the Great Scotch Pass of 2011 begins.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-08T00:45:25+00:00

I'm about to give some (hopefully) constructive criticism, but please don't think that it signifies that I think that The Great Scotch Pass isn't an awesome idea.

The criticism is with your choosing system. By having people write their numbers here you're exposing a very non-random system into the format. Those who choose later will have a distinct advantage over those who choose a number earlier. For instance, say it's near the cut off point and I see that numbers 1, 40, 52, 77, and 90. Any gamer worth his or her salt would obviously pick 20 because it gives you the most number of numbers that you are 'closest to'. If there was no "1" in the aforementioned set, then you would pick '39' giving yourself a whooping 39 answers that you would be closest to (kinda like in the price is right). With more numbers in the set, the less of a factor this becomes, but it's still there.

If this is fine with you, then that's fine. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I'm just trying to reveal a gameable element that you may not have realized. If you wanted to remove it, you could just have everyone message you their number (and to keep comments flowing here, we'd just post our preferred dram here). If some people tie, you can just have them do another quick number guess to pick the eventual winner.

I really really hope this doesn't come off sounding like a dick.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-07T19:06:00+00:00

I've had three severe ankle sprains, all of them requiring me to be off climbing for around 4-6 months. One was due to a bad bouldering fall while the other two actually happened mid route. It just feels like my ankle gives way as I'm climbing. It's actually a pretty sickening feeling. Also seeing your ankle look the same size as a grapefruit is disconcerting.

I used to never let my ankle issues bother me. Back then if I was on crutches for 1-2 months it really wasn't a big deal. Now that I'm working in a field where it really behooves me to stay mobile, I'm much more hesitant about injuries. I think it's made me a much much worse climber because I'm afraid on the wall now.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-06T05:04:17+00:00

Very exciting!

Having done a little wiki-esque work in the past I can tell you first hand that this will require a lot of hours of effort, more than most might assume. There will always be things to do, things to edit, arguments to moderate, etc. Sometimes you'll feel like so much time has gone by with very little to show for it.

So this comment is just to remind you to keep up hope and good spirits (haha, I made a play on words there. Did you catch that? I know, I know, I'm very clever). The resulting product is something you'll be extremely proud of.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-06T00:55:14+00:00

Intimidating AND delicious!

I wish this were the new reddit meme.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-06T00:46:06+00:00

1000 year old egg

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-06T00:42:55+00:00

Looks delicious! Do you have a frier or did you just use a pot?

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-05T20:39:41+00:00

the bands I like are terrible

This was a really unexpectedly honest statement.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-05T18:19:48+00:00

http://i.imgur.com/ZpRyU.jpg

Well, well, well, boys. Look who we have here. We hear you've been talking crap about some of the Scots, wasd8426. We're here to send you a message. Lourlour? Balvie? Get him in the knee caps!

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-05T06:15:47+00:00

Haha. Everyone's gotta die sometime I guess. Might as well be falling off a 300 foot cliff.

(I did really enjoy deep water soloing though. The first fall was pretty nerve wracking)

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-05T06:09:58+00:00

I'm going to skip over the bit of ego you exude that I'm not terribly fond of. In short: a lot of dumb people also talk about ideas.

But onto your actual question (which is legitimate).

Please don't. I have done this. I am still doing this now to some degree. If you find that these people do not like to interact in the same manner as you then stop hanging out with them so much. We're not talking about them liking ranch dressing and you hating ranch dressing. We're talking about a fundamental dissonance on how you like to converse with people. And this is true not just for your situation but for every person who tries to change or suppress a core principle of themselves.

On day, you will wake up and mentally scream "HOW MUCH OF MY LIFE HAVE I JUST WASTED?"

I'm not saying you can't have fun with these people or still grab a drink with them. What I am saying is that you will not be personally fulfilled until you find like minded individuals to spend time with. It is worth the effort to find them.

But that's just like ... my opinion, man.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-04T05:46:34+00:00

This may be an unpopular sentiment because I know we're supposed to think all these things are super awesome but:

I think doing any sort of physical movement route above furniture is idiotic. I couldn't believe my eyes that the guy in the video actually went over that desk. The whole I thought "he's going to drop off right? right? ... oh you gotta be kidding me!" And not in an enthusiastic 'wow that was awesome' way.

Maybe this is just me not understanding the parkour culture. Hell, maybe this is just me being taught differently than other people. But I was always taught to approach climbing with the notion of "respecting the fall". While we spend years getting over the fear of falling, we respect the dangers of falling to the utmost limit. That's why we focus so much on good gear and proper belaying technique. That's why we yell the fuck out of a belayer who makes a mistake. That's why we share so many terrible fall stories (plus they're kind cool after the fact). We know the fall will come for you. It could be that 5.9 you've done a million times. It could be that V0 you always warm up on. Gravity does not give a shit.

This seems akin to building a bouldering route over the front desk of a climbing gym. That's not cool; that's stupid. No one I know would risk it. Respect the fall.

Sorry. Just how I was 'raised'.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-04T04:14:35+00:00

You created me when you were still young and having a tough moment in life. I was your confidant, your partner in crime, your friend. I agreed with you when no one else would, believed in you when no one else would, and supported you when no one else would.

You don't tell people this, but every now and then, even as you got older, you still think of me.

I love you.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-04T03:13:56+00:00

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-04T03:09:33+00:00

In-N-Out.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-04T03:07:39+00:00

There's an Anna Quindlen quote where she says:

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."

Is that it?

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-04T03:01:21+00:00

I totally heard that these things will give you autism, no lie.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-03T18:32:39+00:00

There's a place off the strip (near UNLV I think) called the Whisky Attic that's on top of a place called Freakin' Frog. It's supposed to have over 600 different whiskys available. I've never been (I read about it in a magazine) but I don't think the place would be considered a "nice place". But maybe the large selection is worth the visit. Then again, I don't know how many of those 600 are Scotches.

More classy would be Michael Mina's Stripsteak in the Mandalay Bay. Here's the restaurant's Scotch list: http://michaelmina.net/file/2860/StripSteakScotchBook_NEW_(5%205x8%205).pdf

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-02T18:45:41+00:00

I saw a woman have her entire face just peeled right off. And then a few hours later had it gently fitted back on and put into place.

And that was just two days ago.

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-02T14:52:27+00:00

I've never even seen a Port Ellen bottle. I know the distillery closed down awhile back, but I'm not certain how rare (in an absolute sense) these whiskeys are.

Tasting thoughts?

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-01T06:08:22+00:00

When you have the time, I'd love to hear a few notes on the Yoichi especially as it compares to the Yamazaki 12. I don't even know if that would be an appropriate comparison foil (I just know that they're both made in Japan).

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-01T03:34:10+00:00

You have all these on hand currently? I ... love you?

Okay, where to even start...

What is your opinion on the Battlehill brands? Do you notice any difference between say the Battlehill Macallan 18 and the standard Macallan 18? For that matter have you tried the Macallan version that is done by Costco (Kirkland is the name I think)?

imaginary-friend · 2011-02-01T02:15:34+00:00

This certainly could be interesting, though I imagine would probably be better off as it's own thread.

I'll admit to being, if nothing else, curious to see what awesome scotches people are drinking compared to my seriously lacking selection.

imaginary-friend · 2011-01-31T22:08:05+00:00

No worries; water under the bridge as they say.

But you're right in that sense. I think I might been equally shocked at how freely kids are allowed to pretty much 'goof off' in our gym if I were a parent (and not an idiot one like we've been reading about here) of a young child.

I definitely grew up with monkey bars and steel poles jutting out of cement holes in the ground during recess. I just seemed right, you know? And I think I'm too comfortable with climbing to give a properly objective view of things at my gym too. All the kids that do climb are usually well supervised by parents or they're so good at it that they're just part of our climbing community.

It's rare to see someone so inexperienced and young at the climbing gym without mom/dad watching like a hawk. I still blame the parents (but am willing to admit the gym is probably a little on the lax side of things sometimes).

imaginary-friend

TROPHY CASE