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fear_and_greed

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Posts posted by fear_and_greed

  1. Can we guess at what some of the husbands occupation were? Let's try and match up some the lines...

    Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet____Bomb disposal expert.

     

    Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work____ Mob enforcer.

     

    Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice_____G-force man/rocket sled tester.

  2. "Truth is incontrovertible, ignorance can deride it, panic may resent it, malice may destroy it, but there it is."

    -WSC

    "I'm the decider and I'll decide what's best."

    -GWB

    "Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."

    -WSC

    "Bring 'em on."

    -GWB

  3. Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.

    -WSC

     

    When I take action, I'm not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive.

    -GWB

  4. Climb: Rexs Pillar-Stonecrop face

     

    Date of Climb: 7/24/2006

     

    Trip Report:

    Did a quick scramble and suncup heaven snow climb up Rexs Pillar. Didn't need a sleeping bag or stove but could have used bug repellent as they were ferocious.

    I was surprised by how steep the final portion of the face was. Check out my blog for pix. http://hydrogenplusstupidity.blogspot.com/ click on pix to enlarge them.

     

    Gear Notes:

    mossie spray

  5. "The economy hiccups and people are going to be walking away from their mortgages."

     

     

    Not that easy to walk away in the US anymore as a decreasing amount of mortgage debt in this country is of the non-recourse variety, and the bank can come after you for the difference between your loan value and what they can sell the property for. Even if they can't come after you for the debt, the IRS considers the amount of debt that the bank "forgives" taxable, so you're still on the hook for that.

     

    What's the law like in Canada?

    Up here in the early 80's my parents said they got 18 something % from the bank on the savings, so I imagine mortgage rates were about 20 %then! The preceding boom turned into a terrible bust and people simply walked away from their houses. I don't think the the future consequences meant a whole lot at that point.

  6. Every day when I'm trading I tune into Winamp/Shoutcast and listen to chillout music from 6:30 am to 1 pm. Great stations from all over the world, Groove Salad, RadioAmbient,1.FM. At the end of the day I pour myself out of the chair I'm so relaxed.

  7. There is a crash coming the likes of which our generation has never experienced. Mix rising interest rates, record high oil prices, add in another terrorist attack on the homeland. Commerce slows, jobs disappear. The economy hiccups and people are going to be walking away from their mortgages.

  8. For those of you still lugging around railway tie weight boards and clunky boots and getting tired of it, here is my lightweight rando setup.

    My goal was to put together a package that was responsive in the PNW conditions and light to carry on my pack. Since the time spent touring and climbing far exceeds the time spent going downhill I let these conditions dictate the equipment. This year I got in about 30 ski days from December to June.

    Scrapa F1 boots weigh about 2700 grams or about 1/2 kilo lighter than a pair of Matrixs or more than 1 kilo lighter than Denali TTs. I found the tele bellows made a huge difference in comfort. Touring and climbing are effortless as the boot now follows the natural bend of my foot. With only 2 buckles, adjustment is an easy task. Usually I just played with the power strap or flicked up the rear latch to get more flex. Walking and climbing is also very easy and you dont have a frankenstein like gait. The thermo liners are warm and the fit is snug.The boots are Dynafit only compatible which makes sense. Why ruin a light set up with a set of anything else.

    The Dynafit Comfort binding weighs 384 grams without brakes, about 1/3 - 1/2 the weight of other popular ones. Entry is somewhat finicky until you get used to them. You need to line up the holes in the boots and this can be a pain in deep snow or on angled slopes. Once you get the hang of it it's less a of problem. Certainly the conventional bindings are much easier to get in. I removed the brakes and put on some leashes because snow buildup and boot movement would sometimes spin and lock down the heels. That was very annoying. The leashes are lighter than brakes anyway and solves this problem. Switching from touring to heel locked is easy, just spin the heels and step in. Switching back requires a little boot twist and turn of the heel riser, you don't need to exit the binding. The 2 position heel risers provided enough lift that most inclines were easy to climb. Since the Scarpa F1 boot has some flex in it I found when I had the risers in the top position my buddies had their Silvrettas or Fritchis in only the middle position though. A nice feature is that a simple flip up lever will lock the front release in to about a 12 DIN setting when you absolutely don't want to lose a ski.

    Skis are Volkl Nobert Joos 163cm sidecut is 102-70-90, 2.05 kg a pair. Maybe a kilo lighter than a pair of K2 Shuksans. I am very impressed with how these boards performed in the conditions I used them in. In my opinion they are a great all around ski. This year I skiied everything from deep fresh fluffy powder to crusty chunky crud to ice to slush and I went where I wanted when I wanted. I didn't have a much flotation as a big, fat ski did, but I sure wasn't being left behind by anyone. Flex and edge hold is fantastic. Steep, narrow couloirs,tree dodging, black diamond bump runs or long turn cruising, these are the real deal.

    I highly recommend this setup if you are contemplating skiing similiar conditions.

  9. Climb: Mt. Columbia - Rockies-East face

     

    Date of Climb: 6/24/2006

     

    Trip Report:

    With my regular partners BackcountryPunk and Jason climbing the NE buttress of Slesse last weekend (WTG guys, cant wait to see some pix)I hooked up with Greg from Van and Josh from Calgary to try Mt. Columbia. The weather was perfect and we summited Albertas highest peak. Check out my blog for pix and details http://hydrogenplusstupidity.blogspot.com/

    You can click on the pix to enlarge them.

     

    Gear Notes:

    Skis, crevasse rescue gear, lots of GU.

     

    Approach Notes:

    Serac fall danger is overblown on Snowdome.

  10. MEC/Serratus Genie. The famous no frills summit pack Size 30L long, colour blue, perfect condition $25.

    Black Diamond Shadow 55L very light and comfortable, near perfect condition $90 http://www.bdel.com/gear/shadow.php

    MEC/Integral Designs mirco bivy sac. Tegraltex WB top.Has waterproof zipper professionally installed. Weighs 1 lb. Size long Perfect condition $100 http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detai...D=1150613551269

    shipping extra PM me for other photos.

  11. I used and abused a pair of BD flicklocks for several years with no problems until the shafts started to pit. I upgraded to the new carbon fiber flicks last fall and love the light weight and new grip/strap design.

  12. Hhhmmmm. The new boogeyman is a Sheikh Abu Hafs al-Kurani. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. I thought the Bushites would come up with a catchier name. Remember "if the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit" line. Dumb it down to reach the audience. Brilliant that was.

    Anyway, lets see Sheikh Abus CV, explosives expert... led hard operations.. well he's got some crazy eyes thats for sure.

    My guess is that we'll see a ratcheting up of evil deeds attributed to Shiek Abu, maybe some bombings to start, kidnappings and general terror ops next. I wonder if he has the contacts to obtain those phantom WMD? Now that's the sort of thing that could leapfrog him into the big league with OBL. The US war machine would benefit from those sorts of rumours.

    Yessiree, we got ourselves a new boogeyman!

  13. that the Haditha massacre blew over so fast when #2 Zarqawi got a couple of 500 pounders dropped on him. Do the Bushites keep juicy tidbits on tap for such an occasion? I don't believe in coincidences, they're just too neat and tidy.

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