tvashtarkatena

...with a very small, very waterproof haul bag.

Xenophobia and all the crap that goes with it ebbs and floods with how well a society feels its doing. Humans blame. Ours obviously doesn't feel its doing very well. Terrorists, Mexicans, gays, and Americans who just aren't American enough (Romney's latest sales pitch) are to blame.

If only it was just four stupid jarheads.... These guys just acted out the attitude of a huge portion of our population. The problem goes much, much deeper than the idiocy for 4 individuals.

They got the idea from the Taiwanese animated spoof on the Bin Laden kill. Power of memes!

Most of the shit evolved around The Viagra, which I'll continue to post innovations for as they happen. The next iteration will be to add a camera mount so you can take pics from any vantage point 10' away from the photographer, per Coldfinger's suggestion. I'll also experiment with a clamp to allow the stick to be removed or use of a gated biner, per Ian's suggestion. The design's in the gear forum. Anybody who objects to using on lead mid pitch can just limit its use to...on lead from the ground LOL.

LOL

Trust me Dave and Bill, you've already served as role models.

The mods wiped the turds off that gold, that's all. Good move. I reposted it. If the shit collects again, the mods can deal with it. If this keeps up I'll pass Ivan in no time without even going out.

Trip: You can't keep a good woman down - Monkey, Picnic Date: 1/1/2012 Trip Report: Our version of the New Years Day Hangover Ivan and I took Colleen out for her first high angle climbing experience. She loved it.

We're obviously all suffering from cabin fever. That should be resolved soon enough I should think. If any of you Tvashcompactors were considering going to a certain lookout off of Cascade River Road this weekend, you might reconsider.

I think you just haven't bothered the mods enough. Try harder.

Mooooooooooooooooommmm!!!!! I don't believe that comment is covered by copyright. Come on, FW. Mail order a sense of humor or something. It's right out of the Big Lebowksi, albeit tailored for you. Get out much? At least you've got it in your database now. Someday....

shit, I thought I'd catch you.

Oh, Paul's supporters are complete fucking moron kooks, to be sure. Romney's picking up some of the better parts of his message, however. Of course, Romney's as stalwart as an overcooked noodle. He'll do whatever the GOP tells him to...which, of course would be the typical trainwreck we're all well familiar with by now.

No, I would carry you. OK, actually, I'd guilt trip Ivan into carrying you. I might carry your cigarettes, though.

Paul's rise is certainly makes the campaign more interesting. Romney will hand him his ass, of course - its like shooting a baby in the face with all the money he's got, but I like him nipping at that hairstyle's ankles. If anything, Paul is moderating some of Romneys positions.

You won't be able to easily build a cave at Sherman, like you would at Muir, so it might be a good idea to take a tent on that side. It's really beautiful, though. Little Tahoma is spectacular. The glissade or ski down the Inter glacier rocks early/mid season.

Big as he is, Ivan can hold his red wine. I've never seen him actually drunk. Cheerful, perhaps. You, on the other hand...hmmmmm. Last time I saw you you could barely stand and seemed to be speaking some form of Wookie pidgeon. I haven't seen anyone that shitfaced since high school. Fortunately, you passed out before you could attempt to drive home. It didn't dumb you down much from ambient, but still. That's your call, of course. It's your life. But if you're telling yourself that your lifestyle choices will have no effect on your health, well being, and eventual longevity...yeah. We're all just biochemical machines. There's no magic in it. Garbage in, garbage out. You don't have a lot of smarts to spare, so.... Yeah, I was drunk cause I did not plan to drive home. Not saying I disagree w the garbage in garbage out. Just saying some seem to be lucky enough to have it bred into their system to tolerate some garbage better than others. I've seen and been plenty drunk w Ivan, too. He does seem to have the Irish drink'n gene. If I was you, I'd focus whats on your own plate. Trust me, I know one when I see one. Drunk stalker. Not pretty.

Staying in the Muir hut is like spending the night in a cave full of bears suffering from sleep apnia and irritable bowel syndrome. It blows. If you do the DC and don't want to carry a tent, build a cave.

Statistically, 5% of folks who self identify alcohol as a problem in their lives and decide to quit never drink again. 30% drink a bit more before quitting for good. 30% go on and off for the rest of their lives. 25% will continue to drink themselves to death.

Big as he is, Ivan can hold his red wine. I've never seen him actually drunk. Cheerful, perhaps. You, on the other hand...hmmmmm. Last time I saw you you could barely stand and seemed to be speaking some form of Wookie pidgeon. I haven't seen anyone that shitfaced since high school. Fortunately, you passed out before you could attempt to drive home. It didn't dumb you down much from ambient, but still. That's your call, of course. It's your life. But if you're telling yourself that your lifestyle choices will have no effect on your health, well being, and eventual longevity...yeah. We're all just biochemical machines. There's no magic in it. Garbage in, garbage out. You don't have a lot of smarts to spare, so....

We know voters are evenly split now. We've worked hard to achieve that. That's a GOOD thing. We haven't begun our REAL public information campaign yet, and our past experience is that will effectively turn a whole lot more folks. I've turned audience after audience and individual after individual...once they know the grim facts. Our arguments work. We know that. What's the other side got? Nothing in the way of facts, so we'll have to deal with a standard misinformation campaign. BTW, we're not quite sure who the 'other side' will be. Nobody's stepped up yet.

Oh, I'm pretty sure the voters will support it, but it will be close. Latest polls show it has been losing support and would be close, but still would pass. I'll vote for it. The question of what comes next from the Justice Department is the crux. Will they be intimidated by the pot tea party of the Pacific NW? I doubt it. I woudn't pay a lick of attention to the latest polls (I'm not aware of any loss of support, btw). There is always an 'opposition bump' once a) the thing is real and b) people find out about it. Papers in Spokane, Everett, Seattle, and elsewhere have endorsed it. The media is def. getting on board. That's power, right there. Hell, even Glenn Beck is for it!

We're working that at the federal level, too, mon. State level action is easier, of course, but, in the end, you get as prepared as you can be, you work as hard as you can, and the chips will fall where they will. Somebody's gotta take the first step towards ending this gargantuan form of tyranny and utter failure. WA is the perfect place for that to happen.

Not from me. It is something I believe we've all wrestled with and I was just kind of curious about "le crap". I don't doubt the info Mr. Frieh posted but it seems a little subjective for my pea brain to relate to. Here's some fun facts: Say a 175lb guy drinks one half bottle (two six oz glasses) of red wine each night which is moderate by most standards. That's about 250 calories which takes approximately 25 minutes of running at 5mph for that guy to burn off. Seems counterproductive for most athletes. Say that guy spends $10/bottle for the wine. That's $1,825.00 per year or $152/month. If that guy's spouse consumes the same amount, it's $3,650/year. What else could one do with that money? A week in Maui right now sounds pretty nice. One doesn’t have to be a heavy drinker for it to negatively impact the quality of life. Yet, most of us (myself included) chug away regardless of the outcome. Kind of strange. Like having 1000 channels of stuff on TV with nothing compelling to watch but continuing to channel surf. I'm as guilty as anyone. That's the "crap" that ruminates around my middle-aged head (and gut). Am I going to do anything about it besides anonymously complaining on the internet? With my 40th birthday around the corner, I just might. Bronc No aspersions there, but, you know, this isn't exactly the best forum for sharing personal matters. Even admitting you've quit drinking puts you out there for ridicule...not that I give a shit, of course. Fuck it, it's the Thing Not Talked About. It should be. Nicotine ends more lives, but booze destroys and erodes the quality of more lives than any other drug. I can only give you my take. Quitting was easy for me. Badabing, done. Never took another drink. 'Cutting back' just seemed to lead to more drinking. In my view, it doesn't really work, since booze quiets your inhibitions. If you're concerned about it at all, the weight gain, the vegetative evenings, the slightly shittier mornings, THE MONEY (holy shit that stuff costs)...you might try setting a date and leaving it behind. I still do all the stuff I did before. Go to bars, have parties (I'm a decent bar tender with my own subterranean tiki bar), whatev. My social life actually got a richer after. I enjoy all those things more now because nothing gets dulled out. Actually, every aspect of my life got better. Sure, I missed beer for a while a bit, but that went away. Now...I look at an ice cold beer...nothing. It's just another object. Quitting also can improve your SO relationship. OK, you might have to trade in SOs, but still. Mine couldn't be better right now. If you're looking, women love a man who doesn't drink, because they get hassled by so many that do. I've been told time and time again that that gets really fucking old. Frankly, I can't believe more peoople don't take this easy step towards a better quality of life. Now...for serious boozers, that can be another matter. Some folks need outpatient or inpatient treatment. Some can never be anywhere close to booze ever again. That's another story entirely.