catbirdseat

Glad the missing hiker was found. We appreciate your efforts.

If they'd been smart, they'd have traveled only at night. In daylight they'd only be seen if moving. At least it was an improvement over the older adobe model.

Lordy, someone put a lot of work into that website.

His house and NFL pension are protected. However, one would presume the plaintifs could go after any profit he realized from sale of the book. Supposedly, the proceeds were to benefit his kids...

What's the point if you have already won and he still hasn't paid the judgement?

OJ says, "If I did it, there ain't nothing you can do to me. Ever hear of double jeopardy?"

The nurses at the local hospital know Neat and Cool by name.

Actions speak louder than words. Take that to heart. We would be delighted to hear all about your climb, after you've done it, regardless of whether you are successful or not.

Not that I don't enjoy Spray, but it is just sort of like the 400 lb gorilla, it just sort of dominates the party.

Supposing I like chicken better?

You are a genius, and you shouldn't believe it when everyone on cc.com calls you an idiot.

In the past, Eugenics programs have turned out to be not as profitable as initially forcasted. I don't think they were intended to be profitable. They were mostly government initiatives.

Ever the optimist.

Red...no...blue...aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

As many of you know, vandals have damaged almost all the existing aluminum signage. On my visit yesterday, I noticed that someone has installed new signs in at least three places that are made out of sturdy welded steel. The letters are actually cut right out of the metal. These signs are quite aesthetically pleasing.

There is a route called Duress, 5.9 at Sunshine, Near End. There is a loose hold early in the pitch. If it comes off, it's might raise the grade some.

Leaving aside the ethical considerations for the moment, you could be wrong about these experiments being a collosal waste of money. I would imagine that many prospective parents would be willing to pay a significant sum if they were offered a guarantee that their offspring would not grow up to be gay.

I decided to play with the Trango Max Cam, so I bought one from Jim Nelson. Thus far, I've only placed it once, so I'll reserve final judgement. Commenting on anecdotes that they walk too much, I'd say that these cams could have been made with stronger springs without the stem bending when you compress them. I had a gestalt moment with regard to Camalots (Dru would probably call it a "No Duh" moment). People talk about how much they like them. They say they like the way they feel, like the extra range. They might tell you how the double axle prevents the lobes from inverting. But that is not what makes the Camalot the preferred design above all others. The real reason people like these cams does indeed have to do with the double axle design. This insight came upon playing with the Max Cam (and reading the directions). You must not push the Max Cam into a crack, but rather retract the lobes completely, insert and release. Otherwise, you could get an imbalance from one side to the other, one side over cammed and the other under cammed. Really any single axle cam should not just be stuffed into a crack without retracting the lobes, because you can end up with the same imbalance. Double axle cams CAN be crammed into a crack and still seat pretty well. You are still much better off placing with care, but most often you can be pretty darn careless. When people talk about "walking" a big cam up an offwidth, most are talking about Camalots. You can literally just push on the stem and they'll just slide merrily along with the two lobes staying in balance. This is the true beauty of the double axle design. Forget all that other nonsense about range and what not. If you are really sketched and need to get a cam shoved in quickly that will hold a fall, the Camalot has a higher probability of being placed well because of that double axle design.

What are you into besides gym climbing? Bouldering? Top roping? Trad, Sport?

Fern, are you talking about the start of the 5.10a pitch? This would be the thin corner crack? I'm surprised. I didn't lead this part, but it seemed straightforward to me, the key was being able to stem as much as possible.

If you did get in a wreck it would be a slow speed collision.

Great idea, in principle.

If you were raising your dog as meat, Dog would be a fine name. Maybe she just isn't very sentimental about her dog.

I saw Jeff the cat in the park today, or a darn good facsimile of him. He let me pet him, but I could tell there was malice in his eyes and decided I better be on my way before he took a chunk out of my hand.

We need a new avatar called The Brainstem to signify when a thread has run out of ideas and has descended to a state of free association, completely unencumbered by the thought-process.