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The funniest part about pinner's post is that his job is to help people in a psychiatric ward learn the skills to reintegrate into society. Those were some amazing stories and fun to read. Next time take some blurry, crooked pics and post them as a TR!

I ended up getting the Cloudveil RPK pants. I finally took them out of the box because it's his bday this weekend. They're really well made, and I think they'll perform well. They match his old snow boarding pants when I hold them up; plenty of room in the leg for burly thighs. The Cloudveil site lists them at $395. They're currently on sale at sierratradingpost.com for $140. Cha-ching! If anyone's thinking of getting snowboarding pants now that we're finally getting some snow I would definitely recommend these.

Okay, I'll check those out. Last year I got him some Ibex softshell pants for alpine, which are sweet pants, but were too narrow in the leg for him. I'd like to avoid that this year. He's not into the park style so I'll look for more of the general activity than snowboard specific pants.

I want to get some snowboarding pants for my sweetie for his bday. He has short legs and burly thighs and it seems like things either fit over them and are too long, or don't fit but have the right inseam length. Anybody have suggestions on brands that work well for the short and burly guy? He's usually a 29x29 if that helps. I'm not worried about budget as long as they fit him and he'll get a few years out of them. Thx for your suggestions!

Wow! Wasn't this thing locked? I rembember how epic it was when it started. Different avatar, of course. I think I may go read the first couple pages and see if it's still as funny now.

Thx Porter.

Thanks Kurt, I'll check it out. I'm a non-verbal processor, IQ in the top 5% but can hardly hold a conversation, so audio/video is tough for me to compute/retain. You think there'd be something out there for deaf people that I could read, but so far not finding anything!

Okay. There certainly is no crowd response in here either on a Saturday eve. Any luck finding a place to read the debate?

Can anyone provide a link to where the debate can be read as text, not watched on video? I'm not having a whole lot of luck in my searches for it. The body language/crowd response is distracting, and I'd like to go over exactly what each candidate is saying for each point, and have time to think about it, without hitting rewind a bunch. Thanks!

I need help with a landscaping project next week. Mainly digging a trench and shlepping soil. I'm hoping for 2-3 people that can help with this project. $12.50/hr, show up when you want, leave when you want. The job is E. of Redmond near Ames Lake. Anybody interested send me a PM or give me a call. 206-660-9993

Today's client cancelled so anybody that would like to meet and trade belays give me a ring. I'd like to avoid the evening crowds if possible, and am available all day. Alicia 206-660-9993

I have found rubbing the new dog with catnip helps the transition period, as well as making sure the cats get a little extra attention and don't feel completely usurped by the newcomer.

Wow, those stories are boring. Where are the 'I woke up face down on an unfamiliar kitchen floor wearing only my underwear and my back and legs covered in chocolate syrup' stories? Not that my life was ever that exciting, but I had these friends . . .

All these years of backpacking and climbing and I have never run into a bear in the wild, only seen tracks or scat. However, I used to live in Sammamish (30 min. E. of Seattle), and saw black bears many times while I lived there. Ahh, the joys of wilderness encroachment . . . The property I lived at had an old apple orchard in the back that was frequented regularly while in season. There were also problems with them visiting the local elementary schools. I've seen them off of Hwy 202, near Duthie Hill Rd. Wierd that I see them more in the 'burbs than the mountains. There used to be a gal that worked at VW Seattle that saw a cougar up by the river at X38 about 8 or 9 years ago . . .

Muff, thanks for describing the rural PNW experience as well. I think the articles posted were more about the urban and suburban experience, so it's a good reminder that there is more to the PNW than Seattle and Portland. I think the neighborhoods that I've lived in around Seattle, Seattle burbs, and Olympia burbs, very much had that genuine desire to help each other out when needed, whether it was jumping someone's car, moving a couch, or building a fence. But as far as the kind of closeness, such as knowing when your neighbor's aunt has cancer, I think that's kind of rare. Maybe that's what people find so wierd about us: that the desire to avoid conflict or negativity is stronger than the desire to connect.

Hmm, I read the articles and all these peoples responses, and was forced to ask myself this question. I'm born and raised PNW, so are these my basic personality traits? And after thinking about it a while I hate to admit it, but yeah, most of them are. Being nice and civil is important to me, with people I know and don't know. Why make somebody else's day crappier? But when I say have a nice day, do I actually mean, 'have a nice day somewhere else' as one author suggested? And after thinking about it for a while, and I feel like a bitch for saying it, but yes I do. Because this is the PNW, there's hiking, and climbing, or XBOX, or my piano, or grocery shopping at the farmer's market, or riding bikes, or going kayaking, or gardening, and really awesome restaurants to try, and sailing, and skiing/boarding, and if I'm not doing it at the moment, I'm trying to get my stuff done as quickly and smoothly as possible so I can return to doing these other things. That's what we're all here for, right? Most people don't move here or stay here for the neighbors, or to have an argument at the bus stop, or for the traffic or the rain. We move here or stay here because the day-to-day is pleasant, the regional economy supports our recreational lifestyles, and it's easy to find activity partners that don't need you to be their best friend in addition to their partner, so you can focus on what you're trying to accomplish, whether it's hiking, climbing, or sailing, and appreciating how cool the land here is. It seems like I've met most of my close friends by a shared love for an activity, like climbing, not just socializing for the sake of socializing. Is it really that different from other places? Do people in other places meet by going to a party or something, get in an argument about politics or religion, decide they're friends, and then go do stuff together? And is it really that wrong to be focused on having fun instead of on arguing with people?

Me, too.

So am I and Pink.....go Aries! Me too...Aries ROCK! Happy B'day to all of ya' Me too! 4/11 . . . Happy Bday to you too! I guess it's not surprising, Aries people are supposed to be into adrenalin inducing hobbies . . .

Bummer you have to deal with break-ins . . . Check out www.petfinder.com. There are a lot of dogs on there, mutts and PB's that need good homes. For the combo of kid/cat friendly and protective but non-aggessive, I've known a few mutts that were rottweiler/cattle dog mixes or german shepherd/cattle dog mixes that fit the bill. They're usually smart and sweet, and being mutts aren't prone to a lot of the health issues PB's are. My current dog is part of a wolf-dog rescue group, and I don't recommend them for protection. I think she'd do the job if it came down to it, but is generally very shy and quiet, and wouldn't scare off an intruder until they actually attacked someone. She's also really fluffy which is high maintenance at this time of year. The northern breeds in general, including huskies and malamutes are usually not good around cats. Good luck with your search!

Oops, my mistake!

Roboboy and I will be meeting at 7:30pm and if anybody else wants to join us they're welcome. I'd particularly like to meet more other women who climb so my fiance worries a little less on the overnight summer trips. Alicia

You might have more luck if you changed your title to March 8th.

So, I'm like, 18, like, and I need a climbing partner, like, you know, cuz like, bouldering all the time sucks and I look just like Amber except hotter, and like, my boyfriend and I just broke up. Okay, that's all a bunch of lies, but does anybody still want to trade belays with me at the gym on Friday? My regular partner is taking time off to heal so I need a new belay buddy. Send PM if interested.

Somehow I doubt that's as hot as you think it is . . . Pics? Because this is spray there has to be some pics . . .

Thanks for the suggestion Minx. I have the long and lean thing going on, but with hips. Usually with women's jeans if they fit in the hips their too short, if they fit in the legs, they sag. I like how men's jeans do the WxL, and I found one women's brand that does that, so I'm trying out a pair of theirs now to see how they wear, if they shrink, etc. I guess we'll see!