Jim

I purchased one on-line before Feathered Friends carried them - which I'll never do again for any pack. The top, removable part of the pack didn't cover the pack well and I was constantly getting spindrift in pack. The strapping system, which is supposedly made to offer flexibility in customizing the pack's carrying comfort, was a big cluster. Heaven forbid if you had to make adjustments to it with gloves on or in the dark. Instead of simple ice axe loops it had this bulky buckle item with a snap on the bottom - you have to thread the axe from the bottom and snap the buckle closed - it was not a tight fit and the ax would jingle around in the holster. For some reason there was no attachment point for the shaft of ice ax to the body of the pack - WTF! When I mentioned this to the manufacturer he said he would send me some add-on straps that never arrived. Flimsy stitching that started to come apart after 5 trips. ProMountain Sports didn't want to carry them. FF does, but when I was in there looking at packs a sales person said the packs are improving but they consided them a work in progress. It actually carried well but that was the only good thing. I would seriously look elsewhere. Be prepared for the manufacturer to jump in and tell us how much they have improved.

Excellent summary - Dems need to get a spine and call these idiots out for what they are.

I debated quite a bit about a new pack after getting rid of a Cilogear one (good ridence). I eventually purchased a BD Quantum 65. I went with the larger pack because I do take some week-long trips and wanted a pack for 3-10 day trips. I'm very satisfied with the pack. It carries well and strips down for a lighter summit version easily. It's simple, relatively light, and designed well. I looked at the 55L but needed something with a bit more capacity. If you're ok with the 55L then I'd give the BD a thumbs up.

In WA you don't have to have any special permission to allow licensed hunters on your land to hunt. Granted they need to abide by the regulations for distance from roads and structures, but this was bow season and the regs for bows are much less strigent than firearms, obviously. I saw the video clip - the herd just jumped a series of fences to get on this guy's property and then were spooked as the hunters surrounded them and they shot away. Pretty disgusting. Nothing wrong with hunting - but this didn't even rise to the level of target shooting. In answer to the billcoe - any farmer/rancher can apply to get a depredation license that allows them to shoot game out of season if they are munching away too much, or offer damage payments. One deer - doubtful that's a problem - consistent herd, likely a problem. In my work I've seen valid instanaces and folks trying to take advantage of the system. Video: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/12/video_the_unethical_elk_hunt.php

I heard that Joe, given the stretched troop levels, is going to propose not a draft, but to reach into the untapped resource of ROTC, then if need be, Boy Scouts above the rank of Life.

This guy has to be the most sanctimonious politician I've seen. How can somebody be so wrong (remember Iraq you douche?) and still trot out in front of the cameras to extoll this crap. These folks have no shame and are not normal humans.

If he had said at the end of the trip -"ya know, I overestimated my abilities and I'm grateful for your help and tolerance on the trip - beer and dinner on me" Then maybe you could all chalk it up to a lesson learned. So another vote for yes - post as a warning. Save other folks. Definately emphasizes the need for a shakeout climb for something so committing. Would like to see the trip report as well.

You guys are depressing me again.

I've logged about 20 flights this year, mostly for work. I noticed early this year that the TSA crowd was ignoring the little bottle of shampoo, toothpaste, and shaving cream I had in a baggie in my carry-on. I left it in by mistake but just kept in on trips after that because they didn't ever say anything. I assumed that they had a directive to just ignore these things - seems odd. But it was very consistent through SeaTac, Spokane, Portland, Boise, Anchorage, and Newark - no comment on my contraband. I generally think that the Thousands Standing Around crew is for show and that a determined wacko will pull off something at some point. They only have to get lucky once.

Over the past 20 yrs I've seen two seperate parties on this line while skiing back there. Don't know if they topped out.

.....as opposed to say AIDS, famine, and American Idol?

You can always find some wingnut on the interntet who says the world is flat. Dolts. Since 2001, 32 national science academies have come together to issue joint declarations confirming anthropogenic global warming, and urging the nations of the world to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The signatories of these statements have been the national science academies of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, the Caribbean, China, France, Ghana, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, India, Japan, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, New Zealand, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 2001-Following the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report, sixteen national science academies issued a joint statement explicitly acknowledging the IPCC position as representing the scientific consensus on climate change science. The sixteen science academies that issued the statement were those of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.[16] 2005-The national science academies of the G8 nations, plus Brazil, China and India, three of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the developing world, signed a statement on the global response to climate change. The statement stresses that the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action, and explicitly endorsed the IPCC consensus. The eleven signatories were the science academies of Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 2007-In preparation for the 33rd G8 summit, the national science academies of the G8+5 nations issued a declaration referencing the position of the 2005 joint science academies' statement, and acknowledging the confirmation of their previous conclusion by recent research. Following the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, the declaration states, "It is unequivocal that the climate is changing, and it is very likely that this is predominantly caused by the increasing human interference with the atmosphere. These changes will transform the environmental conditions on Earth unless counter-measures are taken." The thirteen signatories were the national science academies of Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 2008-In preparation for the 34th G8 summit, the national science academies of the G8+5 nations issued a declaration reiterating the position of the 2005 joint science academies’ statement, and reaffirming “that climate change is happening and that anthropogenic warming is influencing many physical and biological systems.” Among other actions, the declaration urges all nations to “(t)ake appropriate economic and policy measures to accelerate transition to a low carbon society and to encourage and effect changes in individual and national behaviour.” The thirteen signatories were the same national science academies that issued the 2007 joint statement. 2009-In advance of the UNFCCC negotiations to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009, the national science academies of the G8+5 nations issued a joint statement declaring, "Climate change and sustainable energy supply are crucial challenges for the future of humanity. It is essential that world leaders agree on the emission reductions needed to combat negative consequences of anthropogenic climate change". The statement references the IPCC's Fourth Assessment of 2007, and asserts that "climate change is happening even faster than previously estimated; global CO2 emissions since 2000 have been higher than even the highest predictions, Arctic sea ice has been melting at rates much faster than predicted, and the rise in the sea level has become more rapid." The thirteen signatories were the same national science academies that issued the 2007 and 2008 joint statements.

Slow morning.

Did you actually read this? Chris Horner - the famed lawyer from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and reciepient of over $2M in funding from Exxon Mobile over the last few years, "believes" NASA is hiding something. How can you not write sarcastic emails about this crap. Some non-scientist writes a pop-fiction book about global warming skepticisim, has an opinion based on nothing in a field he knows nothing about, and it's put on the Moonie's Washington Times banner. Got any other gems?

True it is. Wilson chose as Interior Secretary Franklin Lane, the former San Francisco City Attorney, and that was the final nail in the coffin.

did you use a sled to drag that large plastic bin up to this extreme alpine destination?

.....but they do have some nice buildings.

Uh-huh Teaching evolution for instance.

Actually, I think god is a childish crutch for those afraid of the dark. That and handguns.

The responses to this post were hilarious: TTK immediately went into the equivalent of libtard gesticulations and siezures with eight consecutive posts. j_b pasted his (Huffingtonpost-approved) health care manifesto. Again. Jim called his local chapter of World Can't Wait to get the proper form-letter response--profane insults included. Prole fell back on his usual "I'm a really smart guy and you're not you teabagger Glen Beck stooge". Well done All!! Tools. If there were an argument in here somewhere I would respond - but that's not the case.

As usual your diatribe is full of the typical Fox news distortions. It's not a "government-run" anything. Hospitals, doctors, nurses, event the friggin insurance companies will remain as they are - privately owned and run. There would be one public option - the insurance companies are scared they might actually have to compete with a entitiy that was not out to gouge the citizens. The latest polls (Pew Research, Harvard Medical School, others) (http://www.everybodyinnobodyout.org/DOCS/Polls.htm#NHI) show that Americans are in favor of a single payer system and that they want change. And, as usual you haven't come near to addressing and of the issues raised in the original post. The market-based system of health care delivery is not working. Except for the folks stuffing their pockets with huge profits at the expense of everyone else.

And what else are you doing to help the veterns today. Let me guess. You hung up your flag.

WTF are you talking about? Freedom from what or to do what exactly? Get sick and die in the gutter, drain your family's bankaccount, help pay million dollar salaries of the CEOs of insuranace companies, suffer trade imbalances because Toyota pays no health insurance for its employees, or do you just mean the freedom to pay a bloated insurance bureacracy? Great jigoism. No logic. The ususal.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/view/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist This was a repeat of T.R. Reid's trip around the world to see how other countries handle health care: UK, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland. Worth watching. They range from the total government program in the UK to private insurance in Switzerland. Several common themes - no one wants a US style program, the vast majority of folks give their system high marks, wait times are minimal, even in the UK and mostly for elective surgery, they deliver health care at a fraction of the cost of the US, they are all healither populations, if they have private insurers they have strict cost controls and insurers can make only minimal profit. Oh yea - and no one goes bankrupt over medical costs and lacks care just because they lose their job. How civilized. In Switzerland, with the highest administrative costs of these countries it is a staggering 5.2% - compared to the 22% of the US. And we're arguing about this in Congress. Idiots.

Gotta agree there while I'm in the middle of ripping apart and putting back together a basement space. Nice elements - knob and tube wiring, galvinzed pipe, lead pipe, single pane windows, non-bolted pony walls, creaky oil furnace, leaky underground oil tank, 3x support beams on tiny footings, asbestos tile - Yea, I like the newer materials and workings.