chucK

Hmmmm.... Absurdly low price... Seller hiding identity behind wig and glasses... Hmmm...

Shit K, we already need help in Iraq. You see that news report the other day about the morale of the troops over there. Holy shit! Would be nice if we had an ally or two to pitch in 10K or so ground troops. Get ready all you youngsters. Time's a comin' you get to (got to) go hang with Tele_Nut for a 10th of the pay.

I just called the shop. They told me that the boots I got (Garmont) are the smallest volume boot relative to the length. That is, I cannot get a tighter fit that will not crush my toes. Does this jibe with the wisdom out there? They are not really loose right now. Also, when I am saying they are loose I am comparing to downhill boots only (I've never got AT boots), which I was told are supposed to be much tighter. This sounds like it makes sense? Thanks everybody for your quick comments by the way .

I just bought some AT boots yesterday and am worried that I might have got out of there with boots that don't fit right. I don't know shit about AT. I've only downhilled mainly. Should the boots be snug all around your foot? The shop guy said they don't need to be grabbing me tight like a downhill boot cause I'll be walking in them. Well, in a hiking boot I like it to be snug all around too. Is he correct? When the buckles are cranked all the way down, mine have lots of room everywhere around my foot. The only place they are grabbing and holding me are around the shin. They don't bang around inside the boot when I'm walking, but I haven't tried 'em with the skis on yet. Does this sound right?

right-o, mum's the word

That Darrington granite is actually quite doable when it's wet. Just stay away from the moss.

Stefan I believe Bush Sr. wrote in his book that he didn't invade Iraq for the exact reasons that we would be in an ugly situation like we are now (occupying power over a violent unsympathetic population). I am not saying Bush Jr. did this for some petty reason cause his dad was jealous, or Stormin' Norman said he made a mistake. I am saying that Bush Jr's motive is NOT petty. It is one of the best possible motives for killing someone. Now whether in an absolute sense this motive is enough to inflict the suffering that he has is another question.

I was driving up the mountains the other day (Tooth attempt, rebuffed by cornice), and had an epiphany about Bush's motivations for invading Iraq. This has been a constant puzzle for me. The stated reasons seem to be getting debunked everyday by something new in the press. The "War for Oil" reasons just don't sit well either, probably because of some of Jay_B's strident arguments. The necessity of propping up the dollar (Iraq was threatening to base oil sales on Euro) seemed sorta reasonable and perhaps is the motive for some in Bushco, but I still wasn't totally buying it. Then it came to me... Try to make a list of things that would make you want to kill someone. For me, at the very top of the list is someone kills one of my children. Right up there very close to it is, bingo, you got it, someone tries to kill my Dad. I remember all these people saying, "Bush wants to avenge his Daddy. Sadam tried to kill his Dad." But I thought that all this Iraq mess couldn't possibly be because of something that petty. I overlooked the obvious. It is NOT "that petty". Of all possible motives to kill someone, to subvert national policy, to stain the office of the POTUS, for me, there would only be 3 things more motivating than someone trying to kill my Dad (actually killing Dad, or attempting or succeeding in killing my kids). Making a bunch of money for myself and my political cronies totally pales in comparison. They're off the screen. So there it is. Bush's motive is to get Saddam. He did it. Now he's just got to wiggle long enough to keep from getting put in jail because of it. Feign stupidity, blame his handlers, etc. It all fits. From one point of view, I sorta admire it. He is risking a lot for the sake of avenging his father. That is admirable. It's too bad he's had to send close to 600 US soldiers to their deaths, uncounted numbers of Iraqi's to theirs, and made us more vulnerable to terrorism than before. If he really were admirable, he would now consider himself a lame duck, forget partisan political considerations and do his best to protect us from actual terrorism, and shape up the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan so we're not saddled with two Soviet-Union-style Afghanistans. That's what you gotta believe if you're gonna vote for him in November. He did what he had to do. It's done, and now he's gonna try to extricate us from the mess he created in the process. Do you think he's gonna?

"We all have a need to decorate Mother Nature because it belongs to all us," cue Dwayner... three ... two ... one ... oh wait... nevermind

You should try the Kraft Spongebob Mac n' Pesto. It's yummy, and it's only like 48 cents a box!

user error? which threads?

Interesting. From my perspective (an avalanche awareness gumby who has never climbed Shuksan), I was thinking your forecast (4-11 inches over two days) looked foreboding. You being much more seasoned than me in both snow assessment and Shuksan experience, seem to be downplaying the danger, or at least saying that it is not obviously going to be a deathtrap. Is that a fair statement? How much new snow do you consider a bad sign? Perhaps as a skier, "no amount of new snow is ever bad!"? I guess what the new snow is sitting on is important too. It seems like the snow out there before these storms was fairly consolidated mush. That seems like it would be good?

You don't need any cams for pitch two. Just clip the bolts.

Hey Peter Puget or perhaps others who profess to understand these economic numbers. Here's what Rush writes: "Kennedy kept trying to swerve away from the question, saying that Bush wasn't a conservative because he'd turned our (on-paper-only) surplus into the greatest deficits in the history of our country -- not as a percentage of GDP of course, which is the only way to judge such things. By that measure, the deficit is tiny. Peter, is the italicised statement truthful? I was somewhat aware that our record deficit is a record in absolute terms but not in terms of % of GDP, but is it accurate to classify it as "tiny"? Isn't it still pretty far up there in the ranks of all past deficits?

But Matt, you left out the part of the forecast that said it's supposed to dry up over the weekend!

You could just belay at that spot where the "secret #4" goes instead of the Saber bolts. Then you wouldn't have to worry about ropedrag either. But you wouldn't be able to take as cool pictures of the infamous Canary stepout. Shit! You guys are making me want to go climbing . Can't we just talk about Iraq, Pub Club and poo some more?

They really are pulling out all the stops to discredit ol' "Dick" Clarke. Try doing a search on Google News for "Richard Clarke" and check out all the dirt from Rush and others. Here's some good stuff (from PP-disapproved Dan Froomkin ) The last point is germane to Lummox's initial post. "1) Senior administration officials can make remarks on a not-for-attribution basis to the press -- but the White House can later decide to make the attribution public if it can help discredit said senior administration official-turned-whistle-blower. 2) When you're a special assistant to the president, your job is to tell the press the truth -- but only the parts that reflect well on the president. 3) When you're the national security adviser, it's really important for the public to understand your position so you give lots of interviews to the press -- but you can't answer questions under oath before a legislatively-chartered body because that would be a violation of the Constitution. 4) It's not okay to suggest the president has credibility problems -- unless you're the president, and you're at a black-tie correspondents dinner, and you're being really, really funny."

You mean if someone slaps you, you can make a lot of money from it? Hmmm... Is there a statute of limitations on that sort of thing? Hmmmm...

I've got 10% of my retirement plan going into TIAA-CREF "Social Justice" fund. I don't think I've ever bitched about Wal Mart's labor practices, big tobacco's ethics though. I have bitched about big faceless entities' environmental practices. So Will, is your post a rhetorical, you're a fucking hypocrite", slap, or is it a call for all socially conscious individuals to investigate possibly overlooked ethical problems with their portfolios?

I thought that placement was marginal. Apparently that might have been empirically proven. It did not do much to alleviate fears of the consequences of a fall right there. Canary was scary before. Probably still is, eh?

You should call 'em "Mad Scientist Chocolate-Applesauce Bars"

If you really do want to head out and dive right in, might I suggest "diving" into a pitch that has obvious cracks and many obvious rests from below. A guidebook would be a good thing to buy, and then looking for something with the description "good beginner lead".