Ski

* Post edited by Thinksnow: This is going a bit far, please leave each other's loved ones out of this. Thanks! * Sorry, Think. Lesson learned. I thought when they suggested I should get ****, that they had someone in mind. And in this same crappy thread, poor Poconoceancity is trying to get info on the best place to get a child lessons...CB has a nice, separate area for kids. They also have a magic carpet, which is nice. I'm assuming you'll be at CB? I think the secret to getting kids a good lesson is to go off-hour, if possible, and ask for someone with the most tenure. When I started giving lessons, all the newbies were automatically given the children. They asked our preference, but that didn't seem to matter. If you find someone that has come back to teach for more than three seasons, I think your odds are pretty good that you're kids will have a worthwhile time. The instructor doesn't have to be old, but should immediately project an outgoing, happy personality.

Thanks for the insight, Johnny. And, uh, any chance you've moved up in age classes?

You just seem to find it hard to post without also adding a sh*tty little remark. Oh, and I saw a brochure from a little place called Alpine Mountain down here that claims to have some of the "best children's instructors". You want their web address to investigate? I mean, since that's what you do...

Well, don't you guys FEEL like a bunch of *sswipes after calling for the guy's head at the Denton marketing "department"? I seem to remember you guys feeling it was your mission to uncover these things. Are you really a Jiminy Peak local? Maybe you'd like to let us flatlanders here in PA know the monster vertical rise and vast acreage at Jiminy... Hey, I saw an ad for a tiny little New Hampshire ski shop that claims to have the best prices in New England. Maybe you guys should go confirm he's a liar, too, and maybe get the bastard closed down.

My experience has been that most race parents are pretty lame when it comes to volunteering. They get all gung ho, then when it comes time, they get really hard to reach. As a PA Cup race Starter, Corchnoy gave me a list of names and numbers to staff a race. I had about a 25% success rate. I think that the lack of support from management is the price being paid for the privledge of remaining autonomous. I guess I'm still puzzled by your stance. Firstly, it's just money. If a kid can't afford the program, there is a "scholarship" option. There's nothing cheap about ski racing. But you can't even put a price on slope access. Having Rocket or Cliffy roped off for practice is the hill I'd pick to die on, so to speak. It's just my opinion, but I think that if you bitch about everything, you'll get nothing. And if you come together as a single, loud voice, perhaps you can get something that's worth far more than a few hundred bucks. There are two main reasons why PA kids being sent to post-season finish dead last up north: they only ski two days a week and they basically train on greens and blues. PARA kids don't suffer from poverty and generally have much higher family incomes than New England kids.

Denton's run steeper than Ripcord and Devil's Fiddle? And to think those *sswipes at that other MB were calling the Denton marketing guy a bunch of nasty names...

Then you know you are on double-secret probation?

Papa: What exactly do you want from CB? I'm honestly not clear about it. Just a thank you? I've known Gus, mostly just professionally when he was a teacher, for a dozen years, and I can tell you that he prefers management to keep their distance. Most of the USSA race coaches that I know seem to feel the same way. JohnnyP, any input? As a parent, I'd want great coaching, access to be able to talk with the head coach, and management that allows slope space for training and races. Who really gives a crap if management is friendly? Just give racers a place to train. My 2 cents...

The CAT team is barely tolerated and thrown small bones of 1 hr. on Rocket...CAT's are seen as a pain-in-the-*ss program, not as customers. I think it's mostly 'Dude's fault; I'm pretty sure they have a folder on him in the office. The bright side? The Elk team has to rent a slope for races. That seems like the ultimate F U to a race program.

A brownie hound is just an old perv, Sib. An old guy that hunts for little Girl Scouts.

Ha, he even gives brownie hounds a bad name?

Internet friend? The negative connotation of that odd phrase aside, I fully accept your half-hearted apology. So we're cool. Consider this, DH: I'm no fan of snowboarding or jibbers, yet some of my best buds do both. The best ski racer in the world is Bode Miller and I'm no fan of his. Not that you're terribly interested, but I come at it from a parent/coach view: I root for athletes that set a good example and have a good work ethic. I'm sure that sounds old and boring to you, but it won't when you have kids, or coach a team. Athletes that show up at events and get sh*tfaced drunk and have to be removed by security (Danny Kass) are just as bad as athletes that go on camera doing shots the night before a competition/race (Bode Miller). That's my opinion.

There are times when laying into someone is fine and cool and they have been asking for it; like every day that skierforever says anything. He's a cranky old brownie hound that gets off on being hated. It makes him feel important. Then there are times that someone vouches for a newbie that absolutely doesn't deserve to be given sh*t. But it just sounds like you shouldn't work lifts anymore. Too many people p*ss you off and it's making you a hater. When you're 60, do you wanna be just like skierforever?

DH: we have to respect Danny Kaas? If someone acts like an *sshole and represents a sport by belittling up and coming kids, then to hell with him. I don't look up to arrogant pissants. Do you? If Kass is as bad as the MC kids say, then he's a terrible influence and lousy example. I don't feel compelled to respect a talented athlete if he's an overall d*ck. I wouldn't want Manny Ramirez on my baseball team. I wouldn't want Randy Moss on my football team. Not worth the bullsh*t. If someone has a negative opinion of Kass, then they are entitled to that opinion. And when a slope is closed for a race, then tough crap. They close slopes for slopestyles and skier/boarder crosses...so what? Pipes are closed for comps and so what? What exactly do we disagree on?

Hey, DH, I remember everyone on MC's old RSN message board slamming DK as being a total *sshole and Prima Donna. It was the local kid's words. THEY said he treated them like he was a god and too important for them. I don't know or care about Kass, but it sounds like JohnnyP was just saying the same thing as all the boarders at MC. How does that reflect back on a great racer like Johnny? He's one of the most giving and capable race coaches in the northeast. And he puts his skis where his mouth is and smokes courses better than most USSA kids. Seems to me that DK's gets off on a bad boy image. So why bash anyone for calling him on his dopey antics?

Uh oh, when I start sounding like 'Dude.... AND, I know how fast JohnnyP is 'cause he's my age; there's no other similarity in our skiing beyond that...

People have complained that they pay $5000 in property taxes to have us on THEIR soccer fields when they want to fly a kite and our 16 kids are in the way.

People complain when a slope is roped off for a race, just the same as people complain when they can't fly a kite at their local park because there's a little league game going on.

Could this be THE JohnnyP? Nice to have of one of the fastest humans in the region stop by...

I'd throw him Teddy Kennedy's giant pumpkin head as a life preserver.

I shoot everything with a manual exposure, which is the TV setting on Canon cameras. The basic idea with aperature/shutter speed follows the f/16 rule. That formula begins with a bright, sunny day and your exposure is f/16 with a shutter speed of 1/film speed. In other words, if you are rating your ASA/ISO as 400, then your exposure is the next closest shutter speed fraction, which is 1/500 of a second at f/16. I like to see into the shadows a little, so I generally make a bright sun exposure of f/11 and 1/500 sec. F stops, of course, are a measurement of the lens opening and each "click", or stop, is doubling or halving. The higher the number, the smaller the opening. F/2.8 is twice as big as f/4; f/5.6 is half the size opening as f/4. So, for example, these are combinations of the same exposure: 1/500 and f/8=1/250 and f/11=1/125 and f/16. If you shoot a lot, then you can pretty much walk outside and not even bother with a light meter: For 400 ASA film: Bright sun exposure is 1/500 at f/11 High clouds 1/500 at f/8 dark clouds mid day 1/250 at f/5.6 rainy 1/125 at f/4 When to use shutter priority vs. aperature priority: If you are using a long lens, then you use shutter priority program. You need to be sure to have a fast enough shutter speed with a longer lens. General rule is that you can hand hold a fraction of the lens' focal length. IE, you'd never want to go under 1/500 of a second with a 500mm lens. Never under 1/125 second with a 135mm lens. You can hand hold a 28mm lens with a 1/30 sec. shutter speed. You should also use shutter priority for sports pics, since you are freezing action. Aperature priority is best when depth of field is important. Scenic photos, as well as portraits. The smaller the aperature, the greater the depth of field. Not sure if any of this is helpful, but feel free to ask anything specific...

Hey, why's 'Dude get to be a such wiseass? Just think of the fun a real skier/boardercross trail would be at CB.

Ah, GLHS...used to cover a lot of sports there for the Courier-News. It was a little outside our circulation area, but they had a great soccer program.