grandpa

Uh, to quote the initial post: "click link above for details. Size Large - Black"

Well, thank you. May you all have a happy Christmas as well. Grandpa

NOT a stupid question at all. And yes, you need to be aware of branches that might fall. I do it by looking up (noticing ones that look "iffy"), and listening carefully while you walk and adjust the path accordingly. This is one of the first things dad taught me when I followed him out hunting......MANY years ago....

Dew, what happened? Where'd you go?

Any chance you'd care to meet at the Seattle Amtrak station in a couple weeks? If so, I'll contact you via PM as schedule firms up.

Well, I for one liked reading your daily (humorous) posts....

+1 I'm a firm believer in the art and science of chiropractic. Have been for 34 years now. And yes for more than merely re-aligning things (although that has resolved many aches). Various streches and exercises as suggested have helped greatly over the years. I'd get in on this deal, but I'm not in Portland.

Wow, $100 for shipping? Must be quite heavy.....

PM sent

Ah, got it. I've seen that before, but completely forgot about that. The snow around here is either heavy and wet (first fall or last spring snowfall), or frozen grains of snowbits that blow around like sand when it's 20-30 below zero, and do not really adhere to each other enough for any structural support. thanks, Dave

Ok, another newbie question: what's a v-thread in this context? I've never been on a glacier (but like Mountain Dew in the newbies forum), I will some day, so I'm learning whatever I can now. thanks in advance

I agree, completely, with this statement. Absolutely. However, I also believe that it will not happen. Never. Under any circumstances. Therefore, the next best option (in my opinion) is to make sure that no one can do it to us first. It's that simple. What I saw here in reponse to me voicing my OPINIONS, was what appeared to be angst, anger, and namecalling. And for any of you to become angry to that degree because my opinion differed from yours is rational? Was it because I held these opinions, or voiced them? As one respondant stated, "illogical". bye

You guys don't get it. It isn't just about who has the most, biggest bombs, the most biggest nuke tipped missiles. It's about keeping "them" at bay. It's the ability of our leader to make "them" understand that we will destroy them if we have to, as well as having the tools to do it. It's about the men, women and machines who will make it happen if necessary, led by someone who knows how and when (and when not)to "pull the trigger". Kennedy did it right (I suspect most of you who are arguing the point now, were not even a grin on your daddy's face when this happened), Reagan did right, Bush Sr did it (almost) right. But for Obama to make such a statement, it clearly illustrates the complete naivete of the man. A gracious "thank you", etc would have been appropriate. But him making a statement that could be construed by enemy forces as evidence of him being weak on defense is inexcusable. That's just a dare for someone to try it again. That kind of change I want no part of. Think about it before you reply to this old guy's rant. Do you want to assume that everyone who is smiling at you is your friend (until they stab you in the back when you turn around), or would you prefer to keep 'em guessing, and never mess with you? I like the second choice, thank you. My son has been to many countries around the world, and had views similar to some I've seen expressed here until he saw how other countries do things, and how the people have to live. This is why I believe that EVERYONE (NO exceptions - except for mental inability - I don't care how important your daddy is), should do 2 years military duty right after high school. Then on to college, work and life with kids. It would give everyone a better understanding of what it takes to keep the freedoms we have. Ok, back to your chatter, I have housework to finish, we have company coming over tomorrow for dinner....

Yes, you're correct. You're beginning to understand, although I don't think you know it yet. There are a lot of people out there who want to take it from us because they don't have what we have, what we've worked for, and "their god" is on their side and said it's ok. Well, it's not ok with me, and to whatever degree possible, I'll not let it happen. It's unfortunate, but that's what it takes. I'd prefer to live out my life without having to concern myself with these kinds of problems. I despise the need for locks, passwords, showing ID when writing checks and enemy states with the desire, and increased ability, to do me the kids and grandkids harm. So when I see an influential person, and ESPECIALLY the President say something as simple-minded as "I'd trade my prize for disarmament", it makes me very concerned for my, for OUR way of life. For my grandkids lives as they grow up. There is no reasonable excuse for that rhetoric. None. When I was their age, I recall walking to school, occasionally looking up in the sky to see if the Russians and their bombers were coming yet. They were not, and now I know why. You should know also.

To read about a LEGITIMATE recipient of the Nobel prize, go to Wednesday's (10/7/09) WSJ, Front page: "Mastery Over Light Puts Physicists in Picture for a Nobel". Scientists who discovered how to digitize and store light images received the Nobel prize Tuesday.

Now, THAT is liberal lunacy at it's best. The nuclear cat's long out of the bag, and nearly every crackpot government out there is soon to have a piece of it. Peace through (far) superior firepower is essential to our way of life. It also has to be clearly understood that we not only can, but will with no uncertainity, ahniliate any entity that initiates action against us. Might I add through superior technology (that we don't give away as did Clinton), nor sell to anyone else either. It's taken me nearly 6 decades to understand this fully, and I certainly hope the young ones here (and elsewhere around the country) soon do as well.

Even though the Legend doesn't have the sensitivity that the newer SiRF chipsets do, this is a VERY good deal. If I didn't already have two handheld GPS, and a couple GPS modules, I'd pick this up in a snap.

Well, my experience with the bears in the cascades (and Minnesota - I've never seen any in North Dakota), while not extensive, has been over the past 45+ years, and it comes to this. USUALLY, they don't bother you intentionally, and when they do bother you, they're looking for something to eat. Something EASY to get to. In all but one instance, EVERY time I've run across bears in the cascades, they left the area very quickly as soon as they noticed me. The one time they did not is when they were busy raiding the picnic tables at Crater Lake Park. In all cases though, I left them alone, and they left me alone. So, make enough noise (talking in normal voice) and hike on. Now as far as dealing with grizzlies goes, I've no advice, but you'll not find any where you are going. Dave

Quit worrying about the booze....as long as it's a LITTLE bit, then it's ok for ya (according to my doctor). A lot though, really undoes in a hurry the good that a little does for you. My opinion on that.... Dave

Dew, I find that reading FoH (and any of the books on a new subject) is best done "topic by topic", not front to back. Pick a topic that holds your current interest, or curiosity, and take it on one item at a time. Even some chapters benefit from this division. What's helped me along this same quest is reading the books, reading various discussion forums, and melding the two before I go out and try it myself. For example, I bought some rope and 'biners from various folks, and just tinker with it all until it starts to mnake sense, and it eventually does. The hell of it is, that I can't see any mountains from here even with a 20,000 power telescope (if there were such a thing)! Dave

Well, the show was good, and I'd expect that the DVDs would include at least as much, and maybe more as was on the air.

PM sent.

Ye-haw! It most likely will. My BP and chol/trigs numbers dropped quite decently after I started walking often. Dave

Hmmm, that sounds familiar.... SO familiar. I dropped 20-25 lbs a few years ago by dropping the snacks after dinner, the snacks at work, all as what seemed to be a good idea when I hit 210. That helped me make the decision that "I can do that" when I discovered Mt Rainier a few years ago when the Army stationed my son at Ft Lewis. I grew up in Oregon, but had never seen the mountain until we went out there for the first time. When we got home, I started walking - with weights on my ankles (got 'em at Target, they wrap around and velcro into place). I hiked to the highschool where there is a 5-6 story stairway between the school and the football field, and made several trips up/down each trip. You might want to take stairs at work or home with 'em on. Put in 2-3 miles 2-3 times a week if you feel like it. There are paved walking trails in Olympia, I know of only one though, north of Martin Way paralleling Lilly Road, between Lilly and Sleater-Kinney. Locals will know of many more. I just get out there to visit the grandkids about 1-2 times a year. Should? Well, I can tell you that I took my son and two of his cousins up the Muir Snowfield last summer as a "welcome home from Iraq" thing for the guys to do, and breathing while walking and talking is (relatively) easy at sea level. At 8000' it started becoming a bit of a chore, and I had quit smoking 35 years ago. Yeah, you'll (most likely) live longer, and will certainly live better if you do. Might I suggest a physical exam prior to starting something that might be considered to be strenuous, considering the past few years? West or SW of Olympia there is a park with trails. Don't recall the name. I think it's actually in Tumwater. Good place to start, I'd think. Your stated goal of "summit by 2013" gives me renewed interest in my internal goal of summiting by about the same timeframe. I'm 58+ and made it to 9000' last summer before the weather turned us back (and I stayed ahead of my son and one nephew, both in their early 30's), so I can do this. And dropping the weight wasn't a chore after I had made up my mind that it was MY goal, not just something I "should do". Take the kids geocaching to start with if you want an excuse to get out on a semi-regular basis. Plenty of walking there to be done. But get out and walk to start with. Lots of things to find and talk about with the kids also while you're walking. Grandpa Dave

Please forgive an ignorant question: what exactly is a "crack machine"? If I were there, I'd drive over just to see just what it is that you have there. thanks, Grandpa Dave