billcoe

This too will pass. Hey, did you have to pay extra for that? ...and can it be ordered with a side of Peking Duck? If it quacks like a duck could it actually and in reality be a fart sliding around a softened avocado? Pat: peace, and apologies. I realized Kevbone is more genial and humorful than me and I resolve to try harder. Later.

Rod, maybe you can flesh that out a bit for RJ? Meantime, here's a pic from Dave Jensen. Text and line drawings are Dave's as well. Here's some more moderate and reasonable stuff to look at Rocky Joe. I'd highly recommend that before heading into the Wallowas that one totally have their shit together (I'm not saying you don't). It's not at all like around here. Over there, self-sufficiency and skill will rule and win the day. There's been lots of kick-assed climbers come from that part of the world besides Steve House. As a minimum, heading over in a larger, skilled self-contained group so that you can effect a self rescue/carry out might be a good idea. It seems to me that around the Mt Hood area, people often commonly expect that someone else will take care of them if they trip over their own dick, so they don't do shit to prepare for the inevitable. It isn't the case over in Eastern Oregon or parts deeper west like Idaho and Montana. It's a radical mind-set change, whereby you know that you have the skill to take care of yourself and your buddy, and that your buddy can do likewise should the SHTF.It seems to often breed a hardier, stronger person. They just rarely crow about their achievements. Look at the late (great) Dwight Bishop for a real classic example of that. If you look up "Mensch" in the dictionary, his picture is usually used for the example.

I don't know jack shit on fixing such things Archy, I just wanted to wish you well. Sucks to be in Red Rocks and be in pain as some of the best routes are hikes to get to. Good luck!

Casinos cost a lot of money to build as well.

Did you not put that somewhere around here back when the Dow was 10,000 or so? If so, you are now tied with Jayb as the CC.com top economist. (OK, it's true, I'm too lazy to look it up myself). This plaque for your wall denoting top status will follow shortly.

The car workers make more than that especially if you calculate in all the other costs. You won't get an argument from me. I use to think it was insane what a truck driver could make when the Teamsters were strong. Now truck drivers struggle. Google the McDonalds case. It might change your mind or soften your stance as the results were not as bad as commonly thought. The big question here is what are we going to get for 900 billion dollars. Thats an obscene amount of money. Take care Bill

As a business owner, I've never seen OSHA in this state being overly burdensome. The few encounters I've personally had with OSHA have been productive, simple and easy. They run pretty lean and frankly I'm happy they exist. Maybe you have some specific example of something different though. Don't know if I can argue the union thing, but clearly that is a choice workers can and do make. If it makes them unprofitable, then it's sadly goodby.(car industry, GM is union, Nisson and Toyota in the US are non-union -but are the unions the reason for the demise? Maybe a bit.) There are a lot of things which we have that overseas competition can often skip. Environmental and government regulation is a small part I'm sure, however, I suspect that our over litigious legal system is a much greater cost. That hidden tax gets slapped on us by our fellow jurists. If average people on these juries started looking askance at some of these lawsuits and calling bullshit, they'd go away. They do have an actual function of helping to protect us all. Government policies on both sides of the ocean do contribute, I'm not saying they do not. Until recently, in my industry, any Chinese company who exported into the US, received an additional 13% on top of what they exported kicked right back to them from their government. Coupled with low labor costs and low taxes....it was substantial.

Dude! PLEASE! Et Tu Ivan? This is the issue your kids may be paying for in 20 years. Huge huge issue. I had hoped that the new president would be getting the military spending in strange middle east places under control a tad faster. I wonder if the Bush admin briefed him on some hidden secret Saudi instability that created an urgency on the middle eastern oil situation: Iraq being the 2nd largest reserves in the area....Glad to see the energy nominee being a damn smart wonk who realizes the importance of our wasteful habits and is not afraid of saying the word "Conservation" like most of the republican jackasses, (any of you repubs on this site should be damned embarrassed about this particular issue BTW, it's one of the big causes of our trade imbalance and the amount of money we are flushing down the toilet in Iraq) but that's a long term thing anyway. This bill has the potential to drive our country directly and rapidly into the shithole instead of out of the one it's been heading for.

The stakes are huge here. As it's close to the final version, has anyone read any of this? There is hot and cold running speculation that the Obama stimulus plan won't even be read by the people signing it as over 1000 pages it's so long. The real scary part is contained in this link below. If we spend the money ineffectively and wastefully, then we're in a bigger hole than before and we as a county are screwed. LINK to full story "Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no By Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON — The compromise economic stimulus plan agreed to by negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate is short on incentives to get consumers spending again and long on social goals that won't stimulate economic activity, according to a range of respected economists. "I think (doing) nothing would have been better," said Ed Yardeni, an investment analyst who's usually an optimist, in an interview with McClatchy. He argued that the plan fails to provide the right incentives to spur spending. "It's unfocused. That is my problem. It is a lot of money for a lot of nickel-and- dime programs. I would have rather had a lot of money for (promoting purchase of) housing and autos . . . . Most of this plan is really, I think, aimed at stabilizing the situation and helping people get through the recession, rather than getting us out of the recession. They are actually providing less short-term stimulus by cutting back, from what I understand, some of the tax credits." ....more...clicky linky...

If I can paraphrase your statement: "It was 8 years of relentless hard work for Bush/Cheney to steer us into this massive shithole, how come the dems can't fix it in 15 min?" so with that in mind.....

I thought they all worked on Wall Street?

Julio is going to college? Communications? Wow! Bet Edison College is proud. First he gets his own song, and now he talks to the president. Song: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqg9_wwQUNg What is that song about anyway? Probably shouldn't ask.

It's Antleaf...one word. Your welcome

OMG thats funny. Never heard it before and I'm in my 50s! Thanks for sharing it. Dons funeral was today. Just a matter of time till we join him. All of us. My dad died of a brain tumor when I was 18 months old, you'd think modern science.... ...damn..

I'd think that a July trip would be the best time. Days are longer and given the snow (lack of) this year, should be plenty clear. You might be lucky and get it in a 3 day trip. Day 1 to the Lake and scope route. Day 2 up (and down to the lake for a quiet evenings sleep), or up and an evening out on a ledge, then back to camp and hike out the next day. Proud stuff for sure. Those guys were tough.

In this photo of the fearsome West Face of the Matterhorn, photographer Dave Jensen has kindly marked his routes. Think mid-70's, pitons and chocks. I'd have a bolt kit tucked away for an emergency. Trying it in a day would be a worthy project.

Link to Mountain Project Matterhorn route John Scurlock photo below: His other photos can be found here: http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/85530167

Last year at this time, there was so much snow that after it closed the road in October it got so high that it eventually covered and wiped out the road cam 20' up on the pole at tombstone: 4400 feet elevation. The snow hit so hard the 4 wheel drive got stuck and we finished by walked in for this quick pic in early October. When I finally got back up there in July this is what it looked like still. This year, sitting in my office gazing longingly at the road cam, I can shockingly still see the road and its February yet! Early access to remote areas is awesome, but it's gonna suck later in the year for power, lawn watering and Fall Chinook.

Damn, I was looking forward to swimming under the ocean....

... not all labs can be National Champions but they all tend to be good performers Brad....

...and then getting laid. Yeah, that works. ...full sequence, drink, sex, cigarette. So drinking causes sex. (hopefully)

You get around!

Looking for a place to post this.