"If a little dreaming is dangerous then the cure for it is not to dream less. But to dream more, to dream all the time." (a.ka. 2 out of 3 ain't bad)

Returning home last night never felt so good. Feeling my sunburned shoulders underneath the weight of my shirt and the stinging sensitivity of my finger tips as I flexed my hands will always be a good sign that I'm still alive.
I started my longer (longish) weekend by hanging out with family and friends in Seattle. A good meal at the Wild Mountain Cafe is always a nice start to any vacation coupled with bouncing my now 5 month old 20 pound nephew on my knee. Damn that baby is cute. My bro did good (oh yeah, I guess his wife helped too). Saturday was all rain and overcast malaise battled back by salmon sausage, a second viewing of Avatar, and some time spent battling demon ninja hell-spawn and wiping BBQ sauce out of the corner of my mouth. Sunday morning I bid farewell to my mom and the dog, and hit the road alone for a mission to meet good people out at Leavenworth.
A few lung crushing ballads later and I caught up with Jimmy and Lisa at JY. With hopes of a 'new' problem in our sights I 'warmed up' on Yosemite Highball (not recommended for a warm up) and then worked Right Angles with Jimmy and Lisa.


Lisa gets the "GRRR!" out on 'Right Angles'(V.8)

Jimmy and I eventually wandered over to a short problem and a somewhat new addition to JY called The Strainer. Overhung, slopey, good holds, hard top out. We got to work. Jimmy sent in a few goes and I was face to face with the top out after a few goes as well but excitement got the better of me and I ended up slapping for nothing and sliding backwards into Jimmy's loving embrace (thanks Jimmy, you saved my life!) A few moments of futzing about and another harrowing fall from the top out and I finally zeroed in on the last little knob at the lip and sent. Good thing too, because my skin was taking a beating/scraping!
We then headed to Forestland to find the 'large' group of Oly' heads who had made it up the day before. We got to Sunny and Steep before finding a large mass of bodies entangled amongst crash pad sofa's, I-pod stereo's (I know, I'm so ashamed), and cans of Rainier (can't hate on that!). It was an awesome vortex of 'chillage' and we got sucked in for a few laughs before the vortex packed up and headed out for some good old fashioned mountaineering, er, uh, I mean rope climbing.
Jimmy, Lisa, and I bathed in the sun while trying the stand start to The Teacup and then made for the shade of Mt. Home road. The prow was all we had in mind and after running into Adam at Forestland I finally got the correct name of this rig, Geronimo!
All I have to say about this problem is that it reminded me in one move why climbing is so unique and special. I had struggled on this line for a while and finally all that changed by just getting a heel hook in the right place. A good reminder of how climbing can be a huge struggle until one day everything falls into place and suddenly the veil is lifted and success comes flooding in. A beautiful process to take part in and one that reminds me of the core principles of life itself. This is probably just the euphoric ramblings of a happy climber, definitely one side of the spectrum; the other being absolute failure which holds it's own humbling beauty.
Anyway, long story short, I finally sent and was super psyched!!!!!
Here are some pics:
An action sequence of Lisa on her high point, followed by Jimmy making it look easy. Geronimo!(V.9)













After the prow we looked around for some new boulders that may have been lurking in the forest and the exposed slope. We found some amazing boulders that all contained lines that were just a few holds short of a mega-classic. We looped into the forest and upwards and stumbled upon a boulder no more than 20 yards from the road that had chalk! YeS! Could it be? Was this Filibuster? The boulder was overhung and had a deep crack in the middle of the face and looked as if it had recently lost a hold. There was a right-most line that started on underclings and crimped up the corner. We didn't try anything opting instead to come back, finding another sweet line on the slabby right side of the boulder. After our adventures we made one last stop at the Star Wars boulder where progress was made on Emperors Lightning and I almost sent Yoda (I think it was Yoda, the one mover). I latched the notch perfectly but was so amazed at that I actually hit it that I let go. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad...


Lisa demonstrates 'the move', on Yoda.


Jimmy also demonstrates 'the move' on Yoda.

It was a lonely drive back to Oly', but I blasted some sweet CMA, MOs Def, and G&E to make up for a lack of social interaction.
Thanks Chuliches!!!!!!! Looking forward to next weekend already.

Treating other people with respect

re-post

We should always do our utmost to treat other people with respect.

All of us have little things that we are sensitive about. Other people might find it hard to understand those things and may think we are oversensitive about them. However, that does not mean that we should not take those things into consideration.

For instance, some people may not like to hear bad language. If so, you should try as hard as you can not to swear when in that person's company. You may think that is silly. You may think they have the problem, not you and they should deal with it. I disagree. I think that you should respect the fact that those people do not like bad language.

Some people may not like you to smoke when there children are present. You may think that is silly, after all they are not going to be affected by you smoking just one cigarette in front of them. However, perhaps these people do not want you to set an example to your children. You should respect that.

Likewise, some people do not want shoes to be worn inside their homes. This is something important to them.

You may think this is daft. If it is for cultural reasons you may think "They are living in the UK not in China." If it is to protect the carpet you may think "Carpets are meant to be walked on." That is fine. You are entitled to your opinion. However, you should still treat their preference with respect. They are fellow human beings who have the right to their preferences and opinions as much as you do. So please don't complain if you are asked to remove your shoes in such homes.

We should also not be afraid to state our preferences. Nobody is going to know that you would rather they avoided using bad language in front of their children unless you tell them this. In the same way nobody will know that you would like shoes-off in your house unless you make it clear. There is nothing wrong with expressing how you feel and asserting your wishes. You have the right to be respected.

Telegraph: Regime Change brings salad days at No.10

Telegraph: Regime Change brings salad days at No.10

Apparently, Steve Hilton, Conservative party chief strategist, is working at the prime minister's residence with his shoes off. Apparently this would be unheard of under the previous government.

I'll take the high road!

Went to Leavenworth this weekend blah blah blah...

Encourage but not insist?

re-post

Some people say that it is fine to encourage people to remove their shoes, but one should not insist that they do so.

There is a fine line between insisting on people removing their shoes and encouraging people to take them off. There are a number of things one could say that are subtle encouragements:

We take our shoes off here.


You might like to take your shoes off.

These imply strongly that the host wants the guest to remove her shoes. I do not see that insisting or asking is worse than encouraging. If you encourage people to take their shoes off, then you have started from the assumption that people will be willing to take them off. By encouraging, you apply a degree of moral pressure to comply.

I think a lot of people would not want the uncertainty of just being encouraged. I was dating a girl a few years ago when I was not 100% sold out to the shoes-off rule. She asked me if she should remove her shoes. I told her that we removed our shoes but she did not have to. She was actually uncomfortable at this answer and asked me whether I wanted her to take them off or not.

Sometimes it is simpler just to be straight with people and ask them to remove their shoes. No need to beat around the bush.

Garma On Health: Get Clean, Breathe Clean — Remove Your Shoes

Garma On Health: Get Clean, Breathe Clean — Remove Your Shoes

Shoes Still Need To Come Off in Summer

re-post

Some people may be of the opinion that shoes-off in homes is a good idea in the damp of winter, but is quite unnecessary in summer, except when it rains (which it certainly does here in the UK).

However, on the contrary I maintain that shoes ought to be removed even in summer.

It is true that the weather is drier in summer,so there is less chance of bringing damp or mud into the house. However, in summer, shoes will still pick up small particles of grit. These particles gradually wear out carpets.

If you have laminate or wood floors, there is still the risk of making scratches (watch out with those high-heeled sandals, ladies) or leaving marks (why do you think you are expected to wear deck shoes or go barefoot on a yacht?).

Dust is still a problem in summer. Dust is not good for your health or your children's health and the less of it in your house, the better. There is likely to be even more dust in summer, as the ground dries up and cracks.

Dog dirt is still a problem in summer. In winter, many people will walk their dogs to the minimum that is necessary. In summer, people will be spending longer outisde with their dogs, increasing the risk of fouling up. Dog dirt is extremely unhealthy stuff. Not good for crawling babies. You may try to avoid stepping in it, but your shoes will still pick up small traces and then grind them into the carpet if you do not take them off.

There is also pollen, which is only a problem in summer. Your shoes will pick up lots of the stuff. If you suffer from Hayfever or you live with Hayfever sufferers, I recommend having a shoes-off policy in summer.

Of course, on a hot summer's day, nobody ought to mind taking their shoes off!

"All you hope for is good weather everyday. Not even the fucking lottery can give you that" -J.M.

Aaaaahhhhhh...finally. Some decent weather on the westside.
Three strong we headed to our old stomping grounds, The Exits. It was going to be a multi-destinational climbing day so we had to be efficient.
WARNING- do not park just outside of the gates of the spill over parking lot at Little si. Heed the sign that says you will be towed. (of course, I wasn't towed, but a $20 ticket is enough to make me never park there again)
It was cluster fuck 2010 at the parking lot, but less congested than I had thought it was going to be on the trail. The whole way up we tossed our dread back and forth about how slammed World Wall would be only to find an empty crag upon our arrival. The walls were still bathing in the sun but we got to it anyway. Devil's Advocate, Rainy Day, Psychosomatic(almost for both Dom and I), and then the SEND! Laura stepped up to bat and after rehearsing the moves on TR, fired off a perfect lead of Psychowussy. Congrats!! Her first lead on the 'real' World Wall and probably her hardest(?), by my standards anyway. (Side note: she also sent Rainy Day with one hang on TR) Dom sailed up Bust The Move and I fiddled around on Psychosomatic again to try and gauge where the hell my endurance has gone. I think the chair in my cubicle is slowly sucking it out of my ass. The whole time we were there only two other groups showed up! Weird? Where is everyone?
We decided to cut out after our success and headed up the road to Exit 38 and Neverland. We climbed 5 more routes here all 5.10's and enjoyed the rest of our day in the shade.


Dom takes a relaxed approach to belaying Laura up Rainy Day.



Dom on Psychowussy with Bret Johnston about to fire up Technorigine.





Dom in the middle of Psychosoamtic




Psychosoamtic


Dom enjoys some jugs on TicToc(5.10b) at Neverland.

Fictional People (Stereotypes?) Part 5

Steve

Steve is in his thirties and works as a probation officer. Five years ago his wife died of cancer, leaving him with four young children to bring up on his own.

Losing the love of his life felt like a deathblow, but knowing his responsibility as a father helped pull him through, as well as the comfort of friends and family.

Juggling a busy job with being a single parent has proved quite a challenge. Thankfully, some of his relatives have lived close enough to help out at times.

Steve has a shoes-off policy in his home.

He has never been fastidious about cleanliness or wanted to live in a museum, but as a father he does not want his children to grow up in a pigsty. Even with the children helping out with household chores, keeping the place clean is a mammoth task. He therefore decided that it was not asking very much to expect anybody entering his home to remove their shoes.

Steve does not hold many dinner parties, but his children often bring along their friends. His children always make sure to let visiting friends know about the no-shoes rule.

In the last three years, Steve has dated a couple of lady friends. Neither of them minded about removing their shoes, but they were a little more daunted about becoming stepmothers to four children!


Dorothy

Dorothy is in her sixties and is the headmistress of a small school in a village in Kent.

She lives in a cottage and rides to a parish church of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship on her bicycle. She is very active in village life and is member of the local branch of the Women's Institute.

Dorothy has never been married. She had never cared much for any of the men she has met in her life. She had been engaged once to a Frenchman, but she was jilted before reaching the altar.

She admits that she is of the old school of English spinsterhood and takes on the role with much panache.

Dorothy has a shoes-off policy in her home.

She decided to make her cottage a shoe-free zone sixteen years ago. She found too many of her friends were calling on her after walking in the fields nearby. Far be it for Dorothy to live in a house without spotless carpets. Not all of her friends were enthused, but the vicar's wife was very impressed at the efficency created by the policy and introduced it at the vicarage; a home that received far more visitors.

Dorothy has two sister and two brothers, all of whom are married and so frequent visits from nephews and nieces, some of whom have had their own children. Her siblings and in-laws sometimes sneer under their breath about her being a 'fussy old maid', but she takes this as a compliment.

The nieces and nephews are perfectly happy removing their shoes when visiting Dorothy. She is their favorite aunt; rather stern, but always passionate and fun.

Celebration in Vantage

Excuse the lateness of this post. I know my five readers...wait, FIVE?! YES! People actually read my blog? Crazy...
Anyway, I know my five readers have all been foaming at the mouth awaiting my illustrious literary sculpting. So here it goes.
Last weekend was a celebration of my good friends 25th year around the sun. We spent her birthday IN the sun, for the most part, playing on the basalt walls of Vantage. We spent the whole weekend sport climbing at the lower tier wall which, by the way, is nothing like the basalt columns on the upper tier. In fact, this wall stretches for miles and holds some of the funnest routes I have done. Grades are all over the place from 5.6 to 5.12d! Mostly in the mid .10's to mid .11's though. Our entourage was made up of Melody, Dom, Laura (the b-day girl), and late Saturday night we were joined by more friends Ian, Sierra, Sara, and Justin. It was a grand ole' time! Sippin' whiskey from the bottle and not thinkin' bout tomorrow! Vantage inspires that kind of southwest, down-to-earth, simplistic view of life. Hell, rock climbing in many places around Washington does.
The highlights of the trip for me was being inspired in a place I used to not really like. Falling on routes I probably should have been able to do. And burning the fuck out of my calves. Good times!!
Here are some pictures of noone climbing:

Bare Feet

re-post



In the UK and the USA a lot of people feel a sense of disgust and abjection towards feet. Of course, in many Asian countries, the foot is considered to be unclean. However, this is in connection with the fact that the foot touches the ground. Thus, shoes are considered to be far more unclean than the naked foot. In an Asian home, barefeet are acceptable, but shoes are not. This is actually the very opposite of the western abjection of the foot.

It is very common in internet discussions about shoes-off in homes for the subject of barefeet to be raised. It is argued that barefeet are disgusting, more so than the dirt on peoples' shoes. Of course, if you do feel that feet are disgusting, you could still ask visitors to remove their shoes if you were too lend them flip flops or socks to wear. Angie mentioned this in a previous post.

It is very likely that the sense of disgust about barefeet will decline. Sandals and flip flops have become incredibly popular in the UK and the USA. People are becoming more used to exposed feet. And ladies (and maybe some men) are spending good money on keeping them looking nice.

The argument that feet are more unhygienic than shoes is quite wrong. Unless a person has been going barefoot outdoors, they will not have been picking up the awful things that the soles of shoes pick up (though sandal-shod feet do get a bit dusty). You may think your feet are disgusting, however, you undoubtedly have more germs on your hands than on your feet. Feet are usually remarkably cleaner than the average pair of hands.

No Excuse

In the hospital staff room, some nurses and I were watching a talk show. The hostess had propped up her feet on the sofa with her high heeled shoes still on. I said:

'She's got her shoes on the sofa. That's very bad behaviour.'

One of the nurses replied:

'It's her show. She can do what she likes.'

That's no excuse in my book.

Suzi Quatro

If you are keeping a list of celebrities who have had a shoes-off policy, you can put American singer-song writer Suzi Quatro on it.

I had never heard of her, but she had a series of hit singles in the 1970s and played a part in the American sitcom, Happy Days.

Visit from my parents

My parents visited my apartment today. They were very good and removed their shoes before coming in. It is not necessarilly the way they do things, but they respect my house rule.

Somehow I have to make this post about removing shoes...

I am naturally feeling pleased about the election results. Although the Conservatives did not gain an overall majority, we are now the largest party in parliament. Having campaigned for my local candidate in Stevenage, Stephen McPartland, I was delighted by his success.

This is not a political blog, or even a personal diary blog, so I have to find some kind of link to removing shoes in homes.

Okay, those of you who advocate removing shoes for environmental concerns will be pleased by the success of Caroline Lucas, who is now the first Green Party member of parliament in Britain. You may also be pleased to hear about the success of Zac Goldsmith, the millionaire environmentalist, who stood as Conservative candidate in Richmond Park.

Speaking of Zac Goldsmith, his sister, Jemima Khan had a front row seat at the count. Both the Daily Mail and the BBC reporter mentioned her removing her shoes during the count. I suppose its not classic etiquette, but if you are up all night its only natural to want to get comfortable.

Mamaguru: Please, No Shoes

Mamaguru: Please, No Shoes

'If you have a baby at home, you know two things: they spend most of their waking lives on the floor and their hands are constantly in their mouths. Even the best housekeeper can’t elmimnate these germs if they are brought in with every step you take.

As disgusting as this problem is, the solution is simple and obvious. Embrace the no-shoes home. Make a point to remove your shoes right at the front door and ask your guests to do so too. If they hesitate, you can always inform them of the scary facts you have just learned.'

Being Straight With Guests

re-post

I would argue that having a 'don't ask but encourage' policy with shoes is not really any more polite than having a shoes-off rule.

Sometimes it is good for people to know where they stand.

It did occur to me that having a 'don't ask' policy might cause resentment and division amongst guests at party.

The people who take their shoes off may feel superior to those who have kept their shoes on. Even worse they may feel resentful of those people who have kept their shoes on.

A bigger problem is the embarrassment caused to guests who have kept their shoes on when they realise that shoes-off is preferred. Discovering that shoes-off is preferred when they have been walking about the house shod for an hour might make them feel rather awkward.

From Little si and Leavenworth with Love

The weekend again. For four days I sit in my cubicle wondering what the weather will be like and who will be available to get outside. Fortunately for me my two loyal climbing partners (Dom and Laura) are always on top of things and anxious to go out climbing whenever possible. So there we were; throwing words around like 'zero', 'chance', and 'precipitation'. Needless to say we pulled into the Little si parking lot only to be met with a medium sized chorus of rain. A long the way to World Wall we ran into several groups of climbers retreating but paid them no heed. World Wall was absolutely soaked. But that didn't stop me from hopping on Abo only to get to the last few moves and find my hands drenched with water and thrutching my way to the chains. I hauled my camera up and lowered myself halfway down to take some pics.


Dom on a warm up of Reptiles and Amphetamines(5.9)


Laura TR's Reptiles


Dom on the start of Chronic(5.13b)


Chronic


Chronic (one of the coolest moves IMO)

It was a short and wet sesh, but I had a great time far exceeding my goals for that day. I got on Chronic and linked through a couple of nice sections. Still haven't figured out the crux yet, but it doesn't seem impossible anymore. In fact, I made it to just beneath the chains before giving up due to 'wetness'(both in my pants and on the wall).
We headed to our retreat for the night which just so happened to be a really nice cabin that Laura's dad owns. Joe a.k.a 'Laura's Dad', is one of the nicest and coolest dudes I've met in rceent years and treated us to a plethora of wine tasting, good tunes, tons of tasty meats, and a rousing game of ping pong, fuss ball, and pool. We slept well that night, the sound of rain drops dancing on the tin roof.
We woke up to rainbows and sunshine the next morning; as well as another meat themed meal (YUM!). After our protein packed stay we headed farther east to Leavenworth. Last weekend we threw down on some sport and trad routes, but this weekend we were back for the boulders. Our first stop was Mad Meadows. A few quick warm ups on The Dish and some other random V.0's and we started off the sesh with The Pocket. I had flashed this problem several years ago but forgot how absolutely brilliant it is. Maybe the best V.4 in all of Leavenworth. Dom and I ran laps while Laura contemplated the possibilities of sending her first 'American made' V.4. Upon down climbing I turned the corner to find Laura at the lip! She got a little sketched out and backed off but returned and sent! Nice one! The slow loris strikes again...


Laura crimps her way past the crux on 'The Pocket'(V.4)





Dom on 'The Rail'(V.2)

We played around some more on The Rail and The Scoop and then headed to the main event. Pimpsqueak! Psyched to finally try this rig but nervous because of the landing and the upside down nature of the climbing. My first attempt was my most solid but I lost some good skin on my right leg and arm and never quite got the nerve up to commit to the last move before the vic. jug. Same story for Dom. It is most definitely one of the best problems in Leavenworth, can't wait to send it!
After that epic we headed back to the main boulders and played around some more on Pocket Rocket (another nice send by Laura!), Square Pusher, and Harry Spotter. Mad Meadows is a pretty sweet place to boulder with so much for every skill level. But we had had enough and head to the Carnival Boulders.


Laura on 'Giant Man'(V.4). Most of the boulders at the Carnival can't really be seen in this photo.


Laura on Giant Man again, pay attention to the right hand, upside down thumb crimp baby! That's how we do it in the Northwest!


Laura just inches from the victory jug on Giant Man.


Laura plays the sloper piano on 'The Rib'(V.4)


Dom crimping and sidepulling on The Rib.


The Rib


The Rib

The Carnivals were a lot of fun. The stand outs were The Ferret(V.3) which has some excellent movement the whole way, Against The Wall(V.1) which is a good sample of what the trad climbing is like around these parts, all smears and good flakes. Giant Man(V.4), and excellent slab climb, and The Rib(V.4), a very hard vertical climb that utilizes all kinds of bouldering skills. Laura nabbed another V.3 with a send of The Ferret and Dom and I both got Giant Man and Dom sent The Rib.
It was still early and the sun was shining down on us encouraging our every move so we decided to make three more stops. The first of which was the Scrambled Egg boulder, returning to tackle Dom's nemesis of years past Scrambled Eggs(V.8). For those of you who don't know the history of the problem, Dom pretty much sent this line a couple years ago but fell just after doing the hard parts because he missed a key side pull. It was agonizing! This was my first V.8 and I was very proud to have sent it as quickly as I did but I have not repeated it yet despite previous attempts. So we both had something to gain by heading back to this beautiful blue/gray giant. The quick and dirty rundown goes like this:
I was able to nab the repeat with some serious effort, but Dom was denied again unfortunately, even though he managed to stick the crux slimper a hand full of times.


The look on Dom's face says it all, these crimps are nasty! But the slopers are delicious...
Dom on Scrambled Eggs(V.8)


Scrambled Eggs, first movement.

We made another quick stop at the Atomic Energy boulder where we flailed on Dalai Lama and I made some good progress on Atomic Energy, before we headed to our last stop located in Tumwater Canyon. The Hueco Crimper boulder. I've done most of the lines on this beast and they are all super classic lines with great movement on fine grained granite that is both sticky and friendly on the skin. The one line I hadn't done was Joe's Crimper which I didn't even know was a real line on this boulder until watching a video on koanbouldering.blogspot.com here:

http://koanbouldering.blogspot.com/2010/04/rocks_26.html


I had always tried a different version of this line that starts in the same place but trends farther left into a nasty undercling and gaston. Joe's Crimper however was more my style and after figuring out the beta I sent it! A couple campus moves, a ninja style heel hook, and a walrus hump-out for the top and I was standing on top of the boulder. The first hard Leavenworth problem of the year, hooray for me! I also repeated Hueco Crimper(V.6) and the really fun gym-like V.2 'Missin' Nugget(?)', but tore a huge flapper on my left hand ring finger whilst lurching for and grabbing the flat jug of the V.4. I think my super hero name was Clotty (inside joke). Dom gave some valiant efforts on Joe's, and at one point had locked off the crux move but just wasn't able to stick the last crimper.


Dom gets horizontal with Joe's Crimper(V.7), at the Hueco Crimper boulder.


Bouldering was so fun this weekend. I even had a blast sport climbing in the rain, but the cherry on top had to be the delicious meats we were treated to at the cabin...
mmmmmmmm...
meat.