enderzero
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Posts posted by enderzero
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Yeah, Marijuana deregulation is sweeping the country over here...well that may be a little bit of an exageration. In San Jose, California, the mayor and city council recently staged a give away of marijuana to medical patients. The Federal government is sticking to its guns on it being a cardinal sin...thanks Dubya.
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Wow oddis, sounds like you know your shit. What's your story? Been ridin a while?
As for the Nidecker's, my buddy rides them and swears by em. Interestingly though, he wears the toe straps across the front of the toe (pushing the heel back into the cup). Anyone else tried that?
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Such a wonderful idea to put a rope tow next to a pipe or kicker group. When will American park designers wise up and implement this?
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I can't speak for Japanese resorts but they still have a few T-bars at the two best resorts in N. America; Whistler and Vail. Only a couple though. They suck on snowboards. You have to just sorta stick one side behind you and hold on well. Also, unless you are a mad one-footer I recommend strapping your other foot in. Inevitably someone always thinks they don't need to and ends of falling all over themselves and knocking over the other poor people.
As for the Strap in versus Step in debate, it has been pretty exhaustivley talked about in the last month if you look around the forum. I personally swear by ol' fashioned straps (although I am not opposed to the Hybrid FLOW bindings, S_F). There are some step in systems worth checking out, but I don't really see the problem of taking a few extra seconds to sit down and strap in. After the 1000th time or so it goes pretty quick. Plus the boots are more comfy.
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Akibun-
I have to defer to the Canadians on the board, but I identify as an American (I am from the USA). You can't really say USAer...USAjin... Do any Canadians consider themseleves Americans? Both citizens of the USA and Canada (and Mexico) can say they are "North Americans," but I think citizens of the USA have sort of claimed "American" as their own moniker.
As for "Yank" or "Yankee," it doesn't bother me at all. It is traditionally reserved for people form the North East part of the USA though.
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Hello all,
First I just want to say that I am really enjoying the forum. I have been on a number of boards/list and this group far outshines the mostly dimwitted conversation that is prevalent across the internet.
As for me, I currently am living in the USA but I am dying to get out and live abroad. I was in Japan for a few weeks this spring and absolutely loved it. I’ve been studying the language pretty intensely since then. Therefore I would like to try living in Japan for a while. Some preliminary research on this site and others, and some conversations with people that have gone through it (thanks MikeD); make it pretty clear that the easiest way to get started is to get a job teaching English. I admit, the idea of teaching English is far from thrilling, but I am open to adventure.
Problem: I must be able to snowboard! Three times a week would be optimal but I can live with twice. 1.5 hours or less travel time is necessary as well.
- Where should I try to find work?
- Any language companies/organizations better than others?
- Large corporation or small private school?
- Alternatives to teaching?
So what was the situation like for you all when you where in my position? How did you get started?
Anyone got horror stories of teaching jobs? Great experiences? Tips for getting the job and/or job placement/location of choice? Making money is not my priority…just livin and lovin life.
Thanks for the advice and thanks to the SJG crew for such an awesome site.
---Ryland
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Live in Seattle and love it, but it's not a world class city. San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Vancouver.
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As for FLOW bindings, there is a lot of hype about em and I do see a number of people running them. From what I hear it is a good alternative for the person that wants the ease of a step in with the feel of a strap...but they really only work well if you run them with FLOW boots. Other boots don't fit quite as well. Personally I have never had a problem taking the 4 seconds to strap in IF I don't strap in on the chair. Plus I think its damn fun to come down a really steep exit ramp on one foot.
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I agree. Please specify that it is okay to view results without voting when making a poll.
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I have been riding Teams for the last two years (both the 00-01 & 01-02 models) and absolutely love them. All the Ride bindings had a problem in 00-01 with the plates bending after 30 or so days of hard riding but that was totally fixed with better plates last year. Ride is a totally cool company too. They sent me the 01-02s free because I bent both the plates on the 00-01s.
I have also run Silence, Drake F60, and Tech Nine bindings. I even prefer the Ride LXs my buddy has on his board to any of those. The thing that is so great is the huge comfy straps. The Burton straps seem kinda weak, although I have never tried them so I don't know for sure.
Anyone one else love the bindings you are running?
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knee slappin good fun
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Funny you should bring this up. The best food I have ever tasted was grape soft-serve ice cream I had in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Amazing! Has anyone out there found Grape Ice Cream anywhere else in the world?
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"Going fakie" or "riding fakie" is a term for riding with the opposite foot forward. A snowboarder will ride his or her board with either the left foot forward (regular) or the right foot forward (called "goofy"). The preference must be decided before setting up the bindings on the boad as almost all board are designed to go a particular direction. This is not to say they cannot be ridden both directions, like the old split tails, just that the most speed and response is achieved in a particular direction.
When a goofy rider goes down the hill with his left foot forward or a regular rider has his right foot forward, it is said they are riding fakie. If you want to be really technical about it, it is really only called fakie if the rider is about to perform a trick. Otherwise they are "riding switch." Although that is really a weird terminology thing that is up to some debate.
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My favorite American beer changes frequently. I am, however, particular to hometown brews Redhook ESB and a micro called Mac & Jack's African Amber (definitely had a little too much of that last night).
I had a beer in Amsterdam called Domelsch which I was especially fond of. Haven't seen it outside of Holland though. Interestingly it seemed in Germany that the two most popular beers were Corona and Fosters.
As for Japanese beer, I haven't had the pleasure of sampling the micros, but of the macros I've had I am fond of Asahi Suupa Duraii...although I could never seem to get drunk when drinking only it.
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Quite a thread here. It’s a little surprising that so many progressive views are expressed. I wonder (at least in Americans’ case) if someone that is willing to leave their homeland and live abroad is more likely to be less supportive, or at least more skeptical, of the actions that person’s country’s government takes.
A few thoughts:
- Most Americans are clueless as to what is really going on. The majority of Americans just don’t care. I talk to them everyday. On top of that, I would say the majority of those that do care, or are at least interested, are misinformed. They get their daily dose of world politics from sensationalized broadcasts on Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and the likes. There is a world of difference between reporting the news and analyzing what is going on in the world. These channels are slanted, no matter how you slice it. They are the fresh tomatoes in the corporate-patriotic turkey club of our (my) post-9/11 society.
- GWB has an agenda. He has had one since he stole the election. He was able to get away with the Bush Corporation/Family coup d’etat because once again, the majority of Americans do not care. George W. Bush, Al Gore…who cares? At the time no everyday American thought anything important would be happening in the next four years that would put the president in a position that would really make that much difference. So what if a few conservative leaning judges get appointed.
The Bush agenda is corporate, corporate corporate. Do what is needed to advance the interests of the corporations that are funding his career and that are making his family rich. I am not saying that Bush’s only reasoning for going into Afghanistan or Iraq is oil, although there is some legitimacy there in part. But you better believe that that is the only issue at hand when you talk about the Kyoto Protocol or the bevy of other environmental issues his administration has hammered.
So how do things get better? It has always been my belief that we have to start on a local level. Do things that make the world a better place (you know like get together and hold hands on a grassy mountaintop
). I’m big on the whole idea of one person making a difference. One person can’t do everything, but as long as they are working towards the common good, they are making a difference. I talk to my friends about these things. When someone expresses an opinion that I think is way off base, I talk to them about it, see where they are coming from, and try to leave them with a different point of view.The people that decided to kill on September 11th did so because they hate Western (or more specifically American) society. To them it stands for the unfairness and inequality around the world. And why not? I get a little hot under the collar when I think about the atrocities my country has committed in my name in the last 60 years. That’s what I think about when I see one of the 600 billion American flags in my neighborhood (seriously for those of you that have not been to the states in the last year, there are flags everywhere—3 out of every 4 cars has at least two bumper stickers with “Proud to be an American,” or “Power of Pride.”). But is the answer to this problem to go out and kill everyone that doesn’t like us? Or kill everyone that may want to harm us? Or trample our rights as citizens to try to find the dissenters that may want to change us? How about having some compassion? How about trying to make a positive change in the way the world is run?
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Hey all, I am from the USA, living in Seattle. I am chompin at the bit to get out of here and see the world. I really wanna go to Japan for this winter and I can't think of anything cooler than workin and livin where I can snowboard. Anyone got any tips for actually finding the job from home? Any sites you have found useful? How is working as an english teacher? I have heard bad things. My Japanese is intermediate level and I am not too worried about a visa, just a place to stay and something to do. Fell free to email me directly enderzero@yahoo.com. Thanks
snowboard gear adcice for the newbie
in Snow talk, trip reports, Japan avalanche & backcountry
Posted
If you are a total newbie Then you should definitely focus on getting comfy boots. Bad boots will make you want to quit boarding.
But do not overlook the board. A renter or beginner board will be totally fine for the first few times (I don't know...maybe 10 times). But when you get hooked and want to get serious about the sport shelling out the bucks for a nice board with lots of pop will make all the difference. Having good gear does push you to be become a better rider.