How to pronounce "Thule"...the car rack company

Have you ever come across a word that you were not exactly sure how to pronounce it or just didn't even give it enough thought that you may be saying it wrong? Usually you end up pronouncing and say the word to the best of your abilities You also keep saying it the way you think it should be pronounced until someone corrects you and makes you feel like an illiterate fool. Well a year ago I bought a car rack for my Mazda 3 hatchback. I decided to go with the company Thule Racks and this started my relationship with this company and my long pondering of what is the correct way of pronounce the name.

By just looking at the name Thule looks like it should be pronounced like "tool" only with a "th" instead of a "t". But I thought I had heard it pronounced different and liked the other version of "too-lee". So for the last year I've been pronouncing it "too-lee", then just the other day I all of the sudden had a sickening fear that I had been pronouncing this name wrong and have been sound like a schmuck this whole time. So I took an informal pole with some co-workers of mine and quickly discovered that there was no clear answer, everybody had their own version. Well this started the ole' Google search to find an answer to my question. What I found out was both a relief and satisfaction that I had been saying the name correctly the whole time...well almost. I've at least been saying the dumbed down American version of "too-lee". I'm going to include some definitions below to also help clarify the origins of the name.

http://www.thuleracks.com

Dictionary.com

Thu·le /ˈθuli for 1, 2; ˈtuli for 3/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thoo-lee for 1, 2; too-lee for 3] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.
the ancient Greek and Latin name for an island or region variously identified as one of the Shetland Islands, Iceland, or Norway: supposed to be the most northerly region of the world.
2.
ultima Thule.
3.
a settlement in NW Greenland: site of U.S. air base. 749.

Downsides of learning to snowboard

Over last weekend and last Wednesday I went snowboarding a total of three more times. Twice at White Pass, WA and once at Snoqualmie, WA.

I guess first I should back up a bit and state that this is my first year of snowboarding or any winter sport for that matter. I've been a total of about 8 times this year and hope to get a couple more in before the season is over. I am not ashamed to say that I think I've come pretty far for this being my first year and only 8 times out. And that is what leads me to the downside of learning how to snowboard.

The first couple of times it was a bit rough trying to stay up-right and even worse trying to turn from heal edge to toe edge without eating it in the process. Eventually I was able to go farther and farther down the hill without falling. Now I have gotten to the point where I can make it down even a single diamond run without falling....sometimes not as fast as a more experienced rider but all the same I can make it down without looking like I have no right being up on the mountain. The problem I discovered in being able to not crash multiple times on the way down is that I now have no time for resting since I'm constantly upright and moving. It now seems as though my thighs are screaming at me to just fall so they can get some sort of break.

Overall though I wouldn't trade the ability to stay up for the whole ride. The feeling you get when all the conditions match up and you are just floating down the mountain almost effortlessly. You seem to find the right lines and make the right turns and find the right snow to just have this euphoric experience of surfing the white stuff.