I see parents waiting
Full parking lot
And their numbers
They are a lot
And I think to myself
What a wonderful trip

We drove back from West Yellowstone yesterday, but not after I got in a nice, easy ski leading the J2 boys around.  As usual with BSF, when we were supposed to leave and when we actually did leave were vastly different times, but eventually we made it back.  Then I ate dinner and went to sleep, and I just woke up.  A good, long sleep is a great way to try to get over an illness.  Try being the key word.

Anyways, I promised you some ramblings the other day, so here goes.  Because my skis, boots and poles have still yet to make it here, I had to do a lot of demoing.  Madshus was great about getting me great skis and even letting me keep them overnight if I needed (for instance, the night before a race).  And the skis Madshus got me were great.  Best part of my race on Friday.  Also, my new Madshus boots came in, which was great.  And Swix provided me with the same poles I usually ski on.

More to the point of rambling, spending all that time at the demo got me thinking.  There are all sorts of fancy names for new skis, boots and poles, as well as the new components to said skis, boots and poles.  A lot of them really try to sound scientific but the words don't really sound like something you'd hear engineers talking about in some laboratory.  Here's my theory on what actually happens.

The engineers develop the next amazing advance in skiing:  PolyOctoOxydizedPolyScandium-Krypton Inhesive, or POOPSKI for short.  They make the ski, which makes all other skis seem like wooden skis covered in klister by comparison, and give it to the advertising crew, who realize that nobody wants to buy a ski that says POOPSKI, even if it's really good.  Also, the engineers told them they couldn't give away the secrets of the POOPSKI, lest other companies steal the ideas.  So the advertising people decide to rename it, something like Fastium or Winnium.  You know, some term that people actually want on their ski equipment.  Then, I look at all the names on equipment and say, "These words don't sound like actual materials or designs."