I recently hiked along this road and I think Rick did an excellent job of minimizing impact in its construction. The area is stunningly beautiful and now safer in the event of injury, as well as accessible for folks with handicaps. Great job, Rick - thank you!
Now I have to find time to read the other 8 pages of this thread and I'm scared.
Crazyfingers
the difference here is that, left alone, those places would regenerate and would eventually look essentially the same as the rest of the landscape. and this would happen relatively quickly, perhaps a couple decades. look at abandoned residential lots in the area (granted, parking lots take longer but still eventually succomb). with rainforests, however, the soil is extremely poor and is supported only by the continued pressence of the rainforest ecosystem, mainly the flora. when it's destroyed, the soil soon follows and it's no longer even possible for the native vegetation to regenerate in the soil. and that's not mentioning the growing problem of exotic grasses that outcompete the endemic (native) flora. you simply don't have those conditions here and the impact of "slash and burn" here would be very temporary and less destructive compared to a rainforest habitat (relative to permenance and impact on number, diversity, rareness of species).Christian wrote:Oh, I don't know Paul3eb. What about golf courses and parking lots?
and great loves will one day have to part -smashing pumpkins
Really? People who play golf enough to get a handicap need a special road to get to the bottom of Muir? Hmmm... Yeah, I guess that golfers do need those sorts of 'special accomodations'!Sandy wrote:<snip>as well as accessible for folks with handicaps.
(Is it fair to call Golf (a sport, not a person) 'retarded'? Or should we put it's 'thingness' first and call it a 'sport with developmental disabilities'?
)But seriously, I think that what's left of the tree should go.
Bacon is meat candy.
i'd just like to point out that sandy put the person first.quote="Sandy"]<snip>as well as accessible for folks with handicaps.
as far as golf itself, tomdarch, your point is interesting. spragwa continually calls certain routes "gay" and i'm okay with that. i mean, if you want to assign sexuality to a rock, go right ahead. as for golf, if you want to call it an intellectually challenged game, fine. i take offense at the use of the word "retarded" because of the pejorative sense with which it is often used. sure, taken to this extreme, using what we might call politically correct language can be an absurdity. who cares if we call golf silly, dumb, mindless, etc. yet i maintain that there is reason for changing some of our language. language is very powerful.
what, ultra, did you say something?
Black Eyed Peas wrote: Let's Get Retarded, in here...
And the base keep runnin' runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and
runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and runnin', and...
In this context, there's no disrespect, so, when I bust my rhyme, you break your necks.
We got five minutes for us to disconnect, from all intellect collect the rhythm effect. Obstacles are inefficient, follow
your intuition, free your inner soul and break away from tradition.
Coz when we beat out, girl it's pullin without. You wouldn't believe how we wow shit out.
Burn it till it's burned out. Turn it till it's turned out. Act up from north, west, east, south.
[Chorus:]
Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.
Get stupid.
Get retarded, get retarded, get retarded.
Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here.
Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here.
Yeah.
Lose control, of body and soul.
Don't move too fast, people, just take it slow.
Don't get ahead, just jump into it.
Ya'll here a body, two peices to it.
Get stutted, get stupid.
You'll want me body people will walk you through it.
Step by step, like you're into new kid.
Inch by inch with the new solution.
Trench men hits, with no delusion.
The feeling's irresistible and that's how we movin'.
[Chorus:]
Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.
Get stupid.
Get retarded, get retarded, get retarded.
Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here.
Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here.
Yeah.
Runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin runnin' and... Come on ya'll let's get...Oohhoo!
Aha, let's get oohhoo... in here (right now yeah.) Cookoo, aha, let's get, cookoo, in here... Cookoo, aha, let's get,
cookoo, in here...ow, ow, ow...
ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya...
Let's get ill, that's the deal.
At the gate, we'll bring the bud top drill. (Just)
Lose your mind this is the time,
Ya'll test this drill, Just and bang your spine. (Just)
Bob your head like epilepsy, up inside your club or in your bentley.
Get messy, loud and sick.
Ya'll mount past slow mo in another head trip. (So)
Come then now do not correct it, let's get pregnant let's get hectic.
[Chorus:]
Everybody, everybody, let's get into it.
Get stupid. (Come on)
Get retarded (come one) , get retarded (yeah), get retarded.
Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. (R-E-T-A-R-D-E-D)
Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded in here. Let's get retarded (ha), let's get retarded (woah, woah, woah) in here.
Yeah.
Oohhoo! Aha, oohhoo... in here... Cookoo, aha, cookoo, in here (R-E-T-A-R-D-E-D)... Cookoo, aha, let's get, cookoo, in here...ow, ow, ow...
ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya...
Runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin' (fade)
"There is no secret ingredient"
Po, the kung fu panda
Po, the kung fu panda
The best rant about words ever...
George Carlin wrote: There's a different group to get pissed off at you in this country for everything your not supposed to say. Can't say Nigger, Boogie, Jig, Jigaboo, Skinhead, Moolimoolinyon, Schvatzit, Junglebunny. Greaser, Greaseball, Dago, Guinea, Whop, Ginzo, Kike, Zebe, Heed, Yid, Mocky, Himie, Mick, Donkey, Turkey, Limey, Frog. Zip, Zipperhead, Squarehead, Crout, Hiney, Jerry, Hun, Slope, Slopehead, Chink, Gook. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those words in and of themselves. Their only words. It's the context that counts. It's the user. It's the intention behind the words that makes them good or bad. The words are completely neutral. The words are innocent. I get tired of people talking about bad words and bad language. Bullshit! It's the context that makes them good or bad. The context. That makes them good or bad. For instance, you take the word "Nigger." There is absolutely nothing wrong with the word "Nigger" in and of itself. It's the racist asshole who's using it that you ought to be concerned about. We don't mind when Richard Pryer or Eddie Murphy say it. Why? Because we know their not racist. Their Niggers! Context. Context. We don't mind their context because we know their black. Hey, I know I'm whitey, the blue-eyed devil, paddy-o, fay gray boy, honkey, mother-fucker myself. Don't bother my ass. Their only words. You can't be afraid of words that speak the truth, even if it's an unpleasant truth, like the fact that there's a bigot and a racist in every living room on every street corner in this country.
I don't like words that hide the truth. I don't words that conceal reality. I don't like euphemisms, or euphemistic language. And American English is loaded with euphemisms. Cause Americans have a lot of trouble dealing with reality. Americans have trouble facing the truth, so they invent the kind of a soft language to protest themselves from it, and it gets worse with every generation. For some reason, it just keeps getting worse. I'll give you an example of that. There's a condition in combat. Most people know about it. It's when a fighting person's nervous system has been stressed to it's absolute peak and maximum. Can't take anymore input. The nervous system has either (click) snapped or is about to snap. In the first world war, that condition was called shell shock. Simple, honest, direct language. Two syllables, shell shock. Almost sounds like the guns themselves. That was seventy years ago. Then a whole generation went by and the second world war came along and very same combat condition was called battle fatigue. Four syllables now. Takes a little longer to say. Doesn't seem to hurt as much. Fatigue is a nicer word than shock. Shell shock! Battle fatigue. Then we had the war in Korea, 1950. Madison avenue was riding high by that time, and the very same combat condition was called operational exhaustion. Hey, were up to eight syllables now! And the humanity has been squeezed completely out of the phrase. It's totally sterile now. Operational exhaustion. Sounds like something that might happen to your car. Then of course, came the war in Viet Nam, which has only been over for about sixteen or seventeen years, and thanks to the lies and deceits surrounding that war, I guess it's no surprise that the very same condition was called post-traumatic stress disorder. Still eight syllables, but we've added a hyphen! And the pain is completely buried under jargon. Post-traumatic stress disorder. I'll bet you if we'd of still been calling it shell shock, some of those Viet Nam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed at the time. I'll betcha. I'll betcha.
But. But, it didn't happen, and one of the reasons. One of the reasons is because we were using that soft language. That language that takes the life out of life. And it is a function of time. It does keep getting worse. I'll give you another example. Sometime during my life. Sometime during my life, toilet paper became bathroom tissue. I wasn't notified of this. No one asked me if I agreed with it. It just happened. Toilet paper became bathroom tissue. Sneakers became running shoes. False teeth became dental appliances. Medicine became medication. Information became directory assistance. The dump became the landfill. Car crashes became automobile accidents. Partly cloudy bacame partly sunny. Motels became motor lodges. House trailers became mobile homes. Used cars became previously owned transportation. Room service became guest-room dining. And constipation became occasional irregularity. When I was a little kid, if I got sick they wanted me to go to the hospital and see a doctor. Now they want me to go to a health maintenance organization...or a wellness center to consult a healthcare delivery professional. Poor people used to live in slums. Now the economically disadvantaged occupy substandard housing in the inner cities. And they're broke! They're broke! They don't have a negative cash-flow position. They're fucking broke! Cause a lot of them were fired. You know, fired. management wanted to curtail redundancies in the human resources area, so many people are no longer viable members of the workforce.
Smug, greedy, well-fed white people have invented a language to conceal their sins. It's as simple as that. The CIA doesn't kill anybody anymore, they neutralize people...or they depopulate the area. The government doesn't lie, it engages in disinformation. The pentagon actually measures nuclear radiation in something they call sunshine units. Israeli murderers are called commandos. Arab commandos are called terrorists. Contra killers are called freedom fighters. Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part of it to us, do they? Never mention that part of it.
And...and some of this stuff is just silly, we all know that, like on the airlines, they say want to pre- board. Well, what the hell is pre-board, what does that mean? To get on before you get on? They say they're going to pre-board those passengers in need of special assistance. Cripples! Simple honest direct language. There is no shame attached to the word cripple that I can find in any dictionary. No shame attached to it, in fact it's a word used in bible translations. Jesus healed the cripples. Doesn't take seven words to describe that condition. But we don't have any cripples in this country anymore. We have The physically challenged. Is that a grotesque enough evasion for you? How about differently abled. I've heard them called that. Differently abled! You can't even call these people handicapped anymore. They'll say, "Were not handicapped. Were handicapable!" These poor people have been bullshitted by the system into believing that if you change the name of the condition, somehow you'll change the condition. Well, hey cousin, ppsssspptttttt. Doesn't happen. Doesn't happen.
We have no more deaf people in this country, hearing impaired. No ones blind anymore, partially sighted or visually impaired. We have no more stupid people. Everyone has a learning disorder...or he's minimally exceptional. How would you like to be told that about your child? "He's minimally exceptional." "Oohh, thank god for that." Psychologists actually have started calling ugly people, those with severe appearance deficits. It's getting so bad, that any day now I expect to hear a rape victim referred to as an unwilling sperm recipient.
And we have no more old people in this country. No more old people. We shipped them all away, and we brought in these senior citizens. Isn't that a typically American twentieth century phrase? Bloodless, lifeless, no pulse in one of them. A senior citizen. But I've accepted that one, I've come to terms with it. I know it's to stay. We'll never get rid of it. That's what they're going to be called, so I'll relax on that, but the one I do resist. The one I keep resisting is when they look at an old guy and they'll say, "Look at him Dan! He's ninety years young." Imagine the fear of aging that reveals. To not even be able to use the word "old" to describe somebody. To have to use an antonym. And fear of aging is natural. It's universal. Isn't it? We all have that. No one wants to get old. No one wants to die, but we do! So we bullshit ourselves. I started bullshitting myself when I got to my forties. As soon as I got into my forties I'd look in the mirror and I'd say, "well, I...I guess I'm getting...older." Older sounds a little better than old doesn't it? Sounds like it might even last a little longer. Bullshit, I'm getting old! And it's okay, because thanks to our fear of death in this country, I won't have to die...I'll pass away. Or I'll expire like a magazine subscription. If it happens in the hospital, they'll call it a terminal episode. The insurance company will refer to it as negative patient-care outcome. And if it's the result of malpractice, they'll say it was a therapeutic misadventure. I'm telling you, some of this language makes me want to vomit. Well, maybe not vomit. Makes me want to engage in an involuntary personal protein spill.
"There is no secret ingredient"
Po, the kung fu panda
Po, the kung fu panda
