glacier

And perfect underwear:

Busier than a cat covering crap on a tile floor.

856.9 - its all on the landmines

Hank III - because the boy is definitely channelling Grandpa, and puts on a no-holds-barred live show between his country and hard-core sets. Split Lip Rayfield - as they say on their website (Bloodshot Records) - 'Bluegrass worthy of blasting out of the windows of your Barracuda.' They are playing the Tractor in April - a highly recommended show. Warren Zevon (RIP) - 'My Ride's Here' - ascerbic and foretelling. And because there is always room on the team for a goon. Edited to satiate chuck

Which is exactly the problem. Remember how the the Soviet Union ended up due to an arms race. Anyway, back to previous points - the falacy of 'safety' - everyone has spoken of how their vehicle, be it an F250 or a Yugo, is 'safe,' but noone has acknowledged whether or not they are a safe driver. Just like the hackneyed insurance co. ad says, it's not about the car. Which is the problem of the lazy american driver - we're passive and are relying on the crumple zones or 8,000 pounds of rolling mass to protect us. That's bullshit. OK, I ride a motorcycle - no crumple zones there, so the only real safety equipment is what's bound up in my helmet. Not that i'm going to claim that I'm the safest heathen on the road, but being wrapped around a bike, rather than ensconced within the steel of my truck (pokey little Mazda 2wd, thankyouverymuch) forces me to be much more aware and take a very active role in my safety. And I like to think that exposure makes me a better cage driver. Hell, everyone should get out on two wheels on a street and highway for a while - it would do us all some good, and thin out the rest. and regarding the Hummers - join the movement: http://www.fuh2.com/

Probably from the gay penguins

Admitting that you have a problem is the first step to the cure...

This from my previously-linked rant So what we have become is a country of essentially incompetent, paranoid drivers who believe that the 8,000 pounds of rolling, top-heavy steel is somehow safer than a more nimble car because, after all, we thing in terms of when we get into an accident, instead of making the effort to be a conscious, defensive driver who takes an active role in their safety as they drive...

Goddamit! It's 2004! Where's my nuclear-powered aircar that those fukkin' scifi authors promised me?!?!?! Damn right, I'm pissed...

Hip belay and a thick sweater, baybeee!

Shit. Now that's Touching the Void

Rant on SUVs feeding the American culture of fear And regarding ABS and car "safety"

From the TNR column linked above: "People riding in pickups and SUVs are somewhat less likely to die in any given crash than people riding in regular cars, Gayer finds. But this statistic, on which defenses of the SUV as "safe" are based, does not take into account whether SUVs and pickup trucks are more likely than cars to get into crashes in the first place. Gayer studied the question of whether SUVs and pickup trucks crash more often than regular cars, and he adjusted for the fact that bad drivers may be drawn to buying SUVs and pickup trucks. Even adjusting for this, Gayer found, SUVs and pickup trucks crash far more often than regular cars. Analyzing state-by-state data, Gayer determined that SUVs and pickup trucks are 2.6-4 times more likely to crash than regular cars. Using "light trucks" to mean SUVs and pickup trucks employed for regular commuting rather than construction work, Gayer concludes that, "A world of light trucks leads to substantially more fatalities than a world of cars." "

And one for the ladies:

I read the article a bit back - the thing that struck me was the discussion, after the test track, of 'active' vs. 'passive' safety. I have to agree with the author, and my drivers ed and MSF motorcycle course instructors, that being able to observe/plan/react is much more 'safe' than driving a block of steel that I can not easily maneuver in. I read another article some time ago discussing SUVs as a sort of highway arms race of bigger is better to assuage drivers' fears of accidents, etc. and thus, adding more to the mix. Add to this the total distraction of so many drivers - phone, food, screaming kids, overworked schedule, nasty commute with the rest of the proles - that drivers aren't paying attention to the road and hazards as they should. How many times have I blipped my throttle while motorcycle commuting to get out of the way of someone aimlessly merging into my space/lane? Anything less than an Escalade gets filtered out of their vision. Found yesterday: TNR further vilifies the damn things

I've heard it's not climbing if the backs of your hands touch the rock.

"Must have been a sale on rugby shirts and painter pants at Goodwill."

Yeah, that's a bit disturbing. Now "Break down walls with your huge cock!" That I would buy.

I dunno, I updated my email last year and it must have somehow cloned me. If only I knew, I could have sent my evil twin out on a life of crime. dammit.

Take a closer look, the other poser/poseter may be glacierboy. And its a snaffle in a globe hamster ball.

'I don't think she's attractive.' 'No, that doesn't bother me.'

'Hmm, this has never happened before...'

BV, Agreed - the previously mentioned ex would run every day, then convince me that I was the one obsessed because I wanted to go pull plastic and get out on the weekends w/ my other climbing partners. I don't need someone jealous of my partners or draggin on my psyche while I'm out - I've got enough to fight in my head. On a more positive example, the current model has gone out w/ other folks when I was out of town or our weekends didn't mesh, so this is her thing. It doen't mean some days won't be a b), or even a c), but it makes for better days over all.

Climbing w/ a SO always has an additional level of stress, I don't care what anyone says. I think the most important thing, tho' is for the SO to make climbing (or whatever activity) 'their' thing, with their own set of goals, rather than simply something they do with you. By being able to separate a little bit, it helps to defray some of the 'whatdayawantado-Idunnowhatdayawantado' exchange that invariably causes strife (in my experience). A past g/f climbed partly because of me, and we'd get into knock-down-drag-outs both at home and at the crag regarding climbing. The current g/f is quite a bit more low-key, and even if her penultimate goal may be to do a 5.10, or whatever, it's her goal, so we can mix and match our goals throughout the day or weekend, so she's not just belay bettie, and I'm not just ropegun. We found bouldering together works well, too, especially where there is a good mix of ratings so we can pick and choose and support each other in our pursuits....