allison

I don't think anyone would argue with that. Do you have a point?

I'm not sure that the everyday experience of being a union member is sexy enough that it's ever going to make the news. I can tell you that by far the vast majority of my experiences as a member have been positive ones. They are not perfect things, as they are run by people, but overall I can't think of anything really negative I can say about it beyond that. I am ignoreing Petey's awful pun, and I think you should all continue to follow my lead. I think it is better not to encourage him.

Union labor sets the wage standards for all workers. The fact is that the wage rates the union boys make directly affect what you make. Particularly when the evil 'prevailing wage' issue comes up. Essentially the fact the I pay my union dues makes your life better. Unions have been instrumental in creating safety laws that affect all workers. And of course, everyone's favorite: the 40 hour work week. Unions did that one too. Believe me, I'd rather be called a b*tch than a scab. Any day of the week.

Ah, Greg's a scab. Now it all makes sense. I've been accused of being a name-caller before, which I haven't. NOW you can call me a name-caller. Here's to scab construction labor: PS. Petey, you know I love you to pieces, but that's also a load of horsedukey. A lot of employers are requiring employees to work less than FT so that they don't get near overtime, and so that they don't qualify for other benefits such as vacation, health care, and retirement. [ 09-09-2002, 01:32 PM: Message edited by: allison ]

I recommend that anyone who thinks it's easy to rise above poverty read the book Nickel and Dimed. I think Barbara Eisenrath is the author. She goes 'undercover' as a poor person to see if she can support herself in a few different cities, and with a few different jobs. Pretty fascinating read, and a very easy way to understand how hard it can be to go from poor to not poor. And FWIW I am not a big TV watcher. Do they talk about rising from poverty on TV a lot?

Check out my new autosig, and it's not just because I bring the steaks and am a subpar climber, it's a two way street. for those about to be subpar:

I think the amount of fruit stands may be in a relationship with the amount of orchards. Just a guess.

Nah, you missed it, but let's try again now.

I heard one of the camera crew got attacked by the North'Teryx Rep near the summit. Is he OK? Why'd the rep go ballistic anyway?

OK, rainbound boyz and girls, it's chat time again.....

UT, I must encourage you once again to get paid as a writer. Very well-written and incisive. I get paid to do it from time to time, and you're a damn sight better than I am!

Mangoes are a lot like sex. Think of the pit like the wet spot. Bacon, well, merely a way of life.

No, Fear was 'let's have a war, so you can go die.' And while I sort of appreciate Red Monk's sentiments here, he is young, and has a lot to learn. A better song from the same era: Dead Kennedys, "Kill the Poor"

Yah, what Erik said, and hey, what's up with the Mona Lisa? She's mine baby, all mine!

But you can recycle any of these canisters in curbside recycling, if you bleed them. We've been over that here before!

'eliminational epigram', heh, I like that. You funny. I heard the phrase from my mom, when I was about eight. Trask why on earth would you say something like that? Is that an attempt at humor? You yourself have called me uptight, now which is it?

I did an article last year about repairing gear in the field. They gave me all of these fancy repair kits to mess around with, and I tried other stuff too, various adhesives, string, junk like that. I wrote the article, and talked about Fastex buckles and whatnot, but the truth is, that for field repair duct tape really can't be beat. In addition, my repair kit has a couple of Zip Ties, sandpaper, HotBond, a diaper pin, some Seine Twine, Glide Dental Floss (made by WL Gore BTW), needle, alcohol wipes, piece of really thin wire, tent pole repair sleeve, aluminum foil tape. About 4oz not counting the duct tape, which gets wrapped around a Gatorade bottle. On a recent trip I had the lightest pack, and this repair kit got used by everyone in my party, so I guess it's got the right stuff in it.

Having met Jonathon by chance at a post-workout anti-Pub Club event last night, I can attest to the veracity of his statement about losing the hair off the backs of your hands. I must also admit that I've never had to use the Dip Trick, as generally warming the canister with one's hands is enough to do the trick. Never admit to a group of virtual strangers that you have ever visited this website.

Homegirl, I am going to break into your house and install a spell-check on your computer!

As a paying customer returning to regular indoor workouts as the weather cools, I can't say I'm too thrilled about it. Does that mean they will pay me to stay home that day?

Oh, crap, my TV hasn't been on in maybe 6 months. I was just picking on Greg because he's a redneck!

quote: Originally posted by flick: There is this ingenius thing called a GUIDEBOOK. Look for bolted climbs in Leavenworth and 9 times out of ten they will be slabs. Yah, sure, except the guidebook is out of date, and out of print. Give me a break.

It's that time again...

I think Greg might be a little homophobic, Dan. What do you think, Stefan?

Seems like a good time for a little chat session if anyone's interested.