catbirdseat

When I took high school chemistry, I learned, "Do as you otter, add the acid to the water".

Arlen, you might be interested in this article. It was in todays New York Times about Asperger's Syndrome. Autism is starting to be regarded as a continuum with Asperger's somewhere in the middle between frank autism and normalcy. Here's the first page for those of you without accounts: Answer, but No Cure, for a Social Disorder That Isolates Many By AMY HARMON Published: April 29, 2004 ast July, Steven Miller, a university librarian, came across an article about a set of neurological conditions he had never heard of called autistic spectrum disorders. By the time he finished reading, his face was wet with tears. "This is me," Mr. Miller remembers thinking in the minutes and months of eager research that followed. "To read about it and feel that I'm not the only one, that maybe it's O.K., maybe it's just a human difference, was extremely emotional. In a way it has changed everything, even though nothing has changed." Advertisement Mr. Miller, 49, who excels at his job but finds the art of small talk impossible to master, has since been given a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome, an autistic disorder notable for the often vast discrepancy between the intellectual and social abilities of those who have it. Because Asperger's was not widely identified until recently, thousands of adults like Mr. Miller — people who have never fit in socially — are only now stumbling across a neurological explanation for their lifelong struggles with ordinary human contact. As Mr. Miller learned from the article, autism is now believed to encompass a wide spectrum of impairment and intelligence, from the classically unreachable child to people with Asperger's and a similar condition called high-functioning autism, who have normal intelligence and often superior skills in a given area. But they all share a defining trait: They are what autism researchers call "mind blind." Lacking the ability to read cues like body language to intuit what other people are thinking, they have profound difficulty navigating basic social interactions. The diagnosis is reordering their lives. Some have become newly determined to learn how to compensate. They are filling up scarce classes that teach skills like how close to stand next to someone at a party, or how to tell when people are angry even when they are smiling. Others, like Mr. Miller, have decided to disclose their diagnosis, hoping to deflect the often-hostile responses their odd manners and miscues provoke. In some cases, it has helped. In others, it seemed only to elicit one more rejection. This new wave of discovery among Aspies, as many call themselves, is also sending ripples through the lives of their families, soothing tension among some married couples, prompting others to call it quits. Parents who saw their adult children as lost causes or black sheep are fumbling for ways to help them, suddenly realizing that they are disabled, not stubborn or lazy. For both Aspies and their families, relief that their difficulties are not a result of bad parenting or a fundamental character flaw is often coupled with acute disappointment at the news that there is no cure for the disorder and no drug to treat it. "We are with Asperger's where we were 20 years ago with mental illness," said Lynda Geller, director of community services at the Cody Center for Autism in Stony Brook, N.Y. "It is thought to be your fault, you should just shape up, work harder, be nicer. The fact that your brain actually works differently so you can't is not universally appreciated." Some Aspies interviewed asked to remain anonymous for fear of being stigmatized. But with the knowledge that their dysfunction is rooted in biology, many say remaining silent to pass as normal has become an even greater strain. "I would like nothing better than to shout it out to everyone," a pastor in California whose Asperger's was just diagnosed wrote in an e-mail message. "But there is so much explanation and education that needs to happen that I risk being judged incompetent." Some are finding solace in support groups where they are meeting others like themselves for the first time. And a growing number are beginning to celebrate their own unique way of seeing the world. They question the superiority of people they call "neurotypicals" or "N.T.'s"and challenge them to adopt a more enlightened, gentle outlook toward social eccentricities. Asks the tag line of one online Asperger support group: "Is ANYONE really `normal?' " Discovery: Finding Reason for Social Gaffes

"deaseased" = either diseased or deceased They both sort of work.

I (gulp!) agree with you Greg. This legislation is clearly unconstitutional as it restricts free speech. As long as the ads are paid for at market rates and are not obscene, the transit authority cannot restrict the ads.

I was crewing on a 50 ft sailboat and we were underweigh for the starting line on the way out of Los Alamitos Bay. There was a guy on a park bench facing the water, and astride him was this chick with her dress hiked up and they were going at it. The whole crew cheered. On hearing this the fellow pumped his fist in the air in a victory salute.

Notice that the seat is wrapped.

Hey, this is kind of fun. Here's an example: Topic: Corporate Responsibility Speaker: Bush, George - President Date: 3/7/2002 Quote/Claim: "America is ushering in a responsibility era...and this new culture must include a renewed sense of corporate responsibility. If you lead a corporation, you have a responsibility to serve your shareholders, to be honest with your employees." Fact: After Enron and other corporate scandals rose corporate governance to the forefront of the national policy debate "O'Neill and Greenspan devised a plan to make CEOs accountable." But, O'Neill reports, "Bush went with a more modest plan because 'the corporate crowd' complained loudly and Bush could not buck that constituency." - Time Magazine, 1/11/04

I wonder how long it would take that fellow to shred a sofa?

To summarize: Cyclic Load Range [kN], Average Cycles to Failure 8, 10939 10, 5533 12, 2959 14, 1556 16, 1182 18, 751 20, 263 While I would suppose that it is possible for someone to take 263 falls of 20 kN on on the same carabiner, I think it is unlikely anyone will approach that number. They claim a person weighing 200 lbs and falling 3 m will generate this force (20 kN), without specifying a fall factor.

Considering the presence of the face on the face, a more compelling name than the Yellow Cave could be invented.

MisterE, we all knew it was inevitable.

Someone already posted this topic.

It reminds me of the cutthroat competition by surfers for waves in California. There is only so much coastline and too many surfers. Gangs of surfers used to claim certain areas as their own and drive out any interlopers. Boulder problems tend to focus people into small areas in a similar fashion.

I suggest that you write the folks at Climbing Accidents in North American Mountaineering. They may have a database that would allow a statistical treatment. Here's your contact info: John E. (Jed) Williamson 7 River Ridge Road Hanover, NH 03755 e-mail: jedwmsn@sover.net

Are we talking about these guys?

When we were kids, our dads took a bunch of us from the neighborhood on a backpacking trip at Mineral King. They warned us repeatedly about not having food in our tents. They made us hang our food in a tree after dinner. We made a hilarious show of trying to toss a cord over a branch, but finally got the food hung. Later, we were all sitting around the campfire talking when one of the kids, Paul, comes up eating something. We asked him, "What do you have there, Paul?" "Oh, just peanutbutter and honey on crackers", he said. "Where did you get that? I thought we just hung all the food". The answer, "my tent". We made him hide his secret stash in a hollow log well away from our camp.

Try it Dru. We expect a full report.

Sounds like my experience with Chumstick Snag. It was an interesting thing to do once; I'm glad I visited it, but will probably never go back.

If any fault is to be found it lies with his teacher, followed by the administrator in that order. The artwork was clearly an effigy and was protected under the First Amendment. Apparently Teach was a Bushie.

I am aware of that. I just thought it was rather amazing that such a skinny rope could be so strong. For trigger wires, smaller is better and you find that in 7x19 stainless cable.

What I had in mind was Vectran single braid. I've used this for mainsail halyards on small boats and it is incredibly strong and low stretch. Smallest size is 1/8", which is still a rather large diameter, which is why I say maybe it could work on larger cams. Reference. Tensile strength is 1,900 lbs. Specs Splicing probably wouldn't be the way to go because the eys splice is way too long. On the other hand, this stuff could be used on flukes.

This is a digression, but it seems to me that in some cases, such as larger cams, a fine Spectra or Kevlar cord would be good for trigger wires if only there was a way to swage it. It would be more flexible and resistant to kinking and the formation of meat hooks.

New? One can't be sure.

I think we could have figured it out without the last phrase.

No, w00t!