Wouldn't it be funny if ...

the Christian's right got what they want and our democracy fell to a christian theocracy? But instead of getting a Catholic, Protestant, Lutheran christianity they got a Mormon christianity? Or Worse?

No, that wouldn't be funny. Just like it isn't funny that we have a presidant that doesn't understand what it means to be moral. As he bombs and kills thousands upon thousands of civilians -- killing women and children and old men -- he denies people the hope of new cures for diseases.

Why?

Ignorance, Arrogance, Pride.

How to celebrate your Independence

Every year the Tumalo family gathers at Tumalo State Park in Bend, Oregon. This year was no exception. Sara and I joined this gathering last year with a desire to climb at Smith Rock which is 25 minutes away. It is really too hot to climb at Smith during this time of year, but if you are determined and stubborn you can get up super early and climb until the sun melts your shoes. Which is what we did -- up at five AM, climbing by six-thirty, then cleaning up our routes and walking back by eleven. Then we'd hang out at camp or by the river. It was great.

We had a couple of friends join us, both celebrating their independence. One was recently laid-off from her job, and the other had completed a divorce process. So we had fun celebrating with lots of climber talk, lots of teasing eachother, and our divorcee even made her own bouldering problem that we named "Just Divorced" - V0.

Signs from Above

This year for my birthday we decided to take a weekend class on gear placement and crack climbing techniques. It was really a great time. I will need a lot of practice before I can lead a trad climb, but at least I have a place to start.

Now I need to figure out what gear I want to buy...yeah...that's going to take some time since a Cam will cost anywhere from $45 to $100. Ouch, my pocketbook is already empty.

Back to the weekend -- Our first day was warm and nice, we sat and talked mostly. The best part was learning the anchors and practicing placing gear while on the ground, which covered the whole day. We did a mock climb where we were on top rope and got to faux lead the climb and place our gear. Then one of our instructors would tell us how unsafe the placement was -- they were very kind, but it let me know that I need much more practice. It was a lot of fun.

Day two was all climbing. The point wasn't to send the climb as much as practice the movements, and figure out other techniques. I really struggled with that until the end of the day, but I'm starting to figure it out. At one point of the day, I was walking over to belay for a climber that was going to clean the anchor. As we were walking, a huge boulder crashed right next to us. If I had been moving a little faster it could possibly have crushed my head.

The sign from above reads -- "Watch for falling rocks."

Dinner with Dad's

Sara and I took our fathers out to dinner last night. We would have done this on Father's Day, but that also happens to be my birthday and we will be doing a outing to learn some traditional climbing skills. I know -- selfish me.

Anyway, we had a very nice dinner and conversation. I learned something about myself during that dinner. My awkward connections to a conversation are not unique to me. My Dad does the same thing...Go figure. I think it is that we, my dad and I, try to relate our own experiences into a conversation. Now that doesn't seem out of the ordinary, but the way we do it makes other people pause and think -- "Where's he going with this comment?"

I noticed it when I was talking about a lead route I had set in the local climbing gym, and I was explaining that I wanted to force left handed clipping, and moving beyond the anchor before actually clipping the rope. Well, this lead to my dad bringing up handball. It took a moment before his comments came around to dexterity and the skills required to be a good player. Thus the connection -- dexterity of climbing and handball.

Yep, we are the products of our parents.

Me and my tinfoil hat

Sara and I participated in the Election Protection, that totally failed. We thought that if we watched we could prevent the election of 2004 from being stolen. We failed to do our job. Interestingly, we talked to so many people of what we saw, and what we knew to be true. Some said we were nut-cases, and tinfoil hat wearer's, and other such names.

I chose to live with the names. I know what I saw, and the evidence has always been there. Not to mention that as the Republican party self destructs more and more of the truth is starting to show.

Well, it has only taken a year and a half since our democracy was undermined and now we have a reporter taking the time to document, with references and all, the fraud that leads all the way to the Bush administration. For those brave enough to read the truth, there is much to sift through. Take your time. The truth is almost never easy to find.

High on Krack

We spent the weekend in Squamish, B.C. which was just perfect and wonderful. The weather was warm but rainy the first day. We found a nice crag that had a high overhanging cliffs that left the walls dry enough to get in a day of some spectacular routes.

At the end of the day, everyone left for bouldering at the Chief, and Mac and I did a two pitch climb. That was a high point for me and climbing. I did my first multipitch, and it included a short bit of crack climbing. I hadn't done that yet.

Day two was just as spectacular. We found a handful of slab climbs and put a young climber on his first lead. He did just fine, though he had to overcome a bit of nervousness. In the afternoon, Mac took Sara and I over to a 5.10a five star classic crack climb called "The Zip". He lead the climb and put up a top rope for Sara and me. Crack climbing is addictive, and super exhilarating. I can hardly wait to do it again.

Thank you for nothing

The other day I read about this article and I was just stunned.

Can you believe this so called "tax relief"? If you make between 10 to 100 thousand you will save $2-$400 dollars. If you make over a million you will save $41977. Now, I'm not a super math genius or anything, but shouldn't that number be $4,198? Why is it that if you make ten times as much money you get a hundred times the savings? And that is on the high end, on the low end you make 21 thousand times the savings instead of one thousand times the savings. Is that right? Maybe my math is wrong...I mentioned I'm not a math genius right?

I'm sure that is helping our economy...Greedy bastards.

What makes you tick?

Lately, I've felt very crowded. I am not enjoying working indoors. Don't get me wrong, I have a great job that is not too demanding, pays well, and leaves lots of time to do other things. However, I want to be outside. I want to go spend a few months traveling (if only I could afford the fuel.) I would spend some time revisiting places I saw last summer, only camping around more and hiking. I'd go visit many of the places I didn't get a chance to visit.

There is this article in the February-March issue of Gripped and it is about a husband and wife, with their dog and cat, living on the road: "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. Reflections on Four Years of Climbing and Living on the Road." It's got some gross stuff, but only because modern conveyances are not readily available. Anyway, this couple spent four years (as you might have guessed from the title) out camping, climbing, meeting new people, and enjoying most of the things we neglect. There is this picture where they are at a open market in Mexico shopping for fresh food, and all I can think is how wonderful it would be if I could "afford" this kind of life. I don't know that I'd really want it all, but at the same time I fondly remember being at the Grand Canyon and a huge thunder and lighting storm was going on outside the tent, and while Sara didn't sleep a wink, the last thing I remember hearing was ... "You've got to be kidding me, you are not already asleep." Certainly not at that specific moment, but just as certainly within a few seconds ;)

Fortunately, I'm dragging Sara around outside. I've become a bit pushy and not really giving her much say, yet she isn't fighting really either. I take that as a compliment -- She could just put her foot down and be difficult, but really she just has trusted me to be extra safe and doubled checked my work. I say this hoping that we'll get our first multipitch adventure in a couple weeks. Speaking of which, I have some research to do...

Finally! Climbing outdoors.

Well, Sara and I finally got outside to climb. We went to Vantage and had a wonderful time at the Feathers. The first part of our day was climbing on ropes placed by people we'd never met before -- Ilee, Lea, Salus, and Alexa and husband/boyfriend (sorry I forgot his name), and Jessica and Kari. I should have gotten emails or something...But I guess being random is just fine too.

Our crew totally bailed on us, so Sara wasn't too sure about going all three plus hours. Fortunately, we went the whole way because back at North Bend it was raining and snowing. I'm very excited about our trips coming up. Late May we are headed up to Squamish B.C. for some bouldering and hopefully I'll get to do a mulitpitch (Sara isn't sure about doing that yet). I'm really excited about that.

Our Adventures Continue

We have not had a nice weekend yet that allowed us to climb outside. It has been a bit of a bummer, but I'm sure things will change soon. Sara will be making some changes too. It is a bit scary but I'm certain we'll survive.

Hana recently hurt her back. She jumped off the couch to go play ball, and something happened that made her very sore. We've been keeping her calm (as far as Labrador's are calm) for the last two weeks, and now it is all about working up to her full play potential. She thinks it is time right now.

I keep meaning to setup a big party but that just hasn't happened. Life keeps getting in the way. I think I may just start inviting people to meet us at a park and we can do a potluck and bbq...hmmm, I'll look into that.

What is you soul worth?

I heard a report about how in the U.S. workers are actually putting in more time at work and producing less results. It got me thinking -- how much money would I give up to be able to play more than I work? I mean, I'm fairly productive until I get so tired that I am pretty much useless. I end up looking at the screen and struggling to do the work in my schedule. Yet, if I only work a 6 hour day, I often get more done.

It interests me that companies in this country which are all about the bottom line, are not interested in an increase in productivity. I wonder how much companies lose because of a lack of productive work?

I wonder how much people lose because they waste their lives being unproductive at work?

I really need a weekend without rain so I can get out to the crag with my lovely Sara.

We're going Climbing...

It is our first weekend outside this season. Hopefully the weather will hold long enough to make the trip worth while. We are heading east to Vantage for some fun at the Feathers. It is a bit of a trip but has been mostly dry these last few weeks.

In other news, sara now has her own domain Sara Lingafelter.com which currently forwards to her blog (which is also a link to the right,) but ultimately will go to hour home server (if she decides to set that up.)

I have started my sites as well. Both, yes I have two so far, are in the works but you can take a look at Left Over Comics.com and my business site Natural Fuels which I hope to in the next month or so have the money to setup our first pump. It has taken a lot longer than I had hoped but now that Sara is out of school and back to work hopefully things will pick up soon.

Just jump for it.

Sara and I did the 4th and final bouldering competition of the series they do out here. It was a blast. Sara placed 3rd in her group, and one of our local climbers, Victoria, placed 9th in the nation (though our local comp had nothing to do with her national standing.)

Sara, of course, performed methodically and made all her attempts seem simple and flawless. She really is fun to watch.

My favorite moment, was after I had achieved my goal, and was attempting climbs that were difficult either because of my skill or because my arms were all pumped out (that means they were hard as rocks and over used). I was on a climb that a number of us were having trouble (we were all tired at this point). I got on it, and made it to the last move before the final hold. Now, if I were not so tired, I would have taken my time and moved my feet to support me, but I heard the kids below me saying "jump for it" so I did.

I missed the hold and fell to the ground. I laughed and said "Oh, yeah, just jump for it." They youth that was cheering me to jump said, "Well, if you'd just jumped higher."

It was great fun, and now Sara and I are very excited to get up to Squamish B.C. for a weekend. I'll try to get a few pictures up.

Zed Foo Bonbon Zip Gow

I couldn't think of a title today, so zed foo bonbon zip gow. That means I am fully capable of speaking jibberish. Not much going on. I've been spending a bit more time in front of the computer lately as Sara has been super busy with work. We've also been preparing for our house guest, Sara did most of the work.

I've been getting my website up and running. So far it has mostly been configuring my server. But you can now get to my home server leftovercomics.com and hopefully it will improve as I learn how to web design. Something that I have never been good at is web design.

Well, I guess one thing has been going on. Sara and I have been setting routes out our local climbing gym. Apprently, I'm quite the natural route setter. I've been asked to set more and I'm looking forward to doing at least one route every couple weeks.

Okay, back to the jibberish...zing zowy whip whip dong fong.

Damn kidney stones.

I blame my father.

Fourteen or so months ago I had lithotripsy, and now I'm still having problems. Fortunately, they seem to be small and flow out pretty easily...so far.

Okay, sorry to gross you out.

Sara wrote this amazing article about Washington's new anti-discrimination law that protects individuals from "Unfair Practices Based on Sexual Orientation." It is kind of long, but Sara says it isn't a "book" and that she has proof. I'm not waiting for the proof.

In other news, Winnie's mom is coming to live with us while she finishes her thesis, or so I have heard. Winnie will be super excited. She has lost a bit of weight, so I'm certain her parents will think we've been starving her. Certainly, Winnie will agree. Yet, she'll run like crazy for the ball.

I trust him with my life.

So I have been going through a background investigation to get security clearance, and the investigators drop in on our friends. Recently, the investigator stopped by a friend of Sara's and mine, and asked if I treat Sara well, and am I trust worthy. Our friend responded to the later with "Well, I rock climb with him, so I trust him with my life."

That just made my day.

And in a slight tangent my google page has a daily quote, and this is today's: "The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." - Joseph Heller.

In light of our Veep shooting his "acquaintance" in the chest and face...And Katrina...And Iraq...

Stepping out of the Dial-up Age

Yeah! We finally are getting DSL in our area. It is really nice that I could download a new iTunes install, update my system software and surf all at the same time. Now Sara and I will be able to do some work from home and not have to stay late at the office all the time...More time with my sweetie...Good stuff.

Climbing like a girl

Sara and I competed in our second bouldering competition. I made the mistake of not playing the game, and just trying to get the highest amount of points. The problem with doing that is you climb more climbs and the more you climb the harder it gets. So I did have some fun pushing myself, but I ended up with a much lower score because I was too weak to complete all the climbs I needed.

Sara was spectacular as always. She wasn't even feeling her very best. She'd just spent the last week sick with a cold. Of course all the girls were kicking but on the problems. The best part for me was Sara telling me I climbed like a girl. It is really dificult to climb like a girl, and at the same time it is a complement to be told you can climb that gracefully.

Stupid is as stupid does.

So this young woman, Tiffany Cooper, asks the President this question:

"Recently 12.7 billion dollars was cut from education. I was just wondering how is that supposed to help our futures?"

The President, clearly confused (go watch the video clip), stumbles and responds "At the federal level?" And then proceeds to simply lie about the cuts. Now, the lie -- "Actually, I think what we did was reform the student loan program. We are not cutting money out of it. " -- is bad, but the question I have is this -- Does any state have a 12.7 billion dollar budget for education? Seriously, what state has that kind of money to cut from their education program? Most School programs are so strapped that 1.27 million would be a huge cut.

Forest Gump got it right.

100.5

It is the flu season. Last Wednesday I was at work and the day wasn't starting well. Fortunately it was one of those days we had a guest in the office. Basically, the day was going nowhere. I especially wasn't going anywhere. I apprently looked like I needed a nap. I left the office early and got home just fine. Ran the girls, and then lay myself out on the couch and took a nap.

Things seemed pretty good, until I had to drive to get Sara. I left the house and about half way there, my arms, chest, and face had gone numb. I should have stopped and called a friend of mine to go pick up Sara and drop her off at where I was parked on the side of the road. Instead, in my less than full capacity state, I drove on to meet Sara at the park and ride. I got there, and stumbled out of the car making my way over to the passanger seat. Sara was ready to take me to the ER. Yikes that was dumb. Turns out by the time we got home, I had a 100.5 degree tempurature.

I promptly crawled into bed, and slept for 14 hours. I spent the next two days laying around the house, and reading comic books. The sucky part of the flu is that you really have no energy even after you start feeling better. By Saturday all I wanted to do was sit and read comics or watch the boobtube.

Get your flu shots...