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Have you heard of Augmented Reality (AR) yet?  It’s the next frontier of marketing & advertising - allowing you to use your mobile phone to view virtual overlays and callouts of real-life features and points of interest in your immediate physical surroundings.

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?

Well maybe a better way to explain it is to check out the first Augmented Reality application for Skiers & Snowboarders, REALSKI!  Here’s a few screen grabs of REALSKI in action, from their YouTube video:

The way it works is, you download the app, launch it, and then view your real-life surroundings through the iPhone camera.  The digital display of the camera will change based on what the camera itself is viewing.  The app uses the phone’s GPS, compass, camera, and other features to activate what the display shows.

REALSKI will show you key features when you are on the mountain, such as trail features, names, skill level, lodges, restrooms, terrain parks and more.  Watch the video, it’s really cool to see this live on the slopes!

I’m getting closer and closer to getting an iPhone when I see things like this are available.  REALSKI is a very cool and useful app especially if you’re on a mountain for the first time and have no idea of how to find your meetup point, or more importantly, where the nearest Bloody Mary bar is!

Download it from the itunes store for just $0.99.

Read the full press release here.  

Well, sadly I may not be able to take my Mammoth snowboard trip on Feb. 7 as planned.  Yesterday I was dashing all over Los Angeles taking part in the High Trek Adventure race.  It’s basically a localized version of The Amazing Race - you answer clues that take you to various locations around LA.  You have to take a photo of yourselves at each location and the fastest team to complete and take pics of all the clues, wins.

The race took us all over Hollywood and into Downtown LA as we located clues such as Boris Karloff’s star on the Walk of Fame and Beethoven’s statue in Pershing Square.

Unfortunately about 2 hours into the race, we had just leaped onto a bus to high-tail it to Toyota of Hollywood to document our next clue… and when I leaped OFF the bus, I heard a pop and my right calf immediately went into a painful spasm.  I couldn’t walk on it at all. I knew that I probably tore it, have a massive strain, (or there was just a severe cramp because we were stopping and starting running and dashing around with lots of sitting inbetween as we rode subways etc.) and had to bow out at that point, taking a taxi back to the finish point while my team completed the remaining clues.

So now I’m on crutches and doing the RICE thing while taking 800mg doses of ibuprofen.  I have had this same injury before, about 3 years ago but in my left calf.  I had to do a month or so of rehab/PT but I was back on the snowboard good as new 7 weeks later.  I hope this time I don’t take that long to heal - I really want to hit up Mammoth again on Feb. 7 which is less than two weeks away!   For now I will see how I feel tomorrow and decide if I should go to a doctor and start PT again.  Send me good karma and wellness wishes meanwhile! 

p.s. we came in about 40th place in the fleet of about 80 teams… dang… but it was fun!

Continuing to get psyched up for the season - I read about this contest on Transworld Business.  Nikita, one of the coolest womens’ snowboarding brands, is sponsoring a contest where you can win a new Nikita outfit.   Tell them a story about your best day on the hill, complete with pics and narrative, and you’re entered to win.  Just follow this link to get details and enter.  Hurry up - the entry deadline is Nov. 15 so bust out your photos and memories, girls!

Hmm, I wonder if the day we met Woolly counts?!?!

Are you just counting the days till you can hit the hill again?  Take advantage of some of this time by entering the Rip Curl photo contest below:

from the press release:  “Open to everyone 18 and over, ‘Couch Wars’ is a photo search presented by Rip Curl aimed to ease the boredom of the time between when summer ends and when the snow starts to fall. The rules are simple, as there is really only one rule; all entries must be tasteful and include a couch, but other than that anything goes. There will be weekly drawings until the contest winner is announced the 15th of December.

All entries must be submitted to ripcurlsnow@ripcurl.com along with the entrant’s date of birth.”

Hmmmm…. perhaps a new category for this blog: “Hotties on the Couch?”  haha

All right, all right, I know I should have posted this weeks ago so all of you folks who drive up to the mountain on a regular basis could have some new ideas for your in-car playlists! Even though the season is drawing to a close (argh, it was near 80 in some areas in LA last weekend), I know I’ll still be heading up to Mammoth a few more times.

With the long drive, in addition to the games and conversation to be had, good music is a must for passing the time. I asked the usual suspects what music they love to hear either when they’re driving, getting suited up to hit the hill in the morning, or having drinks while preparing to hit the town after a day of boarding! Ranging from punk to old school hip-hop, these choices will get you pumped up.

Eileen

Social D - Mommies little monster
Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
Offspring - Original Prankster
Linkin Park - What I’ve done
3 doors down - Kryptonite
Nickleback - Rockstar
Lenny Kravitz - Fly away
Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend

Stacy

Princess Pop:
- Britney’s new hits Gimme More and Piece of
Me…or pretty much the whole new album!

Hip Hop with a California twist:
- Biggie - Going back to Cali
- 2Pac - California Love
- LLCoolJ - Goin back to Cali

White Trash Rock:
- Ozzy - Crazy Train or I don’t know
- AC/DC - Back in Black
- Metallica - Master of Puppets

Lil Jenny

Old Skool Albums:

Jane’s Addiction (ALL OF THEM!!!!)
Green Day - Dookie
Offspring - Ixnay on the Hombre
Face To Face - Face To Face
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Hole - Live Through This
Alanis Morrisette (when I was with girls only) - Jagged Little Pill
Particularly You Oughta Know, Hand In My Pocket, Isn’t It Ironic

Nowadays add to the Old School:
Sum 41 - No Reason, love it!
Madonna - Sorry
80’s New Wave especially
B-Movie - nowhere Girl
Depeche Mode
Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf

Shannon from Shayboarder wrote a post about her music playlists back in December.

As for me, I’m partial to hip-hop… particularly Ludacris’ “MOVE BITCH” track… it’s fun to play in the car when we’re trying to find parking and people are being idiots

Jessie and I also love the Beastie Boys, Missy Elliot… and I really like the latest Kanye album. I’m also a house music head but that doesn’t always go over well!

What is some of your favorite music for snowboarding, driving to the mountains, or before you go out and do the apres-ski thing?

Check it out… www.beer4chicks.com. Twinkie tipped me off to it this morning. Cool service here in LA dedicated to educating women about beer and dispelling some of the misconceptions women may have about enjoying beer as part of a dining experience. Or to educate women who already like beer and want to learn more!

I’m never one to decline a cold frosty one that’s decidedly heavier in color and taste than the Michelob Ultra’s of the world… but for those women that just don’t consider themselves beer drinkers or who just want to learn more about it, this site and the service from its author, Christina Perozzi may be just the ticket.

From the site: Christina leads beer tastings, teaches seminars and classes, and participates in public and private events - large and small. She also teams with innovative chefs from around Los Angeles to hold Beer Pairing Dinners, most recently with Proprietor Josh Loeb and Chef Samir Mohajer or Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen and Chef/Owner Jared Simons at Violet Restaurant. Christina also consults as a beer expert for restaurants hotels and breweries.

Needless to say, the gal knows her beers! Read her blog here: http://www.christinaperozzi.com/.

Man… what a great week this has been!

• Monday, started the week with a half day boarding powder in Vail to finish off a greatweekend
• Tuesday, had something offered to me that I had been hoping for
• Wednesday, confirmed appointment to try out in person for Jeopardy! after passing the online test
• Thursday, found a $50 bill on the ground

I told my friends that I better buy a lottery ticket this weekend - powerball baby!

I think I’m gonna hit Mt. Waterman here in L.A. on Sunday. They got 4″ fresh today. Hoping good snow conditions (not to mention my luck) holds out thru the weekend!

Take care everyone, and have a good one!

Here’s some gripes (and possible solutions) for situations that can really get your goat on the hill. 

• Snow down the pants (hey, you can always invest in a one piece, I love mine!)
• Weak bloody mary’s (go to another bar or bring a flask!)
• Crowded runs at 3:45 (either get out of there early or find a better run!)
• Long lift lines (again get there early or find a run less traveled!)
• Riders/skiers that stop in the middle of the trail (I’m rude, I’ll tell them to move to side as I plow them!)
• Riders/skiers that take up the whole run doing turns (Again, I’m rude and will yell out that I’m on their right/left!)
• Classic rock at the lodge (talk to that hottie at the bar!)
• Sore after a day of riding (you know the answer to this…Hottub!!!)
• Your toes hurt and they are cold (time to invest in new boots!)
• Getting stuck on the flats (wax that stick and bomb that run!)
• Foggy goggles (hate to say it but a little spit goes a long way!)
• Not alternating on the lift line (call them out!)

If you have any Don’t you hate it when’s…… post them up! I’d love to hear them!

Represent out there sexy’s and know the code for god sakes!

My friend Dan Perry is running a fun little contest and offering a cool bit of schwag - a Google refrigerator.

Having received a good bit of Google schwag in the past, I gotta say that this is a pretty cool gift! Compared to beach chairs and blankets, this fridge is a winner.

So if I won the Google fridge, I’d bring it on our snowboarding trips to the mountains, and use it to keep our cans of beer chilled so they’d be the perfect temperature to bring to the jacuzzi apres-ski. Also, the fridge would be a good conversation piece for all the Hotties on the Hill that we meet

Check out Dan’s blog for some fun golf and SEO talk in the meantime…

And, now back to our regularly scheduled snowboarding chat.