willstrickland

Check out Samet's Writing

I think Jim is pretty right-on. Absolutely the govt lies to us. Absolutley the press is biased and off-base a good deal of the time. BUT, I still believe that SoDamn Insane needs to be executed and/or removed from power. Am I concerned about the reconstruction costs?Hell yes, I'm also concerned about record deficits. Surely we can extricate reconstruction costs from oil reserves or something. Maybe I'm being naive but one would think we could seize enough oil to compensate for the costs. That, however, would cast us into the public eye as invading them for the oil in the first place. Bad situation.

Hey avatar Noggin, you should check out the facts behind the bolt-chopping incident in which JT was involved. In my judgement, it was more than justified, but I'm obviously biased having chopped routes myself. Spray all you want, fact is, one of climbing's editors (Samet) is one of the bolder climbers in Boulder. Unrepeated V10 highballs, 5.13 R/X FA, repeats of many hard R and X rated routes in Eldo. Dude is a little twisted though, read some of his non-climbing related writing sometime. I wish the mags were better, and regardless of what you think about the overexposure of some athletes, the awards at least generate some discussion. Besides, show me another woman (like Rodden) who's climbed many of the hardest crack routes in the country. Don't forget that she climbed a few of Indian Creek's hardest a couple of years ago. Honestly, I used to subscribe to both mags. A few years ago I stopped. Too many ads and such and not enough substance for my taste. (Besides, the Portland public library system has subscriptions to both and I'm a poor bastard and read them there). I still occasionally purchase them, but only when there is something in there I want (typically mini-guides, or beta on areas).

They printed a two-page spread of this picture (or a very similar one) in AdBusters a couple of years ago. I used to live in one of the darkest areas in the US, in S-central Utah. The stars during the Anelids meteor shower out there at 11,000 ft (summit of Mt Ellen in the Henry Mts) in the middle of a bone dry desert is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

Check it out... North Georgia ICE!!!

Hmmm, I see your point. I think you just gotta do more excercising then, 'cause drinking that "low-cal" beer just isn't an option, that stuff tastes like crap. Everything I've ever read about weight loss says that "spot reduction" is a myth. Basically that doing sit-ups or crunches is no better than anything else for reducing gut. Of course my personal experience is non-existent, I'm like 5'8" 145.

NEWS FLASH: Iraqi ambassador full of shit! I've always said: Never trust a guy wearing a comb-over of that magnitude. I'd like to hold that little fucker down and rip those strands out of his head, wrap 'em around his neck and choke him with them. All this while holding a bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed and a fat doobie in the other hand and remindin' him that "A country boy can survive". FOX NEWS ALERT: France remains a nation full of wankers. Maybe we should just get with Italy and take over the Frenchy side of the Alps, what would they do about it? Nothing, they're weak. We could send Lance through there on the bike with sidewinders attached, we already know none of their countrymen could catch him. Even in one of those little shitty cars they have they couldn't catch Lance. He's got more balls after loosing one than their entire little pitiful nation combined.

Man, I've actually heard that eating fatty foods at the beginning of meals helps signal your body that you are satiated and you end up eating less. Have your dessert first, and eat less overall...sounds like a plan to me. You could probably drop the beer for scotch and make some net calorie improvements.

Yes, that's exactly the card Kim Il is playing. Unfortunately, the consequences for us are real and immediate. I don't think you can say the same of Iraq. They don't have a bomb, they don't have an army, and they have questionable means of delivery if and when they ever do get one. Yes, they're trying... but the point is, which is a bigger, more dangerous and more immediate threat to pay attention to? So we provide something like 60% of the world's food aid. Who will N. Korea bomb? Us? Not likely, they ain't gettin no food that way. Bomb someone else? Again, not likely because if they did, we'd blow their ass back to the stone age. It's posturing that's not going to work for them. Iraq, on the other hand, is in need of some forceful intervention. I just pray that someone in Saddam's inner circle will off his ass before we go in there so that many, many lives on both sides can be spared. And tell Israel to get their colonialist asses back where they belong. Shit, just bring them all over here and put 'em in Nevada or something. Holy land schmoly land, there's more members of the Jewish faith here than in Israel anyway. Israel is desert, Nevada is desert. Same same, no more suicide bombs.

Here here! Nicely said RobBob, I'm with you.

My thoughts: The agenda was clearly crafted to help sell the war. To wit: the world opinion isn't as hawkish as the US, so: Remind everyone that we provide 60% of the world's food aid. Scheme a plan to throw some money at the fight against aids in Africa. Get the world thinking that "hey they're helping people all over, they're not just war mongers". That was the first thing that struck me, the master stroke of setting the "good 'ol uncle sam" theme before addressing the war. I can just imagine the speech writer's selling the aids relief idea. "OK Mr. President, the third idea to help sway world opinion is to come up with a massive charitable push that will cast us in a new light and also help cement your legacy. The african aids crisis is a huge opportunity here, and we think it's the best bet." The hydrogen fuel-cell car section of the speech was a joke. We've had fuel-cell technology since the 60's or earlier- remember the moon landings? Detroit and Japan could easily implement fuel-cell and there are existing prototypes as well as plans for some limited sales in the next few years. The president could implement gas-mileage restrictions NOW, which would both save energy and speed up the development of fuel-cell cars and infrastructure. Detriot ALREADY has the technology to make every vehicle on the road achieve 30+ mpg. The average suburbanite SUV driver gets about 17mpg. He gave lip-service to the idea, but nothing else. I actually think Bush has done a good job, but I disagree with almost all of his policy decisions, particularly tax cuts. Thanks, Shrub, now we're running a deficit again. And don't give me the "well our actual revenues are lower than projected because of the recession". Well, HELLO we have a HUGE outstanding national debt. The "surplus" was simply a little income above our outlay, income that should have gone to lowering the national debt rather than putting an extra $125 bucks in my pocket. And now he wants to cut them again? Wall Street would likely be making a recovery right now if everyone weren't so jittery about the war. My $0.02

1. The Shield 2. The Rostrum 3. Fine Jade

I'm pretty liberal. I shot expert marksman with both the M16 and the M9 (that's a beretta 9mm pistol). I've made 200+ yard kill shots on deer in heavy timber. I own a Ruger 1022 .22lr, Remington Mod 700 .243, Beretta .20 gauge semi-auto shotgun, and Smith and Wesson bolt-action (yeah they made rifles for a time) 7mm mag. Why the sterotyping? You must be a punch of pansy-assed, lycra wearing, beta spewing, bolt clipping, conservatives. It's a vast right wing sporto conspiracy I tell ya.

You don't really have a point there Rob. You're trying to imply that I gave someone shit for the "onsight" phrase, when in fact it was the other way around. If you recall, I used "onsight" to describe a simul-solo of the Reid I did a couple of years ago - an ascent that used no prior knowledge, guidebook, or anything else except our judgement and equipment. I was taken to task for using that term, but whatever, it's still the most representative term for what happened. Without any information we walked up to the face, picked a line, and climb it. Arguing over semantics is stupid anyway, especially when we could argue about how much pole your mom smokes, ehh?

Backing off? Bullshit Chepe. I only back off when the 14th bolt is more than 3.5ft from the 13th bolt.

I don't care to know about your impotence problems, and I doubt Sisu would approve of you calling him "headmaster", which is the equivalent of knob-polisher, shaft-shiner, or schlong-sucker. Besides, I rope soloed the 35ft stairwell at the local college, using only the steps and handrail as aid. It was easily the boldest ascent of that section of stairs in at least five or six days.

First, get your facts straight dildo, I said it was a relentless crack, not "extreme". Yes, it's only .10c, but once the business starts, it doesn't let up until the belay - I call that relentless. [spraylord Chestbeater mode=on] Being that I onsighted it, with two wrecked middle finger tendons, it couldn't have been too "extreme" now could it? [sraylord Chestbeater mode=off]Besides that, moron, do you even know who Crazy Polish Bob is? See...you're not even in on the joke, you dumbshit. I've climbed Grade II 5.3, WI2, A0 on toprope, what about you?

No way dude, I make that stuff up on the spur of the moment. If I weren't so crude, you might call me witty.

I think this is so situation dependent that there is no real answer. If the belayer is a good ways from the wall, or the first piece is placed way off the deck...there's gonna be a lot of outward force. Think about it: the rope goes taut, effectively appplying the same force on both sides of the piece. However, the force is applied at an angle on both sides - between the bottom piece and the next piece on the top side, and between the bottom piece and the belayer on the bottom end. Remember vector components of force? A force at any direction in a plane can be translated to two perpendicular equivalent forces. An example: A 200lbf force fall (rope tension) is applied at 45 degrees on the first piece (say it's a steep roof). This is like applying a vertical (upward)force of 200/square root of 2 and horizontal (outward) force of the same magnitude. If the belayer is standing in a direct vertical line below the first piece and catches the climber, he is providing a vertical counter force of 200lbf / sq rt 2. Only in this case, the force is applied vertically so all the horizontal (outward) counterforce will have to be supplied by the piece itself. The relationship between the first and second piece will have a big influence on the direction of pull on the bottom piece. I've ripped the bottom piece before, and once the bottom two pieces, but there's always a cam or something else in the string of placements. Besides, the only time you have to worry about zippering pieces out is if the top piece is not solid. If you fall and the pieces go popping out, it's not likely that the piece you fell onto will come out since - your weight just hit it to keep it in place. It seems like passive pieces are usually the ones that zipper upwards. On multi-pitch stuff, you can sometimes just clip through the belay anhor as a first piece although rope drag will be hell if the pitch is not straight up. Having the belayer stand close to the wall will help alot, probably more than anything else you do. My $0.02

Dude, I didn't know Aaron was your brother. Is he setting up a beer stand this year? I mean, $0.50 is cheap for a beer. Will he still have ladie's night where bitches drink for free? Wonder if her ever got his merit badge for helping old ladies cross the street. And now, girls jumping on trampolines! YEAH!

My point wasn't that sport-climbing is lame (which it is, btw). Sport climbing should have one goal - getting your ass strong enough to go climb something real. My point WAS that this joint is going down faster than your teenaged sister on a Boone's binge in the backseat of the quarterback's Honda. Turn it into a trad vs sport argument if you want. I'll be out bouldering while you argue. BTW, I'm in the southeast for a section of the book I'm currently writing. And for you Dr. Newsflash I'malameass, I couldn't care less what you waste your time climbing. I'd rather that all you mindless cretins stay at the sport crags and away from my preferred venues. My point was that your writing about yourself in the third-person is a sad attempt to amuse. Well NEWSFLASH! It's annoying, not amusing. Flame on snapperhead.

Even though I'm rotting in the southeast, I still check in here once in a while. I've been asking myself lately "What the hell?" 1. Ray can't even make death threats without getting the post yanked? F*@&'in Lame! 2. This Dr. Flashing Anus: Why didn't this joker stay over at pussyboltclippers.com, or Smithsportos.com or whatever the hell that site was he used to frequent? The third-person writing is....you got it, F#$%&ing LAME. A typical example: "Dr. Felch Arectum feels that tossing salad is a prerequisite for a successful sport climbing weekend. The good doctor must consult with his man-bitch about this, but he feels it must be the case because he knows about these things." 3. Dru gets 2 stars? You gotta be kidding. He's probably the highest quality poster on the site and has beta when you need it regardless of how much he posts. At least TG and Texplorer were crazy enough to try the Yocum in the fall and give us all some material for second-hand fear. Flame me at will, I can take it. Here, I'll help you get started: "Will, you're just some hack dirtbag who has an inflated ego and can't climb for shit regardless of the posing you do to try to convince people otherwise." Get bent dickheads, Will

Yo homies, I'm rotting in the southeast, but should be heading to the four corners area for a few months in Feb or so. It sucks here, but at least the bouldering is good.

Everybody's got a favorite pizza joint...here's my in Chi-town: Gino's East. Ask any locals, it's the shiznit.

This is pretty sad actually because I failed on everything significant I got on. But, three moments stand out. The day I was probably climbing my best was bouldering in Camp4 when I finally floundered up the top-out of Don't Make Me Kick Your Ass (V-awkward)on the Columbia boulder. 10 ft of climbing, wow. Second moment was two days before the first. I ripped a hold and took a headfirst and backward dive out of the 3rd pitch chimney of Reeds Direct, slamming into the wall and tearing the connective tissue that runs between the ribs when my cams crunched between the wall and my back. Then I got back on the pitch and finished it. Third: After a 3 1/2 month layoff from climbing , and in absolutely perfect conditions (50degrees, dry) I managed to pull the sloper-fest Millipede problem at Horse Pens 40. They call it V7, felt like V5, but it's rare that Alabama has 10% humidity and 50 deg, it was like cheating, I also had exact beta from the FA who was standing next to me. I failed on everything else that I considered challenging including alpine, trad, wall, and bouldering.