murraysovereign

That was then: this is now. Bush wasn't so much opposed to Hubble as he was pro-Mars. That new priority, combined with the shuttle's safety problems, meant that Hubble couldn't be serviced. But somewhere along the line, things got re-prioritized again, and Hubble has been reprieved. So Bush was temporarily a problem, but not any more. Interstellar dust, on the other hand, is still a problem. In some parts of the sky, the stuff is so dense that no visible light makes it through.

And I'd go with interstellar "dust" as being the telescope foe - it fits too neatly with the way the clue is worded for it to be wrong.

OR would work for any medical specialty that could involve surgery, and ER would work for any specialty at all. But the clue refers specifically to nephrologists and gastroenterologists, which are the two medical specialties that deal specifically with the intestinal and renal systems. That leads me to believe they want IR, otherwise why refer to those two disciplines in the clue? Given three possible answers, opt for the one that most closely matches all the elements of the clue. You might be wrong, but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're right.

HA!! Third time lucky - it's "i/r" for intestinal/renal tract. Final answer.

Hmmm... it could be "u/r" for urinary/something. Or I could just be just flat wrong altogether - it's happened once before.

Workplace for Nephrologists and Gastroenterologists alike _R (OR/ER?) My father was a doctor, and I recall him referring to the collective digetive/urinary system as the "A/R tract" for Alimentary/R"something or other". Google turns up nothing to confirm that, but I'm pretty sure that was the term he used. It may have fallen out of use in recent years? Anyone got a copy of Gray's handy? The only medical book on my shelves is a biography of Sir William Osler, which doesn't help much in this instance.

British Secret Service _ _ _ (SAS?) MI5, MI6? Probably doesn't help, and besides the British Government would refuse to confirm it even if it was right. Interstellar Telescope Foe _ _ S _ (Dust?) No, he didn't kill the scottish post-punk band _ R_n_i_ Try "Princip", as in the assasin of Archduke Ferdinand, and somewhere in the deeper recesses of my brain there seems to be some hint of a band whose name made some allusion to that event or one of the principals. "Franz Ferdinand's Band" or something? Maybe just "Franz Ferdinand" sounds familiar? Workplace for Nephrologists and Gastroenterologists alike _R (OR/ER?) Nephrologists? You're on your own, kiddo. Bubonic Plague Symptom _o_e_ Remember the old children's Rhyme "ring around the rosey"? It's actually from the time of the Black Death, and is a description of the symptoms of Bubonic Plague - Ring around the Rosey, a pocket full of POSEY, describes a reddish spot (rosey) with a darker ring around it, followed by the centre filling with puss (pocket full of posey). Followed by death as in "hush, hush, we all fall down"

It's really three letters - Margaret Thatcher referred to her more moderate caucus members as "wet" Tories.

Just changing the thread title to reflect the fact that your video star - Benny Hinn - grew up in Toronto. Credit where it's due...

"I can lock things up in my truck a lot of the time, but even then, it's not completely secure -- it's pretty easy to break a window. I'd like to bring my lap-top to use in places that have free wi-fi, but it sounds like I should leave it behind. Any advice on how to keep things more secure while I'm climbing?" I meant to mention in my earlier reply that, in a pinch, we've almost always got room in the back of the store and will allow people to leave stuff with us while they're out for the day, especially things like laptops and camera equipment and the like are usually not a problem at all. If you've got tons of expedition gear it might get a little crowded, but even then we've managed to find room for some pretty large stashes of packs and duffels in the past.

Hi Julia, There is a limit of 14 days per season at the campground, so just moving to a different pad won't cut it. If there are lots of empty sites they might let you stretch that out a bit, but if things are busy they'll be pretty strict in enforcing the limit. And it's per season, also, so leaving and then coming back a few days later also won't work. Of course, if you go away for long enough that they forget who you are, then come back, you'd probably be OK for another 14 days. The limit is there mainly to prevent people taking up permanent residence, which has been a problem in the past. People do live out of their trucks all the time, but it can get pretty old in a hurry if you're not accustomed to that lifestyle. A lot of climbers end up in rented houses for the summer, with as many people crammed in as possible to cover the rent. Once you get here, start asking around - you may be able to find a spare room in someone's house for not much $$. Showers are available at the rec centre, as has already been mentioned. There are also bike lockers available there, so you can lock up all the gear you won't be using for the day - this is far preferable to leaving it in your vehicle in the parking lot. I can't stress that one enough - DON'T leave all your packs and bags and stuff in your vehicle at the trailhead all day: eventually it will be stolen. Finding climbing partners is never too difficult. The Hostel, the Brew Pub, and the coffee shops are all good places to hang around. Just try to look like someone who's looking for a climbing partner, and keep an eye out for others who are looking like someone who's looking for a climbing partner. But for starters - from your description, you sound as if you climb just like me. After 8 years of self-employment, I can barely remember climbing at all. But I'm planning on spending far less time in the shop this summer in favour of more outdoor-oriented pursuits, and in particular I want to start making up for all those non-climbing years. 5.8 sounds just fine to me I'm not entirely familiar with the border crossing thing, since I only do it once a year, for only a few days. But I believe you shouldn't have any problems if you just tell them you're taking some time off from work and plan on travelling around BC and Alberta for a while before you go back to work in September. I'm pretty sure you get an automatic 90-day stay as a tourist, which would take you from late June through late September. As for work, again, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll be looking for extra hands in the shop so I can go climbing, and there's another climbing shop, as well as lots of landscaping companies and pubs and restaurants and campgrounds and the like, and they'll all be looking for help. BC is experiencing a bit of a labour shortage right now, so anyone who wants to work will probably be able to find something. Don't pay too much attention to the business about anti-American sentiment. There was one brief alcohol-fueled scuffle in a campground - what, 5 years ago? - that people keep dragging out and waving around as evidence of some deep-seated, seething mass of violent hostility toward Americans. It's nonsense. The softwood lumber dispute has, for the moment, been mostly settled, and most people know nothing about it anyway. And the whole Iraq War thing we're just plain weary of, as are most Americans it would seem. So don't worry about over-staying your welcome. As long as you don't act like a complete ***hole, waving your guns in people's faces and screaming U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!! at, like, 3 AM when people are trying to sleep, you can stay as long as you like.

The land is zoned for a log sort, as I understand it. In clearing it, Mr Turner appears to have run roughshod over the District's Site Alteration Bylaw, which has provisions for some fairly stiff penalties - up to $10,000 per removed tree. In addition, much if not all the land in question was "blue listed" in the environmental assessment undertaken by the department of highways, so it's possible he could be facing penalties from the provincial government as well. He has deep roots in "Old Squamish", and close ties with some significant community members, including a couple of members of Council. So we'll see just how far they're willing to pursue this - I know some key District staff are working on this, and at least one Council member, but the Mayor and Council may need a little encouragement to enforce their bylaw. Letters to each council member including the mayor would probably be appropriate, but keep it civil - they're as surprised as anyone by this development. It has caught all of us off-guard, and is in no way a reflection of the community's wishes.

How about this: get a bunch of people to go on all the climbers' websites and forums and stuff, and have them post messages about how some ignorant jackass has gone and, like, logged the Malamute or something. Then sit back and watch the shit hit the fan. Hilarious!! Oh, wait...

pfftt!!

When are you coming up? There's lots of things to recommend, but weather will be a major factor, especially for the next week or two.

Shut up and go climbing. Yeah, you bet, Kev. Just as soon as my wetsuit comes back from the cleaners, I'm going to tick the first whitewater ascent of the Grand Wall Erden I think had the right answer: the BIOS battery is probably dead (5-year-old laptop - sounds about right). I asked Compaq about it, and they agree that's likely the cause. The fact it occurred right after the daylight savings change is purely coincidental.

Ever since this stupid time change thing, my laptop (XP SP2) has been refusing to start up without first going to a black set-up screen and demanding that I correct the invalid system time/date settings. If I bypass the settings and just boot up, it thinks it's just before midnight, Dec 31, 1999, so I have to reset the time/date settings, which works for the time being, but at the next start-up I get the same invalid settings warning again. If I go through the system settings screen and tell it the correct date and time before booting up, it seems to accept them, albeit grudgingly, but only until the next time I start the computer again, at which time I have to go through the whole stupid sequence again. According to MS, my system is fully updated and should have no problems with the time change, but obviously something is wrong, and it's getting really annoying. Any suggestions?

He was found "near Green Lake." Even allowing for his being from Quebec and thus unfamiliar with the area, coming off Blackcomb and ending up near Green Lake would seem to require a) being thoroughly disoriented and b) making a considerable effort to go in the wrong direction. From some fragments of early information, it sounds like he got into the Blackcomb Creek drainage and, instead of following it down to the village, he climbed back up the far side (considerable effort) and then down the slope toward the lake (wrong direction). It's possible (probable?) that he was already hypothermic at the outset, and that his reasoning was impaired as a consequence.

"...military and Energy Department officials said the new U.S. warhead will not add to the nuclear arsenal, but replace existing warheads with ones that are safer and more reliable." Well, I for one am all for making nuclear weapons safer, 'cause the old ones are really dangerous. I mean, if one of those things ever went off, someone could get killed, or at least badly hurt. So if they can make them safer, then maybe we won't have to worry so much about someone getting hurt if they go off, and, well, how can you oppose that? Would you rather we stay with the current dangerous ones?

Actually, S S, it seems they don't want us looking at it, either. Check out the American Family News Network's "Prohibited Activities" section of their "Policies" page: "Acceptable Use Unless otherwise specified, all content produced by AFN and published online at OneNewsNow.com is the copyright property of the American Family News Network and all rights to that property not otherwise granted, herein, are reserved. Any use of AFN copyright content that does not conform to the policies stated herein is a violation of U.S. and/or international copyright laws and may be subject to criminal and/or civil prosecution. Prohibited Activities Neither AFN content, nor any links to OneNewsNow.com, may be posted on any website, transmitted through any electronic delivery system (i.e. "email"), or published in any print publication that engages in any of the following: Any behavior or speech, or advocacy of any behavior or speech that, in the sole opinion of the management of the American Family News Network, is contrary to biblical standards of morality (Example: encouraging sex outside of marriage); Any display of pornography or obscenity; racism or "racialism" including, but not limited to, race-based supremacist and/or separatist advocacy; Any activity that encourages or advocates the violent overthrow of the government of the United States or any political subdivision thereof; discrimination; speech designed to incite violence, or threats to cause bodily harm; Any activity designed to defame, abuse, stalk, harass or physically threaten any individual; including any attempt to link to, post, transmit or otherwise distribute any inappropriate or defamatory material; ...etc, etc, etc for several more paragraphs" By posting American Family News Network content on this site, you have violated most, if not all of the above policies. So if I were you, I'd hurry up and delete your post, before the American Family News Network instructs their lawyers to go all Biblical on your ass

without looking it up: a)how many teaspoons in a gallon? b)how many milliliters in a liter? if you answered both correctly, how long did it take you to figure out (a) vs. (b) It gets even better when you start translating between different concepts, such as distance and volume and area. For instance, how many (a) cubic centimetres in a litre, vs how many (b) cubic inches in a gallon? Or if you have a square piece of land measuring 1 hectare, how many metres long will each side be; and if you have a square piece of land measuring one acre, how many feet long will each side be? (Hint: don't expect that last one to come up as a whole number, because it won't)

Actually, that carpenter was bullshitting you. A 4X8 sheet of plywood is exactly that - 4X8. It's not converted to any metric equivalent, it's just 4X8. And 2x4s are called 2x4s, even though they're not actually 2x4, but that's what everyone calls them anyhow, so that's what we call them, too. Same with 1x4s, and 2x12s, and 6x6s and on and on... And they're sold by the foot. Where it gets strange is when you're working on various construction jobs and you need two different measuring tapes, or at least one tape with both metric and imperial measurements. Because if you're working on a residential construction job, all the blueprints and the materials and measurements are in imperial, but the next day you go across the street to work on an industrial/commercial construction job, and all the blueprints and measurements are in metric And having done my share of both over the years, I'll take commercial jobs over residential any day, just so I don't have to waste my time subtracting 9 3/4" from 3' 2 3/8" - it's much quicker and easier and more accurate to just add and subtract whole numbers from one another, rather than pissing around with all those stupid bloody fractions. For the life of me I'll never understand why, after the Revolution, you Yanks threw away every vestige of your British heritage with the sole exception of their completely idiotic system of weights and measures. Especially since your French allies in the war had such a self-evidently superior system. Of all the things Britain gave the world, why do you still insist on hanging on so stubbornly to the only one that makes absolutely no sense at all?

No Macintosh Toffee? Really? That stuff was a dietary staple in my childhood. Kept the family dentist employed pretty much full-time, too. First, it caused major cavities, and then it would rip out the fillings as well.

Oh, yeah, and no Caesars, either. Weird, indeed.

Also no CoffeeCrisp until just recently, nor Smart cars until 2008, and hardly any Robertson screws.