JayB

"Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough." Lord Chesterfield

If my closest friends or family members betrayed me, I'd be devastated. The further people get from that circle, the lower my expectations of them. People I work with are often about four or five concentric circles away from that level, and while I don't expect them to be duplicitous, self-serving, etc - if they reveal themselves to be any of the above, it's par for the course. It's amazing how little it takes for some people to compromise themselves. Best be aware of that from the get-go, IMO.

I have only ever hated a person whom I had, at one time, loved. "ZARA. Thou shalt die. OSM. I thank you. ZARA. Thou ly'st; for now I know for whom thou'dst live. OSM. Then you may know for whom I'd die. ZARA. Hell! Hell! Yet I'll be calm- Dark and unknown Betrayer! But now the Dawn begins, and the slow Hand Of Fate is stretch'd to draw the Veil, and leave Thee bare, the naked Mark of Publick View. OSM. You may be still deceiv'd; 'tis in my Pow'r. ZARA. Ha! Who waits there? - Enter PEREZ. - As you'll answer it, take heed This Slave commit no Violence upon Himself. I've been deceiv'd. The Publick Safety Requires he should be more confin'd; and none, No not the Princes self, permitted to Confer with him. I'll quit you to the King. Vile and ingrate! too late thou shalt repent The base Injustice thou hast done my Love: Yes, thou shalt know, spite of thy past Distress, And all those Ills which thou so long hast mourn'd; Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd"

I'd recommend a strong dose of Machiavelli, LaRochefoucuald, Lord Chesterfield, and Dale Carnegie to anyone under 20. Is vs Ought. Tough pill to swallow, but IMO happiness and optimism come easier when you know how things actually work, and accommodate your expectations to those realities.

Well done. As someone who has succeeded in the fatherhood game, do you have any transferable wisdom to share? Haven't reproduced yet, and have an incredible father of my own to serve as an example, but am always interested in hearing from other folks who have been down that path. Any worries at the outset that never materialized and seem laughable in hindsight? Any challenges that you never saw coming but turned out to be the toughest that you had to face? Blessings that you never anticipated?

Might want to head over to UW rock to practice on the cracks there in addition to the climbing that you do at VW....

You and the WSJ editorial page are on the same page today...sort of... "Most experts calculate that a national mandate with subsidies like Mrs. Clinton's would enroll about half to two-thirds of the uninsured, less for a voluntary plan and subsidies alone. But such guesswork is pointless without the basic enforcement assumptions, which Mrs. Clinton refuses to provide. She's more interested in wielding what she calls "a core Democratic principle" against Mr. Obama. "My opponent will not commit to universal health care," she said Saturday. The logic of Mr. Obama's approach is that policy makers should target those who are priced out of coverage. The Census Bureau says 38% of the uninsured earned more than $50,000 in 2006, 19% above $75,000. They aren't a major public policy problem -- except that a big reason they lack coverage is because it is more expensive than it needs to be thanks to government market interference. And 29% earn under $25,000, which means they probably qualify for existing subsidy programs like Medicaid or Schip but haven't enrolled. The news here is that all of this is being exposed now, and by a fellow Democrat. Many Americans are uncomfortable with the coercion of the mandate -- and not all of them are Republicans. The California health-care overhaul was recently done in by liberals concerned about its consequences for the working poor. The political lesson that Mrs. Clinton learned in 1994 wasn't about compromise or market forces. It was that a government health-care takeover can only be achieved gradually and by stealth. Her individual mandate is an attempt to force everyone to buy into a highly regulated and price-controlled system where government redistributes income and dictates coverage. We assume the McCain campaign is paying attention." If you add a mandate to the existing model you're essentially just forcing people to subsidize the existing players. Seems like the worst of many options, short of transferring control of the entire sector to the government. My personal fantasy... Transfer tax incentives to individuals rather than employers, allow any citizen of any state to buy insurance from any provider in any state, add in HSA's that can accumulate assets from one year to the next, and give people on medicare/medicaid incentive structured food-stamp style funding so that they can go to whatever provider they want and pay up-front, instead of being at the mercy of the dwindling number of providers who are willing to lose money on every medicare/medicaid patient that they see.

Easier in what sense?

I'm sure that others will chime in with additional thoughts, but of the many differences that come to mind the foremost (in no particular order) are that alpine rock routes you: -Will be doing routes that feature far more crack climbing than face climbing. -Will be using traditional rock protection. -Will (often/probably)be climbing with a pack. -May encounter loose or poor-quality rock. -May find yourself in situations where finding the correct route is difficult. -May find yourself in situations where retreat is difficult or expensive. -Should have a much greater familiarity with technical ropework than you need to climb safely in the gym before venturing into the mountains. With your background in mountaineering, your probably quite familiar with the rest of the stuff that you'll encounter in the mountains. After you get comfortable in the gym, I'd make learning to lead/place-gear/construct-anchors a priority. After that, start moving on to multi-pitch routes that you can lead comfortably. Then pick a route or two that's way below your top leading grade and give it a go with the kind of pack that you'd take along on the kind of alpine route that you are considering.

Seems like on short trips in the Cascades, moisture from outside the bag would be the major concern, and something like this: http://www.backcountry.com/store/BLD0253/Black-Diamond-Winter-Bivy-Sack.html Would be the way to go. I've got one and it seemed to do keep the moisture at bay inside tents and snowcaves, and breathes pretty well too. It sounds like VBLs and/or overbags might be the ticket for longer trips in colder/drier climates. Hopefully some folks with experiences from that sort of outing will chime in if that's what you've got in mind.

It's well known that the giant squid have been recruited by the Mossad to participate in this plot hatched by their Zionist overlords.....

Gas > electricity for cooking. Plus your electric stove is cooking's answer to the SUV and you are killing the Earth(!) five times more rapidly every time you cook up a batch of top-ramen. "Gas stoves have considerably less environmental impact than electric stoves. With electric stoves pollution is almost five times greater for the greenhouse gas CO2 and up to 100 times greater for SO2, a pollutant that causes acid rain. Gas stoves are also more environmentally sound than electric stoves with regard to pollution with NOx (nitrogen oxides)." http://envirotech.blogspot.com/2004/02/electric-stoves-pollute-considerably.html

Um...N.O.W. deals only with domestic issues. That's why it's not called I.O.W. Dumbass. "NOW Continues Campaign to End Violence Against Women in Juarez, Mexico." http://www.now.org/nnt/fall-2006/juarez.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Feminist Super Bowl AdWatch Finds Few Women, But Plenty of Demeaning Stereotypes February 4, 2008 Where were the women? This was a common cry from the monitors in the National Organization for Women Foundation's 2008 Feminist Super Bowl Ad Watch. "By the second quarter, I said to my friends that there were more animals in the ads than women," said Karen from Florida. "Women were virtually non-existent in speaking roles and the overwhelming tone exalted violence," reported Gail from Texas. Another monitor stressed that when women were shown they were as passive objects - not active players in the storyline. Often, women's sexual availability to men was central to the theme of the sales pitch. The use of diversity in the ads could often be boiled down to "blatant racism" and "ethnic exploitation," as many of these characters were stereotyped and cartoonish. Advertisers paid an average of $2.7 million for a 30 second commercial this year - a sure sign that they believe their commercials will make a big impact on the viewing audience. The NOW Foundation agrees with these companies -- advertising does matter in our media-saturated culture. The portrayal of women and girls, people of color, and other disenfranchised groups can affect how they are viewed in society and how they feel about themselves. That's why the NOW Foundation got in the game and compiled our own feminist rankings for the best and worst ads. GoDaddy.com's ad was voted the most offensive, with the Planters ad not far behind."

Hopefully the folks will sell the home to someone that follows median price stats instead of the Case-Shiller-Weiss index... If you toss in unrestricted access to your climbing wall as part of the deal in exchange for a cut of the commission that baby will be off the market in no time.

Christianity is hardly unique in this respect. Islam also portrays Allah as being "always right" and perfect in every way. Islam, like Cristianity, also attracts those who have no idea how to live a life by their own construction. Islam goes so far as to say that men must wear beards, women must be veiled lest they arouse the male libido, you can't be in the same room with a dog, you can't touch a woman to whom you aren't married, and you have to wipe your ass with your left hand only. I wouldn't know, I've never read the Koran nor had any Islamic religious training. Have you? I won't claim I've "read" the Qur'an, but I've "looked" at it enough (you can listen to recitations on teh interwebz) to know its general contents. Plus, I've read a lot about Islam and have talked for years with Muslim friends. Plus, my father spent the last 30-odd years (1968-2000) of his career in the Middle East working/dealing/interacting with Muslims on a day-to-day basis, and has shared his experiences with me at length. So in that respect, I'd say, "Yes, I would know." I've mused over your posts for a long time, tvash. You seem to be an intelligent, informed individual by most measures. You'd even be surprised at how similar I believe our philosphical/spiritual viewpoints to be. So why always the antagonistic attitude from you? Same reason why N.O.W. goes ballistic over Augusta but has can't bring itself to muster a fiftieth of the energy denouncing burquas, honor killings, genital mutilation, dowry-killings, etc.... Rousseau's noble savage fantasy repackaged for the PC-era. All virtue lies with the primitive, oppressed, colonized, etc.

You blew your calrod homes: http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/archive/index.php/t-2024.html "Calrod sealed element: This encloses a fine coiled NiChrome wires in a ceramic filler-binder inside a tough metal overcoat in the form of a shaped rod with thick wire leads or screw or plug-in terminals. These are found in toaster oven/broilers, hot plates, coffee makers, crock pots and slow cookers, electric range surface elements, conventional and convection ovens and broilers. Testing: When these fail, it is often spectacular as there is a good chance that the internal NiChrome element will short to the outer casing, short out, and melt. If there is no visible damage but the element does not work, a quick check with an ohmmeter should reveal an open element or one that is shorted to the outer casing." If you have a sentimental attachment to the stove, or a visit by a repairman will cost less than replacing the stove, they should be able to inspect the circuit, make sure that nothing else got fried, and that it's safe to use. You can probably save some money by picking up a new burner at a local outfit instead of having the repair guy bring one out to your house.

You know, you are a complete fucking loudmouf...jeezus...you shit talk someone, he calls you out, and then you say, "Golly gee, i just compete with myself"...the reason why, is you SUCK at it. FWIW, Pope will absolutely crush your fat ass on just about any venue of technical climbing...jeezus fucking christ, shut your piehole already...who gives a shit about how much you fuckin' hike already???? I was thinking that what we were witnessing in that post was a "Smeagol-vs-Golum" voice-in-head type debate materializing before us on the screen, rather than a serious game of (rhetorical) climbing one-upmanship vs a guy who climbed at Pope's level. But who knows....

Even money says you regularly make mention of the fact that one of your hobbies is ice-climbing..."Yes. You heard correctly...Ice *climbing.* The kind where you use ropes, 'ice-tools,' and 'crampons,' which are metallic implements with 12 sharp points that that you secure to your 'ice-climbing boots'" to ascend frozen waterfalls that are often vertical or near vertical." into the verbiage that you dispense in your ACLU appearances...

Just a sign of the times. Sort of like this: graphic housing equivalent of Kennedy's shoe-shine boy.

I just went back and tried to look this up. I found dozens of posts where you mock the imaginary "left" or argue some economic theory in an oblique response to a discussion of the war, but I could not locate a post where you actually stated what YOU think. Why did Bush pull the trigger? What has he accomplished? All I can say is look harder. Maybe when I have the time and inclination I'll hammer something out.

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Methinks you are confusing a disinclination to perpetually play rhetorical groundhog-day with an incapacity to discuss either the invasion or anything related to it. I must have ~500 posts or more where I lay out my views on the war, and you are free to peruse them at your vast and internet-centric leisure. I'm curious though. At debates where you represent the ACLU, when the event is over, the audience has left, the janitor has long since stacked the last of the chairs, and only the dim-green light from the illuminated letters of the "EXIT" signs keeps total darkness at bay inside the middle-school gymnasium - do you find yourself bellowing at and taunting the empty lectern next to you, pointing at it and proclaiming "Yeah. That's RIGHT! That's what I thought..." when it fails to offer up a rebuttal, and finally punctuating the silence with the trademark onano-triumphalist closing (along with a raised fist, perhaps?) before scanning the emptiness for approval and filling the space with the tepid din emanating from the applause.mp3 file stored on your special red "Bono" themed iPOD? Just wondering.

Tennessee for Clinton...

'Kay "Dear Congressman DeMint: As a child I lamented the fact that I was too young to cast a vote for Ronald Reagan in anyplace other than the mock elections held in my elementary school - so it is quite likely that there are many issues that you and I would agree on. However - when it comes to the manner in which you've handled the matter involving Berkeley and the Marines, I am afraid that this is not the case. Specifically - I think that using what amounts to fiscal blackmail to punish and discipline a town because the leadership of that town voices opinions that you personally take exception to or find offensive sets an incredibly dangerous precedent that could just as easily be used against local governments who voice sentiments that you agree with. I also think that if this practice became widespread, it could very well undermine one of the central liberties that this nation has relied upon the Marine Corps to protect. I assure you that I find the statements by the members of the city council at least as misguided and as worthy of contempt and ridicule as anyone. However, it's clear to me that attempting to influence public opinion - not the disposition of public finances - constitutes the only acceptable and constitutionally sound means which a Congressman should use to take action against members of a local government who express opinions that he finds objectionable. Consequently, I hope that you will reconsider your actions and publicly disavow any effort to deprive the citizens of Berkeley of public funds on account of statements made members of their city council. -Jay Brazier" Kumbayah because I disagree with their opinions and love to bait and mock ideological necrophiliacs who can't seem to let the corpse of 60's-era leftism rest in peace...