catbirdseat

I feel so much better now what I understand more about the bugs that periodically infest my orchid plants. "So, the naturalists observe, the flea, Hath smaller fleas that on him prey; And these have smaller still to bite 'em; And so proceed, ad infinitum" -Jonathan Swift Tiny Bugs In Mealybugs Have Smaller Bugs Inside Them (from Science Daily) Like tiny Russian dolls, the mealybugs that infest your houseplants carry bacteria inside their cells that are themselves infected with another type of bacteria. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, shows that instead of spreading from bug to bug, the second set of bacteria infected the first several times in the past and are now being passed along and evolving with them. Complete story for other science geeks

It has already been established that there is no female equivalent to beer goggles. In fact, the opposite effect has supposedly been demonstrated. Thus alcohol isn't the answer, either.

I think I may have been banned for an hour, else the site was down. Is minx yanking my chain?

See y'all there.

Minx, are you folks at the sex drug company working on a product for the ladies? There's big bucks if you can take advantage of that untapped market.

I was being sarcastic, minx. You seem a bit too sensitive to be a spray moderator.

There has been a rather concerted effort to kill off Spray. First by banning the more "interesting" avatars, then people through the dreaded "IP Ban", now relegating the forum to the very bottom of the list, formerly occupied by Body Results. Will The Milque Toast Brigade succeed in their quest to turn cc.com into a clone of rc.com?

The important thing is that more kinetic energy to be dissipated or absorbed by the tearing of the threads than released from potential energy by the resultant extension of the sling. This is in fact the case.

You can hide an alcoholic's stash of Colt 45, but he most assuredly will search until he finds it. The same is true of Spray.

Christmas came late for Dru, but he finally got what he wanted. The Squid

It's about time the "NEW" got dropped.

Here is a picture of the summit that was taken on Saturday from the Tatoosh Range the day of the attempt. Note the thin lenticular cloud.

We are led to believe by our government that the terrorists want only to destroy us and our way of life. They may wish this, but it is not their primary goal. Al Qaida has been pretty clear on what they want from us: 1) US out of Saudi Arabia, the Holy Land home of Mecca and Medina 2) US out of Iraq and Afghanistan and all other muslim countries. 3) US to stop supporting the Israelis at the expense of the Palastinians 4) Overthrow of the Saudi Monarchy, which they see as being propped up by the US. What they want for themselves is a Pan Arab single state under a single government ruled by Islamic Law (Sharia). These people are Wahabbites. They don't really care so much about the primarily Shiite countries, such as Iran. In fact they have shown a willingness to shed Shiite blood as in Kandahar. The question is both can we and should we accomodate them. What can we do that is both in our own interest as well as removing that which fuels Al Qaida? We can stop writing a blank check to Isreal. We can insist that they remove all settlements from the occupied territories. Why don't we? Because there are many powerful jews in this country who believe for religious reasons that it is Israel's destiny to acquire all of Palastine, without regard for others who may have lived there for 1000 years. We can pull out of Saudi Arabia and we are doing this, albeit slowly. Where would we put out forward bases? That's a toughie, but right now Iraq is preferable to Saudi Arabia. Can we get out of Afghanistan? Maybe, once we have killed or captured Bin Laden and Sheik Omar. The key to success there is the Pakistani army, and building up the new Afghan army. Can we replace the monarchy? It is unlikely. The monarchy and the fanatical mullahs feed one another, need one another. I'll leave that for others to argue over.

Two very nice trip reports. People only dislike writing because they think they are no good at it, or because it forces them to come to grips with their feelings, but you are good at it. From the descriptions of the snow conditions it didn't sound as though anyone, no matter how strong, was going to get to the summit via GB that day. The day we did it last Feb. it took us two and a half hours just to get on the ledges, but we didn't have thigh deep snow when we got there (in fact it was 8 AM). This was because the wind had been out of the NE rather than the NW. Even had you succeeded in reaching and traversing the ledges, you might well have been avalanched on the exit chute. People have died there. There is no shame when the mountain turns you back. Still you might have gone a little further just for the sake of checking out the route. You aren't all that committed until you approach that exit chute.

No doubt about it. The terrorists scored a huge victory. They will be greatly encouraged to commit additional acts in countries such as Poland, Italy and Great Britain.

They are all end runs around FDA regulations. They can tell you to "see your doctor" for a specific illness and they can talk about a specific drug, but they cannot tell you to take a specific drug for a specific illness. It's wacky.

That's cold, man, cold.

So you carried a "Standard Rack" plus pins? More or less?

"When all else fails, read the directions". In other words, follow the harness manufacturer's recommendations.

I agree. It seemed harder than Seven Virgins and a Mule, 5.7. Those two routes need to swap ratings.

Eric, have you scored a new bike yet? Anybody got an unused bike they want to get rid of? I'll volunteer to take it up to him.

I don't think that Eric is laughing. According to State driving law, if you are caught driving while suspended you are subject to arrest and your vehicle may be impounded.

Bummer man. That's pretty serious what they got you on.

Professor Klenke has his Ph.D. from Schwack University. He postdoc'd with the famous Dr. Stefan of the Krumholtz Institute. He is currently Guest Lecturer at the Bush Academy.