Thinker

Nice work, Al!...as always. Watch for an email from me. DaveB

If you keep talking like that this thread will go down the toilet fast and get moved out of spray. I like the idea, though. But seriously, it doesn't sound like there was any singular event that's responsible for my observation. I was hoping there was some juicy and well-suppressed gossip like a big chunk of the users got fed up with something and started their own board again....or servers crashing so often that it's not worth messing with. I'm truly glad to see things rolling along at their own mellow pace. Good to see some of the old regulars dropping by! Paul, I still haven't forgiven you for that comment about "oogling women" at the Red Mill that day!...or was that a compliment....I don't recall at this point.

of posts in the last month in the climbing forum, and only 4 or 5 in the last month here in spray. Granted, I don't log in much here anymore, but I seem to recall the good old days when It took me DAYS to catch up if I was gone for a month. Have the threats of personal violence from opinionated and short-fused testosterone freaks driven the crowds away? Maybe banning Trask and all discussion of the How*wit wasn't such a good thing after all...at least they kept the place rolling along. Where's Muffy, Snugtop, Snowbird, Minx, Amber, and all the other colorful characters of the fairer gender? Somebody give me the Cliff Notes version of the last couple years of events here....I'm curious. Did I miss some catastrophe?

Rock on, Mike! Glad you're settled in and making a go of it. (First time I've logged on in months....)

"Where's Gary?" was the mantra of one trip to the Black Hills and Devil's Tower a number of years ago. My buddy, Ed, and I road tripped to SD and WY with Gary, a guy I'd met at the University of Nebraska who talked the talk. Gary was a decent climber, once you got him on the rock. But his out of control OCD compelled him to rack and re-rack about 4 times before the start of any given climb or subsequent pitch. On top of it, he was so spastic that we could rarely keep track of him on the descents. We'd often saunter into camp to find him reorganizing the car, his pack, or re-racking his gear again. Of all the road trips and partners since, Gary is one of those unforgettable characters. Ed on the other hand, has turned out to be a lifelong friend.

seen while working near Milford, Utah this week. Anyone familiar with it? I haven't had a chance to check RockNRoad yet. A little more research turned up this: http://www.climbingsource.com/LocalBeta/Utah/mineralmtn.html and this: http://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/rockcorralrecreationarea.html mmmm.....I'm thinking it's worth a trip back there...

Hey!!...I made that hike past the school and down the gully. It was actually kind of a cool outing. Glad I left the rope in the car!

I'd second the Subway for a rest day. Subway Trip Report

The company I work for is looking for a mid-level air quality consulting engineer for our Boise office. We're also looking for someone with environmental experience related to oil and gas production for our Salt Lake office. Another position I'm aware of is for an exploration geologist in the Wenatchee area. All would be prime locations for someone with a climbing habit to support. PM me if you're interested in knowing more.

I think more than a few of us have fantasized about being in Lammy's position, stuck in a tent with 2 climber chicks, providing the necessary support to each other to make it thru a sticky situation, etc. But reality is always differnet than fantasy. In any case, I'm glad this turned out well for everyone involved.

classic case of "Love Stinks"

I ran across this today during some research for work: http://content.lib.washington.edu/index.html Don't miss the advanced search function. A fair amount of climbing-related content, most probably from the Mountaineers photo collection. (Sorry if it's a repost....I don't check in here too often these days.) Album 27.037a - Lulie Nettleton climbing Mount Meany, August 13, 1913

Many years ago I came home from the bar and noticed my then roommate sitting on the floor of his bedroom, hunched over a small pile of crumpled up dollar bills with a lighter in his hand. Given the odd nature of the situation I said 'Hi, Tom, what are you up to?" He was quite clearly intoxicated and replied that he was just about to offer up a sacrifice to Mammon. Turns out he was ready to torch the pile of bills right there on the hardwood floors to achieve whatever it was he hoped to do. With a little encouraging I convinced him that it would be more fun to go into the backyard and light off some fireworks, which we did. He thanked me in the morning. *********************************** I had another roommate that washed dishes at the restaurant I was waiting tables at in college. She'd been in and out of rehab a few times, but always paid her part of the rent on time. One night she got busted for DUI and the cops found some drugs in her car. Not much of a surprise. A couple days later she called from jail to say that she'd pretty much rolled over on everybody she knew. I asked what she'd said about me. "The truth, you're a LIGHTWEIGHT! You don't have anything to worry about." About 30 minutes later I'd completely violated her privacy by going thru EVERYTHING in her basement room/cave and throwing out everything that looked the least bit suspicious. There were literally hundreds of little empty baggies, pipes, lighters, mirrors, blades, and stuff I've long since forgotten. It all went into a big trash bag and into an apartment dumpster a few blocks from the house. What a nightmare. The next roomy was a straight-laced grad student in the history dept...a much better experience.

How do I get rid of the shit-brown streaks across my screen on every other post? Makes it too difficult to sort through. See ya.

Hell, I'm an engineer in Salt Lake and I'd jump at the opportunity to go to China for awhile. There's a TON of granite there just waiting for some lovin'... Oh SNAP!...I haven't even BEGUN to tap the granite around here yet. All funin' around aside, there are numerous US environmental companies teaming with Chinese companies to tackle the environmental problems facing China. Granted, they have a long way to go. I think BD has the opportunity to spread the message by example, IF they choose such a course. Most US companies that go to 2nd or 3rd world nations to manufacture, log, mine, or otherwise capitalize on resources simply meet the minimum standard with respect to environmental laws or ethics. I'd love to hear more about BD's ethos there. Is the spirit of Chouinard being trampled?...or spread to new cultures? Only time will tell.