billcoe

Fixed the error in the grade for you.

Duck Down Records -hip hop record label Duck Down

Link to #6 in play saturday

Power washers are aid. yuk yuk, waiting to say that for some time.

Agreed on the avoidance thing. Don't know Chad, but he seems to inspire loyalty in those who do know him, that's more than enough in my book.

I have no clue. I think they're gonna have to tear this one out of my hands if they want it back though! Are you in California now studying your ass off again? I'm trying to get Frieh and Joseph hooked up with this pack soon so they can give engineer type feedback to Cilogear as Graham wants to donate this prototype for the Kevin Rauch benefit on Oct 1st. Wish you could have test drove it for those spectacular Idaho FA's you did a bit ago. Running low on time. Compounded by Cilogear moving their mfg operations across country right this very moment. BTW, I'm glad your weren't around to crank the lead on this FA off cause I would have let you have it, glad I sacked up and did it though:-) I have a good pic of Ujahn following I'll post later. Kyles pics were great, the ones I took of him suck and didn't turn out so good.

I suppose that would be something you'd know. The Mosquito is the main carrier of malaria which still kills an estimated 2.5 million people a year. Mosquitoes can also carry other diseases such as yellow fever, West Nile and dengue encephalitis, not just to humans but to birds and reptiles. One of the tip offs that West Nile just came to your neighborhood is the Jays and Crows laying dead on the ground. How many humans do humans kill each year? Not that many.

My daughter was 13 years old when she learned about the rest of the world and saw her first body. A villager killed and mostly eaten near Chitwan preserve in Southern Nepal. It was an economic slap as well, as you are grateful to be wealthy enough to be in the relative safety on the back of an Elephant looking down.

Nope, plot thickens. Link "Pakistan orders troops to open fire if US raids By STEPHEN GRAHAM – 12 hours ago ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman said Tuesday. The orders, which come in response to a highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by U.S. commandos, are certain to heighten tensions between Washington and a key ally against terrorism. Although the ground attack was rare, there have been repeated reports of U.S. drone aircraft striking militant targets, most recently on Sept. 12. Pakistani officials warn that stepped-up cross-border raids will accomplish little while fueling violent religious extremism in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Some complain that the country is a scapegoat for the failure to stabilize Afghanistan. Pakistan's civilian leaders, who have taken a hard line against Islamic militants since forcing Pervez Musharraf to resign as president last month, have insisted that Pakistan must resolve the dispute with Washington through diplomatic channels. However, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press that after U.S. helicopters ferried troops into a militant stronghold in the South Waziristan tribal region, the military told field commanders to prevent any similar raids. "The orders are clear," Abbas said in an interview. "In case it happens again in this form, that there is a very significant detection, which is very definite, no ambiguity, across the border, on ground or in the air: open fire." U.S. military commanders accuse Islamabad of doing too little to prevent the Taliban and other militant groups from recruiting, training and resupplying in Pakistan's wild tribal belt. Pakistan acknowledges the presence of al-Qaida fugitives and its difficulties in preventing militants from seeping through the mountainous border into Afghanistan. However, it insists it is doing what it can and paying a heavy price, pointing to its deployment of more then 100,000 troops in its increasingly restive northwest and a wave of suicide bombings across the country. After talks Tuesday with British officials in London, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said he did not "think there will be any more" cross-border raids by the U.S. He declined to comment on the order to use lethal force against American troops. Instead, he and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a joint statement saying Afghanistan and Pakistan should lead the efforts to battle border militancy. The joint statement left out any mention of the United States. American officials have confirmed their forces carried out the Sept. 3 raid near the town of Angoor Ada but given few details of what happened. Abbas said that Pakistan's military had asked for an explanation but received only a "half-page" of "very vague" information that failed to identify the intended target. Pakistani officials have said the raid killed about 15 people, and Abbas said they all appeared to be civilians. "These were truck drivers, local traders and their families," he said. How to reverse a surge in Taliban violence in Afghanistan has become a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign and refocused attention on the porous border with Pakistan. Pakistan's military has won American praise for a six-week offensive against militants in the Bajur tribal region that officials here say has killed 700 suspected insurgents and about 40 troops. Troops backed by warplanes killed eight more alleged militants Tuesday, officials said. In the same timeframe, there has been a surge in missile strikes apparently carried out by unmanned U.S. drones. Such attacks killed at least two senior al-Qaida commanders earlier this year. Abbas did not say when exactly the orders for Pakistani troops to open fire to prevent cross-border raids by U.S. troops were issued. He wouldn't discuss whether Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who replaced Musharraf as army chief last year, personally took the decision or if the orders had been discussed with American officials. The spokesman also played down suggestions that the instructions had been put into practice before dawn on Monday, when U.S. helicopters reportedly landed near Angoor Ada only to fly away after troops fired warning shots. Abbas insisted no foreign troops had crossed the border and that "trigger-happy tribesmen" had fired the shots. Pakistani troops based nearby fired flares to see what was going on, he said. The U.S. military in Afghanistan said none of its troops were involved. In a rare public statement last week, Kayani said Pakistan's sovereignty would be defended "at all cost." Abbas said Pakistani officials had to consider public opinion, which is skeptical of American goals in the region and harbors sympathy for rebels fighting in the name of Islam. "Please look at the public reaction to this kind of adventure or incursion," Abbas said. "The army is also an extension of the public and you can only satisfy the public when you match your words with your actions.""

Funny stuff Peter! Actually, Pope and Dwayner already have their own thread right here. LINK Thanks for adding the pics Bigbowsky! Good stuff! I'm reserving judgment on the bolts, as I've never been on it, don't know anyone who has climbed it, and I put in a rap anchor Saturday elsewhere, and like to get down safe as well. Kick assed pics.

OK, now that the camera is back. Can't believe I just plopped all my gear onto the ground and went home forgetting it. But we retrieved it last night after work and now that I have the camera here's some pics Kyle Silverman took of Ujahn him and I doing the GFA of "Bride of Wyde". I call it Bride of Wyde because you don't actually get forced to do some of the classic wide moves like chickenwings: which is a good thing as the route leans to the right and would be sick hard. Lots of grunting is still called for, both Kyle and Ujahn had foot slips while following, which only gave me some small measure of satisfaction as they are both in so much better shape than I. The other thing I'm very happy for is that I swung by and borrowed Graham from Cilogears new prototype Big Wally backpack. I am so glad I didn't forget that as I really wouldn't need that kind of ass kicking. Here's the gear with Cilogear's pack to the right in my living room. I wasn't suppose to be doing this route this weekend anyway. My wife had decided to have a get together on Saturday to celebrate my son going away and told me Thursday I had to get home early to help out. We'd been planning on a real serious project for weeks which had to get scrapped for this deal instead. Of course I tried the usual whining and complaining but it fell on deaf ears. I was pretty good with this one after the fact though. That other stuff will stay there until I'm ready anyway. The pry bar got made by an old friend Keith Litchfield 30 years ago or so when I was doing concrete construction and it still get's used in rockclimbing. Keith lives in Ballard now, and surprisingly popped into my house the other day with his family after 6-7 years absence to say hi etc. The water bottle is a liter and a half sized, and the drill is the biggest cordless Bosch 36v to give you some idea of scale here. Here's the lid, still big but in fact better as Graham has improved on the original. Then I have to get my climbing shoes, ice axe and pistol still in the basement and are still yet to get loaded. I chose to leave the pistol in the car for the climb, I already had too much weight. Side note, this is a Wilson Combat Protector in stainless steel, oh baby, it's as smooth as butter on the trigger! Groups could be better, but I suspect it's the shooter, not the tool. Here it is in the basement with the lid open. We'd seen this last year. The wider, near body width line of the right. It's a real obvious line, but I didn't have gear then and didn't want to top rope it. Just getting to the top would have been a mini expedition any way. Over the winter I bought the gear I thought I'd need (and then some), Kyle was cracking up as he was pointing out that the #4 Big Bro, the only one which wasn't used on this route, still had a sale price tag on it: $76.00 Let me start by saying that I've always found offwidths and squeeze chimneys very distasteful. That 50 classics in Lovers Leap, Travelers Buttress, for instance, was downgraded 2 stars in my mind due to that squirming thing you have to do to send the route. Part of my issue is that early on I'd never owned any wide gear, #4 Friend being the largest cam of mine. Later I bought some Chouinard tube chocks. So I never really did any wide stuff. It's very physical and not graceful, and I don't like the movement necessary to get it. I've done up to 5.9 but it tended to be runout, which is another issue as well as it's then usually a scary proposition. I spent the winter accumulating the gear for this climb. It was not too long ago I realized I still hadn't sent, or even tried it yet and year was winding down! I fully expected to be falling on this route, but hidden holds and and odd side pull or hold inside the wide worked the magic and cruised it with the usual grunting. That’s why I over protected it. That and I'm a pussy. Got tired of carrying those heavy cams, so when I got to the wide I plugged them in anyway, and they were close to each other, although they were really not needed. Ujahn belaying, all pics by Kyle Silverman. At this point I realize I have a lot of weight on the rack I need to dump off my fat ass! Didn't have to pull any roots. Hey Drew, kneepads and shoes are aid....no tape, left it behind in the car on purpose:-) Didn't bring the chalkbag either, going all traditional. If there is a star of this show, it's the Cilogear pack. Graham only let me take it out for a shake down so that he could get some feedback and iron out the kinks. He had some things he was going to improve, one was that he didn't like the shoulder straps. We'll, my original Big Wally has damn awesome straps, so I was prepared to hate these. Furthermore, that prybar, last month at another cliff, had worked me so hard that both shoulders are still in pain, fortunately, the left one is coming along, but the right one still screams. I'm typing on Ibuprofen right now cause it hurts so bad (insert endless old people noises and complaints here about that). Picking up and swinging a 50 some odd weight pack isn't any easy thing to do in full bloom and health, and although I do give the nod, by a slight margin to my old Wallys straps, these were pretty damn good. I also put all my stuff on top of the hip belt Graham had tossed inside, and found the belt only after the fact. So add that positive into that equation. With a hip belt there will be even less weight onto the shoulder straps. Graham has a bigtime winner here. The material on this pack will outlive you, I don't care how young you are.

Wow, it took how many posts to see that? I missed it:-0

Then you need to totally ignore any fact or statistic which doesn't support your ideas. Judging from what we see on this board if you can keep it up long enough you'll either be Sarah Palin or a democrat like Joblo soon. Just trying to help out.

The gobment should not be in the business of rescuing people. If you are going to ask for help when you screw up or get in trouble, and they have to pay, then they get to dictate what, when and where you will go. It's that simple. So they should be out of the rescue business so we can be free. That simple.

No tokin Rudy:-) I wish I had an easy excuse. Its a long story, so settle in. Ujahn carried my rope in. I had all the gear and the bolt gun (the lil Dawg) and the hammer etc. After we finished the route Kyle took off to go do some real climbing. The temporary anchor for this route was a dead tree stump on top. I wanted to put in a bolted anchor for whomever does it next, but the anchors were stashed in a bucket on the other side of the wall. The start of the route is a bit of a steep affair, and I had to back off to get the bolts. A fall on the descent to get there, unroped, would be most likely be a bad thing, so I decided that I would ferry loads since I was unroped and all and had to do the trip more than once anyway due to the natural logistics. I needed all the bolting crap left at the base, so I grabbed the rack and eased on down traversing the cliff base to flat ground. Dropped the rack, went and grabbed the bolts. Coming back I just 3rd classed directly up to the route base, jugged and put in the anchor, grabbed all the loose gear which weighed a ton by itself (at this time Kyle is gone and Ujahn has jugged up another line far away) and decided I could just rap the 3rd class directly down instead of doing the unroped death traverse. As Ujahn wanted to use my rope to rap off so we could pull his, I beat cleats over there so he'd have it if he needed it. He had the pry bar up there and pulled off the biggest loose flakes I've ever seen anywhere pulled off of anything. Unbelievable or "pants filling" is the only way to describe the sound and fury of that event. In the excitement, and in the heat and exhaustion and joy of succeeding on a brand new route which I thought I would fail on, I'd completely forgotten the gear. In fact I'd dropped my back back on the trail and didn't have it with me either, and it was at a different location than the gear. At days end, he'd pulled his line that he'd left fixed out there for a month, and I was carrying mine out and trying to help him with the pry bar and extra gear (I decided to take out 10 bolts and hangers from the stash left there) etc etc, once we started out and we reached my pack I had to put the rope in which filled my pack right up. I'd also filled up all my water bottles from a spring right there. So with the bolts stuff and extra springwater which I freeze for drinking later I was packing big weight. Jasmine and went back last night to make an evening of it. She's been walking marathons and working out, so she took the opportunity to head out for a hike into the woods at dusk as a good thing and a grand adventure. It was fun, and she got to see where I've been hanging on occasion. Where I'd left the gear. Jasmine and the pups. The boy was sleeping over at some friends house and missed the action. Hank the dog blew biscuits in the car on the way in though, that was exciting.

Oh man, you guys will be super tight. My son and I still are. In fact it got even tighter as he aged. We play basketball, do family bike rides, hikes...all kinds of things. Kid was shaking my hand today telling my how much I'd done for him and how much he appreciated it. It started great when the lad was a lil pup and just kept getting better. I'm going to (as is my wife) really miss him. Jas and I just got in from a short hike to pick up my forgotten gear I left laying in the dirt in the woods and it was a bigtime subject of conversation.

Great stuff, hell of a route. Side note: there is already a Lemolo in Washington FYI. Maybe you read this last year and got the idea? Link

Looks like I miss-called the date for this one. (thankfully) Don't have time to get all these in and to retrofit their planes for the distance? Unless the US jumps on it instead with crusie missile support (still a strong possibility). linky "Israel slated to buy US smart bombs By YAAKOV KATZ The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a potential sale to Israel of 1,000 smart bombs capable of penetrating underground bunkers, which would likely be used in the event of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The notification to Congress was made over the weekend by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the branch of the Pentagon responsible for evaluating foreign military sales. Congress has 30 days to object to the deal. The deal is valued at $77 million and the principal contractor would be Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. The bomb Israel wants is the GBU-39, developed in recent years by the US as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low-collateral damage strikes. Israel has also asked for 150 mounting carriages, 30 guided test vehicles and two instructors to train the air force in loading the bombs on its aircraft. The GPS-guided GBU-39 is said to be one of the most accurate bombs in the world. The 113 kg. bomb has the same penetration capabilities as a normal 900 kg. bomb, although it has only 22.7 kg. of explosives. At just 1.75 meters long, its small size increases the number of bombs an aircraft can carry and the number of targets it can attack in a sortie. Tests conducted in the US have proven that the bomb is capable of penetrating at least 90 cm. of steel-reinforced concrete. The GBU-39 can be used in adverse weather conditions and has a standoff range of more than 110 km. due to pop-out wings. In its recommendation to Congress, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote that Israel's strategic position was "vital to the US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives," the statement read. The agency's announcement came amid growing concern that the Pentagon was not willing to sell Israel advanced military platforms such as bunker-buster missiles in an effort to dissuade Jerusalem from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Bunker-buster missiles would be a fundamental component of an air strike against Iran, since many of the nuclear facilities, such as the Natanz uranium enrichment complex, have been built in underground, heavily fortified bunkers. During the Second Lebanon War, Israel reportedly received an emergency shipment of bunker-buster missiles from the US to use against underground Hizbullah facilities. Yiftah Shapir, from the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the GBU-39 is one of the most advanced in the world and would improve Israel's standoff fire capabilities. "The bomb is extremely accurate," he said. "All you have to do is punch in the coordinates, fire and forget." He said they could be used to attack Iranian underground facilities like Natanz but that they could only penetrate a few meters. "Hundreds of these would have to be used in an attack on Natanz for it to be successful," Shapir said."

No need, prepped for this years ago. Prepare for the worse, hope for the best.

Don't know the route but that's a good lookin kid Rudy! My boy is leaving for college next week, both of us are gonna miss him big time, he's so damn much fun to hang out with.

Does that explains Dawgs interest?

Every same one of us, if we had to pick only one, would pick art....almost every single time. Art's cost is a one time shot and cheap in comparison. Even big brother gobment art.

Found some climbing stuff here: Link

Jayb, what do you find to be an ultra compelling, must read, of Wallace's?