[Filthy Aussie power stations]

I agree with you!

The waste might be minimal now, but if the world converts to nuclear it becomes a bit like the plastic shopping bag problem... a cumulative ecological disaster.

 

And yeah - Japan being seismologically active - got it - I have the IRIS Seismic Monitor on my favourites...LOL! But this sucker was RIGHT on top of a known fault or highly active zone...can't remember precisely the details - it was a while back.

 

With the use of the renewable energies you talk about - there is MUCH less of a waste issue. Sure maybe the odd Solar Cell past it's useby date needing disposal - but no direct WASTE from the conversion of these sources into energy. NO, they are not financially viable right now - why? BECAUSE our governments can make more monye from digging dirty coal or saleable uranium from the ground... All it needs is innovation, research and mass manufacture to bring the price down.

 

How many people owned a front loader in Australia 10 years ago? Not many!! Now days people are buying them in droves (I have one!) and why? because they were subsidized by the government to allow them to be more affordable. As the price dropped more people bought them, thus enabling cheaper and more efficient manufacture due to the volume. Less water is being used in washing clothes thanks to this subsidy. Lets see something similar happening with renewable clean power!

[If someone falls off a lift...]

 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

hahaha, this happened to me at Naeba about 4 years ago!! I just couldn't get the hang of coming off of the lift and would often fall before I got clear, one time my board leg got jammed under the lift and the thing stopped, the lifty had to lift it off of me. I'm ok now though....I hope!!!

LOL - I can see thread turning into an "I fell off the lift/war stories thread!"

As for me - two noteable ones -
***the first time I rode the lift with anyone but an instructor/expereinced adult (bearing in mind I have a shocking fear of heights here!!)I was convinced to take the bear cub - also a beginner on a twin lift. I'm natural - he's goofy ...he kicked my board as we sat and it got dragged under the seat - I thought I had broken my knee - but a few pain killers and I came back for more.

***taking the cubs up the beginners run Friday Flat at Thredbo for a quick first warm up before lesson one day one second trip to snow. The women in front had no lessons, first timers and fell immediately upon getting off, they got hit by the chair and then sat and hugged each other laughing thier heads off. The liftie didn't stop the lift, or even yell at them to move until too late. I managed to push the cubs off to the side so they missed them and scooted through a teensy gap - but I had no option but to SMACK face first into one woman as she was just getting to her feet. Of course I moved out of the way AND dragged her out of the way before anyone else got hurt. Me - with the blood clotting disorder - got a MASSIVE bruise the size of a NY Steak on my leg where I landed on her board edge.

Moral of the story - once you have had a lesson on lift mounting/dismounting - get the hell off the beginner slopes! They are more dangerous than anywhere else!!

[Filthy Aussie power stations]

I know at least one is nuclear - I was studying it will my son who is studying Japanese ... and it is built on a seismologically active area!!

[Filthy Aussie power stations]

I think that the big fear about nuclear in Aus is exactly because we are the ideal storage unit for nuclear waste. If we are not using nuclear power and therefore not needing to store it we can justify not being the dumping ground for everywhere else. But once we join the nuclear power users of the world - we will get the pressure to take the spent uranium/nuclear waste from the countries that have less stable geology.

 

I really like solar!

 

I saw a TV doco on a Chinese fellow who studied here, and then went back to China to develop his solar power business - China needs this too! And he has got the prices way down - I just hope this filters through to mass use before the damage is catastrophic.

 

 Quote:

We have so much coal its hard to justify not using

Same goes for sunshine, Sunshine!

[If someone falls off a lift...]

Aren't these just the kind of lifts that the daredevils love to jump off and hurtle off into the sunset?

 

Seriously - as the Mamabear I am always trying to protect the cubs, and youtube has got a few nasty lift falls to scare the pants off the overprotective! Lifts like these are usually higher up the mountain - usually accessing more difficult runs - so riders are more experienced. I would not be too happy letting my littlest bear cubs ride these - but the older cubs can go for it.

 

I like to ride with the cubs - actually just bought backpacks for the little bear cubs with a handle on the back - something for me to grab hold of to get the little dude ON (butt too close to the ground), and the 10yr old on his feet to get off(performance anxiety - he is worried about falling and stuffing the lift flow, so he freezes). A single like this would not appeal.

 

As far as liability.... Isn't it ride at your own risk? This is a sport where insurance cover is costly - it is costly for a reason! You can do like me - and not ride something you are not comfortable with. NOW - if you were in a Gondola and a cable snapped - you might have cause for litigous behaviour...but not if you fell off a swinging monkey bar!

[Filthy Aussie power stations]

What do you recommend? Nuclear?

 

I have been singing the praises of photovoltaic cells for Aus conditions for years, but the only way they will take off is if there is some government subsidy to get them started in mass production. We have so much sunshine it just makes sense - the hotter it is the more sunshine the more power that is made and the more that is used for airconditioning... makes sense! And by having 2 way power generation where the excess power from homes cells is sent back into the grid and creditted to the house of origin there will be little need for any other type of power generation to fill the gaps.

 

But! Peoples power bills will plumet.. and that is exactly why it has not taken off yet! I have done the math, and we can get the cells installed with this 'from and to' the grid system, and at current prices it will take 80 years to pay for itself!!! I have been holding off hoping like most technology that the price will come down!

[Hanazono: Sold! To the Chinese fellow at the back]

Yeah yeah - mellow-mite...that is all good...

 

But the value for money would be in getting FT to Niseko and watching him itching to hit the hill and crack a smile but fighting the urge for not wanting to be seen having fun on anything other than a cliff face! LOL

[Primary school kids - having more fun than we are]

 Originally Posted By: Go Native

I see the same thing all the time happening now with adults in relationships. Guys wanting to go out for a drink with their mates making up all kinds of stories to tell their wives. I wonder if these were the same kids who grew up lying to their parents the whole time?

Ohhh!! I HATE that!
But what are these wives doing trying to impose behavioural rules on thier husbands in the first place?
I understand the new mother who would like her hubby home at a reasonable hour to help with the kids bed or whatever - like shared responsibility... but some women just seem to want to control thier husbands every breath! Heck if I squeezed that tight my man would be GONE - he and I just give each other respect. He gets nights with the boys, I get nights with the girls. All GOOD!

[Hanazono: Sold! To the Chinese fellow at the back]

Sounds like you guys are actually all agreeing with each other.

 

Each resort has it's own attractions, and those variances might make one person want to stick with one resort over another. It also might make for some people to check out BOTH, at least at some stage in thier progression.

 

For me: Only been to Niseko. Loved it. We were rank beginners, never having touched snow until April (Dad and the older boys had), so the terrain was more than challenging enough for us. We also liked the spacious western style apartments that we were able to secure right at the top top top of the village - with a large family the japanese style accom does not suit I am afraid. The location right below the Gondola allowed for the kids to go off when they wanted to, and for the family to be able to head back "home" for a hot chocolate if the shops were packed!

 

As for Hakuba - the glowing reports I have heard have made me think that one trip in the near future will have to be there - now that we can link our way down the mountain with a bit of confidence...

 

As for other resorts - the more information Pro and Con we get to hear about them - then the more a visitor is able to work out if they want to go there or not.

[Primary school kids - having more fun than we are]

An interesting issue for me as the mother of teenaged boys!

 

I attended a seminar not that long ago that highlighted that permanent brain chemistry changes occur in CHILDREN that are drinking. By children I mean people under the age of say 21 (I know 18 is the legal limit in Aus). While the brain is still developing the introduction of regular alcohol and/or binged alcohol can permanantly alter this growth and development.

 

I hosted a party for my son's 14th - 98 people. Mostly well behaved, however they tried it on. A few turned up seemingly straight but with a wiff of alcohol on thier breath, one girl could hardly stand up, and on post party clean up we found 3 UDL cans inside the property and another 5 outside. Not bad for a party of this size - BUT we were pretty strict. It has given me an insight into what REALLY goes on. Parents need to contact hosting parents, and they need to communicate with thier kids.

[Does anyone here go to church?]

 Originally Posted By: Go Native

Positive thinking goes a long way

YES it sure does!!

[Does anyone here go to church?]

LOL

 

Go Native - The state of government in our country is a completly different issue. I will grant you that Bible Belt USA might have some influence on the candidate based on religion ... but I have trouble believe there would be more than one or two booths WITHIN a seat that will see a decision altered due to religion.

 

Intelligence and Due Diligence are another story! If people actually understood the effect that particular policies had on the nation as a whole, and therefore them personally, they may pay more attention to the process rather than listening to the disgraceful slander ads we are subjected to at the moment. A load of ROT!

 

My personal experiences with the "out of the ordinary" is another matter - I have some stories that would curl your hair - but I will save them till I know you lot a bit better!! Very few of them have to do with Christianity which is what has opened my mind to other faiths, other possibilities and the possibility that we ALL have it wrong!! LOL

[Does anyone here go to church?]

 Originally Posted By: fjef

[Put 20 top scientists in a room with different perspectives - like Physicists, Biologists, Chemists, Mathematicians etc and it would likely be a very interesting, productive discussion about life, the universe and everything - it happens all the time.

But put 20 devout religious people in a room - like Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, with a smattering of people from their sub-denominations - to discuss life, the universe and everything and you better have metal detectors at the doors and security guards around to stop the violence - it happens all the time.

yeah - see THAT is what I mean....
I can have a conversation with people who hold a different view point than me - but I am not in any way extremist or 'devout'.
Why can't other people do that!

[Poll for those coming to Japan from overseas]

OK so last time we came we had 2 weeks, and it was just NOT enough time - plus we wanted to see a bit of Tokyo on the way rather than rushing straight up to Niseko and then straight back again...

...the boys love to shop!

 

So more than 3 weeks it is - but it is 3 weeks on the board!

[Webcams..?]

 Originally Posted By: thursday

maybe you should try sake next time

LOL!

Excuse my ignorance! Where is the spell checker on this thing?

[Does anyone here go to church?]

 Originally Posted By: thursday

there are just too many possbilities in this universe for one school of thought.

Which is totally reflected in this thread - there sure are some diverse opinions...I just wish that people could exist in harmony - you know? Like have 20 people in a room, all great mates, but all with different perspectives on life, the universe and everything...

[Webcams..?]

BTW - it was delicious!

 

One of our mates - a right laugh a minute - grabbed some of the sashimi salmon and stuck it right on his little burner! I couldn't believe it! WHAT a waste!

[Webcams..?]

YUM!!!

 

We actually killed about 20 minutes checking out the hairy crabs and other exotic sea life at the fish shop at the airport - the kids were FREAKED out! LOL!! I soooo love freaking the kids out!

 

We had a real nice meal one night - with the entire group - and did the traditional Japanese thing (because of the kids - quantity and fussiness - we mostly self catered)...but ALL of the people at dinner (4 Adults and 8 kids) ordered the sizzling cook yourself steak and passed on everything else except the rice that came with the set meal. Me and Hubby - naaa-ahhhh - we ordered the sashimi set and loads of warm saki! Gotta love it. Now THAT freaked all our friends and thier kids out - I just laughed my head off...when in Rome, people!!! You gotta TRY new things, you never know what you will like!

[Cost of Snowboard Tune-Ups]

 Originally Posted By: Oyuki kigan

If it is only 8 months old, and is doing that (without any obvious impact damage that might have caused it), i would send it back and get a new one. It should not be doing that, and will be withing warranty. It may not affecr performance now, but when snow/water gets in there and starts freezing and melting (ie expanding and contracting) you will start having problems in the long run.

Thanks, but hubby ordered it online from the USA - I am in Aus, so it is all too hard! It doesn't need to last more than a couple of seasons though as it is quite a small kids board - and boys grow fast! As for impact - you know kids...it may well have had an impact!

 Originally Posted By: Oyuki kigan

Bakoga makes some nice ones, but they are too bulky for my liking. Burton makes a little flatish plactic one that is light, stong enough for quick on-hill adjustments, and convenient

A bit off topic but I will tell ya what appealed to me about the Bakoda backpack for the bindings - I am a newbie boarder, and so I tend to face plant it a bit!! LOL... I also have a blood clotting disorder called Von Willebrands - not a big deal really - it is like a mild Haemophilia - BUT I bruise EASY and BAD. So I like to fall on just me and my clothing - not a camera, a pokey tool etc. So I thought - hmmm,... I have never actually fallen ON the back of my binding, so this little back pack that straps onto the high back might work for me, to carry those items. This disorder is another reason why I don't go real fast, always were a helmet and stay on piste. My Haematologist thinks there is some genetic mutation in her Von Willebrands patients because almost all of us snowboard, ski, hang glide or participate in some other impact likely sport/past time!!

[Does anyone here go to church?]

 Originally Posted By: fjef

 Originally Posted By: the snowboarding vicar

I must sit down and read these comments all of which are interesting even if some make uncomfortable reading.

How could it be uncomfortable reading if you have faith?

fjef,
Come on...
All human beings are born with an innate need for affirmation encouragement and support. Regardless of the Vicars strength of faith he will feel personal discomfort reading a lot of these replies.
That is normal, natural and human.

Hats off to the Vicar for taking the time and effort to read all the replies and get a sense of the opinions of 'the masses' despite being uncomfortable for him! Whether he agree's or disagree's with what has been said, he is taking the time to listen to you. You go Vic!

[Cost of Snowboard Tune-Ups]

Thanks Samurai and Kuma,

BOARD DELAMINATION

I did a bit of a google search last night and the epoxy seemed the way to go! Thanks for the confirmation. The delamination is not complete - it has just lifted - so a bit of the epoxy to stick it down (rather than to fill in a missing bit) sounds like the go. It is a Burton, and only 8 months old - so I would like to get a bit more wear from it. In fact - the 8 yr old will prob graduate into it next season... (Ohhh..and I forgot to add it is a TOP delamination - not BASE - so it shouldn't affect the performance...)

 

TUNE UPS

We will be putting all 6 (ohh maybe 5 - His Injuredness wont be needing his! Whoops!) boards in for a full tune - edges etc at the beginning of the trip - but I have packed a tune up kit for mid-trip running maintenance - and YES! A scraper is in there!! Thanks for the heads up on looking like a noob! The oldest boys board is gonna need the most work - his school trip to NZ saw his board come home hairy in the extreme!!

 

ON HILL TUNE UPS?

Here's a Q for ya on the topic of tunes - I ordered a couple of Bakoda On Hill Tune up kits in thier funny little Bakoda binding backpacks - mainly because I didn't know what the heck to stuff my big boys Christmas stockings with this year.... Do you recommend CARRYING any items for running maintenence for someone NOT going into the back country? And what would be your top picks if you do.

 

[Webcams..?]

Ohhhh!!! Not far from the Gondola base!

 

Lot was closed when I went in April - so I am sure it will be very very different this time around! But my big boys know thier way around so they will see to it Mum doesn't get too lost!

 

We are staying very near there - so I am sure it will be Ramen on a regular basis!

[Webcams..?]

Thank you thank you.

 

I had previously visited that page - clikced on the map and it took me back to the Snow Report... now either it is new to have the links below the map - or this old fossil simply did not scroll the page!

 

The Ace#3 and Mt Yotei cams are not working. And the link I had saved in my favourites took me straight to THEM.

It is the ACE that has moved... I liked looking at that one as I stood right there plenty in April - and to watch the snow go and summer to arrive, and then be on the look out for the return of snow - all with the one view - like looking out of your window - had a familiarity about it.

 

I am liking the look of the snow on the ground!!! VERY exciting! I really like watching the lanscape change from one season to the next - something vouyieristic (sp!) about it!! LOL

 

THAT view - I can't make out from that pic where I am looking at Thursday - can you enlighten me?

[Webcams..?]

OK ... I admit it.

I have been watching the Webcams in Niseko for the last few months searching for any sign of white...(leave me alone - it builds the excitement!).

 

However - the webcams have been moved (viewing position not web address), and today they are not even working.

 

And of course - today there is a forcast for light snow....GROAN!

 

I know it is pathetic - but I wanna SEE it!

 

Are there some working webcams in the area that I don't know about? Anyone?

[Does anyone here go to church?]

 Originally Posted By: ger

I dunno. I was watching cbc news the other day and they featured an atheist summer camp for kids and they interviewed all these people who had freed themselves from religion and had seen the light. They seemed to have all the answers. They seemed pretty self-righteous actually -- I thought that's what they were trying to escape. Extremism is the problem (in ideology, not sports). Religion's not for me at this point but I don't think we should lump all "Snowboarders for Christ" in with the "Snowboarders Who Kill People Who Don't Conform to the Doctrine for Christ".

Well balanced!

It is certainly a problem of extremism - but also one of hate and fear.

People fear those that are different from themselves, then they turn that fear into hate - add in a healthy dose of extremism with a "mission" as directed by a group and according to all Social Psychology research the responsibility of the individual is then negated. People behave in groups in ways they would never consider appropriate as an individual.

For me - it is "be and let be". We appreciate spirituality in many forms but coming from a predominantly Christian background this is where we tend to fall. My 14 yr old is doing a Pilgrimage to Nepal to work with Buddhist Monks next year, working with lepers, orphaned children and other groups that need help. It would not matter if they were Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or from the Church of Snow Worship - they are doing good work, and are good people.

I hear what everyone is saying about the bad things that have happened, and about extremists - but I also know there are plenty of good people out there who have faith (whatever faith thiers is), who do not fit that profile. By all means be mad with the groups that have done wrong - but lets have an open mind and an open heart for individuals - our Snowboarding Vicar might be a REALLY great bloke!