sobo

I can echo those sentiments. I've taken two extended "sabbaticals" in my life. First one was after I quit college the first time. Rode a motorcycle from northern VA to Daytona Beach, then to LA/Huntington Beach, then halfway back across the country. It took something like 6 months. That was 1980. I didn't yet climb. Eight years later, after finally matriculating from VA Tech (second try), I drove my dirtbag Volvo from northern VA to Walla Walla. That took something like 5 months. But at least I climbed along the way! At neither time was I encumbered by wife, kids, mortgage, significant other responsibilities. Now I do have all of those things, and I am doubly glad to have gone both times when I did (apologies to Rad for borrowing the phrase). Crikey! My last "sabbatical" was 20 years ago this month! I'm sooooooooo due for another...

Is there a reason you need to post the identical question 7 minutes apart? Stealth delete, eh?

sick, man. just sick. at least trade the kid for some decent drugs. Question for Mods: How does one edit a link so that it points to a particular post, and not the entire thread where the target post appears?

Technically, ~9 months to get a "new one." 21 months to get back to the point where she lost the first one. But your point is well-taken.

Brian- Was it a job she really wanted back? Rudy- If you don't really care if you get this job back, go ahead and go. If you do want it back, perhaps you should get something in writing. Maybe even have it reviewed by/consult with an attorney that specializes in employment law... I'm just sayin', look what happened to Dryad...

Some of those were perty funny, yah. Happy (belated) Mother's Day, Mel!

Like this guy?

They're going for about 6 GBP right now, which converts to about $12 each, so yes, pretty spendy indeed. I've never used them/seen one used. RE the self-drilling ones, I like my kit just fine. It's pretty compact; fits in a small stuff sack (except for the hammer). Sometimes it's difficult to extract the "snap-off" portion of the bolt head out of the holder. It comes with a tapered drift pin to assist in that effort, but sometimes it can be a real bugger to get the spent head out. Good thing is, if you're only placing one bolt (like to bail from, or because you only need one bolt), you can complete the entire installation without removing the spent head from the holder. But as you have probably surmised by now, the down side is that you need more than just a hammer to place them. You also need the holder. It holds the bolt with one side, and the other side is the strike plate for your hammer. Then you need the drift pin to extract the spent head out of the holder. And you need the Allen wrench to tighten the stud that holds the hanger, but that's machined into the other end of the holder, so no BFD there. I should take a pic of the kit for you and PM it to you, since I can't find one online.

IMO, the 1,000 footer is the worst, because it's the shortest of the three, assuming that all options are full-on air rappels (i.e., no bouncing until primary impact with terra firma). Logic: If you're going to die in a fall, why not make it the longest fall possible? Enjoy the ride, as Mazda sez... Am I the sick one here, because I dream of dying in a scrumptiously long fall almost every other night? Mebbe that's why I love that mountain wingsuit video so much...

You got any kids, rob? Just askin'...

Say what? If we are talking about any bolt that I have ever seen, one is supposed to drill the hole deep enough so that the bolt doesn't bottom out. Drilling deeper holes has been postulated to provide a pocket for water to collect and lever out the bolt, but many climbers using wedge anchors drill extra deep so there is room to tap the bolt in an bury it if you need to subsequently chop it. I have never heard of anybody suggesting a hole was "too deep" for a reason like what you are describing. Matt, There are bolts that require one to drive it with a hammer into the bottom of the hole for the shaft to expand. Some manufacturers of these expansion-style bolts are Hilti, Mammut, and Petzl. Here's Petzl's version. I have a kit made by Mammut that I bought in Italy, but I can't find a decent pic of the bolts that go with it. But the same principle applies: Drill the hole to the same depth as the bolt shaft/cutting unit is long, blow out/clean the hole, insert solid cone into cutting end of bolt, drive bolt home with hammer, place hanger over bolt, screw in Allen head stud to secure. Note that the Mammut style of expansion bolt is NOT the same as the more common Rawl/Powers/Hilti/Petzl expansion bolts that achieve fixation by tightening a threaded bolt, thereby drawing a tapered cone inside the sleeve toward the nut, hence expanding the sleeve against the walls of the hole as the nut is tightened. Clearly, those bolts should have a deeper hole. The kit I have is a hand-drilling kit. The bolt and cutting unit are integral - the bolt is the drill bit. The stud threads into the bolt after you've embedded it, and the stud secures the hanger. It does nothing toward increasing the expansion/holding power of the bolt. The hammering of the bolt into the rock after placing the solid truncated cone in the drilling end is what expands the bolt into the hole. If you drill the hole too deep, this expansion will not take place. Kurt Hicks used my kit to place a needed bolt on a FA at Lightning Dome two years ago. He needed a short lesson on how it worked, but he got 'er done. You could PM him for more info, if you care.

Yes, I believe he employs it in a BD Megamid style. Attractions: super light super tough super cheap makes you look like a real dirtbag climber, not a poseur DB climber Distractions: requires poaching to acquire

dude, watcha mean? wasn't blake like in and out of court last year for his scoflaw ways?!? Touche' mon ami! Blowing off the permit system, with it's attendant inadequacies and the difficulty in permit acquisition thereof, is somewhat in a different legal league as opposed to blatantly pinching materials of intrinsic value from another's possession. And one cannot dismiss the possibility that young Blake learned his lesson with his brief encounter with The Law. Remember, the White Zone is for loading and unloading only, sezs the Central Scrutinizer...

...and 12 to 24 months as well, if ya get pegged. I don't believe this method of appropriation is in Blake's style.

A recent TR for the Beckey route With the anticipated weather for the weekend (hot), and given the weather from the TR above (snow), I would expect that at least part of the route (3rd pitch?) will be a bit wet. The descent is not that hard to find. Scramble back down the way you went up until you arrive at the base of the "5.7 white slab." From there facing south (toward Concord Tower), follow the sandy track down and to the left, aiming toward the high point of the LB/Concord Tower notch. You'll wander downward through the brush until the trail ends at a pocket and cliff. Look to your right and you'll see a yellow/orange wall. It's got a bunch of bolts and slings on it. Start your raps here. You can get down with one rope.

That's funny, and basically the same reason why I bought mine. I was driving my very own (dirtbag) Volvo (what a coincidence) on my way to work on the I-610 Loop around Houston one morning in ~1981. Now remember, this was the era of Early Road Rage... I was attempting to take my exit, when some yuppie in a Beemer tried to force me out of my exit lane as he was merging onto the freeway. Seems he thought he had the right-of-way because he and his BMW were better than me and my dirtbag Volvo. We were basically at loggerheads at 60 mph, flipping each other off. He reached over to his passenger seat and returned his arm to the window, this time with a pistol levelled at me. I locked up my brakes, let him go by, missed my exit, and took the next one. I arrived at work as pale as a ghost. Stylin' Jim, our old black janitor and Man Friday, informed me of this fact and inquired as to what might have happened to cause such a fright. I told him the story, and he asked, "So what are you gonna do about it?" "I want a gun. As big a fucking gun as there is. Something like Clint Eastwood would carry." I was just venting my spleen to an old man, and I felt better having boasted about how brave I would have been if I had had a gun to level at that yuppie in the Beemer. That woulda made that bastard piss his pants, yessiree! I thought that was the end of it. Stylin' Jim called me back to the janitor's closet about two or three days later. He produced from a paper bag the fabled hogleg: the Ruger single-action Super Blackhawk 44 Magnum, with 10-inch barrel, complete with a leather hip belt and holster, just like an 1890s gunslinger would carry. "So ya think this will do for ya, Sonny?" I was floored! I paid him his asking price of $200 for the whole set. Jim then says to me, "Anything you ever need, you just come to ol' Stylin' Jim. I'll git ya fixed up right." It was then that I realized what Stylin' Jim really did to make his money. He didn't drive that big-ass Coupe De Ville on janitor's wages, that's for damn sure! I ended up buying a whole lotta shit from ol' Stylin' Jim over the next few years...

Funny story: I had one of those almost 30 years ago, as a young lad fresh out of high school, back in my Dirty Harry days... The first time I took it out to shoot it, I struck a "Go ahead... Make my day" pose, complete with the hoarse whisper and Clint Squint. Pointing the weapon at the intended target with but a single hand, at arms length, a la Clint, I let fly with a slug. Goddamned thing whollopped me with the hammer. Left a big dent in the middle of my forehead that took weeks to heal. After that experieince, I always kept both hands on the wheel...

The ? He's ^^ right here.

Thanks....I get that alot. 'bone- It's not what you think. They're telling you that you're just a big dick.

Wow, that's just crazy. A freakin' tank. fawk!

And who could forget... -

you forgot - slit tauntauns, crawl inside

And just so one one feels left out... U.S. Navy rules: 1. Adopt an aggressive offshore posture. 2. Send the Marines. 3. Drink Coffee. Army rules: 1. Show up after fight to provide security and help hand out food to all of the displaced civilians. Air Force rules: 1. Watch this all on cable in a BOQ [bachelor Officers' Quarters] while drinking a beer.

Seems like a good place for this: USMC Rules For Gunfighting 1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns. 2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive. 3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss. 4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough nor using cover correctly. 5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.) 6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun. 7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived. 8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running. 9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun. 9.5 Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket." 10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty. 11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose. 12. Have a plan. 13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work. 14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. 15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours. 16. Don't drop your guard. 17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees. 18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them). 19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH. 20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get. 21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. 22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one. 23. Your number one Option for Personal Security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation. 24. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun the caliber of which does not start with a "4."

Shouldn't that be browjob? "Me so horny. Me so horny. Hey GI, love you long time." "So what does $10 get me?" "Anything you want."