sobo

SWAL, TG doesn't describe the actual event in the post; he just refers to the fact that he lost his 8-year-old daughter in a whitewater rafting accident. Still, I am sorry for your personal loss. And TG's... Children should outlive their parents.

I think it was this thread...

Did I miss the thread somewhere recently wherein Bug loses his job because of Couloir's avatar pics? Can someone catch me up to speed (linky, plz) so I don't appear so outta touch? OKTHNXBAI!

Lost I cried when I saw my son for the very first time, in his crib in Saigon. Never thought for a moment I could feel that way for something not of my loins. Did it again 3 years later in Chongquing. It just goes to show... Back on topic: Haven't lost Nicholas yet (knock knock), but one time Gramma and Nick were at the schoolyard down the street from her house when he was just over 2 years old. She left him (!!!!1) at the jungle gym and walked off about 200 yards with her goddamn mutts so they could take a shit. Found out about it later when he was crying to me about it that evening. I asked my MIL about it, and she was totally clueless. MIL: "Oh, he was right where I could see him all the time." Me: "How far away were you?" MIL: "The other corner of the playground." Me: "Geezuz Christ, Joan, that's 200 yards away! That's like from the Earth to the Moon for him!" He didn't want to go anywhere with Gramma for almost 2 years after that. Just didn't trust her. For that matter, neither did I... Lost my daughter at the Seattle Children's Museum when she was about 2 years old. My wife was (supposed to be) watching her while I was taking Nick around the "ping pong ball" room (those of you that have been there know what I'm talking about). We were there with our kids' cousin and his parents. The three parents start wagging their tongues when I walk up with Nick. Me: "Hey Hon, where's Elaina?" Wife: look of absolute and sheer terror once she realizes E is not there. Me: "I'm heading for the main entrance to have them close the gate (again, if you've been there, you would know it would be no problem to walk out with a kid, especially one who thinks that everyone is her friend)! You head that way (gesturing toward the water feature that we had just been forced to pry Elaina away from)! After getting the gate closed down, I ran back and started looking in the direction that we had been heading through the museum. There's a safari jeep in there just past the PP ball room, and there she was in the driver seat, tearing across the Serengeti plain at breakneck speed. Total elapsed time of panic: 3 to 4 minutes. Time off my life: 10 years.

This prolly ain't the place to post it, but Couloir, you need to go back to your previous style of avatar pics. I'm just sayin'...

JayB, Your self-deprecation knows no bounds. BTW, thanks for the "de-tilted" pic.

Oh please, O Omniscient and Evolved One, bless us thy lowly unbelievers with your sources. Or are your sources yourself, since you are the Sole Arbiter of Truth?

Looks bomber to me! Fix the camera tilt on Pic #2 to increase the Gnarly Factor.

Cross-posted from fogguy's second thread on this same topic:

I wasn't being sarcastic or anything when I said ^^, just that I really believe you guys are watching this one pretty closely. So do you think this will cause a change in WSDOT's thinking about what elements get modeled/looked at for load ratings/limits and/or overload permits?

Yeah, Rudy, I'll bet you have...

From today's ASCE newsletter: NTSB Says Design Flaw Found in I-35W Bridge The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) today announced that a serious design flaw was found in some of the gusset plates on the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed on Aug. 1, 2007. As a result, the NTSB issued a recommendation that the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) require bridge owners to verify that the stress levels in all structural elements, including gusset plates, remain within applicable requirements whenever planned modifications or operational changes may significantly increase stresses. This would apply to all non-load-path-redundant steel truss bridges within the National Bridge Inventory. ASCE will continue to monitor the NTSB’s investigation and will incorporate the recommendations and lessons learned into our future technical and professional policies and standards. For enginurds and those with a similar interest in this catastophic failure, there are links to the NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter and the FHWA Interim Report at the bottom of the NTSB press release.

Now that is a really cool set-up! Thanks, Rodger, for cluing the rest of the great unwashed into that little "secret" of yours.

Looks like the raps on Index, NF of N Peak. Had to take a dump there in mid-rap off of something that looked like that. That turd's birth into this world would not be denied...

If I understand your trip plan correctly, static rope is indeed what you want. These folks oughta get ya hooked up. In my college life, I did a lot of VA/WV/TN karst cruisin' (that's caving to the rest of us). PMI was the vendor of choice for our underground exploits. Take a look at their 11 mm Pit Rope in the Caving Essentials section. That's what we used for underground waterfall ascents/descents. It's tough stuff, with great wear resistance. It's a static rope, of kernmantle construction, but it's not a "dry" rope. It's a little stiff fresh off the spool, so be sure you finish your knots with back-ups. If you're gonna be rapping, jumaring, and hauling pigs, then you're gonna have to sac up and carry the extra weight to ensure some safety. We used to beat up our caving ropes pretty badly in a season or two...

First off, let me say that there are plenty of kudos to go around on this episode. Mr. Pitts and Justin, I applaud your pre-trip planning and subsequent initiative on your (nearly) complete self-extraction. Also, your GFs deserve immense credit for "keepin' it togetha" in the face of media storms surrounding recent circuses on The Mountain of Doom. PMR, you guys always Barkernews, you too, for trying to edjumacate your colleagues. And lastly, to the cc.commers who didn't immediately jump right into their Barca-loungers and start the speculation. JohnGo: Your Warren Harding post reminded me of another account of Batso in Yosemite... Seems on their FA of The Nose, the NPS decided the team "needed rescuing" on their last night on the wall. They lowered ropes to them, and rappelled down to the team, hanging in their hammocks and "Bat-cave". Warren looks up and says something to the effect of, "You're here to rescue us? Surely, you must be mistaken. Here now, have some wine."

Fuckin' lucky bastards... fuckin' lucky.

Man, oh man, Gurl, you are gooooooooooooooood!!!1

start here... The second post is the one you want.

Heyyyyyyy, I resemble both of dem remarks!

Didn't we go through this with tvash already a while back? Whatever became of the Girls of cc.com Calendar?

If you're headin' north to Copper Falls, check and see if Chilco is in.

Purrrrfect! There ya go, tvash. And Happy Berfday to you, ZZ!

Gibralter Wall???

Kat's got the beta. We used Shirtworks for our unit hats, jackets, and vests and they look great. But again, they're in E-burg, as she stated. But I suppose they only use Nikwax, so WTF do I know anyway?