tvashtarkatena

I think she was called a retard because of the abject ignorance of her beliefs, not the strength of her convictions. Seems like more of an observation than a judgement, really. Ignorance, like violence, isn't a good thing for a society. It shouldn't be coddled, rewarded, or encouraged. Unless Idiocracy is what your after, that is. Given the GOPs platform, a kristian form of just that seems to be the end game.

risk v cost of losing a ski down a chute or having one flapping during an avalanche. Chute scenario way more likely and could present some real suck, particularly on traverses. I put a key ring on my toe buckle wire and clip the leash to that. Don't think that'd stay on in an avi, but it's good for hanging on to the ski otherwise. 400 N is only 90 lbf.

Sigh. Hey Rob, how's it going?

Now, every law has a "if you vote against this you love to drown puppies in their own blood" title. Some are, of course, smokescreens. The USA Patriot Act comes to mind. This isn't one of those bills. This is the bill that instituted the mandatory arrest rule for domestic violence calls, which not only has provided huge leverage for abused people to protect themselves in the home, but also cut way down on frivolous domestic violence calls. The ACLU supports the bill, but advocates that DNA samples are taken upon conviction, not merely arrest. This is part of a an more comprehensive set of policies regarding the safeguarding of vital, private information. Innocent until proven guilty/due process and all that. Will someone please let the GOP know that it has lost the War on Gays? Karl Rove may well be that person. It's amazing how quickly a candidate shuts the fuck up when you threaten to cut off the money.

Count em - ZERO GOP members of the house in support. This law, which was enacted in 1994 - and re-authorized twice since then, has probably done more to protect women from domestic violence, date rape, and stalking than any other single piece of legislation in history. And why doesn't the GOP want to re-authorize it? You guessed right: the new version extends protection to same sex couples.

Mt. Hunter

Thermostat to 11. 'sigh' There's difference in scale, but cruelty and lack of due process is cruelty and lack of due process, whether in Cuba, at secret prisons in Afghanistan, at Abu Graib, or in N Korea. Of the over 800 people sent to Gitmo, only a handful were ever charged with anything. Most were sent home - presumed not to be a threat after all, no? Torture in Gitmo abd the CIA's black prisons around the globe was famously the order of the day. Stress positions, beatings, confinement in small boxes, hunger, thirst, sleep deprivation, solitary, broken shoulder blades, and death. If the Bill of Rights is really what we're all about, than we would do well to act accordingly to maintain our legitimacy and provide an example to the rest of a world that watches us like the latest episode of Honey Boo Boo. If you think the US couldn't go all N Korea on its population's ass, light off a mini nuke in an American city and watch the fun begin. We've proven time and time again that we can ramp up quickly what we do on a small scale when we want to. Once you suspend the right of habeas corpus, as the US has already done, you can make people simply disappear.

Ted Nugent: Father of 8, illegitimate father of 3, deadbeat dad, statutory rapist*, draft dodger, kristian, patriot. *He dated a 17 year old but couldn't legally marry her, so he became her legal guardian.

Nylon's properties begin to degrade at temps above 190F. EPS (thin shell helmets) begins to soften at around 212F. The 6000 or 7000 series AL alloys used for biners can change properties due to heat aging at temps as low as 250 F - well below the flame temperature required for charring. Since the price of guessing wrong here is death or maiming - of yourself or someone else, new stuff might be a good option. You can sell a used rope on craigslist for about 30 bucks - boaters love em. Just disclose the history so that the buyer doesn't use it as a tow/anchor line or other critical, high stress application.

Well, I'm off to the Ted Nugent Red is Ded benefit. Anyway, this is way places like Gitmo are such a bad idea. That absolute power thing has been known to go south on occasion.

Trying to decide between the One PX and the TLT5. If you've got a pair you're willing to let my friend Colleen try on for fit, that might result in a free six pack or wine delivery.

We were told the Dynafit One PX is wider in the toe box (and therefore better for more paddle like feet) than the TLT5. Is that accurate?

My last incident happened so fast that no fear was felt at all, just an otherworldly sense of "did that really just happen?"

28.5 or 28 refers to the liner size. Shells are sized by mm of length, sometimes called sole length. My TLTs are 28.5 liners with 307 mm sole length, for example. The sole length should be stamped on the shell somewhere. It's true that one shell size will fit two liners (often the difference between liner half sizes is merely the thickness of the removable footbed), but not all companies group 28 + 28.5 into the same shell, as does Dynafit. Scarpa groups a 27.5 and 28 into the same shell - different convention. Each make should provide a chart that matches sole length to liner size.

Fear really is the mind killer. BTW, there was no statistical difference in the actual decision making - just in which parts of the brain lit up during the process.

Lefties light up their left insula, which process social and self awareness, while Righties light up their amygdala, the fight or flight center, when making decisions involving risk: Linky Love versus Fear driven politics. No, that doesn't sound familiar. No, not at all.

Drink it in. This TR may not last... We had a full day of nasty white out the following day. After an aborted attempt to go skiing (my fault), we detrashed and cleaned the shit out of that lookout and its surroundings - the place looked better than Josh's metro-spotless condo when we left. Note to folks using the Lookout: Don't attempt to dump the wood burning stove ash when its blowing 30 mph outside. Just store it in the bucket inside the lookout until the wind dies. It took us over an hour to shovel off the melt water snow area after a member of another party did exactly that, creating a St. Helens-like ash plume of fail. For those wishing to gift the lookout with supplies - white gas, propane, and butane canisters are on the registry. For white gas, which is for emergencies only BTW, there is a half gallon can in the attic where you can deposit your offering to the dead dinosaur gods. I'm going to haul the vestigial remainder of my white gas up next trip, as well as a spare propane (green canister) stove burner for visitor use. Finally, I find its way easier to just blue bag it than hump your coffee bullied ass down to the toi toi, which is a ways down the slope and not all that convenient in stormy conditions.

Paging Mock Hunt.

We both skiied shirtless, but the younger bloke won the beauty run off. No, my hamstring was a souvenir of a brief, not-so-scenic flight the following day.

Chippendale Basin

Trip: Hidden Lake Peak - Date: 2/2/2013 Trip Report: The actual summit of Hidden Lake Peak, from the East. Josh and I broke trail up to HLP over Feb's first long weekend. Slogging commenced as the trees thinned towards the upper basin, but it was only deep for about 1000'. Panorama of the Triad Skiing was amazing. We both agreed it was one of our best days out ever. Shirtless temps, zero wind, at least for a day, before a full blown rime storm/white out took it all away. Chippendale Basin (E of the true summit of Hidden Lake Peak) Approach Notes: We drove to the Sibley Ck turnoff in an Outback - deep ruts. Lower clearance vehicles were parking at the plowed road end (Monogram Lake TH)

SKI SHIRTLESS OR DIE. Feb 2, 2013.

which is really the same as a Mock Hunt, if you want to get Snipey about it.

on a life long Snipe Hunt.

Mock Jock