Thinker

tequilla wars

Sounds like that secret grow room you've been working on for so long is almost complete...

Today UK Police used a Taser on one of the real bombers. I suppose they figured the info he had on the rest of the cell was too valuable to blow away with 7 headshots.

IMHO, Jerusalem ceased being a "holy city" long ago. In the words of my friend Julie (in a reference to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series), Jerusalem is now The Hellmouth. So much happens there that is Unholy that its holy past is nearly irrelevant. Of course, in reality, this could never happen. The damage to architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources caused by leveling the city would be unconscionable. But, given enough time, the warring parties there will effectively accomplish the same thing, along with an infinite amount of human suffering. In retrospect, wouldn't it have been better to locate the newly formed state of Israel in South America or Africa, two of the orignally considered options? Is it too late to move it?

Oops...is right. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4713753.stm Turns out the guy ran because his Visa may have expired. And the terrorist house he was seen leaving....was a block of flats. Kinda like you or me leaving a mega apartment building and immediately being a suspect just because we live on the third floor and some dillrods in the basement are cooking up bombs/meth/kiddie-porn/u-name-it. Lame.

I second this motion. It's just like when two bratty kids are fighting over a toy, refusing to share. warn them a couple of times...then take the toy, smash it, and toss it in the trash. I say give everyone a week's warning to clear out of Jerusalem and then nuke it.

both!

The Himalayas is a great go-go bar in Pattaya...plenty of mountains to climb there and most are straight forward. I'd recommend not spending all three weeks there...spread your love around a little.

What do I do on top? It depends on how large her breasts are, how bad her feet smell, how smooth the landing strip is, how buck her teeth are, and numerous other factors. I prefer the 'Six Flags Over Texas' approach. love those glissades.......

Did anyone else listen to the hour Tom Leykis devoted to this news story and related issues?

are you sure the kids didn't pick up the rock and huck it thru your window? and....It sounds to me like that 911 operator doesn't want to get a call if you witness that flaming meteorite crash into a preschool, since they don't respond to acts of god (or goddess).

cal·lus ( P ) n. pl. cal·lus·es A localized thickening and enlargement of the horny layer of the skin.

Yikes...maybe Bobby and Stefan should summit together sometime.

an interesting juxtaposition of the concept of 'beating a dead horse.'

looks like Snuggy was having a little of her own public fun in this photo... Snuggy didn't like the implication I made and asked me to delete the photo...boo...

Seattle PI gives us a bit more insight... The investigation was launched this month after authorities discovered the July 2 death of a man who suffered internal bleeding after engaging in anal sex with a horse at the farm, Sgt. John Urquhart said. Yup. Swift kick would do it. Well....I don't think that was the case. He had a punctured colon, likely due to the fact he was on the receiving end of the stallion's affections. edit: one source The man suffered fatal trauma while being sodomised by a stallion at a stud farm that catered to men who wanted sex with animals, Enumclaw Police Commander Eric Sortland told AFP. Basically, his colon was ruptured, along with his lower organs in that region, and he bled out," Sortland said.

I like to brew up a cup of good coffee. My french press has been to the summit of Rainier with me almost every time. Sometimes it's just too nasty to break out the stove, other times it's the perfect 'pick me up'.

Here's something I wrote a few years back (1/2001) for a climbers' email listserve I subscribe to. The "first date" referenced was bad for the next day's trip, but VERY good in other ways... And since this IS a climbers' bb it involves a climb...one with one of my favoite alpine climbing mentors....the names have been shortened to protect the guilty. ****************** It all started at Stone Gardens last Wednesday night where the insatiable P was looking for some fodder to sacrifice to the rock and ice gods on the weekend. The talk of the Tatoosh Range and it’s highest point, Unicorn Peak, soon had me whipped up into a fervor that I couldn’t resist. We agreed to meet at 7:00 am at P’s, there was talk of G and C coming along, but as it turned out, they were savvy enough to feign sickness and slept in. D and S stepped in to fill the gap. 9:30 am arrival at Mt. Rainier Nat’l Park, the ranger at the gate said the gate at Longmire should be opening around 11:00, so much for an early start from the parking lot. Lounging in the café at Longmire had it’s benefits, though. It allowed P to catch up with about 10 people at 4 different tables that he hadn’t seen in years, the biscuits and gravy weren’t bad either. 10:30 a mass exodus from the café indicated to us that the gate had opened and the race was on. S’s AWD minivan was a champ on the slick roads, passing all sorts of Scandinavian autos along the way. At the Narada Falls parking lot we donned our gear and set off up the BIG hill. I’ll have to admit, I was dragging a bit the last hour.....at first I thought it was just a result of eating and relaxing a bit too much over the holidays, but it soon dawned on me that it was a bit more than that.....memories the previous night’s date kept coming back to me.....the dinner date that turned into a marathon.....how DID I end up in the Little Red Hen at last call, downing shots of tequila and two-stepping with that gal on a first date?!?!? I was certainly glad that we opted for Castle Peak instead of Unicorn, thus shortening the approach and the pain of operating on 3 hours of sleep significantly. Anyway, we all reached the saddle near Castle Peak and joined the powder party there, at least 6 inches of fresh powder, and more kept falling all day. D and S shed their skins and disappeared over the edge of the ridge. I sat for awhile taking in the view, apricot bars, and the hoots and hollers of the skiers. A little while later P and I started the traverse over to Castle Peak, not entirely certain it was possible to climb. After a little kick stepping we were at the base of a nice near-vertical pitch of snow and ice covered rock, few things have looked more appealing in my life. P made short work of the 50 or 60 feet of scrambling, dropped me a skinny little rope for a belay, and soon we were near the top. The only thing between the summit and us was about 100 feet of a snow-covered, knife-edged ridge with a few tiny dead trees. We opted to go for it. Now normally I enjoy a little exposure on a nice summer day when my rock shoes stick like glue to volcanic rock and my fingers aren’t numb with cold. Those snow covered holds, icy gloves, uncertain footing, and abysmal drops gave me an adrenaline rush greater than I’ve had in quite awhile (unless you count the date the night before, but that’s another story). I’m still not sure there was really rock underneath the snow we were stepping on. A quick handshake on the summit, a couple of howls to our friends, back across the ridge, a short rap, and the slog through near whiteout conditions back to the saddle to rejoin the powder junkies. D and S appeared shortly out of the fog and declared they were finished for the day. We made it back to the parking lot without headlamps (barely) and headed off to Seattle to the sounds of D chanting “POW-POW, POW-POW”. I’m also pleased to report that P’s knee doesn’t seem to be slowing him down any, nor has it dampened his cavalier spirit, so don’t hesitate to drag him out and wear him down some. Also, for a little inspiration, I’ll include a quote someone forwarded to me recently. I’ve got no idea who uttered it, but I like it: "Relationships are harder to deal with than climbing; you can't just slam a bolt in their forehead and bail." I prefer the imagery of an ice axe instead of a bolt, but that's just me.

The ultralight that crashed on the summit (in the east crater) COULDN'T make it into/onto any of the glaciers. Without a significant change in the topography of the mountain, that plane will stay inside the crater forever. We looked for it a few years back but couldn't find it. Expected to find it in the 'bird room' but saw no trace of it the couple of hours we were in there.

Potpourri

Ahh...yes. One really wants to pay attention to the length of some of those climbs. What else did you climb there, Iain?

I guess it's really time to put away the skis...Snowbird finally called it a season. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2840224

Tony "Called-it-wrong" Calderone didn't have the balls to print potentially offensive route names in his guidebook...confusing and lame. I agree, from what I recall the permits were to prevent gridbolting. Brad Schilling, the climbing ranger, didn't seem to object to runout/bold routes, just as long as they were that way all the way through. I seem to remember an interview where he expressed concern about moderate climbers getting onto a mellow looking route only to find uncomfortable runouts further up the climb. The new Castle Rock Ranch guidebook is decent...and inexpensive.