tvashtarkatena

NRA of America Washingtonians Opposed to I-594 Amount raised: $489,331 Amount spent: $373,704 They pocketed the remaining $115K LOL. If you can come up with a million bucks to put a repeal initiative on the ballot in 2016, and another 5 million to get it passed by voters, go for it. Given the 20% margin of victory (that's a slaughter), good luck with donors. By 2016, of course, folks will have realized that the world didn't end because of I594. People tend to move on to the next big thing, ya know? Ah, real politics. It's just not like the internet.

My bro was the chief public defender of Humbolt County - he handled A LOT of weapons charges cases. Your dead wrong if you think that criminals are a) unaware of gun laws and b) don't care about them - particularly in a state where 3 strikes/mandatory sentencing can put you in prison for life for them. The bulk of WA law enforcement doesn't agree with your assertions, either. In other words, spare me the usual unsupported drivel.

Not really. The two states are substantially similar with regards to gun rights, although WA does recognize reciprocal concealed carry licenses from other states, and OR does not. Anyway, few in WA care all that much that gun owners have to sell their used equipment through federally licensed dealers. Not a heavy burden for a few in exchange for closing a known, gaping loophole in gun trafficking - something which affects all of us. Welcome to the modern world.

For now. What happens successfully in WA tends to migrate south, as two copycat OR initiatives would indicate. Given its overwhelming support among both citizens and law enforcement, background checks for private sales are a known loophole in criminal gun trafficking and a pretty easy sell at the ballot box. Stay tuned....

Gotta sell your guns through a gun shop now. You'll live. If that means even one less mass shooting or gun crime, call me unfeeling, but I'm going to find it pretty hard to shed a tear for that extra trip down to Butch's Guns. The majority of voters in WA are breathing just a little bit easier this morning. In the balance, the initiatives passed this election drastically unburden the common citizen of needless prohibitions. They greatly simplify our laws, or simply update existing ones (minimum wage, for example). They also clarify some ambiguities or missing protections that have resulted in much litigation - voter suppression, illegal surveillance, discrimination. This will, in turn, unburden our courts, freeing them for more important business. Now, adding a personhood amendment would sure complicate things - but voters wisely rejected that nonsense. Initiatives exist because most legislatures find themselves out of touch with voters with regards to certain issues. They are an important part of enacting reform sooner than later. When things don't go their way, there are inevitably some short sighted citizens who blame the process and beg to have a large chunk of their democratic power taken away from them. I take a bit longer view, even if it doesn't make for a tasty sound bite.

I'm quite happy with the results. DC, AK, OR ended Prohibition 2.0 AK, AR, IL, NE increased their minimum wage CA reduced most non-violent felonies to misdemeanors - blowing a huge hole in Prohibition 2.0 CO and ND rejected personhood at conception IL bolstered voting rights and requires birth control to be covered MI bolstered protection of personal electronic data OR passed an ERA according to sex OR also voted for 'top 2' primary voting - moving one step closer towards WA's voting system - the best in the country. Like WA, OR already votes by mail - a system which blocks most of the voter suppression shenanigans we've been seeing elsewhere in the past 15 years. WA voted overwhelmingly for background checks for private gun sales Education didn't fare well across the nation, but other than that - things went pretty well in the States. Congress? Who cares? They'll sit on their asses doing nothing, just like they've been doing for the past 2 years.

ESA's Philae Lander, scheduled to touch down on Comet 67P/C-G on Nov 12, will be the first spacecraft in history to carry a rack of (3) ice screws. Upon landing, it will have lugged those screws a total of 6.5 billion km.

4 minutes flight time, radio range 6 meters. Looks like short pitches from here on out.

fishing line > tagline > rope Clipping into the anchor presents an issue. This is my sacrificial starter drone. Considering how many times I've crashed it already, at times into my own head, it's a good strategy to start small. Self inflicted drone strikes....

"Verdi", my latest rope gun concept:

grano "Die? Oh, right." Granodiorite's fine. Just stay away tonalite - that shit'll kill ya. Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer - The 11th Essential.

"I really am not a fan of camhooks," Who is?

That's a new one. You might ask those concerned to show some data indicating that a) cam hooks have damaged the rock at Index and b) why the strength of the rock at Index is of concern Half Dome, the Sentinel, and Cathedral Peak are also granodiorite. The strength of decent granitic rocks (and Index is just about as good as it gets) depends far more on their history of weathering and aspect than what types and percentages of feldspar they contain. There's great granite and crap granite on El Cap, and great granodiorate and crap granodiorite on Half Dome. There's not enough difference between great granite or great granodiorite to matter to climbers. Bring your pal on down to Zion. It'll take his mind off his granodiorite worries right quick.

You might address access questions for particular lookouts to the NF office for that area. We mainly focus on HLP.

HLP is level and well nailed down

I'd think twice about claiming that mattress.

The mice are permanent residents.

Plan on getting to know each other real well. A winter party should always pack stove and shelter - getting to the lookout may not be feasible due to avalanche, whiteout, etc. First come first serve on space, but they are public shelters. Generosity and accomodation is always the right move in bad conditions, or any conditions, really. Personally, if i arrived without a tent to a crowded lookout in OK conditions, i'd sleep outside so as not to impose on those already there. Winter parties should note that the avalanche hazard in the standard trail approach basin to HLP is often high, with large climax avis commonly observed. Consider alternative approaches.

All visitors are, in fact, caretakers. Simple contributions include hauling left garbage down (typically booze bottles and spent fuel canisters), if you're into the whole pay-it-forward thing, hauling up a full propane canister for future parties. For summer travelers venturing into winter: HLP is a serious trip. It's 5000' of gain, at times through very deep snow, whiteouts are common, a long traverse across a perfect avalanche slope is required, and temps can drop to well below zero F. We encountered one hapless party of slowshoers stumbling around the base of the icy cliffs in the dark in frigid weather- with no winter route information whatsoever. No stove (no way to melt drinking water), and no tent. Temps dropped to a windy 12 F that night. Had we not been there....

The real awesome folks are the one's who've been doing the heavy lifting on these lookouts behind the scenes for many years. We've tiptoed into the effort just this year by cleaning the lookout, removing a few loads of junk and garbage (manky pots, food, towels, nast seat covers (we made new ones out of closed cell foam), broken white gas stove, defunct lantern, etc), donating pots and a propane stove, making minor repairs, and temporarily sealing the remaining wood stove pipe through the ceiling for the winter. The idea was to up the standard of cleanliness - and that standard has largely been maintained by visitors so far. These structures were never built to last as long as they have in such harsh conditions. It's a testament to many decades of hard work by caretakers that they remain standing and in good shape.

He's a caretaker :0" He's the Michelangelo of duct tape

Washington is graced with a some of the most beautiful and historic lookouts in the nation. Some of these are open for public use. A few dedicated volunteer caretakers maintain these lookouts. The vast majority of visitors respect them and leave them as clean as they found them for the future users. There have been a few exceptions, however: Here are some ways visitors can help preserve these treasures for generations to come: 1) Please don't 'leave your mark', as Mississippi Gene saw fit to do here, or otherwise damage the lookout (This graffiti was cleaned off by a volunteer caretaker). 2) Please take all garbage and empties - booze bottles, gas canisters, spent or nearly spent batteries, plastic containers, etc - down with you. Caretakers will otherwise have to carry them down for you. These leavings remain common, unfortunately. 3) Please don't leave towels. They don't dry and wind up mildewed. During our last visit we packed out 9 wet, dirty washcloths. This is well intended, but please bring paper towels instead and pack them out afterwards. 4) Please leave existing stoves and kitchenware in the lookout. 5) Please don't leave any 'emergency food' that isn't in an unbroken factory package - freeze dried, etc. It attracts mice and usually goes unused - and therefore must be packed out by caretakers. 6) Please don't cache food in the lookout. One recent food cache was marauded by mice. Caretakers cleaned up the mess. 7) Please respect the caretakers' equipment and supplies by staying out of the attic. 8) Please wipe down all surfaces and sweep the lookout before departing. How a party leaves a lookout provides a cue for how future parties will leave it. Clean lookouts tend to remain clean. Dirty ones tend to deteriorate. Hidden Lake Peak Lookout Specific Items: 8) The Hidden Lake Peak Lookout wood burning stove was removed this year because it was being used as a garbage can. It was also improperly installed and therefore presented a significant fire hazard. 10) There is a propane (green Coleman quart canister style) screw on stove burner in the lookout. Please bring your own fuel and remove the empties. There is no longer a white gas stove in the lookout. 11) Please remember to bolt the door and replace the door cover properly before leaving. 12) Please pee over the side of the cliff, not next to the lookout - when it thaws, it gets very fragrant. Try not to fall of the cliff while doing so. 13) Please blue bag your poo. The commode is buried in winter. Big Wall technique works very well here: a) Split a gallon Ziplock into a rectangle and tack down on the snow. Gently lay your gift on target, then fold into a neat Poorrito. If particularly impressive, Instagram as desired. b) Slide Poorrito into a 2nd gallon Ziplock, burp, and close. c) Slide into a 3rd backup gallon Ziplock, burp, and close. d) Sneak into your buddy's pack for removal. The caretakers have been impressed by how conscientious and considerate most visitors have been. Thanks to all of you who fall into that category.

Yes, a tight slackline can exceed 24kN when weighted. Biners rarely fail, but they do come unclipped from bolts if not properly oriented on quickdraws - as they very often aren't. Don't oppose the gates on your quickdraws. Face both gates the same direction: Linky

Essential gear I never share with my partner: my little bottle of acetone and nail polish.

Darn. Got plenty of those in my biner archive.