catbirdseat

It's funning the random things Google comes up with when you can't spell worth a darn.

I agree, but our current administration seems to lean a lot more heavily to the "do nothing" view than "paleo-eden". If you are a true economic scientist, AND you believe that our CO2 emissions are causing global warming, then you would agree with the following: (1) Global warming will cost us money in the form of lost land, lost farm productivity, displacements of population centers, etc. (2) Reducing CO2 emissions costs money. Spending money to reduce CO2 is partially offset by cost savings from decreased energy costs and health benefits (to the extent that toxics are reduced). (3) There is some optimum amount of money that we should be spending on CO2 reductions to maximize our long term economic welfare. If you believe those three statements, then it comes down to: A) who spends the money, and B) what is the right amount to "invest" in CO2 reduction. The problem of course is the old "tragedy of the commons". Everyone would benefit from CO2 reduction, but they would benefit MORE if it was someone else who spent the money. That's why we have the concept of a treaty like Kyoto.

91% think Government is Broken? That's amazing, and it is a result of of how the question is asked. I strongly believe that Government is NOT broken. People are just ready for a change. We have an election coming up and it is how the goverment will be brought back into line with the current desires of the populace.

Nice post.

It's not clear whether or not Ben is taking the Bush position that "there is nothing we can do about Global Warming, so we should do nothing". What's interesting about the Bushies is that sometimes they seem to take the position that Global Warming isn't happening so we shouldn't worry about it. Other times they seem to be saying that, well, yes, it is happening, but there isn't really anything we can do about it without completely ruining our economy.

How about the Faders Sum? at REI It sounds like a GriGri, but there is a claim that it give "dynamic" catches unlike a GriGri.

Whoa, you just registered to out a JayB plagerizer?! He did put it in italics and quotes. He just didn't attribute it.

You must be talking about the Toucan? Ever visit the Simond website? It really sucks. It's just a couple of huge PDF downloads.

Yes, Jay but ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME is what we are talking about here. The very wealthy now have more ways to hide their income so that the AGI appears to be small. Their true income is much larger. They are taxed on a smaller amount so they pay less tax.

I'm still kicking myself for a poor performance rapping off of Sky Ridge at Smith. First, I didn't take enough care flaking the ropes before I threw them. Second, I didn't bother with the autoblock. It was an overhanging double rope rap and the wind had blown the ropes into a flake. Leg wrap, pull out of flake. Now they catch on nubbins, another leg wrap. Now they are tangled. Another leg wrap, PITA. An autoblock would have made it all a lot safer and easier.

April or May you can climb early in the morning. It will be over 100 degrees by afternoon. Right now it's fabulous. Probably high 70's in the afternoon but below freezing at night. It's a lot like Smith in winter. If the sun is up, it's nice. Once the sun sets, the puffy coats go on.

Let's see here, a little back of the napkin calculation. 1 mile wide by 2/3 mile high. That would take about 3 million bolts.

Have you ever been to Joshua Tree in June? I have.

Actually, I do like ice climbing. I met a fellow from Canmore down in JTree last year who invited me up there. I should take him up on it. He's a neighbor of Will Gadd.

Nice. Trying to hijack a thread about Christmas time rock climbing in warm sunshine in tee shirts and prAna tops? You want to talk about freezing your ass off on an ice cube? Go start your own thread.

Who's going this year? Mr. Fox, Mos, Robo? I'm going with my usual plan to camp at Hidden Valley from Dec. 26-30 or 31, possibly even longer. Interested in mostly trad leading to 5.9.

Obviously, one of those rare candid moments we all cherish.

No doubt it is stressful, but some people just seem to thrive on the occasional burst of adrenalin they get doing that work.

Kerry is a professional politician. These guys presumably got to where they are by not making stupid flubs. Stupid remarks like Kerry's are like a quarterback throwing interceptions. Too many and you get benched.

Everything is negotiable. If they really want your services, they will agree to the terms as modified by you.

Was there a line asking which discussion groups you belong to? Leave that one blank too.

There was a TV program about bizarre accidents in which there was a story about a guy who drove his pickup truck into a partially opened gate. The gate was made of heavy steel pipe, about 2 inches in diameter. The pipe penetrated the grill of the truck, passed through the firewall, through the driver's belly and the seat, before the truck came to a stop. The man was fully conscious, but could do nothing but sit and wait as he was alone. Fortunately for him, someone came along soon after. They thought about using a cutting torch to get him out but someone realized that metal conducts heat and that maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea. They finally used a gas-powered saw to cut off the pipe. He was sent to the ER with the pipe sticking out of him. They fixed him up, and he made a full recovery.

World record transition from route developer to cc.com tyro to sprayer in three posts. Congratulations.

I'm not sure what Isaac did when he led that pitch, but what I did was basically stay in the chimney and reach up high to clip the bolts. Because you use counter force and stemming in the chimney, there is less chance that a broken hold will cause a fall. It also may be that the inside of the chimney has seen more feet over the years than the arete on the outside. Without those bolts, the only protection one would get would be a chockstone 1/3 of the way up.

Jennifer, that's wonderful to hear. It's unfortunate that we couldn't make our acquaintance under more pleasant circumstances.