catbirdseat

The last time one of my wife's snakes escaped it was gone for about six months. We were eating supper one evening and I happened to look at the bird cage behind me. There was a snake in the cage with the finches. It had just finished eating a nestful of chicks. It was now too large to exit the cage and was effectively trapped. Back in his case he went. Too bad about the chicks though, it was the first time the society finches had bred successfully.

Well, where do you keep your snakes? Doesn't everyone keep them in the pantry?

That would do the trick!

This morning, I went into the pantry to get some sugar for my coffee and there is a snake wound around the sugar cannister. It was a pet corn snake that escaped one year ago around this time of year. It was trying to join its fellows whos cases we keep in the pantry. I think it must be the mating season and he was trying to get to the female. Okay, for the second strange occurrence, I was running on Queen Anne Hill. I just finished topping out on a big hill and was all out of breath. I look across the street and I see this black dude walking along wearing a top hat and smoking jacket. He has this huge gap toothed smile on his face that reminded me of Bob Marley. No, I haven't been into the

So in other words, you want to have your next job all lined up and then manage to get laid off, collect severance and start at the new job with maybe a week off to go climbing?

Erik, try these filters , I think you will like the taste of the coffee.

What do you mean "poor trask"? He's loving it. He probably has gone off in search of the albumn already. By this evening, he'll have it memorized so he can sing it at the Fall Rope Up. You know he has a beautiful voice, don't you?

I camped out in the snow this weekend using a Pocket Rocket to melt drinking water. It takes forever compared to a gasoline stove. Having said that, it sure is convenient and light. Pocket Rocket for the way to go for summer use.

Smut I do have a cause though. It is obscenity. I'm for it. Unfortunately the civil liberties types who are fighting this issue have to fight it owing to the nature of the laws as a matter of freedom of speech and stifling of free expression and so on but we no what's really involved: dirty books are fun. That's all there is to it. But you can't get up in a court and say that I suppose. It's simply a matter of freedom of pleasure, a right which is not guaranteed by the Constitution unfortunately. Anyway, since people seem to be marching for their causes these days I have here a march for mine. It's called... Smut! Give me smut and nothing but! A dirty novel I can't shut, If it's uncut, and unsubt- le. I've never quibbled If it was ribald, I would devour where others merely nibbled. As the judge remarked upon the day that he acquitted my Aunt Hortense, "To be smut it must be utterly without redeeming social importance."; Por- Nographic pictures I adore. Indecent magazines galore, I like them more If they're hard core. (Bring on the obscene movies, murals, postcards, neckties, samplers, stained-glass windows, tattoos, anything! More, more, I'm still not satisfied!) Stories of tortures Used by debauchers, Lurid, licentious, and vile, Make me smile. Novels that pander To my taste for candor Give me a pleasure sublime. (Let's face it, I love slime.) All books can be indecent books Though recent books are bolder, For filth (I'm glad to say) is in the mind of the beholder. When correctly viewed, Everything is lewd. (I could tell you things about Peter Pan, And the Wizard of Oz, there's a dirty old man!) I thrill To any book like Fanny Hill, And I suppose I always will, If it is swill And really fil- thy. Who needs a hobby like tennis or philately? I've got a hobby: rereading Lady Chatterley. But now they're trying to take it all away from us unless We take a stand, and hand in hand we fight for freedom of the press. In other words, Smut! (I love it) Ah, the adventures of a slut. Oh, I'm a market they can't glut, I don't know what Compares with smut. Hip hip hooray! Let's hear it for the Supreme Court! Don't let them take it away! Tom Lehrer, 1965: That Was the Year that Was.

People make mistakes. He acted on the advice of the same idiots in the Pentagon that are advising Bush. I don't regard Clinton as a scoundrel because he acted more often with the best interests of all the people in mind, whereas Bush only is interested in benefitting the wealthy and those who contributed to his campaign. We had 7 years of expanding economy under Clinton with little inflation. Now under Bush, we have the worst recession since the Nixon years and the prospect of deflation which hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. I have been unemployed for five months and for this I blame Bush. Prior to this time I have never been unemployed for longer than 6 weeks. He is pursuing many of the same trickle down policies that Herbert Hoover did in the depression. They didn't work then and they won't work now.

Klenke, if you are cuter than everyone thought, why is it that I never see you with some hottie hanging on your arm? Maybe the word hasn't gotten out yet.

You've got your terrorists all mixed up. Al Queda simply wants us out of Saudi Arabia. They couldn't give a shit about Waco. Somehow I seriously doubt that the attacks will stop once we complete our pullout of Arabia. They will find other excuses to attack us.

Kind of like when "Slick Willie" blew up that aspirin factory in Sudan on the eve of the Monica scandal, eh? Yep, it's just like that. That was stupid too, and against the best interests of our country. Some would argue (not me) that even if it was an aspirin factory, it may have had a deterrent effect on further terrorist operations. By the way, I don't think it is simply cynicism. Bush is a true scoundrel, whereas Clinton was just a cagey horndog.

Let's not make it the week of Octoberfest . The whole place will be choked with tourons.

Wrlwind, the vast majority of those who take the Basic Course do not continue to climb with the Mountaineers, but rather set out on their own and climb with friends and continue to develop as climbers. The object of the Basic Course is not to make them into Mark Twight wannabes. It is to give them enough knowledge to get them started and to be safe in the mountains. It is up to them to decide how they want to grow as climbers. I imagine that many of them decide that alpine climbing really isn't for them and they go back to backpacking and hiking. A few of them become really good climbers. To say that taking a course with a group is going to hinder your chances at becoming an accomplished climber is simply not supported by any facts. It has been said before in this thread that the best way to learn quickly is to be mentored by an experienced partner. I would agree. That has been the traditional route for many great climbers. But some people just don't have the contacts to be able to get started. Yes, there is cc.com, but it takes a lot of temerity to contact some random stranger on a bulletin board and put your life in that person's hands. So there will always be a demand for organized courses. If not the Mountaineers, then Boealps, UW, WAC, OSAT, or any of the for profit outfits.

butt douch = enema

I own Ashley's Book of Knots. The knots he has as climbing knots are laughable. For example he has a modified Slippery Hitch for single strand rappels. You just shake the rope and it comes loose. A few of the commonly used climbing knots are found under other names and some are not found, for example the bowline with Yosemite finish.

Sour grapes for sure.

I can see how you might have access to the fags, but I just have no faith that you can deliver the other goods.

Trask, you need to do some stumping on the campaign trail, press the flesh, kiss a few babies, whistle stop tours, etc. Pray tell us what would you do with your new powers if elected as King-Shit moderator?

Yes indeed, I have voted.

When Buggs Bunny said, "I walk softly, but carry a BIG Stick", Yosemite Sam replied, "Well, I talk LOUDLY, and I carry and even BIGGGGGGGGER stick."

Lummox's chick with the big tits is abosolutely mesmorizing.

I have never heard of the Zepplin Bend, but it would appear to have more chance of catching on things when being pulled than the EDK. This appears to be a modification of the carrick bend, which is a very strong knot (but unties too easily to be useful for climbing). Very interesting knot though. It looks tricky to tie.

My hearing is still pretty good, but I still can ignore that which I do not want to hear, like "take out the trash, mow the lawn, or get a job."