gerard

I know what you're saying but I never read it like that. Then again I'm not regular on sj these days. But for the record, you ARE better than those people who don't rip trees

Nice trip! The sunset pic is perfect. Add northern tohoku to my list...

Was going to start a new thread but probably belongs here. Ok. The b o j just bought t-bills from the treasury with a negative interest rate or rate of return. I think I'm missing a step. How does that make sense? Can anyone unpack that one for me?

That's why I clicked on the thread. "Earn your turns". Sounds like maybe a good tr or something. Then I saw it was started by Mr. ski and I thought otherwise. Nothing wrong with using the lifts and maybe Ski is a great guy in person but starting a thread that seems to just smugly deride people who make a little effort to get a little more reward - something I'd like to do more of - seems very lame. I guess I'm missing some of the history here, but I think a ski forum needs people who do cool shit beyond riding lifts and skiing groomers. Good on GN for getting out there and good on him for

Seemore.

Sorry, see ore. Leftovers from last year.

Winter stoke. (I was hoping for some on the "Earn your turns" thread.)

Since I don't get out much I generally like lots of lift-served laps. If I lived in snowcountry though, I'd probably hike more often. I dunno, Mr. Ski, I think it's kind of fun to walk up a big mountain sometimes. - not trying to get all spiritual or any of that shit, but you know -- feel the energy of it all without the crowds, that sort of thing. You should try it. You might even like it.

Only real think I've noticed is I can't drink like I used to.

Oh, does that mean you're going to change your nationality to "U.K." or something something of the like?

I didn't miss anything, then.

Would it be too much to ask for someone to sum the preceding 9 pages up for me in one or two sentences to save me the trouble of scrolling through?

Yeah, "The Other Scottish Steve". Ha ha. (The first 'Scottish Steve' was in my rock band back in Kochi.) I don't know him well but you'll probably run into him if you're at Hirome Ichiba on a Friday night

I'm in Tokushima but I lived in Kochi for over 5 years and it's where my wife is from. Kochi's a really cool town and we go down that way from time to time, usually to go for beers with old friends. Who's your mate?

Hmm... Maybe the yen is oversold in the short term, and there will be another good chance to buy dollars. Or maybe not. In anycase, I'd say get used to it.

Hey Frankie. Not to many people over there. I'm on Shikoku so I know the area a bit. Hiroshima and neighbouring prefectures have some OK skiing. Hiroshima's a cool town too. Cheers.

Don't know. But this is the second three year term and it was better this time around than the first. .85% is the actually rate. Kind of unbelievable.

RAIN. We've had some of that down on Shikoku this year too. The cool temps have been kind a nice though. I'm thinking rainy summer = crappy winter but I'm not really sciency or anything.

Cortina worked nicely a year and a half ago for me, my boy (just turned 5 at the time) and my parents. Staying at the hotel was a good option too. Simple, safe, with a good selection of food in the buffet. Everyone was happy and I even managed to sneak off for a run or two on my own. I guess it can be crowded on powder days though. You'll have a great time with kids if you don't expect much. I'd say starting em on skis is may be easier since it's more like walking and they can get a feel for it on the flat before even taking a lift, but I'm a skier so I'm biased.

Maybe a good year to go to Hokkaido.

We're around 1%, (I think slightly lower) on a three-year fixed.

Man, I need to go jogging or otherwise get some excercise but way too hot down here at the mo

Just a regular bank account with a Japanese bank at the mo.

I'm in the same boat. Canada doesn't want my money anymore since I don't have an address in Canada. This sounds kind of lame, but in the meantime I'm holding US dollars, within Japan. I'm thinking the dollar could appreciate another 5-10 percent over the next year or two on top of the miniscule interest that I'm getting.... It's hard to say though. People are talking about gold and silver again but it seems like there's a lot of downside risk there...

Oh, I would have gotten Appi. Obviously I'm not fast enough.