utahcarver

Can anyone here imagine a film about snowboarding and carving and racing and half-pipe and freestyle history in a film all done by Ken Burns? It would be a compliment to anyone who's ever strapped on a board to have this man and his crew cover our sport and art. He is the master of his craft. I just hope I live long enough to see Burns or someone of equal caliber tell the story of how it (snowboarding) all began. Accurately and unbiased, which is going to be a thankless and impossible task to do. Mark

Tony: If the Flow binders are still available I'll take'em. I need a soft binder that's quick like a bunny for powder days this coming season. Mark I'll hit the call button in the a.m.

B: I misspoke earlier as you have pointed out. I should have said that LRAD is is being used by the [uS] military [on the streets of Pittsburgh]. As to whether this is or is not a case of military turning on its citizens, it should concern all of us that this is becoming more common place across the US.

Bob, Yeaaaaahhhh, I grew up with some of those types. 'C' students who got picked on because of some cosmetic flaw they had in school. Hell, everyone is a target in high school and middle school. We all got picked on and beat-up for anything. Anyway, they all grew up to become cops or government bureaucrats who control who gets the money or attention. The problem is that now they wear badges and guns and want to exact a price on the public for all of the problems they had growing up. I'm generalizing here and before I get flamed I'll readily admit that most law enforcement guys and ladies are great people. But, the job attracts a certain element to it. Add to this, the Federal government tasking local law enforcement with Federal Law (a violation of the US Constitution) and funding them to accomplish this (a CLEAR violation of Constitutional Law) only adds to my angst. Stay Local. Local means local, not Federal. There's a reason why the Federal government was given limits as to States. I know that the age of the Constitution is coming to a close but, to those of us who still cling to it, it means just as much to me and you as it did to Washington and Jefferson. Limits. There were limits imposed on the Feds. Now, the limits are being removed by unseen foes. Why? LRAD is US Military. Why is it being deployed in the US and used against the US citizenry? Mark

Welcome, to the American Police State on display in Pittsburgh this past weekend. That's an LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) dish mounted on this war truck. Kiss your right to assemble good-bye! When I was a kid, the guys who wore black were the bad guys. Mark

Bryan, The park is 8 years old last month. It's taken a lot of hard work and sweat equity to keep it clean and not without some pain and suffering. Not my credit, someone elses'. No bikes allowed, too. Now, AGAIN, back to our show.... Mark

It's nice to read and hear of fellow carvers pushing limits in other mediums. Over the years, your posts have indicated your strengths in skating in both park and downhill and building and design. That's a great shot of you toe-siding a very stylish drop-knee through the boneyard! This will be a great wall-paper shot for several weeks to come! Mark

Rob: Although I have a litany of answers to your baited question, I shall answer, No. That house, along with its' occupants, is one of several impasses left to get lighting for night skating at this park. My adopted hometown (Logan) is nowhere near anything cosmopolitan. What you are seeing is the 'west-side' (read: lower-middle class housing, rural, horse properties, some emerging slum-pods (aka communist housing), and a high incidence of a police presence and tasering). It's a fun park, a true FLOW park that can be transferred and gapped accessing many lines and styles. Now, back to our program.... Sorry for the thread-jack Bryan, Mark

Bryan, If you can pick me up in Idaho or Wyoming, I'm in! Mark

...and he keeps showing up on our raised deck off of the second floor of our home. He's new to the neighborhood this spring and summer. He's more brown than gray and not very curious. My wife has threatened me to keep my .22 pistol away from the deck. Heck, all I was doing was cleaning the gun, how'd I know the squirrel was going to show up? Those bullet holes in the deck should buff right out! Upland game birds next month. Look forward to some chukars and grouse in that black pot, yeah buddy. Mark

Yesterday, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I finally got some pics of cooking with a dutch oven. I started by getting my briquets going in my trusty Weber chimney. BTW, don't grab the metal handles on the chimney or dutch oven without some welders gloves on. I use my trusty lid lifter (not pictured) to check on the food in the pot. Next, I put my food in the dutch oven, in this case a #10 Lodge dutch oven and put 17 briquets on top and about 8-9 on bottom. I let this cook for about an hour. The temperature in the oven was about 375ºf and I should have taken one or two briquets off of the top and bottom to bring the temperature down to 350ºf. When the potatoes were done, I topped them with shredded cheese and pulled the hamburgers off of the grill. The kitchen stayed cool, the missus was happy, and I got to swill some suds. This is really easy cooking, folks! And yes, that's over a pound of crispy bacon in those potatoes. Dutch Oven Potatoes 4-5 Russet potatoes medium dice 2 medium onions rough chopped 1 stick butter melted 2-3 cloves garlic minced 1 pound bacon (crispy) 2 tbsp lemon pepper (if desired) salt and pepper to taste Variations: Add 1 can chicken broth or cream of chicken soup; add chopped carrots for flavor and color; half-way through cooking the potatoes, add 4 chicken breasts and cook until done. Enjoy. Mark

Wow, what a well-produced trailer for Signatures! I'd really like to see the movie just for the aesthetics but, add to that swallowtails and you've got my attention. I realize that I'm in a minority when it comes to swallowtails and powder but, there is nothing more beautiful to me than a swallowtail snowboard being ridden through powder. I know that some have stated that their are better boards to use for heli-trips and wide open backcountry but, I'm simply smitten with swallowtails. But, at almost $1,800 USD for the big swally that Gentemstick makes, I wonder if I could find or make a swally Stateside for a little less dough. Thanks for the heads-up on the movie trailer, Tom. Mark

Once I got past laughing at these people and their absurd answers, I realized that the US is destined to be a third-world country at some point in its' future. Mark

I had a tour of the Winterstick factory in December of 1977 by Dmitrie, Renee (Sessions) and Don (Moss). Milovich showed me 2 presses he was using but I had no idea what I was looking at then. But, I remember being shown the presses during a production run and I can remember heat coming from them. I'm sorry that I cannot verify if the presses were firehose or balloon presses. I've heard 2 different stories as to where those presses ended up and both stories and presses don't have a happy ending. As to Doughboy Snowboards, I'm very excited for a new 'longboard' boardmaker and I wish you well, sir. Mark

I started here at BOL on the old forum, which I guess, isn't the old forum just the forum put into a more user-friendly format. In those days, before the TD1 or even the Toaster had been invented, we sat around and wished for a plate binding that didn't screw mount into the topsheet of our boards. Finally, this Fin guy made a pair of trenchdiggers and started selling them to the forum. Seriously, I have become a proficient intermediate rider and have made numerous friends as a result of hanging out here on Bomber. Something that I would have struggled for years to accomplish without the daily rider input and tech articles here. An example: the first time that I rode a pair of TD1's, I didn't use bumpers because the bindings (a gift from a fellow rider) had no bumpers. I failed and flailed miserably. I contacted Fin and asked for help. He recommended bumpers (duh, to me). So, once the bumpers were attached and a few more tweaks learned from the forum added, I began to carve. It all started from that to now, being able to go anywhere on the mountain I want to ('cept bumps, not so much). Oh, and I have a son who hardboots now, too. Mark

Pat, it's not so much the dogs as it is the quaffing of liquid refreshment with the dogs that makes those snowbunny bellies so unsightly to look at. I'm sure the dogs don't help keep the poundage off either. Short of becoming a gastropod, which is a worthy goal for any beer muscle adherent, I hope to be in trim by the time the snow flies in just a few weeks. Yes, weeks. At elevation, it'll start cooling down in about 5-6 weeks from now in the mountains where I live (Bear River Range). I hope your summer is going nicely. Mark

OK, so I made the sauce and let it sit as I indicated I would. When I put the sauce on the grilled dogs, what I liked about it was the saltiness of the celery salt. WAIT! Not celery salt, celery SEEDS, dimwit (ME)!!!! Dammit. Back to the drawing board. Remake the sauce and I see the error of my ways. Still, celery seeds seemed odd. But, the sauce stood on it's own. I remember from living in Chicago years ago that the practice of putting celery salt on your dog really amped the flavor. That's prolly why I kept thinking celery salt instead of celery seed. Third batch: This time, I grilled and buttered the hot dog buns and toasted them on the grill. Next, I added my own sweet-hot pickles as a relish. This was then paired with kettle chips (Lays) from the larder, and a delightful local hefeweizen. I must say, it was most improved. I also backed off on the ketchup and let the mustard 'speak' more. I added some chopped onions on one bite but found it to be too much. The pairing of the sauce, pickles, chips, and mustard (and beer) made a great meal. Cheap, and easy to make over and over again. Thanks, PD! Mark

It's too hot here to cook dutch oven during the day so, I'll cook your recipe up tomorrow morning and serve it up with some grilled kosher dogs (Hebrew National) tomorrow night with some suds. I'll let you know how this goes. I've learned from making cole slaws and (cold) potato salads that if you let them sit a while, the flavors seem to intensify. Besides that, I have have to sell booze for 8 hours tomorrow. So, I can make the sauce in the morning, let it sit in the icebox, and warm it up just before I serve it to my guests tomorrow night. Thanks, PD! Mark

This is for NateW; I think he's the one who asked for a bigger image of my current avatar. I tried to e-mail him the pic but it came back as undeliverable (this was a while ago). I hope that some of the pics I post here will provide a continuum to illustrate my point above about my skating skills diminishing over time. If I tried this laid out bert now, I'd probably tear my right rotator cuff. I'm about 30 pounds heavier and not as young now as in this pic. The 2nd pic is from the same period. My buddy made a ramp out of 4 x 8 plywood and balanced it against his dad's Toyota truck. No cope, little support, white trash skating at it's best during a January drought for snow in Utah. I think I had made 50 dollars that month. Enough to get us gas for a trip to Snowbasin, beers, and some cheap burgers somewhere. The board I'm riding was made in shop class by a buddy who I once dated his sister. The trucks: Tracker. Wheels: Classic Rat Bones. No risers. I'm sure some smoke was involved in this somehow. Mark

You know, what is disconcerting to me, at times, is that I seem to be fading as a skater while at the same time growing as a snowboarder and hardbooter. I feel stagnant as a skater and unwilling to push my limits on concrete, asphalt and ramps. I cannot afford to get hurt or injured in a major medical way. The bumps, bruises, scrapes, and 'dammit's' that I get just kicking around the park are acceptable (plus, I usually get an 'owie' kiss out of it and a cold suds from the missus). But then, I'm willing to fly around the winter groomed slopes at what, 25-35mph, on a snowboard while wearing feet tourniquets (aka hard-boots)? Yet, like last season, I keep learning and being turned on by our blissful winter sport. I made a lot of improvement in my riding last season. I might even be able to keep up with Skully now. I'm at odds with this incongruity. What's wrong with me? Where's Oprah when I need her? Dr. Phil? Help! Mark

So, after some twisting of arms and legs I finally got someone who'd take my picture while I was skating at my home park. Do you know how hard it is to find a local skater kid to take a pic? Sure, anyone can take a snapshot with a phone or a digital camera. But, make it look good so that it doesn't look like a tourist (me) fell into the skatepark? Summer fun on a Saturday afternoon in northern Utah. Mark

Over the past few years, I've been helping a former co-worker build his 'off the grid' house as the need arises. I helped him pour his basement foundation and recently, we moved landscaping rocks onto his property to follow or 'mimic' his northern roof-line. He is a gifted artist and an inspiration to watch as his house has taken shape. Even here in northern Utah (high cold desert), he's incorporated a roof-fed cistern-system to use rain and snow-melt to flush toilets and irrigate the 'green-roof' he's building into the design. Though he did not go with radiant panels for heat, he's created an atrium space which houses the multi-fuel fire-stove and family area. The house is insulated on the northern exposure with recycled tires filled with dirt. He's planning on adding passive solar as money permits. There is a detached root cellar and a yet unenclosed barn, too. He's done this without owing anyone any money. No debt and cash only. I've always wanted a log cabin home off of the grid but, after seeing this, I'm down for recycled. He's used recycled windows, doors, and fixtures. All on the cheap. It is certainly not anything cosmopolitan but, if anything ever goes wrong with our Beautiful And Great American Economy he'll do better than most of us will. Years ago, I studied up on straw-bale homes and saw similar thinking as my former co-worker has. Cheap, very cheap living but very comfortable, too. Not as Spartan as you might expect. His family has planted trees, garden, and low-maintenance landscaping to complement their living space. I'll ask for permission to post pics. Mark

I'm sure that the Admins are fixing the problem (broken link) even if it keeps them up overnight. Mark

Bryan, OMG! That's hilarious! I can remember an aunt putting a Jiffy Popcorn popper thingy next to her bed back in the '60s. I'm 'dating' myself here but, that's just too damn funny to see again. Here's an inspiration for yet another Jeff Foxworthy show on ABC or FOX. You know, there is a little bit of redneck genius in each one of those, ummmm, contraptions. Thanks! Mark

OMG, Curt, you're a DAD!!!! So that's why you like to hang out with Andrew and I. :) It's like being an adoptive parent! I'm sure you are a great dad and your children look up to you and ask, "why does he wear plastic boots?". I'd love to be a conehead. I'll be in touch with Kevin and Bob and hopefully head down to your neck of the woods soon. Meanwhile, today was Go Skateboarding Day and I did!!!! How many other fathers went skateboarding today? BTW, I'm 50 and I skateboarded almost all day. That's why God invented ibuprofen, ice packs, and beer. Mark