bobinc

Black Peak?

MattP: Main Peak of Bonanza (looking up Holden Ridge)

Here's a question along these lines that you guys can solve without a photo. On the cover of Challenge of the North Cascades, there is a great shot taken in close of a mixed climb. Buckner, Goode, and Logan are in the background. I've wondered for years what I am looking at. Something on the N or NE aspect of Forbidden, perhaps. Please help.

Repo Man's ALWAYS intense....

Great route! Please enlighten me on the everyday ID of the SM.

First real pitch on Direct E Butt of SEWS?

That would suppose Bush's accomplishments and plans deserve said respect... He's 2 years in and what he claims as accomplishments (for the most part) are still plans.

You could also say something like, "particpated in my preferred form of ritual violence". Many people don't seem to get why they like football, baseball etc until you describe it as such. Of course, you could also get rid of the word "ritual" if you have properly thrashed yourself.

Wouldn't it be simpler, though, if Bush's energy "plan" included this line item: Use whatever means necessary to gain control of oil production capability in expanded Kuwait (formerly Iraq).

If they turn out to be long-term friends, they will gradually learn enough to be of some use in conversations. Or they will just accept what you do as something that is important to you and not worry about it. If they are just work associates, tell them whatever you want -- "I went bowling again" or "just went over to the gravel pit and killed a 12 pack of Silver Bullets whilst exercising my 2nd Amendment Rights" or whatever seems right at the time.

No, we're just saying AWOL is AWOL. And I was wrong -- Cheney had 16 military deferments, not 11.

Bill Pilling on the Beckey Rte?

Isn't it ironic how the ads often show the SUVs driven into a supposedly "roadless" area?

Yes, it's good to remember that one of the primary reasons it's hard to get rid of the Troubles once and for all is it's Big Business for a lot of people in a place where unemployment is always in the double digits. Terrorism is profitable, and people need something to do.

Concord Tower?

Good points on efficiency. I work in the conservation/renewables field, and it has amazed me what this country has accomplished, given the amount of public funding for the research is but a rounding error in DOE's budget. I mean, $1.3 billion for hydrogen cars... not chump change, but imagine what could be accomplished if we put even 5% of the DOE budget into useful research (rather than spending most of it on nuke-u-lar facilities and weapons).

Dick Cheney got 11 military deferments. George Bush Jr's war "experience" is limited to flying toy planes in Texas. Colin Powell doesn't like war and is being pushed to sell it. Stormin' Norman says he'd like a bit more info before making up his mind.

It's early and the irony didnt' come through very well. What I am saying in the first paragraph is that, yes, there will be various casualties (Iraqi civilians, American troops, etc) and this will on the whole probably be more destructive to America's position in the world than it will be helpful. Arab countries will further villify us, our allies will become more nervous because of likely stepped up terrorist activities, and so on. The simplistic view that we can use force to get ourselves out of any predicament is much easier to sell than a thought-out approach to dealing with the complexities of the modern world. And that's where Bush does his best work: he has no interest (or ability, I think) to understand and deal with the complexities of any serious issue.

I am starting to see war as a win-win situation. If Wolfowitz and Cheney get the war they want, they will have to contend with some very thorny issues. First, there will be a big backlash from various quarters which could dwarf what happened on Sept 11. Second, there is the issue of what will happen on the ground in Iraq afterward, in terms of the power vacuum. No one has offered a clear vision of how a transfer of power will occur. We just go in and get rid of the bad guy and drop chocolate bars on the survivors and it's cool. Yeah, right. Finally, given the shaky state of the economy and the resources needed to fight the war, it's an even bet this war will have even further negative effects on domestic economic security. The other "win" is that if Bush et al don't get their war, they will be regarded as weak, which will hurt their chances of re-election in 2004. I can't wait to see what they decide to do.

Mt Stuart -- just below false summit and looking toward Sherpa

I assume 'twas cherry pie.

I'm not a doctor, but it seems pretty clear that your body is crying out for a good single malt Scotch.

bukowski

To get back to your original question, it USED to take quite a number of member sigs to get on the roster for a BOD election. I believe the number is in the thousands. When a friend of mine was considering running for the board (in part because he had many negative experiences with REI over the years), he found he needed those signatures and couldn't figure out exactly how to do it. That is, how long does it take to get them (stand outside of the store with a clipboard?) and how do the sitting members of the BOD do it? The system definitely favors incumbents (but that's typically how these things work).

A good combo to consider is the Yates Shield with the full strength chest harness. The Shield is also nice for longer free routes and not quite as heavy/bulky as the other wall harness they offer. It seems to work pretty well for hanging/semihanging belays in my limited experience. Plus pricing is pretty good.