mothboy88

If anyone is up for a valiant but likely futile exercise, check out the comment section under one of the Seattle PI articles regarding the lost snowboarders at Crystal. Lots of people talkign about the cost of searches and how the families should be fined. Even one person announcing that its no longer a search but a recovery. Anyway, I figured it would be nice to get more comments from people who actually know what they are talking about. PI Snowboarder Search Link

They do. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). But you are not going to be living the high life on SSDI.

I buy a comprehensive version of Lifewise for myself. I haven't used it much, but I have no complaints. I got it on the reccomendation of an insurance broker who has proven to be quite helpful with navigating health and life insurance issues. PM if you want his contact info.

Photo's have been "manipulated" as long as there has been photography. And here I thought those old 1940 postcards with 4 foor tall apples labeled "Greetings from Washington" were real until now. My perception is that there is a lot more overt changes being made to photos that appear in newspapers these days (a la the LA times photo a few years ago where they merged two photos together and some people appeared twice in the same shot). Most of them seem fairly harmless when uncovered, but I think its an incredibly slippery slope that "photo-journalists" and editors are tiptoeing down. I did just find the link to the article about the topic: Potty Note Photo Story Here is some text from the article: "Once he saw what it said, Hershorn decided the note was interesting and worth publishing. The white parts of the picture were overexposed, so a Reuters processor used Photoshop to burn down the note. This is a standard practice for news photos, Hershorn says, and the picture was not manipulated in any other way." That doesn't sound so bad upon reviewing it; I imagine that isn't that different from what a person might do in a darkroom. I was imagining someone going in and using photoshop to write the text. Anyway, so much for my thread drift.

This a headline on Drudge: "REUTERS has acknowledged Bush 'Potty Note' photo was enhanced via Photoshop... " But his link to the story is dead. If he is right (there is always a big IF with Drudge) then it looks like the story is real but they had to mess with the writing to make it legible (and not tell anyone it was enhanced). While the story is kinda funny, another digital manipulation of photo journalism is very disheartening.

I spoke to a reputable auto body repair shop today and asked the following question. If I pay out of pocket, does the VIN number go into a database and my insurance company finds out? He said absolutley not; they don't enter it into a database. So my next question was how do Carfax or similar reports get off saying they provide a comprehensive collision histories for vehicles? The auto body guy said they have often wondered the same thing. Thanks for the input. It appears its better to bite the bullet and pay out of pocket now than possibly cause more grief/cost later.

Unfortuntley the company is USAA. They don't have local agents like other companies, just a big calling center that always demands an insurance number before questions are asked. In some of the info I have read in my searches, it is said that many insurance companies keep records of all damage inquiries even if they don't turn into claims. And this info will go into a profile that is shared with other insurance companies.

That is the question. Lets say two people who are tight get into a small fender bender with each other. Its a low speed affair. No airbag deployment, no injuries, no hard feelings. One of the cars gets a hole punched into the fiberglass bumper and the corner of the hood is bent a little. Would you claim the damage if you knew the repair would cost way more than your deductable? Or would you pay out of pocket to keep an unsullied driving record clean and prevent your rates from going up? If you do pay out of pocket, does the insurance company find out anyway? I am having trouble finding answers to these questions through google. Perhaps there is a vast insurance conspiracy to suppress such knowledge. Perhaps I just didn't search hard enough. Either way, if anyone who reads this can shed some insight to the dilema, it would be appreciated.

as well. Do you mind doing a "nodder" synopsis? I just don't have the time to even begin reading that one, but I am curious...

Check your PMs.

I find it interesting phenomenon that most of the time I read back and forth rants on CC.Com, its almost always between a bunch of men.... It can't be news to any of you that this forum tends to trend a bit heavy on Y chromosomes.

You are obviously not a wheelchair user who would like to get to a campground.

OK, so I am sold on skipping Cream Lake. My maps don't label Stephen Lake. I am assuming that is the lake that is a bit north west of Stephen Peak. Does that sound right? Also, I wanted to seek some opinions. Lets say I entered in from the Soleduck and wanted to exit out the Elwah valley. If I went all the way down the traverse to Mount Barnes, would you suggest returning to Lake Mills via the Elwha snow finger and hiking the whole river, or backtracking a bit and exiting the range via Dodger Point? Thanks for all the advice.

then it must be the crack.

Wow, they must have jacked the price up since last summer. Or maybe I have been smoking crack.