Hiatus... now past tense.

Exactly two years ago today was my last blog post. So much to cover, but such little time. It almost warrants a word cloud.

Speedway - Again

Another visit to Speedway in late July. Again, took no trad gear, as the time spent fiddling with the gear does not seem to be worth it given the grade. If you are comfortable with the 30' runout to the first bolt on the crux pitch, then you are laughing.

Another duo from Vernon set out ahead of us, but we passed them on the 4th pitch as they followed what was likely the old Becky Line. We waited for them at the top, and discussed options and possibilities of this 'easy' scramble to the top. We opted to rap down the route, and the Vernon duo set out to reach the summit.

We topped out in about 90 minutes, which had us at 2.5 hours return, and 6 hours return to the car. We noticed that the Vernon duo turned back from their attempt to get to the top, and we waited for a while for them to get to the base of the climb. But then, we noticed that they were rapping on only one rope. Not the end of the world, as you may be able to link up the bolts to make for mid-pitch rappels, but definitely a hairy way to travel. They were slowly picking their way down the line, but were not stuck, so we moved on.

Yak Peak Speedway

Up the SouthWest Side of Yak/Nak Peaks on the Coquihalla last Sunday. The climb is called Speedway, running 11 pitches up into what's supposed to be a scramble to the top (yeah,right).



The toughest pitch goes at 5.8, and after the warm welcome of the lower pitches, it catches you a bit off guard. The 2 bolts on the crux pitch seem a bit run out when you start to tighten up, but given that there are maybe 6 bolts on the whole climb, I guess it's on par with the whole route. Nice rests at the stations, which are mostly rap hangers.



Can't wait to get back on the granite there. I miss the slab climbing of Squamish, and will gladly drive the 2 hours to get some more of Yak.

First World Problems

Yes, we have a suspended Parliament, and a government that may fall on January 27th. Still, when put in perspective, these are definitely first world problems.

(Except for the notion that one measure proposed by the Conservative Gov't was to prevent women pursuing pay equity recourse to the Human Rights Coalition - doing so by making pay equity a parliamentary matter.)

To put our political "crisis" into context, let's take a look at recent news around the globe:

Acid attacks by men on women are a common thing. Exerpt: "Since 1994, Ms. Bukhari has documented 7,800 cases of women who were deliberately burned, scalded or subjected to acid attacks, just in the Islamabad area. In only 2 percent of those cases was anyone convicted. " That's just under 2 attacks per day, every day, since 1994, in just one city.

The CDN military may have been ordered to ignore cases of childhood sexual abuse. Exerpt: "Whispers of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Afghan soldiers against young boys have been commonly heard among Canadian troops, with many referring to such incidents as "man love Thursdays."" Chances are, if there's a saying for it, it happens.

Survey Results! We're Not Prorogued!

So, here are the results! 30 respondents in total. Thanks All!

1. Do you support the Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition?

Yes - 50%
No - 50%

I can't believe this was an exact tie.

2. If you voted no, what are your reasons for not supporting the coalition?

Stephane Dion / Jack Layton / Gilles Duceppe: 7 of 14 who answered the q.
Coalition has no mandate from CDN Voters: 11 of 14
The presence of the Bloc: 8 of 14
The presence of the Liberals: 1
The presence of the NDP: 3
The presence of any three of the parties: 3

Best Other for Q2 (2 comments): "Conservative have not had time to prepare a budget."

3. If you voted yes, what are your reasons for supporting the coalition?

Conservatives no longer have the mandate to govern: 5 of 13
Conservatives didn't cooperate in Parliament: 11 of 13
Coalitions work in other countries - why not ours?: 3 of 13
Anything must be better than this: 5 of 13
Stephen Harper: 8 of 13

Best Other for Q3 (out of 5): "Why not? This could be interesting!"

4. The Top 3 Additional Comments:

3: "It's a little embarrassing when the incoming US government is more liberal than the party in power in Canada."
2: "The Harper government is working on plans for economic stimulus give him time. WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE>>>>>>>>>The 3 stooges????"

... and what I believe is the best comment...

"Regardless what happens, the sun will rise, the sun will set and in ten years this whole situation will be an interesting historical event from which future politicians, political theorists, historians and all Canadians (and maybe even some other countries) can learn.........something!"

Coalition Survey - A Simple Yes / No

Located here.

*** New: The survey site doesn't allow me to share the results right away, but I will post results here on Friday. ***


You can leave comments in the comments section of the blog if you'd like!

Honourable Mention: Jeremy Paxman

I hear Jeremy can turn a good interview as well. But I will have to go with Charlie Rose. I first saw him interviewing p.t. anderson about Magnolia (and a little Boogie Nights), and it is still one of my favourite films.

See here for more details.

And a visual, not of Magnolia, but of Boogie Nights, which obviously has way more to offer in the visuals category....

Browsing History, Ocrober 16

Presently away from home for the first time since... August, and am browsing to fill the time before bed.

Genius Boyfriends are Really Idiots

Small Things Are Cool

McCain Supports ACORN, But Obama Will Win Anyways

The Bee-Gees are Good for Something

The Best Television Program Around

I can't believe this man is not CDN.