Off_White

Feck, I think you should just restore the link and let it play out. His earlier post on the same topic in the Climbers Board didn't seem to go anywhere or get any attention (which Jon examined and made an executive decision to leave alone), so he clearly decided that Spray is the place to play. It is a climbing related job, so it's not wholly inappropriate, and given the location, a little sport on a Friday might be fun.

Was this the last good day of the season? Drederek on Black Elvis 9-26-07

On the other hand, rumor has it that when the house is unattended, happy looking Sasha here tends to be growly and menacing, even to our UPS driver who is one of our regular Wednesday climbers out here.

Elmo, my daughter's dog. Careful, he's really quite savage. If you're a sock, that is.

How do you tell if an engineer is extroverted? He stares at your shoes.

It'll behoove ya to care for your uvula

There's an old Wild Seeds song.... I'm sorry So sorry I can't rock you All night long It's an interesting idea baby But it would be wrong

If that's not a GW Bush quote, it's a pretty good parody.

Why do you hate America? I think this must be the most pathetic post in this entire thread.

just this morning i was reading up on Kim Philby and other true spy stories that inspired tinker tailor soldier spy You should read Declare by Tim Powers, everything no one ever told you about Philby, Noah's Ark, the Djinn, TE Lawrence, and the super secret British, German, & Soviet paranormal spy programs.

I can't help it, your citation of the firebombing of Dresden has caused me to come unstuck in time! Yes Fairweather, my examples were all of atrocities that prosecuted, of expectations of higher standards. Well, there were three examples, but two disappeared, perhaps the source objected to lending their bandwidth? Granted, I think lots of folks believe that the Abu Ghraib prosecutions were more of a scapegoat facesaving operation.

Yeah. Right. And of course, an oldie but a goodie from 1968

Thanks Joseph, I think that's the first time he and I have ever been lumped into the same group. I wasn't saying that I thought privatizing the military is a great idea, just being a stickler about language. If the Sunnis hired Blackwater to snuff Shiites, then they would indeed be mercenaries. Same story if at some time in the future Shell Oil hires them to run Chevron out of Nigeria. If we were to hire one of those South African firms, they would be our mercenaries. As it stands, Blackwater's private soldiers are our employees, and they represent the US in the same way that my carpenters represent my company. Fairweather, holding the representatives of our country to high standards, higher standards than others may exhibit, is far from anti-American. You can't be the good guys if your tactics are indistinguishable from the black hats.

It's a misnomer to describe Blackwater employees as "mercenaries." By most definitions, mercenaries are employed by governments other than their own, and are solely motivated by money. Blackwater's contracts are mostly with various branches of the US Govt, and I believe their employees are all US Citizens. While I'm sure the high pay is greatly appreciated, I don't think it's the only motivation for those folks, a lot of them believe they're doing the right thing. It's inaccurate dramatic hyperbole to declare them mercenaries.

Nice, thanks for the pics. I went that way once 30 years ago (great rock on that peak above Spring Lake) but one of the two folks I was with split her head open in a talus incident on the way up Hands & Knees, so we applied butterflies and beat a retreat. Your shots all summer have been reminding me how much I miss that range. Heh, I bet you wear out partners fairly frequently on these jaunts, you've had quite the summer.

Just to be clear, even if you're the pitcher, you're still gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

La Nina isn't doom, really wet and really warm is doom.

The naked no shoes free solo in the offwidth shot is pretty hard core. Oh, not in terms of sexual content, it's probably even work safe, but it seems like a gnarly thing to do with all that bare flesh.

He leans a little heavily on life expectancy humor.

Nice vid, and nice job using some gear instead of all bolts. It was clear that he had his choreography down for the lower part of the route, but he did a great job of keeping it together after the roof where he hadn't prepped as well. You saw that part where he was pawing all around, this hold, that hold, no the first one again, no, over here? Its so easy to lose your shit when you get rattled that way, but he got settled down and worked through it. Still Stewart, there is too such a thing as a pink point. If it didn't make things a little easier, why would they do it? It's not dissing Kelton to point that out, but it is another step if he wants to push himself further on that route. Placing gear adds to the complexity of a route.

It wasn't for calling someone a name, and it wasn't about politics, you were just being an asshole about a missing hiker and that shit irritated me.

Hmm, you're coming from Portland? Easier and cheaper, you could stay in Packwood on Hwy 12, the motel on the left on your way out of town Eastbound is alright, at least they have a jacuzzi. The skiing/snowshoeing out of White Pass is fine in either direction, the wilderness areas mean no clear cuts, and at 4500' the pass is a little higher than many other options. It's not a mondo romantic type hotel though, if that's what you're looking for. Oh, and obviously it's not the North Cascades either.

Oh, I didn't think you were offering it to me. I'm pretty sure you and I are not the same size though, so I'd have to cut off the panel and attach it to my leather jacket with safety pins.

Really? I'd love to have one.

STFU noob The term is "premature" uh, bill, sorry about all this, hope you're on track to get what you're actually looking for.