surfarthur

Excellent news Chriselle

The interesting thing for me is that 5 years ago, apple was leading the way with innovations. Now they seem to be playing catch-up to android phone manufacturers.

at the travelmoney place on Murray St. The travelmoney places seem to have better rates than the other places in the city, we usually wonder around a bit and check a few different ones.

There is a phone called the coolpad 9976A with a 7 inch screen. Apparently a phone with a screen larger than 5 inches is called a phablet.

Got 93.19 yen to the A$ yesterday in Perth. Only got a bit though, hedging my bets at the moment.

They are actually quite small, easy to transport if you want to have a picnic somewhere, although they are quite expensive.

Yep, I am in that situation. 457 Visa holders (temporary work permit) have more rights to welfare over here than I do.

Hey Seemore, I arrive in Rusutsu on the 10th of Jan, so if you want we could share some turns I am interested to hear your thoughts on the fishcuit, I can't help but think it will be great fun while there is enough of a slope, but really annoying when you are trying to keep speed up through any flat spots. Are you considering trying it as a noboard?

Is it possible that the 38 degrees "steepest course" is the steepest groomed run? That could make sense.

I have read the book but haven't seen the movie, book is excellent too.

A quick search on SnowJapan shows 18 resorts with steepest course at 40 degrees or more. The steepest in Japan is 46 degrees, Kijimadaira is 45 degrees.

Yeah, going with this over Ryuoo. That thing is not only steep as shit, its also windblasted. Its a 40+ degree ice skating rink with bobbles of frozen plants and rocks peeking through it. Its genuine Gnar. Round the back though is awesome. 40+ degree?? I thought the steepest anywhere in Japan is 38? There is a 40 degree course in rusutsu but it is fairly short

I like the slots in the rear spoiler for the skis, doesn't look like powder skis or snowboards will fit though.

Yeah, heating isn't such a problem, its water conservation that is the big issue with them here, seeing as we don't really get that much rain. The water corporation encourage people to keep their pool covers on to reduce evaporation, but for a lot of people, that means the pool ends up getting too hot to be comfortable - when its 35 degrees plus outside, you want the water to be refreshing not like a bath. The black pipes on the roof thing is a good idea for the spring and autumn here, using some sort of solar thermal heating like this can extend the swimming season by a few months easily

When you fly into Perth, it seems like every second backyard has a pool. I found a water corporation report from 2007 that reports 20% of Perth households have a pool, not sure if that has changed much in the last 7 years. There are a lot of well off people here, but there are plenty of people who are not so well off as well.

It is very common to have a swimming pool here in Perth, and I am sure that is the case in most of Australia.

Rusutsu?

Not even close to being as cool.

looks amazing MagSeven

Niseko?