Matt

7. Which headline did not appear in a major daily newspaper? a) “BUSH PREPARES MAJOR EASING OF INDUSTRY POLLUTION RULES” b) “BUSH PLAN GIVES MORE DISCRETION TO FOREST MANAGERS ON LOGGING” c) “EPA PROPOSES TO EASE RULES ON CLEAN AIR” d) “REPUBLICANS MOUNT CAMPAIGN TO RENAME ALZHEIMER’S ‘REAGAN’S DISEASE’”

Who said what? 3. “In the corporate world, sometimes things aren’t exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures.” 4. "[Osama bin Laden is] either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive.” 5. "How many Palestinians were on those airplanes on September 9th? None.” 6. "First of all, let’s get one thing straight: crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let’s get that straight. O.K.?” a) George W. Bush b) Dan Quayle c) Whitney Houston d) Donald Rumsfeld

2. True or False: An editorial in the Wall Street Journal referred to people who have so little money that they pay no income tax as "lucky duckies."

1. How did Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien respond when his spokeswoman called George W. Bush a “moron”? a) He pulled out a photograph of Bush reading an upside-down book and said, “She may have a point.” b) He said, “She calls me Cretin. Do you see me getting all upset?” c) He accepted her resignation and said that Bush is “not a moron at all.” d) He held up a photograph of Bush looking through binoculars with the lens caps still on and said, “You tell me, does he look like a moron?”

In response to Poster: mattp Subject: Re: What should be allowed in a "route report" discuss Good work Mattp! Let's keep cascadeclimbers.com about climbing. No spray in trip reports! This website jumped the shark the day there were more active political threads than climbing threads.

"Life in the world is but a big dream; I will not spoil it by any labor or care." So saying, I was drunk all day, Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door. When I woke up I looked into the garden court; A single bird was singing among the flowers. I asked myself, what season is this? Restless the oriole chatters in the spring breeze. Moved by its song I began to sigh And, as wine was there, I filled my own cup. Noisily singing I waited for the moon to rise; When my song was over, all my sense had gone. ---Li Po, "Waking from Drunkeness on a Spring Day"

Nice Matt. I'm guessing you've climbed Exfoliation Dome more than anyone else? What's your tally? 40 or 50 times? As always, effortlessly cool...

Too late.

What kind of car do you drive Fairweather?

The day that picture was taken was so warm and beautiful. A perfect day in the valley. I remember the biting red ants at the belay and listening to the pair across the valley taking big whippers on the NW Butt of Higher Cathedral Spire. Let's do it again Tim. Let's do it again and again and again.

While climbing at Index today warm gusts of air kept blowing in from out of nowhere. There is so little snow on Mt. Index it looks like summer. Go rock climb! Forget the ice... for now. Seriously, t-shirt weather at Index in January with dry rock-- can't beat it.

It was so warm at Index today that I actually took off my shirt and let my skin see the sun! Bottom of godzilla was wet but doable. Thin Fingers was completely dry. Jap Gardens was mostly dry with a few wet spots that you could step around. Get out there! Index

Yo Erik, Do you still have that money you owe me? Maybe some gear you want to barter? Would love to catch up w/ y'all. ehmmic--- already slacking? hahaha

I say more power to him! I think it's pretty cool when someone starts their own company and follows their dreams! If he can make money selling climbing gear online then that's really all a climber can ask for. More time to climb for him. No "boss" looking over his shoulder. No commute to the office. Will he succeed and make enough to live off of? Who knows. It reminds me of the quote, "To dream great dreams is itself an act of daring." Is that Tilman? Right on Scott!

Dave, I want to get out Wednesday. Do you really think anything will be good for climbing tomorrow with all the warm temps we've been having? My guess is it's all a wet mess. Anyone go up there yesterday? On the flip side, how's Index? Dry or dripping?

Use the apple button and "+" key to make the text larger. Safari seems pretty cool... Definitely faster. I love my powerbook. like driving a jaguar...

Greg, I've also been looking for a good mid-week partner. Let's exchange goals and see if we have some common targets. Hopefully the snow is getting deeper and the icicles are starting to touch down. I just waxed my skis and sharpened the picks on my ice tools. I'm ready!

Do you rap on 15 year old bolts?

so many good climbs at index.

The cool quote I heard was something to the effect of:

I'm thinking Index if it's not pouring rain when I wake up. See you in the parking lot at 9 - 9:30 or so. If necessary we can aid, but Godzilla is almost always dry enough to climb.

How dry is the lower town wall?

If you're climbing 5.11 or above it may be worth it to have tight shoes. Otherwise, comfort is more important. A partner almost lost his big toe nail because he was wearing shoes that were too small. It made it really painful for him to do much of anything in climbing shoes for a long time. Don't be silly. Get some shoes that fit.

I've got Monday off and desperately need to climb. If it's dry at Index I'd like to jam some crack and use my brand new 3.5 Camalot that I got for Christmas! If it's wet, then maybe aid Town Crier? Godzilla is never wet... Other ideas are Guye, Chair, the Tooth or skiing some freshies? Send me a PM.

Alison, You could get a 4Runner or Pathfinder and both of these cars have great engines that will go at least 200,000 miles. When compared with a Subaru that is almost guaranteed to die between 150k and 175k, a Toyota can be a better deal. Yes, a 4Runner does not get the mileage that a Subaru does, but if the engine lasts longer, isn't it in fact more environmentally friendly? (As I type these words I wonder if Fairweather has been sneaking into my room at night and brainwashing me). Unfortunately, Subarus loose their reliability above 100,000 miles, and this is probably what you're looking at if you want to spend less than $9k. For the money you want to spend, You should probably not get a car with 4WD and look for a Toyota Camry, Honda Accord or other such Japanese car that is reliable and gets good mileage (over 30 mpg is good mileage IMHO). Both of these cars came in station wagon versions that might suit your climber lifestyle (can sleep in the back). Though a Camry is not *cool* it will keep going after other cars will die. You should also look at Saturns. I thought Saturns were a total waste of plastic (is there any metal in them?) until a climbing partner and I went on a road trip in his Saturn. He got over 40 mpg in his Saturn and we were able to drive up to Squamish from Ballard, tool around all weekend and drive back on one tank of gas. Pretty awesome. Saturns are cheap too. Another thought: relplace your engine. Rebuilt Subaru engines from Japan are relatively inexpensive. I know a few people with over 260k on their Subarus with 2nd engines.