Jim

Oh that is bad. I've only been involved with one rescue of my party - a buddy fell on a ledge on a variation of the NRMS 20 years ago. Dislocated a shoulder. Tried to pop it back. He was in such muscle spasams he couldn't crawl. We were mortified we had to have a 'copter rescue and took no pictures. They took him, left me on my own. This one? Not good. The resuce thing is getting too accessible.

Oh that's too bad. Now I can't out-bid the dirtbag yougens'

Actually, it's on an auction basis, not 1st come. You won't be the only one setting up camp waiting for the doors to open I assume you mean lottery, not auction? The 1st come 1st serve quote is from the district website.

We still spend far more per student than any other country. Military spending is a totally different issue. Why do we spend more per student than other countries and do worse in math, science, and well across the board? "Far more" is an exaggeration - but you are correct. Depending on the study we are either number 1, 2, or 3 in dollar expenditure per student while lagging in math and science particularly. That said - we are ranked 37th in the world if you look at spending per student as a percentage of GDP. We are such a big country with strong regional differences and then there's the state's rights thing. Other countries may have an easier time developing and implementing common standards. I don't know. But you are correct again - the cost of administration is too high. The poster child is the District of Columbia where they spend the most per child than any major city and have the worst outcome - and have the highest administrative costs. And Seattle has admin cost issues as well. But when I'm in the public school as a volunteer all I see is the teachers working their butts off all year, including the summer, to do the best for their kids. And taking money out of their pockets for supplies to make sure the kids get what they need. I'd say we annually spent $1200 for school supplies - in addition to kicking in for the auction donations. Never heard about the military having to have an auction. Honesty, I'm not clear how one goes about tweaking a bureacracy to get leaner and put more of an emphasis on math and science. Part of it is our society in general, who, while enamored with technology results - iPads, phones, games - is scared of math and science. it definately needs to start earlier in the education cycle. It also is complicated by poverty, lack of support at home, and yes, religious wackos who don't want science taught but prefer bible thumping. So what's a person to do about their kid's education? What I've seen that works is common sense. Read to you kid a lot and get them to read early, encourage their passions, let them know they are loved and they can do whatever they choose, but that it will take hard work. Don't coddle them. Let them earn things instead of expecting gifts. The larger picture of education reform? It's not clear to me. But - my guess is that if we cut our military budget in half and put some of that towards our debt and the rest in building up our communities - infrastructure, transportation, job training, headstart, daycare - it also would help our education scores.

From my experiece - wife went from scientist to teacher - and my volunteering with the school system - there is a need for some better systems management in the bureacracy and as principals. The SSD needs some tighter mgmt. That said - it pales in comparison to the most miniscule waste in the military consulting and contracting business - it doesn't even amount to pencil dust. Really. And that is not even considering the larger picture of why we find in necessary to spend more than the top 15 countries in the world combined!!! Combined! The biggest thing I hear from teachers that would help is reducing class size and getting more help for the special needs kids. Classes with 32 kids and with a wide range of abilities from advanced to kids with Asbergers makes it quite the challenge. Where would you want your kid in a class of 16 or 32 if you had the choice? Recent cuttbacks have include the administration and the front line teachers. But - teachers aren't expecting any great movement to arise - they know folks only put lip service to how they say they value education. One other thought - pay salaries for the Seattle School Board members. WTF? Who would take this thankless job and how much time can you put into it without pay unless you are rich? A professional board would go a long way to oversight.

Well said. :tup: Seriously dude. Also - and they still have a limited amount of overnight permits available 1st come 1st serve. Just set up camp at the USFS.

Since you're going anyway... Assist long-term pika project in North Cascades National Park The wildlife division of North Cascades National Park, in conjunction with North Cascades Institute, is seeking motivated and responsible individuals to collect data on pika abundance, distribution and habitat use throughout the park. Pikas are a proposed indicator species for climate change and have been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The research will continue a project started in 2009 to document population trends. Volunteers may commit to day trips, multi-day trips or for the entire project, with priority given to those who can commit for extended periods for consistency purposes. The work will be conducted in 2-4 person field crews and can involve extensive backcountry hiking and camping and off-trail travel across rugged terrain. There are also easier one-day frontcountry trips. For more information, join the Yahoo! Group page at: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/pikaproject/ or email Ashley Kvitek at Ashley_Kvitek@ncascades.org.

Hey that sounds like my pre-sleep thoughts before summit day! ......or Woody Allen.

Thanks for the report. You didn't run into Amy in Condoriri did you? Six year resident of La Paz and climber. The burro runners there have got the deal going there- drive up - ready to go! Planning on getting back there next year. If you do go back I'd suggest some more remote ranges of Quimsa Cruz or the Apalomamba. I was climbing for a month and never saw an English speaker, or someone whose first language was Spanish over that period. Awesome place. Nice photos - making me want to jet out now! Escalar tan rapidamente como un viscacha!!

Oh, that's not so bad. Thanks, may have to make this the August turns spot.

Nice Kev - did you do a long day or camp?

Rots of ruck! ..but seriously, he was likely pining for this for a while.

So comparison of modern day Colorado Springs and Seattle in 1885 seems relevant. And it has nothing to do on the personal level - nice dodge though. If a community wants to make choices of living in a fire prone area that is only going to get more susceptible, that's a choice; as is reducing their public safety margin. IMO - that's not wise. I wouldn't vote for that nor would I be living in those hills.

Ding ding ding. Is Obama still calling them the "Bush" tax cuts? Well, I suspect that we all had hopes that things would change so we could kick back and coast on borrowed (Chinese and Fed) money. Seems like around here about everyone (except jayb) thinks that it's fine to just keep driving the bus towards the cliff. We'll blame the skinflint taxpayers for not anti-ing up to put in a guard rail at that spot. But we'll wait till the bus goes over first, then all the pundits will declare how clear it was to them that this needless tragedy was going to occur: after the fact of course. Yep. First thing that has to go is the bloated military. WTF do we need to be spending 2x what the rest of the world spends on defense - I mean offense. Next - repeal all the Bush tax cuts not just for the "rich". Subsidies - corn, coal, oil - really? A lot of this is political of course. I'm not overly optimistic.

"Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in America" Ya goof ball - that was the commentary on that website - where does it say that in the EO?

I read the EO. What is so troublesome?

.........and the fire chief seems brillant. More folks in fire zone + drier climate change conditions = more staff needs? Not! [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3IR_6Y6GhY No new taxes!

Got it from the story you linked. Does that help? You should read it. Interesting story. Oh that - the mayor (who pushed for the cuts) and his fire chief. WTF do you think they are going to say. We made a mistake? An affected citizen thinks otherwise: ....after his burnt house was robbed. If I were on the fringe of the fire would I have wanted 39 more folks that knew how to fight fires? You bet. And you? Maybe not. They made a choice as a community and there are consequenses. Certainly not all this could have been prevented - but it would have helped some proportion. You want to go it alone and avoid community services. Have at it and stop whinning.

No source provided so I assume this is someone's opinion. Mine is I would rather have had 39 more firefighters in my town if it were burning - Colorado Springs made a clear choice - cut and cut public services. It's a choice - live in a fire prone area and - shock!! - you might get scorched!! And ironic that the folks wanting to get government small enough to drown in the bathtub now come running to it with hands out.

If you live in Seattle and haven't earthquake retrofitted your house - at least securing the pony wall to the foundation - it will be your fault when is slides off. Your insurance will not cover this.

Well they argured about money because your community voted to slash and burn the municipal budget - get what you paid for. Sheet. Folks in Colorado Springs had to ban together to pay for neighborhood street lights to get turned on. I guess you could ban together with your neighbors and hire a fire truck. Yea, crybabies!

The walk to the base of the Tieton is more risky than sport climbing.

I'm no expert, but have worked on a couple wildland/urban interface fire projects, and here's what I gleaned from that expereince. For the homeowner the two items of importance are a defensible space and non-combustabile features of your structure. This inculdes decks - as you point out, but also roofs and walls. So yes, metal roofs can make a difference. At the frontal assault of the fire - likely no, on the fringes, yes. Are folks stupid for living up in the hills? - I don't know. What I do know is that fire cycles have changed dramatically in the west over the past 50 years because of supression management and now climate change and the corresponding cumulative effects. And it's going to get worse. I certainly would not live up in those hills now. Mill Creek in WA? Very differnt fire cycle and not so much a threat and likely to remain so even with climate change. Take a look at the UW Climate Impact Group webpage for some good summaries. Government ineptitude? I'd say we've gotten the government we've asked for. Could 40 more firefighters made a difference? If you lived in that neighborhood what would you have preferred - more or less boots on the ground?

This is going to be a growing problem. Given the mix of climate change, warmer winters, corresponding spread of pests such as spruce bud worm, long-term drought, and the spread of the urban-wildland interface - this is going to get expensive.

The place where the Waldo Canyon fire destroyed 346 homes and forced more than 34,000 residents to evacuate turned off one-third of its streetlights two years ago, halted park maintenance and cut services to close a $28 million budget gap after sales-tax revenue plummeted and voters rejected a property-tax increase. The city, the state's second-largest, with a population of 416,000, auctioned both its police helicopters and shrank its public-safety ranks through attrition by about 8 percent; it has 50 fewer police officers and 39 fewer firefighters than five years ago. More than 180 National Guard troops have been mobilized to secure the city after the state's most destructive fire. At least 32 evacuated homes were burglarized and dozens of evacuees' cars were broken into, said Police Chief Pete Carey. "It has impacted the response," said accountant Karin White, 54, who returned Thursday to a looted and vandalized home, with a treasured, century-old family heirloom smashed. No Taxes Please