music: Frampton comes alive

I felt an inexplicable urge to hear Putting my heart on the line by Peter Frampton for the first time in years. Damn but it sounds pretty excellent on my stereo. The multiple talk box lines are clearly positioned in space, I never knew there was a third one.

The criticism levelled at audiophile equipment is that it makes less-than-perfect recordings unlistenable. But the converse is making average records into a delight so long as they were put together with care. The ARP synthesizers still sound fake and wimpy, but overall this is scary: I may have to revise my opinion of that dead decade.

Categories: music, audio, PeterFrampton

How do I work this?

Am I right, am I wrong? My God, what have I done?!

snow: New Boots not Panties

(Old Ian Dury and the Blockheads album title)

After 6 years I got new ski boots. Back in 1998 after a disastrous experience with Lange in another store, Christian and Rob at Elite Feet put me in the yellow Head M102 boots with custom foam liners and custom footbeds , and I couldn't imagine anything better. But the boots were getting worn.

I was confident I'd get another pair of Heads, but they convinced me to go for the "hot" boot du jour, the Nordica Doberman. This thing is so low-tech and old-skool it's a wonder you don't lace it up. But it has a great lining and straight from of the box felt suspiciously comfortable in all my trouble spots. I would much rather be in an uncool boot like the Nordica Bichon Frise or Nordia Chihuahua, but what can you do.

Of course I found a new trouble spot: the boots are trying to crush the top of my instep to dust.

Christian and Rob are awesome, the best boot fitters in Lake Tahoe. (Well, maybe "Gunnar" of Granite Chief is great, but with multiple stores to run he's not always around.)

Categories: skiing, equipment, Nordica