Squid

It sounds like the perfect sport for me! I'm a fat, talentless climber with chunky legs. Maybe I'll become a fat, talentless climber w/ skinny legs!

Quit hittting on me, ya old pervert. Thanks for the links and advice everyone!

Thanks!

I got me something kinda like that...

Is there a kayaking version of cc.com out there, or some other website where I can find local used kayaks? thank you very much for allowing blossoming boater to spray. ps. Yes, this means that I've finally recognized that I've achieved my lifelong goals of sucking more than anyone has ever sucked before at climbing. I'm quitting gracefully, while I'm ahead. New vistas await- I will now push the boundaries of suck at whitewater.

Sat: braved the 30% chance of rain to go climbing at 11worth. Had fun and raised eyebrows exploring Clem's Holler/Nuthouse. New to me. Sun: practiced my eskimo rolls in the pool for the first time in a decade. Kayaks have changed! Makes me feel like Buck Rogers, wondering what the hell happened to a world I used to know. I forgot how much I love whitewater. Jay, what kind of boat are you in?

Sorry to keep things on topic, but after losing my Black Diamond Bullet pack (containing my fav Patagonia R2 jacket) on the North Buttress Direct of Bear Mountain the other day, I was thinking about, you know, gear 'n stuff. I asked around and got this response: So there you go. If you'd like any photos or beta on Godzilla, just drop me a PM! Great! Thanks for all the beta, just a few quick questions: 1. How many pins does Godzilla take? 2. Lost Arrows or knifeblades? 3. All the tape has fallen off the route, will someone please re-tape it?

There's this hot chic at the gym I've been projecting for months. I can't even count how many 'attempts' I've made. I'm starting to realize there are some routes that'll never go free- not for me at any rate. Time to bust out the aid gear.

I've heard rumours of some new hot-shot spray-wunderkind from some farm in Alberta. Apparently he lives so far out in the sticks, he doesn't have internet access. Instead, he's rigged this spray-simulator onto his ancient 386 where the computer is constantly tossing him randomly generated insults and put-downs, a la Eliza. He locks himself into the barn, sparring mano-a-mano with this machine for marathon sessions, honing himself into a beast, a ruthless killer with an instinct for the jugular. 'Bout once a month, the family heads into town to pick up supplies, and for 3-4 hours at a time, the kid heads to the library and unleashes hell all over unsuspecting bb's. Some people suspect him in a string of suicides in California last summer- apparently someone had insinuated himself into a weight-loss bulletin-board, and then proceeded to methodically disassemble the egos of everyone online. Most of the online regulars took their own lives within a period of 2-3 days. Authorities suspect the Alberta kid, but of course no one can pin anything on him. He's slippery. Anyway, I'm just warning ya, Dru. No matter how fast you are on the draw, there's some kid on a farm somewhere who's gonna come gunning for you someday. Live by the spray, die by the spray.

I've been trolled

I think I'm going to have nightmares tonight

Nice, Wayne. My chickenscratch on the backs of grocery-store receipts are humbled in the face of your superior to-do list. I like the way you've broken down your list according to the time available- good idea. Thanks for posting that.

A 7.5 would work, but I'd opt for something a little thicker- maybe an 8.5. Not becuase of any concerns about the strength of the cord, but just the difficulties associated with trying to prusik with such a thin rope. Alex- what's your prusik set-up with a 7.5? Do you use really thin accessory cord?

sneaky sneaky. My edit was unintended. a thousand pardons.

Posted on Sun, Mar. 27, 2005 THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT | FOR PAST COLUMNS, GO TO HERALD.COM/COLUMNISTS, CLICK ON COLUMNISTS Brazil's alternative-fuel strategy is model for U.S. This is what President Bush should do to bring down $55-a-barrel oil prices, solve the Middle Eastern crisis, shrug off Venezuela President Hugo Chávez's daily tirades against ''U.S. imperialism,'' and make all Americans happier: Follow Brazil's example. No, I'm not talking about making friends with oil-rich dictators, nor shutting down the country for a whole week to celebrate Carnival (although, come to think of it, the latter wouldn't be a bad idea). I'm talking about Brazil's successful reduction of its foreign oil dependence through the development of alternative fuels. The issue was brought to my attention in a recent interview with Sao Paulo GovGeraldo Alckmin, a possible contender for the 2006 presidential elections, who said that 50 percent of all new cars sold in Brazil this year will be ''mix-fuel,'' or able to use a combination of gasoline and ethanol. ''It's already a reality,'' Alckmin said. ``And in four years, virtually all new cars in the country will be mix-fuel.'' Brazil's reliance on oil imports has plummeted from 85 percent of its energy consumption in 1978 to 10 percent in 2002, according to that country's National Petroleum Agency. And this year, it will be nearly zero, Brazilian officials say. Granted, ethanol already is used in U.S. Midwestern states, although in small quantities, as an additive. But Brazil has done something more radical: It pressed car makers to modify engines, so they can run on much higher percentages of ethanol. DECADES OF WORK Brazil's program started three decades ago with a government program to mix gasoline with sugar-based ethanol. Problem was, many car engines had trouble starting on the ethanol-mixed gasoline. In 1979, when oil prices soared, Brazil poured more money into research, and began producing ethanol-only cars. Today, nearly 20 percent of Brazil's cars run on ethanol only, in addition to the 50 percent of new cars that have ''mix-fuel'' ethanol-and-oil engines. In addition, Brazil is beginning to use biodiesel -- diesel made out of vegetable oils -- for its trucks and buses. Last week, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva dedicated a biodiesel plant in Minas Gerais state, which will produce 12 million liters a year of this fuel. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES ''We are telling the world that it is absolutely possible to produce fuel from renewable resources,'' Lula said at the dedication ceremony. The plant will produce fuel made from sunflower oil, soybeans and African palm. Peasants who sell these products to diesel refineries will get tax breaks ranging from 32 percent to 100 percent. As part of its plan, Brazil wants to sell its ethanol to the United States, arguing that it's cheaper than U.S. corn-made ethanol. ''The United States would have a lot to gain by exporting its corn to Asia for human or animal consumption, and importing our ethanol for fuel,'' Brazil's Ambassador Roberto Abdenur says. ``We could be of great help to reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.'' U.S. oil experts say it will be a hard sell. The U.S. government subsidizes U.S. corn producers, who would be up in arms if Washington lifts barriers to Brazilian ethanol. Also, the Bush administration's pet alternative fuel program is based on hydrogen, rather than ethanol. BOOM TIMES AHEAD? Be patient, U.S. officials say. If oil prices continue rising, sales of hybrid cars -- powered by electricity and oil -- will boom. And the Bush administration has asked Congress for $360 million for its ''Freedomcar'' hydrogen-powered-car research program in 2006. My conclusion: I don't know whether U.S. cars should be running on ethanol, hydrogen, electricity or something else. But what's pretty clear to me is that Bush's current policy of spending $80 billion a year in Iraq while only $360 million for its ''Freedomcar'' alternative fuel program is absurd. PUNITIVE CHARGES Why not impose a 10 percent tax on the purchase of gas-guzzling SUVs, and a 50 percent tax on purchases of Hummers? And, also, why not punish Detroit automakers that put out inefficient cars? If Bush did that, the United States would no longer live in fear of oil-rich tyrants, be they in Saudi Arabia or Venezuela. Oil prices would go down, and the air we breathe would be cleaner. It can be done -- just look at in Brazil.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/andres_oppenheimer/11238815.htm

The saddest part of watching that debacle was seeing how the parent's hopes and suffereing were falsely encouraged to further a political agenda. "Oh yeah, Mr. Schindler, she defintely smiled at you. Yep she's trying to talk all right." Heartless.

mr. kneejerk gives a lecture.

Like wazzumntr, I get out just to get out, looking for longer alpine climbs within my ability. Its come to the point where I've picked all the low-hanging fruit, and need to actually become good to get onto new stuff. I'm eating my wheaties in the am, burying my nose in the beckeys in the pm, and looking forward to the weekends.

Marriage is a holy covenant sanctioned by God himself,KK! What are you, some kind of fag?

He took a climbing course, Dru, not a semester-in-spray. Perhaps you need to start taking in students, wise spraymaster. Spraymonks from around the world would beat a path to your door, simply to prove who had the better school of spray. The doorstep of your dojo would be littered with the bones of unsuccessful applicants. Behind your shuttered windows, neophytes would scuttle back and forth, wary of incurring the spraymaster's capricious wrath, yet braving all dangers simply for a chance to learn the simplest of secrets of spray.

I might not mind. Maybe if they were buxom and kept mopping my feverish brow. Hmm....buxom...

If you're innocent you have nothing to worry about...

Good luck, Chris! Have fun on your trip.