Yep and they'll give you a beer if you have to wait.

Water Street Barber Co has been great to me a couple times. Great crew in there and a good atmosphere

I was at the Portland Gear Hub today, and they had a handful of ancient crusty half used kick wax sticks on the shelf for $1. I couldn't help but think of my dad's ancient klister-encrusted waxbox, and him pulling out random shit and being like "Bill Koch won an Olympic medal on this wax, someone could use it"

Don't you go thinking I have any illusions on that score.

I was an xc ski racer in high school and college, but I had a brief (4yr) post-collegiate career as an alpine ski, snowboard, and telemark instructor.

I can talk about xc trail systems until your ears fall off lol

Should have looked that up lol. Honestly to me that shows true colors.

It's a 2+ hr drive to both Sugarloaf and Sunday River. But I would consider Sunday River to be more beginner friendly - the real value at Sugarloaf is for the advanced rider who wants the above-treeline terrain and the steep trees in bracket basin.

If anyone needs it explained to them like they are 5, these Senators knew that not voting for this bill would make them look like heartless, cruel hypocrites (because they are). Staying away means it fails anyway, but that they don't get put on the record as opposing it.

I'm not excusing Chipman here either - dude is just begging for a primary challenger.

They all skipped rather than vote against it, remember that.

Yeah there's a lot more going on in North Conway than there is in Bethel or (lol) Carrabasset Valley.

Lol Sunday river is way bigger in every metric but vertical feet.

And slower for the price to drop when wholesale prices do

The problem with Lost Valley is that they are more reliant on natural snow than a bigger resort like Sugarloaf.

For a beginner I would suggest Sunday River, or maybe even look over into NH at resorts like Cranmore, which are less of a drive than Sugarloaf.

If it's Sugarloaf vs Lost Valley and you're already flying, renting a car, lodging, etc - go Sugarloaf.

Google "seasonal ski rental". There are a few places in the Portland area I know of, and I'm sure somewhere closer as well.

Just an FYI they will likely want your little one to try the boots on in store to make sure they fit, so it might ruin the surprise a bit.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2021/02/13/news/meet-the-team-that-thinks-up-those-funny-maine-highway-signs/

If you dont return data to the system (whether collected via Mini VAN or printed lists), it doesn't work as designed.

Not sure who is making promises, or what they are promising, but VAN works pretty darn well for what it's designed for when used properly, even if the interface is clunky and outdated and overly complicated.

I agree that it's annoying, difficult to use, mostly dogshit piece of software, but most of the problems people ascribe to VAN aren't actually the fault of the software.

If anyone wants to talk actual facts about VAN, I'd be happy to do so in DMs. I've been working with the platform professionally for a decade and at an admin level for 5 years.

Most of this is incorrect or misleading.

My position: signs on your property = sure you do you

Signs on public roadways or sidewalk medians owned by the town or state = littering. Shouldn't be allowed.

I can't imagine relying on Google Pay or Apple Pay even in Portland.

So explain it to me like I'm in kindergarten.

I disagree with that interpretation of the first amendment in this case, and that's fine! Doesn't change anything

Sure, campaigns can spend whatever they want - I can also come on the internet and call them vain idiots if I want.

I can also be pissed that they litter our roadways and public spaces.

What was your point again?

Oh and candidates love them. They love driving around town and seeing their name everywhere, it gets them aroused.

I personally agree that they shouldn't be allowed on public right of ways or green spaces (medians, public sidewalk green strips, etc)

Research has been done on the effectiveness of signs, and at most the impact is very small (and the signs aren't super cheap to print, and are labor intensive to distribute). Some studies have actually found that signs are a net detractor because they take away resources from other types of outreach.

All that said, old people in Maine really love the damn things and I don't see that changing soon.