Welcome to Olympia

Puppy jail

I finally have my camera in Olympia with me, so I’ll be doing my best to post pictures of life in this eclectic community. This is Scooby, my landlord/roommate’s six pound Peek-a-Poo. (Those who know our cats will realize this is about half the size of Bentley.) He’s pretty well behaved except for the minor indiscretion here and there. Tonight, however, he decided to taste my toes - not a good idea. Now he’s in puppy jail (aka the laundry basket).

Mugshot. Even when he’s in trouble he’s cute.

Update: The little turd bit me again on Monday. I’m losing patience.

South Ingalls

Basin below Ingalls

We heard folks were canceling climbs because of avalanche danger last weekend. Taking due note, Steve, Mark S, Mike L, Doug and I decided on a scramble of South Ingalls. I’d been on top of Fortune (just south of S. Ingalls) and N. Ingalls (just north of Ingalls), so this was a great opportunity to knock off the last peak on the ridge.

We found the basin below Ingalls full of snow, making for a speedy step-kicking ascent to the top. We settled in with our snacks to watch Clusterous and Fuckteemious screw up the rock climb on the south face of Ingalls. We weren’t sure why the bolts looked so unattractive to this group. I don’t think they could have made it any harder on themselves or more entertaining for us to watch.

Mike with a view of the south face of Ingalls in the background

Mt Stewart looked good

the requisite summit shot

Stephanie P v. Pox County

Now that submissions for the Law Review write-on competition are in, I feel safe in posting what I spent a tortured three days writing. For the record, I do not actually believe juvenile offenders should be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Unfortunately, case law seemed so clear that the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution doesn’t prohibit it. So this is what it’s like to be a judge…

Click here to read my opinion in the matter of Stephanie P. v. Pox County. And please don’t email me to tell me there are a bunch of typos or citation errors. That’s what 5 a.m. editing will do to a paper. 

Sisters do the Brothers

Looking at the summit of the Brothers from the south couloir

The prevailing opinion among The Mountaineers is that all-women’s climbs don’t work well. Non-specific comments abound about the dynamic among the climbers being bad, women not being able to carry all the gear, etc. Having organized an unofficial one before with partial success, I was game when Rena called one day out of the blue asking me to put another one together.

Rena is a basic student this year and noticed the glaring disparity among the sexes in our chosen sport. She wanted to meet other women – both experienced and new – and develop a camaraderie that would hopefully foster more women climbers.

Continued...

We’re so lucky!

Grandpa Brown helps Ronan show off his new T

There are a select number of people in the world who make awesome parents. They raise beautiful, likable, intelligent, well-behaved (albeit rambunctious) children in loving homes. Nick’s brother and his wife are two of these people, which is why I can say we’re so lucky that they are pregnant with their second child!

Careful examination of the Brown family tree suggests they will have another boy. (The only women in the family married in as far back as we can remember.) Only time will tell, however.