glacier

I dunno, Mr.E. I've been to that place, and, shit, if I can't zig-zag clip between bolts on two adjoining routes, I just don't feel comfy on lead. Bleh. Tell him to find his own damn playground to muck up. If my pansy-ass lead head can handle the mild runouts there, then most anyone should be able to sack up.

Homemade chicken pot pie.

Smiffy - beautiful weather and few folks. Talked a buddy up a couple of his projects, beat one of mine into TR submission for a later lead.

Sigh.... OK, time to jump into the fray. Family agriculture in America today is typified by increasingly larger acreages farmed by increasingly older people as there is no replacement generation behind them. My parents are in their 70's, my uncle 67. Of the six cousins in my family who grew up on farms, only one is still involved in agriculture. So which of you wants to buy my folks' farm and take over the family business? I don't have the sack for it. Who is going to replace these people, and by proxy, the production capability of the U.S. that we have taken for granted? How long before we are importing grain foods? Let's look at my home county Kimball County, Nebraska - From personal knowledge, the 'corporate' farms listed on the sheet are incorporated family farms - large, monocrop entities. My uncle, somewhere in the upper portion of the list, farms somewhere around 20 square miles of land. My folks, who have what you like to think of as a sterotypical 'family' farm (of only four square miles), and who do not monocrop, are on the list - in the 450's, receiving significantly less than the average annual subsidy of $5,800. The problem with subsidies, as I see it, allows for inefficient, resource-intensive farming - wheat subsidies are among the highest in the program. Whereas small, efficient, producers are not benefitted in the same way. Subsidies can work, as a buffer against price fluctuations, crop disasters, etc. They should not be price supports. Somehow, the market must mature to replace them - I don't have an answer for how. My folks get the same $ per bushel or pound of beef that they got in the 70's. Yet the price of a loaf of bread has tripled. Here's where subsidies aren't needed - real corporations - Cities? The subsidies, like many government programs, have grown from get-you-back-on-your-feet supports to entitlements/welfare. A very real illustration of the slippery slope of such programs, and why Americans tend to be suspicious of such proposals as nationalized healthcare - it may start out well-meaning, but will soon grow to an unwieldy thing that no longer benefits the intended recipients. Regarding taxation. Since property taxes typically go to fund schools, how is taxing my parents farm (and their neighbors), who are at retirement age, with grown children, in any way fair? Even in a rural county such at this one, more people live in town and pay a proportionately miniscule property taxes with repect to the benefit they gain from the property taxes of the industry around them. Why should my parents pay for your kids? taxation without representation? Damn. Time for more scotch.

the tests came back negative

Four-seater pedal car, for all your approach needs.

-2.12, -2.58

Smiffy...

Time to re-evaluate U.S. involvement Every day there are news reports of more deaths. Why are we still there? We see images of death and destruction on TV every night. Why are we still there? We took this land by force. We occupied it. It causes us nothing but trouble. Why are we still there? Many of our children go there but never come back. Why are we still there? Murderers, Rapists, Pedophiles and Thugs enjoy celebrity status. Why are we still there? Their government is unstable. Why are we still there? Many of their people are uncivilized. Why are we still there? Their land is subject to natural disasters and we are obliged to come to their aid. Why are we still there? They have more than 1000 religious sects which we do not understand. Why are we still there? Their cultures, foods and diverse ways of life are unfathomable to most ordinary Americans. Why are we still there? They cannot secure their borders. Why are we still there? They are billions of dollars in debt and it will cost billions more to rebuild. Why are we still there? It is now quite clear! WE MUST PULL OUT OF CALIFORNIA!

I am deeply concerned about Iraq. The task you have given me is becoming really impossible. Our forces are reduced now to very slender proportions. The Turkish menace has got worse; Feisal is playing the fool, if not the knave; his incompetent Arab officials are disturbing some of the provinces and failing to collect the revenue; we overpaid £200,000 on last year's account which it is almost certain Iraq will not be able to pay this year, thus entailing a Supplementary Estimate in regard to a matter never sanctioned by Parliament; a further deficit, in spite of large economies, is nearly certain this year on the civil expenses owing to the drop in the revenue. I have had to maintain British troops at Mosul all through the year in consequence of the Angora quarrel: this has upset the programme of reliefs and will certainly lead to further expenditure beyond the provision I cannot at this moment withdraw these troops without practically inviting the Turks to come in. The small column which is operating in the Rania district inside our border against the Turkish raiders and Kurdish sympathisers is a source of constant anxiety to me. I do not see what political strength there is to face a disaster of any kind, and certainly I cannot believe that in any circumstances any large reinforcements would be sent from here or from India. There is scarcely a single newspaper - Tory, Liberal or Labour - which is not consistently hostile to our remaining in this country. The enormous reductions which have been effected have brought no goodwill, and any alternative Government that might be formed here - Labour, Die-hard or Wee Free - would gain popularity by ordering instant evacuation. Moreover in my own heart I do not see what we are getting out of it. Owing to the difficulties with America, no progress has been made in developing the oil. Altogether I am getting to the end of my resources. I think we should now put definitely, not only to Feisal but to the Constituent Assembly, the position that unless they beg us to stay and to stay on our own terms in regard to efficient control, we shall actually evacuate before the close of the financial year. I would put this issue in the most brutal way, and if they are not prepared to urge us to stay and to co-operate in every manner I would actually clear out. That at any rate would be a solution. Whether we should clear out of the country altogether or hold on to a portion of the Basra vilayet is a minor issue requiring a special study. It is quite possible, however, that face to face with this ultimatum the King, and still more the Constituent Assembly, will implore us to remain. If they do, shall we not be obliged to remain? If we remain, shall we not be answerable for defending their frontier? How are we to do this if the Turk comes in? We have no force whatever that can resist any serious inroad. The War Office, of course, have played for safety throughout and are ready to say 'I told you so' at the first misfortune. Surveying all the above, I think I must ask you for definite guidance at this stage as to what you wish and what you are prepared to do. The victories of the Turks will increase our difficulties throughout the Mohammedan world. At present we are paying eight millions a year for the privilege of living on an ungrateful volcano out of which we are in no circumstances to get anything worth having. Winston S. Churchill to David Lloyd George (Churchill papers: 17/27) 1 September 1922 From Martin Gilbert, WINSTON S. CHURCHILL IV, Companion Volume Part 3, London: Heinemann, 1977, pp. 1973-74. Reprinted by kind permission of Winston S. Churchill.

Squirrel Cop - funniest ever.

Check out http://www.evogear.com - they occasionally have used demo skis for sale and have a bit of AT gear - I picked up a pair of k2 Axis demos from them last year for a pretty decent price.

Yeah, you can get stoned and stare at those maps for hours.

More maps - Stop the Insanity!! twisted based on non-linear distributions. e.g.

Replacement named Isn't this the guy that argued that the Geneva Convention didn't hold for the Gitmo detainees?

Laughed through lunch hour to the "Steve E. Hostile" article.

Just upgraded from 0.93 - unfortunately my work computer/admin doesn't let me install all of the plugins - some work, some don't -but it saves having my IE hijacked every other time it opens.

Especially after being strafed.

Likewise- from some blogger: Subject: A more constructive comment From: Dilettante68 Date: Nov 4 2004 8:14PM Maybe a recovering "Progressive" can shed some light on the dems defeat. 1. Get off your knees and quit blowing the Europeans. Inferiority has had a long history among US intellectuals. Face it, the intellectual, cultural, scientific, economic, and political center has long left our cousins across the sea. They have been without new ideas since the death of Camus. Their welfare state simply freezes the classes into their current positions. Why leave a comfortable cave? 2. Quit the demagougry. Maybe I am niave but I don't think CEOs eat children for breakfast. Those evil corporations are made up of us. You don't like what your company does; kiss ass, move up and change it. 3. Think about how you feel about the right pushing their agenda on you. Well, the right feels the same way. I live in the deep south surrounded by christians. I don't know a single one that doesn't support domestic partners. I know of hundreds that oppose gay marriage. Get what you need and have respect for others misconceptions. 4. For every negative thing you say about your country say five positive things. We are the good guys; not perfect but the good guys none the less. Repeat after me: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among those life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." If you don't get that why stay here? 5. Buck up, you've won. Please review what life was like before the 60's. There are no laws keeping black folks from anything; only stupid folks that will die eventually. We are all turning brown..... Good ole american mutts. No laws keeping you from shouting at the top of your lungs that you hate god, love child molesters, and watch Jerry Springer. Freedom is not only freedom to listen to Mozart but also free to listen to "Achy Breaky Heart". Yes, if you look Arabic you may get questioned more closely at an airport. We are not yet perfect, but if we were would the"progressives" then shut up? 6. Finally, go south and listen instead of preaching. Monsters are easily created from darkness. They do not withstand the light of knowlege. That goes both ways.

Conservative commentator with the same conclusion...

Yeah, here's a buddy of mine going for the only recorded helmeted on-sight of Latest Rage...

INCOMING!

Another variant on the electoral map - Voting with hearts vs. minds??