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gslater

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Everything posted by gslater

  1. Yup, the static coefficient of friction is always higher than the kinetic/dynamic/sliding coefficient. That little college factoid always seems to pop back into my head whenever my foot starts to slide.
  2. gslater

    Nerd Question

    I don't personally recall any airlines ever saying it was a no-no to use a GPS during cruise (non-landing/takeoff phases), but it wouldn't surprise me. I've certainly done it quite a bit. But if they do ban them, I highly doubt it has anything to do with transmitting coordinates to anyone on the ground. That info is already usually available elsewhere (there used to be a web site that showed flight info like that), and the coordinates are pretty worthless. An airplane is infinitely more vulnerable to such an attack when near the ground. A shoulder-mounted heat-seeking missile isn't too effective against something flying at 40,000 ft.. Taking out a commercial flight near the ground with a Stinger would be pretty much a no-brainer; I can't believe it hasn't happened here yet. If they don't allow you to use a GPS on a flight, it's probably because they're basically radio receivers, and many/most radio receivers also emit radiation in that same frequency range, thus the remote possibility for interference with nav equipment.
  3. gslater

    Nerd Question

    All true. I work in the avionics biz, and it annoys the hell out of me that they ban the personal electronics stuff. That's about the absolute LAST thing I worry about when it comes to aircraft safety. The airplanes themselves aren't really "shielded" per se, but the avionics equipment does have to be designed and tested to show that it can handle some serious interference/fields/radiation/etc.. At least, the important equipment (nav, guidance, etc.) has to be proven that way. When we're out flight testing, we run all sorts of scary electronics, ESPECIALLY during landings and takeoffs, and nothing ever happens. I think it's all for show, much like the majority of the airport security.
  4. I got my copy of Oregon High at Powell's within the past year. People had been saying it was hard to find, but they had something like 20 brand new copies on the day I went there.
  5. It would be perfectly fine with me if they were a bit closer, but I certainly like the fact that people have to make an effort to get there. Helps preserve the character of the place. Now if only I could find a $$$-paying job in Joseph...
  6. I've got a beautiful chunk of white Oregon granite sitting on my desk right now. A little souvenir from last weekend's backpacking trip in the Wallowas. I had to bring it back just to prove to people that granite does exist in these parts.
  7. I looked at one and liked it, but eventually decided I wanted something just a bit bigger, so I ended up getting an Arc'Teryx Khamsin 52 instead. I thought the Sluiskin was a pretty cool pack, and I'm a Dana fan in general, but I thought it was a little bit overpriced. If it were available on sale, that would change the equation somewhat.
  8. Who said anything about calling Mommy from the mountains? I use it to call the GF after getting safely OFF the mountain, so she won't obsess about my irresponsibility, thus allowing me the opportunity to find the time for some post-adventure
  9. Any of the digital-only (e.g. Sprint) providers will be essentially worthless in the mountains. Gotta have somebody with a sizable analog (there's always the $$$ satellite option, of course) network, which pretty much means just Verizon or AT&T these days. But even those guys are planning on phasing out all the analog stuff, which will be a real loss for use in remote areas. The only way to maintain coverage in remote areas after switching to all digital will be to have a tower on just about every peak. Not good. I have good reason to believe that Verizon's network is much more extensive than AT&T's in remote areas, especially here in Oregon (and probably in Washington). I'm currently an AT&T customer, but I'm considering switching to Verizon for just that reason. I was in the Wallowas this weekend, and I was roaming (presumably on Verizon's network) all the way back to almost The Dalles. And, for some reason, AT&T hasn't bothered to pursue the booming Central Oregon market. That's pure Verizon territory. I assume similar areas in Washington face the same issues.
  10. See what happens when you try to work those abs? I'm at very low risk of sustaining such an injury...
  11. That's an excellent side-by-side comparison. Sad to see things melting away like that...
  12. gslater

    GPSs

    Depends on what type of stuff you do. I sometimes take my GPS, particularly if in potential whiteout conditions, or in featureless terrain like a desert. But I ALWAYS have my altimeter watch with me. I consider an altimeter to be a fundamental navigational tool, and a GPS to be a very helpful tool in certain conditions/situations.
  13. If I had the money/enthusiasm, I think I'd try to start my own cable network that does nothing but show what I consider to be the classic, "quotable" movies. You know the ones; the ones that everyone (especially guys) are always quoting, usually comedies. Imagine a channel that you could turn to at any time, and find only movies like: Fletch Stripes Caddyshack Blues Brothers Animal House Spinal Tap Trading Places Dumb & Dumber Blazing Saddles Young Frankenstein Beverly Hills Cop Something About Mary Meet the Parents Better Off Dead NL's Vacation Austin Powers Wayne's World Monty Python's Holy Grail 48 Hrs Ghostbusters etc. I know lots of people (myself included) who would leave their TV tuned to such a channel all the time. I'd call it something like QMC, for Quotable Movie Classics. I think a channel like that could sustain pretty high ratings. You could have all kinds of contests and sponsorship.
  14. I did the exact same jaunt last October, right after the first snowfall. Beautiful day, with zero other people in sight. Upon reaching the PCT, I ran into one guy, who said he was off to climb N. Sister. I told him I was off to climb Middle. Satisfied that we each had a mountain to ourselves for the day, we parted ways. I never saw another person the whole day. Most excellent. I think the Middle summit may have the best view in the state.
  15. A few weeks ago I was at the Top Spur TH on the west side of Hood when some dude from the U. of Idaho asked me to take a survey about wilderness area stuff. I filled it out for him. Seemed to be pretty focused on determining how "wild" people think the wilderness should be. Lots of questions like "How many people would you have to encounter on this trip before you felt it was interfering with your wilderness experience?"
  16. That's the first thing I thought of too when I saw the subject line. Apparently not many Moz fans here...
  17. gslater

    le tour de lance

    True, but your fellow racers can certainly make your life miserable if they despise you TOO much. Lance may be a prick in day-to-day life, but at least on the bike he does seem to follow/honor/respect all the traditional protocols and racing etiquette and such.
  18. gslater

    le tour de lance

    I didn't see the article, but it sounds about right. I used to race against Lance occasionally when he was just a few years into the bike racing gig. Always kicked my ass, and the asses of most everyone else as well. He's obviously immensely talented, and insanely driven, and he works harder than anyone else, so he certainly earns my respect, but he's always been known as a prick. After his cancer ordeal, he's supposedly about 5% nicer than he used to be, but still far from an angel. My girlfriend works in the cancer center where he was treated, and she absolutely loathes the guy.
  19. I've also looked at it, being a bit of a weather geek. I eventually decided not to get it, just because the only functionality it added beyond my altimeter watch (an older Casio Pathfinder) was the anemometer (wind speed thingy), and the anemometer seemed a bit unprotected. What I ended up getting was the Kestrel 4000, which does everything the Sherpa does, and much more. It was something like $229. I only carry it when I can afford the weight (it's a bit bigger than the Sherpa, about the size of an e*trex GPS), and when I expect to find some sort of notable weather extremes (usually wind or temp). The Kestrel gives the usual wind and temperature and baro data (and combinations thereof, such as wind chill), and it also does relative humidity and stuff like that. Most importantly, it logs all the data points at an interval you specify, and then allows you to go back and review them on a nice LCD. Kinda fun, but it's definitely not a "necessary" item. It's also handy for demonstrating to my company's facilities people just how crappy our building's A/C system is.
  20. Ummmm, yeah, we call that "Mt. Hood"...
  21. If I recall correctly, William Sullivan's hiking book (the red one) says that it's just an inscription left by a Japanese climbing party way back when, and is not a memorial of any sort.
  22. Nah, 'Play Misty for Me' and 'High Plains Drifter' at least were before the Eiger. I think that's right. And then he went to Outlaw Josey Wales (an excellent, excellent movie) right after Eiger Sanction. I took a class called Western Cinema in college. Basically consisted of watching 2+ movies every afternoon for 3 straight weeks, and meeting in the morning to discuss them and writing papers and such. At the end of the class, we voted for best Western. We picked Josey Wales as #1 (Red River was #2, and The Searchers was #3). The final film, naturally, was Blazing Saddles, just so we'd get all the jokes about the Western cliches.
  23. Oh sure, definitely worth watching at least once. Lots of humorous mid-70s stuff, with some great scenery and so on. I'd never buy it, but I'd rent it.
  24. Both of these movies were on at the same time last night, and it was kind of fun to flip back and forth between the two to compare the climbing scenes. This morning I went to the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com, one of my faves) to look up some info on these movies. Reading the "User Comments" was kind of interesting, in that there were multiple comments like the following for The Eiger Sanction: "It is simply too long and has too many unnecessary or unduly elongated scenes. The training sequence (even though much of it is good) wears the audience out by the time the main climb occurs. By then, the endless pick-axing and scuffling along becomes tiresome." I don't know; "endless pick-axing and scuffling along" sounds pretty much like real climbing to me. On the other hand, the user comments for Cliffhanger talk about the wonderful action scenes. I guess that pretty much says it all about how the general public will never have much interest in accurate movies about climbing.
  25. Back when I was Joe Bike Racer, I used to track my morning heart rate religiously. Actually quite informative. First thing every morning, I'd take my pulse and enter that data point on a graph. The trends were easy to see that way, and very revealing. The rate was usually pretty consistent, but after a couple of hard racing days or severe training days, there would be a sharp spike in the rate, indicating the need for rest. It would also sometimes be out of whack immediately before I got sick, usually before I showed any symptoms of illness. It's only really an indicator of cardiovascular training, and obviously doesn't tell you too much about whether you're overstressing your joints or anything like that.
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