HappyCamper

The caffeine is wearing off as the day grows long...can't stop surfing and yet political debate tough to wade in to.... The worst cover of all time: The Wallflowers cover of David Bowie's "Heroes". The song is incapable of being covered. Actually even Bowie singing it now may be sacriledge. Close runners up: Police covering their own "Don't Stand So Close to Me" - one listen will make the reason why it sucks pretty clear. Also noted as the moment that Sting began to suck. Sixpence None the Richer covering "there she goes" by the greatest one hit wonder band: The La's. The band's name alone means they suck in general. Good covers: "Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies - covering some band called the Velvet Underground. Ok, now that I have crawled out of the primordial ooze and discovered the Velvets, I could see why some might call it a sucky cover. Whatever, the girl's voice is too haunting to ignore. If Jakob Dylan fronted the Cowboy Junkies, it would suck. 300 Thread Count Egyptian cotton sheets. That's comfort.

I would never want to condone wasting valuable time at work, not to mention valuable bandwidth of you employer, but you can watch a lot of the Daily Show on its website: http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/thedailyshowwithjonstewart/

Not really a big deal in my book - so there was a planted reporter - I am sure this wasn't the first time in the history of the White House. I am not sure about Helen Thomas being a complete lefty plant either - seem to recall her asking some pointed questions of Bubba. For the entertainment factor alone, I find it amusing that they let someone who was/is a male escort into the press pool. It shouldn't make the evening news - but maybe the Daily Show.

Newbie here - heard some advice that kind of ran counter to what I was thinking. I have been a long time snowboarder, but switched to AT last year to access the BC better (and to liven up the snow life a bit with some variety)....but still want to get a split at some point for the long slogs like St. Helens (well, at least peaks like that)...in other words, a long slog up for a few hours and then a blissful run to the bottom...sure if there was a long approach, i might still consider the AT.....but it seems like some of the Mt Baker routes might be nice with a split board....so, i guess the query is: are split boards sucky for doing a relatively straight forward uphill climb? I am stoked to improve my AT skills, but gotta pull some snowboard runs once in a while in the BC....this is all theoretical since the splits are gawd-awfully expensive and I already dropped cash on the AT last year.....

Not to get too technical here, but the US Constitution is probably violated every day. When someone files an appeal in federal or state court odds are that they are citing some example of a violation of such things as right to speedy trial, unreasonable search and seizure, free speech etc. Perhaps the better question is not whether the constitution is violated, but whether or not the alleged violation can be argued before a court. A number of Gitmo prisoners are trying to argue that they should just have a day in court. The fear is that the "enemy combatant" rule will be stretched to include US citizens (if it hasn't already - ex. Padilla). I think if prosecutors are allowed to make that application then you do have to worry that the ice axe has been removed and we face a risk of a fall. For example, what does the term "enemy combatant" mean? If a US citizen plans to commit a crime against a federal institution and perhaps belong to a foreign-based organization, should they be seized without due process? Keep in mind that my last sentence could be broadly applied to even minute violations. Is it unlikely? Yes. But that does not mean that you do stop maintaining vigilance.

I may be mistaken, but wasn't Colson the hatchet man for Nixon? I believe he served time for Watergate. Some irony there. I do not think we will get a flaming conservative judge - even Arlan Specter has issued some call for moderation. He retracted his statement in the face of outcries from the conservative base, but the sentiment is there. I think even more conservative Republicans will not push a "true believer" into the Supreme Court. They may pack the appellate courts, but not something as high profile. They might get someone who is a stealth judge in terms of ideology. The Republicans do not have enough votes to break a filibuster and I don't think the Republicans want to squander their capital on a fight that might pul people away from them. Its one thing that gay marriages are not favored by a majority, its another to say that Roe v. Wade should be repealed - I think a majority would not be in favor of that. Then again, they might feel that its now or never with the balance of power shifted. Just seems ruinous from a Republican point of view - with a majority, they can continue the erosion of Roe v. Wade. It might make for good television though - would make the Clarence Thomas fight seem like a PTA election.

When the abortion debate was reaching a real fervent pitch in the early 90's I had a professor who was known for conservative views. He had asked a question of a classmate and they had mentioned abortion as an aside to their answer. I think overall debate exhaustion made us collectively groan as most of us on either side of the issue did not want to make it a classroom topic. He response to the aside was as follows: "Abortion? I'll tell you my position on abortion. In ancient Rome the patriarch had the right to kill any of his children before the age of 12. That's my postion on abortion." He was a smart enough guy that I am pretty sure there was a point to what he said, but it wasn't going to be on the final so I skipped thinking about it.

True - maybe I am just amazed that when the Swift Boat ads and other attacks came out - he sort of stalled. Even true believers likely began to wonder if the ads were truth when there was nothing but silence in response. Well, silence broken only by the sounds of

Perhaps wrong thread for this but.... A thig that is perplexing about Kerry - the man was a former prosecutor. Albeit not a career prosecutor, but even the ones fresh in the hunt develop a killer fight instinct right away. Any decent prosecutor with some experience becomes pretty good at pitching their argument to the people (aka the jury) and will not yield a point without a fight. Tenacious bastards the lot of them. I'd have figured that if a former proscutor was in the debate you'd be wiping the blood spatters off of Bob Schieffer. Guess not. Dunno, maybe he wasn't a good prosecutor or maybe years in the senate softened his edge. I'd have voted for McCoy the DA from "Law and Order's". Sure, it's really the actor, then again look at Reagan, Fred Thompson and the Terminator. Sam Waterston in '08!

Pardon the minor digression - JayB mentions Dean in '08. It kind of makes me wonder how that one would have turned out in '04. Dean was most definitely not Kerry in has ideas and demeanor. Sure, some people found him "scary", but I bet his message would have resonated better with Americans in swing states than with Kerry's message. Not saying I support Dean - I just think the race would have been a real fireworks show. He would not have been afraid to speak his mind even if it got him in trouble or it created bad "spin". It might have even befuddled the Rove-ian way of thinking. They seemed to have hooked Kerry because for every simple attack they threw at him - he seemed to want to fully explain his answer, which is great if you are writing bills in the Senate - but it doesn't get you elected. Dean would have likely just thrown back an emphatic rebuttal that was pretty concise and - brutally honest. Almost like the former governor of Colorado in the 80's - forget his name. Mind you Rove would have switched tactics and called him "unstable" like they did with McCain - but the fight would have made for a good campaign season. Anyway - its probably an indictment of my character that I wanted more fireworks out of this election. Further digression/post-script: Love him or hate him, it was pretty funny to watch Bubba piss the ever-loving-hell out of Republicans. Damn, they hated him more than Demo's hate Bush. Someone said it above or in another line of postings - watch for Democrats trying to pin a Whitewater on Bush. The Valerie Pflame incident seems to have potential legs - will Rove do a perp walk?

I am pretty sure a good chunk of the "red" counties would prefer that Seattle pack up and move to Sweden. You'd probably be better off convincing Bill Gates to change his name to Bill de Medici and turning the Seattle-area into a city-state. Well, maybe keep Bellevue a part of the provinces.

Any input on rates? Last year I was quoted something like $500/year for a 1 mil policy. Then I filled out the supplemental form that asks about your climbing activities, which is pretty modest compared to the posters here, but the rates went up to $3,000 (Safeco). Some of you may have had policies for some time, but any one have any recent experience with quotes (i.e. maybe the insurance companies are tightening up on their risks)?

How about Regal Select? It came in the same bottles and with the same bottle tops as Lucky....I could only find it in hilltop in Tacoma...kinda wondered if it was expired Lucky with the labels replaced - for $8 a case, that might have been true.....the first beer kinda hurt, but after that it was just fine....

Damn that sucks - I think I park in that same rack (I see/saw your bike there all the time) - I figured that was a safer spot to park my bike given the traffic too. Did you have a U-lock - I have a reinforced cable - but I am guessing bolt cutters would make quick work of that and I am only discouraging the quick grabs. I'll keep my eye out - it was a distinctive bike.

Climb: Rainier-DC Date of Climb: 6/19/2004 Trip Report: We almost didn't make it out of the parking lot owing to my forgetting my helmet - we got super lucky in that OlyClimber happened to be in the car next to us after finishing his climb and graciously let me borrow his. We left Paradise at 5ish Friday night and summited sometime in the pre-dawn hours on Saturday. This was my first summit after two misses - I think I was rewarded for my efforts by a beautiful sunrise that added a pinkish hue to the canvas of the crater. As much as I was cold and miserable at the time, the beauty of it still caught me. An enjoyable day in near perfect conditions - descended in sunshine. I wish we had stashed skis at Muir. Gear Notes: A checklist that has the word "helmet" underlined, bolded and italicized. Approach Notes: The trench is in. The snow quality on the upper mountain was nice. Only a few crevasse crossings right now.

I have boarded in my leather mountaineering boots and that is fine, but if the route permits (ex. Helens), I hike in my snowboard boots and accept that my feet will get a little wet - bought some gortex socks to take care of that...also some 4 point crampons for icy stuff....I probably wouldn't do that on a more demanding route. Kind of a novice, but it seems that the split board would be a good compromise....unless I can master the AT, which has been a steep learning curve for this previously dedicated boarder.....

Pretty last minute here. Was planning on skiing St Helens with friends on Saturday - they all backed out . I swear it wasn't me. Didn't feel like going solo tonight to get a permit at Jack's and drinking beer alone in the parking lot (cue violins). Wife sorta laughed when I asked her to come along (might have felt slighted about not being in the first invite). At any rate - I have to be back in Seattle Sunday morning for Easter - but have from early afternoon today until - well - 9 am Sunday morning. Sleep not as important as my attendance at the family brunch counts even if unconscious on the couch. It doesn't have to be St. Helens - if any one had any partners cancel on their alpine death march plans for Saturday - give me a buzz. Have glacier travel experience (occasionally follow JayB around on various hijinks). PM or e-mail: henderson121701 at msn dot com.

2 weeks ago (don't know if that qualifies as recent or not)....parked at Narada and boarded down from the Castle (saddle) down....plenty of coverage then and nice freshies.

I just jumped back on the 2 planks after a 11 year hiatus...makes the lift-served stuff fun again. I think after so long on the board, things start to get stagnant and adding skis to the quiver peps it up. I think I will keep doing both as there probably are going to be days where....damn it, only a board will do....then again, this is the first season for me trying AT, so maybe I'll revise the above sentiment in a year - I have read a lot of posts about the diehards/addicts on AT.

Jerks.... Hopefully Johnny Law will take action. I know in years past when it was bad up there with thefts, the Kittitas Co Sheriff would set up a sting operation. I believe that the value of a nice board is a felony.

Tried to climb Silver Star via the Burgundy Col. The west face was snow free and visibility was pretty good; upon reaching the Col, we noted that the east face was covered with 3-4 inches of snow and the visibility was poor. Rather than muck around on snow covered rocks in heavy fog we decided to call it good and head back down. Nice powder though; hope more of that falls soon.