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I'll bet the Tooth is just prime right now

So you expect a bunch of internet sprayers to go out and look for you if you don't get back to the keyboard on time? If not, what would be the point of this?

Former General Zinni was on Meet the Press yesterday. Check some of this out! What he was about back in December 2003 What he's saying now (search/scroll down for "Zinni")

Why do you ask?

I guess if it was somewhere bluebags were required, I'd carry out the grounds. Actually, someplace like that would probably be a spot I'd be saving weight and going with the instant.

Dish! Did you catch a mod or two driving solo in the carpool lane?

Dump 'em Do you think that's bad? I'll dump 'em in an existing firepit if one is around.

anti-ads getting more press

Those things make some good coffee, so go for it if weight is not an issue. One thing to watch out for is the copper spout. It is very fragile. A buddy of mine brought one with us on a three day backpack trip. He pulled it out of the pack after the first day's hike to find the spout busted off. Since we were on a loop trip, he had to carry a worthless big chunk of aluminum the whole rest of the trip . I had the same thing happen to mine on a trip to Red Rocks. It looks like you might be able to unscrew the spout to prevent such catastrophes.

Those are great. How are you guys finding those? Are they linked anywhere on the Chevy site?

If by "mid-summer" you mean June, you should check out the West Ridge Couloir of Stuart, or the already mentioned West Ridge of Forbidden. Both are steep snow couloirs dumping you at a notch below some fun rockclimbing on great rock in tremendous position with cruxes of ~5.6. Forbidden is the more difficult of the two. Stuart has an easy walkdown. I tried soloing the West Ridge of Prussik last summer and was turned back by the friction pitch. Though it's not too technically difficult, it is definitely a "trust your feet" slab; i.e. a few moves in a row without positive holds. Even though I had a rope, I figured that a fall would still have had good possibility of injury. Not something you want to happen when alone, halfway up a rockclimb and 10 miles from the road.

Washington Pass Traverse!

Vantage is like the gym: ratings are soft, climbs are steep. Good training . But even though the popular areas (i.e. Sunshine Wall) are looking more and more like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the walk back to your car over a fairly pristine desert mesa at sunset rules .

Are you telling Gary or Raindawg to fuck off? or both?

That could very well be the case with your "60m" rope, but I'm pretty sure you can get there with most people's 60's. That said, the top is somewhat ill-defined, so YMMV...etc.

Thanks for the pix You guys toured a bunch of Castle Classics, though I've never heard of Idiot's Delight. For Crack of Doom I highly recommend starting it via Old Gray Mare. The only problem with that is you get a stupid song stuck in your head the rest of the day.

Trophy Wives are always welcome!

Get on the NSA and the FBI list by clicking here to read the transcript of today's online chat with Noam Chomsky at WashingtonPost.com First question: Arlington, Va.: Why do you think the US went to war against Iraq? Noam Chomsky: Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, it is right in the midst of the major energy reserves in the world. Its been a primary goal of US policy since World War II (like Britain before it) to control what the State Department called "a stupendous source of strategic power" and one of the greatest material prizes in history. Establishing a client state in Iraq would significantly enhance that strategic power, a matter of great significance for the future. As Zbigniew Brzezinski observed, it would provide the US with "critical leverage" of its European and Asian rivals, a conception with roots in early post-war planning. These are substantial reasons for aggression -- not unlike those of the British when they invaded and occupied Iraq over 80 years earlier, at the dawn of the oil age.

OK, I actually read the first 5 or so pages of that thread at RC.com. I believe I can answer your question of why two biners and no sliding X. It's because they say the X has a tendency to seize up under tension, thus compromising the equalization. I sorta like this setup. Looks easy and does basically the same thing. Though I'm not sure what's going on with the biner on that three-point one.

I'll bet you get your time down by 1 minute or so if you practice the one-handed clove hitch enough so that you can do it with both hands simultaneously. Seriously though, 10 minutes when you're setting it up on a coat rack. Add the time required to fiddle in 4 rp's and you've got a 15 minute belay setup. Not to mention you probably need a freakin' 30' cordelette to set that mess up + EIGHT 'biners I guess if you're toproping the vice-president or your mother-in-law, it might be worth it, but shee-it. That's all I've got to say.

How about: high quality low price quickly produced/procured Can have two, but usually have to give up the third.

Yeah, so I was stumping around in my kitchen, just finishing a can o' Coors, when I'm thinking, "Mmm mm, that was good. Too bad there's no more Coors in fridge." "But wait, there's Hefeweizen in there, that's sorta like a Coors." pop...fizz...drink So, anyway, now I'm just sitting drinking this Hefeweizen, and I've steered away from Hefeweizen cause I always thought it was crappy. But at the store I needed to fill out the six pack, so I thought, "what the hell, maybe it's not that bad." But now, as I'm drinking, I just have to relay that Hefeweizen just sucks. Coors kicks ass on Hefeweizen. I don't know why they brew Hefeweizen.

The book says something like "11b with bolts, 12a without" doesn't it? Obviously, in that book, they very straightforwardly account for gear placement and pucker factor in their ratings. Does that go against your ethical standards?

Actual call with drug company statistician last week: Me: So, according to your protocol, your study needs to end up with 50 people with complete data, and you're expecting to lose 50% of the subjects who initally enroll? Her: Yes, that's correct. Me: OK, then there must be some mistake in your proposal as your plan states you will initially enroll only 75 people. If you do that and lose 50% you'll end up with around 38 people not 50. Her: I'm not following you on that

Rudy, You go to movies like that in order to placate the spouse/date with your generosity, or perhaps to get some points for being a "sensitive guy". Sitting through crap like that is all about, "Sure, anything you say honey". But you flushed all that work down the toilet by getting into an argument about it.