Sherri

AlpineK, Along the same lines as wheat vs. corn with glycemic index, you could substitute spaghetti squash for the pasta. "The Marvelous Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti squash is amazing. Measuring 8 to 14" long and weighing about 4 1/2 pounds, little is known of it's history. It's taste is similar to summer squash, but that is the end of comparison. You cut it open, remove the seeds, bake or steam it and it's meat comes out in long strands that look like spaghetti, so it makes a wonderful visual replacement for our high carb, high glycemic old pal spaghetti. Top a huge pile of spaghetti squash with one of the many pasta sauces out there and be ready to feast on a fresh, naturally al dente strand that let's you have 16 times as much of the lovely squash as you do pasta. In 4 ounces (100 grams) this marvel of nature has only 5 grams of carbohydrates as opposed to 1/8 cup of pasta. So instead of 1/4 cup (or 1/2 ounce dry) of cooked pasta for a single serving block, you get 7 ounces of cooked spaghetti squash PER SINGLE BLOCK. And as it is with all floppy kinds of foods, it is better to WEIGH your portion than to try to stuff it into a measuring cup. COOKING To bake it, split lengthwise and remove the seeds in the central cavity. While you CAN bake it whole, it is very painful trying to hold it still to remove the seeds when everything is 350 degrees and you are trying to dish it out to serve it hot. Bake it hollow side up. The riper the squash, the faster it will cook, but figure about 30 to 40 minutes for a halved squash to bake. Check to see that it is baked by piercing the flesh with a fork. It should be soft and the flesh should separate into fat spaghetti-like strands. Avoid overcooking which will make the flesh become bland and mushy. It is best when still slightly crunchy, as it is 92% water. You can also microwave it, preparing it by slicing in half, removing seeds and then cooking each half for 6 to minutes. Most cookbooks will tell you to cover it with plastic wrap to cook it like this, but don't you dare unless you are fond of adding plastic to your blood stream. Soft plastic especially will slightly melt and let off plastic toxins that will flavor your foods and mimic certain hormones when they get into the blood stream as xenohormones. Some scientists suggest that these plastics in our foods are the reason for larger feet, larger breasts and lowering the onset of puberty by 4 years across the United States. Instead, cook it on a microwave safe glass plate with the cut side down to retain the moisture inside the squash." Just don't cook it in plastic, or apparently you'll get big feet. Or worse.

Whew, thanks(I have low worry-threshold). Are you worried about getting the burnt toast, misshapen ashtray, and macaroni Mother's Day card?

Exactly. Put the fun back in functional.

PUUULLLEEZZZ i'm a single mom. if i stop worrying the whole universe would colapse. Now I'm worried about Muffy stopping worrying.

Happening at the same time?

Tonite the chef will be tantalizing your tastebuds with a first course of Sherri's salad especial, followed by hot helping of homemade lentil curry spooned over succulent spaghetti squash, accompanied by a leggy red with a naughty hint of spice lurking behind a lingering finish. Care to join me?

Ohhhhh. I get it now. Much less exciting than I was imagining.

WHAT is this?? Do they sell them in the lingerie section at REI? My interest is piqued....

I sing in my head when climbing, too. But not always the same song. "Cool Change" by Little River Band comes up a lot. Anyway, yes, good input about the slinging long for the ledges(which I've done to prevent rope drag more than with thought to what it does to direct my fall away from the ledge) and about placing gear with the second in mind(I'm learning to take that into account more so, now that I've gotten a little more proficient with my placements, which used to take FOREVER.) I probably tend towards the "racing up" rather than "sewing up" type, especially if I feel solid with the climbing. But I think that is happening out of fear that if I stop to place a piece, I may burn out and sketch in a spot I feel I otherwise could have climbed through had I kept going. I'm trying to pay more attention to this now, and make sure that I'm not avoiding gear placement based on this mindset. CBS, that's the first I've heard about putting a short sling on the first piece(which I make almost always make a cam as opposed to a nut). I thought the long sling helped with preventing rope drag and the cam walking here. I didn't know it increased zippering potential. There sure is a lot to learn. But I love it.

Donating blood is good for subtracting a pound or so, too. (But if you have the cookie and juice afterward it kind of cancels out. )

it's not. i swiped it so you would have to come and visit me That's paying it forward.

Desparate.

Um, "F-A-R-T?" Do I win the old cake?!

That does suck. Sorry to hear it. Somewhere in the "Workout Splits" thread people have posted links to cross-training stuff that can be done while injured...if I get a chance I'll look around for it and post the link. Hang in there.

Bush also works. Now there's a statement you don't see in print very often....

Dinosaur cake? Yum. Least they could have done was to bake a fresh one.

Thanks. I love you guys.

I bet all that mechanical brawn would impress Arch, for sure. I'd name him "Boomer."

Shoot, now I've got to get a tape measure for my rack, too?? Rather than specific intervals, my question had to do with whether it was best to aim for a placing a lot of gear within the first 10-20 feet, or best to get a ways off the ground before considering a placement as it would be the most effective protection against groundfall. It's been quite helpful to have some of the subtleties of placement pointed out(single vs. multi, efficiency vs. effectiveness, fall factors, whether it's the first time leading the route, etc) because I wasn't sure what else to base my choices on, other than the availability of good stances. The trad leading is still quite new to me, so I figured now's the time to pay attention to this stuff in order to establish a good base of skills that will serve me well in years of climbing to come. Thanks again.

Does it have curtains?

Sounds like your buddy scored. Yes, it seems like a good idea to keep looking, that there's still deals to be had. Too bad that Synchro on ZimZam's link is already sold. That would have been rad, except where's the kitchenette and curtains?

Thanks for the link Oly. My search hadn't turned up anything. I'll check that out. Yeah, the price for that mileage raised a red flag for me, too, but I thought it might be based either on a supply/demand thing(not many of those come up for sale 'round these parts) or on the assumption that these things keep going and going(like old Toyota's or Honda's). Looks like the relationship may be more short-lived than I had hoped.

I'm considering the purchase of a 1995 Euro which seems to be in nice shape mechanically and cosmetically, but with 210,000 miles already on her, I'm wondering how long I can realistically expect this relationship to last. Do these things just run forever? I'd like to take her out on weekends, show her around all my favorite climbing places, spend quality time together, but I don't want to get my heart broke if she's not going to be there for me in the long run. Her seller(private party) is asking $14,000. Seems pricey, but maybe she's worth it?

I'm glad I asked. Thanks all! G-Spotter and Rob, those points hit the nail on the head. It hadn't occured to me to differentiate between the best stategy for a single pitch vs. for a multipitch. I was treating them both the same, I think, just thinking a lead was a lead. Perhaps that's where my confusion was coming from, as sometimes it seemed to make sense to put in a piece ASAP(particularly on multi's where the belayer was on a ledge) whereas at other times(usually singles) it felt fine to get a few moves up before looking around. So, what I'm taking from this is: the idea of a firing good piece early on multi's doesn't necessarily contradict the efficiency gained by going that extra move or two before placing the first gear on the singles. I'm getting the picture now. Also, it's good to be reminded about that increased fall factor at the beginning of the pitch(I did read that somewhere when I first started, but it wasn't the basis for my placement choices.) When the climbing was solid, I think I was resisting sewing up the earlier segments because it seemed like a fine line between doing that and falling into a pattern of "panic placements" (basing the choices on fear of risking a long fall rather than on reasonable estimations of where gear was actually needed). Never thought about moving up the gear with me, CBS. Interesting proposition. I'll put that in the memory banks for Classic Crack.

I've been getting conflicting advice about this: "You're wasting your time if you place anything within the first 15 feet," or "Place early and often, you want get in at least 5 pieces in the first 20 feet of climbing." The voice in MY head says to shoot for the first piece at the first good stance, even if it's only 10 feet from the belay, then, if it feels good, run another 10 feet or so before looking to put in the second piece. My rationale is that while the first piece will not stop me from decking, it will stop me from skidding past my belayer by an extra few yards(assuming there's a slope or ledge behind them). But this first piece(regardless of it's true value) makes me comfortable going a little further before placing anything else, so by the time I'm 20 feet up, maybe I've only got two pieces in. So, I seem to be on the wrong side of either piece of advice. If this isn't a sound practice for reasons unbeknownst to me as of yet, I'd like to be enlightened at this impressionable stage in my lead-climbing development(so as not to inadvertently ingrain any bad habits which could later haunt me. skull ) What do most folks consider "ideal" spacing/frequency for first placements? (I'm talking moderate trad lines here, where there's usually possibilities early on in the route.)