catbirdseat

You have on the one hand parents who have one child, where one parent stays at home and micromanages every aspect of that kid's life. Then you have the single parent family or those where both parents work. So some kids are getting too much attention, while others are not getting enough. The parents who over-protect their children seek to extend that protection in the schools by imposing rules. The best solution is more adult supervision, not rules. We should reduce class sizes.

I never used to have a favorite beer before I tasted Mac and Jack's African Amber. If I have a choice, I'll order that about half of the time.

I've been trying. I'll have to move out of the Seattle area to find work. There are lots of jobs in California. If I get "lucky" I'll get to move to Spokane.

Gorgeous photos!

The two BD/Smiley sizes I use most often are #8 and #9.

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Here's an example. Double Tragedy

Well, KK, here I am still unemployed. My six months of health coverage that was covered by my employer has expired. I will now write a check for COBRA coverage for $1500 each month.

I hope you had someone special with whom to share the moment.

In trad climbing, not only must you find a stance that won't pump you out, but you need to position yourself so that you can see into the crack into which the gear will be placed. In sport climbing if you can reach the bolt you're fine, assuming you can hold yourself in place for the few second needed to clip.

That picture with the rock and the drag marks is so cool. So do you think the rock was dragged under the influence of ice?

This potty doesn't have much of a view. Nonetheless, it does its job admirably.

The Copper Creek Hut on the Tahoma Trails System has an outhouse with a picture window looking right up at Rainier.

I've noticed that the Cobra does have aluminum reinforcing along the upper front of the shaft. That should protect the carbon fiber from impact with the rock, unless one is quite careless.

Come on! How is the person to know based on your avatar!

But Bill, if sport=pleasuring yourself, what is bouldering=?? That's a very good question!

Jason, wasn't it Woody Allen who said, "80% of success is just showing up"? He was dead on the money with that one.

How would you answer that question if you were her? ["Why is it that 1/5 of Americans can't find the US on a world map?"] That's not an easy question to answer. She can't just say, "because they are stupid idiots", now can she?

I might be up for climbing on Friday.

O, most reveared seer. Tell pray tell us what will happen to climbers when the moon is eclipsed tomorrow? Will we lose more stuff or find more stuff?

Is it me, or have an unusually large number of items been lost on climbs this year? Shoes, helmets, cameras, crampons, and ice tools seem to top the list. When I was a kid and I lost something, my Dad would always say something like, "it's a good think your head is screwed on tight, or you'd lose that too".

I don't think it counts as an attempt if actually leave the trailhead.

This guy should get paid for his efforts. He's a pro, on par with Dave Berry.

Greece was originally forested three thousand years ago. The trees were cut down to clear land for farming. As the soil became poorer, much of that was turned into pasture for cattle and finally goats, completing the desertification of the land. Greece has been reforesting and now all that is being threatened. It's a shame.