billcoe

ps, I did the annual hair cut and my hair no longer looks like that. CYA tomorrow. g'night.

That time of the month? CU Nxt time Next time is now Geoff~! So bring a Tampon is you must. I went up to go do this Saturday and it was F*ing wet wet wet and I'm a *Cough*Pussy Pussy Pussy*Cough*, and it was wet wet wet, so how about you lead it and make me a happy old man? Those MF cams are heavy heavy heavy and I hauled them up to the woods! Anyhow, how about Tuesday, I'm suppose to have bolts for new route bolters like Mark and Joseph! You dudes there? We can climb wisdom tooth and pull spray the Poison Oak that Clif (Larry) didn't pull! 2 weeks ago...snow! Let us go, my brothers, and challenge the anointed Rocky Butte Mosquitoes to a death duel...let us do this together. Gear: leather gloves and weed killer like Round up pro or GlyStar Pro.

And a roll of toilet paper or even a Bidet?

Sounds like you, Shane and JH should team up and work on it. It would be a shame to toss such a great name away:-) The potential for this thing being world class interesting and yet still hard is there. I've been a bit of a pussy ever since I heard Steve Strauchs story up there. He named the East Side amphitheater the "Arena of Terror" which comprises this route to the right and includes all the overhangs in that East side area. I know that McGowen told Tim that "The Arena of Terror" was the Railroad blast area on the south side by Pipeline, but it wasn't so, just because it was in the guidebook doesn't make it true. Anyway, Strauch climbs directly up to the overhanging blocks on the left side of the "Arena of Terror", he's totally stressing, barely able to hang on as he bangs in a small knifeblade and continues, unable to get a shake or a rest at the pro. Every move above is still tough, yet he climbs on, fighting all the way, unable to stop or get pro. He suffers for every move, until finally he's maybe 30' above this shit piece of pro knifeblade, 60' off the deck max - and he knows that it won't hold a fall and if he falls on it- it will fail and he will auger into the dirt from the equivalent of a 9 story building. But yet he can't stop or get a rest, so looking up, he realizes he can crank around this 2' x 2' block just above him and possibly stand on it for the blessed rest. He gos for it knowing it's his only option, unable to take the easy way out of life and just let go and commit to the deathfall. He feels around the block and gets a solid grip on the crack which forms the back of the block. Pulling and sweating hard, he commits to the move and WHOOSH, faster than you can say "Wheres my testicals" (in an extremely high sotto voce voice) the entire thing comes off with him clutching it tight like the Rosary at Church. Before he has a moment to say a Hail Mary or even start to involuntarily excrete into his pants, his rope comes tight on the frikkan knifeblade and the damn thing looks like might hold anwyay. It does! Steve's hanging totally in space as it overhangs so much....AND THE PIN STILL HOLDING FOR NO APPARENT REASON. Steve gets lowered to the ground stat on the blessed Knifeblade, kissed the earth upon touchdown and swore to never climb there again. An oath he kept, long after he'd changed his underwear. So I carry a bit of a mental burden over there still.

S' OK, you can make it up to us all by changing that post to a picture of a climb.

I'll say hi for sure DPS. I think a brush with mortality can make even the most hardened of us lighten up. Good luck.

Not yet Dave, and unfortunately the basement is getting full.

ahh, got it.

yellow = mark d variation? Mark, are you saying that you have climbed up this via the yellow line? Directly above Rythem Method? I had reconnoitered it years ago off the Boardwalk anchors, put in a solitary bolt as I was going to turn the corner and then thought that there was no way in hell to make those moves without riding the overlapping flakes down to the ground. JH approached it from a slightly different angle, but still had to content with the flakes that had not been touched since I'd been up there 20+ years previous. It appeared to me that this couldn't have been climbed without the flakes being pulled off first, thats what Jh found as well, but was able to yank them off from the right side with a bunch of effort, skill and risk. I think he did that just last year. Own up now, cause Jh has been tossing off moss and choss like no one has ever been here before.....unless you jumped on it last year as he was cleaning it off, still a serious undertaking......it's a work in progress still.

Let freedom ring! BBC link Fear and greed, ya got anything to add about this is all Amerikas fault and how hateful and complicit America is for either: A) Not helping obtain self-determination for these folks. B) Not complaining to the Chinese. c) Being imperialists. later all bill

Where (what) is that K?

Excessive plabage. Taken from under the roof @20' above the Rythem Method/Raindance anchors.

I did! More pics? New area. Lad and I was shooting guns. I have 4 ropes fixed and 2-5 gallon buckets full of shit hanging in the background just off the top on the skyline there. Can you see them? I can't see them, but know they're there.

People die on bolted anchors too. Sounds like a good opportunity for them to grow and learn, good you were there to pull their asses off Mark. I'm gonna have to remember to bring a whistle, thats trick:-)

Hot damn thats awesome. I read the Obama one and it cracked me up. Well done. However, where's the biggest asshole media jackass Michael Savage? This thing has some glaring holes (not talkin about Hillary either)

We did a lap up Rythem Method/Raindance/Menopause (P1). I pointed out your route extension. "Whoohhh....Stout!" kids says, eye's getting wide looking up. "Yup", I replied, piss involuntarily dribbling down my pant's leg and testicals shrinking severely while looking at the roofs up there.

Ujahn talked me into doing a Young Warriors lap Sunday with Adam Winslow. If anyone gets a chance to get out with Adam: recommended. Good guy, pretty much has his shit together and is just starting to get on cracks and multipitch, so maybe some knowledge gaps which dude is sharp enough to figure out quick. Figure he'll be a quick study and outclimbing me in a short period of time. (this is an old familiar story:-) On route. Tope of P4 belay with Norsemans head behind. I suggested he call Jim and do a SE corner lap. Anyone wants a competitant partner for a Corner lap, he's it, and needs to jump on that route.

Link to NY times Great writer, lived a full life. Fear and Greed especially, but anyone who wants to read a great literary work, I hope you take a moment and read one of the all time greats "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". Man, amazing work, I'd almost forgotten about reading it it's been so long, it literally is one day in this guys life, and a very worthy read. I never did read Gulag Archipeligo.

I had a pair, don't remember the brand, with Cordura soles which were both fairly water resistant and not slippery, in addition to being fairly light and compressible.

I have to quote this for posterity! Ha ha Thank you for the compliment though John. For anyone who missed it, sorry, definitely come by next time and if you can belay worth a darn, lets get some laps in meantime! This means you to Paul! Say hi if you are down this way. John, my brother is badgering me to do crossfit now, I think it was the tight shirt and bulging veins of your build, along with the pitch you tossed for it. Maybe this winter though, as I seem to be too busy now to commit.

You can always do something about it like these folks did, instead of just continually trash talking shit about our country. They acted on their beliefs, beliefs you have as well, that Amerika is such a horrible place and sucks so bad. Have a nice day link When you focus on the bad all the time, when in reality there is so much more good in our country than bad, you radically and needlessly change your personal view to a narrow minded focus that is more harmful than positive IMO. Like these folks with their own narrow minded views that the Soviet Union was the glorious people republic, so much better than the US, etc etc. I wish the Russian people well, they've suffered so much pain and suffering, but you should reconsider how you view things so negatively about our country, for yourself is my point. Good luck.

Happening right now!

Interesting but incomplete artical about how many cars the Gov't owns. These cost $3.4 billion a year top operate so the gov't employees have them. A year. I'm sure many are important, but it really makes you wonder. Does that figure include drivers? They say "maintenance, leases and fuel" are included, but not specifically drivers or depreciation. Full text: "By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 14 minutes ago WASHINGTON - Americans love their cars, and so apparently does Uncle Sam. He's got 642,233 of them. Operating those vehicles — maintenance, leases and fuel — cost taxpayers a whopping $3.4 billion last year, according to General Services Administration data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press. While Cabinet and other officials say they need the vehicles to do their jobs, watchdogs say mismanagement of the government fleet is costing millions of dollars a year in wasteful spending. For example: • At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, fuel consumption and inventory are down, yet overall costs have increased significantly. Officials there can't figure out why. • The Interior Department was told by its own watchdog that it should cut its inventory, but it's added hundreds of vehicles. • The VA has some cars that are barely driven. One just disappeared. Add to that the cost of drivers, a perk given to high-level government officials. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has two drivers. Their salaries totaled more than $128,000 last year. The driver for Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt earns about $90,000 a year. That's more than double the average salary of an office manager or accountant, and about $35,000 more than a registered nurse earns, according to a salary calculator provided by CareerBuilder.com. The government owns or leases sedans, SUVs, trucks, limousines and ambulances for more than three dozen agencies, the U.S. military and the Postal Service. Are they all really necessary? "This is one bleeding part of a budget and not just in one department but in a lot of departments," says Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a longtime foe of what he considers wasteful federal spending. "When you have something bleeding like this, there can be a lot of money saved." Saving taxpayer dollars should be a priority, says Washington-based Citizens Against Government Waste. "From a management standpoint, this is something that can easily be handled," said Tom Schatz, president of the group. "It's critical use or necessary use versus 'well, we've got the money, let's go out and buy some more cars.'" The Department of Housing and Urban Development admits problems with its fleet of about 450 vehicles. According to an AP analysis, fleet costs at HUD have soared nearly 70 percent since 2004, to more than $2.1 million last year. But during the same period, the agency trimmed its fleet and overall fuel consumption. While gas prices have increased since 2004, the period AP analyzed came well before today's record-high prices. "Where that spike in overall costs came from, I have no idea," said Bradley Jewitt, director of HUD's facilities management division. Agency spokesman Jerry Brown added, "We can't explain it." Jewitt, who came to HUD late last year, promised more accountability and oversight. The agency has begun a thorough review of its vehicles, how they are being used and whether each is justified. HUD has cars for employees who conduct fair housing and mortgage fraud investigations and housing inspections across the country. At the Interior Department, cars and trucks are used by workers who help manage some 500 million acres of public lands. The Agriculture Department has tens of thousands of vehicles for conservationists, scientists, farm loan specialists and the Forest Service. Federal agencies also have dedicated cars and drivers for senior officials. In addition to the salaries for the two drivers for Transportation Secretary Peters, her car, fuel and maintenance cost $11,500 last year. Most agency chiefs have one driver. The department says Peters needs two because the "cost of paying one driver overtime to cover both weekday shifts and weekends would be prohibitive." A spokesman said a driver has to be on duty or available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for Peters. The Veterans Affairs Department has five sedans assigned to Secretary James Peake, the deputy secretary and the three top officials for the health office, benefits office and national cemetery administration. Total cost for the five cars and drivers: $353,470 a year. Salaries for government drivers ranged from $46,000 for the driver for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Naomi Earp to about $90,000 for Leavitt's driver at HHS. The latest report available from the Government Accountability Office, from 2004, looked at the fleets of five departments including Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and the Navy. It found a number of instances where agencies were keeping vehicles they didn't need. Ditching those cars, the report said, could save the government millions of dollars. The Interior Department was another agency singled out for wasteful spending. In a 2004 report, the agency's inspector general found a significant portion of department vehicles weren't being driven much. Eliminating them could save $34 million a year. Interior cut more than 600 vehicles before the report was released, but its overall fleet has increased by more than 1,500 vehicles since then, according to an AP analysis of GSA data. Interior ranks fourth among civilian agencies in the size of its fleet, but it spends the most money — more than $241 million last year on vehicles, maintenance and fuel. Agriculture has the largest fleet but spends far less, about $150 million. Debra Sonderman, director of the office of acquisition and property management at Interior, says the department has a large number of trucks, nearly 25,000, that are costly to maintain and burn a lot of fuel. Managers at each of the agency's bureaus review inventories annually, she said. But when pressed about who has oversight of the bureaus to ensure that fleet money is spent wisely, Sonderman hesitated, only to add, "Well, there's a budget for one thing." Translation: If the money's there, spend it. "Kind of a rule of thumb is the more cars you control, the more powerful you are, and so that sort of attitude of kingdom building is part of the problem here," Sen. Grassley said in an AP interview. Only a handful of agencies said they have conducted annual audits to ensure their fleets are the right size. The Department of Homeland Security said it hasn't conducted a department-wide audit since the agency was created five years ago. The agency said it is "working toward that end" but doesn't yet have the resources to analyze its 41,000-vehicle fleet. At Veterans Affairs, an audit last year by the inspector general's office found potential savings of about $83,000 for underutilized vehicles, but it looked at only three VA medical centers. The VA has more than 150 centers, raising the prospect of additional underused cars and more savings. In the case of a Cleveland VA medical center, a government-leased vehicle was driven only 16 times in nearly a year; another was driven only twice in the three months after it arrived. One sedan at the center was missing and apparently hadn't been seen in months. All agencies are supposed to report their annual fleet numbers to the General Services Administration. However, the cost and inventory estimates in the GSA's annual report do not include Congress, which isn't required to report to GSA on its fleet. "

Probably no need if you had one of these: