PLC

Actually, Siberians can pretty well tolerate a very wide range of temperatures. Their coat actually keeps them cool in the summer, which is why you should never shave a husky. My husky tolerates the heat better than any other dog I've ever seen. If it gets too hot, he'll dig a hole under the porch and crawl inside...

You'll probably reject the Siberian Husky due to shedding, but they really only shed for about six weeks per year (once in Spring, once in Fall). They are also incredibly intelligent, love the cold, and are even self-cleaning. My husky has not had a bath in over a decade (my other dogs have to get groomed at least every other month). Plus, huskies will feed themselves on squirrels and birds. You also might want to consider coonhounds. These dogs were bred for intelligence, stamina, and an ability to handle all types of weather. They are also gentle family pets. The black and tan is probably too big for you, but a treeing walker or bluetick might be perfect.

I'll be able to get off work early next Tuesday and Wednesday and wondered if anyone wants to head up to Exit 32 or 38? Maybe do an easy "alpine" climb like the Tooth? Is there still a group going to Exit 38 on Wednesday afternoons?

Is anybody interested in heading to Exit 38 tomorrow afternoon? I can probably get off work by noon... paulcallo@hotmail.com

I'd be interested in climbing after work next week; either Tuesday or Thursday should be OK. I injured my knee a couple months ago and I'm just starting to get back into shape, so I doubt if I'll be climbing any 11's right now, but if you're interested, send me a PM.

Those are all fine sentiments, but what do they have to do with SUVs, Soccer Moms, or Bellevue in particular? The person I am least worried about when I'm driving or riding my bike is a suburban soccer mom - they tend to drive slowly and safely. I'm worried about teenage boys and middle-aged men returning from work. There's your aggressive drivers right there...

My wife and I could pretty much live anywhere we want; we have enough money, so I guess you could say that we've decided that the best place in the world to live is Woodinville, WA... There's fantastic skiing, kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing within a few hours drive. Hop a plane, and you can be climbing in Red Rocks or Moab or Alaska or Canmore in a couple hours. When we get tired of the rain, we head to Hawaii or the Bahamas. The only place I'd consider moving would be Australia / New Zealand.

Thanks everybody - your anecdotes definitely helped. I had been literally making myself sick with stress over the thought of never playing basketball or soccer or skiing again... After reading everyone's stories, I'm not so worried. My doc seems to think it is best to wait about a month before surgery, to let things "calm down". After reading Ryland's story, I might talk to the surgeon about pushing this out to September... Anyway, thanks everybody!

So, having spent the past six months getting into the best shape of my life in preparation for "the summer of Paul" (I have six weeks vacation to use between now and November), I just completely destroyed my knee playing soccer yesterday. Anyone have any idea how quickly I can get back to climbing after tearing my ACL, LCL, and miniscus? The doc says I'll need surgery in about 30 days and then 4-6 months of rehab. Anyone done it faster? Good knee docs? How can I keep my cardio fitness up without using my legs? This sucks.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, so maybe my point wasn't clear: Looking at historical demographic patterns, it is evident that the majority of people in the United States prefer to live in the suburbs, work in the suburbs, and drive alone to work. This is the preferred mode of living, working, and commuting for about 75%-90% of the population. This preference is so strong that a mere $1 or $2 per gallon increase in gas prices will not impact the trends of increasing suburb population and decreasing transit usage. If gas becomes too expensive, we will simply replace it with an alternative fuel source which will meet the overwhelming demand for autonomous, always available, instant, and perfectly flexible transportation (ie, cars).

Gas is still cheap. If you look at the percentage of after-tax income spent on gasoline, it's actually pretty close to a historic low. People, relatively, spent a lot more on gas in the 70's and 80's. I can't find any more recent commute data, but just looking at population growth, in the years from July 2001 - July 2005 (most recent data available), the percentage of population growth that occured in King/Pierce/Snohomish counties that fell within cities was never greater than 8% and has averaged about 4.5%. That means that at least 95% of the growth in western Washington is falling in the suburbs. Despite the rise in oil prices, people are still moving to the suburbs. Just look at King County alone: the percentage of people living in King County who choose to live in Seattle has fallen steadily, year-by-year, from 32.4% in 2002 to 31.9% in 2005. Even in a time of rising gas prices, people are NOT moving back to the cities. Suburbanization continues unabated.

For all the information you could possible want about commute patterns in the US, see this report: Commuting in the United States Some key facts: 1. The dominant type of commute is now suburb-to-suburb, and this is also the fastest growing type of commute. 2. The only three commute modes which experienced an actual decline in number of commuters in the period between 1990 and 2000 were motorcycle, walking, and transit. 3. The percent of commuters who drove alone to work rose from 73% to 76% in the 90's. The only other mode with any significant growth in share was Work at Home (3% to 3.3%).

Light rail is only faster if you live on a rail line and work on a rail line - so, for a tiny portion of the population, light rail will be faster. For the vast majority of people, a bus will be faster. The roads have to built anyway to accomidate cars and truck traffic, the share of road expense which an economist would allocate to bus travel would be minimal. There is no reason why light rail could accomidate more people. You can always add more buses, and pretty cheaply, too.

Actually, if you look at the data, in several cities, total transit ridership numbers fell after the introduction of light rail. Not just share, total ridership fell. Personally, I've lived in the NYC, Washington DC, and Atlanta metro areas. All places with extensive rail systems. In NY, a significant minority ride the subway to work. In DC and Atlanta, the vast majority of people drive to work. Also you point about the suburbs is exactly the point - there is no population growth in urban areas anymore. People just don't want to live in urban environments. You might want to, but most people don't. The growth is happening in the suburbs. So, why invest in an outmoded technology to serve an outmoded lifestyle?

Building rail systems is an incredible waste of money. 1. The vast majority of people who will use light rail will simply be people who would otherwise ride the bus, so congestion is not impacted. 2. Light rail is vastly more expensive than bus systems 3. Light rail is inflexible and can not adapt to changing consumer behavior, where-as a bus system is perfectly flexible Finally, for the price of light rail in Seattle, we could double the number of buses on the road, and make all rides free. That would be a much better use of public funds. Rail is an 1800's technology which just doesn't fit in the modern world. Rail is all about centralization and fixed assets; the modern commute is all about decentralization and flexibility. Here's some data on the experience of other cities which have installed rail systems: Transit Share Data

The price of gas really isn't that big of a deal, which is why, at the end of the year, I predict that the percentage of trips taken on public transportation will, once again, decline. More and more people are driving solo because, as a whole, our society is getting richer and more people can afford to do travel in their preferred mode. Also, just do some simple math. If I'm going to drive 120 miles to go climbing this weekend, and my pickup gets 15 mpg, that works out to 8 gallons of gas. Which means if gas has gone from $2 a gallon to $3 a gallon, all it costs me is an extra $8. Big freakin' whoop.

Typical Plan (put together on Sunday night): Mon - lift weights AM, soccer game PM Tue - run 4 miles AM, swim 30 min PM Wed - mountain bike 1 hour, crossfit Thu - swim 30 min AM, basketball game PM Fri - run speedwork AM, crossfit Sat/Sun - climbing, hiking, biking Typical Reality: Mon - sleep in, soccer game Tue - run 4 miles, pull all nighter at work Wed - try to recover from all nighter Thu - another all-nighter Fri - try to recover from all nighter Sat/Sun - play with the kids, short hike The secret to avoidign overtraining is to work at Microsoft...

This is pretty close to the plan my wife and I have... we'll pop out one more kid and then wait two years. After that, I get to retire for five years while she goes back to work. I make way more money than she does, but we're saving up in the meantime to cover the difference. I can't wait.

I know... megablocks, trampolines, zip-lines, legos, building snowmen and igloos, throwing rocks in the lake, jumping off dirt piles - now that I have kids I can act like the kid I still am, without anybody thinking I'm weird!

I've got four - but three are married and the other is a 50 year old confirmed bachelor who spends all his time and money on race cars and skiing...

I'm in 34th place out of 30,000 entries in KJR-AM's bigger dance! First Prize is a trip to any sporting event in the world: I'm thinking the Antarctica Marathon.

Actually, I think I'm the lucky one - she is WAAAAY better looking that me, she's smarter than me, she's nicer than me, she's friendlier than me... she coudl do a lot better and I work hard every single day to never let her realize it!

Muffy - sorry about coming off like an ass... I do that sometimes. Anyway, I didn't really mean "playing" (although I do spend a ton of time building sandcastles, riding the zip-line in our backyard, etc.). To me, teaching my son to read is "play". Making up funny stories is "play". Even getting to change my daughters diapers is "play". It's a chance to spend time with the people I love. There is no "work" in it at all...

Unfortunately, I'm already married to the perfect woman, and I will always be married to her through the end of time. I really don't understand dad's who don't like to play with their kids. The best parts of my day are waking up early to make breakfast with my son (my wife gets breakfast in bed each morning), and then the hours of 6-10pm when I play with the kids and put them to bed while my wife gets a chance to relax. What it the world is more fun than playing with kids?

First - stop with the homework. It's a useless waste of time. I never did any, and my kids will never do any. Life is too short for busy work. Second - don't clean the house so much. Do an hour less housework and sleep an extra hour. Is it really going to make a difference? Finally, you get to play with your kids for a few hours each night. This is work? edit - the last statement sounded condescending, and that wasn't my intent. I'm just saying that getting to spend time with your kids should be a joy, not a burden.