Squid

Cool. Have you guys gotten to play with the new Metolius cam yet? If so, how does that compare?

What's the difference in weight and range of the Link cam vs. Metolius' new cam (the lop-sided job)?

Dan Rather gettin' goofy: "Don't talk to the alligator until after you cross the creek."

That's too damn cute. Can you set up a puppy-cam for the dogless?

You showed him, Scott. You go, boy.

I'll admit it - I'm too chicken to follow yer links. Everytime the cursor hovers above the link, ghosts and shadows of pustules and poxes flitter through my mind... scarier than halloween!

ooh, this thread is too good. better than steaksauce!

Nice, Sergio!

Who gives a fuck what he said? He's a dead man walking, no matter who wins.

Obviously, it's Satan's own pitchfork, which is shoved so far up our Supreme Commander's ass that he's able to substitute it for a spine. That's hard work.

ST. BERNARD PASS, Switzerland, Oct. 27 - The only dog right now at the 950-year-old hospice of St. Bernard is a very nice golden retriever named Justy. The issue of those other dogs - the famously huge and heroic ones, who toted brandy barrels in legend, who lived here for centuries and sniffed scores of stranded travelers out of the snow - is not one that the Rev. Frédéric Gaillard is keen to talk about. "Now there are helicopters," Father Gaillard, one of four remaining monks at the St. Bernard's hospice here, said with some irritation. "And we have a golden retriever, which is our dog for avalanches. This is not the 1800's. This is not the 1900's. Since then, helicopters and other fast ways to save people have been introduced." After a few moments more of explanation, it was as if the frigid cloud shrouding this ancient alpine pass, elevation 8,114 feet, slipped inside. Father Gaillard declared the subject of the St. Bernards of St. Bernard closed. "I am not talking anymore about the dogs," he said. In fairness, it is hard to blame him. Last month, it became public that the monks here were looking for a buyer for the 18 St. Bernards that still belong to the hospice, news that struck the European press as if Switzerland itself were disowning chocolate or, oh, secret bank accounts. Dog lovers worried that the descendants of the dogs who gave the breed its name - and this nation a symbol - might be put down or not find proper homes. Since then, Father Gaillard has been fielding up to 15 calls a day from reporters around the world and, judging by his mood this morning, getting crankier with every call. He barked on for a minute that the American election ought to worry people more than Swiss dogs, and, at any rate, he said, only the dogs' ownership will change. According to the plan, the monks and dogs will go on as they have for decades, with the dogs still spending summers up here - still on view for thousands of tourists. They will still spend winters, as they have for decades, away from the bitter cold and snow that was such a killer for pilgrims to Rome, and soldiers and merchants passing over the Alps. (Which explains why, with the treacherous road here already officially closed for the winter, it was only Justy basking in the warm kitchen smells in the hospice). "I don't think there will be any change for people to see," Father Gaillard said. The winter home for the St. Bernards of St. Bernard is the quaint village of Martigny, down the mountain from the pass. On a recent morning, the aptly named Bernard Léger was playing with some of the 16 newly born St. Bernard puppies, fluffy and achingly cute, at a kennel that belongs to the monks. For the last five years, Mr. Léger, 41, has been the chief breeder, producing about 30 puppies a year, which are sold to people around the world willing to pay a premium, about $1,700, for a real St. Bernard. He is clearly in love with the dogs, not least Tasso, remarkably mellow for his 150 pounds, who sat by his side. He is not so sure the monks share that love. "The people around the world think how nice a story - monks, dogs, avalanches," he said. "But if you think, 'Monks and dogs, how nice,' it's not true. The monks don't like the dogs. They don't caress them. No, no." Given Father Gaillard's mood, it did not seem wise to ask him directly about caresses. But he said the monks' decision to sell the dogs stemmed from the reality that it was increasingly difficult to take care of them, especially since the number of monks here is declining. The dogs each eat four to five pounds of food a day, and big, energetic dogs like that need to get out of their pens four times a day. Whatever their joint history - the earliest mention of St. Bernard dogs at this hospice stretches back to 1695 - Father Gaillard said the St. Augustine monks here are still a functioning religious order, and that the dogs are distracting them from their work of ministering to actual people. The hospice, founded by St. Bernard himself in 1050, predates the dogs.

"The people around the world think how nice a story - monks, dogs, avalanches," he said. "But if you think, 'Monks and dogs, how nice,' it's not true. The monks don't like the dogs. They don't caress them. No, no."

'swing state' 'contested vote' 'fraud' I'll hit the tequila every time I hear the phrase 'too close to call'

yuck, Diedre. Climbing it this summer I found a sock sitting on a belay ledge. Since my socks tend to be expressions of negative space, I was excited by the prospect of 'booty-sock.' As I reached for the sock, I realized that Mr. Hanky was peeking at me from within the depths of the sock- the previous owner had found some ingenious use for it. While I applaud the previous owner's resourcefulness, and empathize with what must have been unholy desperation, I suggest that good taste dictates that 'toilet socks' must be trundled, not callously abandoned on perfectly good ledges.

I plan on learning how to ride a bike, not doing anything too extreme or hardcore, would putting tires on my wheels give me a big advantage over riding on the rims?

more FLA freakiness Thank god FLA is way over there... Police: Driver Tried to Run Over Florida Rep. Harris By REUTERS Published: October 27, 2004 Filed at 2:44 p.m. ET MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida motorist was arrested Wednesday on charges of trying to run down U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris at an intersection where the controversial former state elections chief was campaigning for re-election to Congress. The Republican lawmaker and several supporters were campaigning alongside a street corner in her hometown of Sarasota Tuesday evening. A silver Cadillac sped toward them, drove up onto the sidewalk where Harris stood, and then swerved away at the last minute, the Sarasota police report said. No one was hurt. Witnesses noted the car's license tag number and police tracked the owner, Barry Seltzer, 46, of Sarasota, who was jailed early Wednesday on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He said he was annoyed because some of Harris' supporters were blocking traffic, the arrest report said. ``I was exercising my political expression,'' it quoted him as saying. ``I did not run them down, I scared them a little.'' Harris was Florida's secretary of state and its top election official during the state's presidential ballot recount battle in 2000. Vilified by Democrats for her role in halting the recounts, she was elected to the House of Representatives in her heavily Republican district in 2002 and faces Democratic challenger Jan Schneider in Tuesday's election

Dead hobbits. (work safe link)

I can only speak for the G-rides- I love 'em, because they're light as hell (& comfy & warm). Their performance is pretty good, but I (a mediocre skiier at best) think I'm missing out on some perfomance cuz they're just not as stiff as a beefy in-bounds boot. I can happily recommned them, but I don't know shit, so weigh my opinion accordingly.

another recommendation for Garmont. I heart my g-rides

I'd rather be here now.