Keep Security Checks On Shoes!

Martin Broughton, the head of British Airways has attacked requirements at UK airports to remove shoes for security.

I think checks on shoes should be maintained. It is a simple precaution that helps to keep people safe when flying. A metal detector is not going to detect plastic explosives for the simple reason that they are plastic. It is just a simple precaution; it's not like you are being asked to take off your clothes.

More significantly, there is something deeply ironic about having to remove shoes at airports that makes a wonderful moral point.


The ability to enable people to defy gravity is one of mankind's greatest achievements. The power to make a mass of metal, carrying a cargo of men and women fly higher than the birds is a true wonder. Airports are the height of our civilization, places that enable transport across the globe, a phenomena undreamed of in previous centuries. Yet in those very places, we must humble ourselves by removing shoes. At the airport we all find our common humanity. Great and small, rich and poor must all stand in stocking and bare feet. There is something wonderfully levelling about this.

In my opinion, people who make a fuss about having to take their shoes off at airport security need more of a sense of humour.

Pulling Down Chili in the South Sound While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

I have no skin left after yesterday, my back and shoulders are sore, and yes; I have won yet ANOTHER chalk bag. You guessed it, the South Sound Pull Down took place yesterday at one of Olympia's best gyms, the Warehouse Rock Gym! I believe this will have been the 4th or 5th time I have competed in this comp and it seems to just get better and better every time I compete, every year that goes by, and every decorative chalk bag that falls by the way side in my closet.

This year was no different. There was a great 5.10 shoe demo going on the whole time and you could see competitors dawning the funky new colors of their new Fall line up. The Green Hornet's looking and feeling the best of them all (even though I have already purchased a pair of Blackwings and LOVE them!).

The first session boasted some great climbers, namely my friends Dom, Kevin, Laura, Melody, Sarah, Keena, etc. etc.

Dom, who was feeling extremely intimidated and nervous by my new found strength, decided to drop out of the Men's Open category in favor of competing in the Men's advanced. I don't blame him though, we can't all be beasts like me. He gave the Men's advanced competitors a good run for their money but the locals have really been stepping their game up lately and when the chalk dust settled Eric Evans (originally competing in Men's intermediate) was bumped to Men's advanced and took first! It was a very close one, with the deciding points being allocated by who had the most falls. Dom was beaten out by one fall and took third but still walked away (literally) with some of those new trendy hippie Sharma shoes, a great score! Laura on the other hand was no slouch as she took first in her category beating out one of the Olympia climbing teams strongest females Victoria (who has a very long and crush-filled climbing future ahead of her). I think Laura picked out a nice back pack for herself, just don't let it go the way of my chalk bags, USE IT!

There were not a lot of people in my category, Men's open, but the spectrum was definitely in full swing, from me @ 29 years of age all the way down to Alex Fritz who I think is only 17 or so? I knew it was going to be an uphill battle as I watched Alex and his friend Sam propel themselves to first and second by making a mockery of some of the problems I could only dream to send in my wildest dreams of fantasies of hallucination induced dillusions of grandeur. Okay, so first and secondwere taken, but you know what?? Third is like second best to second place, which in a round about way is almost like being in first place if the second and first place winners stepped out for a bit and some hot girl who came late to the comp asked you what place you got and you could just lie and say first, right? So my eyes were set on the prize. I had already picked out this years next chalk bag vicitim and so I got to work. A nice flash of the softest problem there, led to what could only be described as an exponentially increasing fall from grace a.k.a a downward plummeting swan dive into what will always be known as a dimension I am far too familiar with labeled as 'obscurity'. It was between me, Nathan, and Miles. Surely my hardcore training regiment would pay-off in this fight to faux first? Even though I was climbing sort of strong, Nathan was climbing sort of stornger and wiped the floor with what was left of my pride and dignity. He deserved it seeing as how he sent some problems I could only do a few moves on and is proving to be in really good bouldering shape. Okay, so now the goal was to NOT come in last place. I sewed this victory up by distracting Miles as much as possible and telling him we had like 5 or 6 hours to complete 5 climbs when we really had 3 hrs. Strategy 'deception' a success! I came in 4th out of 5 competitors and thats like coming in first if it was a competition between me and Miles! YES! I am so good at climbing and so strong (In all reality Miles would have beaten me as well if he had only completed more than 2 climbs)!

In the end we all had a great time and wahsed our sorrows away/choked our victories down with a steaming hot pile/bowl full of chili. I climbed some really fantastic problems yesterday, drank some really good free beer, and got to totally trash the hell out of Boone and Steve's dining room table with a quarter. Oh man, do Saturday's get any better??!!

The weather is not looking so hot for next weekend's Leavenworth Halloween Rendezvous, but we'll see what mother nature has in store for us as the time draws near. What more can I say? We have one kick-ass climbing community here in our little state's capitol and I'm excited to be a part of it.

What do you think feet are supposed to look like?

re-post

Sometimes you hear people commenting that feet are a part of the human anatomy that are weird, odd or ugly.

Some people do have unsightly feet. This is because of age, illness, injury or just wearing daft high heels. However, most people do not have feet like this. Some people are of the opinion that male feet are ugly, but female feet look nice. While men do tend to have larger and sometimes hairier feet (and often don't look after their toenails), their feet are usually free from the bunions and ravages caused by wearing silly high heels that female feet often suffer.

When people say that feet are an ugly part of the body, just what do they think feet ought to look like? Would they rather have cloven hooves or a pig's trotters? Or how about wheels?

I find it especially strange when Christians make this comment. They are effectively scorning the Creator's handiwork.

Our Lord Jesus walked this earth on human feet and now His feet are as burning brass (Revelation 1:15). When the saints are resurrected to glory, they will perhaps have feet of the same quality.

I believe the angels of heaven are not purely spirits, but have bodies that are in some ways like ours. I am sure they have feet like ours.

Romans 10:15

"How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!"

If anyone thinks that feet cannot be beautiful, I suggest that they be locked up for a week in an art gallery filled with paintings by William Adolphe Bouguereau.

Stay at Home Papa: Take Your Shoes Off At The Door (Jeremy Dyen)

Stay at Home Papa: Take Your Shoes Off At The Door (Jeremy Dyen)

This week, my blog was privileged by the visit of singer-songwriter, Jeremy Dyen, who also sees the merits of a shoes-off policy.

You can listen to his music at his Myspace page.

Linoleum Floors

I quite like linoleum flooring. It has a reputation for being a bit tacky or old fashioned, but it is very functional and is much more comfortable than ceramic tiling or laminate floors.

I remember my ex-girlfriend would get very cold on the ceramic tiles of my parents' kitchen when in her stocking feet, but was fine in her stocking feet on her parents' linoleum floored kitchen.

If you have a linoleum floor you really should adopt a shoes-off rule, as it can easily get scuffed or marked by shoes.

Naked Therapy

Excuse the lateness and the somewhat ambiguous and obscure nature of this blog post. I usually stay on top of my ‘blogging’, especially when I get back from a trip that I really enjoyed. However, this last trip was almost too enjoyable! I think I got more of a physical work out sitting around the fire laughing than I did sending some of the problems I got on. But that’s just it right? “The best climber in the world is the one who’s having the most fun.” (One of the many memorable quotes from this past three day epic out to Leavenworth) I guess what made it so epic wasn’t exactly the ‘killer’ blocs we climbed, or the ‘sick hard’ projects we sent, but more about the absolute and ultimately shocking, bewildering, and totally euphorically blissful encounters that occurred on a nightly (and daily) basis while in the presence of so many amazing friends, new and old.
Now that I sit here and try to re-hash what exactly happened-the witty comebacks, the hilarious and yet strangely odd campfire encounters, the 48 hour drinking sessions, the golden delicious spotting sesh’s, the mind altering game of therapy, the brain swelling mornings, the Mt. Home warm-up, and finally the break throughs-I have come to realize that it will be impossible for me to actually re-tell some of the goings on of the past weekend. The unfathomable amount of inside jokes that were generated from this past trip will become a thing of legend only to filter on down through an undedicated following who will no doubt water down these rich and concentrated experiences to nothing more than hazy memories and awkward one-liners.
There is no point to this post. I have no pictures or video therefore I can only use words to describe my accomplishments which may mean nothing to you reading this. What’s another V.9 send to the universe of climbers anyway? A number couldn’t possibly come close to describing the experience I had topping out Pimpsqueak. I haven’t had that much fun climbing what used to be seen in my eyes as an impossible feat in an incredibly long time. Every movement was…fun. For lack of a better word, adjective, explicative! I rate this boulder problem right up there with WAS. I wouldn’t mind doing it again and again and again…etc. Just an absolutely great experience in my climbing. That coupled with the fact that as I arrived to Mad Meadows late in the morning on Sunday. Hazy, a little dizzy, somewhat cold and unmotivated. I threw my pads down into the warm up room (a.k.a. the Hueco Route), and I looked up at the exact moment that some dude was pulling onto the Sail. But wait, he made the first couple of moves and then made a huge span left. He was attempting the Ram. No wait, he was SENDING the Ram! Shit! I couldn’t believe it, and apparently neither could he as he yelled with enthusiasm, redemption, and bliss. “Three years of my fucking life…and FINALLY!” the triumphant boulderer exclaimed. And that pretty much is what it’s about right? Redemption? The process of progression? Surmounting the once insurmountable?! For me there is certainly nothing I enjoy more about climbing than that utterly delicious moment of crushing a problem or route that once felt un-crushable.

House Tours For Guests

The Daily Mail article I linked below mentioned something interesting:

"But making people take their shoes off is a new fad, surely? Our parents didn’t do it, but then our parents lived in one or maybe two houses all their lives and entertained guests in a couple of downstairs rooms. Nowadays guests seem to expect a tour of the whole house, especially if you have just moved in."

This is so true. I entertained guests on several occasions at my parents' home when I was living there and they often requested a guided tour of the place. It was a good thing I made sure they all had their shoes off.

These days guests are likely to see more of your home than just the dining room and lounge. I think this is nice. It is fun looking at different peoples' houses and there is something intimate about showing people round your personal space. Everyone being shoeless adds to the intimacy.