Thinker

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4613785.stm An interesting collection of interviews by BBC.

I did Intruding Dike on Saturday. It's a fun 30 to 35 foot climb with a walkoff. I also topped out on Steinfell's Dome for the first time ever....what a view! Sinocranium is 6ish pitches of fun 5.8 slab climbing with a 20 foot vertical headwall thrown in for good measure.

MEC, there go YOUR chances for a date with any chick from this site....absolultey NO sense of romance...

Yep! That concrete is about 12 or 14 inches wide. It seemed to be hung up in the veg mat and I couldn't find a stick to try and help it out...no trees around for miles.

WWJD? Spend the damned $20 for a cheapie or borrow one so you've got some peace of mind. Risk Management! Heck, if I were in Seattle I'd lend you my spare XL.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4605711.stm A Nepalese couple have exchanged wedding vows on top of Mount Everest, the first people ever to marry there. They briefly took off their oxygen masks and put on plastic garlands, while the groom symbolically applied red powder on the bride's forehead. Moni Mule Pati and Pem Dorjee Sherpa were part of the Rotary Centennial Everest Expedition earlier this week. They had kept the plan secret as there was no guarantee they would reach the top of the world's highest peak. Arriving back in Kathmandu, the bride said it would not have been possible to meet all the religious requirements, so they did what they could with what was available. People are people so there's no problem about caste Pem Dorjee The couple stayed on the peak for a mere 10 minutes which gave enough time for the ceremony and for friends to take photos. Other climbers were "very surprised, they are really shocked" Ms Mulepati told the BBC's Newshour programme. They plan to hold a more formal ceremony soon. Interracial marriage Mr Dorjee said other couples had wanted to do the same in the past, but none had managed because they could not get up on top of the peak together. Fearing the same possibility, they had kept their own plan secret. The surprised families have welcomed the marriage, which is also unusual because it cuts across Nepal's deep-rooted caste and ethnic divisions. "If some people are loving each other they have to get married," Pem Dorjee told the BBC. "That's why we want to give all Nepali people [the message] that people are people so there's no problem about caste." One Nepalese paper joked that this was a marriage which, if not made in heaven, was solemnised closest to it. Record It has been a busy week of mountaineering at Mount Everest at the start of the popular spring climbing season. On Monday, 45 climbers scaled the 8,850-metre (29,035-feet) peak - including Pem Dorjee and Moni Mulepati. Nepalese Appa Sherpa broke his own world record by climbing it for the 15th time while two Iranian climbers became the first Muslim women on top of the peak. A helicopter also crashed at the Everest base camp but there were no major injuries.

Here's what I found while out walking at work last week.

Yes! Tribal Boundaries, and the nearby Reservations. Don't forget Swiss Cheese and Scream Chesse, two more fun routes.

NICE catch! That's even better than a pagetop!

expect crowds on the weekends if you're climbing within 15 minutes walk of the parking lots. Prolly no more snow. Lost Arrow, Theater of Shaddows, RainDance, Rye Crisp, Wheat Thin...too many to remember or list. Get a guidebook and have fun. Need a partner? I'm in Salt Lake and it's a quick drive up there for me.

This reads almost like a trip report from the old pub clubs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4583665.stm Alpine cricket is 'rough lover' A species of Alpine cricket has proved itself to be an uncharming lothario who can mate every 18 seconds, European scientists report. While most crickets serenade their lady friends before making a move, this particular species is somewhat brutish, often causing injury during sex. Anonconotus alpinus will sneak up on any passing female, clamping her violently with his sharp pincers. What is more, he is ready for action again after only seconds of rest. The work was conducted by a team of researchers from the Universities of Derby and Geneva. Karim Vahed, University of Derby "The alpinus species of Anonconotus has a completely different approach to the mating process to the majority of bush crickets as it is far more aggressive," said Karim Vahed of the University of Derby. Unfussy stallion Not only are other crickets rather more gentlemanly in their approach, they also often take days to recover after copulation, making alpinus the "stallion" of the insect world. However, there is a bit of a mystery behind alpinus' reproductive success. Most crickets sing to their "lovers" before mating, which is how they avoid copulating with the wrong species: female crickets simply do not fancy males who sing a foreign song. "Pre-copulatory song usually acts as a barrier to cross-species mating because females aren't attracted to the song of another species," explained Dr Vahed. But alpinus males do not bother with any such formalities: they will apparently leap on any unsuspecting cricket - male or female - without introduction. So Dr Vahed and his colleague Gilles Carron would like to spend more time in the alps working out just how alpinus avoids wasting time and energy on inter-species liaisons. "[We would like to find out] what happens in areas of the mountains when two of the Anonconotus species are in contact," said Dr Vahed. "The reason why this is particularly interesting is that males seem to be highly unselective when it comes to mating."

I always went to the Lusty Lady when I needed a little dose of 'wireless'...

maybe a few of these: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7900977/ ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Tom Wilson is faced with a problem many city administrators would envy: How to spend $1.5 million on a bus stop. Wilson, Anchorage’s director of public transportation, has all that money for a new and improved bus stop outside the Anchorage Museum of History and Art thanks to Republican Sen. Ted Stevens — fondly referred to by Alaskans as “Uncle Ted” for his prodigious ability to secure federal dollars for his home state. Wilson is prepared to think big. The bus stop there now is a simple steel-and-glass, three-sided enclosure. Wilson wants better lighting and seating. He also likes the idea of heated sidewalks that would remain free of snow and ice. And he thinks electronic signs would be nice. “It is going to be a showpiece stop,” Wilson said. He acknowledges the money has put him in an awkward position. “We have a senator that gave us that money, and I certainly won’t want to appear ungrateful,” he said. At the same time, he does not want the public to think the city is wasting the money. So “if it only takes us $500,000 to do it, that’s what we will spend.” That is still five to 50 times the typical cost of bus stop improvements in Anchorage. Part of $388 billion spending bill The money was contained in a $388 billion spending bill passed by Congress in November, when Stevens was head of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Citizens Against Government Waste has ranked Stevens No. 1 every year since it began calculating lawmakers’ proficiency at bringing home pork in 2000. In 2005, Stevens brought home more than $645 million, or $984.85 for each Alaskan, the group says. City and museum officials agree that the bus stop must fit in aesthetically with a museum expansion project that is being funded with $75 million in public and private money. In fact, the museum has offered to help design the bus stop. The museum’s architects want the bus stop to be compatible with the exterior building materials used for the expansion — glass with a pattern that gives the impression of looking through a thin curtain. Mustn’t spoil the view And they do not want it to spoil the view of the street that museum visitors will have when they stand in what will be a mini-forest of 350 birch trees whose lower branches have been cut away. If done right, the expanded museum and improved bus stop could anchor a new eastern edge to the downtown area, drawing not only more tourists to the museum but shoppers from a nearby mall and workers from the federal building, said museum director Pat Wolf. That is what Stevens had in mind when he got the $1.5 million, said the senator’s spokeswoman Courtney Boone. “It is supposed to be a lot more than a bus stop,” she said. “It needs to have a way to smoothly transition all these people.” Call it ‘infrastructure development’ And Boone said there are good reasons Stevens strives to bring federal dollars to Alaska. For one thing, it is more difficult and costly to build infrastructure in Alaska, she said. “Sen. Stevens does not believe the money that he is able to work diligently to secure at the federal level is pork,” she said. “He considers it infrastructure development for a very young state. People seem to forget how young Alaska really is.” Waiting for a bus, Ronnie San Ramon imagined what he would do with $1.5 million. With winter still a fresh memory, he suggested making the bus stop fully enclosed and heated. “People in winter are frozen — especially if the bus is late like today,” San Ramon said.

I haven't seen the new Star Wars, but doesn't she play one of the bad Jedis?...using this technique to make blood spurt out the ears of a rival?

OH come ON....this merited more than 2 replies. Ewwww......

A planned topping out on OS in the dark is really quite nice. It's the scramble down the dark gully that reeks, even with headlamps.

I've got my eye on the City for the upcoming holiday weekend and would love to join an existing group heading that way or pick up a partner at loose ends. I'd be driving up from Salt Lake and happy to take a 2nd or 3rd. I hear the park campground is totally reserved, but there's usually enough room to bivy in the BLM area. Thad...you out there? PM me.

Another classic and spot on effort at image weaving by Riverbend. The Dead and the Undead... She stood in the crowded room as her drove of minions stood around her...A huddling mass trying to draw closer to her aura of evil. The lights flashed against her fangs as her cruel lips curled into a grimace. It was meant to be a smile but it wouldn't reach her cold, lifeless eyes; It was a leer- the leer of the undead before a feeding... The above was not a scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer- it was just Condi Rice in Iraq a day ago. At home, we fondly refer to her as The Vampire. She's such a contrast to Bush- he simply looks stupid. She, on the other hand, looks utterly evil. continues...

attempt this

cells

Free Viagra For Convicted Sex Offenders Pressure is mounting on the US federal government to modify a law which allows convicted sex offenders to receive the impotence drug Viagra for free. Nearly 200 convicts obtained the drug between January and March 2000 from state-funded Medicaid, the New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi revealed. They were all Level 3 convicts. These are likely to have committed crimes such as rape and child abuse and are seen as at a high risk of reoffending. ...continues...

I ordered some dvd's from overstock.com and one of them showed up in a Spanish language version. PITA trying to deal with them, too.

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