kipstar

Most of the dog reports with attacks in NZ are from pitbull looking type dogs or Rotties, because that is the typical dog a gangsta or hoodlum type wants on his bike or walking with him. Sometimes they are staffy crosses, sometimes mutts, but you won't see the guy walking around with a Lab or a springer spaniel, that would not look 'streeet aiiight'. A dog that looks like that often attracts a bozo owner; much more so than say a cocker spaniel or whatever ,which would have to be trained reasonably well to get it to bite super hard like a pitbull can. There is a reason why they were bred, and that was dog killing rats and fighting and guarding. There is a reason why the society's own website says 'never trust your pitbull not to fight'... with other dogs is what they mean (and presumably other animals like a cat). So to own one, you have to know what you are doing more so than perhaps a dog that doesn't possess such a severe bite. No dog should be left around kiddies without supervision. I've just spent the weekend windsurfing with my cat and the another 3 dogs running around. The kids unknowingly were maknig all 4 animals very uncomfortable and if I wasn't there, my cat would have probably scratched them, and the dog would have bit them. Yelling the ears, that sort of thing. Interestingly, from the first time they met, the dogs weren't interested in the cat (2 huskies and an indian sheep dog of some sort illegally imported here). My cousin and father (vet and vet's assistant); neither felt that the pitbull was a particularly hard dog to deal with; had a big bite in theory but was predictable, and well mannered even when getting injections and the like (and I've been bit during those sort of times. Staffys look big and tough, and are super strong, but even more friendly again. Neither liked dealing with Rottys, and felt that if any dog was hard to read or predict out of the so called dangerous vicious breeds, it was a Rotweiler. You pitbull guys agree?

Hey Jack Great article, just re-read it, really worthwhile; I might keep the toe lifts a bit longer and persavere; however at the moment I have gone from none to some.... I have the boot cuffs fairly straight and may need to angle them a bit more, raichle indys which i tapped out so they could go even straighter again. This was as an adjustment when I finally switched away from ski boots to snowboard boots (ski boots tend to be less forward angled; sorry not sure how to explain this). My feeling is that going into some heel side turns at very low speed on a longer board, that the board carves up under me, my legs end up a bit straight, and I have problems getting across into the next turn, and instead turn up until I stop or have to skid out. We are talking beginner slope, low speed; seems to be ok on the slightly faster runs but I didn't have this problem before I had the toe lift. Should I increase the forward lean setting of the boot to compensate or what?

blueB Yeeeahhh boyeee; that is a decent size fishie. Some of the other trout, I think you have to be a dry fly purist to catch that sort of fishy; I prefer rough action and messy, but with fishies on the end of me line.

I am really liking Gecko's dog; that is a very nice looking dog :-) If you are serious abuot getting a very smart dog, maybe you could consider adopting from here? A Thai dog is very loyal, very smart, and very handsome and proud. They socialise well, have a wrinkly face when they look at things (a bit like a boxer) and have a moderate size build. They also have a ridge of hair on their backs which is cool. And finally, many (but not all) bury their poop somewhat which makes them clean. www.soidogrescue.org Check it out yo yo yo; they allow foreign adoptions. BTW...American Pitbull?! R U serious?!!!!!

I do trout fishing on the trips back to New Zealand.... rainbows in Lake Taupo with the ocassional brown. In Tongariro/Taupo area, limit is 3 fish a day, I can usually hit that if the season is right. Tongariro is a reasonably big river, similar in size to the one that flows right through Reno; I think that is maybe the Truckee river. The other rivers in the area are smaller, no point in fishing anything too small otherwise it ends up very messy, as there are blackberry bushes everywhere forwing over the banks. Tackle for first fish is barbed, then go to barbless for 2nd and 3rd as anything less than 4 pounds is put back; on a big run, my dad used to let anything back that was less than about 6 pounds, that was when the limit was 8 fish, and he reached that quite frequently. - 7/8 weight 9 foot NZ carbon rod (most people these days using 10 or 11 footers) - carbon reel with floating line weight forward - typical set up would be 10 foot leader with a glow bug weighted and bug eyes, then 18 inches to the dropper hare and copper either slightly weighted body or virtually no weight; both on size 14 or size 16 hooks The style of fishing is messy on tongariro, as the water is moderate speed and quite deep; you through almost all the line (in no wind would be casting right to the backing) up and across; big roll cast straight after to hold the line up the river and let the fly sink; then roll and retreive, then let out again and then finally do one monster cast back upstream. The line is being whipped all over the top of the water, and it looks ugly, but it works. The smaller streams are about finesse, but tongariro is about big casts, deep fly in the water, and landing big fishies :-)

Well don't get me wrong, I am all for apres ski and scoping out busty women with loose morals and low self esteem, but does every frigging ski resort need to be the exact same formula to acheive this?! A friend of mine worked for intrawest for a while on their Squaw project, and felt they were actually not particularly competent at all; however like you say, I think the license to print money means they can afford to have just an ok product with high cost of production and still make loads. I knew I should have bought a place in Mammoth back in the 1990s...my only consolation is the upcoming tanking of prices, and hopeful resultant buyer's market. However, I doubt that will happen in the areas I like (such as Reno) because the market never shot up by as much as the craziness of Mammoth. I know Dave McCoy really didn't like Intrawest much. And Dave is da man.

Having been to Mammoth and Squaw where you have the McDonalds of ski resort towns in both places (even with artificial fire in the middle of the town square) I would have thought you'd be happy to get rid of these guys? Death to McDs, Starbucks, and all other mass produced junk. i.e. INtrawest who screwed up Mammoth.

Actually there is some guy suing michael Jordan at the moment, because he has suffered emotional hardship from looking like MJ for the last 15 years. I think he is asking for $300m USD. There is something broke in a system where people cannot look at a little hardship and laugh, rather than looking to cash in on it. And based on my friends who went to Whistler, none of them looked remotely close to those people. Even in Mammoth on President Weekend, I saw hardly anyone looking like that. Do people that look like that ride well?

you have overhang on the nidecker in soft boots? A little is ok, if you go to hardboots, then the issue of overhang gets more important, as you can angle the board a lot more; so you might be able to flatten your angles a bit. Are we talking inches, or millimeters? You get used to riding with angles like this; after a while you will wonder how you did it before :-) Heel side is just practise and is not hard with practise....

THe best lifts in the world are a brand called Yan. Mammoth was dedicated to using them. And has since had to replace them. The flying toaster, a hair brained scheme that ended up launching off the end of the track was a Yan. I heard that Chair 1 detachables end up sliding down the cable into the base station. That stupid cable car thing on June is a Yan creation. Which makes them the best, for breaking down! So Bobdea, you are saying that the Yan is not as good for breaking down as some of these other beasties?! Really?!

my friend has that exact oxygen board, and I have a longer and shorter version of the same board. It is about 20.5cm waist, it is from somewhere around 2001-2004, and comes factory tuned with a slight bevel, and is a slalom race board, but not a particularly stiff one. I think you will find both to be good for getting into carving, a lot will depend on factors like how hard you ride and also body size; 156 is a good length IMHO for learning on (the oxygen) as you need to learn to centre up your stance and body weight more than learning on a longer board. I would guess the Nidecker could be easily ridden in either soft or hard boots. Not sure what sort of boots you have in mind, but if you are Korean and a woman (I am guessing from your face pic you are) then you may need small boots, so just be careful to make sure the bindings can go small enough for your boot size. And get a nice snug boot fit as well; no slop. If you are weighing less than about 40 - 60kg, I think you'll find the 156 Oxy to be a great slalom ride, and once you master it, then you can move onto longer boards. If that avatar isn't you and you are actually a massive 100kg guy, then you may find it too short and soft :-)

Actually for the retro band, there is also a Ride Kildy on the bay of E at the moment as well...currently about $20 or something; t bolted 3 hole pattern mind you. As for those plastic bindings; I have snapped and busted a far few boards, and that was using these bindings which after 13 years and probably a total of 300 days on them are still fine in every respect. My previous bindings I burned through about 4 sets in 2 years. I am not a heavy guy; the clip locks onto itself rather than using pressure against the boot; those bindings are fine for someone of average or less than average weight IMHO. For $100 seems like an OK deal to me.

Realistically, a few boot fitters on this site told me (when I had the same problem) that unless the shells are heated a lot, the stretching doesn't do much to the shell. For the liner, best thing I found was jus stick a rounded screw driver into the liner, and use a hammer to flatten out the foam. Yes, I already molded them, but my feet shape is odd and so even with toe caps, if felt like there was weight on the tops of my toes, and my big toe and small toe were pressured from the side. Marked the spots off, bashed lightly with a hammer for about 5 min each boot, and presto, for the first time I actually can ride without crushed toes. The stretchers would do the same thing slower I guess, but probably won't pack out the area as much as a hammer. Just make sure your hammer head is nice and smooth; and no need to bash that hard. Only problem is now the boot has packed out around the ankle and is too big around that bit even after sticking in shims; hmmmm; if only they made silicon implants for feet :-)

definitely worth it if riding Squaw and Flatstar and Heavenly, not so sure abuot Rose, ALpine. Rose has a ton of great midweek deals, like 2 for one, and women ski half price etc. Alpine is only $41 anyway. Last time I was at Squaw, some army? or car dealer guy was scalping tickets outside, I think for $50; seemed like a deal; otherwise Squaw is worth it for the price, but kinda expensive, especially when you can see Alpine and it is much the same terrain (with better lifts at Squaw). Siberia Bowl...hmmm... that makes it worth $60+

I have 2 radio controlled one meter class radio controlled yachts, each with 3 rigs. My dad built a ton of radio controlled gear including: - about 10 radio controlled yachts - marbleheads, 1m, 36R and a new class they have in New Zealand of radio controlled trimaran - all his own designs except one which was my design :-) - about 10 radio controlled planes of varying types all his own designs; gliders, a biplane, a learner style plane - about 20 tiny float planes; you guys might call them something else, it is a plane that takes off from the water; these were not radio controlled, but will try to convert them at some stage - a couple of kit cars The saddest thing I had to do was 2 years ago, when I had to sell/give away most of them as my dad passed away and my mum moved house, so couldn't keep many of them. I couldn't find any collector types, and no shop wanted to buy them or sell them because the planes were all hand built tissue over balsa, then painted... apparently no one in NZ wants planes like this anymore because they are too hard to fix in a prang; all the cheap foamy ones from China are super cheap now.... I can't remember what I did with them; I think my brother has maybe 4 planes and the trimaran; rest ended up being given away..... If I knew some of you lot were into this, I would have sent a few over! RC is great fun! Sailing is good; some great racing to be had.

Marginally smaller than what you want, but could be ok? http://cgi.ebay.com/ROSSIGNOL-FC-153-cm-Race-Alpine-Snowboard_W0QQitemZ7245110113QQihZ015QQcategoryZ21250QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Rossi 153 for $120 new. Also same person has a wild duck knifer 151, but that is starting to get small enough for a kid or smaller lady.

Hey D-Sub So...what are you trying to say? I missed it, must have not been listening... :-)

Just down the road from me, a company called Cobra churns out most of Bic's pop out surfboards and most of the world's windsurfers. Surfing is one of the few sports where somehow the mystique of a hand shaped board and resultant higher price has held the imagination for a while, but I think you've hit the nail on the head; the number of 'core surfers' is actually relatively low now; it is a supremely marketing driven sport and so people will just buy whatever is cool and fairly functional. Quicksaliva, Billabong and so on are completely expert marketing companies selling clothes to guys who haven't yet lost their virginity. They aren't exactly 'core'; they are in shopping malls and dept stores! There is no real reason why a pop out can't be as good as a handshaped board if the initial design is right; and with a big price difference I think you'll see people realise that if it is 1/2 the price (which is the gap in NZ) that maybe a pop out is better (just like the comparison of an oxygen to a Donek). Except that pop outs AFAIK are made with Epoxy and vacuum bagged so maybe are stronger than hand laid up boards? Maybe? Can a surfer confirm this? Surfing is a super cool sport in its pure form, but now with a massive dose of marketing to appeal to teenage guys and try hards. Burton would seem to fit that market really well.

Picking your place you need to bear in mind some places it is really tough to get by i.e. Vail, Aspen, Mammoth (now). The rent is a killer, and employee housing is miles away. Smaller resorts are more friendly (maybe) but they are ....well....small. I fully rate Tahoe, because it is many resorts in one area; good carving terrain; nice weather and due to the gambler factor it is super cheap. Check out Tahoecarvers.com for more detailed info, but I'd guess staying in Stateline or South Shore would be cheap compared to mammoth which I used to pay $200 a month rent; now might be like several times that. Bumming it is fine, but you still need $$$ for beer, going out etc. Also in town transport if you don't have a car. If you nkow how to deal, then peak time in casino is mid evening, so you could ride most days. South Shore dealers (I used to be a dealer when I was an uni in NZ) are for the most part not that good, so it isn't like the strip or reno where the dealers at the big casinos are all pretty experienced IMHO. Pay would be maybe better than on mountain as well. The best resorts in Tahoe IMHO for carving would be Squaw, ALpine, Kirkwood (which i hear is good, but haven't ridden) and a smaller one called Rose. Rose is closest to Reno, it is a 25 min drive; high too. Good alpine crew there. It is a great thing to do when you are younger, as you get older, the opportunity cost to do something like this becomes too great, so you put it off and off, then you are with family and you miss the chance forever maybe. Do it. :-)

The other one is race dept; that looked to me (when I did a season working in Mammoth) as the best on the mountain job. You got to hang out on race courses, learn about courses, see good racers, run courses a bit and so on. HOwever, my friend that did it was enjoying this 10 years ago, whether race depts run the same way now (where you can work for them and help carrying things around, sweep courses, reset gates etc) I don't know. Patrolling is actually hard work sometimes, and also dangerous from time to time (well at Mammoth anyway, it would seem). I would not be into transporting people with busted shoulders around the mountain and taking responsibility for that. HOwever the ambassador type set up of cruising around making sure people are happy would seem to be an easier if unpaid job. For actual snow time, they both suck compared to working a night office job associated with the mountain (to get a pass), in Mammoth I was night auditor so worked 10pm -7am, but actually work required was only about 2 hours, so really it was sleep 1am - 6am, ride everyday with a free pass until 2pm, then sleep from 3pm - 9pm. Not so good for social life, but I was under 21 anyway back then, and USA sucks if you aren't 21 or have fake ID AFAIK. No energy wasted with kids or carrying stuff. As for Allee, women a ski resorts can choose from 10 well presented ski bum guys, 10 skanky ski bum guys, 5 frat boys, 3 investment banker types, 2.4 sales men and 20 Mexican housekeepers for each one woman. The odds work reverse for the men, and they were well suck when I was there; despite my wildly exotic good looks and foreign accent plus fashionable baggy jeans and beanie just 'so', American guys dem be too good looking with nice fancy teeth is what my Kiwi friends used to say. Every decent looking Kiwi girl I can remember in Mammoth had about 20 guys lining up for her....daily. Especially the ones who were into skiing/boarding. I don't think you would ever be lonely!

Go to NZ, they just got mega snow dumps lately.

I got a Baume and Mercier watch handbuilt movement from leaving my last job (which they then rehired me for another position, so I ended up returning to work within like less than a month); but that is standard stuff, people like to give watches and clocks all the time. Someone must really know and love you to give you something so specific!! Let me know, I could do with another leaving gift from around here :-)

Great beach foto; looks like Thailand?!

very sorry to hear this; but as some consolation some people live until they die always dreaming of quitting their jobs and being a ski bum/kiter bum/teaching others. They dream but don't do. This guy did it. So at least he lived his life to the fullest; I guess that is the best way to look at it.

brilliant!!!!