JayB

FWIW I'd bet that a modern townhouse in Bellevue requires a way lower energy input per square foot than a SFH from the 1930's in Ballard. Peshastin sounds great though. I'd could pretty easily live there or Ellensburg or Wenatchee and exploit the hell out of the wage-to-property-value differential living in those parts would provide us, but the other half just isn't going for it.

Focus on the family fits that definition perfectly. So does Conservatism - it's no accident the Ronald Reagan library is in the definition of suburban hell - Simi Valley. now wheres Mary-Louise Parker with my pot! Despite the rhetoric, if you took a look at the everyday actions, incomes, behavior, homes, net-worth - any concrete measure of how people actually live - you'd find very little real difference difference between those who consider themselves to be outside or alienated from the mainstream and those they despise. When you come right down to it, Ballard is every bit as middle-class and conventional Bellevue, despite pretensions to the contrary. They may check a different box come election time, but when you look at how they actually live - not much difference.

On the contrary, I'd say that cost-free, pseudo-radicalism that's exercised in strict conformance with a predetermined set of norms has been a staple of the middle-class consciousness for the past couple of decades now.

Chickens---> migratory birds ----> Enchantments?

Cool. Glad to see the Olympics getting some attention.

Cool TR. Nice photos. What's the name of the mountain that has all of the paralell buttresses rising up from the glacier?

Damn dude - that sounds pretty nasty. Even if it feels like you are on the mend it might be worth looking around for a specialist who has experience with this particular bug, or other especially nasty bacterial infections as a just-in-case. After hearing the medical/hospital gossip for a few years I can tell you that there's a pretty massive difference from one doctor to the next, and it never hurts to have the best in your corner if things take a turn for the worse. Not saying you should run to anyone's office, but it might be worth asking around for names just so you know where to go if there's any wierd side affects or what have you. Get well soon, amigo.

That sucks. I've pretty much treated every ounce of water that I've consumed in the BC because I figured that I'd gladly bear the weight of the filter/iodine rather than endure some of the gastrointestinal assaults that I'd heard first hand accounts of. One guy told me he lost nearly 1/4 of his bodyweight during an especially bad bout with giardia. Good luck fighting off the pathogens.

Pffft. Like you know anything about physics....

Cool TR. Sounds like a great day in the mountains.

I think that the religious beliefs that someone espouses have quite a bit more to do with the moral and intellectual qualities that they bring to the religion than their chosen religion influences their moral and intellectual outlook. Kind, thoughtful people tend to embrace religious perspectives that emphasize these qualities. People who are hateful, fearful, superstitious, vengeful, etc will tend to embrace and espouse religious viewpoints that reflect these aspects of their personalities. I have never been religious myself, but as I said before, most of the people that I'm close to have a low-key but deeply held religious faith of some sort. I could never share my grandmother's religious beliefs, but it was easy for me to see that her sincere belief that she'd be reunited with my Grandfather in heaven some day helped her make it through the grief that followed his death, and provided her with a source of hope and solace and comfort in the many years that followed. When she herself was dying, even though I harbored no illusions about ever seeing her again, knowing that she sincerely believed that she'd be reuinited with my grandfather and all of her loved ones that had passed on before her made the process of watching her die much easier for me to bear. For me religion is a lot like fire or a stone or anything else in the world that can be used for constructive or destructive purposes, for good or evil, depending upon the character and morals of the person who posesses it.

Don't let your climate change/peak oil scare ideology blind you to the facts about oil! Which of these two propositions do you disagree with?

I actually think that for the most part there's been a pretty steady improvement in that direction over time, at least in most cases. If the walls of most Abbey's from the Middle Ages could talk it would probably make the recent Catholic Molestation Confessional seem like an episode of "Sesame Street."

When it comes to religion I've found that I care less and less what people say they believe and more and more about how they act, as the latter is a way better reflection of what their true motives are and what they actually believe.

Yes JayB, it's true. Almost every single one of my friends is a liberal, "conservative"-hating, tree-hugging, atheist, anti-government, conspiracy theorist. It's true I'm not open minded or receptive about the christian fundamentalists' religious/political agenda. I oppose it vehemently and consider anyone who espouses it to be my enemy. I do however hold Voltaire's statement, "I may disagree with your opinion but will fight to the death for your right to express it" as a personal credo. Then again, in the words of The Reverend Samuel L. Jackson, "YES THEY DESERVE TO DIE, AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELL!!!" I am continuously running into people that I should probably loathe on the basis of some aspect of their outlook but most have this annoying tendency to bundle a bunch of redeeming qualities along with the bits that I don't care for as much. Much easier to keep the vigilance going when someone with a different perspective also happens to be a complete jackass.

That wasn't intended to be a criticism - just a question. I once lived with a couple of guys who grew up in the South, attended Christian Schools, listened to Christian Music, Watched Christian TV, got their first jobs at Christian companies, etc. Most of the people in their neck of the woods had a worldview that was probably pretty similar to their own, so they could more or less hang out with like-minded folks exclusively and not exclude many people that they'd otherwise be friends with. Not many people in the places I've spent most of my time share the entire agnostic, free-market, quasi-libertarian republican zetigeist so at least 95% percent of my friends and family register way to the left of me when it comes to politics, and just about the same percentage have some sort of religious faith as well. If I happened to live in an area where most of the people were agnostics who prefered Friedman to Keynes I wouldn't have to have made the effort. It's actually kind of fun being in stealth mode and just kind of listening along and offering neutral commentary "That's an interesting point...", "That's interesting. I hadn't thought of that.." at 95% of the social functions that I go to. The other night I sat and smiled while listening to a group of people who were tremendously upset by the fact that most mainstream commentators generally had positive things to say about Reagan when he died. I was about to break out laughing because I can remember being seriously pissed off that I was too young to cast a vote for him during the '84 elections...

Just wondering - how many of you have close friends who don't share your political/religious outlook?

Sounds like a job for Peter Croft.

What's that name of the mountain with the two peaks in the background?

Keep the record of political repression and murder the same and change the name to "Castro" and he'd be worthy of a misty-eyed hagiography when he kicked the bucket.

I'm sure he wanted to watch, not so sure he intended to be effectively dismissed and have his interview used as a propaganda vehicle. As I said, I didn't catch the whole program. Was the entire program dedicated to the Ahminedejad interview? Seems like it'd be worth giving the Iranian people an hour of time to discuss how they feel about the regime and Ahmedinejad. I'm sure he's got plenty of fans, but the manner in which they have been suppressing dissent - especially since the end of the Khatami era - suggests that the leadership feels that they have reason to be nervous about public opinion.

I didn't catch it all, but he pretty much seemed to be speaking past Mike Wallace and using the interview as a PR vehicle. "Hey - nevermind that business about wiping Israel off of the map, the nuclear program, etc - this guy said that the number of Americans who lack health insurance makes him sad. He's okay in my book!" Mike Wallace did the best he could, but when it was clear that he had no intention of actually answering any of the substantive questions directly, he should have thanked the guy for his time and ended the interview.

So how does someone who wanted something like PLC's after differentiate between quack and non-quack? Kind of amazing that the non-quacks tolerate this situation. Is this because you guys are hopelessly outnumbered or what? Seems like non-straight chiros could come up with their own association, board-exams, etc.

Salesman I bought my current RAV4 Mariocart off told me that Toyota North America made a commitment to low emissions that put all diesel engines out of production. Rumours of a diesel/electric hybrid though . . . There are lots of guys importing diesel Toyotas from Japan in BC; they're usually pretty good deals as they haven't been driven much, but they have to be 15 yrs+ old to be imported. Right hand drive of course. That's interesting - I was under the impression that a modern diesel compared pretty well with other technologies. Anyway that's definitely a bummer about the import restrictions. I can see getting 500K out of a Toyota diesel.

Looking for the best pad that I can get for less than $150. By best I mean something that has a good combination of open and closed cell cell foam and decent ground coverage. Right now I'm looking at the Metolius Cheap Bastard. Anyone have any experience with this one? Definitely open to suggestions if there's a better deal out there somewhere.