from 2 straps to 3 straps - I thought I was going to have to learn how to snowboard all over again. The toeside response and lateral support is 10 times that of any regular 2 strap binding. My Burton Flex bindings made me think that I would never need hardboots. I was actually "anti-hardboot" at one point. Then guess what happened - I finally tried hardboots, and I was like a dog being let off the leash at the beach. I instantly took off in the hardboots because I was so used to the feeling of having my lower leg actually controlling the board in 3-strap bindings. I'm actually designing (in the back of my mind anyway) a 3rd strap retro-fit kit for any 2-strap highback binding that we can market as a cheap way to try carving. 3-strap bindings are the perfect way to learn more precise edge control.

I like anejos and reposados better than silvers in general, and El Tesoro is no exception. Go for the anejo if you find it. (I've never seen it in reposado form). One recent disappointment was Milagro reposado. It seems to have a chemical aftertaste, and I just can't get past it. It's decent in a marg, but not for sipping, imo.

Yeah, I know enough about tequila to be dangerous, I just asked "what is that?" about Cuervo Anejo because I didn't know it existed. I'm interested to try it. I used to think Heradura and 3G's was top shelf stuff until I tried El Tesoro.

I've given up trying to convince party-pooping Star Wars fans that Episode I was actually pretty good when watched in the right frame of mind. But come on, Episode II was way better than I, and doesn't deserve to be lumped with it. Sure, there were some schmaltzy teen love scenes (which they cut out in the Imax version), but man, the lightsaber fights? The Clones? Yoda?? Good stuff. Gave me the same feeling I had when I was 6 watching Empire. If you want to talk about piles of crap, let's talk about the Star Trek movies. (although I suppose I'm not qualified to, not being a trekkie.)

actually everyone in that piece is from BOL. you can peep the original here: http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4682

From the Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) review: "'Revenge of the Sith' is, quite simply, ****ing awesome. This is the 'Star Wars' prequel the haters have been bitching for since 'Menace' came out, and if they don't cop to that when they finally see it, they're lying." muahahah, can't wait! For the rest of the review: (WARNING: many spoilers, starting in the first paragraph) http://viewaskew.com/news/sith/

I'm really loving El Tesoro Anejo right now. Oaky, a bit smoky, more complex than say, Patron. It's so smooth, I'm enjoying it straight in a snifter. The beautiful thing is that my local store sells it for $45, but I found it at another place for $32! I have yet to try Chamucos Reposado, the favorite of my "Tequila mentor". Edit: I just noticed you said Cuervo Anejo. What is that? Do you mean Cuervo Tradicional, which is a Reposado? That was my "gateway" into good tequila, but for sipping I've realized it's not great. It makes a smooth marg, but that's all I use it for now.

I'm sure I would order one if I was in Amsterdam, but I honestly have never been able to understand the hype about Heineken. It just smells and tastes skunky to me.