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JasonG

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Everything posted by JasonG

  1. Since you brought up the subject of society, this graph caught me by surprise: Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics (see post above for link) The murder rate is HALF of what it was when I was a kid, and similar to levels seen in the 1950's, AND heading down? Why doesn't the media focus on these positive trends? I know I sure didn't know the story. There are a bunch of other positive trends in the wealth of data publicly available- child murders by strangers way down from 1980, etc. This doesn't make what happened in Conn. any easier to take, but I think it should inform the debate about gun control, incarceration, etc. By almost all measures we are safer now that we have been in decades. Someone is doing something right. I sure don't know what, but there are some theories out there from folks in this field.
  2. Has "society" improved much from the mid 90's? Americans are certainly killing a lot less people with firearms compared to then.
  3. This horrible tragedy got me delving into the Bureau of Justice homicide statistics . While the mass shootings certainly get the gun control debate flowing, often I find the back and forth relatively free of hard data. I think we can all agree that there are way too many guns deaths in the US each year, but how do we reduce these tragedies? And, I'm talking realistically. There are millions of guns already on the streets so don't think the calls to just take guns away (or go back to muskets) are really going to go very far. On the other hand, arming everyone so that they can take out crazy sociopaths doesn't seem realistic either. I surely don't know the answer, but the data paints an interesting picture, one that can maybe better inform the policy debate. Source: Gallup Poll General Social Survey What I take from this data is that while overall gun homicides are way down from their peak in the 1990's (esp. when expressed as per capita), multiple shootings are up. Since these certainly make a splash in the media, I think most of us are under the impression that guns deaths are significantly on the rise (this was my impression at least). What have we done to reduce handgun homicides by so much? Can similar tactics be applied to the reduction of multiple homicides? I think comparisons to other countries are interesting and all, but for better or worse we have the situation we have today here in the US with easy access to firearms and we have to come up with a realistic way to deal with the consequences.
  4. Agreed. If you are just starting out, there is no need to go cadillac. Durable and cost effective are much better traits in a draw.... go with some high quality nylon ones, like the BD Freewire noted above.
  5. Ummmmmm.....no. There's no de-classified version of the story?
  6. So tempting Mark!! I hope you are still doing this in a couple years when I can drag my boys down.... Have fun and be sure to do a TR, I really enjoyed your images from last year.
  7. I'm not very experienced in the hard ice arena, but isn't that the definition of calf-killing terrain, no matter what the boot?
  8. Maybe it had something to do with the lack of poles? I like it!
  9. If you go with a guide service ask to finish via the SE ridge of the summit pyramid. Mid-fifth (fine in boots), but very, very esthetic and good climbing. Plus, you can scramble easily down the regular route on the descent. I don't know why the SE ridge isn't talked up more, one of my favorite easy romps in the Cascades.
  10. I agree that a GPS can really improve your navigation ability, esp. while solo (provided you have enough batteries!). I guess I was mainly getting at ak's assertion that all you need is a map and compass to dead reckon in a whiteout, with heavy wind and precip, on a slope, while solo. I think you may be able to more or less get to where you want to, but that often isn't good enough in cliffy, crevassed terrain.
  11. I wonder if it really is though? Granted, practice and proficiency are never a bad thing, but the bad glacier whiteout experiences I've had have been truly disorienting. I was always with others and even when they were directing me from behind (with map/compass/gps while fixed in place) I couldn't walk in a straight line (while trying very, very hard). Even if you are good, when you can't tell sky from ground and the wind is pushing you around, I don't see how any solo person would be able to navigate over distance without some significant error. But, it sounds like you may have had those exact conditions (solo as well) and been able to pull it off, or are you just guessing?
  12. Faced with high winds, precip, steep terrain, and whiteout- AND solo, I don't agree. I think Joseph hit it right on that on the bigger mtns. around here it stacks the cards in your favor to pick an adequate window. As noted above, there are lots of resources to help you get a good idea of the size of the window. Once you are caught up high in bad weather, handheld tools aren't certain to keep you out of trouble.
  13. JasonG

    Conspiracy?

    So true, there is a scene in "Strange Brew" that speaks to the power of the videotape (unfortunately I can't find the actual video of this scene, but you have to believe me that it does exist). Claude Elsinore: And I'd like to point out that these tapes have not been faked, or altered in any way. In fact they have time coding, which is very hard to fake. The Judge: For the benefit of the court would you please explain "time coding." Claude Elsinore: Well, uh... just because I don't know what it is, it doesn't mean I'm lying.
  14. I think the UW Atmos site run by Cliff Mass's lab is probably the best tool around for detailed precip and cloud predictions (specifically the 4km runs). Of course, the models are often wrong, but major features are rarely missed completely. http://www.atmos.washington.edu/mm5rt/rt/gfsinit.d3.html
  15. Wow. That is some seriously crazy riding. Thanks for the link!
  16. This is getting good. On a serious note, that is a sobering accident write up Mr. Finley. The Balfour High Col is something that I've treated with respect, but that accident is still a bit unnerving, and a good reminder to not think too highly of one's abilities.
  17. I just wish they made a "Light" version of the Eldorado. After spending a week in a HiLight in the Pickets, I agree that they aren't very comfy for folks in the 6' 4" range. If it is rainy, the head and foot of your bag are going to be soaked. And, I'm not arguing with you Pete.
  18. "In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend -- but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency. The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''" http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html I missed this the first go around, but I think it helps explain the difficulty that Rove (senior aide quoted above) had with accepting the "reality" that Obama won. Wow.
  19. Depends if you are part of the "reality based community" or not. Sounds good to me as far as the ads go. It would be great if we prodded some more folks to add some TRs/posts. Of course, there are always ways to block ads too for those who don't want to see them.
  20. We were the other party, and certainly had a similar experience. Luckily we had some beer back at the truck so all was not lost. That was one of the more unpleasant wind/snow combos I've experienced in some time. Rowdy!
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