billcoe

Hey, aren't you suppose to be working? I hope so Graham, and maybe it's like Scott says: but for Israel, the stakes are too high to let it ride. Before most widescale wars there is always a diplomatic offensive staking out the positions, that is what we are seeing here, I think, and not 2 wussies in a bar. I hope and wish I'm wrong and civilized and calmer heads prevail. As far as the $7 a gallon gas goes, perhaps not as the admin has been working with the Saudis and everyone with a straw in the ground to increase the amount of petroleum available....one can see a link between these events if one was of a suspicious mind. Not me of course, however, these events have been war gamed for sometime, and this is one of the big factors which has undoubtedly been discussed in advanced.

The "stinking corpse" finally responds: " Shaul Mofaz, a former Israeli defense minister who is now a deputy prime minister, warned in a recent interview with the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot that Israel might have no choice but to attack. "If Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack," Mofaz said in the interview published on June 6, the day after the unpublicized exercise ended. "Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable." Iran is also taking steps to better defend its nuclear facilities. Two sets of advance Russian-made radar systems were recently delivered to Iran. The radar will enhance Iran's ability to detect planes flying at low altitude." "Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, said in February that Iran was close to acquiring Russian-produced SA-20 surface-to-air missiles. American military officials said that the deployment of such systems would hamper Israel's attack planning, putting pressure on Israel to act before the missiles are fielded." That may put pressure on my Oct date prediction. Note that Israel had recently entered into secret diplomatic discussions with their implacable enemy Syria...hmmmm, it appears to me that they are trying to negotiate a quiet settlement on that front so that an attack on Iran will not spread to other quarters. Full text link

Damn, maybe I do need more spraying, less climbing! Thanks Dave!

Someone left it hanging on the chains tonight we found it when we got there and no one was around. Looks brand new. Identify and you can have it back.

Link to story Edith's Ballard house:

Good job Rudy! Inspired by you and John, I'm publicly claiming I gonna drop off 20lbs and hit only 15 lbs heavier than when I was climbing hard. 167 now.

So want to get in the Osama gets found betting pool? How about mid to late October, right before the election.

Hey whatE..V..E..R! talk to the hand on that stuff but if you bite it can I have your cams?

Brace yourself, as John Kerry learned 4 years early when he was decried as a turncoat (he served in Vietnam and was shot at many times) by the dude claiming to be the patriot (who was given a political pressured out by his daddy and barely served stateside) , the world can get turned upside down in this pressure cooker. Hopefully we are far enough along in our evolution to absorb this shit and learn from it. The start of it: ps, is that not really a picture of George Bush with suntan and a banana? I think it's closer to Bush than Obama. more Plan on a "Where da white women at" shirt next... (A Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddle reference for you young folks)

Any chance you can call your credit card in so we can get the beer flowing cause I'm heading over tonight:-) Clearest description of a movie yet! I'm blowing off family to get there tonight. Maybe I'll meet some sprayers? BTW John, join us: Crackman and Syclone are signed up for belay duty tomorrow night (this is my mental interpretation:-), join in, Troy says @ 4:30, I may make that time - but for sure by 5:30 for me (hopefully sooner). Butte, routes to be determined fy the first person there, I recommend looking for a light grey (thats "grey", not "Ghey") Audi for a tip on location. Anyone else?

Of course! ps, 50 is the new 30....:-)

Are you saying...... (spoken in a Borat like voice where he shockingly learns from Alan Keys that the nice man he had met the previous night at the gay pride parade and who had then slipped a rubber fist up his ass while they were showering together "WAS A HOMOSEXUAL!") ARE YOU SAYING....SOME OF THESE CC PEOPLE ACTUALLY WENT OUTSIDE AND CLIMBED?

Damn, now I have to change my practices and rethink this. I love this site. I rarely use them as prussics, but yeah, couple of extra wraps they work fine and get pressed into service as prussics on occasion. I suppose that I haven't really done this to the real skinny ones, but the wider older ones that typically date to 1992 - 1994 or so and have been retired from lead climbing. I don't use backups on raps, only to get back up the line if I screw up while cleaning, use as a backup descending on a fixed line or just want to climb out solo. It may be an aversion to carrying extra crap like dedicated 6mil prussic cord that I only have to use maybe every 6 months, yet that dangle down all the time to catch on stuff. It may be a practice carried over when tied slings were used for all kinds of things and general use prized and maximized, including prussics. If you already have the over the neck sized slings, then they can get used for all kinds of stuff. Doubled up as draws, tossed over a horn for pro or rapping, as a full length runner, around a tree for rapping...etc etc. The hard question that arises is does the earlier pull testing Joseph conducted that showed frightening decreases of strength in a short time of the real skinny 8mil Mammut dynema linked to these practices at all? Hmmmm. ??! I'm gonna be careful, but may (probably am) be too old to change practices anyway...

Well I liked the post and have to say that I'd love to attend, however, much like yourself I suspect, at my advanced age and weight, I am unable to do sit-starts... As far as the mattress goes, no problemo, hell, I think I've slept on that one. The last time we tried that sit start thing some young lass attempted to assist and her whole arm became slathered.....oh, nevermind.

dudes! I'm in Mazatlan, can't make tues, and want to actually climb something thurs. so have a good time, love to join you folks otherwize. I'll bet thats a kick assed movie for sure. Anyone want to burn some rocky butte laps thus, send me a note. Thanks for the invite John, hey, how about a movie night at your new home some night and people can bring a dvd. I just bought a copy of Erikkson and Higgby freeing half dome, narrated by robert redford. It should be in my mailslot from Chesstlers when I get home.

it might be time to buy stock in Kimberly clark, or whoever is producing Pampers and Depends these days....

You must be aging there Cobra, that got posted long for I left for Mexico. (in Mazatlan now or I'd be out climbing for sure)

Just what Cairns siad: thanks for sharing it, and good luck on the rehab. It certainly makes me feel a bit more vulnerable, or mortal I guess...... Sobo can catch me anytime, that head injury could have easily been fatal had he done the normal instinct and ducked away in self preservation.....damn.Good luck Dane!

Moderation in the defense of extremism is no vice. Thank you. BTW, FW, even when I don't agree with you, I appreciate that you bring facts, figures and links to the discussion in a reasoned way. So thank you for that too. ps, I admittedly yet sadly have a streak of "keep the government off my assitus" that resists all calls of moderation, appears to be incurable and may be getting worse, and is extremely difficult to live with on occasion.

NSFW Link Whoh!

Substitute the words "Jimmy Carter" for "George Bush" and "Ineffective and confused" for "Robust" and you'd be in the ballpark with an earlier refrain. Ya probably pick on retards too. Easy pickings, so what?

Trying to escape the Obama Presidency or just moving in with Alex Baldwin are we?

They probably did it with a $200 laptop running Lindows and a dial up modem.

Not bad, but the Ozone access makes it look like this: Vancouver, BC >> Seattle >> Portland = Vancouver, WA For Graham, taxes on his company may be another consideration where Vancouver, WA may be a better choice. Look hard at that one, but avoid the Vancouver to PDX commute if you can (or vice versa) most of the traffic is into PDX, so it's not too bad in the am if you go against the grain. Graham, people do climb here, I was climbing a 110' cliff inside the city limits where there was only one other group climbing. It does rain a lot, however, summers are generally good and the rainy season really doesn't hit Smith. So you can make do here.

"Punk Kid with a Drill" Good name for a route.