MThockeydad

The city finds the funds to pay for a free public beach and numerous parks that are all free to users (and a cost to taxpayers), but doesn't want to manage an ice rink that could operate at net zero. They have made a valid point that the current refrigeration system isn't efficient for making ice in July and August, yet resist the efforts of user groups to upgrade the refrigeration system and install a low-e ceiling insulation system. Figure skating parents are willing to stroke some BIG checks--and unlike some rinks, figure skating and hockey groups get along very well....it's the curlers who think they should bump youth hockey 7-9pm ice times so 8 of them can use the entire rink. Hockey pays for itself, adult hockey tournaments were a profit center, but they stopped actively managing adult hockey...when concessions were a loser. Now adult hockey operates on its own (and in the black), the city cut back on concessions...and now they want to increase ice time costs by 45% because they're still losing money. Well, duh, you gave up all that windfall tourney income. The indoor facility was built with user group funds, so there's no loan to pay off, only utilities and labor...the mechanical system is a city baby.

Brother, I just came in to post the same thing...but I missed 2 of the last 4 weeks for my river trip. Sunday was my last day on skates at the Missoula tourney. My gear is washed and dry and packed away, and it dawned on me that I still wish I was playing. COME ON SEPTEMBER 2nd!! I posted a pic of our "Not So Elite" team in the "Pics of you playing hockey" thread. Amy H said you improved a lot just during CoRec. :) C league is not going to be that fast, but getting your brain working "faster" in those faster games really helps when you return to your "regular" league.

Our "Not-so-Elite" team from a C-level tourney in May. First tourney for four of our players, first coed for 3 of the gals, too. Another from an intermediate level tourney this past weekend: We placed 3rd. I had 2 goals, 3 assists, no penalty minutes! ;)

We were at Lake Powell back in March--just after the kids' regular season was over and my buddy and I finished spring league. Played/swam one day at Lone Rock. Then returned for more dropin and two adult tournaments. Whitewater kayaking and rafting--not much snowmelt left, so we have a few good weeks remaining to hit the rivers. ..I just spent an awesome week on the Middle Fork of the Salmon. 8 days out, 6 on the river. Kayaked the big water and rafted the two mellower days. We have an older Bayliner to get the kids out on tubes and kneeboards. My LO can link 10 360's!

Played in my actual final tourney of the season. REALLY fun intermediate tourney. Two teams from our area played in the intermediate division and one in the upper division. The other team was the favorite, and they clearly excelled in their performance in the local taverns. We played better on the ice. Lost one game and missed the chipper by a point, but we won the 3rd-4th place game 3-1. I had two goals and two assists for the weekend, and haven't skated for a month. Time for boating season. Life is good!

Why, you going to move onto his couch?! :lol: Got a fun rec tournament this weekend, starting tonight, playing with a bunch of the new players who did our adult beginner sessions this winter. I'm pretty jacked. Tourney was supposed to be C level, but they didn't get enough teams signed up, so some of them are B+/B, but it's still going to be a lot of fun.

Yet if the same happened in Mexico, you'd be sitting in jail until you paid for his car. :(

Got busy and missed the final bid on a pair of pro stock APX's in my size. They sold for $105.

Pre-painted bumpers can be found on the internet. About 30% the cost of having a body shop do it, and the labor to install is quick and easy.

Not so much a vent as a :( One of our adult beginners broke his ankle last night when we were practicing for a tourney in two weeks. :(

Played a mixed league fun tourney this weekend. Our team was back-to-back champs in 2013 and 2014. Sadly, we dropped our first game and couldn't repeat. Still made 3rd place of 12 teams. I played my first game at defense in the 3rd-4th place game. We won 5-2. I was a +3!

Yup. I respectfully disagree on this point. Do whatever your fiancée wants. If she disagrees with her mother, take your fiancée's side. This is an important step in her cutting the umbilical cord. (This is something we guys don't really get, but they actually have to do it.) However, don't take your future MIL on head-to-head.

Gents, you should start a "Wedding planning...for guys" thread. I could tell you some stuff. My wifey and I will celebrate our 18th anniversary in June. There are two things you need to remember: 1. It's just one day. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter much. 2. If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. I'm talking about your fiancée. Your mothers are your fathers' problems. Your Dad has been married to your Mom a long time. He gets it. I love that I can now relate to my Dad on an adult level and we can give each other advice. It's pretty awesome. 3. Women are crazy. I hope you both picked a woman whose crazy is at a level you are comfortable with. (not that men don't have our quirks...but women are crazy) Smart. For some reason, the wedding is the "one day every little girl dreams about". I don't get it, but I'm a guy. Your mom and her mom are living vicariously through this experience. In some ways, you need to put your foot down; in others, just roll with the punches. Remember, it's just one day. The best parts of it will be realized YEARS later. You're starting to learn the art of compromise. Honestly, we don't even look at our wedding photos all that much. We got married in 1997, in the infancy of digital photography, and all of ours was negatives and prints. You want several "wallhanger" portraits because you'll be looking at them for the next 50+ years. My favorites were the one of just us, and one of both of our families. The rest don't matter. Even the ones with the wedding party. I was moderately (but not severely) inebriated at my brother's wedding and climbed on the roof of the reception hall with a DSLR and got a very cool group photo of everyone out on the lawn...it was a wallhanger. :) The very best weddings I have been to were the week-long parties where all your closest friends and the family members you like (ideally including your fathers) get together and hang out and explore the area. It's not like a weeklong bender, but liquid refreshments can be involved for those inclined. The wedding ends up being the cap for an amazing week. We did a float trip for my brother's bachelor party and then ran 3 more rivers over the next week, hit a rodeo, small town parade, and several picnics. Another friend's pre-wedding festivities included a float trip, a gun range, an overnight 4-wheeling trip, and more guns. The least memorable ones were the stuffy fancy ones with place settings and rigid reception schedules. Be yourselves. Have a wedding and reception that fits the two of you. This is not the time to pretend to play dress-up if you're not that kind of people. Or, if you are, do it. Oh yeah, and if you're not already living together, be VERY careful of how things are done the first week you cohabit. The side of the bed you sleep on and which way the toilet paper is rolled will be locked in stone for the next 50+ years. No, really. This would be a great role of the best man and maid of honor, especially if they're great friends of yours and know your wishes without having to ask...even better if the two of them get along and could function as a team. This used to be part of their official roles, but were supplanted by "wedding planners". Oh, and challenge the maid/matron of honor to put some thought into their toasts, instead of the yucky gushing stereotypical "Oh, she's my bestest friend and I love her and Joe makes her so happy and <tears> I'm so happy for her!"...while the best man has everyone in stitches, including grandma. Oh, and another thing for the best man, aside from hitting on the bridesmaids. You are going to set your drink down to visit with Aunt Betty or to dance with your flower girls...and one of the caterers/family members/wait staff is going to toss it. Make sure the best man hands you a fresh one...somebody paid for an open bar, you may as well enjoy it a bit. At the same time, make sure he also alternately hands you a bottle of water. You don't want to pass out drunk on your wedding night!

Outsole is thin, so the tube of the tnut pokes through and hits the shoulder of the nut. If you add washers that have a big enough hole to fit around the tube of the tnut, the bolt can tighten the tnut fully. If I had a tnut sticking through (after tightening with washers, I'd probably dremel it off flush)...unless the tube also fits inside the chassis hole.

It would probably help more than it would hurt. I do know that it helps with preventing corrosion between dissimilar metals, especially in vehicle/outdoor applications. On your skates, it could prevent galling, which is probably why your bolt got stuck in your axle. Before it dries/cures, it acts like a lubricant, so you get a slightly tighter fit with less friction between the mating faces of the screw threads (preventing galling).

Yes, I ended up using an 8" long dull punch to hammer down the edges that stuck up. I drilled my holes very snug, so the T-nuts (and the longer teeth) didn't snug up tight at first. I could feel them through the footbeds. I had to hammer a couple different spots before they got comfy.

Do you have any more t-nuts left? Maybe cut some more and leave the prongs longer? I left mine about 1/8" long; they had been 3/8" long. It left enough to penetrate the synthetic felt and a bit of the poly in the footbed.

Crazy fun dropin last night. Fast skate, 8 people on each bench...usually boring, but it was fast enough that time to catch my breath wasn't a bad thing. My cousin's husband joined us. He grew up in Wisconsin and went to Michigan Tech. He's currently living in the hockey wasteland of Texas. Complained that he was out of shape. I don't think anyone else noticed. :)

Anyone ever told you that you're doing it wrong wearing them over your goalie breezers? You're welcome!

He'll either get over it or die mad!! So clearly he was going overboard in retaliating.

I'm trying to learn to time my own swing like that. You have to time your downforce to connect with the moment your blade is at their blade/puck...if you're too early, the stick bounces up and into their stick (and misses the puck)...too late, and you simply slash their stick. Until then, I'm sticking to one-handing my 66" stick flat along the ice. It's not as fast, but definitely not as violent. You can't really fix each other together. She has to fix her, you have to fix you. There wasn't shit I could do to change my wife until I made myself a better husband. Not saying you're a bad husband, but change can only come from within--hers has to come from within her. And you can't make her want to, either. :(

Good on you, Optimus--well done in the net! I tried it for the first time on Weds. Harder than it looks. Our league has "player ratings" where you can only substitute a player with a rating a max of 0.1 rating higher than the player you're missing. It works well.

My daughter didn't play all season due to a shoulder injury. We had a parents vs. U14 girls scrimmage last night and she jumped on the ice with her team. She was skating well, brain was working, feet just a bit slow. Midway into the game, she skated out from the bench to the center ice faceoff circle after a goal. While stopping, she stood too much upright and fell over backwards...onto her back, and her head smacked the ice. Concussion. Yay. :( Kind of dumb of her to not be in hockey position, nor keep her head up, but she was out of practice. I hate it when my kids hurt.

My daughter's Peewee team took 2nd at state. Yes, I married up. Yes, my daughters took after their mother. Yes, I'm a lucky man!