Fairweather

Food for thought: Unless you are ready to assign human presence here on Earth to the existence of a God, then you must grant that humans are a part of this nature here, and our every action is part of a natural evolution. To an atheist or agnostic, we cannot be apart from nature. Somewhat separately: I am coming to the conclusion - completely apart from the global warming debate - that some type of modest, non market based carrot and stick approach (emphasis on carrot) to energy consumption should be adopted here in the US. I would say that a childless Seattle couple living in a 2500+ square foot house is at least as gluttonous as the lone SUV driver. I would also question giving additional, per-child tax credits to couples with more than two or three kids.

I hear it makes good lamp oil.

what, no small talk about exporting democracy today? god forbid if the venezuelans had elected, multiple times, a president that decided what to do with "your oil" ... how do you sleep at night? So what does your pal, Chavez, need all those guns for? Do you suppose it has something to do with Co-lom-bi-a? 30,000 dead there, ya know. How do you sleep at night?

Slam Dunk, JayB. I suspect that Jim, Scott, Catbird, et al, are presently experiencing an overwhelming desire to change the subject and set this thread adrift.

My house was built in 1955, but I was told there was no grandfather clause for crawl space. The last house my wife and I sold didn't meet this code and we spent a week digging/scraping dirt onto a tarp and dragging it out through the access as a condition of sale to the new owners. Of course, it was more of a buyer's market back then. On topic: I wonder what this rich devorcee looks like. Any pics to be had?

You should call the inspector that your realtor/broker hired when you were making your purchase. Code requires at least 18" of crawl in all locations beneath your house. Also, I've found that a 24oz can of Budweiser, consumed before going down there, makes things go much smoother...and the spiders don't seem to be as mean.

Great TR and pics! ...But didn't winter end on 3/21?

While I'm happy to see $$$$ for trail maintenance, I have to wonder how hikers can lay claim to any NOVA dollars. How would we like it if ORV'ers got their hands on Forest Trail Pass Demo Program $$$ ?

I actually had a few support posts fall over beneath our house too. After the quake I noticed several soft spots on my floor and discovered that our hardwood floors had separated in places up to 1/8". Had to get a big bottle jack and lift the joists to get the posts back in place before clamping them. A couple of the cinder blocks are still tilted, but I simply bolted the posts in place anyway. Crawl space digging sucks. Whoever built our place had the foresight to put chain lightbulbs in the crawl space in two locations. Sweet. My dad's place in Steilacoom - only about four miles from the epicenter - had its chimney collapse. That quake was sure a wake-up call. But exactly what does any of this have to do with Alpine K's lurid practice of crawling, face down, on greased black plastic in a dark crawl space or 'social club' on most weekends?

That lower lobe of the Sitkum is usually about 50/50 by September. That is, the lower portion is bare ice below the firn line and the upper portion is still covered in neve'. It's similar to the area of ice above Heliotrope Ridge on Baker or Inter Glacier on Rainier....probably best to rope up from the beginning and resist the temptation to 'keep going' in an unsafe manner. The classic unroped bare-ice romp is Blue Glacier on Olympus below Cal-Tech moraine.

I already did it....about 4 months after the Nisqually Quake. Changed all of my drain pipe from 1 1/2 inch galvenized to 2 inch ABS while I was down there too. My crawl space isn't too bad, but I can't stand breathing loose insulation so I 'll admit to wearing one of those girlie paper masks. What took you so long to get with it?? I thought crawling around on your belly, on black plastic, in dark places was something you did most every weekend?

Oops. I saw that thread title, but took it at face value and didn't click it. Believe it or not, AK, I don't read cc.com cover-to-cover. Unlike you, I try to dwell in the real world from time to time.

Which one of you guys is responsible for this..... Wife Cheats on Husband, Gets $40M in Divorce Friday, March 25, 2005 BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A judge has awarded the former wife of a multimillionaire businessman a divorce settlement worth more than $40 million even though she admitted having affairs with her rock-climbing guide and a man she met on a flight to China. In addition to a $24 million payment, Susan Sosin will keep the couple's $3.6 million Manhattan apartment, $2 million Utah ski house and $800,000 home in Wallkill, N.Y. . But she has to vacate the couple's two mansions in Connecticut and three desert properties in Arizona. In the divorce granted Wednesday, she also gets to keep $6 million in her brokerage accounts, eight cars and $2.9 million in jewelry, including a ruby piece her husband had bought for her but hadn't given to her prior to their divorce. Richard Albrecht, attorney for Sosin's husband, Howard, estimated the total value of the award at $43 million, or 27 percent of the estate. She wanted half, he said. "My opinion is her conduct in this matter affected the award," Albrecht said. Susan Sosin's lawyer, Frederic J. Siegel, estimated the total value of the award was about $45 million and said his client asked for about 45 percent of the estate. "By anybody's standards, it's a large amount of money," Siegel said. "Both parties will be able to move on with their lives." Siegel said both sides were at fault for the divorce and defended his client as a good mother. Howard Sosin, 54, who founded AIG Financial Products in 1987, filed for divorce after discovering his wife's relationships in February 2003. During an upgrade of their computer system, he found hundreds of e-mails between his wife and her lover, according to testimony. Susan Sosin, 51, admitted in testimony that she had become intimate with a guide while rock climbing in 1996, though she said it was a spontaneous and isolated occurrence. During a flight to China in 2000, she met a married man, and that led to a lengthy affair, according to testimony. "The parties' marriage has been undeniably marred by the defendant's infidelity," Superior Court Judge Howard Owens stated in his verdict. "Although her sexual relationship was not the sole cause of the breakdown, it did effectively terminate the marriage." Howard Sosin's wealth was estimated at $168 million. Among the assets he gets to keep are $89 million in bank accounts, 10 of the couple's 18 cars, $960,000 worth of private club memberships and $22 million in fine art. The couple met in 1978 when Howard Sosin was an assistant professor at Columbia University. At the time, she was married to another man and working in retail. Howard Sosin served as the president and chief operating officer of AIG Financial Products until 1993 when he left the company. Following litigation, he received $182 million from AIG.

Beware! The wrath of Dru shall soon be upon you.

Uh, Will, the above was you original quote. You wouldn't be slinging untruths in the hopes that one or two will stick, now would you? Anyhow, I think we're mostly on the same page.

Everyone knows the real danger is the hybridization of bio organisms and self evolving nano-particles!

I think that simply eliminating Chavez would do the trick, although it might spark a brief civil war in that politically/economically polarized nation. Chavez has armed his bolivarian circles and the bloodshed would likely be extreme if not short-lived. Not too $$$$ for us compared to our Iraq mission though. If he is proven to be a meddler in Columbia's ongoing strife on the side of FARC, then I say we should kill him tomorrow. As for your improved CAFE standards argument, yes, I think it's time for some very modest non-market driven encouragement in this direction. As for Cheyney's energy task force; I believe the court ruling came down last year in the administration's favor (??). Did Hillary ever reveal her closed-door health-care task force memos?

So why does a nation with 30,000 man army, and a 32,000 man national guard need 300,000 new Russian AK-47 rifles? Like I said, Will. It's Venezuela next.... http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/03/25/news/nation/thunat03.txt http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05079/473808.stm This guy's playing with fire. Gonna die soon, I suspect.

Looks like that flesh-eating staph shit. Any cases documented in N America? If not, my worries will remain focused on Eastern Washington mouse droppings and Hanta Virus.

I wasn't successful on Shasta until my 5th try encompassing over 20 years. I eventually decided that one-day winter ascents of Seargents Ridge in 70mph winds held little hope for me and the 9 hour (one way!) drive required me to make a more concerted effort. Finally climbed it via Avalanche Gulch as a two-day a couple years ago on a relaxing, sunny, windless, and warm June weekend. Also; I presently have summitted Rainier 15 times, but I am 0-for-three in winter.

Nice!

Huh?? ya' don't say?

Hmmm. Let's see if I have this right, here... Conservatives want to save unborn lives, save the infirm, and kill capital offenders. Liberals don't care if the unborn are killed, believe in euthanasia, but want to save child-killers from capital punishment. Looks like both sides score equally on the inconsistency-meter!

ALL Olympic Mountain climbers are cool in perpetuity.

Hey Timmy! Climbing/weather sucks here this weekend. Are current ski conditions at Bachelor worth the six-hour drive from Tacoma?