Your guide to the perilous waters of the internet

2-21-08 3:55AM

Woke up in the middle of the night worried about a situation at work. A student handed in an assignment that indicated he either had a very sick and disturbed sense of humor, or he might be dangerous. It was so frightening that I emailed it to my dean.

Not content to simply send it off into the ether, I called her, even though it was past quitting time. She was already reading it and commented: "If you hadn't told me about this, I would have wondered about you...what do you think about this student, do you know him?"

Frankly I don't know this student. He is a quiet, well behaved student who rarely asks for help. Why he would flagrantly violate our policy of pg rated assignments is a mystery. With all the senseless violence on college campuses in the news he knows better than to hand in something so disturbing.

The counselors came looking for him at lunch today but he had gone home already. When I showed the printout to S.M., his only comment was: "Well, I hope you gave him a good grade!" The underlying meaning being: don't piss this guy off.

I had of course given him a 97 but told him that it needed to be toned down. It was very nicely illustrated, indicating excellent pen control. When I showed it to J.M., she said it was unacceptable. So then I had to go online and change his grade to a zero, but told him he could re-submit it if he toned down the violent and bloody graphics, changing it from a piece offering his services as a hired revenge killer to a piece offering his services as a bodyguard or something.

Anyway, now I've not only turned him in, but now I've given him an F. This will probably all turn out to be nothing. He seems like such a nice young man, though quiet. Hopefully it's just an extreme manifestation of the sick skateboarder humor where blood, guts and violence are common themes.

Had a great time at Smith last weekend with Jessica, Amy, Paul, Joe, Michael, Richard, Kimi and Brianna. The hardest crack I did was New Testament. The bottom was lovely, but the top 25 percent turned into an aid climb. As usual I was afraid to fall on gear .

I did a fantastic job on "Phone call from Satan". That route has scared me badly in the past, but I cruised up it without even slowing down. The move past the third bolt has always seemed bare of holds in the past but this time I moved up onto the holds and was amazed to see great footholds everywhere. How could I have ever thought it was hard? This is such a weird sport.

Jessica was a ton of fun as usual. That girl (woman) has such an adventurous spirit and so much energy, she's like the energizer bunny. Couple that with a very quick wit, an awesome sense of humor and a beautiful body...well, lets just say that her new boyfriend is a very lucky guy.

I belayed her on her first lead ever, as well as her first 5.9 lead. She led Phone Call right before me and did great. I have 200 pictures but haven't had time to put any online. Her friend (and roommate) Amy is a very sweet girl as well. It looks like she and my friend Paul may have struck up a friendship.

About 5 of us have commited to a Yosemite/Smith vacation during spring break. I am so looking forward to that. Climbing beautiful rock in the sunshine with great friends...it doesn't get any better. Well, actually it would be better if Sue and the kids could go as well, but they all have to work as our vacations don't line up, but good friends come in a close second.

In just a few years the kids will both be nurses with normal schedules and vacation time so maybe I can start climbing with them again. Clint will be a nurse this August. His checking account is at zero. He has no money to buy food or pay his rent. He has to work every day he has off from school and is living a hand to mouth existence.

We offered to let him move back in, but he is holding out so far, preferring the freedom of his own place.

I really need to go to sleep. It's 4:30 AM now and I have to work until 6 PM today.

2-10-08

It's another rainy Sunday. The snow is coming down in buckets up in the mountains yet here I sit at the damn laptop catching up on my homework. Paradise was supposed to get another foot today so we slept in, assuming the gate wouldn't open. All three passes have been closed a lot this year due to the record snowfalls.

I've been climbing regular at the gym, all leading so my fingers are fairly strong. Looking forward to smith at Presidents day where I hope to hook up with some friends from our Joshua Tree trip.

I've been playing the guitar every other day and took my first lesson last Wednesday. I'm doubtful if they will help but plan to stick with them for a month or so to give them a chance.

I've been working my way back through my collection of sheet music. Some of these are songs I've been singing since I was 17, though I do have a few from the last few years. My collection covers all the songs I've ever heard and wished that I could play, over my entire life, including Christmas music.

I guess that makes me sound like a music nut, well, so be it. Because I've been playing so much, my fingering is becoming less of a problem. As the chords become automatic, I can focus more on the sound and emotion in the song. It's a really cool thing to put it all together and simply enjoy playing and singing the song. When it gets really easy, I have extra energy left over to play with variations on the chords, and tinker with alternate strumming and picking techniques.

I've been working on a song I've never played before called "Please come to Boston". It's a lovely ballad by...loggins and messina? Anyway, it's a sad song about a guy who moves to another state and asks his girlfriend to follow him. She refuses and tells him to come back home to her. I was playing it well enough that my eyes misted up with emotion and I couldn't see the music. Love that feeling, music is such a powerful thing.

While it does sound good to me, I have a long way to go before I'm ready to do any kind of open mike. Sue leaves the room when I play, says I'm boring. I need to find some other musicians locally and get a second opinion.

2-2-08

Let's see if I can throw some words together. It's a Saturday and I rode my bicycle today for the first time in a couple weeks. It's either been pouring down rain, or I've been too weak with a bad cough to ride, or both.

I have been climbing at the gym every few days and finally managed to bring my strength back up to what it was before I left for Joshua Tree a couple months ago. Josh was crack or friction, neither of which applies to the finger strength required in the gym.

Once I returned from Josh I was immediately slain by the flu so it's been long climb back uphill. Yesterday I felt like I was back to full military power. I walked in fully expecting no one to be there as I knew that Austin and Nick don't climb Friday night. I was surprised to see Marty and Mindy, and they kindly invited me to join them at some top roping.

After a few more top rope climbs we grabbed a lead rope and started leading some easy eight and nines. Mindy hadn't led (at the gym) since she took the lead test, but she was totally cool on lead as she climbs big mountains and is the climbing chair of the Tacoma Mountaineers.

I've seen her there a lot top roping and she admitted yesterday that the reason she top ropes is because her husband is scared of the lead test. He can follow 5.11's no problem, and is a very competent mountaineer on snow and ice. She said he just doesn't want to have to take a "test". She thought it weird that he felt that way since he works as a professor in a large university and gives tests all the time. But, as she commented, "I'm just trying to stay married so I don't push him to lead at the gym, even though I'd rather lead."

Neither Mindy or Marty was in any hurry to leave so we spent a couple hours leading all the easy nines and ten minuses. Because I was cruising everything, I decided to give a 5.10c a try. Its name is "A puffy man can" and it goes up the left side of the lead cave up the steepest arete.

It's a series of reachy lunges with minimal feet. The last clip before turning the lip of the roof requires you to grab a three finger rounded pocket where your only good foothold is a left heel hook. You have to hang on with your right foot hanging in space over the overhang, your left foot on a heel hook and your right hand in the little rounded pocket while you do the left handed cross clip, very strenuous.

After the clip, you have to move your left hand up to a tiny foot hold block, then get the right hand next to it, crossed over. You rock up onto the heel hook and reach way left for an undercling that allows you to finally pull over the damn roof and get your feet and hands back on decent holds. Then you have to climb up the steep wall to the anchor, all the while suffering serious power drain problems.

I've tried it a couple times in the past but had never made it. Yesterday though, I managed to pull it off cleanly, without any hangs. I made lots of noise and Marty told me later he was certain I was coming off. While I was grunting and complaining my way through it, I kept telling myself: "the bolt is right there, I can't get hurt, lets just go up one more move and fall off there". Then I'd make that move, feel that I had a little power left and reach for the next move, certain all the while I was going to peel any second. It was so much fun to make the top and lower off, wow, what a fun sport!

 

click here to go to the previous month.