billcoe

Someone in Greece must have read jbs post and that is the course they now claim will fix their countries debt problem. (cough) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110502/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_greece_financial_crisis "By DEREK GATOPOULOS, Associated Press – Mon May 2, 9:48 am ET ATHENS, Greece – Greece's cash-strapped government promised Monday to raise an additional euro11.8 billion ($17.5 billion) by the end of 2013 via a crackdown on tax evasion, and indicated it could seek a second extension of its bailout loan repayment. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou outlined the tax crackdown, which includes the appointment of a former terrorism prosecutor to the effort, a year after Greece was rescued from the brink of bankruptcy by a euro110 billion ($164 billion) bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund..........." This should be interesting.......

This. If you rig it wrong (it will appear to be correct) you get lots of friction. Review your set up vis a vis the manual. All this solo shit has made be be nicer to my climbing partners so that they want to climb with me. Soloing with a rope generally sucks IMO. Good luck.

Don't forget to say something about his mamma, in Pink pajamas. So he's dead? Shot in the head in bed with lead.....now we can finally stop thinking and worrying over that nasty reactor in Japan still sending radiation over our way!

Here's the rest of that quote Andrew:..."and he killt men by the hundreds, And if HE were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his arse." (reference) [video:youtube] Congrats to John and all, very inspirational!

So then it's true for the poor/intelligentsia and for small dollar amounts. They'll go elsewhere. The wealthy must just be too stupid to move for a 2.6% tax increase. Well, that applies to New Jersey but apparently not to Maryland who appear to have seen a different thing altogether. Of course, this was only a temp tax set to expire. http://www.open.salon.com/blog/richard_rider/2011/04/08/overtaxed_maryland_millionaires_go_missing_1 http://washingtonexaminer.com/taxes/2009/05/its-not-just-millionaires-fleeing-maryland-taxes "Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it." One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year -- even at higher rates. No doubt the majority of that loss in millionaire filings results from the recession. However, this is one reason that depending on the rich to finance government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of cash during good times that vanish during recessions. For evidence, consult California, New York and New Jersey. The Maryland state revenue office says it's "way too early" to tell how many millionaires moved out of the state when the tax rates rose. But no one disputes that some rich filers did leave. "

Here it is!

We all feel the same. These kittens would probably off themselves if they had to read jbs posts.

Fuckin' A right on jb! Other than your usual points, the bitches in government are debasing our currency via overspending and fucking us all in the ass. (despite what you say, I give Reagan very low scores on the budget and spending, you obviously were sleeping in class again) Thats just some weak assed shit that you tossed in there and it appears that you can't refute jb's shit with real numbers or information. Just bring some facts first. BTW, I often read his pithy crap, (sometimes I scroll) but I've generally stopped responding as I don't believe he reads, or if he does read, he doesn't reflect upon, others posts. Thus his rants tend to be arm waving ravings and not actual dialogues with information exchanged like others posts often are. Take care all

Bitch There can be but one.

True, but it would help. We need to cut the budget AND make the tax laws fair. The Obama tax cuts for the rich only will continue to exacerbate the budget horror show we can't seem to stop. This is a great link with facts concerning the vast majority of the population being hosed by the rich I'd like to see Jayb refute. http://wweek.com/portland/article-17350-9_things_the_rich_dont_want_you_to_know_about_taxes.html The federal spending and reach into every little aspect of our lives is still out of control IMO. Raising everyone's taxes might crash the economy, but someone has to grab the tiller and fix this issue soon, or pay the piper later. Cutting government spending should be done as well, if you raise taxes and spend it via big gov't then you haven't done jack or shit except to make things worse.

Classic! Following in the footsteps of Galen Rowell, the great one. Awesome shot. You got more like that Mikey? Nevermind, I clicked the link on your post....duh! LOL! Probably about to be sucked into a black time hole surfing your site now:-)

Too bad you don't have some big-assed rich aerospace and defense oriented manufacturer up there who could help you get it done. There's one HQed in Chicago called Boeing, is Chicago getting one? BTW, next time you're down this way, have Ivan show you the Spruce Goose, just south of town in the Evergreen museum that has some real interesting things. SR-71 Blackbird, lots of other war birds as well.

I heard that we outsourced all that pot growing to Mexico with NAAFTA. We send them guns and money and they send us great weed and more people than we can handle. It's a symbiotic relationship that works quite well. God forbid any seriously nasty terrorists figure out how porous that border really is. "People growing marijuana indoors use 1 percent of the U.S. electricity supply, and they create 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year (not counting the smoke exhaled) according to a report by Evan Mills, an energy analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Read more: Marijuana causes global warming, uses 1% of U.S. electricity | San Francisco Business Times"

The jobs tend to run on the West Side of town (Beaverton, Hillsboro) while the climbing tends more on the easterly part. So, depending on where your job is, don't live east of your job and you'll most likely be fine. Welcome to Oregon!

Semper Farcimus Bruther! Rough translation must be "Fail while F*d up, Brohter". Nice report Scott. I'm waiting for the full 6 book set.

Well, all this wrangling got the amount that the government spends down to $3.7555 trillion in federal spending in this fiscal year. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/boehner-obama-deal-leaves-fy11-spending

Nice graphics. We can pay the bill now or pay the bill later. It's going to hurt more the longer we wait to get our finances in order. The politicians almost all want to shunt the issue off down the road and let our kids deal with it. Here's the Ron Paul take. http://www.infowars.com/the-nanny-state-cant-last/ "Ron Paul Infowars.com April 12, 2011 Last week, Congress and the administration refused to seriously consider the problem of government spending. Despite the fear-mongering, a government shutdown would not have been as bad as claimed. It is encouraging that some in Washington seem to be insisting on reduced spending, which is definitely a step in the right direction, but only one step. We have miles to go before we can even come close to a solution, and it will involve completely redefining the role of government in our lives and on the world stage. A compromise was struck at the last minute, but until Democrats agree to rein in entitlement spending, and Republicans back off the blank checks to the military industrial complex, it all amounts to political gamesmanship. Unfortunately, the compromises always seem to be just the opposite. Instead of the left agreeing to cut social spending and the right agreeing to cut military spending, the right agrees to more welfare and the left agrees to more warfare. In spite of all the rhetoric, we will go deeper in debt, the Fed will print more money, and the value of the dollar will continue to plummet. How long will it be before foreigners stop buying our debt, and hyperinflation arrives? Throughout history, empires have always overextended themselves through conquests and wealth transfers leading to eventual collapse, from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union. We are headed in the same direction and it seems only the chaos of the collapse of the dollar will stop the spending spree. Arguing over funding for Planned Parenthood and NPR, though important, only shows that leadership in Washington either won’t face reality, or don’t understand how serious the problem is. Of course, an actual government collapse would create serious problems for many people who have come to depend on government payments for healthcare, retirement income, their children’s education, and even food and housing. However, these so-called entitlement programs are unconstitutional to begin with and have engendered a culture of dependence on wealth transfer payments that is out of control. It concerns me greatly that instead of dealing seriously with our situation, so many in Washington would rather allow the chaos that will ensue when all of the dependent people are suddenly cut off. Better to look reality squarely in the face and tell people the difficult truth that government is simply not capable of managing people’s lives from cradle to grave as was foolishly promised. We face trillions in deficits with any of the budgets under consideration. Keeping those promises is, sadly, just not one of our options in the long run. Better to admit the nanny state is coming to an end and we are no longer working on “compromises” but a transition – to a sustainable way of life, one that respects the constitution, the rule of law and property rights."

Nice catch Sobo, I boffed that one. It really looks like Bobs old Lowe pack too.

I think that I worked with some of those guys. Whats the story here? Steve McQueen just cruise though on a motorcycle?

I heard that you are suppose to insert a a or a when you are joking. Everyone knows that Jeff Lowe was one of the premier pack designers and Mfg in the world way back when. Better than anything, much better than some cheap assed VAude made in China crap. In fact my old climbing partner had that very pack. Even the same colour! I had an old beater ripped up Millet with very thin straps that cause excessive pain which I tried to ignore while I looked over at Bobs very cushy work of art everytime the going got tough: back when I was young. These days, as the picture indicates, Jeff is retired, in a wheelchair, and Lowe packs are not the shit, more like shit, and Grahams amazing Cilogear packs rules the big mountains and hardman routes. ie, times have changed. Got to go, the king is bringing over my old guidebooks I loaned him in @ 5 min! Woot! Going climbing Thursday boyz! Cya!

Turn to clean coal baby! Clean coal aka "Solid fuel" and Oil too!!! Woot! http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/doc/factsheets/mix/mix_de_en.pdf

Contents revealed on ST: http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1465850/Contents-of-Jeff-Lowes-Pack-Revealed-after-20-years "On Saturday, April 2, 2011, Jeff opened the backpack and withdrew the contents one by one, along with a gritty sand like material…, which turned out to be oxidized aluminum. • 1 white Scott motorized goggles (a fan for defogging) • 1 Thermarest stuff sack • 6 Mazda AA alkaline batteries • 1 Vau De prototype jacket designed by Jeff Lowe • 1 Pair of wool socks • 1 carabiner • 1 small black stuff sack • 1 pair glove liners • 1 pair very thin/light glove liners • 1 medium blue stuff sack • 1 lithium battery dated 1/91 • 1 Black Diamond Red Lithium Battery Headlamp • 1 Medium sized food bag (pretty trashed, but one Mars Bar and one snickers bar remained intact) • 1 small black stove bag • 1 large pink stuff sack for pots • 1 hanging stove made by Jeff Lowe • 2 nested pots, oxidized through on one side • 1 potholder • 1 small purple plastic cup • 1 Ziploc bag • 1 fuel canister • 1 16 oz. white plastic Nalgene pee bottle • 1 small zip lock with small roll of TP intact • 1 compass • 1 silver insulated water bottle bag • 1 large purple stuff sack • 1 medium blue stuff sack • 1 pink and beige zippered side pocket • 1 small pouch with repair kit • 1 small clear plastic box with assorted safety pins (10+) • 1 small tube sun cream • 1 small film canister with a tissue and 3 pills - disintegrating • 1 glasses case with signature Jeff Lowe glasses, large, thick lenses with a Croakies attached to them • 1 small can of vitamin C tabs • 1 2” roll of medical tape • 1 cut off 8” metal mill bastard file • 1 extra ice pick (unattached) • 1 hammerhead (unattached) • 1 shovel head • 1 green HelSport one man bivy tent with poles • 1 black Vau De compression stuff sack • 1 pink and purple Vau De sleeping bag (still frozen) "

Please explain to me how the average desk jockey benefits from fishermen? So we have fresh sushi? Whatever - I don't see any difference between fishermen who push it in marginal weather with poor equipment and climbers or recreational boaters who do the same. That said -- It should be noted that one of the climbers was an F-16 pilot, so when he pressed the button he had the full attention of the military who responded in the same way they would have in Afghanistan or Iraq. C-130s and Pave Hawks aren't just sent out in marginal conditions for anymore. You've never opened a can of tuna fish? Whooh! F-16 pilot, call everyone. We have a shit load of scratch invested in the dude. Did you know that it is illegal for a GI to get a tattoo? Yeah, it damages government property and you can be charged and face military justice. No joke. Ask Sam. If you get a couple more of these pilots calling in, they will soon tell them: "NO MORE CLIMBING". THE END. Thats' how they roll.

Blah, big deal: don't think you're too good for the rest of us as he's only half black anyway. You could have voted for Hillary cause she'd be the first bi/gay woman President. I'd have given you some points. I figured that Obama got elected cause as a country we always go for whatever the last President didn't have. Obama is very smart.....and a great speaker too. Which is how we got Bill Clinton (twice) as well I suspect. I don't think Obama is getting the 2nd election win though. 1 term dude. That's Bush's fault of course. 1 term unless they hire the Bush election folks and they manipulate the votes like they did for Bush. Let me show you some software work. Why and how Bush got his 2nd term Ps, interesting that I heard (this comes from someone who got it from Bush, that Barak calls GWB every week or 2 to chat). To me, this indicates Obamas strength, his intellect. He can converse with an "arch-rival" and learn from the experience, not only converse, but call up and ask for info.

BINGO! Spot on the money what Kirk W says. Anyone who has climbed in the Alps will know that you are pretty much free to kill yourself anyway you want. That the Euros are already freer than US climbers should stick in the craw of any thinking American IMO. Should you find yourself FUBAR FUBAR defined over there without having made pre-arranged plans or lined up the readily available insurance (which you are free to do), then you'd better have friends or relatives or pay the price -because it's no ones concern otherwise. Have there not been examples of Swiss guides sitting in a hut drinking pilsners while climbers froze to death because they had not pre-arranged? I believe we should all support our local SAR (Search And Rescues), and that government can be of great assistance, but should be relegated to a communications only role. ie, a call goes into 911 (HELP) and they dial the correct SAR and other folks and followup with them for results and perhaps help co-ordinate media, additional emergency calls and volunteers: telling them what they know and directing them to the correct folks. If the gov. is going to fill this role, eventually we will have SAR just dry up and go away as they will not be needed, whereas I feel the reverse should occur. Should the guard - or down here the 304th Air Force, want to line up a training mission, they can ask local SAR orgs to call them if and when they are needed. I don't know anyone who would turn down that kind of help. I do know that they are looking for missions like this, my neighbor is a PJ who's helicopter rolled down Mt Hood on a climber pickup mission not that long ago. I've met most of those guys and they're all awesome dudes, I'm fine with them going on missions but I think it should be clearer that is a a secondary line and role for them, and clearly voluntary on both sides. I don't compare rescues of fishermen, who are in many ways economically forced to head out in marginal weather (plus the actual benefit that they provide to all of us), to climbers, who's endeavors are strictly optional and in many ways selfish. If the Coast Guard wants to rescue boaters fine by me. Historically anyone in the vicinity (even if that means a tanker turns out of it's way hundreds of miles), will go help a boat in need, even if it's just a pleasure craft. Whom ever has the capabilities and is close should go and assist. Naturally, this is my opinion only: certainly your results will vary based on your life's history and knowledge. This is how I see it.