I need to explain a few things before I can get to the joke. If you're a climber, you can skip the intro: INTRO: The point of some modern, single pitch climbing is to get to the top of a route, putting the rope into protection points along the way but you only use the... Continue Reading →
Everyone Wanted a Farfisa
"'Cause I can see the future, and it's a place about seventy miles east of here, where it's lighter." (lyrics from Laurie Anderson's "Let x = x") I keep thinking that my body's changes are temporary, and that I'll be reset at some point and my articulations will go back to being supple again. Not... Continue Reading →
Spindrift
This is the name of snow coming down cliff, usually from wind, but in this case I'll use it for melted snow too. There might be a better name when it's melted. It's not quite an avalanche because the whole slope isn't moving but apparently it's okay to say spindrift avalanche. I got stuck in... Continue Reading →
Salve
Now I would have thought that the English word "salve" was tied directly back to Latin but it appears to have had a few stops along the way. etymonline.com gives the origin as "medicinal ointment or adhesive preparation for external use on wounds and sores," from the Old English sealf "healing ointment," from West Germanic *salbo- "oily substance". So... Continue Reading →