Double_E

seen recently: I've found Jesus -- He was behind the couch the whole time!

my official third-grade photo (meaning, circa 1981) was one of the worst photos of me, EVER. dorky early-80s kid haircut. right on the cusp of the 70s n' the 80s, and all the turbulent changes in pop culture that happened in that time. and, no, i'm not gonna share it.

none of the commutes I've had have been extremely long in actual time.... (my current one is 30-35 minutes, down to Feddl' Way, with a average speed of about 60 mph, so I don't mind it too much). but the longest, BY FAR... in terms of how far it made me feel like I was going... was when I used to live in Wallingford and commuted over the bridge to Bellevue. downtown Bellevue, no less. [shudder] GawwDAMN that place left a nasty taste in my mouth every day. (well, mostly the place I was working, but also the city itself). Fortunately didn't have to stay there longer than about 2 months. there were a few times when I took my bike on the bus in the morning, though, and would ride home over the I-90 bridges and then up Lake Wash. Blvd... about 14.5 miles. that always made the day end on a fun note.

turns out I can't go skiing the weekend of the 26th/27th. I can however go this coming weekend (either day). who wants to go?!?!

seen on bumper sticker recently: The opposite of progress is congress

GODDAM MOTHERFUCKIN SHIT FUCK PISS COCKSUCKIN FELCHING PIECE OF SHIT DOGFUCKIN BITCHES!!!!! OK.. just had to get that out of my system. Lex and I drove up to Rainier this morning for the 10+ inches of freshiez... and .... wouldnt ya know it, the piss-ant ranger biiatch at the entrance station tells us the road to Paradise wasn't gonna be open at ALL today, cuz they got so much snow yesterday and this morning. god damn cocksuckin federal government .... yep. our tax dollars at work. (explaination, for those who don't go to Rainier in the winter) .... they always plow the road to Longmire, but after a heavy snow, they sometimes don't finish plowing, and open, the road to Paradise till 10 or 11 am... and I'd forgotten that sometimes, just a FEW times per year, they don't open it at ALL on that given day. FAAACCKK!!!!!! i SO wanted to go skiing today... woulda been my first of the year. Didn't really feel like bustin a move up to Crystal or somewheres like that, woulda spent like almost the whole day driving. And I can't go tomorrow... I guess I could cancel me other plans, but don't want to. So, it ended up being a four-hour road trip. oh well. whatever. good times and talks with Lex, this guy I just met from TAY.com. We'll probably go next weekend, if the snow's good enuf. Thanks for reading me rants. And maybe you should thank ME now, since this'll make you feel better about being lazy around the house on a Saturday morning.

On the one hand I like the smoking ban, since it'll help me stay quit (about six months since my last cigarrete). At the same time, I think it's fuckin ridiculous. Voted against it. People have been enjoying tobacco with their booze in public places for centuries, and should be allowed to, at least to some degree, somewhere. The one place - the ONLY type of public place - where I've felt like the smoke from the smoking section wafts enough to the non-smoking section to be a bother are airplanes. And as far as places where the whole bar allows it .... I've always been of the mentality of "don't like second-hand smoke? go somewhere else." plenty of bars (in Seattle and other big cities, at least) already banned it.

I don't know about the financial end of it, but the rest of it's really pretty simple. Canadians don't have this perverse love for and worship of the automobile that most Americans seem to have. This has got to be one of the lamest, most depressing election results ever. And not just cause it would have involved "my backyard"... West Seattle... I don't give a shit about that. I've only lived here one year, and very possibly may not be living here in a year or two.

if you B/C ski or snowboard, and want to go somewhere Saturday, get in touch. go see my recent post in the Freshiezone... Ethan bikr273 AT yahooDOTcom

Excellent advice, that. I've heard people say that in previous winters, but never-quite-done-it-much (and consequently, have never felt I really understand snow well enuf, despite taking the Gary Brill class, and also studying the snow with friends sometimes on BC tours). Just made the NWAC report my browser's home page. As far as buying gear, dont forget about the Marmot stores in Bellevue and Tacoma. I've gotten some screaming good deals from their clearance section, including AT boots that were like 60% off!!! Their also let their employees sell their used stuff in the clearance section.

um, HE-LLOOO! there's like, um.... another thread which already covers this topic!! omigod can't you read? heh heh. just kidding. There. I did it. I called someone stoopid for broaching a topic covered in a recent thread. It's a CC.com milestone for me. Almost as cool as my first pagetop..... which I still haven't gotten (if I recall, you're like this too knotzen), cuz my posts-per-page setting, from day one, has been set to twice the normal. Anyway.. on to your question... go with skiing! then you can move on eventually to tele or randonee... I've always figured that split-boarders don't have nearly the versatility (as far as constantly changing terrain conditions) that B/C skiers have.

+h15 h65 b33n v3ry 3ducat1ona7 ..... 7nd33d.

actually it's looking like this Wednesday isn't going to work for me after all.. it's going to happen Friday evening instead..... get in touch if ya wanna join. but more importantly, get in touch if you want to head up to Paradise or Crystal this weekend!!!!!

hey, check yer email, too.

yep... that's one of the reasons I'm waiting till next weekend for my first turns! going mtn biking tomorrow, in the 45-degree rain... would SO much rather go skiing.. but I'd rather wait, all the same.

if you find yourself in Port Angeles and craving Indian food, there's this KILLER place right next to the ferry terminal. also a Thai restaurant right next to it. easily as good as any Indian food I've had in Seattle, if not better. just a block off of the 1-way westbound section of 101.

kinde funny and ironic that, um.... "Che" and "cliché" sorta sound alike... don't ya think? hmm.. and I wonder if Chavez and "chafing" come from the same Latin root.

nice! Awesome story, that. I never read the book, and I'haven't seen the movie since I was, well ... very young. Seem to really recall liking it a damn lot though. ... when did the animated made-fer-TV movie come out? late 70s? Just put this one on my "saved" section in Netflix... also tried to find the old-school animated one ... they have one from 1988, but not the original.

ah. I see. To tell you the truth, I think i do have a pair of those ... but they're a men's L or maybe XL... and they're not for sale. damn good pants... she'll be stoked.

so does this mean .... you don't look like Humphrey Bogart? or wait.. is that Marlon Brando? .. pic looks familiar, i just can't discern the face at that size.

sounds good. actually next Wednesday, I might be getting together for beers with this one guy I talked to from TAY.com... either somewhere downtown or else West Seattle.... come join us if you like .... if there's enuf interest I'll post a "skiers pub club" or something. Billygoat et.al.: you want to go the 26th, or 27th? I'm gonna try to keep both days open, just go whichever has better conditions. I'm thinking maybe Crystal backcountry, w/o lifts ... or else Paradise/Muir.

skiing I'd like to do this winter.... Camp Muir stuff near Crystal Mtn stuff near Blewett Pass Mt. St. Helens Hurricane Ridge and whatever else people want to recommend!!!

right on... likewise. the weekend after that is probably booked for me, but then the weekend after THAT (the 26th/27th) is totally open right now.

Split-boarders welcome too. (I guess) Overall my skill level would be "advanced newbie". I've done about 15-20 days of XC and BC skiing, spread out over maybe 7 years. Have transceiver and shovel know how to use 'em. Took Gary Brill's avy skills class in... 2000 I think it was. On groomed runs I'm solidly intermediate... fast on the blue runs ... sorta clumsy on the blacks but I do like to power thru one or two per day. Lookin to head up to Pardise/Muir, as soon as, well ..... one can get to deep, skiable snow within about 1/4 mile or so of the parking lot!!! Would be great to meet up with folks before then, tho... go for a hike, practice transceiver stuff, have a beer, etc. Ethan (The above was a reprint from my recent post on TAY.com.... my first TAY post ever actually.) So who wants to go to Muir, or thereabouts, on Saturday the 12th?!??