Gaston_Lagaffe

Hey, remember this? So, IFF WMDs was a lie, then what other US interest(s) remain?

Since I'm relatively new to trad I have a question for you folks: Is it correct that I hear that trad climbs are often rated by the hardest move on the climbs vs sport which is often rated for the over-all route? Example: A 5.10 trad could be mostly 5.8-9 with a 5.10 move thrown in. Or did I perhaps misunderstand, and was it alpine trad vs sport? Speaking of climbing, what have ya'll planned for this weekend?

I agree. Can you imagine a size 15 foot on a penny hold on a slab vs a smaller foot? I think the smaller foot can make more use of it.

All I have to say is that no matter how early in my life I would have started to climb, and no matter how hard I would have trained, I would NEVER be able to free the Nose like a certain Miss Hill. A heigh difference of 1.5 feet is of zero help. At the same time a person with smaller hands is able to use holds that are just too small for my fingers. That's one of the things that I love about climbing, My 5'2" friend can send routes I can't, and I can send routes she can't. Cheers

Just keep in mind, that there will more than likely be inexperienced drivers out there that will be observing your driving style, and thinking to themselves: "Hey, that guy is speeding, I guess that means that it's ok to do so here. I'll just follow his lead." My point is this, you may certainly be a very good driver, but your actions may provoke others to follow suit. Of course I'm not even suggesting that you should be held accountable for their speeding or accidents, only that your actions may infulence others.

Doubt it. Might help with nutz though... This link, on the other hand, would be excellent for comparing cams. SLCD = Spring Loaded Cramming Device Doh!!! I guess I need sleep more than I thought. My apologies. You're right, of course.

This link might help in comparing different brands of SLCDs.

you mean like or or The horror... the horror... Although, I confess to wearing Euro hiking knickers (NO NOT lederhosen) every once in a great while while hiking/climbing.

Check out her link. WTF is the guy wearing??? Well, at least it's better than those leopard spandex pants from the 80's (or ANY spandex pants from the 80's for that matter). I wonder if anyone still has theirs, and what it would take to make them wear them. Great job Carolyn, way to go.

I've just got news that Vertical Frontier will be showing on 6/2 at 9PM at the Broadway Performance Hall at SCCC and again on 6/8 at 2PM at the Egyptian as part of SIFF.

I find the Internet a cornucopia of astonishing facts. For instance, little did I know that marijuana was lethal, or that you needed setup a dictatorship in order to fund your marijuana habit. Maybe Saddam was addicted to Mary Jane. Gee golly, he must have been, right? I mean, Saddam was a dictator and evil, and you need a dictatorship in order to fund your marijuana habit. And marijuana being evil too MUST mean that Saddam was an evil pot smoking dictator. Not to mention that he had a Cheech mustache, I mean hello! Brownies anyone?

It was great to meet so many of you, especially all you Trasks. I never knew so many people would share the same name. A grrreat thanks to all the people involved setting up this event. Was it really all MattP's doing? Cheers

The "environmentalism-as-religion" taught in our schools to which I was referring is very far removed from science. If you had kids in public school as I do, you'd understand. I am 100% pro science education. My children must be taught scientific method, evolution, and all of the other things that the religious right kooks often decry as blasphemy. However, "environmentalism" is not currently presented in a scientific fashion in primary public schools. It is presented emotion over reason, and skepticism is scorned, not embraced and explored. It has, in fact, become a religion to many on the left. I stand by my statement. I took environ sci in college so I'm curious what they're teaching kids these day. I have a suspicion, but could you elaborate? Thx

You could take it a step further and just say that extremism, whether faith based or politically (socialism, capitalism, communism) is a bad idea. The question I'm asking myself is what leads people to accept such extremism. Why do they flock towards it in the first place, and is it preventable? I read, for instance, that the Taliban was composed mainly of young Afghan men who were raised in refugee camps during the war with the USSR. There they grew up without role models or leaders and started interpreting the Koran by themselves, leading to a VERY literal interpretation of the Koran. Then when they returned to Afghanistan it was relatively easy for them to assume control of the government. I recall that when the US gov. was negotiating with the Taliban for the extradition of Osama Bin Laden, the US gov. was very frustrated with the Taliban because the were unfamiliar with diplomatic talk (several experts have since suggested that when the Taliban was saying that they didn't know where Bin Laden was, that it was actually an offer to secretly hand him over).

Hmmm, I think that there are several European countries where church and state aren't separated, yet I can't point to any country over there and say that they're fundemenalists, with the exception of Turkey perhaps. But then again, it's not something that I've kept an eye out for. Perhaps the Euros don't feel the need to push their faith based beliefs onto others via laws.

Yeah, individual freedom sucks. How can they claim faith in a religion that "merges science and religion" yet discriminates against women for faith based reasons. Jackasses. Because they don't think the two have anything to do with each other; does it? For many centuries muslims had a great reputation for encouraging a questioning style of education, and were mostly responsible for the protection of scientific documents that the Christian Church wanted burned. From the books and articles I've read it seemed like the academic's Paradise, both for men and women alike. To this day it appears that the Christian church is largely resistant to scientific discoveries because they view it as a threat to their faith, whereas muslims are the exact opposite. I would like to point out though, that I feel like Islam today appears to be going away from its roots, and straying into general oppression of individual freedom.

A few weeks back I read a review in the New York Times of the (very large) manifesto of the guy who was one of the founders of Al-Queda. According to the writer, it seems that some of Al-Queda's main peeves with the western world, but the US in particular, are: 1) the US Gov. separates religion from government (you could argue this point though), 2) Christianity separates religion from science, whereas Islam merges the two, 3) Individual freedom, particulary the freedom of women. Regretfully, I couldn't find the article again to site it.

Vive les Gaton!

I say lets invade Norway. They ADMIT to having WOMD. Lutefisk

I recall reading that it was against their constitution to allow it.

First thing that came to mind BTW, name that movie.

My friend came across a church group at Smith Rock climbing in the name of Jesus, shouting religious encouragements to each other and yelling out thanks to the Lord each time they grabbed a hold. Whatever works, I guess. Although, isn't the Lord aid? Y'all enjoy your weekend. Cheers

At Smith a couple of years ago I was sitting by Cinnamon Slab waiting for a group to finish the easy face climbs by it when I see this woman belaying her partner with a GriGri attached to a gear loop. Since the climber was only 7-10 feet off the ground I ask him if he can be secure for a second while his belayer fixes her setup. After explaining to the woman where to clip the biner the climber proceeds. But wait, there's more. The leader ties into the anchors and yells down for the woman to tie in and follow. I had decided to stick around for a second to make sure that her first error was just "that one time" you do something stupid. It wasn't. Me: "Ehemm." She (in a nice way, mind you):"Is there something else wrong?" Me:"Mmmm actually, yes. You're tied into your leg loop." and proceed to show her how to properly tie in. On a side note: My friend, a total safety Nazi, rapped off the end of the rope and fell 25ft after being CERTAIN he saw BOTH ends of the rope hit the ground when he tossed it from the anchor. He got away with a broken ankle and bruised hip. Killed his 4 month climbing trip mid-way though. Lesson learned: tie a know at the end of the rope.

your stupid, huh? It's spelled "you're stupid". I rest my case.