The bums are back and they’re going to find ways to avoid the summertime blues. They’re also talking Memorial Day and edible six-pack rings.
Weekly Flavor
Ski News
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NOAA: La Niña is Coming | Deep Pool of Cool Water Making Its Way Across Pacific
NOAA is saying this about La Niña right now:
- La Niña Watch in effect
- 75% chance La Niña will develop in Fall 2016
- A large cold pool of water in the Pacific Ocean just began to breach the surface this month
The last time we had a Strong La Niña was in 2010/11 and the USA got huge snowfall totals.
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U.S. ski resorts rack up 53.9 million skier and snowboarder visits
The U.S. ski industry eked out an increase in skier and snowboarder visits during the 2015-16 season despite poor snow conditions in the eastern half of the country.
Ski areas generated an estimated 53.9 million visits, up from 53.6 million the prior season, according to the National Ski Areas Association, an industry trade group. The estimate was based on the annual Kottke Survey commissioned by the organization.
Skier and snowboarder visits are a basic metric used to gauge ski-industry business.
The record season was 2010-11, when 60.5 million visits were recorded. The low was 51 million visits in 2011-12.
This season's tally was 4.6 percent below the 10-year industry average of 56.5 million.
Even though this year wasn't a record overall, it was a record for the Rocky Mountain Region, which includes Aspen and the other Colorado resorts. The region was up 8 percent over last season, the ski association reported. The Rocky Mountain Region includes Utah, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico and Idaho in addition to Colorado.
Resort regions in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast were all down from the prior season.
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9 Ski Resorts STILL OPEN in North America:
- Timberline Lodge, OR | September
- Mammoth, CA | June ?
- Arapahoe Basin, CO | June 5th (or longer…)
- Squaw Valley, CA | May 30th
- Whistler Blackcomb, B.C. | May 30th
- Snowbird, UT | May 30th (weekends only)
- Mt. Bachelor, OR | May 29th
- Sunshine Village, Alberta | May 23rd
- Killington, VT | May ? (weekends only, hopefully until May 30th)
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The Origins of Skiing? 8,000 Years Ago
The exact origins of skiing are a bit murky, but one thing is clear. Skiing was originally designed to create movement. In ancient times, skiing was about getting from A to B on snow efficiently. Walking in deep snow was exhausting, snow shoes were OK, but skis were king. The Sami people of Northern Scandinavia knew that skis were a superior form of snow transportation because their ancestors invented them and the Sami used them on a daily basis. The Sami are widely credited with being the inventors of the ski.
The exact origin of the Sami culture is also unknown. Historians have traced their lineage and language back to the Ural mountains, Europe, and deeper into Asia. The Sami are even argued to be partially the 'Eskimos' that went left to Scandinavia, instead of right to Alaska and Canada. Regardless of their origin, the Sami blood line is distinct from Scandinavian and European blood lines.
SKIING HISTORY 101:
- 6300 BC: The world's oldest skis were discovered in Russia, near Lake Sindor.
- 4000 BC: Rock carvings of a skier from this period were discovered in Norway.
- 3300 BC: Skis from this time period were discovered in Finland. They were 180 centimeters long and 15 centimeters wide. These skis had five grooves.
- 2700 BC: Two skis and a pole were dug out of a bog in Sweden.
- 2500 BC: Archaeologists discovered rock drawings that depict a man on skis holding a stick. The drawings were discovered on a Norwegian island.
- 200 BC to 200 AD: First documented reference to skiing in China.
- The word ' ski ' comes from the Old Norse word ' skíö ', which means split piece of firewood.
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Jay Peak’s tram can’t run before $4.5M upgrades
Jay Peak's iconic aerial trams need $4.5 million worth of work -- including overhauling the arms that attach the cabins to the cables above -- before the state will allow the system to operate this summer.
The repairs are a large expense amidst uncertainty about the resort's future after the Securities and Exchange Commission and the state filed charges accusing owner Ariel Quiros and chief executive officer Bill Stenger of massive fraud. The SEC said Quiros and Stenger misused $200 million from the EB-5 program, which allows foreign nationals to gain U.S. residency if they invest $500,000 in projects that create jobs in economically depressed areas.
Last June, Doppelmayr's president, Mark Bee, wrote a letter to Stenger, saying the tram had been carrying too much weight at once since 1966, due to a mistake in the original operating manual.
Monahan emphasized he would not allow the tram to run if his inspectors had safety concerns, and if Jay Peak did not begin the $4.5 million in carriage overhauls, as well as electronic upgrades, he would not allow the lifts to run for the summer season.
Before Jay Peak was able to finalize plans to do the needed work, the SEC filed its fraud complaint, freezing the resort's assets and placing control in the hands of a Miami federal court.
Topic: #53
Making Summer Work !
What is going on for Summer
Memorial Day Weekend !!! Honor the Troops !!!
Around The Horn
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Waverly Labs – Pilot Translating Earphones
At the convergence of wearable technology + machine translation, the Pilot is the world's first smart earpiece which translates between users speaking different languages.
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BIKE MINE: the ultimate alarm to protect your precious stuff
When thieves come for your stuff in the dead of night they have a massive advantage. You are asleep. They have time to carry out their mischief in peace.
The answer is BIKE MINE - the world's loudest alarm. A quick, safe and reliable way to protect your stuff from thieves.
BIKE MINE is simple - BIKE MINE comprises a length of titanium wire, a spring-loaded trap and a small detonator. Velcro straps allow it to be attached quickly to protect almost anything you store outside or in a garage or shed. It's robust steel construction is covered in a rubber skin to protect your property.
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These biodegradable six-pack rings double as fish food
Florida's Saltwater Brewery has a pretty clever idea for replacing those environment-destroying plastic rings holding your Tecate cans together: animal food. Technically, the rings are a combination of wheat and barley, leftover from the brewing process. The brewery hopes the biodegradable (and fully digestable!) packaging will help stop marine life and birds from choking on plastic.
As Discover Magazine points out, Saltwater partnered with the ad agency We Believers to create and promote the packaging. The real-world impact of the project, for now, is small. Saltwater is just one small brewery in Florida, but it hopes to use the edible rings on all of the cans it produces - around 400,000 per month.
Most six-pack rings are currently made from photo-degradable plastic, which means they break down in sunlight, according to Discover. But it can take up to 90 days for those rings to dissolve, and even then some plastic never fully breaks down.
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‘Stoned’ sheep go on ‘psychotic rampage’ after eating cannabis plants dumped in Welsh village
Sheep are feared to have gone on a 'psychotic rampage' after eating cannabis plants dumped in a Welsh village.
The remains of an illegal cannabis factory was fly-tipped and worried locals fear the sheep have been munching the plants.
Mr Richard said: “There is already a flock of sheep roaming the village causing a nuisance.
"They are getting in people's gardens and one even entered a bungalow and left a mess in the bedroom."
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Parting Though
Apple has $233 billion in cash. It could buy all
- @NFL teams
- @NBA teams
- @MLB teams
- @NHL teams
& still have $80 billion left
Happy Memorial Day!