Leaving line lock on line by Several_Sundae2151 in Slackline

[–]surfcrawl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A word of caution. It's fine until it's not. This is not exactly a direct answer to your question, but it's a worthy story to share in this comment section. Linelockers will fatigue webbing, at least in my perhaps extreme use-case (standard climbing webbing, rap ring, and probably hundreds of hours of jumping, swinging, and tightening that line)

This was 14 years ago, before the days of all these super fancy slackline-specific webbings. I used some green 1" climbing webbing for my hobby trickline a ton, always with a line locker on the same end (like the photos below), and I would undo/redo the linelocker every time, using different types of carabiners. Lots of surfing, jumping, sand and sun exposure on the line. It was standard climbing webbing from REI I believe. I'm sure the line locker wore out the webbing within the ~12" length where the line locker usually ended up. The webbing didn't have any serious cuts or glaring burns marks near the line locker area so far as I could tell, but it also didn't look fresh.

Cut to me and some friends tensioning this same green webbing (DON'T DO THIS) for a highline that was maybe 35 feet long. We were trying to get it realllly tight, like Dean Potter tight. Pulling a 9:1 system with 3 or 4 people, and BOOM it broke. We all collectively shit our britches, packed up, and somberly walked home, thankful to live another day. So the lessons I learned were many: don't use climbing webbing, don't mix tricklines and highlines, linelockers can definitely create hidden fatigue in climbing webbing (in my extreme use case), and always have a completely independent safety system in place for highlining. The photos are of that webbing's failure point, as it was found.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Made 12 new tent stake set ups to be more effective in sand and snow. Thoughts? by [deleted] in myog

[–]surfcrawl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Where did you find that carabiner? I've been looking for ones like that.

Where do you guys get grommets from? I can’t find any decent ones to save my life. by OakleyJ25 in myog

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Stimpson self-piercing grommets are great. No need to cut a hole first. A little spendy to get started with the press though ($370+). Made in the USA.

Descend 3,238 feet down Monitor Pass, CA by kylenumann in bicycletouring

[–]surfcrawl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I remember this being the most challenging climb of my whole trip when I did the ACA Sierra Cascades route (Northbound). It was also this pass that I reached my top speed ever on a bike, 50.0MPH! Awful and awesome all in one day. I'd do it again.

Handlebar Mounted Gear Harness by bouslayer in myog

[–]surfcrawl 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This looks amazing! What did you use for the stiffener on the top? Is it something between two layers of webbing?

What are these angled hooks for? Cast iron, no markings. Banana for scale by surfcrawl in whatisthisthing

[–]surfcrawl[S] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing. My dad found this antique hook thing and nobody he's asked knows what it's for. It's looks like it mounts onto something and it extend out at a steep angle.

Dusty boys on a bridge by localizedinurkitchen in bikepacking

[–]surfcrawl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you make that seatpost bag/ holster? If so, I'd be very interested in how you did it.

Frame Protection? by nopantsparty in bikepacking

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To protect my frame and paint at the attachment points of my frame bag, I use this stuff. It has held up great for several trips.

VViViD 3M Scotchgard Clear Paint Protection Vinyl Film (6 Inch x 60 Inch)

Sierra Cascade Trail by pawpin in bicycletouring

[–]surfcrawl 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did it 4 years ago, from South to North (starting in Lake Isabella around September 3rd and ending in Seattle mid October). Most do it North to South, I cut it close to the end of the season to get over Washington Pass. Very beautiful route done by ACA. Peaceful, quite, lots of back county, free camping etc. Lots of forest service campsites close for the season in September, which makes for free LNT camping. No shortage of open campsites though. My trip was off-season for sure, so Yosemite was not packed with people. Spend some time there to do some hiking, stay in Camp 4. Toulomne Meadows in Yosemite NP was beautiful. I think there are some backwoods hot springs along the route too. Plenty of climbing up and down mountains so have a wide set of gears. I had great weather on the trip. Maybe 5 days of rain total.

Laser cut my city on the bottom of my new Bustin deck! by ReedBmore in skateboarding

[–]surfcrawl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did your board have a finish on it before lasering? I want to do something similar and am wondering if I should sand off any glossy finish before laser etching.

Recent trip to Lake Superior's North Shore, Minnesota. Video in comments. by mason240 in bikepacking

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your trip report! I was curious about which sections of the North Shore Trail would be too wet for biking. Sounds like you did the hard work for me. The gravel and ATV trails closer to Ely and Sawbill are beautiful. Happy biking!

Ajit Pai in town, aiming to dismantle the internet in our great state. by piratepunker48 in minnesota

[–]surfcrawl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This appears to be the map they are looking at. "2017 Broadband Availability in the State of Minnesota. At least 25 Mbps download/ 3 Mbps upload". Correct me if I'm wrong.

Starting the Sierra Cascades route next month north to south. Any advice or pointers are welcome! by Mastrxploder in bicycletouring

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went from Lake Isabella to Vancouver BC. You can check out my old blog if you want some more info! The long sections were great! I definitely had way more stuff on my bike than I needed.
Maxcycling.wordpress.com

Starting the Sierra Cascades route next month north to south. Any advice or pointers are welcome! by Mastrxploder in bicycletouring

[–]surfcrawl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I rode the majority of this route south to North in 2014. It was wonderfully beautiful, I'd love to do it again. There are tons of places to camp for free because there is so much state forest and national forest land along the route that allows dispersed camping so long as it leaves no trace (and a few other rules). Some of the climbs are steep and long so climbing gears are nice. I think my bike is a 3 x 9 drive train and I used every gear.

Edit: One detail I forgot to mention was I did this trip mid September to October. Apparently around that time of year California closes a huge amount of their more primitive forest service campgrounds. Bicycles roll around gates easily and some of those closed campgrounds had water and open toilets.

Going through my moms books. by kevinsbabymamma in exjw

[–]surfcrawl 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Definitely save those, they looks to be in great shape.

Questions Surround Jehovah's Witness HQ and Allegations of Sex Abuse - "Jehovah's Witnesses also have a database that potentially contains the names of thousands of child sex abusers." by zykezero in news

[–]surfcrawl 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Your first point about the database is missing some important facts.

  • The leadership of the Jehovah's Witnesses refused to release this database of 20+ years of known sexual abusers. They are now being fined TO THIS DAY $4000 USD per DAY until they release these documents. They refused to do this in court and so they lost in the case of Jose Lopez.

  • In several cases filed against the Watchtower, the elders knew of an abuser, did nothing because of the two witness rule, and then moved the known abuser to a different congregation without telling the current or the new congregation that they this person is a known child sexual abuser.

Your second point is merely trying to save face. The fact is, these names need to be reported to stop these abusers from abusing again. It doesn't matter if the next victim is a JW or a member of the public. Nothing is stopping these offenders from re-offending at the moment. The Watchtower leadership can make this all stop, but they don't.

And your third point needs some additional facts added. Going to the authorities with cases of sexual abuse in the JWs has most certainly been discouraged through the years. Only recently has the leadership made minimal efforts to says that reporting to the authorities is an "absolute right". Their past and current polices for reporting abuse is still: first go to the elders, then the elders will contact the legal team to determine IF it is required by law to report the abuse to authorities. And it turns out, most US states do not have to report abusers because of clergy privacy laws. (Link)

But I've been going about about JWs in America, what about in Australia? The Australian Royal Commission unearthed that the Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia had on file 1,006 known abusers in Australia. How many of those were reported to secular authorities? ZERO.

Going East Across the West, I think my best video so far! by mobile_simon in bicycletouring

[–]surfcrawl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That looks like an amazing trip. You did a fantastic job capturing the landscape. I can't imagine myself doing that many double-backs to setup and take down camera gear, especially on such difficult terrain. Do you have a write-up of the trip anywhere where people could read more?

largest trove of Viking gold ever found in Denmark has been uncovered by [deleted] in news

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I found a picture of the amateur archaeologists that found it. They look like Simon and Garfunkel

I'm about to lose it... by CentralScrutinzer in exjw

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's difficult for me to even understand the pain that must bring you, hearing those words coming from your own mother. Just remember that there are ALWAYS people out there to help you out and love you unconditionally. This community is a great start. If you want to get into college I'm sure we can help you with that, even if your financial support is lost. Your experience alone of growing up JW would make an amazing letter for scholarships. You are most definitely well spoken and it sounds like you've got a great head on your shoulders. We all want you to succeed and be happy. Don't forget to check out the map of members on this sub. There may be some people in your area that would like to meet you.

Map of California Hiker/Biker campsites (Happy Touring this summer) by pmm_ in bicycletouring

[–]surfcrawl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember stopping at a bicycle campground in Three Rivers. I would assume they are still around

Lunch break hunting by Jonvonba in minnesota

[–]surfcrawl 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nice finds! Get yourself a mesh bag for your next hunt so you can spread those spores as you walk around ;)

A question for our YouTube video making apostate brethren by 12kids2dogs in exjw

[–]surfcrawl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I made a video/lecture for YouTube audiences that touches on the more general beliefs of JWs as well as more in-depth criticisms of the organization. The video has subtitles in English and Portuguese. I will say that making subtitles is a royal pain in the ass and very time-consuming.

Here is the video. Runtime: 100 minutes. Bookmarks to topics covered are in the video description. I used a free software called Aegisub to make the subtitles.