Toast

got one of those too

My 'puter's been awful sluggish lately, so I decided to reformat my hard drive to clean all the porn off it... er, I mean, clean all the crap off it I had one super simple question about reinstalling Windows XP, but I've screwed up doing this before, so I decided to call Microsoft Support to check. I spend the next half hour in a mix of being put on hold and reciting the spelling of my name, my address, my zip code, the city I live in, my email address, the specifics of which product I have, the license key... TWICE, two separate fucking times!! My expectations of customer service were pretty low anyway, but ya know, they pretty much met them. I was polite, they were polite, I’m just annoyed it took half an hour to ask a simple question that any other tech support organization would be able to resolve in all of five minutes. Enough bitching about that, that’s the least of it. Okay, so now I’m armed with what I need and I begin the process of reinstalling the XP operating system, Norton and Office XP. Everything’s going smoothly enough. I hop online and download the latest virus definitions, then proceed to check for Microsoft updates. I shit you not, I spend the next four hours downloading Microsoft critical updates, rebooting my machine, re-running Windows Update, downloading additional software updates, rebooting my machine, re-running Windows Update… get the picture? What is it with Microsoft’s buggy software that they need to issue and re-issue more and more patches for shit that’s got more holes than Swiss cheese? I started reformatting my hard drive today about lunchtime. That took something less than an hour. The tech support call was 32 mins on my cell phone, the reinstalling process and updates took another four hours. Repopulating Outlook and my documents took all of twenty minutes. I shot a whole sunny day pushing the restart button. I'm so pissed, I need a drink! Well, at least I know how to do this next time. Here's to Microsoft, fuckers

I'm all fixed up, a quick visit to my chiropractor for an adjustment, a nice walk after to settle in the adjustment, and some core exercises for a week or two, and I'm as good as new. My back gets out of whack when I'm not active enough

You rang

Looks more like an infected cut

... says Harry Potter

Hey man, I'm not feeling anything yet. I want my money back

kneel and repent

nICE

So there I was at Bremerton Vertical World belaying my daughter & listening to the VW employee explain the use of a grigri to some newcomers. "So the grigri will automatically catch a fall? You don't have to do anything?" asked one of the newbies. "That's right," replied the VW employee. See article on common errors in using the GriGri here.

I've always liked the taco wagons up in White Center, maybe that's the Roxbury district, I dunno. I miss the taco wagon in Ballard, though.

To the Sloop for personal pitchers, I say!

spank me, yeehaw

In this thread are good hints on starting your rack, especially CBS's links to two other threads on the topic. One quick way to pick up some biners is to buy a six pack of quick draws. You'll use those cragging, but if you go alpine, you can take the biners off and add those to some shoulder length tied slings of 9/16" climb spec webbing for more versatility. Other good advice, start off slow. You don't need a full Yosemite rack, just a set of nuts, the larger half of a hex set, some racking biners, and maybe an abbreviated set of cams from 0.5 - 2.0 if you have the spare cash, but I'd hold off on those till you need them. If you're cragging, you won't need to worry about water purification. You'll be able to carry the water you need. Aqua Mira (chlorine dioxide) is a lot lighter than a filter. A filter, stove and tent are group gear, and you can probably get by with one of the three and partner up for the rest. Despite the online personalities, most of the folks here are good people. Have fun.

True, REI's flavor has a Walmart aftertaste. But to be fair, something doesn't sound quite right about your story. I used to work for REI along with a couple dozen other folks on this board. I even worked a stint in CS handling returns, and I know most of the folks there. In general, the satisfaction guarantee is honored with no questions asked as long as you have proof of purchase, have a purchase history in the member database, or there isn't a smell of abuse or mal intent. MisterMo kind of sums up the counterpoints... However, once a customer starts in with a little attitude all bets are off, and they're going to treat you just the way they did. Consider yourself lucky for having got a refund. Now STFU. P/S nice job on Three Fingers

Hard to be a dirtbag golfer

Yeah, but isn't that Heather Locklear? Nuff said

Dude, that's some nasty shit. I'd be worried about some health considerations... and more importantly this as an inhibiting factor to getting

Haven't done it, but I'd guess it'd be covered in a thin veil of verglas and be hard to protect... doesn't sound fun to me. Why not go after something like NY Gulley if you want more of a challenge?

The Needles, maybe. I've never climbed there, but I hear it's good for alpine rock. You could make your rounds through the Sierras that way.

I picked up a Kmart special from Second Bounce ten years ago for under $100, and it's worked fine for me. The design is a rip off of a TNF two man, but for a three pole front entry it weighs in at under 5 lbs. It's been up Rainier and a dozen other peaks. Don't feel like you need to blow $500 on a four season tent if you don't need one. They're heavy and overkill for most things in Washington. REI does a good job at ripping off functional designs and offering them for sale at a reasonable price. Aor an all around general purpose tent, the REI Half Dome 2 is a pretty good two person two pole tent that weighs in at 5 lbs and sells for under $200. You can go nicer and lighter if you have the cash to burn.

I'll take a dime bag

I have that one