Bronco

Life is full of regrets such as this. The horror! Just kiddin ya, I think my kid picked out a metolius nut for my birthday because it was the "prettiest" one at Cascade Crags. As such, it will addorn my rack until it meets its fate. But you are right, I don't really like any of thier stuff except the TCUs are ok.

I pretty much have my mind made up on a WM Hylite but, can't help but consider the pro's and con's of a 40 degree synthetic. Why doesen't anyone else make a 16oz down bag? So far I've found a 40 degree synthetic down to 2.2 lbs and can save a hundred and fifty bucks over the down bag, but I already have a 2.3lb down bag so I can't see why I would realistically want another bag that isn't as warm or compressable but weights the same. Most of my trips are 2-3 days so I'd be suffering in a wet bag for only a couple nights if we couldn't bail for some reason. Summer bivys are ususally in a tent, out in the open or in a bivy sack so synthetic really has not big advantage there either. Is there really anything different to consider warm vs cold weather down vs synthetic? Sure you get more rain in warm weather, but all of the snow you're dealing with in the cold compensates for that. I know that if I do get the "right" bag, I'll be able to climb more better. For argument's sake let's just say I narowed the choices down to the WM Hylite at $220 and the Big Angus at the REI outlet for $79. Hylite: 19oz lighter, much smaller when compressed. Big Angus: Cheaper, and weather resistant. I'd say the down bag would have a less durrable shell but, possibly outlast the synthetic because of loft retention. Keep in mind you could buy three of these synthetic bags for the price of one Hylite. Then I had to go look at sierratradingpost.com and found a 40 degree down bag for $120 but it weighs 10oz more than the Hylite and only 9oz less than the Big Angus. Will I die because I moved to slow with the extra weight of hte synthetic or because of hypothermia in a wet down bag?

If you consider tape aid, then hand jammies are definetly aid. But if you tape, aren't hand jammies basically the same as taping?

Oh, here it is, I found it on some webpage at www.rotten.com which is kinda nasty in it's own regard, but still cool because it features an article about the humanzee. Humanzee - Rumors of a human-chimpanzee hybrid have abounded for centuries, but there hasn't been concrete proof. But then, how much proof do you actually need? Anyone who doubts that humans have fucked chimps hasn't met enough humans. Tune in to an episode of Comedy Central's "The Man Show," then tell me this hasn't happened. Chimps and humans are so genetically similar as to be nearly indistinguishable, appearances aside. Science estimates that about 95-99% of our genetic code is identical to that of a chimpanzee. The similarity is roughly equivalent to the difference between donkeys and horses. The practical upshot of this is that there is a very good chance that a human-chimp coupling could produce a viable offspring, just as donkeys and horses can mate to produce mules. (So don't forget to take condoms on that safari!) So it's possible, according to the rules of science, and probable, according to human nature. So why isn't there a race of human hybrids out there wandering the earth? Well, aside from "Who says there isn't?" one major practical consideration is fertility. It's tricky mixing species, even when they are closely related, and due to a chromosomal count issue, 99.9% of "humanzees" would be sterile, just like 99.9% of mules. So the question isn't really whether it "can" happen or even whether it "has" happened, so much as "Can we have a look at one?" Maybe. There have been frequent claims that one beastie or another is a "humanzee" (also known as a "sport" or a "chimera," the generic term for any combination of two genetic patterns into one individual creature). Some of the claims are more credible than others. The most widely discussed "humanzee" sighting was a critter named "Oliver." Oliver was a sideshow star, but he wasn't like the other chimps in the traveling circus circuit. He was said to have come from somewhere in the Congo, although that claim is somewhat shrouded in mystery at this late date. Oliver didn't like hanging out with his own alleged species and preferred the company of humans. He walked upright, he sat in chairs. He helped around the house with chores, and eventually he began hitting on the circus owner's wife, which led to his sale in 1976 to a New York lawyer named Michael Miller. Oliver also looked different from other chimps; he less hair, a smaller chin, a smaller and rounder cranium, and pointed ears (which neither chimps nor humans normally display). Except for the latter trait, these characteristics gave him a remarkably human appearance relative to normal chimps. He also reportedly had an unusual scent, compatible neither with chimps nor humans. According to Miller, blood tests revealed Oliver had 47 chromosomes — one more than a human and one less than a chimp. The odd number of chromosomes would also strongly suggest hybridization of some sort. (The claim was later disproved.) Among the non-Bestiality related explanations for Oliver's freakish characteristics were mutation, spontaneous evolution and hybridization with another form of ape (such as the also-human-like bonobo, which is conveniently a sex-crazed lunatic). In keeping with human nature, this potential ambassador to a new species was not welcomed and honored, nor was he the subject of attempts to communicate and learn. Instead, he was bounced around from "owner" to "owner," displayed as a sideshow freak, and eventually sold to a laboratory of the "pouring-pepper-juice-in-cute-little-bunny-eyes" sort. Now, bleeding heart liberal inclinations aside, one has to seriously question the ethics of a species that is willing to imprison and torture another species with 99% of the same genes for the sake of mass-producing less-clumpy mascara, but it's even more baffling how a potentially half-human creature could be banished to this fate. Fortunately, perhaps due to a surplus of cute little bunnies, Oliver was never required to test the effects of eating eyeliner or having suntan lotion intravenously injected. Oliver probably didn't see the bright side of this, as he was confined for seven years in a 5-by-7 cage (worse than even Camp X-Ray), until his muscles atrophied for lack of ability to move. Oliver was retired from the lab in 1996 and sent to a chimp retirement home. He was finally called in for credible scientific testing, which insisted that he was really just a "normal chimp" with 48 chromosomes, an explanation which satisfied absolutely no one except a bunch of killjoy skeptics. Other scientists have continued to push for more research. Oliver aside, there are some intriguing other possibilities for humanzees. For instance, consider Bigfoot and the (Broken link for yeti (abominable snowman)). Interspecies breeding can produce some interesting side-effects, such as in the case of the "liger," a tiger-lion hybrid which is incredibly huge, much bigger than either of its forbearers. Could Bigfoot be some sort of human-chimp hybrid afflicted with gargantuism? Well, of course it could, but whether it's likely is another story. During the 19th century, evolution-fixated Europeans caged an African woman as a sideshow display, claiming she was a humanzee on the basis of her big ass and Elongated Labia. However, this strains credulity (as well as being inconsistent with chimp genitalia). Biologist Stuart Newman attempted to file a patent on human-chimp chimera genes in what he claimed was a political statement about the intellectual property rights granted to biotech companies for living creatures (the patent was rejected on the grounds that it constituted slavery, i.e., you can't own a being with human genetic material). Whether or not you believe there are already human-chimp hybrids walking the earth, odds are pretty good that it's going to happen eventually. Scientists have already created simplistic hybrids between pigs and humans, and cows and humans. And cows and pigs are a lot less closely related to humans than chimps. The aforementioned experiments were never allowed to grow past the embryonic stage. At least, that's what they claim...

I think if you read all of trask's posts and all posts about him, compare and contrast those with Dru's posts, you'll get a good idea on what will get you banninated. You could also consider the bannination and un banninating of Captain Caveman in your study so you should read his posts as well. Let us know what you conclude.

Ever hear of the Humanzee? He's pretty cool. I wonder if he'd ever post here? Nah.

Martlet: Welcome to bizzaro world and enjoy your stay no matter how long it is.

What neck of the woods did this occur?

Clearly just dumb, uneducated country folk.

I read a similar article last weekend in the Seattle Times but recall different bits of info. As I recall, the man in question was arrested for jumping out of a taxi and running from US Guards at a checkpoint. He was a former Republican Guard member and had been serving in the regular Iraqi army when the US invaded. Not quite as innocent as the LA times makes him out to be.

Out of pity for my trashy looking weight set, someone gave me an olympic bar, but my girly man little weights won't work with it. I know someone has a set of Olympic weights out there that they don't use anymore. I'd be glad to take them off your hands. I can pick them up and would pay $.10/pound. That's ten cents per pound. Please send me a PM if you're interested. Also looking for an inexpensive squat rack.

You wish you commmie gold digger. They could probably sue you if you used the photo they took of you and Sky without their permission.

you might also check out the Golite Hex.

Nice TR Gene! Calving seracs on route suck!

He's a private contractor and probably has some free time. I can think of worse stuff my tax dollars could be spent on. You'd have to pay me a lot more than $120,000 a year to drive a fuel truck in a combat zone.

I went to elementary school with a guy who, later on, was climbing down a ladder, holding a framing nail gun and somehow shot himself in the chest. I guess everyone on the jobsite thought he was joking around becuase it was very close to his heart. Someone finally called 911 and after an x-ray, they discovered that he had been born with a void or hole in his heart and that's where the nail ended up. If it hadn't been for the heart deformation, he would have been dead in less time than it took to call 911.

If Cracked doesn't like 'em, you can bet they're worthwile. My feet tend to pronate and I have had excellent results with superfeet insoles. I have a pair that are 4 years old and going strong. My podiatrist recomends them as well.

This talk of free solo climbing got me thinkin' (I know) and with the luck some of you guys seem to have, you'll fall from just high enough to become a vegetable for your remiaining 364 days. I'd stick to human/goat speed climbing records myself. We'd show that guy with his dog a thing or two.

Hairy Pi fixes all.

A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer. Suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, "Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish." The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I want." The Lord said, "Your request is very materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that would honor and glorify me." The man thought about it for a long time. Finally he said, "Lord, I wish that I could understand my wife. I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says 'nothing is wrong' and how I can make a woman truly happy." The Lord replied, "You want two lanes or four on that bridge?"

sounds like a personal attack by the site administrators!

I thought it was funny all the kyakers driving like ralley racers up the road past the "road closed" signs, franticlly throwing their boats and gear out and racing back to park thier cars on the "safe" side of the signs. Especially priceless was the look on their faces when they saw a clean white pickup slowly approaching and watching the "oh oh" turn into a smile when they realized it's just another redneck out for a drive in the woods and not "the man".

and you could set some dog/human speed climbing records!

Looks good Paul

Not you. The hardcore punk guy. You know, that guy over up yonder. With the strange picture for his avatar. Yep, that's him.