SemoreJugs

Well, one week since picking Palin as the VP, the polls are now dead even. Looks like McCain makes great political decisions. Too bad he isn't Obama's campaign manager. Seriously, McCain has been talking for so long about Obama's experience, yet picks this governor from nowhere. She has spent two years looking over the affairs of a state that is so far removed from the rest of America that her husband wants it to succeed from the union. How the hell can anyone think that she could possibly be in touch with the American people? Where has she been? Germany and Kuwait to visit members of the Alaska National Guard. Serious foreign policy experience there. Good enough for my Commander in Chief. Does she even know where Iraq is on a map? I really look forward to her responses to tough questions in the debates (hopefully the formats will be more free-wheeling than usual, but I doubt it). But dont expect her do any interviews with real journalists until the campaign has finished her programming. And how the hell can he justify the claim that she is a reformer, when she obviously makes decisions on behalf of oil companies? As mayor of Wasilla, she vigorously pursued earmarks, something McCain supposedly has a war on. from wikipedia: She also hired the Anchorage-based lobbying firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for earmarks for Wasilla. The effort was led by Steven Silver, a former chief of staff for Senator Ted Stevens,[35] and it secured nearly $27 million in earmarked funds. The earmarks included $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project linking Wasilla and the ski resort community of Girdwood.[36] Some of the earmarks were criticized by Senator McCain.[37] TO put that $27 million in perspective, there are 7,000 residents in Wasilla. That breaks down to getting $3857 per resident. And I'm guessing half of them are children that pay no taxes. That's quite a stimulus package! She wanted $15M for a rail line for a rich resort community but opposed increasing the size/funding of the local museum and library. But then again, she also tried to ban books in that library, so maybe there is more room on the shelves. But she does know how to get things done. Whenever her agenda is blocked by a dissenting member under her command, they are immediately dismissed and replaced by yes-men/women. Another hypocrite if you ask me. She talks about reforming and ethics in one arena, but then carves out her own kingdom where apparently "ethics" and oversight have no place. I think she is simply a brilliant politician. The anti-Obama. When McCain wins and then dies after a year in office, we will be begging to have Bush back. Its really a sad state of affairs that enough of the American people can be so easily manipulated to vote for people like Bush, Palin, Nixon, etc. 8 years ago, I did have a lot of respect for McCain. He really stuck to his principles. His time enduring torture and captivity clearly show that. But since his grooming for presidential candidate, he has compromised so much of his beliefs. I think he has now truly become a politician. OF course, so is Obama. Otherwise, neither would have been nominated. The difference is that Obama's political decisions usually coincide with his beliefs and have some practical and forward thinking wisdom behind them. McCain is the flip-flopper of this election.

Cracks? Why not just go to Indian Creek? No prob with weather there. Salt Lake usually has cheap flights. But u prob need a car. Or tell a Mormon that you have been commanded by Moroni that there are new golden tablets buried in steep cracks at Indian creek and you have been given the sacred 5 sets of cams by divine providence to retrieve them. He will drive you there and dutifully wait for days until you tick off all you want. Then make up some BS as to why you dont have the golden tablets (they melted or something).

Thanks for the beta guys!

I'm taking a non-climber to Rainier this weekend and would like to do a long day hike (snow travel fine / glacier no ) that's a bit off the beaten path. I've climbed on the Emmons, DC, and Kautz routes and am familiar with those environs but want something different that's away from the crowds. Any suggestions? The more variety the better. I'm thinking something on the NE side based out of Sunrise. My partner is in good physical condition... What is it like if you hike to the Mystic Camp? All suggestions are welcome. THANKS!

AND BACK ON TOPIC! Here's something to think about: There are people that have boats in Seattle. Sometimes they can be pretty tall. When they are taller than the drawbridges, well, they blow their horn and the bridge goes up. All those poor bastards in their cars just sit there and blink. Sometimes the smart ones will turn off their engines. Now, I have waited for WAY more boats crossing under bridges in Seattle than I have had to wait for bikes. In fact, I've never run into critical mass while driving. Anyway, of all those crossings, I have never seen a motorist get irate. And I definitely have not seen anyone crashing through the barrier arm and try to drive up on the raised bridge in an attempt to make it go down. And the thing is, often, there are only a handful of people in the boat. So why do people get so disproportionately pissed off waiting for hundreds to sometimes a thousand bicyclists to move on by? The amount of time is roughly the same. There is obviously a large emotional element to this whole thing. Maybe the drivers that are peeved by bikers are jealous of their fitness. Or republican, gun-toting, hard core evangelical christians. Or just plain assholes. Its the same thing with the minority of critical mass bicyclists that are trying to start a conflict. Maybe they are jealous of people that can afford fancy cars so they compensate by acting like they are too cool for school riding their fixies. To really stick it to drivers, their favorite move is to never put their foot on the pavement while waiting for a light to change. These guys are just as annoying as Hummer owners. Stereotypes are kinda fun and often true sometimes in a certain light usually but not limited to a vague group of hominids. Fuck the PC Police! BWA represent! The B stands for bitches.

um how did this turn into the gay massage parlor thread? Keep your hands to massaging yourselves.

For the record (unlike Bill O'Riley, I speak the one truth): Critical mass started out as a good idea until it was taken over by the fixies and anarchists. I've rode in two in the last two years to see what it was all about. What I came away with is that its pretty cool to be able to travel on the road for a little while and not have to worry about being taken out by someone opening their car door, a motorist taking a right turn and cutting you off, or being threatened for being on the road at all. Its also interesting to note how many more people can transit a downtown street per mile/minute. Its simply more efficient. But at the same time, Critical Mass really pisses off motorists when they get "corked" and have to witness hundreds of bikers ignore the laws by running red lights. Most drivers that get caught up in it have no idea whats going on nor what the point is to the parade of bikes. It mostly has turned into a party on two wheels. Some ride drunk or drink while riding. Much of the problem is that there is no centralized leadership and hence no one that takes any responsibility for the actions of the mob. Most cyclists/bike commuters/etc denounce it. Just like most Muslims denounce Jihadists. If traffic rules were obeyed, bikers wearing or carrying signs that state traffic/bike laws and facts would be a more effective protest. Denouncing cars and rabble rousing is never an effective way to protest. Informing people and leading by peaceful examples are much more effective: In Seattle, its legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk. Otherwise, bikes and cars must follow the same laws. On roads which have two lanes in the same direction, its legal for a bike to ride in the middle of the lane if it is going close to the speed limit (i.e. on hills where its very dangerous to be passed in the same lane and their are parked cars on the right). It is a safety issue and not an attempt to be a jerk. Do you get pissed off at a car traveling at the speed limit? If so, you are the jerk. The overwhelming majority of traffic fatalities and injuries are caused by motorists. Can you even name one fatality caused by a bike? The fact is, motorists rage should be focused on other motorists and not bikes. Note the following study: Ottawa-Carleton commuter cyclist on-and off-road incident rates Lisa Aultman-Halla, and Fred L. Hall Department of Civil Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0281, U.S.A. Departments of Civil Engineering and Geography, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L7 Received 28 October 1996; Abstract This analysis overcomes the known limitations of police and emergency room bicycle accident databases through use of a survey that asked cyclists to indicate their accident history as well as their regular commute route to work or school. By relating the route information of the 1604 respondents (52.5% of the distributed questionnaires) to facility attributes in a Geographic Information System, defensible estimates of travel exposure on roads, off-road paths and sidewalks were developed. The relative rates of collisions on the three different facility types were not statistically different from 1.0. The relative rates for falls and injuries suggest it is safest to cycle on-road followed by off-road paths and trails, and finally least safe on sidewalks. While there were no major injuries reported on sidewalks, the relative rate for these events on paths was greater than the rate for roads. The absolute event rates per bicycle kilometre were found to be between 10 and 41 times higher than similar rates for automobile travel. Results suggest a need to discourage sidewalk cycling, and to further investigate the safety of off-road paths/trails. The analysis also demonstrates the need for bicycle travel exposure information and the use of more than just collision databases for bicycle safety analysis. So motorists, please do your best not to mow us down nor get pissed off by cyclists that obey the laws. A few cyclists are assholes but do not represent the majority. Bikes pose little threat to cars. They don't cause traffic jams (except during critical mass). At worst, they may slow you down for a very brief period of time but much less so than congested traffic does. A bike takes up significantly less space than if it is replaced by a car. Too many cars on the road cause delays way more than bikes. Your anger at bikes is misplaced. These are the facts. I would be interested to hear them disputed in an intelligent manner rather than a belligerent one.

Thank god the tales of the mosquitoes (and the relative remoteness) keep the crowds at bay. Can you imagine what it would be like otherwise? I really need to get back there. Damn. So what kind of camera set-up did you have for those pics? Also, how did you take the panoramas? Cropped pics from afar/really small lens? Are they stitched? If so, what software/camera did you use? I dont see any stitch lines. Thanks!

Sounds like the "other" moderate routes on Rainier are becoming quite popular these days. The Kautz seemed like it was on the DL only a few years ago. Now the Finger has fallen as well... alas. I guess the only place to get solitude anymore is the west side. Anyway, about the unclaimed blue bags stuffed in rocks and crevasses: Some are probably from parties on their summit climb/descent. I know when I am on my way up, I don't want to bring any extra ounces up, especially fragrant ones. But I make sure to claim them on the return to camp. Once I even grabbed an unclaimed prize much to the cringes of my teammates. But yeah, there are definitely people who leave their mark on the mountain indefinitely. At least its bagged up anyway. I think the NPS should institute a BEER FOR BLUE BAGS program. For every bag with brown matter inside that you return, you get an ice cold Rainier Beer. The alcoholics will have the mountain cleaned up in short order... Of course this could encourage shitting contests on the mountain, as well as people bringing in bags which were filled before they stepped on the mountain in the first place. But these are minor details.

This is a great topic that no one seems to talk about very often

If Obama took the next step and proposed $4 minimum controls on gas he would lose the election in a landslide. People vote with their dollars before they do with their hearts; except right wingers who lack any heart. Thats something Obama should wait to enact until he can prove his leadership abilities (as long as he had good approval ratings and the economy was actually growing). Otherwise, he will be blocked harshly by Congress and will lose all confidence. The good news is that it could help pay for universal healthcare! Face it, the American people no longer know how to sacrifice (at least the ones that vote) in the short term to protect the long term. That ended after WWII. Look at our borrowing/debt practices as proof.

Last had them on Sunday morning. They were in a dark green case. Silver frame with rectangular shape and rounded over corners. May have been left in mens bathroom or in the picnic area of the walk-in campground.

So the belayer is taking pictures of the leader whilst using double ropes? How many hands you got???

what do you have in softshell jackets. I am usually a men's large.

ah the russian screws, you might as well drive a piton into the ice

Yeah, and maybe you will learn how to construct a proper sentence someday.

and what does any of this have to do with the price of wheaties?

Hey Pope, you're out of your element.

Was at the Coulee today enjoying the amazing sunshine and quiet intermittently penetrated by the sounds of clink, "take", "dude", and "shit". Actually it was a friggen zoo at Sunshine until the afternoon. But thats par for the course when everything west of the passes is drenched. I thought it was going to be a pleasant day until about 3 PM when I hear, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, whuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, wrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, wher, wher, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...... Yes, 2 bikes tore it down to below the inside corner of the sunshine area, near the M&M wall. They seemed to be playing a game of who can tear up more soil. They were both winning. I couldnt help but be pissed along with just about everyone else at the crag. Especially the pigeons. I was wishing death on them and warming up my rock throwing arm when I see one of the guys get tossed by a shrub. It was eerily quiet as both bikes shut off. We were all hoping the guy was dead, or at least that his bike was toast, but then he got up. Actually, I felt a bit shameful for wishing death and instead wished a groin injury upon him. Anyway, I got as close as I could, and shouted down to them whilst waving my arms: me: Hey dirt bikers. YO DIRT BIKERS! DOUCHEBIKERS: wHAT? ME: This area is off limits to bikes. Didnt you read the sign at the trailhead? douche #1: We have permission from the owner (name incomprehensible) to ride. ME: who? douche #2: (name again incomprehensible) ME: Uh huh. What else could I say? I was fairly sure they were bluffing. Maybe this land owner has stuff nearby, but some people in this thread seem fairly certain that the area below sunshine is state land. Anyway, I decided against trying to rant on because it only would have pissed them off further and maybe they would stay all day just to be assholes. Thankfully, they left about 10 to 15 minutes later. I didnt have the number to report them in my phone (but now I do). Anyway, I know other people heard the shouting conversation, so if you understood the name they mentioned, please pass it on so we can get to the bottom of this.

any camping beta?

thanks bro

snap a line while falling into a crevasse? Unlikely. highly unlikely. And static ropes arent really meant for TR'ing.

I used to be anal when I had a smaller rack and accoutrements. But then it took too much time to make it all nice between trips. I stopped taping biners, making sure I had my biners coordinated to as certain type of pro, etc. The fact is, I have no idea exactly what I own anymore. I feel like gear slowly dissapears to other racks, especially slings. Of course, its my fault. Maybe I'll find some colored tape or nail polish. Red with sparkles!

I'm talking about the long moderate 5.8-5.10 classics

Hey where are you staying? I am headed down on the 26th. Wanna get a low-down on the camping situation. Word is that the BLM site sucks major dog dong. Also, how crowded are the routes as of now?