StickBoy

Thank you, and I agree that the other comperitor is sucking it in too much. My wife has posted on another forum with before and after pictures and a little history behind what she is doing. It's the second post down. http://www.t-nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1712494 Thanks to everyone who has voted so far. Apparently overnight there was a rally for the wife and she is now in first place. Not by much though, so if you haven't voted, please do. Mike

Here's a "normal" pic of my wife and I. Thanks again for some of your support. Mike http://img129.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=23944_100_1212_122_223lo.JPG

Thank you billcoe for your vote and sincerity. As for your wife, much respect goes out to her for keeping active. EWolfe, if you really have lost 30 pounds, congrats to you and your tapeworm. robmcdan - I don't want to see anyones mom like that, personally, so I'm with you on that one. tvashtarkatena - Although I can respect your opinion, let me please make some clarifications. My wife is not trying to garner random internet approval because of some insecurities. She is a very charactered and secure person. It's sad too think that one who is proud of their accomplishments and shares them with people are sometimes labeled as insecure and looking for any type of approval. As for the health aspect, my wife is a graduate of Bastyr University and being healthy is her primary goal. She didn't have to binge/purge, take drugs or only eat oxygen and drink water. It's readily apparent that you do not have the context to understand what and how my wife has done any of this.

Thanks for the attemped vote, billcoe.

Thanks for your vote G-Spotter. I don't need viagra with a wife like mine. 8D

This isn't actually for me. Rather this is for my wife. She's my hero and I have nothing but respect for her and her dedication to her work. Instead of me misrepresenting her story, I'll copy and paste the email she sent to all our family and friends. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi Everyone, Yes, this is a mass e-mail, but I am asking for your support. I recently gave myself a personal challenge for my 30th birthday . . . long story short, in 8 weeks I dropped 14 lbs. of body fat (7%). It was an incredible challenge and I learned a lot! I entered a hot body/body transformation contest and just found out that I was chosen to be in the top 8 finalists for the women, out of over 100 entries! The one winner will be chosen based on votes, which is where your support comes in . If you click on the link below, you will then be able to click on the 2007 Hot Body Finalists thread then click on Cast Your Vote - Female Hot Body Champion. I am Finalist #4. I really appreciate all of your support. I'm not sure if you'll be able to access it, but my story and before and after pics appear on there as well (I had no idea when I took these before pictures in April that I would be sharing them with ANYBODY! =). The winner will be flown to Toronto for a professional photo shoot to be published in fitness publications and the winner will represent Precision Nutrition as well. They are a very reputable organization in the fitness world. \:\) http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is not spam or any type of solicitation. I am just trying to network with people who understand the hard work that goes into persuing one's goals. So please vote for her. If you want to see the before and after pics, you can create a free account. Thank you for your votes (Lucky, Moronbros, Lokey, ect.) Remember, she's #4 Mike

This isn't actually for me. Rather this is for my wife. She's my hero and I have nothing but respect for her and her dedication to her work. Instead of me misrepresenting her story, I'll copy and paste the email she sent to all our family and friends. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi Everyone, Yes, this is a mass e-mail, but I am asking for your support. I recently gave myself a personal challenge for my 30th birthday . . . long story short, in 8 weeks I dropped 14 lbs. of body fat (7%). It was an incredible challenge and I learned a lot! I entered a hot body/body transformation contest and just found out that I was chosen to be in the top 8 finalists for the women, out of over 100 entries! The one winner will be chosen based on votes, which is where your support comes in . If you click on the link below, you will then be able to click on the 2007 Hot Body Finalists thread then click on Cast Your Vote - Female Hot Body Champion. I am Finalist #4. I really appreciate all of your support. I'm not sure if you'll be able to access it, but my story and before and after pics appear on there as well (I had no idea when I took these before pictures in April that I would be sharing them with ANYBODY! =). The winner will be flown to Toronto for a professional photo shoot to be published in fitness publications and the winner will represent Precision Nutrition as well. They are a very reputable organization in the fitness world. www.precisionnutrition.com/members ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is not spam or any type of solicitation. I am just trying to network with people who understand the hard work that goes into persuing one's goals. So please vote for her. If you want to see the before and after pics, you can create a free account. I'll also be posting this in Spray. Thank you for your votes (Lucky, Moronbros, Lokey, ect.) Mike

Sorry about that Lucky

I second Thievery Corporation and Jack Johnson.

Hey Pochi, You wouldn't have happened upon a picket with a black tied webbing just above the first ice pitch would you've? My partner dropped it while we were climbing on Sat. I would also like to do this route when it's cold. Awesome day of climbing though.

PETA- People for the Eating of Tasty Animals

Mmmm... Tukwila . Happy Birthday Oly . Lucky, I'm hopin' to get out climbing with Rusty on Sun if you're down.

It's nice to see someone else who must listen to Jim Puplava. I wish more people would.

Great post willstrickland. Another reason for the manipulated inflation rate is to control cost of living allowances for all the government entitlement programs. As for my opinion (even though I wasn't asked) for what to invest in is to invest in what has always been and will always be real money. Also, the commodities markets have been, and I believe, will continue to be on fire. JMHO. Mike

What's up podunk? Keep the strips and book, heal your foot and get out here and climb. Say hi to Mary for Autum and I. Oh, Autum says hi to you also. -Mike

Sunday will be at the Mounties Dome. Sorry to all the hardmen out there who planned on doing their ultra slick solos there to appease their sponsers. -Mike

I used to play the berimbau when I was practicing capoeira. -Mike

Crap. I better not have a heart attack while in bondage.

Also, when working with live electrical circuits, try not to get shocked. And if your gonna blow up tools, make sure they're borrowed. I learned this in apprenticeship. This advice is free of charge. Any further advice will be 35 dollars an hour under the table. Thank You -Mike IBEW Local 76

I have Farmers Insurance and I have no exclusions, but I have to wait for two years before I can commit suicide. I think I only have 18 months to go Mike

I agree that the tax cuts for the rich are having dire consequences for the poor. My mom and my brother are on the extreme lower end of the economic scale so I see first hand how the elimination of social programs and how our tax system screws people like this. However, if your typing away on a climbing forum, I would assume that you have some sort of expendible income so I would try to impress upon everyone the need to make sure you take care of yourself and not rely on the gov't for any of your needs. A classic example would be hurricane Katrina. An up and comer will be Medicare and Social Security (unless the monetize these liabilities). When I go climbing, my partner has my life in his/her hands and unless I have complete trust in that person or myself, I don't put myself on the line. Same is true here. I don't trust the gov't so I must put complete trust in myself and do what I need to do to protect myself and my family. I agree that my suggestion to "invest more" may have sounded blithe, however the people on this site, I would assume, have the means to take advantage in some part on the tax cuts and to take care of their own. In the case of my family, they don't, so I feel for them. Thanks for the info on David K. Didn't know that. On an endnote I'm middle class and proud. However I know I'm being attacked on all fronts so now it's time to take an offensive position. For me now, I know I must try to expand my means or become a slave. If I become a slave, it's harder to make changes. -Mike

P.S. I'm a construction worker so I'm getting the crap taxed out of me and I'm not making a whole lot of income from investments, but I realize that I can feel sorry for the fact that I'm not a Rockefeller or I can do something to change my position. -Mike

And the point is? Look. I think taxes are bunk in general but I know they're not going away until there's an upheaval ala Boston Tea Party. So in the meantime until people get pissed off enough to revolt, protect your own income utilizing the tax code. Do whatever you can to shelter your money from the greedy gov't. If you don't like something, find a way to fight it. Don't try to bash me because I have a different point of view. Doesn't solve anything.

How the system works.... A good math lesson: by: David R. Kamerschen, Ph. D Sometimes politicians, journalists and the liberal left exclaim; "It's just a tax cut for the rich!" and it is just accepted to be fact. But what does that really mean? Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, I hope the following will help. Please read it carefully. Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20." Dinner for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to eat their meal. So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so: The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings). Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. David R. Kamerschen, Ph. D Professor of Economics University of Georgia

translates as: I've got mine, fuck you. Are you a complete idiot? What do you think they tax--your profits. Maybe you are smiling b/c your investments equaled a loss, and therefore you aren't paying any taxes. Or maybe you are 12. Wow. You guys are passionate now aren't you? I've got mine, so F-You. I believe you read into that incorrectly. Try looking at it from a different context. You also have the ability to benifit from the tax cuts, but do you? If not, then why not. Maybe learn how to work the system for your gain if your so against THE MAN. As for me being an idiot. Do you know me? If so, try introducing yourself to me again so I'll remember who you are. Yeah they tax my profits, but portfolio income is taxed at a lower rate than an average employee. I've been spending time trying to learn how to pay as little in taxes as I can. My wife and I started a network marketing business so all of our expenses (cellphones,driving,dining out ect.) are writen off against our earned income. We are in the process of setting it up as a corporation now. When that is done, we will be able to spend the income from our business pretaxed and then get taxed on whatever is left. This is what I mean by profitting from the system. Read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. That might help to change your context enough to stop blaming the rich and instead focus on what you can do to help yourself. -Mike